HOW TO ATTEND A ROCK CATS GAME

The summer is here for all intents and purposes, which means that tickets for New Britain Rock Cats games are not going to be as easy to procure as they were in April and May.

With that in mind, the following is a primer for those who intend to attend ballgames at New Britain Stadium through the remainder of the 2007 and into the foreseeable future.

The Rock Cats' group ticket sales people do a tremendous job. Their work is the primary reason why the team's attendance skyrocketed when the Bill Dowling/Coleman Levy ownership group and pushes forward every year.

Groups naturally prefer to attend games on weekends, primarily Friday and Saturday nights, so what the team refers to as its pregame sale can climb within a few hundred of capacity, which is 6,146. Tickets for such games truly are at a premium.

The team makes is very easy to purchase tickets. There are the traditional ways, like stopping at Willow Brook Park and making the advance purchase at the ticket windows, or calling and ordering over the phone. But anybody who can handle a keyboard can purchase tickets online, too.

Whatever your preference, you have to think ahead. Rock Cats pocket schedules can be found all over central Connecticut and beyond. The schedule is also on www.rockcats.com. Scrutinize a schedule and make your plans for the summer because the days of leaving home at 5:30 p.m. for a 6:30 game and expecting everything to flow nicely are over.

On the day of the game, leave home early. Gates open an hour before game time, so if you're looking at a 6:35 start, plan on arriving at Willow Brook by 5:45 or so.

The reasons are traffic and parking. On nights when games are sellouts or near sellouts, cars can be seen stuck in a line that extends up South Main Street and onto Ellis Street.

When the line of vehicles enters the parking lot, the flow bottlenecks near the west side of the stadium where parking fees are paid. The money exchange process is somewhat less than fluid. Avoid coming late at all costs or you'll be listening to the first few innings on the radio and idling your expensive gas away while you wait .. . and wait and wait.

Here's a way to avoid traffic as you approach the stadium. Try to avoid the Ellis Street exit when you're coming into New Britain on either Route 9 South or Route 72 East. You can also get caught up in a snarl if you're coming up from the Middletown area or points south on Route 9 North.

The alternative is to get to know New Britain. If you're coming from the west -- Southington, Bristol, Farmington and beyond -- you can get off Route 72 East at the Corbin Avenue exit, cruise past Martha Hart Park, continue straight onto the highway spur that leads to 9 South and exit on South Main Street. You'll find yourself at the entrance to Willow Brook Park in much better shape.

Here's another little hint with the thunderstorm season in full swing. Most of the reserved tickets in sections 206, 207, 208, 209, 210 and 211 will afford you protection from the rain and the blistering sun during day games. For my money, they also give you a nice view over the top of the field box seats, but that's a matter of opinion.

LET IT RAIN; THE WRITERS DON'T GET WET

Rain delays are always interesting times in the New Britain Rock Cats press box.

The air is thick with tales of baseball past, political dissertations and nostalgic recollections among media members.

Take Larry Michaels, the venerable scoreboard operator, for example. Michaels is a veritable encyclopedia of Eastern League baseball in New Britain with rich tales about the famous, like Roger Clemens, to the obscure, like Dana Kiecker.

Rock Cats owner/president Bill Dowling always attracts a gathering with stories about his tempestuous times working for George Steinbrenner. On this particular night, scouts from the Milwaukee Brewers and Cincinnati Reds were on hand to regales anyone who would listen about their craft.

Over in the corner, veteran Connecticut radio personalities Scott Gray and Dan Lovallo air their thoughts of TV sports anchors past and present. Suddenly, the talk turns to classic rock and roll -- Dylan and Hendrix are the subjects of choice -- and Gray is as much an expert on music as he is on sports.

And is there a better place in New Britain to watch a thunderstorm roll through with all its fury?

Rain pounds down onto the tarpaulin that a dedicated crew of Rock Cats employees and interns rolled out twice during the course of the evening. When they roll up the rain-soaked, mud-encrusted tarp for the third time, you tend to think about how well those kids will sleep tonight.

Jeff Dooley has been through his share of delays in 10 years at the mic but it doesn't get any easier for him or Binghamton voice Robert Ford. After all, nobody quite knows if or when the game will start again so he can be seen whirring back and forth, contacting the producers along the Rock Cats Radio Network line to keep them abreast of the situation.

Yet Dooley finds the time to spin some yarns of his own about his days with the Pawtucket Red Sox prior to his arrival on the New Britain scene.

For former New Britain High wrestling coach and retired teacher Ed Smith, it's all a new experience. Smith is in his first year as the team's official scorer, and as an avid baseball fan, he's happily absorbing it all.

The fate of the game is now in the umpires' hands. The rain has stopped and the tireless tarp-pullers are out there again. They have become experts in just one evening. In a few moments, it's back on its roller and tucked away along the first base grandstands

The umps slog through short left field. The tarp performed well. The infield is in perfect shape. The grounds crew does a little raking and you wouldn't even know it rained.

A handful of fans weather the storm. Many have taken advantage of the Rock Cats' beer specials. The idea of starting a ballgame at 9:30 seems to appeal to their adventurous nature.

The Rock Cats are gathering on the top step of their dugout. The Binghamton Mets seem ready to go, too.

Son of a gun, I think they're going to play ball.

SLOW PACE LULLS ROCK CATS TO SLEEP

The first aspect of Tuesday's game with the Binghamton Mets that caught the eye of Rock Cats manager Riccardo Ingram was the pace.

Pace? In baseball?

Yes, and while the casual fan will not make the connection, the pace is absolutely crucial to someone with a discerning eye like a manager.

On Tuesday, the game slowed to a crawl when the Rock Cats were in the field. Pitcher Jesse Floyd failed to establish a good rhythm and the defense lost its edge. Errors were followed closely by unearned runs. The Binghamton hitters took it from there, ripping shots all over the lot en route to a 12-4 win.

"We weren't intense enough pitching- and defense-wise to carry out what we needed to do," Ingram said. "I thought we were going to hit the ball and get some runs, and we were able to do that, but I thought the tempo was going against us on that side of the ball and it showed up big-time."

Floyd, not being the overpowering type, relies heavily on spotting the ball and staying ahead in the count. When he falls behind in the count, he's forced to come in with the fastball and the Mets began teeing off on him.

"The tempo was slow, the defense got on their heels and consequently couldn't make the plays," Ingram said. "When that happens, you give them extra outs, the pitcher has to make more pitches and a couple hits here and there and it can make for a big inning."

The B-Mets had a five-run fourth off Floyd then greeted veteran left-handed reliever Brian Forystek with three more in the fifth. Game over.

"We didn't make pitches when we had to and gave up the long ball," Ingram said. "Too many hard-hit baseballs. We didn't stay with our pitch plan. We didn't do anything right on the mound.

"It's a little bit of a downer when it happens with your veterans out there."

Both are a rare commodity on a Twins' Double-A club. The Twins, long known for promoting young pitchers from within the organization, grabbed both Floyd and Forystek from the otuside during the offseason. And both played in the Eastern League, Floyd with the Connecticut Defenders (Giants) and Forystek with the Bowie Baysox (Orioles).

Both have had great and bad moments thus far, and Ingram is looking to them and former Red Sox right-hander Brad Baker for their leadership with younger hurlers dotting the rest of the roster.

"You've got to have good pace and have good energy," Ingram said. "The game tends to flow more for us and that didn't happen. I didn't think we were aggressive enough."

CATS BRACE FOR DOMINO EFFECT

With road games against Harrisburg slated for today and Monday, the Rock Cats are two days removed from radical change to their pitching staff.

Injury has set the Domino Effect in motion. Baby Boomers recall the old theory. If we don't go in and shore up Vietnam, the other Southeast Asian nations will systematically fall into Communist hands like North Korea and North Vietnam.

Enough of the '60s history lesson, but how does it apply to our beloved South Side ballteam?

Those in the know are aware that Twins reliever Jesse Crain, who by the way put on as good a show in Willow Brook as any pitcher since a certain young Texan named Clemens in 1983, is out for the season with rotator cuff woes. He is joined on the shelf by left-hander Dennys Reyes and a Rock Cat of more recent vintage, southpaw Glen Perkins.

And so the Effect begins. The Twins recall Julio DePaula and summon Jason Miller to the majors. Left-handed flamethrower Jose Mijares, the Rock Cats' primary bullpen man in April and early May, was rushed to Triple-A Rochester to fill the void.

The Rock Cats, in turn, raided Class A Fort Myers for starter Kyle Waldrop and reliever Frank Mata, both of whom have hit the sacred Willow Brook ground running. But the New Britain roster remains two players short of the 24-man limit and the wheels will be in motion by the time the Binghamton Mets engage the Rock Cats in the first of a three-game series at The Emerald Tuesday.

And lest we not forget poor Fort Myers. The Miracle can't absorb a constant resuffling without dipping down into low-A Beloit. And what of former Rock Cats catcher Jeff Smith's Snappers. How many of those young arms are prepared for life in high Class A and beyond?

Injuries are an unfortunate byproduct of the game. The Twins line up with the hamstrung Yankees and the A's, whose disabled list team would vie for the AL West title, as clubs that have suffered the most. Nevertheless, what's done is done and it will be interesting to see if the Twins go out and sign a minor league veteran or two, or opt to promote from within until the pickings are too slim.