Sunshine. Cool breeze. Cold beverage. Baseball.
Welcome to spring training, and as the Braves kick things off in North Port, Florida, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Chad Bishop is sharing his first experiences covering the team.
With thoughts from CoolToday Park to restaurants and hangouts, Bishop will provide a front-row seat to all the goings-on from his unique perspective.
Hello friends and greetings from Lee Health Sports Complex.
You know, there are pluses and minuses to day games vs. night games. Day games give you a night off, night games give you much of the morning and lunchtime off. Hence was the case Friday as the Braves were scheduled to face the Twins in Fort Myers with a 6 p.m. first pitch.
That allowed ample time to explore a bit of the area near the AJC rental house. I stumbled upon Cedar Point Environmental Park, an area with multiple walking trails with access to Lemon Bay.
With the Braves clubhouse not opening until 12:40 p.m. Friday, I had plenty of time to visit Que-Rico, a Columbian restuarant about 15 minutes down the road from CoolToday Park. Highly recommend this spot if you're in the mood for a little Latin flavor.
On Friday evening, I joined the Braves at Lee Health Sports Complex, spring training home of the Minnesota Twins. Another Grapefruit League venue worth a visit if you can make it.
Hello again!
On Thursday, the Braves traveled to Tampa, Florida, to face the Yankees at Steinbrenner Field.
No trip to Tampa, for me, is without a stop at Oxford Exchange — a book store, coffee shop, tea shop, restaurant and home good store all rolled into one. Being there Thursday afternoon served as a good pick-me-up as I was able to find a book ("Fireproof: Memoir of a Chef") on my ever-growing list and sip a cafe con leche.
From there it was off to Salt Shack, a seafood spot nestled on Old Tampa Bay. A half pound of cold peel-and-eat shrimp and a piece of golden tile blackened was on the menu for me.
I'm big on walks, especially in urban areas. I've found it's a good way to get to know a city and an area. So most evenings after a day's work at the ballpark is done I'm off on foot somewhere.
Tuesday I happened upon Stump Pass Beach State Park on the south end of Manasota Key. It was a frigid afternoon with some strong wind gusts, but worth the trip as the beach was full of seashells (and probably shark teeth).
Lo and behold, I found a massive conch shell. Turned out to be a horse conch, the official state shell of Florida and the former home of a predatory sea snail.
Get out there and explore my people!
Hello, friends!
The Braves took an hour trip north to face the Orioles in Sarasota, Florida, on Monday.
The Orioles play at Ed Smith Stadium, a really nice facility to hold spring training baseball games. Only problem with Monday's trip was the weather (I know, again, it's all relative). First pitch temperature was 57 degrees with wind gusts up to 25 mph.
But at least there was a dinner date for one at Columbia Restaurant, a Tampa institution with a location on St. Armands Key. You can't go wrong with the ropa vieja here — or really anything for that matter.
I. Am. Back.
After about four and a half days back at the homestead, I have returned from sunny and warm southwest Florida to re-mingle with the Braves. Saturday marked the beginning of games — exhibition games, but games nonetheless.
The Braves beat the Rays 5-1 at Charlotte Sports Park, home of the Rays. Mike Yastrzemski and Ben Gamel were the offensive stars.
Speing training games traditionally start at 1 p.m. leaving ample time to pick out a nice dinner spot. Saturday I ventured up to Venice and dined at Dockside Waterside Grill which happened to have some live music as well as an adjacent walk-up bar for those needing to wet their whistle before dinner.
Saturday for the Braves was the first of 10 straight days in which the team is scheduled to play a game — four of those games are road trips, so stay tuned for some more adventures through the Grapefruit League!
Well, the first week of spring training is in the books, and so is my first week here on the Florida coast. But have no fear. After a short hiatus back home, I'll return Friday ahead of the Braves' first game Saturday.
As for my final evening here, I happened upon the quaint town of Punta Gorda and the Fisherman's Village overlooking Charlotte Harbor. Really nice spot with a few dinner options and some live music. Worth the trip over the Peace River if you have the time.
That's all for now until the weekend. Thanks for reading!
Look, I am no way complaining about going to the beach. But hear me out.
Since arriving in southwest Florida on Monday I had yet to step foot in the sands on the Gulf of Mexico. Finally, on Friday, had a bit of a gap in the work to be able to do that. Mother Nature had other plans.
As I drove over Goldfish Creek and turned onto Beach Road to get to Manasota Key, I could see a large, grayish-white cloud hanging above the sea. Suddenly it was becoming very cold and misty and foggy.
When I parked and got out of my rental vehicle, the temperature had dropped considerably and the visibility extremely low. I forged ahead and took a walk on the beach, darnit, while the rest of the population folding up their beach chairs and collected their beach towels and ran for the hills.
I lasted about 30-45 minutes out there in conditions more fit for Scotland than Florida. Woe is me.
Anyhoo, if you happen down this way, hopefully you'll have better luck at the beach than me!
Greetings!
It's an overcast and foggy Friday here in Florida where the Braves have just wrapped up their fourth day of spring training. A lot of work to be done this morning after conversations with Chris Sale, Matt Olson and Alex Anthopoulos, but you can read about that stuff later.
If you happen to venture down this way, catch a sunset on Englewood Beach. Great spot, maybe between 5-7 p.m., to unwind. Then hop over to the SandBar Tiki and Grille for a cold beverage and live music. Much of the population down here isn't young but they sure do dance like it!
Hello, friends and fans (and foes possibly).
Coming live to you from the press box at CoolToday Park in North Port/Venice, Florida, where the Braves have completed their second day of spring training workouts, and where yours truly has just completed a second day of Braves coverage at spring training.
Pretty chill first 48 hours to be honest. Just a couple of possible season-ending injuries (to Spencer Schwellenbach and Joe Jimenez) and a kid trying out catcher for the first time in his life. Oh, and first-year manager Walt Weiss has nicknamed me "Bish"
— so there's that.
But that's the boring stuff!
What you came here for is the off-the-field goods! Like dining locations: Farlow's and Lock 'N Key (pictured below) so far. How to get here: I flew in to Sarasota and am jetting out of Fort Myers. And what else there is to do: I took a walk Tuesday evening at Amberjack Environmental Park, but it was meh.
I'll be updating my thrilling life and times as your humble Braves beat writer throughout spring training, so make sure to bookmark this spot and follow along on X as well.
Thanks for reading!
About the Author
