Seal Blubber Bits for August 25th

Here are some random musings on the Seals following their final home game of 2009:

• The Edmonton Capitals clinched a playoff spot on Sunday night without even being on the field. Yuma defeated Chico 6-4, thereby assuring that the Capitals finish with the second-best overall record in the North Division. The Calgary Vipers secured the second-half title earlier in the day with their victory over the Seals, becoming the first team to win both halves of a split schedule in Golden Baseball League history. Edmonton and Calgary will start a best-of-five series on Tuesday, September 1st in Edmonton. The Vipers swept the Capitals three straight in the opening round of the 2008 playoffs.
• Bret LeVier was back to wearing his normal socks and long pant legs in Sunday's finale. However, the spiffy throwback Red Sox hose were sported by Wilver Perez. If you know anything about the story behind these socks, please post a comment on this blog and fill us in.
• You are pretty much guaranteed to see something off the wall at a GBL game. During Saturday night's contest I went to washroom behind the grandstand in between innings. When I walked in, there was Vipers SS Nelson Castro pulling up his pants and adjusting his jock strap. Can you imagine going to a game in Philadelphia and seeing Phillies SS Jimmy Rollins peeing in the stall beside you?!?!
• Since it was the last homestand of the season, I moved around to get a vantage point from a number of areas at Royal Athletic. I'm a creature of habit, so I almost always sit in section 9 along the first-base line. There was a big crowd on Saturday night, so section 9 was completely packed. I moved over to the lower reserved section right behind the Vipers' dugout and was amazed by how different the vibe was compared to section 9. There were still quite a few seats unoccupied even though the first-base side was packed and a few dozen fans were even sitting in the football grandstand in the right field area. The fans on the third base side seemed a lot more easy going as compared to the first-base side which seems to have more serious baseball fans (and more serious drinkers as well). The vibe was definitely more laid back. The Vipers were quite happy to toss a baseball to youngsters in the stands on a number of occasions, something the home team doesn't have the freedom to do. The other big difference is that since it's quieter, you can hear the third base coach, third baseman, the shortstop and any runners on third converse from time to time. If my Spanish was better, I would have picked up even more. I don't ever remember being able to hear any of the conversation around first base when sitting behind the Seals dugout. I'll definitely mix it up next year and sit more often on the visitor's side.
• Christian Stewart has posted some great photos of the Seals' final home game of 2009 on his website.
• I sat for a few outs in the football grandstand. It's surprisingly close to the action, but seems far away to those who are used to sitting right behind the dugout or in the baseball grandstand behind home plate. Seats an equivalent distance from the pitcher's mound in Safeco Field in Seattle go for $44 USD when purchased as a walk-up, so they are still pretty close to the action. The biggest downside is that you are pointed in the wrong direction for the ballgame and have to either sit at a 45 degree angle in your seat or get a sore neck.
• The Seals are on a Tijuana Potros / H1N1 break until Friday. They play a four-game series in Long Beach and wrap up their season on Monday night.