Sounds manager Rick Sweet on game-day routines

A look at baseball strategy and current events from the viewpoint of Sounds manager Rick Sweet…

Topic: Explain your routine during home game days.

Sweet says: "Well, I get up in the morning and usually the first thing I do is get my coffee rolling.

"I start looking at lineups, I start looking at matchups and I start looking at what I want to do for the day. If it's a 7 o'clock game — a regular, normal day — I get up around 8 o'clock ... I don't go to bed until (around) 2 a.m., so basically, I get four or five hours of sleep at night.

"I get up and start looking over stats — numbers and preparing what I want to do for the day — (so) I have a pretty good idea of who I'm going to play and what we're going to see ahead of time, and then I put a lineup together. ...

"Usually, I come to the ballpark at about 11 a.m. to 12 o'clock every day. I get here and that's when the stats start coming in, and I can check updated stats and look at the league and where we stand.

"We go outside and we usually start (batting practice and preparation) at 1:30 p.m. or 2 o'clock for a 7 o'clock start. I watch (everyone) just to see what's going on, and I talk with the (players) that I need to talk to (in order to) prepare for the game. ...

"The easiest part of my day is the game."