Bullpen Bubba

Sometimes, even the best laid plans go awry. Sunday games are always a time where Dakota and I go down early so that he can participate in Bullpen Buddies. We have not missed one yet this season. Dakota has been able to go down into the bullpen and meet one or two of the Diamondbacks players and get their autographs. He has quite a collection of signatures on his ball. Today, I had a hard time getting the boy out of bed. He had forgotten that he was going to the game today and didn't want to get up. I tried to explain that it was time to go to the ballpark. Once he heard ballpark, he was out of bed in a flash and getting dressed. I went downstairs and began to make breakfast before we had to leave. Dakota came down and wanted an egg and sausages. I gladly made his breakfast and then began to pack the bags with treats and snacks for Coda. As I was finishing packing the last package of fruit roll-ups I noticed that the clock had stopped. I glanced at my watch to find that we were 30 minutes late! I ran and grabbed Dakota and the seat cushions and headed out the door. We flew down the freeway as we made our way to the ballpark. When we arrived, Dakota just missed the bullpen buddies. He was crushed that his streak would be broken. Okay, he could care less about the streak, he just wanted to play in the dirt in the bullpen. Dakota has become a regular at the ballpark and several of the Diamondbacks employees know him by name. When he wasn't there for bullpen buddies, they held out a spot for him. What has been a traumatic experience for the two of us turned out to be one of the greater times we had at the ballpark. He was able to meet Alex Cabrera and get his autograph on his baseball and more importantly, he was able to get another two pockets full of dirt from the bullpen. I am not sure what he is doing with the dirt. Maybe he is building his own Bank One Ballpark infield. Then again, he may just be leaving the dirt in his pocket for his mother to find when she does the laundry.