Monday 5/9

Today was officially the last day we get to see live pitching before our games start. That is not cool! We only saw live pitching 3 different days ( I only saw it 2 days). Catchers always get the shaft on that so we just have to be better than everyone else or more patient than everyone else. I guess I will have to just treat this like high school and just jump right into the season with not much preparation. I am doing everything I can on my own to get ready like going to the cage extra with a teammate everyday that I can. It seems to be helping because today I had 2 at bats against pitchers and I really felt pretty good. I was very relaxed in the box. My timing wassn't that far off and I was seeing the ball pretty good.

Let me tell you about our little light situation at the 'ol Amarillo ball park. Apparently they haven't changed them since the place was built 500 years ago! Ha, one set didn't even work and most sets of lights were missing a couple of lights. Our games start around 7 and it gets dark not long after that so I hope these lights get fixed soon so we can see in the 5th inning! The management here only has about 2 days to figure out the problem because opening day is Thursday. At least I won't be here for opening day if they don't fix the problem because I get to fly home to see my beautiful wife graduate from NC State, my bitter rival college!! We are a house divided:) But, it is a great school and I am really proud of her. I think she has pretty close to a 4.0 GPA...Good job Michaela!!!

So, anybody want to know what a Benji Johnson off day is like? Sure you do. Yesterday we were given the day off. I'm not sure why we got the day off because we didn't really need one. Heck we had only been on the field for 6 days! Anyway, my "off day started at about 9 a.m. when I got up. I cooked myself a 2 egg sandwhich and had some yogurt to go with it. Not a bad little breakfast. Yes, I can cook. Hard to believe, I know. A 24 year old guy who can cook, but ask Michaela and she will tell you how good I cook. After breakfast I sat around impatiently for the gym to open at noon. I was knocking the door down right at 12 to get in there and get some activity going. I decided I would play basketball for about 45 minutes to get my day started. After basketball I went to the field to get my baseball work in for the day. I hit in the cage for about an hour or longer an then guess where I went. If you said to the gym you're right! My secnod gym trip was my weight lifting trip which I did for about 45 minutes followed by another hour of basketball!! Some "day off" huh? About a month from now when I get a day off and you read about it I can guarantee it will sound nothing like this one! By then my body will be kinda tired and I will actually be welcoming an off day. After all that work my host family invited me to Texas Roadhouse for dinner. It was awesome. I got prime rib ( if you read my other blogs you will start to notice that I really like prime rib) and veggies and a salad. The rolls down there are really really really good too and they come with cinnamon butter. So if you are ever hungry and you're near a Texas Roadhouse you should definitely check it out. All their food is fresh too. I think they cut their own fries and their own steaks each day. My host family's daughter works there and she was giving us the inside scoop on how things work.

Tomorrow is gonna more easy stuff at the baseball field. I think we are just going to be taking batting practice at 1 and that is it for the day so I will probably hit the gym after that. Maybe something cool will happen.

Actually, something cool hit me yesterday. A cool thought. So in college I had a real good friend who was a diver at UNC and she gave me a Padres jersey for my birthday one time at UNC and it said Johnson on the back and the number 4. Apparently some Johnson guy played for them so she thought that was a pretty neat thing so she got it for me. I hadn't worn it for a while and this offseason I saw it in my closet and I wore it one day. Well, here is what ties all this together. Before I came out here to Amarillo I saw it in my closet and I decided not to bring it. Here is the kicker, the pitching coach here has a direct connection to the San Diego Padres in his father. I'm not sure exactly what he does but apparently his dad is pretty high up in the organization. Here is my question....Did God give me a sign 5 years ago when my friend gave me the Padres jersey that already had my name on the back of it? Time will tell but I feel like maybe me being here is God's will. I guess I wouldn't even be here if it weren't His will. If anyone has any thoughts on this that would be great!

Happy Monday!