Minor League Dugout

Back for Opening Day 2009

2009-04-09T16:55:00.006-05:00

Baseball finally returned on Sunday. Minor League ball returns tonight.

The Dugout is at Roger Dean Stadium, which frequent readers know is the home of the Class A Palm Beach Cardinals and the Jupiter Hammerheads, both members of the Florida State League. The photo shows the Cardinals taking BP, while the Hammerheads loosen up.

It's been a little quiet on the main site, and for that we apologize. The Dugout spent much of the last two months covering spring training for the Associated Press - which was great, but left little time to devote to the minors. These last few days have been catch-up mode. Not quite midseason form, but getting there.

For those of you accustomed to reading about the fun side of minor league baseball on this blog and our site, MinorLeagueDugout.com, welcome back. To those of you new to the site, welcome, too. We hope you enjoy what you see in these pages and continue to return to the blog and site.

And, as always, we welcome your ideas for stories or even general site improvements.

Baseball is back, baby. Lets have fun.

Is Newark's folding an omen for the Atlantic League?

2008-10-25T22:34:00.001-05:00

As the Philadelphia Phillies go for their first world championship in more than a quarter century, there is some big news coming from a minor league based in the northeast.

News out of this week’s Atlantic League winter meetings is that the Newark Bears have folded. Friend of The Dugout Mike Ashmore is all over this story on his Atlantic League blog.

Newark made national news early in their existence by signing the likes of Rickey Henderson and Jose Canseco. The Bears have been far less flashy of late and apparently that has not helped.
The Bears informed their employees on Friday that it was their last day of work. Newark is the second Atlantic League club to have offseason issues. League president Frank Boulton had to purchase the Bridgeport club a few weeks back.

Ashmore notes that half of the Atlantic League clubs failed to turn a profit this season, which obviously has league officials worried. The Camden Riversharks, who play their home games across the river from the Phillies, have yet to be able to create a consistent fan base. Will they be next?

The good news for the Atlantic League is that their newer clubs in Lancaster, York and Southern Maryland appear to be doing well. Earlier this season AL commissioner Joe Klein optimistically talked about doubling the size of the eight-team league in the coming years. With the economy seemingly on a downturn, Klein’s hopes may have been too grand.

It is unclear as of now whether the Atlantic League will try to find another owner for a Newark club, or will perhaps have to bring back the homeless Road Warriors for another season.

For the past decade the Atlantic League has served as model for other independent leagues to follow. They’ve lost teams (Nashua and Atlantic City) before and continued to grow. Hopefully this simply serves as another small bump in the road, but for fans of independent baseball this certainly bears watching.

Mulligan explains the singing bullpen

2008-09-05T18:08:00.003-05:00

JUPITER, Fla. – The deciding game in the Florida State League's three-game East Division playoffs is less than an hour away. It will start on time, a feat which a few hours ago seemed as likely as Michael Phelps drowning.

Phelps, in fact, could have used those Aquaman skills around these parts. Tropical Storm Hanna brushed the coast, dropping as much as six inches of rain in the area. The fact that they are even considering playing this game, let alone starting it on time, only further elevates the Roger Dean Stadium grounds crew to the top of the food chain. No other FSL ballpark could have experienced these last 20 hours of rain and still considered playing.

Palm Beach hosts Daytona tonight to decide who advances to face Fort Myers for the FSL title.

The Dugout caught up with Cardinals reliever Casey Mulligan (photo) a little while ago. He’s the self-appointed ringleader of the Cardinals bullpen. That’s the same crew that sang the National Anthem before their ballgame last week.

Like many bullpens, the Cardinals keep a list of rules that all players must adhere to or risk being banished to the dugout. One of those is that everyone must sing along to the National Anthem.

“I thought we did pretty good,” Mulligan said of the bullpen’s first performance in front of a crowd. “We kept it low. We didn’t struggle at all.”

Even the non-American natives got into the act.

“Our closer, (Francisco) Samuel , he knows all the words now,” Mulligan laughed. “He’s getting much better. We taught him well.”

Mulligan volunteered the bullpen as Anthem singers again, but that seems unlikely now that the playoffs have started. That’s a shame, considering the response the bullpen’s version received from the Roger Dean front office.

“They said they’ve heard a lot worse out of the Anthem singers we hear every day,” Mulligan said.

Daytona proves winning isn't everything

2008-08-31T17:58:00.002-05:00

Daytona defeated Jupiter moments ago to claim the Florida State League East Division second-half crown. The Cubs took the title despite failing to win the most games in their division.

Jupiter can make that claim, and the Hammerheads can load that hollow victory into their duffle bags as they depart for their off-season hometowns in the coming days.

Tropical Storm Fay and the afternoon thunderstorms that followed washed away Daytona’s entire series in Vero Beach and all but one game in St. Lucie two weeks ago. Those rainouts can’t be made up and as a result the Cubs played only nine games since August 18.

Sunday’s season finale was only Daytona’s 62nd of the half. Jupiter, by contrast, played 69.

FSL rules dictate that when teams don’t play an equal number of games, the team with the best winning percentage wins the title. That’s Daytona. It’s not a great rule, but there is really no other way to handle it, especially in South Florida where it rains almost every day.

Daytona’s title-clinching game actually began on Saturday. It had to be suspended in the bottom of the fifth with Daytona leading 9-1 when winds from one of those powerful South Florida storms prevented the grounds crew from deploying the tarp.

The game restarted today as part of a doubleheader. Daytona ultimately won the title, but had to wait for the champagne until the completion of the second game. Manager Jody Davis' post-game high fives (photo) was pretty much the extent of the inital celebration.

“We’ve got it for after the second game,” said Ty Wright between games. “I can’t wait for that. Hopefully this next game goes by fast.”

That three-hour bus ride back to Daytona should be interesting…

Palm Beach bullpen converts National Anthem

2008-08-27T18:45:00.005-05:00

Palm Beach pitcher Casey Mulligan likely won't remember much from the uneventful seventh inning he threw in the Cardinals 9-1 victory over St. Lucie in the first game of Wednesday's doubleheader.

The National Anthem, however, might be something Mulligan tells his grandchildren about.

Mulligan, along with the entire Palm Beach bullpen, stepped to the microphone behind home plate and sang the National Anthem. Lisa Fegley, Roger Dean Stadium’s director of promotions, shot the above video.

It’s unlikely these guys are going to win a Grammy, but they could become Youtube celebrities.

Music critics will point out that some of the harmonies were a smidge off. There were a few notes that, perhaps, shouldn’t have been there. Who cares?

This was the best rendition of the Nation Anthem The Dugout has ever seen. Watching overblown karaoke singers try to have their American Idol moment before every baseball game is like watching a child try to impress its parents with Picasso-like art skill by drawing on a wall – no matter how good it is, they still deserve a whipping.

Listening to famous stars put “their touch” on the Anthem is worse (Except for Carl Lewis – that is the gold standard.)

The Cardinals had apparently been asking to sing the Anthem for a few weeks. Management was hesitant, fearing the Cardinals might try to have a little too much fun.

Those fears were unfounded. The Cardinals were magnificent. Could this start a trend? It wouldn’t be a bad thing?

Kudos guys.

Captains tattoo you; Kost gets fired up

2008-08-26T22:59:00.003-05:00

As part of their 80s Hair Band Tribute, which captured the August 21 Promotion of the Day on the main site, the Lake County Captains offered free tattoos of their logo for any fan willing to be pricked hundreds of times with dye-imparting needles.

Five fans actually took the Captains up on their offer.

Other clubs have held similar promotions – Daytona and Brevard County come to mind – and they took it a step further by providing season tickets for life to any fan that got the tattoo. Lake County didn’t make that offer, which is their prerogative, but perhaps they should have.

Buck Rogers, who started the program in Daytona and continued it when he moved to Brevard, figured that anyone willing to provide free advertising for life deserved free admission to all games.

Still, the fact that five Captains’ fans were willing to put a logo on their body functions as a pretty good marketing move. Lake County was kind enough to send the above photo showing one of the tattoos.

Shout it from a mountain top: The Harlingen Whitewings of the United League apparently fired general manager Dave Kost this week. In an odd turn, Kost decided to let the rest of the baseball world know he was now a free agent by issuing a press release about his removal.

Kost seemed like a good enough guy when he offered free admission to WhiteWings’ games to all affected by a Hurricane Dolly earlier this season. This release, though, may go a long way to reinforcing Harlingen ownership’s decision to let him go.

The email Kost distributed is below, followed by the release he wrote. You be the judge:

Gentlemen,

It has been brought to my attention that the current leadership of the Harlingen WhiteWings and United League ownership has decided to not make a formal announcement of my termination on Thursday, July 14, 2008, because they said it doesn't benefit anyone to make the announcement.

I have been in baseball for over 20 years and my reputation is untarnished and I prefer it stay that way therefore, I am releasing the following document for your eyes and would very much appreciate you releasing through the means available to you. It is extremely important to me that the baseball community fully understand that I in fact was relieved of my duties and did not resign. It is fear that the United League may eventually release this transaction as a resignation on my behalf and that couldn't be further from the truth.

Below is my offical release on this matter for your use as you see fit. Thank you.

PRESS RELEASE

8/26/2008 6:56 PM

Kost Fired as General Manager of WhiteWings

Harlingen, TX – The Harlingen WhiteWings Baseball Club relieved Dave Kost of his General Managerial duties on Thursday, July 14th.

When Kost was announced as the new General Manager of the Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings back in October of 2007, he made it very clear that his mission was to change the overall attitude about WhiteWings’ baseball in Harlingen, surrounding communities, and the Rio Grande Valley. It was very obvious that Kost meant business by changing with team name from Rio Grande Valley to Harlingen which included team logo, color, and uniform changes. “It made sense to make those changes then and it appeared to work because we had a lot of fans visit the clubhouse store this year to buy their favorite team apparel”, Dave Kost said.

Despite the fact that the WhiteWings were the worst team, on the field, this year in the United League finishing the 2008 campaign with a record of 20-62, which included the cancellation of the final 3 regular season games in Amarillo, fans seemed to buy into this new attitude created by the WhiteWings front office under the direction of Kost. Part of the mission statement included providing the community with affordable family entertainment and with attendance much higher than last year, fans certainly agreed. “Since day one of my tenure I made it known that our goal was to get families back to the ballpark by providing affordable family entertainment and we enjoyed seeing our hard work payoff”, Dave Kost said. “We were experiencing great crowds right up until Hurricane Dolly changed the landscape of the valley and particularly Harlingen”, added Kost. “Attendance was light for the 3-4 days after that but picked up nicely for the remaining home games”.

So to recap, a new name, new logo, new uniforms, new attitude, new General Manager, and higher attendance creates the mystery of why would you fire the person who created a successful trend. “Of course I was given a reason as to why I was relieved of my duties and it’s important for me to have people understand that it had nothing to do with nothing, in terms of the explanation I was given by ownership”, Kost said. “Several issues remain unresolved regarding my contract but I am more concerned that our fan base, season ticket holders, and community know that I was fired and I did not resign”, Kost said. “I made a commitment to turn this organization around and we were well on our way to doing that so I don’t want anyone to think, for a second, that I bailed on this project because that couldn’t be further from the truth”, Kost added.

“I want to take this opportunity to personally thank our fans, vendors, season tickets, City of Harlingen, and the entire community for their outstanding commitment to the WhiteWings during my tenure”, Kost said.

The pie is big, Fay may be bigger

2008-08-20T21:18:00.002-05:00

Let’s start with the photo. The Lancaster Barnstormers grabbed the August 8 Promotion of the Day honors on the main site with their Salute to the Whoopie Pie. As part of that special night, one of the local bakeries pledged to create a 150-pound version of the pie.

The photo shows the giant whoopie pie as it was displayed at the ballpark. While it’s big, The Dugout isn’t quite sure it reached the stated weight goal – that cake would have to be awfully dense. Still, it is impressive.

Kids and staffers must have enjoyed that post-game treat.

All day Fay: Tropical Storm Fay simply won’t go away from Florida. The Florida State League postponed or canceled most Monday games because of the storm. A well-timed off day kept the league from losing any games on Tuesday, but the storm stalled halfway up the state on Wednesday, washing out a couple more games.

Jupiter’s scheduled doubleheader started an hour and a half late, but the skies are nearly clean now so there’s reason to believe both games will be played. Major kudos go out to the grounds crew, which pulled the tarp at least five times Wednesday afternoon and made a soggy infield and warning track playable.

The FSL always has its share of rainouts – especially in August. The addition of Fay on top of the wetter-than-normal summer will make for difficult schedules the rest of the way.

With this doubleheader out of the way, Jupiter is the lone contender for the East Division crown to have only one doubleheader remaining. That’s against Daytona, who entered Wednesday tied with the Hammerheads, on the final weekend of the season. The Cubbies will play at least two more doubleheaders, and that’s if they can get back on the field tomorrow at Vero Beach. The town of Port St. Lucie is still underwater. Schools have already been shut down for the rest of the week. The Mets say they will play on Thursday, but that field doesn’t drain well.

The schedule isn’t any better for Palm Beach. The East Division’s first half winner will enter the playoffs after playing five games on the final three days of the season. How’d you like to set that rotation?

Woodstock's rain extends past Brockton

2008-08-17T22:50:00.002-05:00

Brockton started its weekend-long ode to Woodstock off properly – with a thunderstorm. It came on so quickly that the staff was unable to completely cover the infield. Friday’s series opener against Worcester couldn’t be played. The teams split a doubleheader on Saturday before Brockton claimed the series with a victory on Sunday.

The Rox wore special uniforms in honor of Woodstock Weekend. The uniform design is located in the above photo. Brockton auctioned those game-worn unis to its fans.

FSL double time: August afternoon thunderstorms occur almost as frequently as sunrises in Florida, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t raining chaos into the Florida State League schedule. With Tropical Storm Fay ready to turn toward the Florida peninsula, life may get even wetter.

That shouldn’t have too much of an effect on the West Division, where Dunedin holds a 10-game lead with two weeks remaining in the regular season. That’s not the case in the East.

Jupiter, which leads the East by one game, already has two doubleheaders left on its schedule. One of those is against second-place Daytona during the season’s final weekend – the only two-gamer currently on the Cubbies’ schedule.

Third place St. Lucie, which enters Monday 2 ½ out of first, completes a stretch of four doubleheaders in seven days on Wednesday. If history is any indicator, all teams should have at least one additional rain-aided doubleheader added to its schedule before the end of the season.

Free delivery: St. Paul’s Extra, Extra… promo didn’t grab Promotion of the Day honors on the main site, but it still deserves a little recognition. Apparently the Saints public address announcer has gone weeks without picking up his paper from the curb. He’ll bring all of them to the ballpark on Monday as a prize for one lucky fan. He’ll also be doing a crossword puzzle throughout the ballgame.

Several famous newspaper comic characters like Superman and Dennis the Menace will be at the ballpark. The highlight, though, may be the Saints take on Dear Abby, where one of their staff members will give advice on how to deal with some uncommon problems.

Miracle want to help Ohio St. win

2008-08-13T20:20:00.003-05:00

Each spring the folks at Fort Myers entertain a class from nearby Florida Gulf Coast University to talk about the business side of minor league ball. During this season’s meeting one student, who hails from Michigan, sarcastically suggested that the Miracle hold a night where Ohio State, losers of the last two NCAA football championship games, is finally allowed to celebrate a victory.

The Fort Myers area is loaded with transplants from Michigan and Ohio, so the Miracle decided it was worth a shot. Thursday is “It’s a Miracle: Ohio State Finally Wins” night in Fort Myers.

In theory, Fort Myers is going to rig every between-inning contest so that a representative wearing OSU clothing will win. Beware, though. At least one Miracle staffer doubts that even with the advantage the OSU rep will be able to pull off the victory.

Fans dressed in college gear will be automatically eligible to win tickets to various college contests, including this season’s Ohio St. vs. Michigan football game.

The Dugout heartily approves of poking a little fun at universities that take themselves so seriously, but should the Wolverines really be the ones giving the first nudge? After all, at least OSU made it that far.

Jammers a hit: As mentioned in yesterday’s entry, Jamestown stacked a couple of pretty nice promos together last week. Their “Salute to 1-Hit Wonders” on Friday Night just missed out on the Promotion of the Day. They did compile a pretty good list of 1-hitters and were kind enough to send them along. Enjoy:

One Hit Wonder Songs:

1. “Who Let the Dogs Out” –Baha Men
2. “The Safety Dance” – Men Without Hats
3. “Groove is in the Heart” –Deee-Lite
4. “Mmm..mmm…mmm…mmm”- Crash Test Dummies
5. “It’s Raining Men”- The Weather Girls
6. “Video Killed the Radio Star” – Buggles
7. “Turning Japanese” – The Vapors
8. “Mambo No. 5” – Lou Bega
9. “My Sharona” – The Knack
10. “Louie, Louie” – The Kingsmen
11. “The Final Countdown” – Europe
12. “How Bizarre” – OMC
13. “Just A Friend” – Biz Markie
14. “Ice Ice Baby” – Vanilla Ice
15. “And I Ran” – Flock of Seagulls
16. “Cars” – Gary Numan
17. “Funkytown” – Lipps, Inc.
18. “Whip It” – Devo
19. “Tainted Love” – Soft Cell
20. “Jump Jump” – Kris Kross
21. “What Is Love” – Haddaway
22. “Come on Eileen” – Dexy’s Midnight Runners
23. “I Wanna Be Rich” – Calloway
24-30.The Kazaam Soundtrack
31. “Achy Breaky Heart” – Billy Ray Cyrus
32. “Life is a Highway” – Tom Cochrane
33. “I’m Too Sexy” – Right Said Fred
34. “Jump Around” – House of Pain
35. “Whoomp There it is” – Tag Team
36. “Total Eclipse of the Heart” – Nicki French
37. “Breakfast at Tiffanys” – Deep Blue Something
38. “Cotton-Eyed Joe” – Rednex
39. “I Wish” – Skee-Lo
40. “Macarena” – Los Del Rio
41. “Absolutely” – Nine Days
42. “Back Here” – BBMak
43. “Days Go By” – Dirty Vegas
44. “Heaven” DJ Sammy
45. “All the Things She Said” t.AT.u
46. “Girls of Summer” – LFO
47. “Why Can’t I” – Liz Phair
48. “The Reason” – Hoobastank
49. “Everytime We Touch” – Cascada
50. “Bad Day” – Daniel Powder

Salute to One-Hit Wonder Celebrities, Athletes, etc.

Ronald Murray, Seattle Sonics
Richard Hatch from Survivor
William Hung from American Idol
Ryan Leaf
Doug Williams from Washington Redskins
Brian Bosworth
Timmy Smith, all-time Super Bowl rushing record then disappears
2007 1-win Miami Dolphins
Mark FidrychGeorge Mason Patriots

Kane County and Jamestown receive their due

2008-08-12T21:00:00.002-05:00

There has been an error in The Dugout. Several clubs held some pretty good promotions over the past couple of weeks. They weren’t the Promotion of the Day, but they still deserved notice.

Kane County was kind enough to send this photo of its attempt to break the world’s record for the largest pillow fight. The Cougars gave away 1,000 pillows in an attempt to get 4,000 fans on the field to fight. Though they didn’t quite reach their goal – 3,872 took the field to batter each other with sleep aids – they did break the existing record by more than 100 people.

Of course the folks at Guinness still have to ratify the record, but it appears the Cougars have a sufficient amount of photos and video to back up their claim.

Kane County actually tried to break this record last season, but came up about 600 participants short. Congrats to the Cougars for sticking with the idea and pulling it off. It’s a record that should stand – at least until next season.

Jammin’ Jammers: Jamestown had two great promos last week, but both happened to land on a day where some other club offered something a little more brilliant. Still, the Jammers deserve their props.

Lancaster’s Salute to the Whoopie Pie barely edged Jamestown’s Night of 42 Promotions last Wednesday. The Jammers posted 42 wins in their best season ever. To celebrate the number, the Jammers’ staff came up with a promotion for each win. Below is a list of the promos.

Two nights later the Jammers saluted 1-Hit Wonders, but more on that in the next entry. For now enjoy the 42 promos.

1. Answer some fun and exciting trivia and win a small prize that will last forever!
2. Through out the game so you do not forget the stats or your favorite players, we will be giving away colorful post-it notes!!!
3. Free Bubba Hugs (mascot)
4. 42 people will Learn the Robot Dance with Bubba!
5. Receive 100 of this special prize and you will have a $1.00 aka Penny Giveaway!
6. Number 1 music hits from around the world on the PA all night long
7. Meet the wonderful Jamestown Jammers staff of 2008!!!
8. Attempt to start the largest Wave in Chautauqua County history
9. Join in while we do the Macarena
10. Bull-pen player name game
11. You have been wondering? Ask the GM one question of your choice!
12. Salute to the chia pet
13. Watch your Jamestown Jammers interns take on one another in the Intern Olympics
14. 42 bugle calls
15. 15% of a non-sale item in the Gift Shop
16. Salute to the Yodel
17. Jammers Card set toss into crowd
18. Electric Slide on the field
19. Look out for flying peanuts! Catch them if you can!
20. Wrestling theme music
21. Tribute to 42nd President Bill Clinton
22. Pay tribute to your hometown girl by doing I Love Lucy impressions!
23. J-E-L-L-O toss on-field
24. Kids bring your muscles to join in on a tug of war challenge
25. Test your running skills by running in backwards clothes
26. Anyone who throws 42 at Speed Pitch wins a prize!
27. Water balloon toss
28. Salute to our manager, Darin Everson
29. Salute to baseball caps
30. Meet the grounds crew
31. Meet outfielder Ray White
32. Moment of silence for our troops
33. Come to the game with your blue tooth and win a small prize
34. Salute to the Eggplant
35. Free high fives
36. Spend a fun filled inning with Bubba!
37. Jr. PA Announcers
38. Free T-shirt toss
39. Salute to Boy Bands
40. Salute to the 42nd state, Washington
41. Free stadium tours

42. Free pocket schedules

The passing of Buck Kinnaird

2008-08-07T13:46:00.003-05:00

The normal press box jocularity and (somewhat) witty banter ended abruptly during last night’s game at Roger Dean Stadium when the staff learned of the passing of Buck Kinnaird.

Buck was a fixture at the ballpark, operating the scoreboard and acting as its ambassador since RDS opened more than 11 years ago. Before that he was one of the most recognizable sports personalities in Palm Beach County. A longtime sportscaster for the local NBC affiliate, at one time Buck was also the spring training public address announcer for the New York Yankees. He died in his home of heart problems.

It didn’t take any effort to like Buck. He always seemed to be in a good mood, smiling even when criticizing decisions or policies worthy of criticism. Upon meeting a new person, Buck immediately considered them a friend.

His love of sport – particularly baseball – was never challenged. Buck's father owned part of a minor league team, the Clarksburg Generals. When the Cardinals moved their High A team to Jupiter to share RDS with the Jupiter Hammerheads, Buck attended all 140 games at RDS.

There are many at RDS who were lucky enough to know Buck far longer than I did. What was truly amazing was that even in his 80s, Buck got along just as well with the 20-something interns as he did with the older media, press box workers and baseball men. The Grandfather of Roger Dean Stadium treated all warmly and with respect. He had a story for every occasion.

Buck’s memorial service will be held at Roger Dean Stadium on Monday at 10 a.m. RDS would do well to rename its press box Buck’s Box at that time.

I’m not a believer in ghosts, but if they do exist, RDS would be graced to have Buck back in the ballpark – if only for a few innings.

Here is Palm Beach Post columnist Dave George's tribute to Buck

Yankee Stadium wrecking ball, meet racing sushi

2008-08-02T20:14:00.007-05:00

Brockton claimed today’s Promotion of the Day honors on MinorLeagueDugout.com for its unique remembrance of Yankee Stadium. For those who missed it here’s the write-up as it appeared on the site:

Yankee Stadium Wrecking Ball Giveaway – Brockton Rox

Saturday, August 2, 2008
Not everyone is getting all misty over Yankee Stadium’s last
season. Some, like the folks in Brockton (Mass.), can’t wait. In anticipation of
the stadium’s razing, the Can-Am League’s Rox are giving away miniature replicas
of the old ballpark that features a crane parked in the infield swinging a
wrecking ball. Will more than 50 percent of those giveaways make it home
intact?

There isn’t room allotted on the site for photos that accompany the Promo of the Day, but there is plenty of room here. As you probably already guessed, that top photo is a picture of the giveaway, courtesy of Bailey in Brockton.

Also heard from a friend north of the boarder, where they are apparently turning Japanese. Instead of racing sausages, presidents or even a pork roll, egg and cheese, Vancouver has chosen to race raw fish.

There is apparently a growing population of Japanese in Vancouver and they appreciate a race between Mr. Kappa Maki, Ms. BC Roll and Chef Wasabi. The running gag is that Chef Wasabi never wins, and you can see why in the video below.

Brandon Moss, friend of The Dugout, becomes a Pirate

2008-08-01T20:53:00.005-05:00

Sure, Boston traded Manny for being Manny and the White Sox got older by adding Junior. Brandon Moss, however, is the player involved in yesterday’s deadline deals that means the most to The Dugout.

Moss spent most of 2004, his third year as a professional, with the Augusta GreenJackets. Prior to one of their games that summer, Moss and then teammate Brett Bonvechio, who began this season with Camden of the Atlantic League, sat on the bleachers with The Dugout and offered the following story, which ended being published in The Funniest Thing I’ve Ever Seen: More than 100 crazy stories from minor league baseball.

Enjoy.

Jamming Up Jammer
Playing for the Augusta GreenJackets is almost a home-field
advantage for outfielder Brandon Moss. The 20-year old grew up in
Monroe, Georgia, about an hour and a half drive from Augusta.
Moss compares his teammates to family: “It’s like having 25
brothers all together. Everybody makes fun of everyone.”
He also experiences the comfort of having his biological family and
hometown friends visit and watch him play.

For a high school draftee especially, playing close to home makes
for a smoother transition into professional baseball. Moss is able to
concentrate more on baseball because he is operating in familiar
surroundings.

As much as Moss enjoys playing close to home, he actually prefers
being on the road.

“We don’t have to spend our own money – we get meal money,”
Moss said. “I like playing in different parks. I like sleeping in hotels
better than our apartment because [hotels] get cable for free.”

Moss also looks forward to seeing the fans in different baseball
towns and especially likes getting booed by them. He’s interested to
hear original criticisms because, he says, it makes him laugh.

One sure fire way to incite a home crowd is to take on the home
team’s mascot. That’s what Moss did one night while playing against
the Jamestown Jammers of the New York/Penn League.

Brandon Moss: Remember when Randal Simon hit that
[Milwaukee Brewer’s sausage] mascot last year? All that
controversy was going on.

During the fifth inning the mascot always ran around the bases.
[The mascot] was a dog, because they are the Jammers and they
had a dog for some reason. I don’t understand why.

He was running around the bases and I tackled him on the
ground and started hitting him and all that stuff. It was great. The
general manager for the other team and I were the only one’s who
knew [what was going on]. I wasn’t supposed to be hitting him, but I
was trying to get the crowd to go wild. I got in a lot of trouble with
the fans on that one. The whole time they thought I was just doing it
to be a showboat, but I wasn’t. I was told to do it.

Barr twins share American Association airwaves, Meola attempts 48-hour broadcast

2008-07-29T22:18:00.004-05:00

Eyes open or closed, fans that listening to Grand Prairie's American Association game against El Paso on July 23rd heard double.

Alan Barr, voice of the AirHogs, and his identical-twin Jon, voice of the Diablos, combined to produce a duel game broadcast heard in both team’s home towns (photo, Alan on right).

Jon handled the play-by-play in the first, second, fifth and sixth innings, switching to analyst when Alan took over play calling duties. The twins agreed play-calling duties in the ninth would go to whichever broadcaster’s team was leading. That turned out to be Jon’s Diablos.

At times the brothers acted like brothers, quickly refuting statistics with a number that shed their team in a more positive light. They also offered a trivia question: Which team won the World Series with the least amount of wins.

They answer? The Minnesota Twins, of course.

Long weekend: Sticking with the minor league baseball announcer theme, Sioux Fall’s Matt Meola can put in for some serious overtime. Beginning July 18th the Canaries offered 48 hours of continuous baseball.

The weekend included three Sioux Falls games, several local amateur contests, and pickup games during dead times. Despite their efforts, the Canaries were technically unable to complete their 48-hour goal. Rain twice interrupted events, affording Meola a chance to sneak a nap.

Meola also received a surprise break Sunday morning when a local church asked him to take an hour off so that they could use the frequency to broadcast their service.

“I figured, alright, I’m not going to mess with God,” Meola said.

Meola killed some time by interviewing American Association Commissioner Mile Wolff, former Minnesota Twins pitcher Bert Blyleven and other people affiliated with professional baseball.

Will he ever try it again?

“I think it’s a one-time deal,” Meola said. “It was real taxing and real long. It was fun to be able to say I did it, but I don’t really know that there’s a benefit to doing it again.”

MinorLeagueDugout.com salutes the effort.

Plumbers and mustaches all in one night

2008-07-25T13:46:00.003-05:00

Fans that enjoy bizarre minor league promotions had a pretty good day on Wednesday when Bowie's Gorgeous Grandma Night grabbed MinorLeagueDugout.com's Promotion of the Day award over some pretty stiff competition.

South Bend combined two odd promos into one, offering Mustache Appreciation Night and Hug Your Plumber Night. Thanks to New York’s Jason Giambi mustache-induced offensive tear, mustaches have become popular promo fodder across the minor leagues. South Bend starting pitcher Josh Collmenter (photo) is having similar success since he grew a mustache.

In an effort to mimic Collmenter’s success, several other members of the Silver Hawks stopped shaving their upper lips. Fans then judged which of those players grew the best mustache.

Any fan that came to the ballpark that night sporting a mustache received a free ticket. Those without growth received stick-on mustaches as they entered the park. The whole night received the approval of the American Mustache Institute – which apparently really exists and has a theme song. They sent a video endorsement that was played on the video board.

Incidentally, Reno is also holding a mustache contest, only theirs involves fans. The contest started July 1 and ends July 31.

Back in South Bend, the Silver Hawks gave plungers to the first 1,000 fans to kick off the Plumber portion of the night. Fans also had the opportunity to pay a dollar to hug a plumber. And there were plenty of toilet-related songs played between innings.

Over in St. Paul, the Saints celebrated the 25th anniversary of George Brett’s pine tar incident on Wednesday by holding Major Meltdown Night. St. Paul gave away bats that already had too much pine tar on them and one local anger management clinic gave away a free pass to one of their seminars.

The Saints didn’t stop at Brett’s breakdown. They highlighted Robbie Alomar’s excellence in expectorating with a between-inning seed-spitting contest and offered a Bobby Knight chair-tossing contest.

The PA announcer even offered a meltdown of his own.

Florida Minor Leaguer Jeff Allison's comeback worthy of attention

2008-07-21T23:01:00.002-05:00

The original plan was to run the Jeff Allison story later in the year. The Dugout wanted to let Allison get through an entire season and talk about those experiences, along with upcoming expectations.

Josh Hamilton’s Ruthian first half, followed by a Home Run Derby display that left NASCAR wondering whether it could harness his power, sped up the timeline for the story.

Hamilton’s success focused a spotlight back on Allison, who’d been quietly working through his first Florida State League season in Jupiter. Peter Gammons explained during the Derby telecast that, like Hamilton, Allison was trying to overcome drug addiction.

Gammons actually called Allison following the All-Star Game to ask if it was OK to pass his number along to Hamilton. Still don’t know whether they talked, but should have an update on that in the coming days.

One surprising aspect of the story has been the slow but steady criticism of the overwhelmingly positive coverage of Hamilton’s ordeal. Critics point out that unlike various players who’ve overcome cancer or political strife, Hamilton made his own problem.

That’s, well, true.

That doesn’t mean, however, that Hamilton’s ability to overcome drug addiction can’t inspire others. Allison, who lost the three of the last four years to drug addiction and prison time, says he’s feeding off Hamilton’s success.

Talk with Allison about baseball and the excitement for the game is clearly evident. Turn the conversation to his past transgressions and that excitement quickly turns to embarrassment. To Allison’s credit, though, he does talk. He offers glimpses of a world that most people are glad they don’t know and hope they will never experience.

He’s personable, even when irritated. In short, he makes people want to route for him. Allison isn’t showing the 97 mph fastball that caused the Marlins to choose him with the 16th overall pick in the 2003 draft, but he is giving Florida reason to believe he can contribute at the major league level in a few years.

Still, as well as Allison does this season, his biggest challenge way come when the season ends. Returning to his Peabody, Mass. home with all that free time will undoubtedly lead to temptation and opportunity.

Yet Allison is no more concerned about returning to Peabody than he is getting through one more day at Jupiter.

“I started using drugs in Massachusetts in the town where I grew up and I stopped using drugs in Massachusetts where I grew up,” Allison said. “Going back there is just going to a different spot. At the end of the day, I’m my biggest problem. If I’m going to use, it’s on me to do it. Every place in the world has drugs. It’s a matter of whether I’m going to do it or not. Right now, right this second, I’m not.”

Allison admits he created his own problem. Hopefully he can beat it. And if he needs the help of someone like Hamilton or a teammate or fan, what’s wrong with that?

They weren't Promo of the Day, but they were still pretty good...

2008-07-18T19:20:00.003-05:00

This was a good week for minor league baseball promotions. Wanted to take some time to point out some of good ones that just missed being MinorLeagueDugout.com's Promotion of the Day.

Start with Newark, where the Atlantic League’s Bears are celebrating Michael Jackson’s 50th birthday tonight. Needless to say, the Bears are bringing a Jackson impersonator to the park. They actually hired this guy last year, too, and the video is from that night.

Along with the impersonator Newark feature a countdown of their favorite “Wacko Jacko” moments, a trivia contest about 1958 (Jackson’s birth year) and a Don’t Forget the Lyrics contest. The most visually interesting on-field contest, however, will likely be musical chairs, where contestants will have to circle the chairs while moonwalking.

A little further up the eastern seaboard from Newark, Lowell is hosting Superstition Night. To kick the night off, the Spinners age giving away Wade Boggs bobbleheads. In honor of Boggs’ traditional pre-game meal, Lowell is converting its between inning sandwich-eating contest to a fried chicken-eating contest. Instead of trying to throw a ball into a bucket, like a contestant would do on a normal night’s contest, tonight’s contestants will try to throw balls that will break mirrors. All contestants will enter the field by walking under a ladder and the 13th fan to enter the ballpark wins a special prize.

St. Paul offered another bizarre promo on Thursday night. As part of their A Monkey Could Do It Night, the Saints brought in a couple of live monkeys, Mr. Monk and Mindy Monk, and asked them to perform a couple common ballpark jobs. The monkeys tried their paws at ticket taking, ushering and broadcasting, among other things. Just sent St. Paul a note to see whether there were any final stats on monkey success.

Update: Just got this note from Saints broadcast and media relations guy Sean Aronson:
Other than appearing on the broadcast with me, where he sat there and held my finger and rested his head on my finger I’m not sure what else he did because I WAS BROADCASTING. He did a good job taking tickets I saw that. Other than that I’m not sure.

On Wednesday Grand Prairie held Pickup Truck Night. All pickups parked for free and any pickup carrying 10 or more fans qualified for the group discount. There are other interesting things going on in Grand Prairie, but those are being saved for the next blog entry.

All Christmas, all the time

2008-07-14T11:50:00.002-05:00

Here's the math: At least 30 different minor league clubs are hosting a Christmas in July promotion this month. Five minor league teams have the promotion planned for July 25 and Christmas can be found in at least one ballpark on 17 of the July's 31 days. Class AAA Iowa was the first down the chimney on July 2. Class AA Tulsa wraps it up on July 31.

Friday night was the St. Lucie’s turn. Fans that brought an unwrapped toy to the park saw the game for free. Santa tossed the first pitch and posed for pictures. And there was Christmas music. Tons of it, starting an hour before the game. Drove those in the press box nuts. The Dugout doesn’t like Christmas music to begin with. They only time it should be played is on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. To hear it in the sweltering South Florida July heat approached torture. In fact, didn’t our troops blare Christmas music at the Iraqi palace until they surrendered? And there must be plenty of rockin’ Christmas tunes at Gitmo.

Just out of curiosity, why don’t any teams offer Hanukkah in July?

The upside of the night was Orlando Hernandez’s rehab start for the Mets. Making his first start for the Florida State League’s Mets since opening day, and only his third overall in the minors this season, Hernandez threw 77 pitches in 5 2/3 innings, allowing two earned runs on five hits while striking out five.

The righthander still sports the high leg kick, but the 90-plus mph fastball appears long gone. Hernandez touched 86 on the gun, but most fastballs barely cracked 80. He even offered a few sub-60 mph curveballs.

Thought St. Lucie manager Tim Teufel summed up the performance pretty well: “He looked like El Duque out there, mixing it up. I thought he threw well. He kept everybody off balance. I know he’s pitching against A-ball, but no one really got a good swing against him.”

Bud-buy: Apparently it’s official. Belgium-based InBev bought Anheuser-Busch for $52 billion. Anheuser-Busch, most famous for brewing Budweiser beer, is a huge supporter of sports teams – baseball in particular. There’s no reason to believe InBev will discontinue that commitment, but anything can happen after the buyout is complete. Many ballpark managers are certainly nervous. There’s a lot of advertising money in play.

Bad day to be a baby: Wilmington barely missed out on grabbing the Promotion of the Day honors on the main site with its Celebrity Fall From Grace Night. Prior to the start of the ballgame the Blue Rocks will mock Brittany Spears by having a staffer dressed like her driving around the field with an infant doll on her lap. Later a staffer (who happens to be white) will offer his best Michael Jackson dance moves; then dangle a baby doll off a balcony. Apparently the O. J. Simpson look-a-like won’t be asked to slash a baby.

Watching fireworks in the rain

2008-07-03T20:02:00.002-05:00

It's between games of a doubleheader at Roger Dean Stadium, but the start of the second game is being delayed by rain. That's nothing new here. It rains just about everyday in South Florida, usually for about an hour, then everything returns to normal.

This summer has been particularly wet, though, especially the last couple of weeks. This doubleheader, necessitated by Tuesday’s suspended game, was supposed to be played yesterday. Rain kept the second game form being played.

Today is one of the few scheduled fireworks shows at this ballpark, and they’ve announced it will happen rain or shine. Should be interesting to see the fireworks shot off in the rain.

The plan seems to be that they will shoot off the fireworks, then play the second game. Will be interesting to see if the rain delay is followed by a smoke delay. Might be more interesting to see how many fans stick around for the second game. Will likely be a friends and family game.

Meanwhile people wait. The press box, normally empty, is packed with scouts escaping the rain. Baseball people talking baseball. The Dugout can think of worse ways to spend a night.

Nice pics: As promised in a previous blog, those photos on the right were sent from St. Paul. The first couple are from Sasquatch’s birthday party. They invited other famous monsters and ghosts and set up a photo booth where fans could get their pictures taken with part of Bigfoot in the background. The other pictures are from Purple Night, when the Saints celebrated hometown artist Prince’s 50th birthday.

Odd trend: Lakeland’s 20-inning, 3-2 victory over Daytona on Sunday took six hours and six minutes. It was the 12th time a Florida State League game has lasted 20 innings including one in each of the last three seasons. Losing pitcher Jonathan Mota was 0-8 with five strikeouts as a third baseman before taking the mound in the 19th inning. An error by his replacement, Robinson Chirinos, allowed the winning run to score. Dontrelle Willis made his first FSL appearance, pitching relief. Both teams had the bases loaded in the 16th but couldn’t score.

Fitzgerald pulls Playing for Peanuts

2008-07-01T22:10:00.002-05:00

If it seems impossible for find John Fitzgerald’s Playing for Peanuts, there’s a good reason: it is. Fitzgerald pulled the show off the air because of a dispute with SportsNet New York (SNY).

When Fitzgerald agreed to have SNY carry Peanuts, he said he did so with the stipulation that the network promote the show in the New York area. That was a natural, he figured, because of the Wally Backman factor. Backman, the manager of the South Georgia Peanuts, was a former infielder for the Mets.

Fitzgerald said SNY agreed initially, but then started hitting the pause button on the promos. After five episodes aired, Fitzgerald decided he could wait no longer. He basically told the network to promote it or lose it.

SNY said it doesn’t promote shows that aren’t its creation, so Fitzgerald pulled the show.

He hopes to find another network to air Peanuts, but that might be difficult this late in the summer. Still, The Dugout has to agree with Fitzgerald’s decision. Without SNY’s promotion, Fitzgerald was essentially giving away his product. And while there are artistic aspects to the creation of such a work, there are also financial obligations. Fitzgerald needs to – and deserves to – make money off his show. At the rate things were progressing, he wasn’t even going to be able to break even.

With teams folding, Backman’s turmoil and the league’s general financial troubles, the second half of the South Coast League’s lone season certainly promised plenty of oddball entertainment. It would be a loss to baseball fans and television enthusiasts everywhere if the final five episodes never reach the airwaves.

Oh, Canada: To all of you north of the border, happy Canada Day. Like American teams on the Fourth of July, most Canadian teams make a big deal out of July 1. The folks in Ottawa couldn’t wait. The Can-Am League’s Rapidz celebrated Canada Day Eve on Monday night.

The game featured jugglers, face-painters, and balloon animals. In front of a crowd clad in red and white – Canada’s national colors - the Rapidz gave away free mini Canadian flags and asked Canadian trivia between innings.

Another northern view: The Dugout received a whole slew of photos from St. Paul that show some of their more interesting promotions from the last few weeks. Toledo also sent some photos this way. Both sets will be on this blog in the next few days.

Olympics and Chuck Norris make for Sioux-perior Tuesday

2008-06-23T21:55:00.003-05:00

Tomorrow (June 24) is going to be a fantastic day to be a ballpark that a Goldklang Group-owned minor league club calls home. The New York-Penn League’s Hudson Valley Renegades claimed MinorLeagueDugout.com’s Promotion of the Day with their weird creation of kiddie Olympics. One item that wasn’t in the write-up was that the Renegades also plan to give free gas cards to some of their fans.

Hudson Valley beat out fellow Goldklang (think Mike Veeck) teams Charleston and Sioux Falls for the honor. The RiverDogs will attempt to answer the philosophical question: What would Chuck Norris do? This was supposed to be the most macho night on Charleston’s schedule, but it lost a little toughness when various media outlets reported that Norris’ wife made him shave his beard.

Now Charleston is going to have a little fun with that. Chelsea, the Riverdogs’ female mascot, will shave male mascot Charlie before the first pitch. Later in the night a group of young karate kids will come onto the field and break things that newly shorn Norris imitator couldn’t.

Throughout the night Riverdogs staffers will ask fans various Chuck Norris questions such as: If Chuck Norris walked into a bar, what would be the first thing he would do?

A. Order a drink
B. Put money in the jukebox
C. Roundhouse kick someone in the bar

Needless to say, the roundhouse will always be an option, and with Chuck Norris it’s always the right option.

Sioux Falls, the Riverdogs’ sister club in the American Association, hosts Sioux City on Tuesday in a battled they’re calling Sioux-perior Night. The Canaries intend to give their reasons – 27 of them in fact – why their Sioux-based city is better. The area on the backs of players’ uniforms that is usually reserved for a player’s name will instead contain reasons why Falls topples City. Some affirmations:

Doesn’t smell
The Falls
No state income tax

The Canaries are choosing to back up their tough talk by guaranteeing victory. Should the Explorers silence the Canaries, all fans win a free ticket to Thursday’s game.

Goldklang teams aren’t the only ones having fun. Everett is giving away a hot dog bobblehead. Everett was a San Francisco affiliate before switching to Seattle and becoming the AquaSox. During those days their on-field mascot was a hot dog dubbed “Frank.” Though Everett’s main mascot is now a frog named “Webbly,” Frank is still around. Every time the Sox talk about retiring Frank they are inundated with phone calls demanding he stay. This is the second year the Sox have given away a Frank bobblehead (top photo).

“Once you give a guy a second bobble, you can’t get rid of him,” spokesman Rick O’Connor said.

By the way, these are the same AquaSox that announced in a press release dated April 1, 2008 that they had traded Webbly to the Tri-City Dust Devils. O’Connor said they still get one or two fans a day asking when the Dust Devils’ mascot will arrive.

Spam folder: Reading claimed the Promo of the Day last Friday for its Spam Carving Contest. There were two categories: freestyle and Pagoda. The Pagoda is a Japanese-style building that sits atop a hill in Reading. The folks at Reading were kind enough to send a photo of the winning Pagoda (lower photo).

More praise for Playing for Peanuts

2008-06-22T21:51:00.002-05:00

The previous blog promised comments from CSS – the network that is broadcasting Playing for Peanuts via Comcast cable to the Southeast. Time to deliver on that promise.

The Dugout spoke with two members of CSS upper management, both of whom were extremely complementary about the show.

“We’re getting very positive feedback,” said CSS General Manager Mark Fuhrman. “It’s a very unique take on the minor leagues. It gives people an insight on what these people go through.”

Fuhrman said CSS reaches nearly six million households. Though Peanuts is not subject to a traditional rating, Fuhrman did say that it’s exceeding expectations.

CSS currently debuts new episodes on Friday at 7 p.m., then replays it two or three more times throughout the week. The above video is the preview for the show’s fourth episode.

“I think it works well for us for a number of reasons,” CSS Director of Programming Larry Haber said. “It’s good geographically and it works with the audience that we’re trying to hit with our college baseball.”

The positive response has prodded CSS to give Peanuts an even larger rotation during the summer – which is good news for fans of minor league baseball.

Better start: Even after today’s rainout, St. Lucie is tied atop the Florida State League’s East Division. Sure, the second half is only four days old, but the Mets improvement is worth noting. It took the Mets 11 outings to win two games to start the first half. They didn’t notch their third win the 23rd game.

The Dugout spent plenty of time this season documenting the Mets’ poor play. Here’s some props. For their sake, let’s hope they’ve turned the season around.

Former SCL CEO Toole pleased so far with Playing for Peanuts

2008-06-20T22:55:00.006-05:00

Original plans for the Playing for Peanuts story, currently the headliner on the main MinorLeagueDugout.com site, included an interview with former South Coast League CEO Jaime Toole.

Locating Toole turned out to be a little more difficult than expected. Rather than hold the story any longer, the story was published without his comments.

The Dugout did reach Toole earlier today, talking by phone for about 20-minutes.

“I like it,” said Toole, who is currently working as a marketing consultant. “I think John (Fitzgerald) did a nice job. It gives a pretty accurate portrayal of what it’s like on the road and I think the overall tone of the show has been positive.”

Toole added that he isn’t concerned about being portrayed in a bad light when the show delves into the controversial suspension/retraction of South Georgia manager Wally Backman.

“I’m not worried about it,” Toole said. “As long as it’s true to the actions that happened, then I’ll be OK with it.”

In the surprise moment of the conversation, Toole said he and some others are attempting to buy the assets of the South Coast League. He thought the initial demographic research the league conducted yielded positive data. The Southeast, he believes, can still support an independent league.

Just don’t look for them to return to Anderson, S.C., Albany, Ga., or any of the other previous SCL cities.

“When you suspend operations, you almost suspend all the hope of the vendors we were working with,” Toole said.

Toole still seemed proud of his work with the SCL, pointing out more than once that the league sent 15 players to affiliated baseball.

According to Toole, the league finished its lone season $750,000 in debt which, he said, “wasn’t insurmountable.”

If he had to do it over again, Toole would have concentrated more on the hiring processes for team front office personnel. He said the rapidity with which they needed to staff six teams caused the league to rush the process of filling those slots.

Toole suggested his potential new league would have an age limit, which would allow the league to lower costs by keeping players' salaries down. Cost would also likely prohibit the hiring of big-name coaches like Backman or Cecil Fielder, who took over an SCL team midway through the season.

Overall, the conversation was pretty interesting. The Dugout has no real way of confirming most of Toole’s facts, but there was no immediate reason to challenge his assertions, either. One statement he made intending to pump-up the SCL was pretty funny, though.

“You’d be surprised how many people don’t realize the league is not playing this year,” he said.

The Dugout doesn’t know how many people that is, but it’s certainly less than the amount of people who never knew the league existed.

The tarp incident: The latest episode of Playing for Peanuts, which aired tonight in Florida, featured the grounds crew’s inability to pull the tarp, which was mentioned in the main story. Watched the show with a couple of people who hadn’t seen Peanuts before. They found that scene laugh-out-loud funny. The episode ended with Backman getting tossed, which should make next week’s show a must see.

Coming attractions: The Dugout also talked with people from CSS, which broadcasts the show in the Southeast via Comcast Cable. Intended to add their opinions of the show on this blog, but it grew a little long. Look for it tomorrow.

And, yes, a blog or perhaps even a full story about last night’s experience in ambidexterity during the New York-Penn League’s game between Staten Island and Brooklyn is in the works. Likely deluged by media requests today, the league office wasn’t answering phones. Here's a look at the switch hitter vs. switch pitcher video:

St. Paul Saints brings replay to baseball

2008-06-19T22:00:00.003-05:00

The Dugout is not a fan of instant replay in sports. It’s bad for football and would be awful for baseball. Instant replay helps correct some bad calls, which is what made it appealing when it first debuted in the NFL, but it didn’t take long for NFL officials to start overturning calls that were made correctly on the field – decisions exponentially worse than getting a call wrong the first time.

The Dugout also finds merit in the argument that replay removes flow from games.

The biggest problem with replay, though, is that video lies. Seriously. Taking a three-dimensional world and stuffing it into the two-dimensional television box inherently distorts an image. Moving a camera even a few feet away from the goal line can make a football that never reaches the line appear to cross it. It’s happened more than once.

Errors will be repeated in baseball, especially in today’s irregular-shaped parks where shooting in straight lines presents a far greater challenge than it does on a football field.

Baseball doesn’t need to be slowed down by replay, and it doesn’t need umpire’s calls questioned even more than they already are. Leave television out of baseball.

With that rant out of the way, the St. Paul Saints announced today that replay will be available to umpires when they host the American Association's All-Star Game on July 22.

The game will be televised regionally and umpires will have access to feeds from all seven cameras via a videophone carried in the crew chief’s pocket. They will be able to select which camera to view, and control the speed of playback.

By putting the choice to go to replay in the hands of the umpires could keep delays to a minimum. Allowing them to reach into their pocket to see and control all camera angles will give them the best possible – though still not 100 percent accurate – view the play in question.

The Saints partnered with Best Buy Inc. to develop the system. The Dugout spoke with St. Paul executive vice president and general manager Derek Sharrer earlier today and he said the impetus for creation of the system actually grew from an offhand remark by Tony Kornheiser during ESPN’s Pardon The Interruption. Apparently Kornheiser suggested that if Major League Baseball wanted to develop a replay system, they should go shop at Best Buy.

Someone at the Best Buy headquarters, located in the Twin Cities area, heard the remark and contacted the Saints. A short time later they collaborated to design this system.

See, watching PTI can be educational.

Here is the press release issued by St. Paul announcing the introduction of replay:

Best Buy Mobile Builds Professional Baseball’s 1st Instant Replay System for St. Paul Saints

Replay system to be instituted during American Association All-Star Game keeps calls on the field and in umpires’ hands with mobile video solution that costs approximately $1,000 retail

ST. PAUL, MINN. (June 19, 2008) – On July 22, umpires will use instant replay in professional baseball for the first time ever.

While Major League Baseball debates the logistics and timing of replay, Best Buy Mobile will implement a mobile instant replay system with the St. Paul Saints during the American Association’s All Star Game in St. Paul, Minn., marking the first time in the history of baseball that instant replay will be used in a professional game.

“It’s amazing how many disputed moments in baseball -- Jeffrey Maier reaching over the wall at Yankee Stadium, the disputed dropped third strike to A.J. Pierzynski in Game 2 of the ALCS or Don Denkinger's call in Game 6 of the 1985 World Series -- could have easily been resolved with an instant replay system that now costs about $1,000,” said Derek Sharrer, executive vice president and general manager, Saint Paul Saints. “This summer, we’ll take the first step toward giving umpires the same clarity on the field that fans have at home.”

To avoid adding substantial time to the game, video replay will be streamed to a mobile phone kept in umpire crew chief’s pocket, giving him immediate access to the play from his position on the field. The umpire will be able to control the video – functions such as rewind, fast forward and pause – from his phone using Slingbox technology.

“Baseball purists contend that instant replay takes the game out of the umpires’ hands. With the help of Geek Squad, we’re keeping calls – literally – in umpires’ hands using mobile video,” said Shawn Score, president of Best Buy Mobile. “Streaming video is just one of the hundreds of ways mobile technology can be a plus to people’s lives – whether they are passing time at the DMV, making the most of their three-hour layover in the airport, or umpiring a professional baseball game in front of 25,000 screaming fans.”

The American Association All-Star Game takes place on Tuesday, July 22 at Midway Stadium in St. Paul, MN. It will pit the best players in the independent league. Game time is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

"We are happy to have the American Association be the leader in testing this new technology,” said Miles Wolff, American Association Commissioner.

Umpires will review decisions involving homeruns, fair or foul ball, hit batsmen, catch or no catch, plays at the plate and any play with two outs. The crew chief will have the authority to overturn the original call. Geek Squad Agents will be stationed in each team’s dugout in order to quickly respond on the field to any technical issues experienced by the umpires.

The solution designed by Best Buy Mobile and Geek Squad includes the following components:
· Sling Media Slingbox Pro
· TiVO Series 2 Digital Video Recorder
· HTC Touch smart phone

About Best Buy Co., Inc.Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE: BBY) operates an international portfolio of brands with a commitment to growth and innovation. Our employees strive to provide customers around the world with superior experiences by responding to their unique needs and aspirations. We sell consumer electronics, home-office products, entertainment software, appliances and related services through approximately 1,300 retail stores across the United States, throughout Canada and in China. Our multi-channel operations include: Best Buy (BestBuy.com, BestBuy.ca, BestBuy.com.cn and Best BuyMobile.com), Future Shop (FutureShop.ca), Geek Squad (GeekSquad.com and GeekSquad.ca), Pacific Sales Kitchen and Bath Centers (PacificSales.com), Magnolia Audio Video (Magnoliaav.com), Jiangsu Five Star Appliance Co. (Five-Star.cn) and Speakeasy (Speakeasy.net). Best Buy supports the communities in which its employees work and live through volunteerism and grants that benefit children and education.

Rainout leaves St. Lucie ready for fresh start

2008-06-19T00:22:00.002-05:00

The first half of the Florida State League season officially ended tonight. That was the good news for St. Lucie. The bad news was that rained splashed away the Mets game at Jupiter, depriving St. Lucie of it’s only chance to win a 20th game.

St. Lucie finished the first half at 19-50, making the Mets the lone affiliated team not to reach the 20-win mark. The Mets are only the sixth team to fail to win 20 games in a half since the FSL went to the split-season schedule in 1988.

The Dugout spent part of the day at Roger Dean Stadium, which was smacked by a line of South Florida thunderstorms most of the afternoon. Despite the rain, there were a few Mets who wanted a shot at that 20th win. Most, however, were looking forward to the rebirth of sorts starting Thursday.

“The first half is going to be finished, finally,” St Lucie manager Tim Teufel said. “When you have such a long half, it’s nice that in a day we’re starting fresh.”

Is Warthog that bad?: Winston-Salem is moving into a new ballpark next season, and the powers that be thought the Warthog nickname and logo (above) simply wouldn’t fit with the new décor.

Winston-Salem asked fans to suggest new nicknames. Warthog management narrowed it down to these five: Aviators, Racers, Rhinos, The Dash and Wallbangers.

Of these five, The Dugout reluctantly prefers The Dash, a nod to the combo name of the parent city. However, none of these five names is nearly as good as Warthogs. Put an end to the contest before less interesting heads prevail.

By the way, here’s one columnist who thinks he’s figured out exactly what the nickname will be, and his logic makes some good-ole southern common sense.

Next name, please: Fort Wayne is the latest minor league club to hold a nickname-the-team contest. Like Winston-Salem, the Wizards are moving into a new ballpark next season and likely expect a merchandising boost from a new moniker.

Floods force Iowa to play in empty park

2008-06-15T22:43:00.003-05:00

In 2002 Charleston hosted Nobody Night - a bizarre promotion that saw the Riverdogs play in an empty ballpark in order to set the record for the least attended baseball game.

Iowa hosted a similar game on Saturday, not by choice. Flooding has forced the evacuation of much of the city of Des Moines. The parking lots surrounding Principal Park were under water.

The Cubs postponed Friday’s game but figured they needed play Nashville on Sunday to ensure the integrity of the 144-game schedule. The city granted permission, provided Iowa didn’t allow fans in the ballpark (see photos, courtesy Iowa Cubs).

A couple of scouts and a few Cubs’ staffers were the only people in attendance to see the Cubs defeat the Sounds 5-4.

The Dugout understands the Pacific Coast League’s desire to play every game on the schedule and admires the players’ eagerness to get at least one game in. After all, they were probably tired of sitting in their hotel rooms watching the water rise.

Boredom and a paper schedule, however, are not reasons to play a game in an area that city officials deemed treacherous. Assume the game doesn’t get made up. What’s the worst that happens?

Sure, weather has made mockery of the PCL’s schedule. Many Midwest teams inside and outside the PCL are struggling to play all their games - earlier this season a similar flooding problem forced Quad Cities to move three of its home games.

The spread-out nature of the PCL makes scheduling make-up games more difficult and costly. In this case that’s exactly what should have been done. Cancel the game for now. If that one game becomes so crucial, there will be time to make it up before the post-season. Should it be needed, the rescheduled game will draw far more fan interest than Saturday’s game would have on a dry day.

The only sane reason to intentionally play a game without fans blossomed from a promotion cultivated in Charleston’s wonderfully bizarre front office – and even that decision was questionable.

FSL All-Star recap: The West Division’s all-stars defeated the East in front of 3,500 fans in Saturday's Florida State League All-Star Game. Brevard County put together a nice night. While most people were watching the post-game fireworks, The Dugout snuck out early to peek through the numerous telescopes that were set up in the parking lot (bottom photo). Pretty cool.

Pigs, astronomers and homers - just another FSL All-Star Game

2008-06-14T20:22:00.004-05:00

Viera, Fla. - There aren't supposed to be pigs on the side of the road. That's not a shot at the police. Three times in the last two months The Dugout has been driving on major Florida roads and seen what can only be assumed to be wild pigs foraging on the shoulder.

It happened again today en route to the Florida State League All-Star Game, which is being played at Space Coast Stadium near Melbourne, Fla. Prior to the game a group of people set up telescopes outside the ballpark, allowing fans to look at solar flare activity. They promised even more telescopes will be there following the game.

Brevard County has a pretty good crowd for the All-Star game, especially by FSL standards. Looks like it could be 3,000.

The crowd was significantly less than that for the homerun contest, which was won by Vero Beach’s J.T. Hall. With the wind knocking down nearly everything hit to left field, left-handed swingers enjoyed a distinct advantage. Hall made the most of that advantage - not that the 6-foot-3, 230-pound designated hitter needed it. The top photo shows Jupiter pitcher Jeff Allison congratulating Hall after the first round.

Yes, that is the same Jeff Allison who was a former first-round draft choice by the Florida Marlins, then lost three seasons to drug addiction. Allison is 4-6 with a 4.36 ERA for Jupiter. The stats don’t scream “top prospect,” but at least he’s back on the mound. His velocity has not returned to the mid-90s yet and the control isn’t where either Allison or the Marlins would like it to be. Given time, maybe both will return.

The Dugout hopes to sit down with Allison in the coming weeks. He’s one of the most outgoing players in the Hammerheads’ clubhouse. He seems like someone worth routing for.

More from Friday the 13th: Grand Prairie passed along some photos from its Joe Pool Lake Loch Ness Monster Night. The AirHogs asked fans a simple question: If the local lake had a monster, what would it look like. The bottom photo is one interpretation.

Gibbons to restart in the Atlantic League

2008-06-12T22:00:00.003-05:00

Former Baltimore outfielder Jay Gibbons appears to be back on the right track.

Gibbons, who admitted to using human growth hormone, was released by the Orioles in March. Since then the 31-year-old has contacted all 30 major league teams looking for a job. On Wednesday ESPN published a copy of a letter Gibbons sent to each club in which he took responsibility for his actions and offered to prove himself in the minors.

According to the article, Gibbons received a smattering of responses from clubs, but no offers. Tired of waiting, or simply facing the reality that his name is too toxic right now, Gibbons appears ready to give the independent Atlantic League a shot.

The Baltimore Sun reported in today’s edition that Gibbons expects to play for a New York or New Jersey club, a list that would appear to include Newark, Somerset, Camden and Long Island. It’s a good move by Gibbons. The Atlantic League is where he belongs.

It’s wonderful that Gibbons raised himself a rung or two higher than others mentioned in the Mitchell Report by admitting he cheated. But that admission does not carry automatic absolution.

Set aside the perception that major league teams have privately conspired not to sign players named in the Mitchell Report. Why would any organization want the negative publicity associated with signing Gibbons? What team wants to appear to condone steroid use? Where’s the upside?

The Atlantic League is different. It has a history of providing opportunities to former major league players who’ve messed up their careers. If his talent is still there, Gibbons will have the chance to show he can still play in the major leagues.

No doubt major league clubs will be monitoring his progress. They may not want to be the first to sign him, but if Gibbons shows he can still play, some big league club won’t have a problem with being the second team to offer redemption.

Friday the 13th: Friday’s calendar date is providing all kinds of fodder for minor league promotions. There are several Halloween in June nights, and a few more honoring the movie: Friday the 13th. The winner of MinorLeagueDugout.com’s Promotion of the Day award really took it to the next level (You’ll have to check the main site to see what it is.)

Fort Myers links minor league baseball to gas

2008-06-09T20:47:00.002-05:00

Gas prices have risen so high that they are now the standard by which minor league prices are measured.

Every Monday, Fort Myers sets the ticket price for that night's game by the cheapest price for a gallon of gas in the area. They are also linking the prices for beer, hamburgers and bratwursts and chicken sandwiches. Admission for tonight’s game cost $3.95.

In addition the Miracle will hold gallon giveaways, where between-inning contest winners will leave with a gallon of water, pork and beans, and broccoli (you can keep that one). Finally, some fan will win a free gas pass.

Look for more teams to work the high cost of gas into their summer promotions.

More fun with wieners: Sunday night’s Wienermania in San Angelo got the attention of at least one local television station. The Colts were kind enough to send a link to the story. Here it is: http://conchovalleyhomepage.com/media_player.php?media_id=7187#

The magic 20: Rome and Lexington of the South Atlantic League each won their 20th game of the season in recent days, leaving the Florida State League’s St. Lucie Mets as the only team stuck in the teens.

St. Lucie won its 16th game last night, assuring that it won’t post the fewest single-half wins since the FSL split its season into halves in 1988. The Mets have just seven games remaining to reach the 20-win mark.

Lehigh Valley, incidentally, started 2-20 but with a good week won’t finish with the worst record in the International League. There are a couple of teams the Iron Pigs could pass.

Nice race: The Dugout will keep an eye on the Texas League’s north division, where Arkansas, Northwest Arkansas and Springfield are in a three-way tie for the lead with nine games remaining.

San Angelo's Wiernermania elevates United League

2008-06-08T14:27:00.004-05:00

Congratulations goes out to the San Angelo Colts, who today became the first United League team to ever claim the title of M inorLeagueDugout.com's Promotion of the Day.

Based in Texas, the six-team United League began play in 2006. It hasn't received much national attention, but as numerous leagues in the past have shown, making it to a third opening day is no small accomplishment.

San Angelo doesn’t offer many wild promotions. There are a few giveaways in the coming months, but none of which are likely to gain Promo of the Day honors. Still, the Colts seem to have found something good with Wienermania.

Judging from the pictures on the right, quite a few people brought their dachshunds to the ballpark in previous years. The dog owners appear to put quite a bit of effort into getting their pooches to look good. And San Angelo puts in its fair share of effort, too.

Several teams host wiener dog races. Few also hold the costume contests and other games the Colts provide. San Angelo is the host of this season’s United League All-Star Game, which is usually a pretty good sign of the health of a franchise. Here’s to seeing this promo featured many times in the coming years.

The Dugout hopes to have pictures from this year’s event for an upcoming blog.

Dueling stories: Sunday’s Florida vs. Cincinnati game featured two pitchers who leant stories to The Funniest Thing I’ve Ever Seen: More than 100 crazy stories from minor league baseball.

Florida’s Joe Nelson recently got called up to the bigs. The Marlins’ broadcast team relayed the story of how Nelson met his wife – the same story that’s featured in the book. That story deserves its own blog entry, so it is being saved for a slower day.

While waiting, peruse Majewski’s tale.

What, No Wake Up Call?
His given name is Gary Majewski, but his teammates call the Houston native “Tex.” Today, exhaustion makes his southern twang a little slower.

Yesterday’s longer-than-expected travel – the bus left his Charlotte Knights waiting at
the airport – combined with today’s already completed 10:15 a.m. start have left most of
his Charlotte Knights teammates short of rest.

The game hasn’t been over for more than 20 minutes, yet half of the Knights have already
headed home to bed.

Majewski is seated at a table eating lunch. He, too, would likely be on his way home if he weren’t so hungry and hadn’t agreed to an interview. Tex might be even more tired had he pitched in either of the last two games – both Charlotte losses.

Slumped over a sandwich, Majewski doesn’t look like a typical closer. The intimidating goatee is there, but with shaggy, curly hair and the wire rimmed glasses, the 24-year old could just as easily pass for a hip physics student.

Ah, but the attitude is there.

“You have to be just an arrogant bastard on the mound,” Majewski explained. “You have to be the biggest dickhead in the world. You have to learn to deal with it and [the coaching staff] has to learn to deal with you. When I’m on the mound everything is toned down. I don’t hear anything. From when I step on the mound until that last out, that’s the point of the game where I have to concentrate the most. That’s my job. That’s what I get paid to do.”

Majewski has another job with the Knights – one that’s as necessary as it is unofficial. Tex is a prankster. He likes to target players who are easily angered. It’s worth the screaming, Majewski
says, just to see the looks on their faces.

“I do it to keep myself sane,” he said. “You’re gone for eight months out of the year. You play for six months. There’s another month and a half for spring training. It’s like (the movie) Groundhog Day. Every day is the same. You have to do something to change it up
a bit.”

Gary Majewski: Jake Meyer and I were in Louisville in the hotel.
We had just gotten back from [lifting] weights. Our buddies, Aaron
Myles and Ryan Hankins, were going to get something to eat. Jake
and I got their room key and went into their room.

We went to the beds and put the mattresses [on the floor] and
the box springs on top. Then [we] remade the beds. Then we put
some plastic wrap over the toilet, underneath the seat. We also put
some K-Y jelly on top of the toilet seat.

We saw them coming back to the room so we took off. We got a
call about five minutes later from Myles. He’s mad because he
kinda dove into his bed without even thinking. Thump. So he’s fired
up.

At the same time Hankins went to the bathroom. I guess he
walked into the bathroom and saw the plastic wrap, but he didn’t
notice the KY jelly. He had to take a No. 2. Needless to say he had alittle KY on his ass.

Lincoln's results are in...

2008-06-06T22:20:00.002-05:00

Diligent readers of the main MinorLeagueDugout.com site will recall that the American Association’s Lincoln Saltdogs claimed the Promotion of the Day for their Election Night.

The Saltdogs’ web site is quickly becoming an anticipated destination during The Dugout’s monthly scan for the top promos. They could claim another night or two during June, and they hinted at several other nights in coming months.

For now, though, we’ll revisit Election Night. The Saltdogs polled their fans on a variety of topics on Wednesday. If the results are accurate, ketchup could help Barack Obama carry Nebraska. Lincoln was kind enough to send all the results, so here they are:

Ketchup 60% Mustard 40%
Giveaways 84% Entertainers 16%
Hot Dogs 52% Hamburger 48%
Red Team Jersey 26% Blue Team Jersey 53% White Team Jersey 21%
Right Field Playground Area 61% Left Field Inflatable's 39%
Day Game 8% Night Game 92%

A couple other recent nights didn’t quite reach Promo of the Night status, but they are worthy of note. For starters, The Dugout likes Mobile’s thinking when they offered Cinco de June on, obviously, June 5. Carry it through the rest of the years, boys.

On Saturday, Lexington offered Abe Lincoln bobblehead dolls because, well, the former president was born in Kentucky.

Oddly enough, Saturday was national doughnut day. The Dugout didn’t find an organization taking advantage of that one.

Gwinnett strikes out with new logo

2008-06-03T21:48:00.003-05:00

The Gwinnett Braves chose to disregard the trend for interesting, lively logos when the team unveiled its new look on Monday.

Sure, the designers were limited by the team’s choice to retain the Braves’ nickname, which is another debate altogether. Instead of following the highly successful lead of fellow International Leaguer’s the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs, Gwinnett stayed traditional. The argument is that the new logo will increase Atlanta’s and Gwinnett’s brand recognition.

The Dugout isn’t buying it. Anyone whose ever spent any time in the south knows that Atlanta is the only baseball team recognized by southerners. Heck, it’s really the only southern professional team that boasts a widespread following. Gwinnett missed an opportunity.

Gwinnett followed Monday’s unveiling with Tuesday’s groundbreaking ceremony. Thankfully, work has already started on the ballpark slated to open in April of 2009. Perhaps they were waiting for good weather. Renditions of the new ballpark are posted on the Gwinnett web site.

The Triple-A Richmond Braves announced they were moving to Gwinnett earlier this year after repeated attempts to get a new ballpark in Richmond fell apart. Officials in Richmond are attempting to raise money for a new park with the idea of luring a new team to Virginia’s capital.

The Dugout will be sad to see Richmond’s old ballpark go. Though not as picturesque as most ballparks, it was the scene for the cover of The Funniest Thing I’ve Ever Seen; More than 100 crazy stories from minor league baseball.

Nice game but…: Congrats to Huntsville’s David Welch, who didn’t allow the Chattanooga Lookouts a hit on Monday – his 25th birthday. Headlines predictably proclaimed Welch’s performance a no-hitter. A brief inspection, however, showed the game was only a seven-innings. Welch gave a great performance for sure, but let’s reserve the “no hitter” adjectives for games that go at least nine innings.

Other nice promos: This time of year usually offers several candidates for Promotion of the Day. Lincoln’s Election Day is Wednesday’s winner. Other Wednesday notables are Grand Prarie’s All Hogs go to Heaven, which included a funeral giveaway, and Sioux Falls’ Salute to Crazy Horse. All three teams hail from the American Association.

"Playing for Peanuts" offers an entertaining look at South Coast League

2008-06-02T20:51:00.004-05:00

Flipping trough the channels yesterday The Dugout came upon a show called "Playing for Peanuts" on Comcast's CSS network.

The crew spent last season following the South Coast League's South Georgia Peanuts, a team that by almost any measure was clutching to the bottom rung of the baseball ladder. Other than being led by former big league player and psuedo-major league manager Wally Backman, the Peanuts appear to be an utterly unremarkable group of guys.

That’s what makes the show so interesting.

Part of the fun of watching lower level independent games is seeing kids who are taking their last shot at the game. From the brief episodes aired Sunday, there are several players worth routing for.

The ballplayers are cast against the backdrop of what will likely be shown to be the wonderfully dysfunctional – and now defunct (OK, suspended) - South Coast League.

Opening day set the tone. Cameras were present at the home of the Charlotte Redfish when the parachutist attempting to deliver the inaugural game ball crashed into the outside of the outfield wall. Midway through opening night the lights in the ballpark go dark. After they are finally re-fired and the Peanuts finish off the Redfish, players head for the showers only to find there are no towels.

In an interview likely shot the following day, the Charlotte general manager somehow says with a straight face something to the effect of: If forgetting towels was the biggest problem we had, I’ll take it.

Yeah, pay no attention to the crashing parachutist and the blackout.

The Dugout is hoping to talk with director/producer John Fitzgerald, who also produced the Irish national baseball team documentary “The Emerald Diamond,” in the coming weeks.

In the mean time, keep an eye open for “Playing for Peanuts.” CSS in South Florida seems to be using the show as a filler when college softball and baseball games run short or get rained out.

A preview for an upcoming episode shows a grounds crew lining the batters box with chalk being poured from a paper cup. If nothing else, the foibles of the South Coast League alone should make viewers feel better about their jobs.

NASA provides fireworks down south; Altoona puts off what it can

2008-05-31T12:24:00.004-05:00

Brevard County will get a free fireworks show of sorts before tonight’s game. Daytona will augment the pre-game show with a post-game offering of its own.

The space shuttle will be visible from both ballparks when it lifts off this evening. Though the 5 p.m. scheduled blastoff isn’t the ideal viewing time, it’s still pretty cool to be that close. Fans at Space Coast Stadium are close enough to hear the booster engines roar.

If there is any sort of delay, which is pretty common, the launch could be pushed back into the twilight hours or even night – firing the amazing into the spectacular.

It’s worth a look.

They may or may not get to it: Altoona actually took the time to issue a press release on Wednesday declaring that their Salute to Procrastination Night has been moved to an unknown date in the future.

A quick check of the Altoona calendar didn’t show that the night was ever formally scheduled. The Dugout is not sure the Curve will ever actually hold a procrastination night, which makes the issuance of the release that much funnier. Someone actually went to the trouble of writing a release for something that won’t happen.

Gotta love minor league baseball.

Here is the release in full:

*This press release was started on April 28, but not completed until May 28 due to the procrastination of the author.

CURVE'S SALUTE TO PROCRASTINATION NIGHT STILL NOT SCHEDULED
Club's Ode to Those Who Put Off Until a Later Date Being Put Off Until Later Date

ALTOONA- The Altoona Curve, Minor League Baseball's champions of fun, light-hearted ballpark theme nights announced this spring that it was planning a "Salute to Procrastination Night" at Blair County Ballpark, home of the Pittsburgh Pirates' Double-A club.

Today, the team is announcing that the promotion is still planned for sometime before September 1st, but that meetings to discuss the details of the event have been repeatedly put off until a later date.

"We've admittedly hit the snooze button several times when it comes to planning the details of our Salute to Procrastination Night, but we'll get to it soon enough." said Curve General Manager Todd “Parney” Parnell. "When we finally sit down to sketch out this promotion you can bet it will be worth the wait."

The Curve's summer college interns, the club's resident experts in putting off projects until a later date, will be very involved in the planning process for the promotion, but the group has asked for more time to work on the details, thus illustrating a popular form of procrastination known as "Student Syndrome".

The club will continue to provide updates on the status of “Salute to Procrastination Night”, assuming continued attempts to meet about the promotion’s details take place.

One fun theme night which has been planned since the off-season and will be held next Tuesday, June 3rd at Blair County Ballpark is "Salute to Quitters Night". Among those in the crosshairs for this self-explanatory promotion will be famous quitters such as boxer Roberto “No Mas!” Duran, and coaches Bobby Knight and Bobby Petrino. In honor of Petrino, who abruptly quit his post as Atlanta Falcons' head coach with three games remaining in the 2007 NFL season, the Curve will also make one (1) lucky fan in attendance the winner of a “back door”, which the fan will be encouraged to utilize to leave the ballpark before the game becomes official.For tickets to any remaining 2008 Altoona Curve home game fans can call toll-free (877) 99-CURVE or order on-line at AltoonaCurve.com.

Did Price really outpitch Pedro?

2008-05-29T21:15:00.005-05:00

A couple of weeks ago no one would have considered Port St. Lucie, Fl. the center of the baseball universe. It was arguably exactly the nexus last night.

The Dugout was lucky enough to watch last night’s duel between future hall-of-famer Pedro Martinez and phenom David Price (photo) at Tradition Field. At least nine other media members were in attendance – by far the biggest turnout since the Mets headed back to the crumbing infrastructure that is their home.

Setting aside the chaos that is New York, let's look at Price’s performance. Bloggers, news sources and fans alike have been quick to proclaim that Price got the better of Martinez. Looking strictly at the numbers, he did.

Both pitched six innings. Price, the top pick in last year’s draft, didn’t allow a run and earned the win after his Vero Beach Devil Rays touched Martinez for two fourth-inning runs – the only runs of the game. Price fanned nine, three more than Martinez.

The number comparison isn’t completely fair, though, since the pitchers were working toward different purposes. Price pitched to win the game and to hopefully advance within the organization. Martinez’s goal was to get his arm ready to return to the bigs.

Martinez estimated that 90 percent of his 82 pitches were fastballs. He said he threw six cutters, only one of which did a Vero batter even manage to put into play. He would have liked to give St. Lucie a win – as the team with the worst record in baseball, they really could have used it – but getting out of the game healthy and comfortable was the biggest priority.

That being said, Martinez had plenty of good things to say about Price’s performance:

He’s amazing that kid. He’s very mature for his time in professional baseball, very talented. Oh, my God. God bless him and keep him healthy.

Responding to another question, he added:

That kid did a hell of a job at throwing first-pitch strikes, pounding the strike zone and challenging hitters. I was watching that. He did it like a big leaguer. Such command. Right there. [His approach was] I’m challenging you; I’m going to do what I have to do. He didn’t show any fear. That’s the kind if talent you like to see.

Pretty high praise from a guy who whose numbers suggest he knows what he’s talking about.

What’s in a name?: There was confusion in the press box as to whether Vero Beach followed its parent club’s lead and changed its nickname to Rays. Fear not friends of the devil, Vero is still the Devil Rays. To borrow from another song, the devil went down to Vero.

Suns shine in Rickwood: Jacksonville defeated Birmingham in the 13th annual Rickwood Classic last night. Birmingham plays one game a year at Rickwood, keeping it the oldest ballpark still in use by professional baseball. Rickwood has been around since 1910, two years longer than Fenway and four years longer than Wrigley.

Bobble-foot kicks kazoo effort; Pedro up next

2008-05-27T20:36:00.004-05:00

Give St. Paul credit. When someone messes up in their neck of the glacier, the Saints will mock them.

St. Paul earned Sunday's Promotion of the Day honors on the main MinorLeagueDugout.com site for their bobble-foot giveaway, which "honored" Larry Craig. The Idaho senator was arrested last summer for tapping his foot in a Minneapolis/St Paul airport bathroom stall in a manner commonly used to invite “companionship.”

The Saints chose Sunday for the giveaway because it was National Tap Dancing Day. Brilliant.

The bobble-foot (photo) gained national media attention, but there were outlets that refused to cover the story. The Palm Beach Post, for instance, declined to included the note in its ‘Only in the Minors” section because it was a little too risqué.

The Post did, however, cover Craig’s arrest when it happened. Which one is more risqué?

Up the Kazoo: The day before the bobble-foot giveaway, two separate clubs attempted to break the world record for simultaneous kazooing. Bowie and Connecticut both failed. The Baysox came up about 150 kazooers short of the more than 2,800 participants needed, despite an announced crowd of 6,105. A Bowie official said more fans likely participated, but only fans that registered count toward the total. The registration process likely kept the Baysox from breaking the record.

Connecticut was more perplexing. The Defenders’ front office boasted it had purchased 6,000 kazoos for the promotion. Inclement weather likely contributed to the small crowd – less than 3,000 on a Saturday night. The Defenders, however, didn’t even get 1,000 participants to play along.

The Dugout credits both clubs for the effort. The kazoo record is that seems destined to be broken. Connecticut still has more than enough kazoos to give it another shot real soon.

St. Lucie duel: The Dugout will spend Wednesday night in Port St. Lucie where the Mets, fueled by a Pedro Martinez rehab assignment will host Vero Beach. The Devil Rays will counter with 2007 No. 1 overall pick David Price. Not a bad way to spend an evening.

York's ballpark a winner even if the team isn't

2008-05-25T11:35:00.004-05:00

York, Pa. - Referring to York's Sovereign Bank Ballpark as a ballpark was a bit of a stretch last season.

Atlantic League players' batting helmets doubled as hard hats. The construction site didn't offer locker rooms. Instead of tubs, players iced in large garbage cans. Only one concession stand was open and many of the seating areas weren’t complete.

"It was a tough situation being in trailers and stuff," York catcher Sandy Aracena said. "We we’re just trying to make the best of the situation."

A year later the Revolution still don’t have their permanent occupancy license – they need to finish the fire lanes – but the ballpark looks and feels complete.

York’s ballpark mixes old school charm and new school convenience. Located in the middle of downtown, the ballpark is shoehorned into a 10-acre piece of land. The small confines necessitated the Fenway-like leftfield wall (top photo), which is only 300 feet from the plate. New school marketing, however, necessitated that it be 38-feet tall, six inches higher than Boston’s Green Monster. The marketing ploy got the ballpark national play, including a mention in the Red Sox media guide.

Arch Ave. runs only a few feet beyond the wall, leading York staffers to dub the wall the “Arch Nemesis.” Will the name stick?

The upper level skyboxes, not available last year, are all sold out. The outfield merry-go-round stays busy throughout the night, and scoreboard operator Brad Daugherty may have had the best view of anyone in the ballpark (middle photo).

“I love this ballpark,” Aracena said. “You cant get any better than this.”

Despite the nicer amenities, York hasn’t played well this year. Their five-game losing streak prompted the front office to take action. There was no rain in the area, but the crew pulled the tarp before the game because the last game the Revolution won was delayed by rain.

All staffers wore their hats inside-out to spark a rally. They even placed pieces of plywood around the ballpark, inviting fans to knock on wood for good luck. None of that worked, as Camden’s 2-1 victory dropped York to 8-20.

The Revolution didn’t use most of their in-game promotions on Saturday, devoting that time to a battle of the bands promotion. The Mark DeRose Band won the opportunity to open for Blues Traveler at a ballpark concert in June.

York did manage to make time for Stu-pendous and the Big Hitters, a dancing group that’s one part Rockettes and many parts Fred Flintstone (bottom photo). They danced to Soul Man, with Stu actually singing the song. Pretty impressive.

Prior to the game The Dugout caught up with Camden’s Brett Bonvechio, who has two stories in The Funniest Thing I’ve Ever Seen: More than 100 crazy stories from minor league baseball. His latest story, which details odd man-icuring, will appear on this blog in the coming days. It’s worth waiting for.

Wilmington combines Amish, celery and a purple thing

2008-05-24T10:50:00.005-05:00

Wilmington, Del. - Wilmington made Frawley Stadium the centerpiece of its 1993 waterfront restoration. Fifteen years later, the redevelopment plan seems to be working.

Where dilapidated warehouses and unsafe urban houses once stood there are now restaurants, shops and a community events center. The city has embraced the Blue Rocks and, somewhat surprisingly, the Kansas City Royals.

The Royals were the Blue Rocks original parent club, but in 2005 Kansas City moved its High-A affiliate to the Carolina League. The Red Sox jumped into Wilmington, but the hardcore Wilmington fans missed the Royals.

Unhappy with their more to the west coast, Kansas City asked to return to Wilmington and last season Wilmington happily welcomed the Royals’ farmhands back.

Tonight is Amish Night at the ballpark, earning Wilmington “Promotion of the Day” honors on the main MinorLeagueDugout.com site. The night started with a pre-game shoo fly pie-eating contest (top photo). Somewhat fittingly, the guy with the Mohawk won the Amish contest.

Members of a local Amish community were in the ballpark overseeing the contestants (middle photo). They were supposed to selling some of their wares, but early in the game the only product they were pushing was quasi-health drink Mona-Vie. Maybe they stomped the fruit?

Traveling mascot act Reggie the Purple Party Dude (bottom photo) also came to the ballpark, but he seemed like waste of money. Reggie was only the third best mascot in the park. Rocky Bluewinkle, a blue moose that serves as the Blue Rocks main mascot, did a nice job of entertaining and kids cuddled up to the blue moose more willingly than the purple dude.

The Blue Rocks also feature one of the more bizarre acts in minor league ball. Every time they score a giant celery stalk runs onto the field, does a little dance, high fives some fans and runs back under the stands. Mr. Celery has been on the field eight times tonight, much to the delight of Wilmington’s fans.

There will be a feature story on the dancing stalk in the coming weeks on the main site.

Lehigh Valley exceeds the hype

2008-05-23T11:58:00.003-05:00

ALLENTOWN, Pa. - Praise for Lehigh Valley's new ballpark reached The Dugout's ears well before tonight. But people almost always speak well of new parks. How good could Coca-Cola Park really be?

It's even better than reported (top photo).

Fans, many of whom cast aside the unseasonably cool – actually cold – temperatures to don their IronPigs gear, were into the game all night, nearly packing the park on a Thursday Night. And there doesn’t seem to be a bad seat.

Players, for the most part, rave about the field conditions and couldn’t be more comfortable in their clubhouse. In the first few games fielders were having trouble picking up the ball off the bat, losing them in the white stones behind home plate. The front office helped them by painting the stones green.

Among the ballpark niceties are indoor field-level “sky” boxes that allow fans to eat and schmooze inside, then walk outside to seats behind home plate (middle photo). There are multiple video boards and scoreboards, and a dancing grounds crew that stops to perform the zombie dance from Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” while dragging the infield.

Even the bottle of Coke that sits atop the main scoreboard is functional. The red top pops open to allow fireworks to shoot out following big plays. It was only supposed to fire after IronPig homeruns, but there have been so few of those that the ballpark must be overstocked with explosives. Everything Must Blow!!!

The Dugout wasn’t a big fan of the IronPigs logo when it was unveiled, figuring Lehigh Valley planned to play up the “iron” portion of the name. That’s not the case. There are pigs and pig references throughout the park, and different – read: better – variations on the logo are scattered among the hats and shirts worn by fans, staffers and even players.

Lehigh Valley is the only minor league club that produces television broadcasts for all of is home games. The whole experience is pretty close to the major league feel. In fact, it’s better than many big league parks.

The $50-million ballpark felt even more big league tonight thanks to an appearance from the Philly Phanatic (bottom photo), who sat on fans, threw popcorn and “made friendly” with the Iron Pigs female mascot.

The Iron Pigs, who started the season losing their first 11 games, jumped to a 5-0 lead tonight en route to a 7-2 victory over Charlotte, pushing their record to 14-34. They are pulling away from St. Lucie, which lost 9-1 on Thursday to fall to 9-38, in the battle to avoid the worst record in affiliated baseball.

Look for a story comparing the two teams on the main site in the coming weeks.

Lakewood recharges fans with an Aussie battery and racing pork roll

2008-05-21T19:46:00.005-05:00

LAKEWOOD, N.J. - It's a Wednesday and there are five day-games in the South Atlantic League. The Dugout is sitting in the press box of the Sally League's northernmost city, Lakewood, where the Blue Claws are on their way to a 3-2 win.

The ballpark is sold out. Attendance was just announced at more than 7,000. There are kids running through concourse, sunning themselves on the outfield berm and standing in long lines waiting for ice cream.

Lakewood has been a Philadelphia affiliate since its inaugural 2001 season. In recent years the Phillies have placed and emphasis on having their farm clubs close to home base. Four of their six farm clubs, including Lakewood, are within a two-hour drive from Philly. Only Clearwater and the GCL Phillies, both of which play at the club’s Florida spring training site, require flights.

The BlueClaws have the kinds of amenities that are expected at the modern minor league ballpark. Playing off the local attractions, there is a Jersey Shore inspired arcade down the rightfield line, complete with skee ball. There are lifeguard chairs beyond the outfield walls. Funnel cakes are everywhere.

The concession stands offer a belly buster sandwich (1/2 pound of pulled pork, ½ pound of brisket, cole slaw, onion rings and a t-shirt – not on the sandwich – for $9) and the pork roll egg and cheese sandwich. Neither of which were offered today, likely because the BlueClaws gave all students in attendance a coupon for a free hotdog meal.

Did get to see Lakewood’s newest attraction: the pork roll, egg and cheese race (top photo). The Blueclaws figure the PE&C is the Jersey state sandwich. This is their answer to Milwaukee’s sausage race. The lower photo is a view from behind the plate.

This afternoon also featured an international flair. Drew Naylor and Joel Naughton, the starting battery for Lakewood, both hail from Australia. Naylor picked up the win, allowing six hits and two runs while striking out six. Naughton called a solid game behind the plate, but went hitless in four at-bats. Look for a story featuring these guys on the main site in the near future.
Day one is done. Tomorrow brings a visit to Lehigh Valley – the Phillies Triple-A club. By all accounts, their new ballpark is quite a site. Until then…

How to annoy Dr. Seuss

2008-05-20T19:36:00.004-05:00

Dr. Seuss hung up on The Dugout. Well, it wasn't actually Ted Geisel - who died in 1991. It was the media relations woman at Dr. Seuss Enterprises, who didn't give her name.

Still, it imparted a strangely dirty feeling for the remainder of the day - like The Dugout had somehow managed to anger the happiest guy in the world. It didn't matter that Geisel was a notoriously cantankerous fellow, being hung-up on by his minions was shocking.

The Dugout understands the need for copyright and trademark law, and the need to protect ones image. But it appears Dr. Seuss Enterprises significantly overreacted when it forced Lake Elsinore to cancel the popular Dr. Seuss Night. At worst Dr. Seuss enterprises could have worked with the Storm as part of the reading program. At best they could have let it slide.

That is not in their nature. A web search produces dozens of web sites that have been closed down by Dr. Seuss Enterprises.

Lake Elsinore General Manager Chris Jones wanted to fight the order, but eventually the Storm decided it wasn’t worth the effort. That’s a shame. Entering its fourth year, the promotion was more than a fan favorite. The players looked forward to it, too.

“I think the best way we got back at them was the rhyme press release,” said Jones, who provided the above photo. “We wanted to have some fun with it. We didn’t want to take it as seriously as they were taking it.”

Here is that press release:

Storm Denied the Right to Promote Dr. Seuss Night

Lake Elsinore, CA, May 1, 2008 –

The Padres affiliate, the Lake Elsinore Storm
Tried to put on a promotion that wasn’t the Norm
We called it Dr. Seuss Night on our website
But something about that didn’t seem right

Dr. Seuss Enterprises didn’t see it as funny
They said we could do it but we didn’t have the money
They didn’t appreciate our publicity ploys
So we have to inform all the sad girls and boys

Through the face of it all we thought we’d persist
Until we were served with a cease and desist
The theme has been cancelled but the game will go on
Perhaps it wouldn’t matter if we were in Taiwan

Even bad baseball is worth a night at the ballpark

2008-05-17T18:09:00.002-05:00

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. – The Dugout is currently enjoying watching the worst team in minor league baseball struggle through another tight contest.

The Florida State League’s St. Lucie Mets have lost nine straight, and tonight’s game against Daytona closes out a 14-game home stand that has produced just one victory. Pitching had been the Mets problem – a month into the season they posted the worst team ERA in baseball. At 5.19, their current team ERA has improved, but it won’t be winning any titles soon.

Lately hitting has been a bigger problem. In their 12 losses on this home stand, the Mets have scored more than two runs just four times.

Despite an 8-33 record the Mets have a pretty decent crowd tonight. The bottom of the third inning is currently being delayed by one of the Zooperstars! routines, so that probably helped attendance.

It’s also 70s night here. All the staffers are dressed in leisure suits and the like, but aside from a few KISS fans, the crowd doesn’t seem to have bought into the theme.

For much of the season St. Lucie was locked in battle-stinkale with the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs for the worst record in baseball. The Iron Pigs are on a bit of a hot streak lately, winning six of seven before last night’s loss. The Dugout will be in Lehigh Valley next weekend as part of a four-city trip. Can’t wait to compare.

Independent Update: The Northern League, United League and American Association – all independent leagues – started their seasons within the last week. The Frontier League begins on Sunday. The Can-Am and Golden leagues throw their first pitches on Thursday, May 22, while the four-team Continental League waits until Friday.

After that, fans hunting for opening day festivities will need to wait until the middle of June for the start of short-season leagues.

Egg-cellent: Hagerstown is hosting the fourth annual National Egg Toss Championship tomorrow (Sunday, May 18). The winning team last year successfully tossed (and caught) their egg 44 feet, 8 inches. Anyone at the ballpark is invited to compete. There is no entry fee. The winner receives a prize package from the Maryland Egg Council.

Every day is Cinco de Mayo

2008-05-07T19:42:00.002-05:00

Cinco de Mayo may translate into May 5, but for minor league baseball, the spirit of Cinco de Mayo runs all week. The Columbus Catfish held Dos de Mayo on Friday. Augusta hosts Ocho de Mayo on Thursday.

The Dugout particularly enjoyed Somerset's odd combo. The Patriots invited the Jewish Community to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Israel becoming a state. The official Israel Independence Day is May 8, but the Jewish Community decided the best date to celebrate was Monday.

So the ever-accommodating Patriots invited the Jewish Community to come celebrate Independence on May 5. Yep. It was a combo promo of Cinco de Mayo and Jewish pride. Insert Corona and Matzo joke here.

Fear this: The folks in Camden held a Fear Factor night on April 30. The Riversharks tested six competitors by having them walk on ice and marbles, eat a pig’s tongue and search through dog food for a key to unlock their handcuffs.

The winner got a suite for up to 25 people at an upcoming game.

Skunks, horny old folks part of Rogers' beautification project

2008-05-04T23:18:00.002-05:00

The Dugout made its first phone call of the season - and possibly ever - to Huntsville, new home of Buck Rogers. One of the masters of baseball promotion is quickly making his mark in the Huntsville area.

One of the first things he wanted to do in Huntsville was refurbish the ballpark. Last month he invited any fans that wanted to help to the ballpark. Rogers expected a few fans. He got 144 people to help paint, rework the landscaping and generally beautify the place.

Rogers is a master at building a fan base. He spent the last few seasons at Brevard County, which is one of the toughest sells in baseball. It sounds like he has the ownership and the city of Huntsville behind him, which means that the Stars, who’ve never been known as anything but a farm club, could become one of the most entertaining minor league teams.

Rogers said ticket sales are up 50 percent over this point last season despite an inclement April. Overall revenue has also increased significantly. Rogers was elated that the new shipment of cowbells just arrived. They will go well with the horns that now populate the ballpark.

Apparently the senior citizens have really taken to horn blowing during ballgames. They make Section E the loudest area in the park. According to Rogers, these senior citizens have given themselves a nickname: The Horn E section. The Dugout doesn’t know whether to laugh or cringe at that thought.

Then there are the skunks. Apparently a family of skunks lives in the ballpark and has been known to take in the action. Several games have been delayed while the skunks migrate across the field.

Rogers said one skunk was hanging out in the concourse the other night, right next to the beer line. Fans sipped their beers while keeping their eyes on the little fellas. After a few minutes the skunk went about its business and the fans wandered back to their seats.
Just another day in a Buck Rogers-fueled ballpark.

Mississippi forces River Bandits to find new home

2008-04-29T00:10:00.003-05:00

The field at Modern Woodman Park, home of the Quad Cities River Bandits, is still safe. It's just that no one can get to it anymore.

The flooding Mississippi River continues to encroach on the River Bandits ballpark and today it forced Quad Cities to move the remaining three games of its current homestand to different ballparks.

Those interested in the full story will find it here.

For those who want the short version, Quad Cites will play its series against Lansing in three different cities: Cedar Rapids, Clinton and Iowa City. The first two sites are the homes of the Midwest League’s Kernels and Lumber Kings. Iowa City is the home of University of Iowa. Three games in three different parks makes for a tough “homestand.”

Modern Woodman Park became modern through renovations prior to the 2004 season. During that time the city added berms and floodwalls to protect the park from the frequent floods.

The River Bandits are on the road following Wednesday’s game until May 8. The Dugout hopes all are safe and dry along the Mississippi. There’s much to anticipate if the River Bandits are able to return for their next homestand, starting with Redneck Night, 70s Night and Dead Musicians Night

Brat wash: Rain also affected the Wilmington Blue Rocks; albeit not nearly to the extent it hurt Quad Cities. The Blue Rocks were today’s Promo of the Day, but the Tribute to the Brat Pack was washed away. Wilmington will try again on Tuesday as part of a doubleheader. If they can pull it off, The Dugout hopes to have pictures.

Photo Courtesy Quad City River Bandits

It didn't take the SCL long to fold

2008-04-22T00:12:00.001-05:00

A little more than a month ago The Dugout lamented the independent South Coast League’s Macon Muzak decision to cancel their planned promo to mock disgraced New York governor Eliot Spitzer.

The league said it was bowing to public outcry. The Dugout argued that, because of the SCL’s financial problems, the decision likely didn’t matter. The blog concluded:

Sadly, Macon probably could let the June 13th date stand. With the money issues
the four-team SCL appears to be having, would anyone be surprised if the entire
league went out of business before then?

Those who bet the under on June 13th are winners. Late last month the SCL announced it was suspending operations. In its press release the league left the option open to restart next season.

But anyone who’s followed the league probably realizes it was never headed toward success. The Dugout is sad to see the SCL suspend play because it puts baseball players out of jobs. Hopefully the fans in Macon, Ga., Aiken, S.C. and Anderson, S.C., will have someone to root for in the near future.

For those who bought season tickets for a SCL club, follow this link to get your refund. The release that announced the suspension follows:

South Coast League Suspends Operations
March 29, 2008 - (Macon, GA) The South Coast League of Professional Baseball announced today that on April 1st, the league will be suspending business operations and postpone the 2008 season indefinitely. The league made its Inaugural Season debut in 2007 to six markets located in South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.

Most recent plans called for the replacement of one team by a new addition to the league out of Jackson, Mississippi. Recent developments within the company as well as lengthy discussions with the entire ownership group led to the decision that was handed down to league officials and the markets currently home to the league’s teams.

Like many businesses caught in the economic downturn, the South Coast League has not been able to close on a sufficient amount of debt and equity financing to ensure a successful 2008 season. The league owners have indicated that they will continue to plan for a possible restart in 2009, possibly under new ownership. The South Coast League wants to thank the many fans, sponsors, and local leaders who made the 2007 season possible.

Atlantic League offered Bonds a spring training spot

2008-04-19T18:55:00.004-05:00

The Dugout spent some time in Lakeland, Fla. where the Atlantic League holds its spring training. Confirmed from commissioner Joe Klein that the league did offer Barry Bonds the opportunity to work out with the teams during their eight-day season prep. The offer was genuine - Klein has a prior baseball relationship with the large-domed slugger and his agent - but Bonds chose not to accept. The league, which has been home to Jose Canseco, Rickey Henderson and Ruben Sierra, has yet to sign a big name player for this season, but Klein said that usually happens nearer to the start of the season.

While there, had the most interesting conversation about Tommy John surgery ever with, you guessed it, Tommy John. He’s managing Bridgeport. He told a pretty good story about what dogs shouldn’t do at the ballpark that will appear on the site.

The week also included St. Louis pitcher Mark Mulder’s rehab start for Palm Beach (see photo). Mulder looked good, getting plenty of ground balls. His velocity is still down – didn’t touch 90 – so he’s still going to need a couple more starts. The next one could come as early as Sunday for Double-A Springfield.

Palm Beach is continuing a St. Louis organization experiment that started last year by going with an eight-man starting rotation in which two starting pitchers piggy back each other, starting every four days. On Thursday starter Brendan Dickson threw five no-hit innings, but was pulled to bring in the second starter. Look for a story on the main site in the coming days.
That’s it for this update. Need to go chat with Birdzerk. Could be another story…

Pope-on-a-Rope is divine inspiration

2008-04-14T21:26:00.007-05:00

Blame the post office. That's what The Dugout is doing.

Loyal visitors have been asking to see the Pope-on-a-Rope giveaway from Saturday's Charleston RiverDogs/Rome Braves game. For those who missed it, here is the write-up from the Promotion of the Day feature on the main MinorLeagueDugout.com site.

Charleston can always be counted on for some “free-thinking” promos, but the RiverDogs staff has outdone itself with this one. In honor of Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to the U.S. next week, the RiverDogs are giving away a most extraordinary Soap-on-a-Rope to 1,000 fans. Emblazoned on the soap is a picture of His Eminency. The RiverDogs are hoping the giveaway will entice the pope to visit Charleston, which is known as the Holy City. At the very least, the giveaway may help fans wash their sins away.

The pope soap on said rope finally arrived in the mail today and is even cooler than expected (see photo). It smells reasonably good – somewhere between church incense and urinal cake – and the image quality is better than expected.

Major, major, major kudos to the Charleston folks, especially Jim Pfander. Calling the RiverDogs offices is, without fail, a highlight of any day. Can’t even imagine how much fun those creative meetings are.

Don’t think it would be too cool? Next time you are in meeting at work, try working the phase “pope on a rope” into the conversation. Or ask youself "What would Chuck Norris do?" - a promotion planned for later in the year. Now imagine doing it and not having your coworkers try to get you fired or committed.

No idea is taboo in Charleston. Remember, this is the same club that a decade ago offered to give away a vasectomy on Father’s Day. A RiverDogs representative said that stunt caused the bishop of Charleston to cancel his season tickets.

The Vatican didn’t issue a statement about the giveaway. News services in the Charleston area didn’t report any protests. People around Charleston accepted this promotion for what it was: good, clean fun.

Cleaning the Dugout

2008-04-09T20:58:00.001-05:00

Just a few notes from around minor league ballparks:

Little Legend: The Lexington Legends kicked off a program they called “Lexington's Little Legend of 2008” during their first home game of the season. The Little Legend is the baby born closest to the official first pitch at their first home game of the season on April 7.

The honors and prizes bestowed on the Little Legend’s family include a baby fit and a childhood-long membership in the kids club.

Not a bad idea, guys.

Charleston two-step: Fresh off their Writers Strike Back promotion where Charleston made its public address announcer Ken Carrington ad-lib the entire game – including promos – the RiverDogs show they can help the community. Friday they host Salute to Larry Riggs night.

Riggs, the women’s basketball coach at Charleston Southern, has been diagnosed with cancer. The night will serve as a fundraiser for Riggs, who will throw out the first pitch.

The Dugout will also feature another Charleston promotion in the coming days.

Kicking it around: Jupiter pitcher Jeff Allison is off to a good start in the race for hard luck pitcher of the year. In his second start since missing two years battling substance abuse and legal problems, the former first round draft choice allowed a single unearned run and did not factor in the decision.

Allison is 0-1 on the season despite not allowing an earned run in seven innings of work.

Allison shows he still has skill

2008-04-06T13:36:00.002-05:00

Frequent readers of the main site understand that The Dugout isn’t all about prospects. On Friday, however, a seemingly lost prospect was the story.
Jeff Allison started on the mound for Single-A Jupiter - his first regular season ballgame since 2005. Florida chose Allison with in the first round of the 2003 draft, but the troubled right-hander from Peabody, Mass., hasn’t come close to living up to expectations.
Allison has battle substance abuse problems and legal issues over the past several years. He took the mound on Friday despite being on probation in North Carolina after striking a plea bargain with the Greensboro district attorney on charges that included larceny and drug possession. Here is a story from the Palm Beach Post detailing Allison’s troubles.
Marlins officials on hand for Allison’s performance had to like what they saw. He retired the first five batters and didn’t allow a run through three innings. Things fell apart for Allison in the fourth after right fielder Jeremy Hermida, in Jupiter on a rehab assignment, dropped a routine fly ball.
Allison fell into a bit of a funk after that and didn’t record another out. His fastball hit 93 mph and his offspeed pitches consistently fooled Palm Beach hitters.
Despite the bad fourth, Marlins pitching coordinator Wayne Rosenthal termed Allison’s first outing “encouraging.” He said stamina problems early in the season are to be expected after a long layoff like Allison’s.
Following the game, Allison said walking out to the mound after his two-year hiatus was “surreal.” He came across as shy and quiet in the clubhouse, reluctant to talk about the past – can you blame him? – or even his first outing.
Still, he seemed pleased to be on the mound again, almost relieved. Allison said his post game plans were to go home and go to bed.The Dugout should get to see a decent amount Allison this season. It will be interesting to see how he handles the grind. Could this be another Josh Hamilton-type success story?

Opening day has big league flair in Jupiter

2008-04-04T17:28:00.003-05:00

The Jupiter Hammerheads had a pretty interesting opening night, employing a starting lineup that featured major league rehabbers Jeremy Hermida and Mike Rabelo.

Rabelo’s night didn’t go so well, 0-3 with two strikeouts, while Hermida doubled in his first at-bat and scored the game’s opening run.

Palm Beach countered with Tyler Herron on the mound, a former first-round draft choice who went to high school about 15 miles from Jupiter’s ballpark. He struggled a bit, allowing three runs in four innings and didn’t factor in the decision – a 5-4 Palm Beach win.

Herron was limited to four innings because Palm Beach is going with an eight-man rotation. The Cardinals are trying to develop starting pitching, so they are having two “starting” pitchers pitch each game, both maxing out at four innings.

The pitcher that starts the first game becomes the second pitcher used four days later. Should be interesting to see how it works this season.

Mascot shenanigans: The Fresno Grizzlies mascot is planning on a work stoppage is more fans don’t come to the ballpark. Fresno sent The Dugout the following press release on Friday. Enjoy.

GRIZZLIES MASCOT THREATENS ILL-TIMED WALKOUT
Parker On The Verge Of Challenging Fans, Team To Pack The Park

FRESNO, CA – Seven days before the Fresno Grizzlies home opener against the Tucson Sidewinders, scheduled for Friday, April 11th at Chukchansi Park, the team’s beloved mascot has revealed that he is considering a walk-out. Electrified by the environment at Chukchansi Park last Wednesday when the Grizzlies defeated the San Francisco Giants in front of a Park-record 14,084 fans, Parker has informed management that he may stage a walk-out until the team packs the Park for their home opener.

“He wasn’t upset, but he was resolute that if Grizzlies fans could produce that type of atmosphere for an exhibition contest, it should be no problem to do it again for Opening Day,” said the team’s Vice President of Marketing, Scott Carter, who met with the mascot on Thursday evening as the Grizzlies kicked off the 2008 season in Portland, OR. “Parker is a baseball purist at heart, and like all baseball fans he realizes the special appeal that Opening Day has. His point was simple: ‘Real Fans Go To Opening Day’.”

The mascot, who debuted at Chukchansi Park on April 14, 2006, stunned the Fresno front office with his challenge. “He’s one of the most important, if not the most important, personalities in this organization,” said Grizzlies Executive Vice President Mike Maiorana. “It certainly wouldn’t be Opening Day without him.”

Parker was honored as the ‘Best Mascot’ in all of professional sports by industry publication GameOps.com following the 2007 season. According to GameOps, “Parker is an integral part of the game-day experience in Fresno, as well as a popular community ambassador…a great sense of humor, fun-loving and popular with fans.”

Though Parker could not be reached for comment at the time of this release, team officials have said they expect to hear from him on Monday, hopefully after he has reconsidered.
“Quite frankly, I don’t know what we’ll do if he carries through with this,” said Carter. “If Parker decides to walk away, we’re going to need the help of the entire Fresno baseball community, and we hope they’re up for the challenge of bringing him back.” The Grizzlies opened the 2008 season on Thursday night with an 8-4 loss at Portland’s PGE Park. The regular season at Chukchansi Park begins on April 11th when Fresno hosts the Tucson Sidewinders in Pacific Coast League action. For more information on the Grizzlies game schedule and promotional calendar, please call 559.320.HITS or visit fresnogrizzlies.com.

A Miner Day, a (somewhat) major trade

2008-04-03T10:29:00.002-05:00

Just a couple of notes as The Dugout prepares for opening day festivities.

Congratulations to the Southern Illinois Miners. Their logo won CNBC’s online NCAA basketball tournament-style play off, defeating the Wichita Wingnuts with 55 percent of the final votes.

Also wanted to give props to the Everett AquaSox, who issued a press release on Tuesday alerting the media that they had traded their mascot to Tri-City in an even-up swap. Of course, the date on top of the release was April 1. Good to see some people having a little fun.

Here is the entire release:

AQUASOX TRADE MASCOT “WEBBLY”
Everett’s favorite frog to join Tri-City Dust Devils

Everett, WA - The Everett AquaSox Baseball Club has announced today that its principal mascot, Webbly, has been traded to the Tri-City Dust Devils of the Northwest League in exchange for their mascot, Dusty the Dust Devil.

During baseball’s annual Winter Meetings in December, the AquaSox re-signed the team’s other two mascots, Frank and Popfly, each to a one-year extension, to keep them both in Everett through the 2008 season.

The AquaSox felt that it was important to keep all three mascots in Everett indefinitely, especially with the 2008 season being the 25th anniversary of Minor League Baseball™ in Everett, but could not come to an agreement with Webbly.

Webbly’s existing contract with the AquaSox was set to expire at the end of the 2008 season. The 12-year veteran frog made it known through his agent that he hoped to re-structure and extend his agreement in order to avoid a potential hold-out.

“Webbly has been an integral part of the success of the AquaSox and we wish him the best in Pasco,” said AquaSox General Manager Brian Sloan, “however, we must look to the future. I am confident that Dusty will be a positive addition to our staff and I believe that a Dust Devil, a Hot Dog and a Puppet can coexist on the same team and continue to entertain AquaSox fans for the next 25 years.”

Dusty first blew into the Tri-Cities in 2001 and has spent the past 7 seasons entertaining fans as the mascot for the Colorado Rockies Class A Affiliate.

Webbly, who is a cross between a Pacific Tree Frog and a Central American Red-Eyed Tree Frog, had been with the AquaSox since the 1997 season.
The Northwest League season begins June 17.

CNBC tournament attempts to determine best minor league logo

2008-03-31T21:45:00.004-05:00

Here’s a little tidbit for those who love the fun of NCAA tournament brackets but don’t really like basketball.

On his Sports Biz page, CNBC’s Darren Rovell set up an NCAA tournament-style bracket pairing off what he believes to be the 64 best minor league baseball logos.

The best part of the contest, which allows fan voting to determine which logos advance, is that Rovell included independent teams. They have shown well. Here is CNBC’s slideshow featuring the 64 contestants.

The Northern League’s Joliet Jackhammers actually grabbed a No. 1 seed. Though the Jackhammers didn’t live up to their billing, there may be an all-independent league final. The Frontier League’s Southern Illinois Miners have already advanced to the championship game. The Miners will face the winner of the winner of the current Wichita Wingnuts (American Association) vs. Clinton LumberKings (Midwest League) contest.

Believe it or not, the Lumberkings overcame controversy to reach the final four.

Their elite eight opponent, Quad Cities, sent out a press release questioning how the LumberKings logo became so beefy. The LumberKings new logo (gold crown) and old logo are at the top of this page.

“I’m not going to point fingers, but I’ve had a lot of people asked me if I’ve noticed a change,” River Bandits Vice President and General Manager Kirk Goodman said in the release. “I really don’t think it’s fair to comment on the issue. I haven’t spent much one-on-one time with Louie so I’m not going to speak to his personal habits or the obvious change in his physique, head size, and appearance.”

Louie the LumberKing quickly answered the criticism.

"I'd like to say to all Clinton LumberKings fans, Minor League Baseball fans, and the public in general that not at any time did I take any performance-enhancing drugs,” Louie told CNBC. “Yes, I do look a little different this year, but all I did was change my facial hair and roll up my sleeves. I've always been muscular, and I have been subjected to the same drug tests as all players and mascots throughout baseball. I have even been tested all throughout high school and my college years at Paul Bunyan University."

As for The Dugout’s favorite logo, well let’s just settle on a final four:

Modesto Nuts: the logo is so funny and odd that The Dugout used to sneak onto people’s computers and make the Nuts logo the main image on their desktop.

Casper Ghosts: The logo may not be the best, but it glows in the dark. Pretty cool. Look for more on that in a soon-to-be published story on the main site.

Chattanooga Lookouts: It’s a classic. Somehow didn’t make the CNBC tourney.

Dayton: Dragon logo barely beats alien of Las Vegas.
Honorable Mentions: Lake Elsinore, Toledo, Everett, Las Vegas, and Reno.

Of space suits and Pete Orr

2008-03-26T22:45:00.002-05:00

VIERA, Fla – The Dugout starts the final week of spring training in, of all places, major league camp. Washington is hosting Detroit in Space Coast Stadium, which was originally built to be the first spring home of the Florida Marlins.

Washington (which at the time was still Montreal) traded spring training homes with Florida when Jeffery Loria traded in the Expos to take over ownership of the Marlins. Loria reasoned he put plenty of effort into building Jupiter’s Roger Dean Stadium wanted his new team’s spring home to be in Jupiter. Washington, which was being run by the MLB, really didn’t have anyone to argue, so the deal was done.

Today was NASA day at the ballpark. Though cold and windy, the Nationals didn’t scrap plans to have a man wearing a space suit throw out the first pitch. He missed the plate by a moon shot.

Prior to the start of the game, The Dugout caught up with Nationals utility man Pete Orr. It was the first time Orr saw his story in The Funniest Thing I’ve Ever Seen: More than 100 crazy stories from minor league baseball.

For those who don’t know the story, here it is:

You Put Your Right Hand In
Canada is not a hot bed for baseball talent but it consistently
provides players for the annual MLB first-year player draft. In 2004,
for example, 38 Canadians were chosen in the 50-round draft.

Richmond Braves second baseman Pete Orr is an example of a
Canadian making a living playing America’s past time. Orr, who
attended Galveston (Texas) Community College, signed with Atlanta as
an undrafted free agent in 1999. Since then, Orr has moved steadily up
through the Braves’ minor league system.

Growing up in Newmarket, Ontario, Orr had to struggle to get
recognition from scouts. The much shorter season in the Great White
North places players at a disadvantage, especially when compared to
their counterparts who grew up in Florida or the Caribbean.

“It’s a disadvantage, but you don’t even know it,” Orr said. “When
you are there playing you don’t even realize. When I got older – like 17
or 18 – we practiced indoors in the winter when we could. You don’t
realize how much of a disadvantage it is until you get older.”

Orr has overcome the disadvantage. In 2003, he was the Greenville
Braves lone representative on the Double-A Southern League’s postseason
All-Star team. That same year he was named the league’s “Hustler of the Year.”

He began 2004 with the Triple-A Richmond Braves, playing second and third base, shortstop, and the outfield.

Orr considers second base his best position, but doesn’t mind the
role of utility man if it gets him on the field.

The drive to play sometimes causes players to overlook other
aspects of their lives. Former Greenville Brave Billy McCarthy
committed just such an oversight in an incident that Orr recalls as one
of the more remarkable baseball stories.

Pete Orr: [The team] thought [McCarthy] had a broken hand. It
was his left hand. He went to the doctor to get an MRI and got the
MRI done on his wrong hand.

He had to pass the MRI to play. He was all excited. He thought
he was going to get to play. The trainer was like, “Wait a minute,
Billy, this is the wrong hand. You still can’t play. He had to go getanother MRI.”

Macon prepares to bow out shamefully

2008-03-17T22:55:00.003-05:00

The Dugout was ready to give the Macon Music the benefit of the doubt. After all, Macon beat every other minor league team to the announcement of their promotion mocking Eliot Spitzer.

Hey, any politician who allows himself to be labeled “a fierce defender of ethics” by the New York Times; then is foolish enough to be caught with a hooker, pretty much deserves all ridicule.

Sure, it was odd that Macon would wait until several weeks after the start of their season to hold the June 13th promotion. It was almost cute that the front page of the Muzak’s web site referred to “mayor” Spitzer. And maybe they did plan to fly the winner to New York but have them stay in a hotel room in Washington D.C., as the story on their site haphazardly suggests.

The real red flag was paying for said room. As noted in the story on the main site, the South Coast League, which owns and operates all four SCL teams, already owes one of its road hotels nearly $40,000. Scott Adamson, who covers the SCL and the Anderson Joes for the Independent-Mail, is responsible for breaking that story a couple of days ago. It seems the league simply stopped paying many of its bills – never a good sign.

Now the Muzak say they’ve received so many complaints about the tasteless nature of the promotion that it’s allowing fans to vote whether the promotion will happen at all. The ballot is on the Muzak’s web site.

Any guesses how that will turn out? Consider it cancelled. And when that happens, fans of MinorLeagueDugout.com won’t have to bother looking for any South Coast League team to be featured in the highly-regarded “Promotion of the Day” section on the main page. Just can’t trust them.

Congratulations Macon, you got us. You made your splash.

The shame is, the idea was pretty good. Even if it was too expensive to go to New York or D.C., the Muzak could have sent the lucky winner to a cheap hotel in the area. Maybe even offer companionship.

Heck, why not dress up in the colors and logos of the former minor league hockey team from Macon – the Whoopee. Truth is, all of that costs money, which is something the league simply doesn’t have.

This statement from SCL vice president of sales and marketing Steven Tricarico is telling: “You tell me a single team out there that doesn’t owe somebody money.”

He’s right. Most do owe money. The difference is that most pay their debts.

Sadly, Macon probably could let the June 13th date stand. With the money issues the four-team SCL appears to be having, would anyone be surprised if the entire league went out of business before then?

Spikes-up Duncan can do damage in the pool, too.

2008-03-13T20:47:00.002-05:00

Well those Yankees and Rays are having some fun in spring training, aren't they?

In case you missed it, New York was a little upset that Elliot Johnson decided to run over Yankees catcher Francisco Cervelli in the ninth-inning of Saturday’s game. It would have been hailed as a spectacular play – had the game happened in August. Or May even.

But taking out the catcher Pete Rose-vs.-Ray Fosse style in a spring training game struck plenty of people the wrong way. Especially, apparently, Yankees manager and former catcher Joe Girardi. Though Girardi hasn’t taken credit (or blame) for the actions of his Yankees in Wednesday’s follow-up meeting, it’s hard to believe the ultra-competitive manager didn’t at least stir the clubhouse pot.

New York pitcher Heath Phillips plunked Evan Longoria in the first inning. In the following inning Shelley Duncan cleared the benches when he slid spikes-up into second, catching Tampa shortstop Akinori Iwamura in the thigh.

Duncan was ejected immediately, but that wasn’t good enough for Rays outfielder Jonny Gomes, who raced to second and tried to tackle Duncan. The benches cleared. Gomes and a couple of Yankees coaches were ejected. All good spring fun.

Why does The Dugout care about a major league dustup? Faithful readers know The Dugout holds a place for both Duncan brothers, Shelley and St. Louis outfielder Chris.

For those who don’t know this story, here is one of Shelley’s entries from The Funniest Thing I’ve Ever Seen: More than 100 crazy stories from minor league baseball.

Think The Explorer Would Be Proud?
Shelley Duncan has been around baseball all his life. His father, Dave, won two World Series rings as a catcher on the 1971 and ‘72 Oakland Athletics, before heading to Baltimore. During his playing career he caught three Cy Young award winners: Vida Blue, Jim “Catfish” Hunter and Jim Palmer.
Nowadays, the elder Duncan is probably better known as the pitching coach who helped develop a dominant Oakland staff in the late 1980s that included Dave Stewart, Mike Moore, Bob Welch and Dennis Eckersley. Those Oakland teams led the American League in ERA from 1988-1990. Duncan continued his success in St. Louis when he and manager Tony LaRussa moved there in 1995, coaching the Cardinals to a World Series berth in 2004. As a coach he fostered three more Cy Young winners: Stewart, Eckersley and Hoyt Wilhelm.
Dave Duncan knows pitching, making it a little ironic that his sons Shelley and Chris would become professional hitters.
The 24-year-old Shelley is a first baseman/outfielder in the Yankees organization and Chris, who is one year younger, is a first baseman in the Cardinals organization. The pair is close, talking almost every night. Shelly considers their time together playing high school baseball to be, “the best experience ever.”
Shelley came close to being a professional pitcher. He pitched at the University of Arizona, but a sore shoulder ended that career path.
Now the younger Duncans make a living with their bats, and Shelley gives their pitching-coach extraordinaire father plenty of credit for their success.
“We know a lot about pitching,” Shelley said. “He’s best at teaching a pitcher how to pitch; how to execute pitches, what to throw and when to throw, how to approach different hitters. That’s where we learned a lot of stuff too. It gives us a good idea of how to have an approach at the plate.”
The brothers don’t get to see each other much during the season. Shelley toils for the Class A Tampa Yankees in the heat of the Florida State League while Chris has advanced to the Class AA Tennessee Smokies of the Southern League. The separation may be a good thing for all involved, considering the last time the pair got together during baseball season.

Shelley Duncan: I was playing in Greensboro in the Sally League. I broke my hand with about two weeks left in the season. I was done for the year, so they said I could go home.
I went up and surprised my brother at one of his games. He was playing for the Peoria Chiefs in the Midwest League. I went to Burlington to one of his [road] games. I was screaming and hollering and being a goof. That’s when he noticed me.
We went back to Peoria the next night. He had an apartment complex right near the hotel. It’s called the Mark Twain. It’s a hotel that has apartments that they rent out and they have maid service. He’s living there. So I got a room at the Twain.
It was someone’s birthday on his team so the whole team went out. His team that year was just crazy – the whole team went out. Everyone was getting hammered. We didn’t get in until like 5:00 in the morning.
My brother decided to stay in my room because his roommate snored. We come crawling in at 5:00 in the morning. We’re dead asleep. Let me just explain that this was one of those hotels where it’s indoors, there’s a pool in the middle and the rooms are all around the pool.
We wake up to the sound of, “Marco. Polo. Marco. Polo.”
We feel like it’s 7:00 in the morning when in reality it’s like 11 o’clock. But still, we were sleeping. Chris gets pretty upset about this. He opens the door and yells, “Thank you, everyone. We really appreciate it. You woke everybody up. Good job. Thank you very much.” He was thinking that would shut them up.
We tried to go back to bed. We close our eyes. About 15-20 seconds after we lay down we hear, “Marco. Polo.”
I was like, “Damn it, Chris, I’ll show you how it’s done.”
So I stick my head out and yell, “Shut the fuck up!” at the top of my lungs.
All the kid’s parents were right around the pool, too, and their eyes were bug-eyed to the top [of the hotel]. I slammed the door and went back to bed. They were quiet, too. I said, “That’s how you do it, Chris.”
A minute later there’s a knock on the door. We just let it go. They just kept knocking. I got up and went to the peephole. It was the hotel manager.
I opened the door and said, “Yes.”
“We heard that you yelled profanity at these little kids at the pool.”
I said, “No, no – it was the people next door.”
I shut the door on her and laid down in bed. You could tell she was really, really upset. She turned around and yelled, “All right kids. Go ahead and keep playing. And be louder.”
All the sudden you here “MARCO! POLO! MARCO! POLO!” They are going nuts.
So I get up on the bed. I look like I’m getting crazy.
Chris said, “Shelley, what are you doing? What are you doing?”
I said, “I’ll take care of this.”
I put my shorts on and I storm out the door. I walked down the stairs and went straight to the pool. I jumped in the pool – a cannon ball. The kids all scattered off and the parents were all sitting around the pool.
I started yelling, “Yeah, let’s play! Let’s play!” I started splashing water all over the parents. The kids were scared to death. They didn’t know what to do. The parents were treating me like I had a disease or something.
I started yelling, “Marco!”
My brother is up on the second story. He started yelling, “Polo!”
I’m yelling, “Marco!”
He’s yelling, “Polo!”
The next thing we know the manager runs out. She starts screaming, “I called the police. You better leave immediately.”
I got up. Walked upstairs. Went into the hotel room. Me and my brother are laughing in the hotel room. I’m drying myself off.
A minute later the police are knocking on the door. They know Chris because he’s been on the Chiefs for about two or three years. They said, “What happened?”
We told them exactly what happened. They couldn’t help from laughing at the whole thing. They said, “That’s hilarious. We can’t really do anything except ask you to leave because that’s what the manager says; but, did you really start yelling ‘Marco Polo’ in the swimming pool?”They were just dying laughing in the room. All they made us do was go back to Chris’ little apartment. He got a couple laughs when he told his team that story.

Minor Leaguers are back at the ballpark

2008-03-07T14:28:00.003-05:00

JUPITER, Fla. - Ahh, the first days of spring training.

The Dugout is a little late arriving, but at least it's in the ballpark. Am currently sitting at Roger Dean Stadium watching a titanic clash between the unknown Florida Marlins and the barely-known Washington Nationals.

It may be what Ben Folds was talking about in his song “Battle of Who Could Care Less.” But that’s beside the point. It’s March and there’s real baseball being played.

Today is the first day of full workouts for Cardinals minor leaguers (They share the spring training complex with Florida). Saw Dugout favorite Matt Pagnozzi. The catcher was in major league camp until yesterday. He hopes to begin the season with Triple-A Memphis.

Former Palm Beach Cardinal managers Pop Warner and Gaylen Pitts are still with the organization. Pitts will return to Palm Beach for his second Florida State League season.

As good as it was to see some of the younger guys, today was more about the big leaguers. The Dugout is writing a couple of stories for Junior Baseball magazine. Today’s feature is on former Arizona Diamondback and current Florida Marlin Luis Gonzalez.

Did get the opportunity to talk a little minor league ball with Gonzo. One of his more bizarre memories involves the strange toilet location in the middle Auburn’s clubhouse.

“In between the lockers there was actually a stall and it looked like a horse stall, so when a player was taking a poop their head was sticking up above the partition,” Gonzalez said. “It was kind of weird. A lot of times people don’t realize that things aren’t as glamorous as everybody assumes they are in the minor leagues.”Pooping conditions aside, it’s good to be back at the ballpark.

Minor league baseball can help with small and big problems

2008-02-06T21:28:00.000-05:00

First, the good news.

For those in the northwest who love baseball, Vancouver is combining love and baseball.

The Northwest League's Canadians are offering a Valentine's Day packaged called the "Cupid Pack," which includes 10 any-game tickets complete with a rose to that special someone. The Cupid Packs, which sell for $99, will be delivered to that special someone’s house or office by a Canadians’ staff member.

Now the sad news.

As many of you already know, Jackson, Tennessee was walloped by tornados last night. It appears Pringles Field, home of the West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx, was spared some of the damage. In other areas the damage was catastrophic.

At least 40 people have been confirmed dead. An entire university, Union, was nearly wiped off the map. Cars were tossed like pretzels, many coming to resemble the twisted snacks.

Those close to The Dugout know that Jackson was a summer stop for one of the inspirations for the site. While it’s too early for the Diamond Jacks and minor league baseball to announce relief efforts, they are undoubtedly coming. The Dugout will keep you posted.

In the meantime, keep a good thought for the people of western Tennessee.

Never too early for baseball

2008-01-26T13:49:00.000-05:00

JUPITER, Fla. - Baseball comes early to year-round residents of Florida.

Roger Dean Stadium - spring training home of the Florida Marlins and St. Louis Cardinals, and the Florida State League's Jupiter Hammerheads and Palm Beach Cardinals – held their Funfest today under a blue sky and 70-degree weather.

Jealous?

This is the first year RDS has attempted to make an event out of distributing tickets. Anyone who stops by the park today is allowed onto the field to run the bases or play catch. Major league players are signing autographs. There are temporary tattoos, bounce houses and free food.

Not a bad way to spend an afternoon.

The only drawback was that RDS also held tryouts for National Anthem singers. Right now a 6-year-old girl who’s proclaimed to be the “lizard catcher of the world” is giving it a go. She wasn’t doing to badly until just now, when she forgot the words. That seems to be a trend today.

There is also music outside provided by a band that contains former major leaguer and current Marlins broadcaster Tommy Hutton’s son, Derek. The Dugout first met Derek while he was playing second base for Florida Atlantic University. The band sounds pretty good, offering a selection that includes Matchbox 20, U2 and Bob Seger.

So, yeah, there is still a week left in January. Heck, people are still planning their Super Bowl parties. But, fear not. Baseball is in the air.

Now, The Dugout has to walk across the street from the ballpark, where the community is hosting its second-annual Beerfest. There are more than 100 micro brews for the tasting.
Somebody has to do it…

Braves leaving Richmond for Buford

2008-01-15T20:37:00.000-05:00

The Richmond Braves are saying goodbye to Virginia.

The club announced today that its triple-A club will leave Virginia for a new ballpark being built in Gwinnett County, Ga., for the 2009 season. The Braves had called Richmond home since 1966.

It’s not that surprising that the Atlanta organization was looking for new digs. The Diamond looks like one of those cookie-cutter big league stadiums that become popular in the early 1970s. The only difference is that the park in Richmond appears incomplete.

The big cement overhang only stands behind home plate, but fans still get kind of an antiseptic feel when entering the park. The rest of the park was left open, leading to speculation that an upper deck could someday encase the entire park if a major league team ever came knocking.

The city of Richmond was apparently entertaining the idea of building a new stadium for the Braves, but according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch talks never advanced far.

“Unfortunately, the city seems prone to consulting things to death to such a degree that nothing happens," Richmond City Council President William J. Pantele told the Times-Dispatch "You've got to have the strength to pull the trigger."

The Braves new ballpark will be in Buford, a city about 40 miles from downtown Atlanta. That’s about a two-and-a-half hour drive in normal Atlanta traffic.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Gwinnett County appears ready to post the estimated $45 million to build the new park. The Braves, in turn, will sign a 30-year lease at about $250,000 a season.

The Braves will play this season in Richmond, which is a ballpark that holds a sentimental attachment to The Dugout.

Readers of The Funniest Thing I’ve Ever Seen: More the 100 crazy stories from minor league baseball may recognize that the cover photo was shot in Richmond.

The accompanying story was from then-Brave Charles Thomas. Here it is:

Charles Thomas is having an interesting day. The box of new bats he was expecting finally arrived. When Thomas opened them, he was disappointed to find the box stuffed with training bats – short bats that allow a player to work on aspects of his swing by swinging one-handed. He thought the bat company made a mistake until Richmond Braves’ second baseman and teammate Pete Orr told Thomas he was the victim of a joke.

What did Thomas do to deserve this? Plenty, and that’s a good thing. Jokes like Orr’s are commonly played on young players experiencing success. Thomas clearly fits that description.
Through mid-May the Atlanta Braves prospect was hitting .356 with 2 home runs, 17 RBIs and 16 runs scored. He was second in the Triple-A International League in hitting, third in triples with four, and is coming off a 16-game consecutive on-base streak.

So one practical joke was in order. Thomas never saw the second one coming. Moments after clearing up his bat problems, Thomas took the field for a pre-game television interview. Thomas was facing the reporter. His back was to the dugout when teammate Matt Whiteside raced up the steps and smashed a towel covered with Edge shaving gel into Thomas’ face.
The gel penetrated his mouth and stung his eyes, yet Thomas was as amused as any of the fifteen onlookers.

“We have a great group of guys,” Thomas said. “It’s a sign that they care. I think when they leave you alone and don’t pay any attention to you, that’s when there are problems.”
One former teammate Thomas constantly paid attention too was Rusty McNamara. In 2002, McNamara, who was playing for Double-A Greenville, found a big audience paying attention to his antics.

Charles Thomas: We were in a rain delay in Tennessee against the Smokies. It’s pouring. [McNamara] gets the idea to come out of the clubhouse. I think he just had his dry-fit top and shorts on. He starts playing to the crowd – with his arms up.

He [reaches] his arms up and out like he’s stretching, then dives into a big puddle of water on the tarp. He starts doing the backstroke, front stroke. It was a trip. The crowd was there and they were loving it – eating it up.

It was one of the funniest things I’ve seen - even the dive itself into the water. You see guys flying around the tarps all the time, but he made it like he was in a little swim meet.

Pulaski's back, Appy returns to normal

2008-01-04T17:27:00.000-05:00

The Appalachian League is back to normal.

After playing the 2007 season with nine teams, the league recently announced that minor league baseball will return to Pulaski, Va. this summer.

Short-season players in the Seattle Mariners organization will call Pulaski home.

The return to an even number of teams allows the Appy League to return to a normal schedule. The league played with nine teams last season after Toronto pulled out of Pulaski in late 2006. League officials unsuccessfully tried to find a replacement for the 2007 season. Teams were forced to play a series of two-game sets last season, with one team always receiving a couple of days off.

It started looking bleak for putting a team in Pulaski for 2008 when a deal wasn’t announced during baseball’s winter meetings, held in early December in Nashville. The Mariners eventually signed the deal, giving Seattle seven minor league clubs.

Minor league baseball in Pulaski dates back to the 1940s. Prior to being a Blue Jays affiliate, Pulaski hosted players from the Rangers, Braves, Phillies and Cubs organizations.

The Pulaski Mariners will play in Calfee Park, one of the oldest ballparks in America. They open on the road at Princeton, W.V. Baseball finally returns to Calfee Park on June 20 when the Mariners host the Elizabethton Twins.

Spring music: Baseball fans headed to Florida for spring training should plan on being near Orlando on Feb. 22. Veteran rockers Seven Mary Three are holding a CD release party for their sixth album Day&NightDriving that weekend, playing an acoustic show on Friday night and an rock blowout at the House of Blues on Saturday.

They are offering a package that’s a tremendous value: 70 bucks gets tickets to both shows, a shirt and a copy of the CD. They did something similar two years a to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the release of their debut album. The Dugout had a blast. Great people, great music. More on this as the date approaches.

Down the street from 7m3’s acoustic show on the 22nd, Lucero will take the stage with their hard-driving style of southern rock. One of the best bands few have heard, the Memphis-based quartet puts on a fantastic show.

The Dugout is already trying to find a way to catch both shows.

Mitchell report can't burn what the needle can't find

2007-12-18T15:27:00.000-05:00

The needle can't burn what the needle can't find
And the money won't save what the money can't hide
And part of me is safe and part of me is lies

- Seven Mary Three

When Seven Mary Three front man Jason Ross penned these lyrics, he most assuredly wasn’t thinking about baseball. Though several members of the group are avid baseball fans – especially minor league baseball – Ross is not.

He does, however, take some level of pride when people hear his songs and apply their own interpretation. No one would argue the whole of Needle Can’t Burn is about baseball, but sometimes little tidbits removed from the whole just seem to work.

Consider applying it to the recently released Mitchell Report detailing steroid use in baseball. Step over the obvious needle reference. The underlying causes of baseball’s out-of-control steroid problem are money and safety. While Ross has shown a preoccupation with the emotions, ideas and feelings we hide from others; in this case the motivation for hiding information was fear.

Some of those fears are quite rational. The Dugout has talked with more than one player who suggested that some players felt they needed the extra boost just to keep up with what others are doing.

Other fears couldn’t be more juvenile. At what age do kids learn to keep bad deeds to themselves to avoid getting in trouble?

Either way, this report could have made Major League Baseball’s worst fears come true. Turns out baseball had nothing to be scared of.

Now that the Mitchell Report is finally available, do can anyone honestly say they know more about steroid and HGH use in baseball? Were there any really surprising revelations?

Most of the big names in the report had already been rumored to be friends with the needle. While it’s impressive that Mitchell was able to implicate every major league club while using so few sources, most of the allegations barely reach the level of gossip.

Essentially, the report only reinforced anecdotal evidence that lots of players were doing lots of things, some of which were even legal. The biggest nugget The Dugout takes away from the report is that pitchers were just as busy plunging as hitters. So while some hitters’ stats were inflated by their own drug use, it seems safe to assume that others were diminished because they faced pumped-up pitchers.

Who benefited the most? Well, the cheaters did. And so did the owners. And so did the fans, who reveled in watching the grand game turn into an amped-up stickball match.

And let’s not forget the owners, who clearly looked away from the syringes, focusing instead on new television contracts and increased attendance.

Follow the money. Know that the era was tainted. Push for stronger testing programs and penalties. Invest money to find a test for HGH, which currently is undetectable in the blood stream.

In a few years some retired player with more credibility than Jose Canseco will write a book naming more players who juiced. But by then they will barely be footnotes used to sell books. Most of the hard evidence, if it ever existed, will have long been incinerated.

The more time passes, the more difficult it will become to discover where the needle hides.

One not so big name: Howie Clark was the only player featured in The Funniest Thing I’ve Ever Seen, More than 100 crazy stories from minor league baseball to be named in the Mitchell Report. The Dugout met Clark in 2004 while he was playing for Syracuse. His story may not be the funniest in the book, but it’s a different way to end this not so humorous steroid story.

The Dog Day Of Summer

Even though Howie Clark has played major league baseball for the
Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays, he will likely be best
remembered as the man who played all nine positions in a single game
for the Double-A Eastern League’s Bowie Baysox in 1996. Now a
member of the Triple-A Syracuse Sky Chiefs, a Toronto affiliate,
Clark’s career has taken a path he didn’t foresee on that September
night.

Clark played for Baltimore’s Triple-A affiliate Rochester Red
Wings in 2000, but didn’t have a job in 2001. He signed with the
Yucatan Leones of the Mexican League and was surprised by how
much he enjoyed his south-of-the-border experience.

“It’s different than the [affiliated] minor leagues because there’s no
where to [move up],” explained Clark, who equates the league’s level
of play in between Double- and Triple-A. “There’s no farm system.
You play to win. If you play well the town’s happy, the owners are
happy. Everyone’s happy. If you don’t play well you risk getting sent
out of there.”

As a bald American, Clark says he was easily recognizable in his
new town. Residents constantly came up to ask how he was playing or
how the team did that night. Clark considers the Mexican fans
knowledgeable about baseball, cheering often overlooked aspects of the
game such as advancing runners and good fundamental baseball.

“They cheer the home team,” Clark said. “They don’t boo the
visiting team. They have a certain class about them that made it fun to
come and play.”

But the league did have its downside. Some of the facilities weren’t
up to the standards of American minor league parks. The smaller parks
can lead to some interesting nights on the diamond and, in this case,
one dog-day afternoon.

Howie Clark: In 2001 I went down to Mexico to play for the
summer. For their spring training you play in tiny, tiny towns. The
dugout is very small and it’s super hot.

I played for the Yucatan Leones, which was in the city of Merida.
We were playing Cancun’s team in the spring, playing in this tiny
town a couple hours from Cancun. I just remember it being so hot
and there was no shade.

In the middle of my at-bat a dog ran onto the field. It just kind of
came on and ran by the pitcher’s mound. Then it stopped. Then it
started running all around. Nobody wanted to go after it. It stopped
the game for a little while, but [the game] started up again.
It happened three times that game. The same dog just came
out. I don’t know whether it just liked the game, or what. It was
definitely far removed from anything around here. They called time
and they were chasing this dog for what seemed like forever trying
to get him off the field.

Home Team Handz gives baseball the clap

2007-12-13T18:53:00.000-05:00

The Dugout is still waiting for Home Team Handz to announce its first contract with a major or minor league ball club. That wait shouldn’t be long.

For those yet to see the story on the main MinorLeagueDugout.com site, Home Team Handz debuted a nylon glove with plastic half-globes attached to the palms at the winter meetings in Nashville. The front and back of the gloves are pictured on the right.

Clapping your hands while wearing these gloves produces a sound significantly louder than skin on skin. The gloves, which may be a bit pricey for a minor league giveaway even with the spot for sponsorship on the back of the glove, should make their appearances at major league parks this season.

The Dugout, for one, doesn’t want to be at that game. They are loud. As Matt Moore, a friend of The Dugout, put it: They are a headache on a glove.

That doesn’t mean the product won’t sell. Look at ThunderStix. Those things are utterly annoying, yet they were the hit of promotional giveaways for, what, five years? Home Team Handz puts the thunder in your palms – which is actually a benefit to those sitting behind you.

The gloves are also more durable, therefore more usable, than the balloon-like Thundersix, which should help increase the amount of grade-school detentions if giveaway days precede school days. People who wear these clap-traps seem to love them. And they draw a crowd.

They are another example of a simple idea that thousands of people will wear and think, “How come I didn’t think of this?” So congrats to Marc Kohn and Craig Maniglia for executing a good idea. Fans of these sorts of promotional noisemakers should hurry to get a pair. Those who don’t like this stuff, well you should probably get your hands on some, too. Trust The Dugout, you may not be a fan of the noise, but you certainly don’t want to be the only fan without them.

Winter meetings start dealing

2007-12-04T19:50:00.000-05:00

Baseball’s Winter Meetings are in full swing – so to speak.

The Dugout is currently position just to the right of ESPN’s broadcast position. The media pool is in a frenzy chasing the big trade. For those who haven’t heard, several media outlets are reporting that the Florida Marlins have traded both Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis to Detroit for centerfielder Cameron Maybin, pitcher Andrew Miller, and catcher Mike Rabelo.

Maybin was the Tigers’ first-round selection in 2005. Miller was their No. 1 pick the following year.

The Marlins will also receive three other minor league pitchers. Eulogio De La Cruz is reportedly one of them. The Detroit Free Press is reporting Burke Badenhop and Dallas Trahern are also part of the deal.

This just in: Harold Reynolds just walked. He’s now working for MLB TV. He picked up a copy of The Funniest Thing I’ve Ever Seen: More than 100 crazy stories from minor league baseball. Can’t hurt to have him carrying it around.

In another player movement note, the Yankees just signed catcher Jose Molina to a two-year deal. The move is significant to Dugout fans because to make room for him, the Yankees removed Andy Phillips from their 40-man roster.

Phillips told one of the stories featured in the book Reynolds is about to read.

The Dugout spent most of the afternoon canvassing the convention center floor. The next great promotional item has been identified. You will never clap the same way again. Look for the story to be posted either later tonight or early tomorrow.

There will also be features about the latest in popcorn accessories, an interesting way for fans to giveaway their unused tickets, and perhaps a little something about an online academy that trains students for careers in sports management and marketing.

Will leave you with this guy on the right - if i can get the picture posted. For some resaon the site is exceptionally slow. His human horn show was one of the highlights of last night’s convention opening – for about 30 seconds. He clearly had too much time on his hands for a long portion of his life. Pray a ballpark near you doesn’t find this guy attractive.

FSL fixture Rabenecker flying the coop

2007-09-05T23:11:00.000-05:00

Fans of the Florida State League were shocked on the opening day of the playoffs to learn that longtime Roger Dean Stadium general manager Rob Rabenecker had resigned.

Rabenecker (right) told Florida Marlins and St. Louis Cardinals, both of whom call RDS home, of his decision on Friday. The news hit the Palm Beach Post on Monday and was the third most read story on their internet site. And that’s with the Dolphins preparing for their first game, Florida State football losing its opener and the Marlins in the midst of a losing streak.

Rabenecker, a fixture in the FSL since 1989, was responsible for brokering one of the most unique deals in minor league baseball. RDS hosts two full-season minor league clubs, the only such arrangement in baseball. Including major league spring training, there is a professional baseball game at RDS nearly every day from March through September.

Because of his reputation as a jokester, most of the RDS staff did not believe Rabenecker when he told them of his decision. It seemed even more like a prank when Rabenecker told people he was leaving baseball to become an owner of a Chick-Fil-A franchise in South Florida.

But Rabenecker is serious. He seems genuinely excited about his new prospect, which is fantastic to see. With Florida State League commissioner Chuck Murphy unable to leave Daytona, Rabenecker was the FSL representative in St. Lucie for Monday’s opening round playoff game between the Mets and Brevard County.

Scores of fans, agents and members of other organizations wandered over to Rabenecker to make sure the news was true. Super size, waffle fries and off-on-Sunday jokes floated through the park all night. Rabenecker joked that he may use his Sundays to actually watch a baseball game for a change.

Rabenecker helped The Dugout get a foot into the baseball batters box, and for that I will always be grateful. There will certainly be a few trips to the Wellington Mall Chick-Fil-A in the future.

The doggest day of them all

2007-09-02T12:47:00.000-05:00

The final day of the baseball season can as much fun as opening day for fans.

The Dugout is sitting in the press box of Roger Dean Stadium watching the final regular season game of the Florida State League season between Palm Beach and Jupiter. Baseball games are generally pretty laid back. Today, however, there is almost a backyard feel to the game.

Neither team is going to make the playoffs, so there isn’t really any pressure. Players not in the starting lineup were wandering through the stands before the game shaking hands and signing autographs. Undoubtedly there will be plenty of autographs signed following the game.

Members of the stadium staff have been walking through the stands handing leftover prizes to those few hundred or so that chose to brave the Florida mid-day heat.

And for the semi-hardball falls who complain baseball just takes too long, this is the ideal game. If it seems like the guys are playing like they have a plane to catch, it’s because many of them do. The over-under on expected 3-2 counts today is two – and both of them will come on accident. As the Cardinals clubhouse manager said before the game, they should treat it like a softball game and start every count at 2-1.

Most leagues end their regular season today but a few, the New York-Penn and the Northwest in particular, have a few more games before starting the postseason. Look for a regular season wrap-up/playoff preview on the main site in the next day or two.

Other interesting quotes from the Gulf Coast League story

2007-08-31T22:45:00.000-05:00

The Dugout has been a bit lax in updating this blog. Please accept all apologies. The start of football season spreads most reporters thinly, especially in Florida where there is high school, college and NFL.

On the minor league baseball front, this weekend marks the end of the regular season in most leagues. The Gulf Coast League is well into its playoffs – the champion may be crowned tonight.

We’ll have a complete look at the playoffs in the coming days. For now, wanted to share some of the quotes about the Gulf Coast League that didn’t make the story. Enjoy.

GCL Marlins third baseman Matt Dominguez:
There is a nice breeze today. They say it is going to get worse. It will get a lot worse if there is no breeze. It’s pretty humid.

GCL Cardinals pitcher Zach Russell:
You come out here thinking its going to be what you see on TV – and its not.

GCL Cardinals pitcher Deryk Hooker:
The next level, it should be more fun. Here, you just have to pay your dues.

GCL Mets pitcher Nathan Hedrick on having family visit for the game:
It’s a blast. It’s something comfortable. Being out here the whole time, you kind of get homesick. They bring a little piece of home to you. It’s something that kind of revives you to get you through the rest of the season.

GCL Cardinals manager Enrique Brito, on being a Latin-born manager:
If you have a manger that comes from those places, it makes it easier for the players to understand American baseball.

Florida Marlins pitcher Scott Olsen on his GCL memories
You are up at six or seven every morning at the field. You eat the same breakfast everyday. You have a workout for like two hours in the morning in the sun, go inside and eat the same lunch, go back out high noon play a game in the heat with no shade - sitting there doing nothing if you are not pitching. You are bored out of your mind.

You go from being 17-18 playing with fans, playing with people you know back home, playing night games and all that good stuff with people around you. And you get to the Gulf Coast and it’s 95 degrees at 12 noon and there ain’t nobody around but you and the other players. It sucks.

Cleveland Indians first baseman Travis Hafner:
I actually loved it. I remember coming out of college and we played baseball every day. After two weeks of games they gave us a pay check. I was almost like, Wow, they pay us to do this. I thought it was the greatest thing ever.

St. Louis vice president of amateur scouting and player procurement Jeff Luhnow, on why the Cardinals return to the GCL is good for Latin players:
Our experience has been that sending them straight to the Appalachian League is a really tough jump and this was a perfect intermediate step between where they are and Johnson City.

GCL Marlins catcher Brett Lawler on teammates who have cars:
“Those are the golden boys. Make sure you get friends with them because they can take you to Wal*Mart if you need them. If you want to go out, those are the people you want to call.

Lawler on communicating with teammates:
There are many different cultures and many different people coming together trying to figure out how to play this same game. Having to communicate on the field, you figure out how to speak Spanish in different ways or speak whatever you need to so that they understand you.

GCL Marlins manager Tim Cossins:
Managing is a term that you have to put at the front of it, but in my opinion you have to take it beyond just playing the game. You can’t focus solely on that because there is so much more going on at this point of development that you have to focus on. You want to mature them on the field but you also want to mature them off, and in the clubhouse because that is a big part of this.

Pedro is Pedro in third rehab start

2007-08-21T01:52:00.000-05:00

The Dugout got a little treat tonight, taking in Pedro Martinez's third rehab start in St. Lucie. He fared much better than the last time out, finally looked like a pitcher that can help the New York Mets during a playoff drive.

Making his third, and by far his best, rehab start since undergoing shoulder surgery in the offseason, Martinez allowed two unearned runs on two hits in five innings and struck out four in an important victory that allowed the Mets to take a two-game lead over Brevard County.

“Today I looked more like I should look than I did in the previous two outings,” said Martinez, who threw 52 of his 72 pitches for strikes. “Now I’m just hoping I can continue to do that so I can get myself back to the big club.”

The outing impressed the entourage in town to see Martinez, which included New York pitching coach Rick Peterson, bullpen coach Guy Conti and brother, former major league pitcher Ramon.

“It’s the difference between watching a NASCAR race on television and sitting next to the driver going around the track,” said Peterson, who had only seen video of Martinez’s first two rehab starts. “It was great to be able to ride with Pedro around the track a few times.”

Martinez was in a fantastic mood following the outing. The following are some of the better quotes to come from the press conference.

On his ability to work his sinker:
I wanted a ground ball to get a double play and I got it. I went back to it on the next batter and still got another ground ball. That’s what I meant to do. I’m getting ready for the big leagues. If, when I need to do that, I’m able to do that, believe me the double plays will be turned.

On his second to last pitch of the game, a high and tight fastball to Lorenzo Cain:
That was a fastball in. That was the one I really wanted to make a statement with.

On throwing 52 of his 72 pitches for strikes:
If I’m on and I’m healthy, I throw strikes. I get it over with quickly. They either hit me quickly or I get them quickly.

How close is he to returning to the majors?
If I was a reliever I’m pretty sure I’d be up there already because you don’t need to make that many adjustments to throw one inning or two.

What he would say to fans who are waiting for him to return to the majors:
I wish I was there with them but they know they want me there healthy. They want a Pedro Martinez that is going to help them. They don’t want to just see my face up there. I’m not that good looking.

Creating the "Ultimate Bobblehead Doll"

2007-08-19T21:41:00.001-05:00

Some of the greatest promotional ideas never make it to the ballpark.

The Dugout was bouncing some weird ideas with some promotions people, media relations guys and radio broadcasters in the Florida State League. The best idea, and one which will surely never make it to a ballpark, was the 2007 Ultimate Bobblehead.

The way the group figured it, the ultimate bobblehead would have three figures on it. The first would be Long Island’s Jose Offerman menacingly wielding a bat at the second figure – a man wearing a Mike Vick jersey and restraining a dog. Watching the scene from the side is a man wearing an NBA referee’s uniform, taking bets as to the winner of the throwdown.

The arm and bat in the Offerman portion of the bobblehead would bobble, as would the head of the dog being restrained by the Vick figure. Either the head or the arm of the referee that is writing down the bets would also bobble.

Hey, it never hurts to dream.

The real Bob L. Head: Speaking of bobbleheads, congrats again to Portland for one of the best conceived and executed promotions of the year. At the beginning of the season Portland scanned the country to find the ultimate person named Bob L. Head. The promotion ended Saturday with the handing out of the dolls. Portland flew Bob L. Head from his Iowa home to Oregon to take part in the event. Nice job, guys.

Klein must ban bat-wielding Offerman immediately

2007-08-15T16:55:00.000-05:00

You see some strange things in the independent leagues of minor league baseball. Last night something frightening happened. Former major league all-star and current Long Island shortstop Jose Offerman charged the mound wielding his bat after getting hit by a Matt Beech pitch in the second inning of Tuesday's game in Bridgeport.

Offerman reportedly swung the bat wildly at Beech, striking Bridgeport catcher John Nathans in the back of the head. Nathans left the park on a stretcher after suffering a possible concussion. Offerman eventually hit Beech in the hand with the bat, breaking a finger.

The game was delayed 20 minutes because of the melee. Offerman was ejected, then arrested by Bridgeport police. He posted a $10,000 bond and was released.

Bridgeport officials immediately called Atlantic League commissioner Joe Klein, asking that Offerman be suspended for life. Klein didn’t go that far, issuing the following statement on the League’s web site today:

The Atlantic League announced that LI infielder Jose Offerman has been indefinitely suspended based on his actions during the 8/14/2007 Long Island @ Bridgeport game.

His violation of the Atlantic League on field behavioral policy is under review and a decision on his status and that of other participants will be announced by weeks end.

It's a start, but come on Klein. The Dugout believes you have to ban Offerman permanently from the league, and quickly. This isn’t affiliated baseball where union agreements force league officials to follow a series of protocols. You have the power. Use it.

Offerman charged the mound because he thought Beech threw at him intentionally. He might be right. It doesn’t matter. As soon as Offerman took the bat to the mound and started swinging, he committed a crime. Moreover, he broke baseball’s code of conduct.

No one seems to be denying that fact. Let justice be swift. End his career. Already 38 years old, no team will pick him up after this incident. Then you can sit back and enjoy what the Bridgeport justice system does to him.

The power of Cleo, Hail to Joba and a pillw fight with a happy ending

2007-08-13T23:00:00.000-05:00

The Dugout has been a bit lax with the blogs the past few days. Sorry for that, but sometimes life intervenes where baseball really should rule. Currently sitting in a hotel room in Lumberton, N.C., which you I-95 fans probably know is just a few miles north of South of the Boarder.

Figured you at least deserved a couple of housekeeping items.

To begin with, Cleopatra won Jupiter/Palm Beach's "Who's Then" promotion. As far as anyone can tell, it was a pretty huge upset. The former Egyptian Pharaoh defeated Marilyn Monroe in the opening round, then shocked George Washington in the semies before downing Pete Rose to take the crown.

Cleopatra won the title thanks to a huge internet push. Actually it was too big. More people voted for Cleo than attended the game, suggesting that someone may have hacked into the site. The folks at Roger Dean Stadium don't really care too much - and rightly so. The fact that an idea so dumb moved someone to try to affect an outcome is more than could have been asked for.

On a different front, MinorLeagueDugout.com's timing on the Trenton pitching staff story couldn't have been better. Two of the players featured in that story - Joba Chamberlain and Ian Kennedy - were called up to the big squad in the past week. Congrats guys.

Finally, Kane County fell about 500 participants shy of breaking the record for the World's Largest Pillow Fight (August 11 Promo of the Day). The day was still pretty successful for the Cougars, who broke the Midwest League's attendance record with 14,492 fans. Here's their press release:

COUGARS SET SINGLE-GAME ATTENDANCE RECORD!

14,492 FANS TAKE PART IN A SENSATIONAL SATURDAY

GENEVA, IL – In the opening night of a two-game series against the Peoria Chiefs, the Kane County Cougars hosted a record-setting crowd of 14,492 fans for the Saturday evening contest. The flock of fans at Elfstrom Stadium surpassed the Midwest League single-game record of 14,452 that was set by the Cougars on August 16, 2003.

Before, during and after Saturday’s game, fans were treated to one of the most exciting nights of the season, culminating in a spirited attempt for the World’s Largest Pillow Fight sponsored by Back to Bed. Fans earnestly signed up to be a part of the fun, many bringing pillows from home, while the first 3,000 fans received mini-pillows courtesy of Back to Bed. During the attempt, feathers were flying on the outfield grass as fans laughed their way through the 90-second try. While the Cougars’ attempt came up just short (3,085 fans took part – the current Guinness World Record stands at 3,648 pillow fighters), it will be remembered as one of the most unique events in the Cougars’ 17-year history.

A pre-game autograph session, along with a fireworks show, a performance by the Jesse White Tumblers, and an opportunity for fans to run the bases after the game only added to the excitement.

“Although we fell short of breaking the record for the world’s largest pillow fight, we realize that every fan in attendance was part of a special night at Elfstrom Stadium,” Cougars General Manager Jeff Sedivy said. “Last night’s record-setting crowd was one of the most entertaining nights in the history of our organization. It was truly a great experience for our fans.”

The Cougars series continues today against the Chiefs, as both teams take the field at 2 p.m. for an intra-division battle. Kane County travels to Peoria Monday for a two-game series before continuing the road trip in Davenport, Iowa against the Swing of the Quad Cities.

Pedro rehabs with a mound full of kids

2007-08-08T20:37:00.000-05:00

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. - The funny thing about playing in minor league games is that everyone eventually gets treated equally.

Pedro Martinez has been rehabbing here after undergoing rotator cuff surgery last October. He's pretty much holed up in the minor league complex, keeping separate from the Florida State League’s St. Lucie Mets.

He was slated to pitch last Wednesday with St. Lucie, but got rained out. The Mets were on the road the next day – a whopping 30 minutes away in Jupiter – but Martinez opted not to make the trip, choosing instead to pitch a simulated game at the Mets minor league complex.

He finally made a start for St. Lucie tonight, but never moved into clubhouse, choosing to dress in the minor league complex well away from the ballpark. Once he entered the gates, though, he could no longer duck the minor league hubbub.

The Dugout laughed as St. Lucie took the field accompanied by about 50 children who were part of a baseball camp. Dozens followed Martinez to the mound, asking him questions and shaking his hand before the National Anthem.

St. Lucie third baseman Daniel Murphy could only look over at the gathering. None of the campers joined him at the hot corner.

“That’s one of the things you are not used to,” Martinez said of the pow-wow. “It’s fun. It’s beautiful. It’s nice to see those kids out there. I think about mine and it gives me the same joy.”

Martinez said the kids told him it was nice to meet him and that they were his biggest fan.

“You recognize your spring training hat,” Martinez laughed. “It’s beautiful.”

Martinez gave the fans a little something back when he struck out designated “Taco Bell K-man of the Game” Max Leon in the second inning, earning every fan in the stadium a coupon for a free taco.

For those interested in the numbers, they we’re pretty. He allowed five earned runs on six hits in three innings of work. He blamed most of the trouble on his inability to get a feel for his sinker.

He was jovial following the performance, stating more than once just how pleased he was to pitch in a real game again.

“I can’t wait for the next five days to come by so I can get back in there and make the adjustments I have to make to actually get back to New York,” said Martinez, 35. “I’m bored. I don’t want to be in Florida anymore.”

Really, ESPN? Really? wnba over Bonds?

2007-08-07T22:12:00.000-05:00

Barry Bonds has endured more than his share of insults and ridicule (most of which The Dugout believes are deserved), but even the biggest Bonds bemoaners had to be shocked by the events of Tuesday night.

The hundreds of thousands (millions?) of baseball fans across the globe tuned into ESPN2 at 10 p.m. to see if Barry could break the record only to find the game had been moved to ESPNNews. The “Worldwide Leader in Sports” was televising a wnba game that went into double overtime.

Contractual obligations forced ESPN2 to stay with the sub-minor league out-of-season basketball game. Seriously.

Bonds was on deck. He was about to attempt to break the most hallowed record in all of sports, and ESPN could only put it on a channel that doesn’t reach millions of viewers. What did they think they were covering, the NHL?

While many may feel that Bonds' breaking the record without the national spotlight is poetic justice, ESPN execs must have been beating their heads with their shoes for every minute the anti-Heidi dragged on.

Come on Bristol. Someone up there must have the brains to throw the switch. What’s the worst thing that could happen? You lose the wnba contract? Oh rapturous bliss!

Luckily for the baseball world, Randy Wynn made the final out of the first inning, allowing ESPN2 to join the Giants game in the second inning, in time for Bonds first at-bat.

Waiting all year: How long do you think this headline has been in the works? On Saturday Charleston defeated Greensboro 4-3 to give pitcher Jonathon Hovis his first victory of the season. The headline of the RiverDogs press release read:

Smith's 11th Inning Walkoff Single Lifts Charleston as J. Hovis Witnesses First Win

Nice.

A little late, but this is still funny

2007-08-06T20:30:00.000-05:00

The Dugout loves crazy promotions, especially those that mock really stupid ideas. Here's a press release from two Florida State League clubs that share the same ballpark. Enjoy. More later.

Palm Beach Cardinals and Jupiter Hammerheads to attempt to determine “Who is Then?”

Over the past weeks, ESPN has done a phenomenally awesome job of answering the incredibly unimportant question, “Who is Now?” The Jupiter Hammerheads and the Palm Beach Cardinals plan to take the question to its logical follow-up. Beginning on Friday, August 3, the two Florida State League clubs will finally put to rest the question that’s been on everyone’s mind, “Who is Then?”

The person who is the most “Then” was more than just a top performer in their field. They had all the peripherals, too. In their day they all had entourages, endorsement deals and a little thing called respect. Choosing not to limit ourselves the way ESPN did, the Cardinals and Hammerheads threw the field wide open to some of the greatest names in the history of history. They were leaders of empires, opinion makers and household names. Now they are largely irrelevant to everyday life.

The most “Then” person will be decided via tournament bracket. The field has been limited to the elitest of the Elite Eight. Each night two of those monsters lacking modernity will face off. Our panel of experts – usually ballplayers from the night’s game – will give their opinions about the contestants. The voting will then be turned over to the fans. Each fan that enters the ballpark will be given one vote per day. There will also be an internet vote on RogerDeanStadium.com. The ultimate winner – the Zen of Then – will be determined on August 9^th, when the Hammerheads host Dunedin.

An Now the Matchups

Opening Night (Friday, Aug. 3): Plato vs. Bill Clinton

Plato: Plato used his brain to climb to the top of Mt. Philosopher. In his famous work, The Republic, the influential Greek philosopher attempted to establish guidelines that would allow humans to lead a good life. During the height of his thinking, Plato was followed around by the top thinkers of his generation who may or may not have been wearing togas. Plus, his name is easier to spell than Socrates and Aristotle.

Bill Clinton: The former U. S. president became famous for thinking with another part of his body. Bubba served two terms in the country’s highest office, balancing the budget while walking a tightrope with congress. His entourage seemed to include most of the women in Arkansas, though he appealed to a younger audience in Washington D.C. –

much to “Pseudo-Now” wife Hillary’s chagrin. While Abraham Lincoln will be remembered for his Gettysburg Address, no one will ever forget Clinton and the Blue Dress.

Night Two (Saturday, Aug. 4): Pete Rose vs. Stuart Scott

Pete Rose: The Hit King was pretty now when he broke Ty Cobb’s record for most career hits. He was even “Now-er” when he was banned from baseball for gambling. Rose had many endorsements during his hey day and even owned two restaurants, one in Boca Raton, the other in Boynton Beach. His entourage included various wise guys in joggling suits, allowing Charlie Hustle to reinvent himself with a new nickname – Charlie the Hustler.

Stuart Scott: In theory, Scott must have been “now” at some point. How else can you explain why this guy constantly shows up in America’s living rooms via ESPN? The man famous for using the maximum amount of words to provide the least amount of useful information seems like he’s been an anchor on ESPN since the days of Plato, but really it’s his act that’s constructed out of Play-Doh. This viable contender for The Most Then is truly cooler than the other side of the cucumber.

Night Three (Sunday, Aug. 5) Marilyn Monroe vs. Cleopatra

Marilyn Monroe: The buxom blonde is still the standard-bearer for Hollywood starlets. Few, if any, actresses have ever reached the popularity of Miss Monroe. Her aura extended past celluloid, seeping into the very fabric of the United States. She had arguably the most impressive entourage of anyone in the competition, marrying former Yankees slugger Joe DiMaggio and reportedly owning an all-access pass to John F. Kennedy’s White House. Paris and Lindsay, drink your heart out. Monroe was so “It”, you could argue she is both “Now” and “Then.”

Cleopatra: The Egyptian pharaoh is perhaps the most famous female ruler of all time. During her reign of Egypt, Cleopatra maintained such a tight grip over the empire that coins contained her face and name. Her entourage included her brother Ptolemy XIII, who was also her husband, Julius Cesar and Mark Anthony. Cleopatra has served as inspiration for great works of art and literature, although most of the current creations have gone straight to video.

Night Four (Monday, Aug. 6): Napoleon vs. George Washington

Napoleon Bonaparte: The French general is considered to have possessed one of the greatest military minds in history, helping spread the French Revolution throughout Europe. The man who was twice the emperor of France uttered many famous quotes, including, “An army marches on its stomach.” He was married twice, the first time to Josephine and the second time to Marie-Louise. Famously short in stature, will he prove to be more “Then” or will this be his Waterloo? Again.

George Washington: Often referred to as the Father of our Country, Washington led the rebel forces in the Revolutionary War. He spent many a winter freezing in the fields of the northeast, yet thousands of starving and unwashed men followed him anyway. He was America’s first president, serving two terms. As a youth he became famous for chopping down a cherry tree, then taunting those around him by saying, “Yeah, I cut the thing down.” Or something like that. He was pretty brave and awfully “Now” back “Then.”

Semifinals:

Night Five (Tuesday, Aug 7): Semi 1 - Plato/Clinton winner vs. Rose/Scott winner.

Night Six (Wednesday, Aug. 8): Semi 2 – Cleopatra/Monroe winner vs. Napoleon/Washington winner.

Night Seven (Thursday, August 9): Finals

Those considered contest but ultimately judged “Not Then-worthy” included: Gary Coleman, Vlad Dracula, Attila the Hun, Ghengis Kahn, Julius Cesar, Fred Flintstone, John Wayne, Barry Bonds, Chris Berman, John Madden, Joan of Arc, Noah of ark fame, Alexander the Great, Thomas Edison, Ben Franklin, William Shakespeare, Abraham Lincoln, William Howard Taft, the Hawley Smoot Tariff, Dale Earnhardt Sr. and Mr. Ed.

Rain stops Pedro and Two Cents, and outtakes from the Trenton pitching story

2007-08-01T20:08:00.000-05:00

The Dugout is experiencing one of those weird baseball days. The original plan was see Pedro Martinez' rehab start in St. Lucie, but that game was rained out. So The Dugout headed south to catch Palm Beach’s game against Daytona.

It was raining there, too. In fact shortly before the 5 p.m. start of the doubleheader, the park was struck by lightning, knocking out the speakers around the ballpark. The lack of audio forced the Cardinals to postpone their My Two Cents Night, which incidentally, is today’s MinorLeagueDugout.com Promo of the Day.

Though the doubleheader started late, it appears as though both games will be played. The Cardinals won the first game and have just taken the field for the second game. Jeff Samardzija is pitching for the Cubs. Fervent readers may remember the MinorLeagueDugout.com feature on Samardzija from earlier in the year.

Speaking of pitching, the much anticipated story about the Trenton Thu nder pitching staff is now up on the site. For those Yankees fanatics, and there are plenty of you, here are some of the quotes that didn't make the story. There won't be many, if any from Joba Chamberlain. Those are being saved for a Rounding The Bases segment which will appear on the site later this year.

Manager Tony Franklin breaks down Trenton’s success:
No. 1, we’ve got some very good arms that can make some quality pitches and have a pretty good understanding of how to pitch.

No. 2, we have a tremendous pitching coach in Scott Aldred. He’s done quite a bit to nurture the talent hat we have here.

No. 3, things have just been clicking overall for us this year.

Franklin on the starters:
It's pretty much a phenomenon when you can pitch five guys out there for five straight nights and you can get to the sixth or seventh inning – and we’ve done that quite a lot this year.

Franklin on the future of the staff:
I wouldn’t say it's out of the realm of thinking that some more guys could go to the major leagues this year. I think we've got some major league pitchers. How soon they’re ready to pitch there is yet to be determined.

Trenton catcher P.J. Pilittere:
Those guys definitely make my job a lot easier and it’s definitely exciting for me to come to the park every day. These guys are on a pretty good roll right now.

OK, one quote from Joba:
Down there [Tampa] they had a great pitching coach in Greg Pavlik and he broke down mechanical things. Here we’re working on the mental game and being prepared for the hitters. It makes it a little easier when you can get your mechanics down in High-A so that when you get here you have a little less to worry about.

Pitcher Alan Horne on the starters:
They are guys running out with quality start after quality start each time out. Each time one of us takes the hill, we feel like we have a great chance to win.

OK, that's it. Gotta run. Going to be a guest on Palm Beach's radio broadcast. Enjoy.

Minor league promos continue to mock Michael Vick

2007-07-30T22:25:00.000-05:00

We're about to enter what is essentially the final month of wacky minor league baseball promotions and there are some pretty good ones on the way. There will be some tough decisions in the coming days. MinorLeagueDugout.com's Promo of the Day battle for August 8 looks to be a toss-up between Lincoln and St. Paul. The Dugout doesn't want to give anything away, but some info on those nights is available on their site. If you are a Christmas Eve present opener, you can cheat by looking at their sites, now. Those Christmas Day present openers will choose to wait until the 8^th.

Who knows, one of those two might not even be the winner. The Dugout has spent the last two days inspecting the Web sites of every minor league team, checking for the August (and September) promos. However, there are still a couple of leagues left to be examined (Golden, United and South Coast). This is by far the most time-consuming part of The Dugout’s month.

Before turning the page on July promos, there are a couple worth noting. Several teams have capitalized on Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick's alleged misdeeds, combining their Bark in the Park promos with some sort of animal awareness or animal rescue night. The above photos are from Sioux Falls' promo. The Canaries dressed their mascot in a Vick jersey and allowed the canines to chase it down.

Long Beach captured Sunday's Promo of the Day honor with their night, which allowed fans to turn in their Vick jerseys at the ballpark. The Armada originally planned to start a bonfire with the collected jerseys, but couldn’t get a permit. Instead they gave fans the option of turning their jerseys into pooper scoopers or a wee-wee pad – their words, not The Dugout’s.

The Armada actually had a pretty busy couple of days. They planned to use Monday as Barrow, Alaska day, but members of their adopted sister city were unable to make the trip. Kudos for trying that one, though. On Monday they are hosting Un-Olympics day, which may earn the Armada its second Promo of the Day honor in three days. You’ll have to check the site on Monday to know for sure.

Trenton, the minor leagues' best franchise?

2007-07-17T20:10:00.000-05:00

TRENTON, N.J. - The Dugout is confirming is status as Giver of Rain. The water started falling at the start of the third inning of Trenton’s Eastern League game against Binghamton. The tarp was on a half inning later (top photo). It appears the only rain in the entire Northeastern U.S. is centered above Waterfront Park.

That’s OK, it provides more time to write.

The sign hanging on ballpark’s brick facade (lower photo) brags to all who enter that Minor League Baseball tabbed the Thunder as the minor’s best franchise. I believe they are referring to winning the President’s Trophy. The Thunder, however, are not the reigning “best franchise in the minors.” That honor, according to Minor League Baseball, is currently held by league rival Altoona. If you were the Curve, wouldn’t you plan a late-night raid on that banner?

The ballpark is neither remote nor centrally located. The houses across Route 29 just beyond the leftfield wall look old – the 1960s may be a young estimate – and a little rundown. The view of most to those places is blocked by three stories worth of advertising, which may not be a bad thing. The Delaware River is just beyond the rightfield wall, obscured mostly by trees.

The Thunder have a dog, Chase that Golden Thunder, that retrieves Thunder bats at the end of home innings. Other than that, the between innings contests and entertainment have been pretty mundane. Just a few seconds ago they held a musical chairs contest on the field and both of the finalists were able to fit solidly in the remaining chair. Kinda humorous.

The hot dog was big, similar to other big dogs at minor league parks. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. While it lacks creativity, it’s still a solid dog. They also have something called “crab fries,” which The Dugout is looking forward to trying when the drizzle subsides.

The big thing Trenton seems to have going for it is romance. So far this season 11 couples have gotten engaged at Thunder games. It works out to an average of about one engagement for every five home games. Ah, there’s no place like Trenton when the concrete is in bloom.

Is there such thing as a "perfect cycle?"

2007-07-16T22:37:00.000-05:00

A couple of minor leaguers had a couple of big nights yesterday. Guillermo Moscoso threw a perfect game for Oneonta - only the second nine-inning perfect game in New York-Penn League history. Meanwhile in the Appalachian League, Greenville's Jhaysson Agustin hit for the cycle.

The Dugout is searching to figure out how many times, if ever, players have combined to hit for the cycle and throw a perfect game in the same day.

It also begs the question, which accomplishment is more impressive? Those who favor pitching will obviously lean toward the perfect game. That’s where The Dugout sides. Both accomplishments take luck. Moscoso struck out seven. For the 20 other outs, he needed to rely on at least one other teammate to make a play. The Dugout remembers watching a game in the 1970s where a Bill Russell error cost Jerry Reuss a perfect game.

A cycle often requires something lucky, like misplayed ball by an outfielder.

Baseball Almanac’s web site shows that only 17 pitchers have been perfect in the major leagues, while the Athletics alone have seen a hitter go for the cycle the same amount of times. Only 14 cycles in major league history were of the “natural” variety (single, double triple and home run are hit in order), making them rarer than perfect games.

Still, they can hardly be considered the more important accomplishment. A nine-inning perfect game essentially ensures victory. That’s what is most important, right? (Note: Two pitchers have been perfect through nine only to see their teams lose in extra innings. Those games are not considered “official” perfect games.)

Just a thought: Can we start calling a four homerun game the Barry Bonds cycle?

The unseen derby: A couple of days ago The Dugout wrote about last week's Eastern League Home Run Derby and All-Star game, both of which were affected by Connecticut fog.

The Dugout had the opportunity to ask Reading’s Mike Costanzo, a participant in the derby, how bad the conditions really were. Costanzo, who hit 17 homers before the break, failed to connect during the derby – at least as far as he knows. Pictured at the top of the page following Wednesday’s Reading game, Costanzo laughed about the experience.

During the home run derby:
“We were right behind the plate and we were like, did it go out? You would hear the ball hit the second wall for a home run, but some of them came back in (and didn’t count). A guy hit one that was a ground rule double and they counted it.”

About the game conditions:
“I was surprised they started it and it got worse and worse by each inning. The ball was hit to right field and the guy was running the wrong way. We were like, we can’t play this game anymore.”

About the night:
“I had a blast. It was a really cool experience. It was pretty awesome being around there.”

An all-star Wednesday and some excellent minor league parks

2007-07-12T19:55:00.000-05:00

READING, Penn. – Wednesday was a night full of all-star happenings throughout minor league baseball. The Triple-A game pitting the Pacific Coast League against the In ternational League, as played in Albuquerque, N.M., and televised live on ESPN. Th e Dugout was glad to see Brandon Moss have a pretty good day. Moss, who tells a pretty good story in The Funniest Thing I've Ever Seen: More than 100 crazy stories from minor league baseb all, homered in the International League’s win.

The Eastern League All-Star game, held in Norwich, Conn., turned into an adventure. The fog was so thick during the home run derby that Norwich sent staffers with radios to the outfield wall. They had to tell the public address announcer whether the batted balls cleared the wall.

They actually tried to play the game, and the comedy that ensured found its way onto SportsCenter. Routine fly balls were turning into doubles and triples as fielders struggled to locate the balls. The game was called in the third inning.

The start of the Atlantic League All-Star game was delayed by rain, then shortened by another storm in the eighth inning. The Dugout was in attendance and was completely impressed by Lancaster’s ballpark. Located in the middle of downtown, players who hit the ball over the right field wall during the home run contest actually sent the balls down city streets.

Fans saw the action on two, count them two, video boards that could be operated independently. Many major league parks don’t have two video boards. And Brooks Robinson was at the game. Great guy. Look for a story about him in the coming weeks.

The atmosphere was fantastic. Minor league fans need to make this park a stop on their next trip to the northeast. The Dugout doesn't quite understand that mascot named Flamey, though. And the first building The Dugout saw in Lancaster was called the Sushi Grill. Think about that for a moment. The top photos on this page are from that game.

The Dugout is currently in the fifth inning of the Reading Phillies game against the Harrisburg Senators. Talk about a difference in ballparks. First Energy Stadium may have been built before there was energy. OK, it was 1950. Still, these guys know how to put on a baseball game. Reading proves you don’t need a new ballpark to draw fans. There may be more than 8,000 fans here.

The action is non-stop. Between the pool sitting atop the rightfield wall, the party deck beyond the leftfield wall, the staffer dressed as an ostrich hurling hotdogs into the crowd and the train that shoots shirts into the crowd, fans don’t have time to look away.

If you like new-school minor league baseball played in an old-school park, Reading is the place to be.

Stephen Colbert - the missing Charleston quotes

2007-07-12T19:38:00.000-05:00

OK – so this will be the final installment of the coverage of Stephen Colbert's appearance in Charleston, where he threw out the first pint before the RiverDogs' game against Savannah.

The main story is finally posted on the MinorLeagueDugout.com site. There were, however, some great quotes that didn’t fit the story but are worth seeing.

A television reporter asked Colbert if he ever considered doing any real reporting.
Colbert: My theory of reporting is that I take the real reporting and I just say it again and people assume that I’m making a joke.
Reporter: And why is that?
Colbert: Because the real reporting is such as joke.

On the contributions he made to developing AmeriCone Dream:
Colbert: I had no input, other than I put it in me.

On the 2009 presidential debates:
Colbert: Have you seen the debates? They’re riveting. I’m on the edge of my coma.

On why he wasn’t participating in the Global Warming concerts:
Colbert: We’re saving the world through the ice cream. We’re combating global warming with freezer cases.

Question: MinorLeagueDugout.com named your appearance here as the Promotion of the Day.
Colbert (excitedly): Oh, really?
Question: MinorLeagueDugout, great minor league baseball Web site or..,
Colbert: The greatest Web site – you got me to say it.

Jerry Greenfield on whether he was going to try to do something wacky during the game:
Greenfield: I think it’s hard to follow up Stephen Colbert throwing a pint of ice cream.

Greenfield on the Charleston RiverDogs promotional staff:
Greenfield: These guys must be on the cutting edge of wackiness.

The photo at the top of the page is Colbert signing autographs for fans after doing the radio interview. The Dugout promises no more Colbert info – that is until we get the video up on the site.

Stephen Colbert, Lucero and why Maryland sucks

2007-07-09T23:37:00.000-05:00

The Dugout's been a little quiet lately and for that an apology is in order. After seeing Stephen Colbert in Charleston, The Dugout headed north to Philadelphia, which is apparently the home town of the sun, lava, Jessica Alba wearing only a banana peel, and everything else that is hot. It’s literally 100 degrees and The Dugout is staying in a place that doesn't have air conditioning. That makes the fact that the house has no meaningful internet access all that more adorable.

As expected, Colbert was great. He now has a copy of The Funniest Thing I’ve Ever Seen: More than 100 crazy stories from minor league baseball. He also called MinorLeagueDugout.com "The Greatest" minor league baseball site. Trust him – he’s on TV.

Jerry Greenfield of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream was also there and served as the catcher when Colbert threw out the first pint of AmeriCone Dream – his new Ben and Jerry’s flavor. Jerry was unexpectedly funny. The Dugout was a student at the University of Hartford when Greenfield and Ben Cohen received honorary degrees. Greenfield admitted he has no idea where that diploma is now.

Charleston, unfortunately, experienced a bit of bad luck. One out into the game, the rain came, forcing postponement. A complete story about the night will be one the main site as soon as The Dugout finds a suitable internet connection.

Lucero in Philly: The Dugout made it to Philadelphia in time (barely, more on that in a few moments) to catch Lucero (photo, top right) at the North Star in center city, Philly. Great, great show. They are kind of like a southern Bruce Springsteen. You must see them. Fantastic.

The Dugout attended the show with a couple of cousins (Julie and Joanie – photo, right) and Julie’s husband, Greg. A great night – and Joanie’s place had air conditioning. Thanks for the bed and the fun. The Dugout does feel a little bad for Joanie and Greg, who had to work the next morning. Is that what it’s like to have a real job?

Dear Maryland, You Suck!: The Dugout almost missed the show thanks to the Terrapin State. Twenty five miles of stop and go traffic caused by a toll plaza on I-95. Then it was five bucks for the privilege of the aggravation. It was so bad that it even carried over into Delaware. Marylanders – you could stop this. Since you choose to put up with it, You suck! (Puts soap box away and goes to grab a beer…)

Colbert's a hit, even with the rain

2007-07-07T20:01:00.000-05:00

Eight hours – that’s all it takes to go from Delray Beach, Fla. to Charleston, S.C. The toughest part of the drive was passing the Daytona Motor Speedway knowing that one race was in progress and another was coming.

Oh well, at least the traffic was light.

It's less than an hour before the start of Charleston’s South Atlantic League game against Savannah, which means Stephen Colbert should be about to make his appearance. The RiverDogs staff is bustling about and the fans are starting to file in.

It should be a packed house. Look for a big Colbert blowout story on MinorLeagueDugout.com in the coming days.

Update: A rain delay descended on Charleston in the bottom of the first inning. Colbert spent the delay in a suite above the press box. Several fans congregated below the box chanting for Colbert as the rain began to let up. He appeared on the balcony and started tossing ice cream to them.

iPig, The Photo: A few days back The Dugout congratulated St. Paul for its innovative iPig, a fully functional pig/telecommunications device designed to compete with the iPhone. The photo of the iPig is at the top right of this page. How freakin’ awesome is that!

Charleston, part dos: As if having a national television celebrity who happens to be a hometown hero on hand wasn’t enough, the RiverDogs also brought in about 20 little league teams to the park. It’s also Transformers Night. In addition, the outgoing president of the Sally League, John Henry Moss, is in attendance as part of his fair well tour. The RiverDogs are also giving away beach towels. Word is, they don’t have to be used to dry actual dogs.

Gamel keeps rolling: Brevard County’s Mat Gamel extended his hitting streak to 33 games last night in the Manatees’ 3-0 win over Jupiter. While a 33-game streak is certainly newsworthy, Gamel was outshined by teammate Steve Garrison, who flirted with a no-hitter. Garrison didn’t allow a hit until the sixth. He left the game after 7 2/3 innings, having allowed two hits and three walks, while striking out seven.

Stephen Colbert, America's leading pundit, honored in Charleston

2007-07-06T23:42:00.000-05:00

It's like Christmas Eve for The Dugout. Tomorrow’s plans: wake up early, jump in the car and drive 10 hours to Charleston, S.C.

The folks in Charleston are masters of promotion, but Saturday's promo sells itself. South Carolina’s native son, The Colbert Report’s host Stephen Colbert, will be at the game throwing out the first pint and leading the crowd in Take Me out to the Ballgame (see Saturday's Promotion of the Day).

As anyone who has ever seen The Colbert Report knows, Colbert is lord-god of all things Americana. It is only right that he's gracing America’s pastime with his presence. Fans who can't make it to Charleston can still enjoy the fun. Colbert will spend an inning with RiverDogs broadcaster Josh Maurer. The Dugout will attempt to throw a microphone into that booth. Hopefully that audio will find its way to the main site.

What will Colbert say about minor league baseball? Hard to guess. Just when you think you've got Colbert's views down, he comes up with another way of looking at the world. Hopefully minor league baseball doesn’t find its way into the Threat Down. There are several “Bears” teams out there. Mobile, you may want to lay low.

With any luck, fans of The Dugout will be able to enjoy the first in our one part series “Better Know a TV Commentator” in the early part of the week.

That will be our word.

Tough choices: Pensacola took today’s Promo of the Day honor with its Salute to 150 years of toilet paper, but there were a couple of other teams deserving recognition.

Bowie is hosting Bad Breath Night, honoring halitosis with a bad breath-testing intern named Harrison who will be sitting in Harrison’s Halitosis Hut. Dubbed the Bad Breath Ref, Harrison will decide which offender receives a prize pack that includes mouthwash, toothpaste and gum.

Even those who begin the night without bad breath should have it by the final out. Concession stands will serve garlic jumbo dogs, garlic burgers, nachos with raw onions, and anchovy, onion and garlic pizza. Ever the thoughtful club, all fans will receive a breath mint as they leave the park.

Meanwhile, Binghamton hosted Ridiculous Night. They are planning to play a Culture Club concert DVD before the game to get their fans in thee mood for strangeness. Prizes for their on-field competitions include Barry Manilow records, hubcaps and “other things nobody wants.”

The Dugout salutes these two efforts, even if they didn’t achieve Promo of the Day status.

Baseball and fireworks reign on Indepence Day.

2007-07-03T18:14:00.000-05:00

When is the third the fourth? When baseball teams have a home game on July 3 but not July 4. Check out the "Promotion of the Day" section of MinorLeagueDugout.com for the list of teams who are shooting off fireworks following their games.

While many teams are putting on shows on both days, the vast majority of teams on today's list don't have home games tomorrow. One notable exception of both – or neither depending on how you look at it – is Roger Dean Stadium, home of both the Palm Beach Cardinals and the Jupiter Hammerheads.

The Cardinals appear ready to drop the first game of today's doubleheader and hope to be able to play the second game before a line of thunderstorms reaches the park. The fireworks are scheduled to follow, although by the look of the red spots on the radar, nature may provide the lights in the sky tonight.

Palm Beach is on the road tomorrow, but the Hammerheads return to the park for a home stand. Jupiter gets its own celebration on the Fourth. At the start of the season, these displays were scheduled to be the third and fourth of the season. The South Florida drought, however, forced the cancellation of the first two fireworks shows. Wouldn't it be ironic if rain postponed the third and fourth shows?

Carpenter goes Outback: Chris Carpenter started the first game of the doubleheader for Palm Beach – his first of potentially four rehab starts before returning to the bigs. He got knocked around pretty good, giving up five runs – three of them earned – in less than two innings.

Carpenter was originally slated to start last night but the game was rained out. When the Cardinals returned to the clubhouse after yesterday's rainout, they found an Outback Steakhouse post-game meal waiting for them courtesy of Carpenter.

Gamel keeps rolling: Brevard County's Matt Gamel extended his hitting streak to 30 in the first game of the doubleheader against Palm Beach. Surprisingly, he is not in the second game's starting lineup.

The South Coast League: Two steps up, one step back

2007-07-01T23:17:00.000-05:00

The Dugout has been critical of the South Coast League a couple times this season. It's time for a pat on the back.

Slowly but surely the SCL seems to be getting some of its Web issues under control. The Dugout is pleased to announce that the South Georgia Peanuts are currently the league's top team. As recently as a couple of weeks ago, fans couldn't find this information on the league’s site.

In addition, fans can now find up-to-date scores and statistics. It's good to see the league making strides in its accessibility.

The SCL appears to have had its first player signed to an affiliated team’s contract. South Georgia's Jon Zeringue was plucked by Oakland and is expected to report to the A's Class A team in Stockton. Two other SCL players, Macon's Josh Thompson and Bradenton's Tim Bascom, were selected by major league organizations during the recent first year player draft.

To be viable, independent leagues must be able to return a reasonable amount of players to organized baseball. While the short term effect of losing a star player can hurt the team he's leaving, it ultimately raises the level of play in the league. The more players the SCL sends to organized baseball, the better caliber player the league will be able to attract in the future.

The news has not been all good for the SCL, however. The league announced last week it was relocating its Bradenton team to a yet-to-be-determined city for next season. The Juice hoped to play next year in the Pirates spring training complex, but that deal fell through. They’ve already spent the last month playing on the road at other SCL team sites after their temporary deal with Manatee Community College fell apart.

While it's tough for a six-team league to potentially lose one of its franchises, it is certainly not debilitating. The Atlantic League, for example, has been playing the last several years with a travel team called the Road Warriors. Every year they thought that team would be unnecessary, only to see the likes of Nashua and Atlantic City change leagues. It’s a growing pain that is almost unavoidable for a new league.

One other SCL note: Cecil Fielder is now managing the Charlotte team. It will be interesting to see how long this lasts and what affect it has on the Redfish food budget.

St. Paul's iPig proves Saints are still promotional geniuses

2007-06-29T21:45:00.000-05:00

The Dugout is constantly being asked which organization puts together the best promotions.

While there are plenty of teams to chose from, every once in a while St. Paul, the originator of wacky promotions, steps up to remind the up-and-comers it is still lord god of minor league promotions.

St. Paul had enough with the hype surrounding today’s launch of Apple’s iPhone – their new multipurpose phone/music player/remote control/blender. Last night they beat Apple to the proverbial media punch by launching their entry into the multitasking portable electronic devise – the iPig.

For years the Saints have used a trained pig to deliver baseballs to umpires. Last night they gave their pig (named Garrison Squeeler) a futuristic makeover. For the most part, the iPig functions like a traditional pig. However, with speakers mounted on its sides and a pouch for a MP3 player, the iPig allows owners to listen to their favorite music. The iPig also contains a pouch for telephone storage, allowing the user “complete wireless functionality.”

The iPig will retail for $299 – half the cost of a new iPhone. While some will see the iPig’s size as a drawback, the Saints website notes that it’s almost impossible to misplace the iPig.

“Taking on a major player like Apple is daunting, but our sense is that Apple has exposed a niche that these pigs fill,” Saints general manager/executive vice president Derek Sharrer said on the team’s Web site. “Our critics will say there’s no market for trying to reinvent the pig. We’ll see.”

Only one iPig has been produced thus far, but the Saints would like to create more to meet demand.

The iPig promotion, while fantastic, only served to dwarf another St. Paul announcement from earlier in the week. On July 7, the Saints will host Being Jason Giambi Night, where fans will have the opportunity to confess their misdeeds to Bud Selig or George Mitchell.

Check back with The Dugout in coming days for more on this one.

Giving Somerset its due

2007-06-17T12:47:00.000-05:00

A technical glitch on the main site kept yesterday's "Promotion of the Day" from appearing properly. Somerset of the Atlantic League deserves the credit, especially since The Dugout thinks their giveaway was pretty cool. Here is how the entry should have appeared:

Jeff and Graig Nettles Bobble-head – Somerset Patriots

Saturday, June 16, 2007

Graig Nettles was a star third baseman in the late 1970s and early 1980s for the New York Yankees. His son Jeff hasn't experienced that kind of success as a professional, spending just a couple of seasons for the Yankees’ Triple-A franchise. For the Patriots, however, Jeff is one of the all-time greats. He’s the career leader in RBIs and is second in home runs, hits and doubles. The father and son are immortalized on one bobble-head in one of the coolest Father’s Day giveaways ever.

Free fireworks in: Albuquerque, Bowie, Camden, Cedar Rapids, Charlotte, Fort Wayne, Frederick, Hagerstown, Iowa, Kane County, Kannapolis, Montgomery, Nashville, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Peoria, Quad Cities, Rochester, San Antonio, Trenton, West Michigan, West Virginia, Wilmington and York.

Watson keeps going: Columbus' Brandon Waston extended his hitting streak to 42 games last night, tying an International League record that has stood for 95 years. His fourth-inning double brought him into a tie with Jack Lelivelt, who set the record in 1912.

Brandon Watson extended his hitting streak to 42 games, matching a 95-year-old International League record, as Columbus edged host Ottawa, 5-4, on Saturday afternoon. The hit made Watson a star on SportsCenter.

As of right now (1:54 p.m., Sunday) Watson is 0-2 in his attempt to break the record.

Watson's hitting streak now tied for 13th longest in minor league history

2007-06-14T20:51:00.000-05:00

Brandon Watson just keeps on rolling. The Dugout was impressed when Charleston's Mitch Hilligoss posted a 38 game hitting streak earlier this season. Watson has blown by that mark.

He already has three hits tonight in the Columbus Clippers' International League contest, pushing the streak to 40 games. And that’s at the Triple-A level. Not to take anything away from Hilligoss’ mark because 38 games is tough to do in beer-league softball, but Watson is doing this against staffs that contain former and soon-to-be big leaguers. In theory, those guys know how to pitch.

The streak is the longest in Columbus' history, and is now only two shy of the longest in International League history, Jack Lelivelt's 42-gamer for Rochester in 1912. Joe Wilhoit holds the all-time record, hitting in 69 consecutive games for Wichita in 1919.

Here are the Top 15 minor league hitting streaks of all time:

Games Name Year
69 Joe Wilhoit 1919
61 Joe DiMaggio 1933
55 Roman Mejias 1954
50 Otto Pahlman 1922
49 Jack Ness 1915
49 Harry Chozen 1945
46 Johnny Bates 1925
43 Eddie Marshall 1935
43 Orlando Moreno 1961
43 Howie Bedell 1947
42 Jack Lelivelt 1912
42 Herbert Chapman 1950
40 Brandon Watson 2007
40 Frosty Kennedy 1953
39 Brandon Watson 2007
38 Mitch Hilligoss 2007
38 Hubert Mason 1925
38 Paul Owens 1951

In case your wondering (and because The Dugout is currently waiting out a ninth inning Marlins/Indians rain delay at Dolphins Stadium), only six major leaguers have ever strung together hitting streaks of 40 games or more. We all know that Joe DiMaggio's 56-gamer is the longest in the show. Willie Keeler hit in 45 straight over two seasons (44 in a single year). Pete Rose tied Keeler's single season mark of 44 in 1978. Bill Dahlen hit in 42 straight for the Chicago Cubs in 1894, George Sisler hit safely in 41 consecutive games for St. Louis in 1922, and Ty Cobb reached the 40 plateau in 1911.

Put them all together and Watson's is the longest streak in nearly 30 years.

Fort Myers capitalizes on Billy Donovan fiasco

2007-06-13T19:36:00.000-05:00

Single-A Fort Myers is making big news in Florida with its latest promotion. On June 20^th the Miracle will hold "Billy Donovan Night," poking fun at the University of Florida basketball coach who announced a couple weeks back that he was leaving the two-time defending national champion Gators to coach the NBA’s Orlando Magic. A few days after the announcement Donovan changed his mind and had to negotiate a release from his Orlando contract so he could return to Florida.

The Miracle acted quickly on this one. Mocking Donovan's indecision and subsequent legal negotiations to get out of his contract, Fort Myers is going to require fans who want to leave the ballpark early to negotiate their own "out-clause." As part of the negotiation process, Fort Myers will require fans to shoot a basket using a ball that has either a Florida Gators or an Orlando Magic logo on it.

Fans will not be required to have perfectly manicured hair, however.

The ultimate question: Charleston won yesterday's Promotion of the Day award for their "Is It a Sport?" night. The RiverDogs asked the 3,000 fans in attendance to vote whether seven activities – NASCAR racing, cheerleading, hot dog eating, pro wrestling, figure skating, fishing, and rock paper scissors – were sports.

Four of the activities were voted sports. Figure skating received the most "yes" votes with 75 percent, followed by fishing, professional wrestling and NASCAR racing.

Fans were most adamant that rock, paper, scissors was not a sport (77 percent), and neither were hot dog eating (70 percent) and cheerleading (64 percent).

The Dugout believes the good people of Charleston went a little too easy with their voting. NASCAR is the only event of these seven that is truly a sport. The ballot process was obviously flawed if scripted professional wrestling is thought to be a sport.

A good rule of thumb to follow in these discussions: If judging is the sole determinate of the outcome, the activity is not a sport.

Josh Wilson may be the Devil Rays' best reliever

2007-06-12T19:56:00.000-05:00

In case you missed it, Tampa Bay may have found the solution to its middle relief option on Friday night. After three relievers .combined to allow eight earned runs in two innings, the Rays turned to shortstop Josh Wilson.

Although he hadn't pitched since high school, Wilson preformed somewhat effectively. He allowed a broken-bat single, a walk, and hit the backstop with a pitch, but didn't allow a run.

The Dugout is particularly proud of Wilson's performance. He is yet another played featured in the book, The Funniest Thing I’ve Ever Seen: More than 100 crazy stories from minor league baseball, to have an impact in the majors this season.

And since you asked, (The Dugout can hear you all the may over here) the chapter that features Wilson is right here:

Did He Use Shampoo And Conditioner?

Some people seem to have little choice but to be baseball players. Carolina Mudcats outfielder Josh Wilson is among those players.

Wilson’s father Mike is the head baseball coach at Duquesne University. As a youth, Josh Wilson worked at a local batting cage, allowing him to hone his skills and get a little spending money.

The 21-year-old Wilson and the rest of his teammates still spend much of their time whacking baseballs around, and many could still use a little extra spending money.

“The biggest misconception is that a lot of people think minor league baseball players make a lot of money,” Wilson said. “That’s absolutely not the case with most players.”

Wilson figures that most players are “severely underpaid.” He points to the $100 million-plus contract signed by Alex Rodriguez and says people assume all ball players are making somewhere near that kind of money.

Even a modest bump in salary would help many minor leaguers live more comfortably.

“The off-field stuff would be a lot easier,” Wilson said. “The living situation would be a lot better. You could actually spend some money and get a nice place to live. Even buying food is a struggle for a lot of guys.”

The lack of significant income causes many young players to give up on the game and get started with “real life” – life after baseball. However, Wilson explains that money wasn’t the driving force behind John Skinner’s first retirement. Skinner had other issues while pitching in a 2001 Single-A game for the Kane County Cougars.

Josh Wilson: It was the last series before the playoffs and we were playing the Quad City River Bandits. [Skinner enters] in the sixth inning and gives up a whole bunch of runs. I think we were winning by like two or three runs. He ends up blowing the lead.

But he works through it and gets out of the inning. He’s so mad about how he pitched that he goes into the locker room and starts throwing everything, breaking everything in sight. He takes his uniform off, gets in the shower and starts showering up.

The inning had already gone on for a while. We end up coming back and scoring three or four runs, and have taken the lead again. One of our pitchers comes in and says, “Skinner, what are you doing?"

He says, “I’m done. I’m tired. I quit. I have had enough.”

He was like, “But Skinner, we just took the lead again. You’re going back in.”

So in the middle of the game he had showered and retired. Then he had to go back out and pitched through the inning. I guess he redeemed himself.

Photos of new Toledo mascots

2007-06-10T23:07:00.000-05:00

This one will be short and sweet. The Toledo Mud Hens were nice enough to send The Dugout pictures of their new mascots. Muddevious and Muddiva were introduced today as part of "They Came From Outer Space Night." MinorLeagueDugout.com chose the unveiling as the Promotion of the Day. Congrats, Toledo. Enjoy the newest members of your family.

Slow-paced draft not made-for-TV showtime.

2007-06-07T21:53:00.000-05:00

Major League Baseball finally opened its first-year player draft to a live television audience today. The timing could have been better.

Sure, the Devil Rays did what was expected, taking Vanderbilt pitcher David Price with the first overall pick. Price was the biggest name in the draft, a proven commodity likely on the fast track to the bigs. The problem for MLB was that Price was pretty much the only big name.

The Dugout watched as teams chose top high school talent, which is fine for baseball. High school talent, however, is virtually unknown to the general viewing public, creating a fairly disinteresting broadcast.

What makes the NFL draft so captivating is that even when your team isn't on the clock, you’ve seen the players the other teams are taking play in college. New England fans follow their team, but they are able to form some type of an opinion as to how the Jets, Dolphins and Bills are doing, too.

Even the most ardent follower of amateur baseball has a tough time determining whether the San Francisco Giants filled their needs. Football players have an immediate impact. Baseball draftees are generally at least three years from making it to the big club. By that time their draft position is barely a footnote even to the most knowledgeable fans.

How does baseball make the draft more exciting and interesting? For starters it needs to raise the profiles of the players being drafted. MLB can do that by helping the NCAA get more college baseball games on television. MLB should also hold the draft after the College World Series – the most watched college baseball broadcasts.

Both suggestions are doable. Whether MLB chooses to do so is another matter. The high school element of the draft will always be a drag on the draft’s popularity. So will the amount of rounds. It's a long process.

Perhaps baseball officials realize their draft won’t be the money maker enjoyed by their counterparts in football. If that’s the case, give MLB credit for allowing for fans’ voyeurism without trying to be too glitzy. If the NFL draft offers HBO-type entertainment, the MLB draft is C-Span.

That’s OK. Though C-Span sits unwatched on most TVs throughout the year, it’s kind of nice to know you can look into your government’s actions should you desire. Maybe that’s how it should be with the baseball draft, too.

Disturbing number: Wanna feel old? Check out the birthday’s on some of the early picks. Some of the players taken in this year’s draft were born in 1989. A year from now kids born in the decade of the 90s will be eligible to play professional baseball.

Fund established to help injured Sky Sox VP

2007-06-06T19:56:00.000-05:00

Most of the time The Dugout enjoys writing this blog because there are so many fun tales to tell. This is not one of those times.

Colorado Sky Sox senior vice president Rai Henniger was severely injured last month when an industrial fireworks shell exploded in his face. In an interview with Sports Illustrated earlier this week, Henniger's wife revealed that he has lost the use of one of his eyes in the May 11 accident. Henniger remains a Denver hospital with multiple skull fractures. He is expected to be there for a couple more weeks.

The Sky Sox shoot off fireworks after every Colorado home run and during other promotions. Henniger, who is licensed to handle fireworks, was setting up the display game when the shell exploded.

The Henniger’s and the Sky Sox have established the “Rai Henniger Family Fund” at Security Service Federal Credit Union. Fans and Friends can drop off donations at the credit union, or they can mail them to:

The Rai Henniger Family Fund
1485 Kelly Johnson Boulevard,
Colorado Springs, CO 80920.

Contributions will help offset the immediate and future medical costs Henniger faces.

Anyone wishing to send Henniger cards or flowers can send them to the ballpark at:

"The Henniger Family"
c/o Sky Sox
4385 Tutt Boulevard
Colorado Springs, CO 80922

The Sky Sox are delivering all mail and packages to Henniger's hospital room.

The Dugout wishes Henniger and his family well and hopes he is able to return to the ballpark soon.

Let’s do the right thing Dugout nation.

Johnson goes Pyro, Hilligoss loses streak and Wellman is suspended

2007-06-04T23:12:00.000-05:00

The Jupiter Hammerheads' roster has been sprinkled with big leaguers on rehab assignments all season. Reliever Carlos Martinez took the mound tonight and it didn't go to well. He gave up a long home run and was up in the zone most of the inning he pitched.

Sitting in the dugout watching the game was Florida starting pitcher Josh Johnson (right), also in Jupiter on a rehab assignment. Johnson actually pitched on Sunday and looked good. Most big leaguers don't spend much time with the minor leaguers when they aren't on the field. Johnson is different. He appears to be one of those players who truly enjoy being around the game, which is why he is a new favorite of The Dugout.

Johnson will take the mound for the Double-A Carolina Mudcats on Friday. He looks close to returning. The big righty honored the unwritten code of big leaguers purchasing a post-game spread. Johnson went with Pyros, a local eatery that is a Hammerhead favorite.

The young Marlins are having a good week. Martinez bought Outback Steakhouse for the Hammerheads on Saturday and they feasted on Outback at a season ticket holder reception on Sunday. It's a good life, just don’t get too accustomed to it guys.

Hilli-done: Charleston third-baseman Mitch Hilligoss' record setting hit streak came to an end on Sunday at 38 games. Hilligoss was 0-for-4 with a walk at Savannah. He grounded out in the ninth inning in a final attempt to extend the streak.

The Dugout promised a full feature on Hilligoss if the streak reached 40 games. It likely won’t happen now. Still, a 38-game hitting streak, the 13^th longest streak in minor league history, is awfully impressive. Congrats, Mitch.

Let's see if he gets moved up to the Yankees' FSL team in Tampa in the coming days. Think it's possible that the only reason he is still with Charleston was that the Yankees wanted to see how far he could take the streak?

Wellman suspended: The interesting part of Mississippi Braves manager Phillip Wellman's three-game suspension is that it was imposed by the Atlanta organization, not the Southern League. A league suspension will surely follow, but the Braves suspension suggests this will be Wellman’s last season managing a Braves team.

In case you missed it, here is the videoclip of Wellman's meltdown

Mississipi manager Wellman's antics looked staged

2007-06-03T22:59:00.000-05:00

This blog was not supposed to have anything to do with the Southern League. It was going to be about Bob L. Heads and bobble-heads. Then the video of Mississippi Braves manager Phillip Wellman’s meltdown hit SportsCenter and the Internet.

Suddenly the focus shifted. If you haven't seen the clip, it is available on the MinorLeagueDugout.com site. As meltdown's go, it’s pretty good. There is definite humor value.

Wellman, in his first year managing at Mississippi, threw his hat, buried home plate, drew another home plate in the dirt, stole two bases and imitated a soldier throwing a grenade. While parts of the grenade toss are inventive – the rosin bag he tosses sprays chalk when it lands at the feet of the home plate umpire – The Dugout believes a little too much thought went into the routine. It's just not something an irate manager comes up with on the fly.

By the end of the meltdown Wellman is blowing kisses to the fans in Chattanooga. He obviously knows his antics were entertaining, which is fine to some degree. However, it is still the minor league manager's job to teach the players how to conduct themselves like big leaguers. Atlanta manager Bobby Cox is about to set the record for most ejections and he has never put on a display like the one in Chattanooga on Friday Night.

The Southern League will likely hand Wellman a nice suspension and a hefty fine. The Dugout wouldn't be surprised if Atlanta also disciple their minor league manager. And don't be surprised if he's with a different organization next season.

Timing is everything: Palm Beach pitcher Adam Ottavino was ejected from his Florida State League game on Wednessday night. During the argument, it looked as though Cardinals manager Gaylen Pitts was trying to get tossed, too.

The Dugout asked Pitts, a lifelong baseball man, whether it was his intent to get an early shower. He said that he'd been thrown out enough in his career and he's actually trying to make 2007 his first managerial season without an ejection.

The next night, less than 24 hours later, Pitts was ejected for arguing.

"I didn’t make it, did I?" Pitts said on Friday. “I jinxed myself. You never expect those things to happen, they just happen. Hopefully, I got that out of my system for the season.”