I know it's late (at least here it is)

Never did I imagine how difficult it would be to cover a winning team. Four years ago when I began on the Defenders beat, this was a franchise that made losing look natural. It found ways -- sometimes in the most uncommon and difficult manner -- to lose.

There was the bases load and no out situation two years ago, only to have the batter ground into a 1-2-3 double play before the next guy struck out.

That's what Connecticut Defenders baseball was, in a nutshell.

In a few hours the team will play in the first game of the Eastern League Championship -- amazing. For the baseball fan in Eastern Connecticut, these are the last two days of at least Double-A ball that will ever be played at Dodd Stadium. For those around when the team arrived, do you remember that excitement? This is no time for bitterness. No, this is the time to cherish everything that's left.

I for one, will take a walk around the stadium; have a few more conversations with players, staff and fans. I'll go into the little nooks that few know about and sit in the seat I sat in the first time at the park. After one more BP from on the field, I'll take a deep breathe and go to work.

What's important is that we -- the baseball fan, Defenders or otherwise, make sure we get our last respects in just in case.

Dodd Stadium may not be a mega-million dollar facility, but it is a place that many of us silently called home. Be it the familiar faces or the comfort baseball provides or the escape from everything else, we know there's an end in sight.

For once, the baseball gods didn't cancel September. We might as well enjoy these last two nights.