The Wandering Disciple

Sarasota, Florida: The Charlotte Stone Crabs traveled to Twin Lakes Park in Sarasota for their final road game of the spring. Here they faced the Frederick Keys in their second to last game of spring training. The roster shuffle is in full swing and the rosters are looking more and more like opening day. These two teams will face off tomorrow in Port Charlotte and that will conclude the exhibition schedule for the Stone Crabs. They will play in intrasquad scrimmages over the weekend and then begin workouts to prepare for opening day on April 7. Click on the photo above to view the Stone Crabs/Keys photo gallery.

Sarasota, Florida: The Baltimore Orioles wrapped up a record breaking spring on Tuesday afternoon at the newly renovated Ed Smith Stadium. This spring, over 115,000 people passed through the gates of the ballpark which saw 40 million dollar renovation during the off-season to make it one of the premier venues in the Grapefruit League. A crowd of over 5,000 witnessed and offensive show for the spring finale between the Orioles and the Toronto Blue Jays. The clubs combined for 11 runs on 26 hits and in the end it was the Blue Jays winning the game 7-4. The Blue Jays jumped out to a three run lead in the first inning. Yunel Escobar and Jose Bautista reached base on back to back singles. Then Aaron Hill double to left, scoring Escobar and Bautista. Hill would later score on an RBI single by Juan Rivera to put the Blue Jays ahead 3-0. The Orioles chipped away at the lead staring in the home half of the first. Derrek Lee doubled to left with two outs to put a runner in scoring positio...

El Jobean, Florida: Located where the Myakka River meets Charlotte Harbor, the El Jobean Fishing Pier is one of Charlotte County’s premier fishing piers. Like many of the other piers in the county, this is an abandoned railroad trestle that was converted into a fishing pier. The pier was once the Myakka River crossing on the Charlotte Harbor & Northern Railroad. When the route was discontinued, the local government removed the drawbridge and converted the southern end of the crossing into a fishing pier. The location of the pier is where the Myakka River empties into Charlotte Harbor and the water is mostly saltwater. Snook and Redfish are frequently found in this area. In addition to fishing from the pier, there are also plenty of good fishing spots along the seawall of the SR-776 bridge. There is no charge to use the pier. 3/27/2011: Hit the pier just after noon today with a dozen live shrimp. Had several hits but did not land a fish. One took the line and ran it around the pili...

Sarasota, Florida: As opening day fast approaches, the Charlotte Stone Crabs continued to prepare for the 2011 season as they faced the Frederick Keys on Thursday afternoon at Twin Lakes Park. Both clubs dueled in an nine inning exhibition game in which no score or official stats are recorded. The main purpose of the game is to prepare the players for the upcoming season. Click on the photo above to view the Stone Crabs/Keys photo gallery.

Port Charlotte, Florida: The Charlotte Stone Crabs took to the backfields of Charlotte Sports Park on a sunny Saturday afternoon to host the Frederick Keys in a spring training exhibition game. Today's game wrapped up the first week of spring training games as the minor leaguers prepare for the start of the 2011 season. No official stats are recorded at these spring training games as the focus of these contests are for training and not statistics. Click on the photo above to view the Stone Crabs/Keys photo gallery from Saturday.

Sarasota, Florida: Sunny skies ushered in the annual Sarasota County Fair on Friday as thousands of people flocked to the fairgrounds for the opening night of the fair. This years fair features the family favorites and a few new treats. There is food, fun and thrills for the entire family. The fair features rides for adults and a separate area for kids rides, a midway with games and a large selections of food featuring plenty of variety from fair favorites to international selections. The entertainment schedule is packed for the week featuring magic shows, an all-new monkey show, sea lion show, music acts and plenty of agricultural displays. The fun and excitement are to benefit the Sarasota County Agricultural Association and showcase the hard work of the 4-H and the Future Farmers of America. The 75th Annual Sarasota County Fair will run until March 27. Admission is $8 and they feature daily ride specials.

Sarasota, Florida: Minor league spring training is underway as teams prepare for the 2011 season set to start in early April. The Charlotte Stone Crabs traveled to Sarasota to play the Frederick Keys at the Buck O'Neil Complex at Twin Lakes Park in the second spring game of the year. The clubs dueled under a cloudless sky, working to perfect those skills needed for a successful season. No official score or stats are kept during minor league spring training but here is a collection of photos from the game. Click on the photo above to view the Stone Crabs/Keys photo gallery.

Port Charlotte, Florida: The Tampa Bay Rays spring training struggles continue as they fell to the Minnesota Twins 6-1 on Saturday afternoon at Charlotte Sports Park. Andy Sonnanstine gave up four runs early and the offense was unable to recover, leading to their sixth loss in seven days. The Twins wasted no time reaching the scoreboard, posting two runs in the first inning. Ben Revere drew a walk to lead of the game. Revere stole second and then later scored an RBI single by Jason Kubel. Kubel would then score on a double by Danny Valencia to give the Twins a 2-0 lead. The Twins added two more runs in the second inning. Trevor Plouffe singled to get things started. He then stole second bad. Drew Butera followed with a fly ball to left that Johnny Damon lost in the sun, the ball fell to the ground and allowed Plouffe to score. Ben Revere then singled home Butera to increase the lead to 4-0. The Twins added yet another run in the third inning. Chris Parmelee homered to left to give the...

Sarasota, Florida: The over 7,000 fans that packed the newly renovated Ed Smith Stadium were treated to a duel treat, a nicely renovated stadium and a slugfest between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Baltimore Orioles. Both clubs combined for eight homeruns and when the bats quieted, the home team Orioles won the game 12-6. The hit parade started in the first inning with the Orioles offense jumping all over the Rays starter Andy Sonnanstine. The Orioles struck for four runs on three home runs in the inning. Brian Roberts led off the inning with a single to right field. The remaining three hits of the inning all left the yard. Nick Markakis hit a two run homer while Vladimir Guerrero and Adam Jones each had a solo home run to put the Orioles ahead 4-0. The Orioles went yard twice in the second inning. This time it was Jake Fox getting on the home run train followed by a second home run by Markakis to extend the lead to 6-0. The Rays finally reached the scoreboard in the top of the fou...