Come and go

Snow and not. A February walk down by the lake can find remains of snow and grass trying to green up. Choose your bank. No matter the road to or from the park, piles can line your entrance or exit this month.

Tell me about it

Here’s what’s going on. Jason Smorol knows how to introduce a season. Dick Scott will manage the Syracuse Mets in 2023. Fans could see a handful of blooming stars before they’re called to produce for the big league New York Mets. Dollar Thursday brings a bit of a bump in prices for hot dogs and…

The hats of our hometown squads

Through the years. A display that caught my eye at the annual Syracuse Mets open house Saturday at NBT Bank Stadium was the display of baseball hats worn by the home team throughout the seasons here in the Salt City. Many and varied they are, honoring the days of the Chiefs and now the Mets.

Looking fresh, Scooch

Happy new season, Scooch! Toward the end of the 2022 season, our usual baseball gang noticed that Syracuse Mets mascot Scooch was looking a bit, well, peaked. That costume sure did get a lot of wear and tear keeping the kids (and us) happy running up and down the aisles of NBT Bank Stadium. Striding…

Thanks for your drive, Todd Zeile

I grabbed a schedule to have something to sign. Todd Zeile had a travel story. When he got to the airport down in New York City on Friday night to fly here for his Saturday morning Syracuse Mets open house appearance, he checked his baggage, went to the gate and … heard that the flight…

OK, we’ll hang out in the Metropolitan Club awhile

A new wrinkle. We knew we wanted to hear the annual open house greeting from Syracuse Mets general manager Jason Smorol in the Metropolitan Club Saturday morning. He’s always as entertaining as he is informative about what we can expect for the season to come. The organization scheduled an added treat this year. A visit…

One guy, a shovel and a lot of green

Really?! As we looked down upon the snow-filled baseball field at NBT Bank Stadium for the Syracuse Mets annual open house on Saturday morning, my dear wife Karen, terrific daughter Elisabeth, George Three and I spotted one lonely soul yielding a shovel down toward home plate. What a task! He appeared to be thinking his…

We’re ready for our Syracuse Mets opening day

First in line. Our traditional gang of four arrived a few minutes before the 10 a.m. start time Saturday at NBT Bank Stadium for the Syracuse Mets annual welcome to fans. With the snow that had fallen overnight and crisp March 4 temperatures, I was first in line at the ticket window to pick up…

One happy cat when that day rolls around

What did I get this time? Elisabeth and George Three can have fun watching Ava’s reaction when the monthly cat box arrives. The rescue cat in our life is as enthralled with the delivery as rescue dog Ellie is with the Bark Box. Catnip involved? Now that’s a look of cat joy.

I see spring on my living room TV

2022 NL batting champion Jeff McNeil at the plate. One benefit for this retired guy is flipping on the weekday early spring training game televised by SNY for my New York Mets. I watched on Thursday afternoon. I hardly cared that they lost to bitter NL East rival, the Atlanta Braves. The games don’t count…