Mike Antonellis had to catch a plane back to Portland, so I'm filing his final Sea Dogs report from Spring Training.

Josh Beckett got the start today for the Sea Dogs against the New Britain Rock Cats, the Double-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. Beckett threw 47 pitches, 33 for strikes over four innings of work. He allowed one hit, a single by Rene Tosoni to lead off the fourth inning. Beckett recorded six strikeouts.

George Kottaras caught Beckett and clubbed a three run homer.

Sorry, I do not have a final score, Mike had to leave the ballpark early to catch his flight back to Portland. We'll try to post the result here when available.

Notes:
The Sea Dogs are due to arrive in Portland on Monday, March 31st.

Despite nearly 100 inches of snowfall this winter, Hadlock Field is clear and ready for the player's arrival.

The Home Opener is April 11th, tickets are available by calling the Sea Dogs Ticket Office at 207-879-9500 or online at www.seadogs.com

The Sea Dogs annual Welcome Dinner to benefit Youth Alternatives is SOLD OUT.

The Sea Dogs have a new bullpen for the 2008 season. The bullpen is located above the Sea Dogs clubhouse on the same level as the U.S. Cellular Pavilion walkway. It is believed to be the only elevated bullpen in Minor League Baseball. Additionally, the new location will once again allow fans the ability to see who is warming up in the bullpen. The last two seasons the bullpen was located underneath the right field seats.

Today is my final day watching the Red Sox minor leaguers prepare for the 2008 season. According to Redsox.com, Josh Beckett will pitch for the Sea Dogs in this afternoon's spring training game against New Britain.

I'll have an update later on.

Just talked with Portland Manager Arnie Beyeler and he had good news, the Sea Dogs beat Bowie, 3-2 at Baltimore's minor league complex in Sarasota. Scott White's sac-fly in the top of the ninth inning proved to be the game-winner. Zach Daeges added a home run and Dustin Richardson had an outstanding outing according to Arnie.

Today was probably the nicest day in South Florida since I arrived here in Sunday night. It's very interesting to here people in warm weather climates complain about the weather. It's weird to here the radio disc jockeys complain about mornings where it's only in the 50's.

The Sea Dogs played on the road today, I'll have an update from Arnie Beyeler later on. This afternoon, I watched some of the Single-A games the Red Sox Minor League complex. Kevin Boles (son of John Boles - former Marlins Manager) is managing Boston's Single-A Greenville club.

Portland and Pawtucket played at the Minnesota Twins complex on Tuesday afternoon in lovely Ft. Myers. The weather has been a "major" issue for the locals. Early this morning, it was only 55 degrees, deeming this a very cold stretch in South Florida. The high was 76 today - I think all of us on the east coast could take this in March.

The Rock Cats slipped by the Sea Dogs, 3-2 on Tuesday afternoon. Kris Johnson got the starting nod for Portland and worked five strong innings. Hunter Jones and Kyle Jackson also made appearances for the 'Dogs. Jeff Natale and John Otness had RBI base hits.

Nice way to start off a Tuesday morning - a Red Sox win! How about the former Sea Dogs making a difference in the opener. Jacoby Ellsbury with the sensational catch in the 8th, Brandon Moss with a homer in the 9th and Jonathan Papelbon closing it out.

This afternoon the Sea Dogs play the Rock Cats at the Twins facility. I'll have an update later on.

The Portland Sea Dogs continued their exhibition schedule on Monday, taking on the New Britain Rock Cats (Minnesota) at Boston's Minor League complex. Both the Twins and Red Sox facilities are located in Ft. Myers and they even play a lot at the minor league level. In fact, my hotel is closer to the Twins complex, giving the feeling of "Twin Nation" - obviously not to the extent of 'Sox fans.

It really pains me to tell everyone back home how warm it is here in Florida - but I'll do it anyway. Earlier this evening, I landed in Ft. Myers to begin my third spring training since joining the Sea Dogs in 2005. As the plane came to a stop, the pilot said “Welcome to Ft. Myers, it’s a beautiful 79 degrees.” It felt like Christmas morning when I finally got outside. There’s something to be said about the small pleasures in life – warm weather does wonders for our psyche.