Homecoming day

The Grays lost a close game to the Bristol Blues on Friday June 22, by a score of 16-13. The game was played at the Bristol Common, scene of the Grays' first game back in 1998, and so many other thrilling moments in the intervening years. The Blues and Grays have shared such a long acquaintance that the result hardly seemed to matter, as the stiff-jointed veterans of both clubs recounted anecdotes from their fabled 2000 tour of Vermont, or compared crooked fingers that have been accumulated on the field of play. Several of the Providence veterans of that first 1998 game turned out at the Common to watch the proceedings, with what seemed to be a wistful look in their eyes.

The game itself was interesting, though lacking in a certain intensity. Some say evening base ball cannot be made to pay, but this game featured a good crowd. However, the players had difficulty arriving at the field by 6 p.m. after hard days at the docks or in the counting-house. Despite a threatening sky, nine innings were played before nightfall.

The score veered wildly back and forth, from a 3-0 Providence lead to a 9-3 Bristol lead to a 9-9 tie by the fifth inning. Bristol then brought in a lady hurler who the Grays were quite unable to solve. Gentlemanly deference is no excuse, as the team was trying their dogged best. Bristol built a solid lead which a ninth-inning Providence rally was scarcely able to dent.

Right fielder Stattler was able to make one of his trademark plays, throwing out a Bristol runner at first base on an apparent single. However, Stattler has yet to make a safe hit of his own for the 2007 season, and some whisper that he may be a "back number." His contract ought to be traded to some New York team while it can still fetch something in return.

Spirits remained high after the loss, and many of the Grays retired to Aidan's Pub, the site of many of the earliest team meetings in 1998 and 1999, where several team members were seen to raise a glass in full view of President Norton. Discipline would have undoubtedly been better enforced if a game was scheduled for the following day.

The Grays are now 0-2 against the Blues when rainbows have appeared in the outfield.

The Grays next take the field at McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket on July 1 at 11 a.m., against the Providence Game Hens. In a departure from the team's usual practice, an admission fee will be charged and advance tickets may prove necessary. After the conclusion of this contest, spectators are invited to remain for a curious exhibition of futuristic baseball, in which the Pawtucket Red Sox are to wear large leather gloves upon their hands.