Once a baseball fan, always a fan

Rain in Philadelphia beat out our print deadlines this morning, with Game 3 of the World Series lasting well past midnight -- and the dang clocks didn't technically fall back until 2 a.m.

But that didn't stop the Yankees from claiming another win, and our sports desk made sure it was posted to Bradenton.com/sports/ immediately at 12:42 a.m.

And it didn't keep baseball out of the Bradenton Herald, either, as columnist Vin Mannix heralded the news that the Pittsburgh Pirates plan to buy Sarasota’s Florida State League affiliate. That will mean glorious nights all summer long under the lights at Bradenton's own McKechnie Field. Vin summed it up in his column: Outstanding.

The FSL makes the final decision Nov. 10, and you'll find the news first on Bradenton.com.

Meanwhile, Vin is rooting for his Phillies -- a lonely stance, it turns out, in the Herald's newsroom. There are far more Yankees fans (three??), but they can't be missed -- except when one of them takes a whirlwind trip to Yankees Stadium for a game. Page One Editor Jason Bartolone talked a Red Sox fan, Jennifer Rich, and a Mets fan, Brent Conklin, into covering for him so he could catch Game 2. After a lot of pronounced anguish, they relinquished -- and Jason flew into La Guardia Thursday morning and was back in the newsroom Friday night, a win under his belt.

Ya gotta love this game.

-- Joan