Holy crap, Savannah is beautiful. I’ve been here twice before, but maybe I was too young to fully appreciate it, or maybe the weather wasn’t quite this nice. Whatever the case, I had to drive a radius of the city to get to my hotel. It seemed like every house was architecturally interesting — from a wide varieties of styles and eras, too — and they’re all under a canopy of big old oak trees draped with Spanish moss. Gorgeous. I regret not taking photos, but I was driving.

I’m here at the ballpark — Historic Grayson Stadium, just 84 years young — perched in the “trailer in the sky” of a press box, as Toby Hyde describes it. The catwalk to get up here was just a tiny bit terrifying:

I spoke to the Sand Gnats’ manager, Pedro Lopez, and the Mets’ Minor League Field Coordinator Terry Collins. Segments of those conversations should be posted in a video for SNY.tv sometime after I get back and our video editors chop ’em up, but we talked a lot about expectations for this level, the need to balance results and development, and, of course, Wilmer Flores.

Lopez raved about Flores’ makeup, and said his two-strike approach is outstanding for a player his age. He said Flores needs reps, more than anything, defensively.

Collins stressed that there’s no rush to move Flores along, but expects he’ll advance at some point this summer. He said he’d like to see Flores be a little more patient at the plate.

Soon will be time to watch some South Atlantic League baseball. It’s a brilliant night for a ballgame, so I don’t expect I’ll stay in the press box long. Plus I want to chat up a few fans. Survey the scene and all. Also, that $3.50 Frito Pie has my name all over it.

Don’t tell me where I can’t sit!