OMAHA–I took advantage of today’s second consecutive blowout to leave the press box for a few innings and soak in some of the color of the bleachers here at Rosenblatt Stadium. I took my notebook along and dug up some answers to a few burning questions.

With the wind howling out all weekend, we’ve seen some mammoth home runs already, but which one was the longest? According to various concessions workers I surveyed in the grill area behind the center-field hitter’s eye, Mississippi State’s Mitch Moreland and Louisville’s Chris Dominguez will have to share the honor. Moreland’s blast against North Carolina on Friday landed near a grate in the concourse to the right of the hitter’s eye. Dominguez’ first home run against the Bulldogs today landed about two feet shy of a grate located in the exact same spot on the left side of the hitter’s eye. If Moreland’s homer was longer, it was only by a foot or two–we’ll call it a draw. Louisville’s Logan Johnson also hit one that warrants consideration today, but it landed in the narrow gap between the hitter’s eye and the concourse.

I also learned that lots of things suck. The rowdy left-field bleacher dwellers didn’t hesitate to ride the “ball boys” who ran onto the field every time a beach ball landed on the warning track; they booed when someone bounced one of the beach balls too high and the wind carried it over the back of the stands; they booed when their attempts to start the wave were met with apathy by other sections; and they derided the right-field bleacher fans with chants of “right field sucks”. Right field was quick to answer with a “left field sucks” chant of its own, but after spending a couple of innings in right, I must admit that the left had a lot more enthusiasm. If only the same were true in the political arena . . . (Editor’s note: Aaron’s from Massachusetts.)