You heard me, pal.

Dr. Uetz

Pitchers and catchers are reporting and the natural order of things slowly begins to return. It makes me smile. Soon we can once again grab our 24oz beers and head to the stands with our pencils and wits sharpened.

I don't have the privilege of living in a town with a major league ballclub. But that's fine with me. I can easily hop in my car and drive 3 hours to Minneapolis or Kansas City, 4 1/2 hours to St. Louis, or 5 hours to Chicago or Milwaukee. There are a lot of options, and fortunately my Mets play three of those teams every season. And I make the trip. Usually to Milwaukee because I hate Wrigley (we've covered that) and St. Louis has been better than my boys the last few years. I don't like to drive 5 hours and pay $10 for a beer to watch my team lose.

But let me get back to my hometown and the upcoming AAA season for the Iowa Cubs. While I despise the parent organization, I am a devoted fan of the Iowa Cubs. I spend a good portion of my summer at Sec Taylor Stadium; section 15 row 7, it's about 30 feet from first base. It gives me a good chance to discuss the finer points of the game with the players and coaches. And I take advantage of that opportunity.

My shining moment came last season when Nashville was in town. Corey Hart was playing for Nashville that day. He's always been a favorite of mine, at least when it comes to chit chat. He's a real friendly cuss. And last year he became the first pro player to flip me off. It was a shock at first but I have grown to cherish the moment. As Corey walked back to the dugout after popping out I reminded him "Corey, that's 0 or 3 today. Impressive." That's all it took. There must have been something else going on in his life. I might have expected it from "You'll never amount to a Danny Heep," but that's the joy of heckling. And that's what I love about living in a town with a AAA team. I get personal time with these guys. I can invite Prince Fielder over to my place to watch "Blossom" reruns as he awaits his next pitch. I even had the chance to buy Ruben Sierra a a beer. I drank it for him and described it as he stood on first.

These are moments we all can cherish. These are the times we will remember for the rest of our lives. And as nice as it is to sit around the house during these cold months and watch Game 5 of the 1969 World Series, I'm itching to get to my seat in Section 15.