Got Maalox?

If this season is anything like last, seat belts are going to have to be installed at Falcon Park.

As the 2006 Doubledays season gets under way, it's now OK to reflect on last year. I know, you can't look in the past, right? Just like you have to take it one game at a time, a walk's as good as a hit and (insert baseball cliche here).

Now's a perfect time to take a look back - just enough time has passed to let the emotions cool.

Plain and simple, the 2005

D-days were drama queens. They couldn't just win the Pinckney Division, they had to slip a game under .500 at the season's midpoint then go on a second-half tear.

They couldn't put teams away in the first inning, they had to wait until the bottom of the ninth - or in one case the bottom of the 22nd - to let the bats explode.

But no matter how they did it, the D-days found a way to win. And best of all, there was a different hero every night. Robert Ray and Adrian Martin combined on a no-no. Nick Thomas delivered a walk-off home run. Jermy Acey gunned out a runner at home. Ryan “Mr. Consistency” Patterson delivered on another three-hit, four RBI night.

“It was definitely a year of accomplishments, of achievement,” Doubledays manager Dennis Holmberg said. “There weren't many regular nine-inning ballgames. But players make those games. The dramatic walk-offs, the wins in the eighth and ninth innings - that's guys stepping up. Clubs like that just wouldn't give up. They just knew every game they were going to win.”

The D-days even got over the first-round hump, pummeling Oneonta in the playoffs to advance to the NY-P championship series.

The team's improvement was immeasurable, and not just in terms of play.

After a season-opening 3-1 loss to Batavia, the clubhouse stereo remained off but the players were still chatty. At that point, they had no loyalty to the name on their jersey. I mean, they'd only been in Auburn for five days.

But after a season-ending loss to Staten Island, everybody's dog was collectively run over at the same time. The clubhouse was somber, clouded by a melancholy fog that refused to disperse. It was as if each and every player had just received their pink slip from the Blue Jays.

At some point during the season, the goal switched. The players entered the season with hopes of a promotion and left with pain from not winning a championship. At some point - many pointed to a closed-door meeting on Aug. 2 - the name on the jersey started to mean something. The guy standing next to you, he wasn't just a teammate, he was a brother. The D-days came together as a team rather than 32 individuals each with separate big-league aspirations.

You see, the minors is an escalator. You can stand and enjoy the ride or you can climb while it's moving and risk pulling a hamstring. Well, something like that. I guess I should have asked Dennis for a better analogy.

Nonetheless, the 2005 D-days left us with as many fond memories as they did themselves. Everybody knew it was a special season and no one could explain it. Nobody wanted to. It was much more fun to sit back and enjoy the ride.

So now that we can look back at last season unbiased, it's officially ruled a success. Another trophy was added to the case and another team captured the hearts of the Auburn faithful. If Holmberg's track record remains steady, another title run is in store. Let's just hope the wins come a little bit easier this year. Our stomachs could use the rest.