I wandered by Gesa Stadium today to chat with Dust Devils VP and GM Derrell Ebert for a story on stadium improvements. He showed me around, and I was truly impressed with the new field-level seating down the first- and third-base lines.

You will be, too. And when you get right down to it, the $600 price tag is pretty reasonable when you break it down, especially considering you get to peek into the dugouts and sit right behind the first- and third-base coaches.

After I talked with Derrell, I went over to visit with Paula Ward, the seamstress extraordinaire for the Dust Devils, Americans, Fever and Kennewick Lions. She gave me a sneak peak at the new navy blue Dust Devils batting practice jerseys, which will replace the old gold ones. I have to admit, they're pretty sharp.

One thing that amazed me, though, was how empty the clubhouse was. The players won't check in until tomorrow, so they hadn't packed anything into their lockers. It was the first time I'd been in there without players chattering and filing through the cramped spaces or the showers steaming up the place with towels strewn about.

That will certainly change tomorrow, when the team has its first workout at 1 p.m.

Enjoy the silence, Paula. It won't last long.

Welcome to the new season.