E-Money-Sweetcheeks (Hailer) with Glenda at Skid’s
This week, the Elon Phoenix baseball team is to Skid’s restaurant as Popeye is to spinach. Skid’s is located at the corner of the main campus of Elon University and if you were to go there any day this week, for any meal, you would see us there trying to “fill out our game pants,” as Coach Mac says, by putting “more calories in the system (our bodies) than calories out.”
We are in the midst of what we call “Fake Break,” the week after our winter semester and right before our spring semester, and all the on-campus dining halls are closed. So we eat at Skid’s. I think that all would agree that besides, the delicious Greek Gyro and Grilled Chicken Plate, Skid’s finest attraction is Glenda. She is an older Southern waitress who is sweet and unique in every way. I would highly recommend you visiting Skid’s just to meet the hilariously rambunctious legend known as Glenda. While on my recruiting visit to Elon my senior year of high school, I went to Skid’s with Phoenix alum and current Texas Rangers pitcher Jimmy Reyes, and Glenda kissed me on the cheek the moment I walked in the restaurant. Her amusement has only increased over the years, and watching her and Coach Buck go at it in their Southern twang is worth the price of admission.
As I’ve mentioned earlier, Buck is trip.
The “fungo” bat victimized by Buck’s “Blunt Force Trauma”
Today was our first day of full team practice, and at the end of practice the outfielders were taking pop-flys from Buck when all of a sudden Buck’s “fungo” bat snapped in half. That was the first time I’ve ever seen a coach break a “fungo” clean in half from hitting routine pop-flys. I guess Buck has been attending his own “school of hitting.” A few of us couldn’t help but yell at Buck, “BLUNT FORCE TRAUMA!” in reference to his own hitting philosophy. I got Buck to sign the broken fungo bat for me. He wants me to tell everyone it will soon be worth millions.
As I mentioned earlier, today was the first day of full team practice and because there was no school to worry about, we spent pretty much the whole day at the field. Some players were there from 10 a.m.- 6 p.m. with a lunch break in between. But, if you hear anyone complaining about being out there for so long, it’s hogwash; we’re getting to play baseball.
With the season coming around the bend, we’re starting to see some more of the team’s personalities on display, specifically in terms of hair follicles (or lack thereof). McGeorge showed up to weights the day before last with a shaved head and his Amish/Brian Wilson/Elon Fighting Christian beard barbered up for optimum performance. Bird went with his token mohawk (one that sparked the widespread mohawk movement on our team last year during our SoCon championship run), and then there’s Kinsella and his hair potential.
McGeorge getting the throwing arm in mint condition
Kinsella reminds me a lot of Esau from the book of Genesis in the Bible. “Esau” literally means “hairy” in Hebrew. He has the rare ability to grow a full beard in what seems like two hours. I think that deep down, a lot of us are extremely jealous at his ability to dominate “Mustache March,” “No-Shave November,” and “Fu Manchu February.” With that, Kinsella and his Rapunzel-esque hair follicles are getting everyone prepared for what he calls “the most epic ‘stache in the SoCon.”
While talking to some of the guys on the team about this blog post, Kinsella highly advocated writing about the enjoyment he gets from sorority recruitment week. Yes, it is recruitment week at Elon, and in years past we have been privileged to hear girls yell their Greek allegiances at high pitched voices while driving by our field, quite often. Kinsella loves this occurrence more than most.
On a more serious note, while in a team meeting yesterday Coach Kennedy delivered one of his most motivational speeches since I’ve been here, which got everybody fired up for team practice today. While in the meeting, Bird and Garrett were nominated to join Dylan and myself as team captains. In hopes of bragging on those three, if our team follows their lead in performance this year, we will be dog-piling again come June.
Hanging out in the locker room right before the team meeting yesterday
Elon Baseball 