Introducing Mr. Smith

Kevin Czerwinski continues to pinch-hit for He Said, She Said from Fort Wayne.

Well, I wrapped up the Fort Wayne portion of my trip today by watching Daryl Jones put on a clinic at Memorial Stadium. The slugging first baseman/designated hitter went 4-for-4 today with a long homer and five RBIs. At 19, he’s still young and raw and the Padres aren’t quite sure how quickly he’ll be able to put all aspects of his game together or whether he was even ready to take on the challenges of the Midwest League this season. So far, though, he hasn’t had any problems, going 7-for-11 with two homers and six RBIs. The homer he hit on Sunday was a titanic shot that landed some 450 away from home plate, bouncing through traffic on Coliseum Boulevard before coming to rest on the far side of the four-lane highway. This kid has awesome potential and it would be nice to see him continue to play well all season.

The one thing I’ll take from my stay in Fort Wayne, aside from the rude people in the neighboring hotel room who woke me up at 1 a.m. Sunday, was how the press box was infested with ladybugs. Not that I minded, ladybugs are after all, ladybugs and they’re friendly and fun. But the place was crawling with them, literally. One stadium official seemed very concern, saying that they pay so much attention to keeping the field in shape they lose sight that the rest of the building needs care as well. To that end, he predicted an exterminator would visit before the next Wizard homestand.