Ten consecutive Tuesdays

There is a saying about spring training: Every day is Tuesday. What that means is that every day is exactly the same, with no differentiation between weekends and weekdays and no breaks. This year, we don't even have any night games down here, except for one on March 4 that is part of a day-night, split-squad doubleheader. So basically, I'm getting up at the crack of dawn every morning for the next five weeks, which I realize most of the world does every day, so I'll stop complaining. Hey, it beats working for a living. ... Those of you who have been following this blog for a while might recall that last spring, I trumpeted the fact that Vero Beach finally got a Starbucks. Well, in keeping with the widely known fact that Starbucks outlets multiply more quickly than rabbits, Vero Beach now has FOUR Starbucks (that I know of). I can't imagine any more definitive proof than that to indicate the demographics of this town have changed dramatically over the years. It's tough to imagine even one Starbucks surviving in what is basically a retirement town, and the fact that there are several of them, and they appear to be thriving, means this isn't a retirement town anymore. It's also another indication of just why, with a few exceptions, there aren't that many people around here who are going to care that much that the Dodgers are leaving town. ... On my way back from lunch yesterday, I heard Paul Harvey's The Rest of the Story on the radio. It started out with Dodgers GM Buzzy Bavasi calling a young pitcher named Tom into his office to send him to the minors, and Tom responding by saying they should keep him and send that left-handed kid with the control problems to the minors instead. I didn't have to listen any further. I immediately recognized the story as one I had heard a hundred times from Tom himself.