Clearwater update 2018

[Les229]

HOTELS 2017

I have a difficult time knowing when to post this first installment of the Clearwater Update. If I wait until I start going to the workouts it probably will be too late to help anyone out. On the other hand, the next installment could be a month off. Since I paid for my Spring Training tickets yesterday, I thought this was as good a time as any. For those who are thinking about coming to spring training, its time to look into booking a hotel room. I think you should understand that this is not the same beach that I moved to 15 years ago. Unfortunately (for me) Clearwater Beach has been discovered by the rest of the country. Several travel magazines and websites have named us as the best beach in the United States and the tourist trade has picked up considerably. This has led to a marked increase in traffic, difficulty getting tables at the better restaurants and more significantly, difficulty getting rooms. They have been building new hotels at a record pace on the beach for a couple of years now.

Invariably someone asks about hotels and I usually make some version of this report each spring. This way, anyone that wants the information can get it before they make their plans. If this is your first trip, there are two ways to look at lodging in Clearwater. There are a ton of places to stay, but during certain seasons and times, they do fill up. Unfortunately, for our purposes, Spring Training happens at the same time as Spring Break. If you are planning to come down, you really need to get started on it.

At this point, I have to throw in a disclaimer. I have only stayed in one hotel in the Tampa Bay area and am far from an expert on the subject. Most of what I know has come from word of mouth. A full range of hotels are available at whatever price you choose to pay. You will get pretty much what you pay for. There are some high dollar places that can rent for about $600 a night and some mom and pop establishments that can go for a lot less, but keep in mind this is the busiest time of the year and the prices will reflect that.
I think you have to decide whether you want the full beach experience along with the baseball, or don’t need the beach every day and can live on the main land where there are also many other great attractions. The hotels on the beach will, on the whole, be more expensive and harder to book. The traffic to and from the beach is the primary problem. On the other hand, if the beach isn’t necessary every day, you can stay in town and be closer to the ball park much more reasonably.

If I were doing it and could afford it, I would stay on the beach because you can catch a shuttle called the Jolly Trolly to the ball park. It won’t be any quicker, but you won’t be driving and won’t have to pay for parking. Some of the higher dollar hotels provide transportation. Ask them about it. The causeway from Downtown Clearwater to the beach is about 2.5 miles long and can get backed up bumper to bumper the whole way and as much as 20 blocks in town. Parking is always difficult on the beach. Although the new parking garage has been some help, but parking is not cheap. The guy who sat next to me the last couple of years at the ballpark , said it could take him as long as 1 hour and 40 minutes to get to his place back on the beach. That is normally about a 20 minute drive.

If you want to stay within walking distance of the ball park ( and save the hassle and cost of parking), there are several hotels along route 19 ( a couple of blocks from the park). The three nearest to the park and easiest to get to the ballpark, are on the even (west) side of 19. They are LaQuinta, Magnuson, and the Hampton Inn. They are within 3 blocks of the park in the 21000 block of US19. A word of caution, walking across 19 can be very dangerous, especially with children. It has one of the highest accident rates in Florida. If you are walking to the ball park from one of the hotels, it is best to cross Drew Street at the corner of Drew and Coachman Road. There are cops there directing traffic.

If you want high end, the beach offers everything from 5 star hotels to mom and poppers. Since I haven’t stayed in any of them, I really can’t give any of them recommendations. I suggest you put your computer map locator on the circle at the end of causeway and type in “Hotels”. They will all come up. If you want to stay on the beach, get an early start on the reservations. Good luck with it.

If you have any questions, I’ll be happy to try and answer them.

[Philsmania]

I look forward to living vicariously through you!

[Les229]

I almost didn't make it this year. I had a bad reaction to steroids and was so weak that I couldn't get up from my recliner and lost 40 lbs. Couldn't walk without a cane. Fortunately, I am now weaning off of them and am back to near normal.

There is still a few days to go before the players are forced to report. I drove past the park today and everything was locked up, There were 8, or ten cars in the lot,

[Les229]

The Complex

I stopped out at the bark this morning on my way to breakfast. No one was out on the field and the gates were locked, but there were a few cars in the players’ parking lot. Maybe they aren’t going to work on Super Bowl Sunday. I took off for the Draught House in Dunedin for Sunday breakfast.

The Complex
For those fans who have not been down here before, something has to be said about the complex. First off, it is impossible to see everything that goes on during the workout sessions. There are 4 fields in the complex, and the minor league building sits between them so that you can only see 2 fields at a time. There is the stadium itself and a short field with no outfield in front of it. All together that is 6 fields. The entrance to the stadium is a fair hike from the Carpenter Complex. There are pitching mounds all over the place. In addition, they have all kinds of indoor facilities for pitching and bp under the stands and in a workout building that can’t be seen at all. You will always miss some stuff and it is best to reconcile yourself to it and make some choices. With all of that, the complex part of it was never built to handle the crowds they sometimes get. The spectators for the February workouts have grown greatly since I first started to attend 14 years ago. Some of it might be the stabilization of the economy and more people able to take winter vacations.

They say that they actually run the minor leagues operations out of the offices on the second floor of the building in the middle of the Carpenter Complex. During spring training, they use the first floor to feed and have a club house for the minor leaguers both while the major leaguers are in camp and during the summer when the Threshers are in the stadium. They also run the rookie league that starts after the amateur draft in June on those fields. My sympathy goes out to those kids. The Florida sun is brutal in July and August and there is no shade down there. They did add a couple of electronic scoreboards on two of the complex fields. They don’t seem to have a kitchen. Everything seems to be catered. For all of you guys who are always whining about where the money goes, there is some of it. It can’t be cheap. They also feed the major leaguers with catering up in the stadium.

The Phils are in a naming game down at the minor league complex. Everything that can be named, is named. The building in the complex is called, “ Paul Owens Training Facility”, the four fields are named after Schmidt, Ashburn, Roberts and Carlton and the whole complex is the Carpenter Complex. They are running out of things to name.

[Les229]

February 5, 2018

I got to the workout fields a little before 10:00 am and there were a goodly number of players out on the field long tossing (30 to 40). It has the makings of a nice day for a change. There was a grand total of 5 spectators, including me watching the workouts. It is supposed to be sunny with a temperature up to 75.

After the long toss, some of the pitchers threw from the mound between the fields. The grass was wet and they did not take outside batting practice. It is all very informal with a lot of standing around. It will be hard to recognize the players until the official report date on the 12th. At that time, they will receive a physical and be issued uniforms with their names and numbers on the back. Now they are wearing unmarked gym clothes and I admit that I have a hard time recognizing them.

One of pitchers that was throwing was Beato. He had a big year at Lehigh Valley last year, but when the Phils brought him up, he was hurt almost before he could get unpacked. The Phillies sent him back and we never saw him again. Wouldn’t it be nice if he stepped up and became their closer? That pitching staff is due to catch a break.

I got a chance to talk briefly and shake hands with Gabe Kapler. He came to watch the pitchers throw and in the process was signing autographs and talking about the Eagles win.

With that, I left the park at about 11:40 and headed for the beach and lunch.

[Les229]

FEBRUARY 6, 2018

Today was more of the same. They started with the long toss and then took some ground and fly balls. After that, they had lob batting practice. It was good to see Charlie Manual at his familiar post behind the batting cage. It is a really nice Florida day with about 75 during the practice. It got up to 80 by afternoon.

Hoskins was making solid contact for what that is worth. I am going to explain my theory about batting practice where the pitcher is just lobbing the ball up to the plate in the most hittable spot that he can. I think it is valuable for the hitters to smooth out their stroke so that the repetition is valuable. I think it says very little about how he is going to do against serious pitching. I mean little leaguers can hit these pitches. Usually, when I see them roll the pitching platform out, I usually go to lunch. When the hitters arrive, the pitchers throw hard and their best stuff and I stick around for that. Kapler being new and all it’s really hard to tell what he will include in the workouts, but I consider the live batting practice to be worth watching.

I did stick around for bp today. While bp was going on, there were pitchers throwing on the invisible mounds between the minor league offices and the big workout building. It is impossible to see what is going on there. They have heavy dark wind screening blocking the view to this area. All I can tell you is that there are seven mounds and they were all occupied.

I hung around until about 11:30 when the BP stopped and then I went to lunch.

[Les229]

FEBRUARY 7, 2018

Today is like all the other days so far and I think the rest will be near the same until the 14th. This is really pretty early for them to be working out, about as early as I can remember. They start the sessions with the loosening up exercises and then go to fielding exercises. Today the pitchers took ground balls and threw to each of the bases and then practiced covering first base on the ground ball hit to the first baseman. After that they went to lob batting practice.

They are stocking the souvenir trailer that they put down in the training complex. When the games start, they will move it up to the entrance of the stadium. In addition, they have a store up in the stadium. It is open year round. One of these days, I am going to have to go up there and see what new stuff they have. Rob Thompson came over and was signing autographs.

Sorry the report is so short, but there just isn’t much to report.

[Les229]

RESTAURANTS 2018
I know a little more about restaurants and watering holes than I do hotels. I consider myself something of a restaurant hound (always looking for a new place) and have been eating out every day in this area for more than 14 years. In addition, I have been known to have “discussions” in tiki bars on an occasion, or on many occasions. One of the benefits of living in a tourist destination like Clearwater is that there are a lot of great restaurants and watering holes and they are opening and closing every day. One of the things I have learned over the years is that restaurant preferences have a lot to do with personal taste. I like to think my taste is impeccable, but I can accept the fact that everyone’s is not the same. Everyone doesn’t have the same taste, or enjoy the same atmosphere. The restaurants that I mention here are ones that I have eaten in and enjoyed their food and atmosphere. I tend to be a less than formal kind of guy. Putting on a buttoned shirt, long pants and shoes is what I consider formal and can be an evening killer. I enjoy watching people and prefer a less formal setting with a busy atmosphere.

I haven’t included any of the national chains because we all know what they are and most of them are here, but I don’t think that they are reflective of the community. In addition, I didn’t include directions to the restaurants because it would take up a book and we are all on the internet and you can find all of them easily on the computer maps.

FANCY PLACES
There are a lot of fancy places with a more formal atmosphere that are excellent. I still think that the best is the Salt Rock Grill on Indian Shores Island. I also like Island Way Grill on Island Estates, and Bon Appetite in Dunedin. They all have an excellent waterfront view with good outside dining areas, great service and the food is excellent. The Salt Rock Grill and Island Way Grill are owned by the same people and they have their own fishing fleet that goes out every day. I have also enjoyed dinner at the Beachcomber on Clearwater Beach. These places are going to be a little more expensive than the others. I recommend reservations at these places.

A restaurant that I have never eaten at, but is really nationally famous is over in Tampa. If you want a great steak and excellent atmosphere, and really don’t care how much it costs, Bern’s is the place. One interesting thing about this place is that they are also known for their deserts. When you enter they will take a reservation for your desert and you actually go to another room for the desert. I suggest you wear long pants and shoes. Reservations are definitely necessary.

Another upper end restaurant that is different is the Columbia Restaurant. They are a Florida Chain and there are 5, or 6 of them throughout the state. The one that I prefer in this area is on Gulf Blvd. in Sand Key. The cuisine is Cuban and upscale. They have a great view of the bay there.
FLORIBEAN
There are a ton of these places. It seems like I am discovering o new one every day. These are really the places I eat at the most. They feature things like fancy sandwiches with a Caribbean flavor and great seafood mixtures. Frenchy has 4 restaurants on Clearwater Beach and one in Dunedin. By far, Rockaway is the biggest tourist restaurant on the beach. It is located right on the beach and has a great view of the sunset. The Pub in Indian Shores has a nice deck to eat outside on and is a big favorite of boaters. They can tie up there and eat. I enjoy Gator’s on John’s Pass for an afternoon sandwich. You can sit there on the dock and watch the dolphins fish. They feature a heavy metal type music at night and the place can come a little unhinged.

MISC.
I find that I eat most often at Clear Sky on Clearwater Beach than anywhere else. I eat there at least once a week and often twice a week. The menu is more diverse than most of the smaller restaurants and it is all good. They have a second restaurant in Dunedin that has become a big favorite among locals and now they have just opened a third location in downtown Clearwater. I write a lot of my Clearwater Updates sitting in these three restaurants.
Another one of my most favorite places is the Café Alfresco on Main street in Dunedin and can recommend it for the whole family. If you like good sandwiches, I like to go to Rumbas on Gulf to Bay. I usually go there when the weather is good. They have a nice outdoors area and the inside is kind of small. My favorite Irish Pub is by far O’Keefe’s on FT. Harrison. The food is great and the menu is large. If you are here on St. Paddy’s day, it is a place to visit. There is a place in the Clearwater Marina that has a small menu, but the food is great. It is at the far end of the Marina and looks like a rundown shack, but the restaurant is all on warfs over the bay at the end of the marina. IT’s called the Bait House. If you come in off of a charter and get the charter crew to clean the fish, the Bait House will cook it for you. Anyone who tries this, I am interested in knowing how it came out.

A different kind of place is Ozona Blue in Ozona. They have a nice pool there and on a nice day you can swim and the servers will serve your meals and drinks poolside. Surrounded by yachts, It’s a little hard to find. It sits on the far side of the parking lot of the Ozona Marina.

MEXICAN
The area is not a strong hold of Mexican food, however it is improving. The restaurant that I like best is Los Mexicanos on Gulf Blvd in Indian Rocks Beach. You may not want to try it on a cold day, I don’t think they have any heat there. By the way, this is true of a lot of Florida establishments. A place I have enjoyed on Clearwater Beach is the Spotted Donkey, on the street side of the Hilton. Tequila’s on Fort Harrison St. has become popular for the downtown set. Their prices are reasonable.

ITALIAN

Cesare on Clearwater Beach is generally thought of as one of the best places in the area. I personally have never been there, they are only open at night as is Villa Gallace on Indian Rocks Beach. It is a favorite of several Phillie ball players. For a formal atmosphere, I prefer Alfano’s on FT. Harrison Road in Largo. A little less formal, I usually go to either Copogna’s Dugout, or Cristino’s. I really enjoy the pizza at Copogna’s.

BREAKFAST
There are a lot of places that do breakfast well. Most of the hotels do a breakfast buffet, but I like my eggs fried, over easy and those buffets feature scrambled. They are also more expensive. Lenny’s around the corner from the ballpark on the 19 service road is very popular and kind of down home. They call it a New Jersey diner whatever that is. You may have to wait there, especially on weekend mornings. Clear Sky is probably the most popular breakfast place on the beach. You may have to wait for a table. Their one in Dunedin is very popular and are known for their breakfast margaritas. There are diners on just about every corner and most are good. A couple of the “family restaurants that I personally prefer are the Venus Restaurant on West Bay Drive and the Home Plate in Dunedin.

DRINKING

I would be remiss if I did not mention the Palm Pavilion on Clearwater Beach. At least 5 times a week, I go to the beach and walk the length of it and back. It is two miles and usually takes me a good 40 minutes. When I am done, I am ready for a libation and retire to the ”Palm”. I spend two to three hours reading a good book and drink cokes, or discussing world shaking events while sitting along the rail. Oh, ok, I also evaluate bikinis. It is a top watering hole and they also have very good Floribean food. I think their Palm Burger is the best burger on the beach. They also hire two bands each day to provide live entertainment. What they really have is the best place to watch the sunset during happy hour. It is a complete unobstructed view.

A different kind of place is Jimmy’s Crow’s nest on top of the Pier 60 Hotel next to the Clearwater Marina. It is 8 floors up and has a great unobstructed view of Clearwater Bay. One note the wind can be in a hurry up there and a jacket might be wise. There are currently a slew of watering holes opening in the new hotels. They are mostly in the southern half of the island and I haven’t had a chance to try them out yet.

In addition, Clearwater is the home of the original Hooters restaurant. It is on Gulf to Bay on the East side of 19. I don’t care for their menu, but it is popular. There are others around the community. The college set usually gravitates towards Shepherd’s on Clearwater Beach. Boats come and anchor there. They often have things like wet T shirt and bikini contests there. Note: they also charge a cover charge to get in. The Brown Boxer has become very popular and has several locations. The one on Mandalay is the most popular.

This is just a short list. I am open to your favorites. Maybe you will find a new favorite for me. If you have a favorite place, feel free to jump in. Also, I will be happy to answer any questions, if I can.

[miker]

Les, thanks for these reports. As someone who only gets down there every other year or so they are invaluable. Lennys is my go to spot before the games. Any recommendations for the Madiera Beach area for restaurants?

[Les229]

Miker

It's been a while since I have been down that way. I mentioned Gators, but I only go there for lunch. They get a rougher crowd at night. When I lived down that way, I used to eat often at a place called "the Cave" and "The Friendly Fisherman" on the boardwalk at John's Pass. I like the food at Bubba Gump's in the parking garage on John's Pass. A little north of you I used to eat at a place called the Conch Republic a good bit, but haven't been there for a while. Probably the most popular place in that area is Caddy's down at Sunset Beach down on Treasure Island. I'm not sure I would take kids there at night. Hope this helps, but I haven't been down there lately

[Les229]

Lenny's is a good place and very popular among Phillies fans, but during spring training and on Sunday's year round, you usually have to wait for a table.

[miker]

Thanks!

[Les229]

FEBRUARY 13, 2018

I stopped down to the complex, to see what was going on. It was another nice, sunny day that got up to the low 80’s. The work out was a repeat of what all of these pre-report date sessions have been. They come out and long toss for a while, then the pitchers field come backers and throw to each of the bases and cover first base. The infielders take easy ground balls mostly hit right at them and the outfielders catch lollipop fly balls. After they do that, the hitters take lob batting practice and the pitchers throw from the hidden mounds. The number of players seems to have grown. There looks to be between 40 and 50 players out there now. I am hoping these workouts become more interesting starting on Wednesday.

For all of you guys who are concerned with that sort of thing, the truck from Philly has arrived and they showed pictures of it being unloaded on the local evening news. The city of Clearwater has the Phillies banners on the light posts around town. They seem to be sharing the posts with Winter, the dolphin with the mechanical tail that they made the two kids’ movies about.

The town is starting to fill up with tourists and the causeway has been bumper to bumper in the early afternoon. The restaurants are becoming more crowded and parking is becoming difficult to find after about 11:00 am.

[Les229]

KIDS ACTIVITIES
One of the posters who reads my Update has asked what besides the ball games and the beach is there for the young kids to do. I have to admit that I haven't thought much about kids activities since I retired. To start with, Busch Gardens is in Tampa. It is a Fairly popular amusement park. Of course, Orlando is not that far away and has several Amusement parks. They have made the state is world famous for that sort of thing.

One thing that is very popular for kids in Clearwater is the aquarium located on Island Estates. It is the home of the dolphin, Winter. Winter is the star of the two Dolphin Tale movies with Morgan Freeman. Those films were filmed on site there and on Clearwater Beach. People come from all over to see that dolphin. The facility is more a hospital and rehab center than an aquarium. They nurse all kinds of injured sea animals back to health and release them back into the Gulf. Tampa’s aquarium is a bigger and more complete, but not as well known.

Another thing that the kids up north may not have experienced are the boat rides out in the Gulf. Several boats in Clearwater Marina offer cruises of a couple of hours. One is a speed boat called Screamer and there is another that promises to site dolphins. Probably the most popular for kids is one shaped like a tall sailing ship of the colonial era and actually throws a children's party on the cruise. They even shoot off a cannon. There is also one for the whole family that goes out in the Gulf and serves a buffet lunch for the whole family.
This is about as much as I know, hope it helps. Feel free to jump in and offer up suggestions of activities that you know

Questions? Comments? Snide remarks?

[Les229]

FEBRUARY 14, 2018

Today is the first day that pitchers and catchers actually had to report. Like most first days, they were late coming out. They usually have a meeting and have an inspirational talk. I got there, as usual, about 10:00 am with no idea of what to expect with the new manager. It was a little chilly and overcast, but the weather man had said that the day was supposed to reach 80 degrees. The Phillies opened their concession and souvenir stands. Hot dogs and cheese burgers were $4.00. As I walked around I looked up at the scouts’ perch off of the first story roof of the minor league building. That used to be Dallas Green’s favorite spot to watch and evaluate the players on the fields. One thing different was that he wouldn’t be up there any more.

I got a copy of the full roster and counted 60 players that are supposed to come to camp. They list 31 pitchers, 5 catchers, 15 infielders and 9 outfielders. That is down a little from previous years. In addition, it looked as though they had some extra catchers. There are 33 coaches and managers. That seems a little high and when they finally took to the field, they seemed to be everywhere. It was good to meet up with some old friends who had been working there for at least 15 years. I never know how many are going to stop working. Mostly, they are retirees. Fortunately most of them are back this year.

The players actually came out at 11:00 am. This was really going to mess me up. I had made luncheon arrangements with some friends at French’y outpost in Dunedin and had to leave at about 11:40 am. Although Spectrum field did not open today, I understand the non pitchers that had come in early on their own(they aren’t due until next week) did their loosening exercise and then moved to the short field. They also took batting practice that we couldn’t see because they didn’t open the stadium. Someone said that the maintenance crew weren’t done working on it. I wasn’t that interested in what the non pitchers were doing, this first half week was really about the pitchers.

As I understand it, some of the pitchers did some throwing and some did only fielding. Unfortunately, I had to leave early and missed most of that. The plan is for the individual drills to be shorter and in smaller groups so that there is not so much standing around. They say the individual activities will be shorter and there will be more moving around. If that is true, then they are going to be harder to follow around the complex. One thing that did register with me, is that they don’t seem to be standing around in large groups as much.

At this point, I went on to my lunch. I don’t think that the lateness today is any indication that they will continue to start this late, they are always late on the first day. What really was different was they carried on later into the afternoon. We will have to wait and see how this plays out.

Question? Comments? Snide Remarks?

[zambonir]

Les, Kapler has said workouts are going to start at 11 this year. Part of the "sleep science."

Massages in, alarm clocks out at Phillies camp

[Les229]

FEBRUARY 15, 2018

We have another beautiful day where I am writing this on a restaurant patio. I understand that it may be a little chilly where you are and my sympathies go out to you, but not too much. The temperature is supposed to top out at about 80 degrees today and for that matter, at least another week. I am wearing my usual beach attire of cutoff shorts, T shirt, sandals and my Greek fisherman’s cap. I think I am going to order a surf and turf skewer and look out at the beach and the Gulf of Mexico.

Kapler is starting to mess me up. He is bringing the players out on the fields at about 11:00 am. That is about an hour later than any manager has in the 14 other years I have been attending these spring training activities. Where I always got out of camp by 11:30 am and started to head for the beach and lunch. Now it is 12:30. That leads to much heavier traffic over to the beach and some bumper to bumper inching along. That being said, it didn’t take too long today, so maybe it will work out.

Once again, they came out on the fields at 11 am. As usual, I got there about 10. Nothing happened that I could see for that first hour. Although all I could see was the red caps on the top of their heads. I did see that there were some fielders up on the short field. The short field is up by the front gate of the stadium and that is a hike from the lower fields. I didn’t walk up. While I was waiting for the players to come out, the PA played “Black Betty” and that livened me up. I got in a few Bam-a-lams myself.

Finally the pitchers and catchers came out and started to do their running and stretching drills. They followed this up with long toss. I am assuming that the position players went inside the stadium for batting practice. That’s what they did yesterday. When the pitchers and catchers finished, they broke into three drills. These are pretty much the same as yesterday. One group fielded comebackers and threw to each of the bases. A second group practiced pickoff moves at each of the bases. A third group practiced covering first on a groundball to the first baseman and a fourth group practiced bunting. While this was going on, there was a 5th group long tossing. In addition, there were pitchers throwing off of the hidden mounds and I don’t know how many were involved. It seemed like two groups and that would make 14, but I can’t be sure. When each group finished their drills, they rotated to a different field and did the drill assigned to that field.

See you tomorrow.

[Les229]

Thanks, I missed that. I wonder how the minor league guys are taking this. They usually come out as soon as the major leaguers are off the field. It didn't bother me much today, but from this point on, the traffic across to the beach builds. Well, there is only one more week of this and then the Phils move up to the stadium and the games start. Kapler should have checked with me before he made all these changes

[donaldorc]

We have another beautiful day where I am writing this on a restaurant patio. I understand that it may be a little chilly where you are and my sympathies go out to you, but not too much

It’s 73º here in Virginia where I sit and it’s 62º in Philly. Not too shabby for February.

[Les229]

Good to hear. We are supposed to have at least another week of 80+ temperatures coming. Before this current spell, it had been a cold winter. Since moving down here, I have become addicted to eating outside on patios and decks.