Day 5

6:16 p.m. Friday

I'm used to not having much of a social life on Friday nights -- 7:05 Patriots games, high school football and girls basketball -- but tonight is going to give new meaning to locking myself in my room.
Did I mention I hate 1 p.m. spring training start times? They ruin the whole day. The games don't end until 4 p.m. and by the time you are done interviewing, you don't get back to the hotel until 5.
That doesn't leave me a whole lot of time to write a notebook, feature and special section stuff. Plus, at some point I want to eat dinner.
I'm thinking Tour of Italy take-out from Olive Garden. The perfect trio. Plus, I'll never go on a real tour of Italy, so at least this way I sound fancy. I am 75 percent Italian, however. If you didn't know, you can probably tell from the marina stain on the shorts I'm wearing now.

Most of the Patriots front office staff arrived today. It's like a big family reunion in the hotel lobby. Handshakes, kisses and small talk galore. Team dinner at a steakhouse tomorrow night.

For those baseball lovers like myself, big news today. The Patriots won 14-6 against Long Island. The Ducks played without Edgardo Alfonso, but it would not have mattered the way the Pats were swinging the bat. Three home runs, enough hits that I lost count and some good pitching. Former Immaculata standout Casey Cahill threw a scoreless inning and right-hander Chris Rojas threw the first three innings and got the win, allowing one run.

The team added former major leaguers Jose Morban and Jeff Tam on Friday. Morban can play almost anywhere and Tam is a short reliever. The bullpen is already crowded, but Tam's veteran smarts are a welcome addition. As for Morban, it is unclear where he fits into the puzzle. He certainly is good enough to play every day, but the Patriots already have nine regulars. For more on this dilemma, check out Saturday's paper.

Back to work. This was my break time. Don't feel bad for me though. It's 80 and sunny hear and I have the option of working by the pool and getting a tan or working in the air conditioned lobby. Not exactly Sophie's Choice.