Fifty to go

Among the various questions: Will there be time for "Doubleheader?"

I loaded every Renegades game into my calendar today as the countdown to first pitch reached 50 days.

From May 4, 7:30 p.m. at Jersey Shore to Sept 19 at Dutchess Stadium against Greensboro at 4:35 p.m., they're all there.

This doesn't mean I'm going to every game. It means I'm ready for every game.

Regardless of where I am, part of my job will be to write up a summary at the end of every game to go on the website. That is why it's quite possible the blog may change to a lot of quick posts and links to game stories with tales of the booth (not unlike my podcast, I suppose).

Or -- gasp! -- I'll finally take a day off from the blog, something I last did on Dec. 29, 2018.

Now, don't get me wrong, the schedule has been on my mind ever since it first came out without times and then even more after the times were entered. Loading them into my calendar, as well as a broadcast spreadsheet that I have, allows me to see where there are conflicts.

I'd say "if there are conflicts" but it's me so who are we kidding?

There are conflicts with "The Clubhouse" and maybe down the road with Greenwich football and maybe a Brunswick lacrosse game and other items I've been asked to call (Babe Ruth and Little League baseball among them) along with video depo jobs and I really don't know what else and I'm not concerned about it yet. These are bridges I'm simply preparing for. I suppose I'm loading my EZ Pass to reach the toll and will worry later.

Road analogies? Yes, please!?

But loading the schedule into my calendar also allows me to see if there are any places to maybe hit the road, which I can't stress enough that I'd like to do, assuming I'm only calling home games. For instance, I saw a 6 p.m. Saturday night game in Aberdeen, MD. So wouldn't it be nice to drive down, check into a hotel, call the Saturday tilt, get some sleep, and go back Sunday to finish it up?

After a Waffle House* breakfast, of course.

Assuming it's a reasonable game, I'd be back home at a decent hour late Sunday night.

*Waffle House visits are possible in the league with Wilmington, Aberdeen, Greensboro, and Winston-Salem. I've got this all worked out.

It would be an adventure! Maybe someone would want to tag along to help with expenses or keep my sanity? 

I have some names in mind, especially if it's a day trip (such as Brooklyn).

I personally love the idea of "Rob's Renegades Road Trips."

With 50 days to go until Jersey Shore, my head spins a little more every day about these items:

Theme music.

Who is allowed in the booth?

If someone is allowed, who are my carefully-cultivated guest analysts going to be in the booth (you can guess some of them)?

Should we do a podcast, maybe picking it up under my "Tales From the Booth" umbrella?

Should I get a subscription to Baseball America?

Should I get a subscription to watch the road games on MILB.TV?

Juggling of...everything

I get asked so often about the team and plans and all I say is I don't have answers.

Remember: the team is coming off a year in which "we" didn't have a season. "We" also didn't have answers about what "our" future was.

I'm always careful about "we" when it comes to sports teams. I might be a member of the organization but I don't play for the organization. So it's a balance.

So, since late October, there has been the news of joining the Yankees (did you know that? Not sure if I've mentioned it), becoming a full-season team, working out the logistics of becoming a full-season team, preparing to reopen under the climate of COVID-19, rebranding the logo, and so on.

I keep figuring the last thing on their mind is the dopey broadcaster which, the more I thought about it, the more I realized it was a compliment. It's nice to be thought of as reliable and not really a concern. Those conversations will happen soon enough.

Tomorrow, we hit 49 days until first pitch in New Jersey.

I'd still like to book a hotel room!

But, there's still a ways to go here, so forgive me for just thinking out loud. Some nights, this occupies my mind. It's like counting sheep.

Or World Series rings.