Music sing, Redfish smoked out and Juice just odd in the SCL

The Dugout received a surprise phone call on Saturday from South Coast League CEO Jamie Toole. The dugout was critical of the independent SCL's preparations for the start of their inaugural season in a previous blog, including not responding to interview requests from MinorLeagueDugout.com.

Toole apologized for not returning the call earlier. He didn't mention the blog entrie during the 20-minute conversion, leading The Dugout to believe the criticism didn't prompt the call. The SCL regained some points for that. It looks like he really was too busy.

In the blog, The Dugout was also critical of the SCL's inability to update their Web site. Toole acknowledged the Web site issues and promised they would be remedied quickly. As of Monday afternoon, however, there were still no entries one the scores or standings pages. Who's leading the SCL? This early in the season it must not be important.

Overall, Toole was pleased with the opening couple of days. He attended the league opener in Macon. According to the Macon Telegraph, the Music played in front of more than 5,000 fans for Thursday's opening night game, but that number was cut in half for Saturday's contest.

Wild fires caused a few more glitches for Charlotte County (Fla.). The Redfish, who play in the park the Texas Rangers used for spring training, had to cancel their opening night fireworks because of drought. They planned to put the money budgeted for fireworks toward a money drop. They planned to load a helicopter with more than $1,000, then toss the money onto the field after the game. The mad dash for cash had to be cancelled in the fifth inning because smoke from a nearby wildfire grounded the helicopter. Luckily, the money drop was going to be a surprise to the fans, so the crowd didn’t leave upset. The Redfish have yet to decide whether they will reschedule the event.

The SCL originally hoped to start the season with eight teams. It settled for six, with plans to expand. Toole is hoping to grow to 10 teams by 2009. He would not say which markets the league is considering, but did mention that, at one point, the league was looking at putting a team in Tinker Field in Orlando. That deal could be reached with the city. There are a few other former spring training facilities available in Florida – Cocoa Beach and Kissimmee come to mind – which could host a team.

Hopefully those teams will come up with a better nickname than Bradenton's. The Juice is an odd nickname, especially in this supposed “post-steroids era.”

Again, The Dugout wishes the SCL well. Still, they need to overcome plenty of challenges to reach that 2009 season.

Rumor has it the South Coast Baseball League season started yesterday

Every new league experiences growing pains. The South Coast Baseball League seems to be experiencing more than most.

The six-team league opened its inaugural season last night. Surprised you didn't hear about it? Don't be. The league seems content to play in anonymity.

The Dugout hoped to do a story on the league, but repeated phone calls to the league office were never returned. Bitter? A little – but it's tempered by amazement. Most independent leagues, let alone startups, do everything they can for publicity. That doesn't seem to matter to the SCBL.

It's not just that the folks shunned MinorLeagueDugout.com. A Google search on the league yields precious little information. Their Web site is only marginally more helpful. Game time is approaching for Friday's contest, yet there is still no mention of last night’s opening night festivities. There aren't even scores from opening night.

Maybe they want to keep the league small and quiet so that it has the exclusive feel of a top-flight South Beach bar. Maybe they figure their fans can’t read, so why go to the effort. Most likely, they simply underestimated how much work goes into the launch of a season.

Independent leagues need publicity of any kind. Fans won't go to the parks if they don't know there is a game. It's just that simple. The Dugout is a fan of every baseball league and sincerely hopes the South Coast League is successful. That being said, The Dugout will be shocked if the league survives to see its third season.

St. Lucie draws much needed rainout

Any fan who's watched Bull Durham knows that sometimes a rainout is a good thing. The St. Lucie Mets experienced one of those "good" rainouts Monday night.

In the movie Crash Davis, weary from a long stretch of road games in which the Durham Bulls were playing poorly, broke into the ballpark and turned on the sprinkler system, thereby flooding the field and ensuring a rainout.

The rainout in St. Lucie wasn't of the man-made variety, but it was just as welcome. Most of the Florida State League teams have been affected by the drought that’s struck the Sunshine State. Several teams were forced to cancel their season-opening fireworks displays because the grounds around the ballpark were a little too susceptible to fire.

A month and a half into the season conditions have only worsened, especially on Florida's west coast. Clearwater and Tampa both had to postpone games last week because out-of-control forest fires blanketed the ballpark in smoke. Other teams have played in what’s seemed like a week-long perpetual haze.

The peninsula finally started receiving some showers in the last two days – one of which apparently hit St. Lucie tonight. Tradition Field is in a fairly remote area of Port St. Lucie and the surrounding brush is susceptible to forest fires. Every little bit of rain helps squelch the potential flames.

It also may help avoid a major financial loss on the biggest weekend of the season.

Several ballpark general managers are already starting to worry about their July 4 fireworks. Almost every home team in the FSL offers an Independence Day fireworks show. Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter draws almost as many fans for their July 3 and 4 air explosions as they do for the rest of July combined.

The Dugout knows Florida will eventually return to its regular pattern of an afternoon deluge before every first pitch. Those days won't come soon enough for most FSL general managers.

How 'bout a Brat and a Beer for Mothers Day

Happy Mothers Day to all you mothers out there, especially The Dugout's.

Those who saw that Sioux Falls won the Promo of the Day award probably also noticed The Dugout mentioned that there are several other Mothers Day promos across the country.

Connecticut, for instance, is doing a diamond ring dig. In this popular promo, the Defenders bury a diamond ring in their infield then allow all women in attendance onto the field to try to dig for it. What happens if two women simultaneously find the diamond? Talk about your blood diamonds.

Pawtucket is giving away a rose to the first 3,000 mothers who walk through the gates. Clinton is giving away two tickets on American Airlines. Savannah’s celebration is sponsored in part by The Lady and Sons, whose founder, Paula Dean, has a show on the Food Network.

Albuquerque, however, might have the oddest giveaway. The Isotopes are giving women 15 years and older a copy of the Isotopes Cookbook. Now, The Dugout likes the idea of a cookbook giveaway, but isn’t it a little too old school to give women cookbooks on Mothers Day? Why not give them a matching broom and dust rag?

That being said, The Dugout respects any mother who would spend her special day at the ballpark. Fellas, if you find a women willing to go to a baseball game on her special day, you’ve found a keeper.

QuackerJack's bobbling tail and the start of some independent leagues

First things first. Those of you visiting the blog looking for a picture of the Promotion of the Day, it's on the right. The Atlantic League's Long Island Ducks are giving away a bobble-tail doll. It depicts their mascot, QuackerJack, sliding head first into a base.

These bobble dolls are getting more inventive all the time. The Dugout especially likes the tush-waving duck. Long Island fans should be snapping this one up. Only 1,500 are available.

The independent Atlantic League is entering its second weekend of the season. A couple other independent leagues began play this week. Perhaps the most widespread league in the country, the American Association, began play on May 10^th. The league features teams from Minnesota, Texas, Florida and many points in between. For shear distance, it rivals the Pacific Coast League, which features teams are far east as Tennessee.

The AA boasts two teams owned by Bill Veeck's Goldklang Group, which pretty much tells any baseball fan that there is some fun going on. St. Paul is so ahead of the promotional game that they run some wild stuff during their preseason exhibition games. But that is another blog.

The United League also threw its first pitch this week. Based primarily in Texas, the United League’s season runs through Sept. 1. The six-team league features some interesting nicknames and logos, but The Dugout is particularly fond of the Amarillo Dillas.

Look for the start of several other independent baseball league's seasons in the coming weeks, along with a few more affiliated leagues following the amateur draft the first weekend in June.

Cleaning the desk drawer

The Dugout has shamefully allowed a few items to slip through the cracks. The crack stops now.

On April 28^th,the Brevard County Manatees attempted to break the record for the most ceremonial first pitches thrown before a game. This was the Manatees' second attempt at this particular record, failing last season when their game was washed out.

Brevard succeeded this time, throwing 6,130 first pitches – breaking the record by more than 1,000. To accomplish that feat, the Manatees opened their gates at 4:30 a.m., throwing the first pitch at 4:55 and finishing just before the start of their 5 p.m. game.

"If I ever do it again my staff will beat my ass," said Brevard General Manager Buck Rogers.

Another Saints record: St. Paul set out to break the record for the tallest baseball player on Sunday and they appear to have succeeded. In the eighth inning St. Paul sent 7-foot-3 Dave Rasmussen to the plate. He struck out on three pitches, which is an official at-bat and likely makes Rasmussen the tallest player ever to whiff.

More to see: Nearly 6 million fans attended minor league baseball games in April – a new record for the first month of the season. The 5.9 million fans is an increase of nearly 122,000 from last season. The California League led the way with a 19.4 percent increase, followed by a 14.4 increase by Pacific Coast League teams.

The increase is even more impressive considering the International, Eastern and Midwest leagues lost more than 80 games to inclement weather.

A few more Travis Hake outtakes

Travis Hake said a couple of interesting things that didn't make the MinorLeagueDugout.com preview of the Atlantic League. Here are some of those responses.

The Dugout: Are you hoping to get picked up by a major league organization?

Hake: I just play to play. If I get picked up, I get picked up. There are guys who want to get picked up, and that's what this league is about. I think leagues ought to be more than just that. You've got to have players in the league like me. You've got to have guys that just care about the game and want to play. You can have all the guys in the world that just want to get picked back up, but what does that say for the fans? What are you telling the fans? We don't care if you like this player or not. We hope he gets out of here as soon as possible. I'd rather just go and give the fans a good game and make it fan friendly.

The Dugout: Do most players in the Atlantic League expect to be picked up by a major league organization?

Hake: There are a lot like me that still have the dream of getting to the big leagues. After you played affiliated ball for a few years and you're not quick to get to the big leagues, you almost have to put it in perspective that you are probably not going to get to the big leagues. Even the guys in here who get back out of this league, most of the time they just go to be a fill in.

The Dugout: What’s it like playing in front of the kids who pay you for lessons?

Hake: If you have a bad game then you always think, they must think I suck. I’m trying to teach these kids and what I teach them I don't even do some of the time.

Former Lancaster manager Tommy Herr on Hake's chances of returning to affiliated ball:

He's at an age now where it would be a reach for him to get another chance. Normally those types of guys don't get another chance unless they have Triple A or big league experience.

Newark the pick in the Atlantic League

The Dugout looks at the Atlantic League, which begins its season tonight.

Welcome: The York Revolution make their debut tonight in Bridgeport. Advance ticket sales for the new club have been outstanding, but fans will have to wait a while to see their new hometown boys. Stadium construction delays have forced the Revolution to play their first 10 "home" games in Camden.

See ya: Atlantic City left the Atlantic League to join the Can-Am League. The Surf's departure leaves the Atlantic League with only seven teams with a home presence. The Road Warriors, a league-operated team which plays all of its games on the road, balances out the league.

End of the road?: In theory, the Road Warriors will cease to exist next season when the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs join the league. But they were also supposed to disappear when Lancaster (2005) and York (2007) entered the league. Defections by Atlantic City and Nashua kept the Road Warriors around.

Prediction: York looked good in camp, but they will have trouble overcoming all the early road games. Long Island has the league's biggest name, Carl Everett, a major league pitching staff that includes Danny Graves, John Halama and Donovan Osborne, and Kevin Haverbusch hitting bombs following eye surgery. Newark, though, has fewer former major leaguers than normal, which will likely help team chemistry. That cohesiveness takes the Bears to the title.

Cubs prospect Samardzija rocks Roger Dean

Chicago Cubs minor league prospect Jeff Samardzija (top photo) might as well be a rock star. It's amazing the way a crowd seems to follow the former Notre Dame wide receiver. In the days leading up to Sunday's start at Roger Dean Stadium, the ballpark had an unusually large amount of fans wearing Notre Dame gear.

When he walked to the clubhouse after charting pitches for Thursday's game he looked like the pied pier, leading a trail of mini Notre Dame gold helmets being hoisted by young Irish fans.

That was no different following today's start. There wasn't a big crowd when Palm Beach hosted Daytona, but it seemed like all of them were waiting at the bus with something for the former Notre Dame wideout to John Hancock.

Sunday wasn't a great outing for Samardzija. He said afterward that he wasn't really thinking about the NFL draft and didn't care whether he was drafted or not. Still, it's hard to believe that all the people asking him about it in the days leading up to Sunday's start didn't affect him in some way.

That being said, Samardzija seems uber confident he made the right choice. The $2.5 million signing bonus probably helps ease the tension.

The Dugout is looking forward to seeing him pitch a few more times this season. Those who enjoy MinorLeagueDugout.com can look forward to a "Rounding the Bases With:" segment featuring Samardzija in the coming weeks.

Going Outback

The Palm Beach Cardinals treated their season ticket holders to dinner from Outback Steakhouse after Sunday's game against Daytona (bottom photo). They made it into a pretty cool event, bringing the players into pavilion and making them available for autographs and casual conversation.

The players also got a free meal out of the deal, making it a win-win event. Florida State League players usually only get to eat Outback when a big leaguer is down on a rehab assignment.

Drafting May Promos of the Day

Sure, The Dugout followed today's NFL draft. It was the perfect accompaniment to the day's task of tracking down the May promotions.

There are some pretty interesting ones coming up. The Dugout isn't going to give anything away, but the West Virginia Power suddenly appears ready to make a strong run at the Promotional Organization of the Year award. (We need a better name for this. Any suggestions?)

May brings a few more leagues into the Promotion of the Day derby. Most of the independent leagues start in May, beginning with the Atlantic League. The highlight from a promotional standpoint is the first pitch of the American Association in the middle of the month. St. Paul and Sioux Falls, teams owned by Mike Veeck, begin the season with some promotions that will bring a chuckle.

June is when the short season leagues come on line, along with the remainder of the independent leagues. July is the first full month featuring every league in action.

After spending eight hours tracking down the May promos, The Dugout isn't exactly looking forward to the extra time spent in those months. But that's just the writing of tired eyes. Finding those bizarre promos from the obscure leagues is what really makes this Site fun.

Speaking of fun, The Dugout has a big day tomorrow. Former Notre Dame wide receiver Jeff Samardzija is pitching for Daytona. It’s pretty cool that he’ll be pitching on a day that he’ll likely be drafted. Look for a big story on MinorLeageDugout.com tomorrow evening.

Is Poteat just a piece of meat?

Today is Seth Poteat's big day. Normally a mild-mannered corporate sales representative for the Lexington Legends, Poteat draws the spotlight tonight when the Legends hold a "Win a Date with Seth Poteat" promotion.

The 29-year-old said the Legends came up with the promotion because several girls who work in the front office want to get him married. Poteat decided to play alone.

"I'm looking forward to it," Poteat said. "Everyone keeps asking me, 'Why are you doing it?' It's not for me. It's for all the lovely ladies here in Lexington."

Lexington radio broadcasters have been promoting the event for the past week, and word is season ticket holders are excited to participate.

What kind of girl is Poteat hoping to meet?

"I'm not going to lie to you, she's got to be attractive," Poteat said. "She's got to be comfortable with herself. She has to not take herself too seriously."

Poteat says he prefers blonds, but adds that for some reason he seems to date more brunettes.

The Legends will pay for the date, sending the couple to local restaurant and possibly to a concert.

The best part of the promo? The girl Poteat chooses doesn't actually have to go out with him. She can take the prize and walk away, leaving Poteat to, ahem, fend for himself.

The Dugout will monitor the promotion and get back to you with the results.

Atlantic League opens spring training with new faces

LAKELAND, Fla – The independent Atlantic League started its spring training here this week. Seven of the league’s eight teams came to Tigertown – Detroit’s spring training complex – for 10 days worth of workouts. Only Newark didn't head south.

Tuesday and Wednesday were team days. Spring training games begin Thursday afternoon. The Dugout hopes to attend one of those matchups (Camden vs. York).

Speaking of York, The Dugout spent some time with Jim Seip, the beat writer who covers the Revolution. Kudos to the York Daily Record for sending a writer to Florida for a week. After the winter they’ve had, Seip is awfully pleased to spend a week in the Sunshine State.

The biggest name in camp, Carl Everett, will play for the Long Island Ducks. Everett had fun in batting practice trying to reach the cars parked beyond the outfield fence. He succeeded several times, offering to autograph the dents.

Bobby Darula, who has two of the funniest stories in the book The Funniest Thing I’ve Ever Seen: More than 100 crazy stories from minor league baseball, started last season with Bridgeport before returning to affiliated ball with Atlanta. Darula is back with Bridgeport this season after a freak elbow injury suffered last season side-arming a ball back to the infield. He underwent Tommy John surgery and expects to be ready to start the season.

Just cause it’s bugging us: Sheryl Crow's suggestion that we should be limited to one square of toilet paper per bathroom trip in order to stop Global Warming may be the dumbest idea ever. Ever. Ever.

Did she really say that out loud? Crow now claims it wasa joke. The Dugout thinks that's Global Revisionism.

After using our allotted square, would it be alright to use the booklets that are packaged with her CDs? Or is that just too much crap in one place?

Stop me if you've heard this one before...

A priest and a beer vendor are trapped in a ballpark...

Minor League clubs aren't limiting their bobbleheads to baseball players anymore. In less than a week, two different teams have truly expanded the rules as to who can appear on a bobblehead.

Chattanooga hosted a Mystery Bobblehead Night on April 20^th. The Lookouts did a pretty good job of keeping the bobblehead’s identity a secret. All that they would say was that they were sure it was a one of a kind giveaway.

Fans who arrived at the game recognized the face of Richard the Beerman on their new toy (photo, top right). Richard has been hawking swill at the ballpark in Chattanooga for more than 20 years.

Word is the bobblehead is a pretty good likeness. The Dugout, however, is taken back by the size of the beers Richard is selling. It looks more like he's carrying kegs instead of pints. If that's the case, it’s no wonder he's so popular.

Corpus Christi traded beer for wine, choosing to put the local bishop on their bobblehead (photo, bottom right). The Hooks say Bishop Carmody is so popular in South Texas that he could be a rock star.

That may be true, but what are the non-Catholics supposed to do with the doll? And there’s also that whole worshipping false idols thing in bible. Forget it. It’s baseball. Let it slide.

Cardinals' prospect Tyler Norrick forgets the Ks

The Dugout recently sat down with Palm Beach pitcher Tyler Norrick for an article that ran in the Palm Beach Post. Norrick is off to a fantastic start. He's off to a 3-0 start in four games and has allowed just one run in 24 innings.

The reason for the strong start? Up until a couple of weeks ago Norrick thought he was a power pitcher. The lefty, whose fastball has been clocked as high as 93, tried to overpower hitters, especially when he was in a jam.

That changed during spring training. The Cardinals have been working on teaching Norrick to pitch, not throw. From the things he said during the interview, he's buying into their philosophy.

One of the benefits of writing online is that there is essentially an unlimited amount of space to tell a story. That is not the case with print. The following are some interesting quotes that didn't make it into the print article.

What's working for him: I'm throwing the fastball for a strike, both the four seamer and the two seamer and throwing good sliders off that. I'm getting bad swings out of my fastball and slider right now. If I had to say that was my go to pitches.

On his lower strikeout totals: I decided it's not even worth the effort. I can get the ground balls and the pop-ups early in the count and go deep into games, and maybe punch guys out when the situation presents itself. If I get ahead of a guy and need a strikeout, maybe I go for it, but other than that I don't worry about it until I get an 0-2, 1-2 count.

What the Cardinals are looking for in a pitcher: In the higher levels, particularly the big league level, the organization spent all their money on their infielders to catch ground balls. Their philosophy on pitching is to throw ground balls. They don’t have a lot of strike out pitchers.

Can a midget swing a left-handed bat?

There are crazy jobs, and then there’s Jim Pfander's.

Pfander is the director of promotions for the Charleston RiverDogs – a team owned by the Goldklang Group, which counts Mike Veeck among its members. If you work for Veeck, you are going to end up doing some strange stuff.

Loyal readers may remember the note from about a week ago where Charleston was running around crazy because the midget who was going to take part in the post-game midget wrestling match was having trouble getting a flight out of Minnesota.

The Dugout talked with Pfander today for the first time since the zany midget madness. According to Pfander, the midget's plane arrived at the Charleston airport with two outs in the ninth inning.

The airport is about 20 minutes from the stadium. Pfander said an intern may have broken several speed records getting the midget to the park. The RiverDogs conducted their post-game ball tosses and other entertainment, then started stalling until their wrestler arrived. Just when Pfander through they were about to lose the crowd the midget came sprinting onto the field and into the ring. The crowd went nuts and a midget-wrestling induced riot was avoided. No one in the crowd ever knew there was a problem.

These kinds of episodes are the norm, not the exception, in Pfander's days.

The RiverDogs are holding a left-handed bat giveaway (think about it) in June. Since Charleston announced this promotion, Pfander has been receiving calls from concerned parents wondering if their right-handed hitting children will be able to use the left-handed bat.

He's got two more months worth of those phone calls to go.

Those kinds of stories are why The Dugout always gets excited when Charleston is in the running for the Promotion of the Day. Talking with Pfander is one of the best parts of the job.

Just a bit outside: The Dugout once again apologizes in advance from transgressing into the world of major league baseball, but something happened in the Florida-Washington game that needs to be noted.

Washington pitcher Matt Chico just threw the wildest pitch in the history of baseball. With runners on first and second, Chico's pitch sailed over the first-base dugout and into the stands. He missed the target by at least 100 feet. He was wide of the screen that protects fans from foul balls. Rick "Wild Thing" Vaughn and Harry Doyle would have been proud.

It's worth watching SportsCenter tonight if only to see the replay.

And then there were none

Minor league baseball's last unbeaten team, the Dayton Dragons, finally fell last night. The Swing of the Quad Cities trounced Dayton 15-4 in a Midwest League game. Gotta hand it to Dayton – when they lose, they lose in style.

The Swing's Jaime Landin fell a single shy of the cycle, leading a 13-hit attack. The thirteen runs scored by Quad Cites was more than half of the 20 total runs the Dragons allowed in their first nine games.

As noted in the last post, Dayton remained unbeaten the longest, but they did not start the season with the most consecutive victories. That honor goes to the Greensboro of the South Atlantic League, which started the season by winning its first 12 games.

Dayton's streak lasted longer because the weather banged a bunch of their early season games. Still, it must have been cool being able to dream about an undefeated season as late as April 19^th.

Color blind: The Dugout knows this is a minor league blog. Sometimes the big boys make decisions that are just as odd as their minor league counterparts.

Take the Boston Red Sox. They are honoring long-time Boston Celtic all-everything Red Auerbach by wearing green jerseys for tonight's game. They are wearing green to honor a man named Red.

The Dugout gets the Celtic green connection, but, come on. Couldn't they have worn all red to honor Red? Some of the biggest selling jerseys and hats at spring training are the green ones the Red Sox wear for St. Patrick’s Day. Seems like just another money making promotion for a team that doesn't need the money.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled minor league blog…

Wicked spring weather claims another victim

The Atlantic League's York Revolution isn't scheduled to play their first game for almost three weeks, but the wicked weather in the northeast has already affected the start of their season. Snow has slowed construction on Sovereign Bank Stadium, the ballpark for the first year franchise, so much that the Revolution announced on Wednesday the ballpark will not be ready in time for the season opener.

At least 15 games will have to be rescheduled, with as many as 12 being moved to a neutral site. Those games are expected to be played in Camden, pending the approval of the league. That could happen as early as today.

The new home-opening date is slated for June 15 against the Newark Bears.

The March snowstorms delayed construction, but they were not the only factor causing the delayed home opener. According to their web site, York also needed to remove thousands of tons of rock from the construction site – something they didn't expect.

Even though the ballpark is scheduled to open on June 15, it is not slated to be completed until August. Apparently York management expects enough of the construction to be completed by mid June that the club will be able to secure the necessary permits to allow fans to enter the ballpark.

The delay is, of course, bad news. The Dugout wonders if this delay is just the beginning. Planning to open an incomplete ballpark seems like quite a risk. If management wins this gamble, maybe York should be playing its neutral games in a different New Jersey town - Atlantic City.

Unlucky 13: Greensboro won its first 12 games of the season before losing 5-1 to Columbus on April 15. That leaves the Dayton Dragons of the Midwest League as the lone remaining undefeated team in minor league baseball. The Dragons, who lost a bunch of games to bad weather, are 9-0 entering Thursday’s games.

Salem makes right choice

The Dugout doesn't live anywhere near Blacksburg, Va. and has no ties to Virginia Tech, but it couldn't let the events of the day pass without notice. As of this moment 33 people were slaughtered today when a yet-to-be identified man for some yet-to-be identified reason pulled out a gun and started firing.

Watching the death toll climb throughout the day was almost unreal. It went from one to ten to 22 to 33 and may still go higher if some of the wounded don't make it out of the hospital. It is said to be the largest mass shooting in our country's history.

The Carolina League's Salem Avalanche, the Single-A affiliate of the Houston Astros, play their home games about 30 minutes from the Virginia Tech campus. They were scheduled to host Potomac tonight, but chose to postpone the game in the wake of the tragedy.

"The Salem Avalanche felt that playing baseball tonight would be a disservice to those who have lost loved ones, friends and acquaintances in the tragedy at Virginia Tech today," John Katz, Avalanche VP / General Manager said in a release posted on Salem's Web site. "A moment of silence is not enough to honor these young men and women who have lost their lives in Blacksburg today."

The teams will play a doubleheader today starting at 11:07. The delay of sixteen hours won't be enough to allow the Salem community to comprehend the events of Monday morning. Still, sometimes it really is the thought that counts. It seems this is one of those instances where baseball, and particularly the Salem organization, can help bring the community back together.

The Dugout commends Salem’s efforts and offers its deepest condolences to all those affected by the acts of a mad man.

Will Bob L. Head please report to Portland?

Portland is hosting one of the most creative year-long promotions The Dugout has ever seen. The Pacific Coast League's Beavers are attempting to create the ultimate bobblehead doll.

They are scouring the country looking for people named Bob L. Head and asking them to submit an explanation as to why the Beavers should create a bobblehead doll in their likeness.

Portland has received five submissions so far; two from California, one from Indiana, one from Iowa and one from parts unknown. The Beavers won't have to choose the winner until much later in the season. The doll giveaway is slated for August 18.

The Beavers have linked up with the tourism bureau to make this promotion a way of highlighting the good things Oregon has to offer.

The winner will be flown to Portland to be a part of a weekend's worth of festivities. So far, Beavers officials aren't aware of anyone legally changing their name in an attempt to win a trip to Portland.

Bad date: The Dugout could only find two minor league organizations that used today's date, Friday the 13^th, as part of their promotions. Lake Elsinore hosted Frightfest, while Clearwater held a Halfway to Halloween night. Seems like some other organizations missed out on a good opportunity.

Windy day drives up ticket prices in Lancaster

Apparently Lancaster's "Tumbleweed Tuesday" promotion caused a bit of confusion. When the JetHawks held the promotion last year fans received a 10 cent discount for each mile per hour of wind measured at 4 p.m. on game day. This year, Lancaster has switched it around. Fans pay 10 cents for each mile per hour of wind. It's a pretty important distinction.

The wind today was clocked at 25 mph. Under last year's rules, a ticket would have cost $4.50. Today, the same ticket goes for $2.50. Fans get a better deal this season, and for that, The Dugout salutes Lancaster.

By the way, a spokesman said it's been exceptionally windy in Lancaster this season. The $2.50 price may end up being the highest for the year. Pretty good deal if you live in the area.

No small problem: What do you do when your midget wrestler is stranded in a Minnesota airport? That’s that problem faced by the Charleston Riverdogs. Charleston is planning to offer midget wrestling following tonight's game, but at 2:30 this afternoon one of the competitors had trouble catching a flight. He finally caught a plane and as of 5 p.m. the wrestling was on as scheduled. The Dugout is still unsure what the little guy was doing in the Land of 1,000 Snowdrifts.

Aqua Buhner: Former Seattle Mariners outfielder Jay Buhner is part of a group that will purchase the Everett AquaSox, the Mariners short season affiliate in the Northwest League. Buhner also serves as a commentator on Mariners’ broadcasts.

Going Nuts in Modesto

The Modesto Nuts have a new toy and they are proud to show it off.

The Colorado Rockies' California League affiliate installed a new scoreboard complete with a video screen just before the start of the season. They are incorporating video into most of their promotions this season.

The Nuts, who won MinorLeagueDugout.com's Promotion of the Day award on April 6, are in the running for another award later this month for some of their other ideas.

Today they are holding Goofy Neighbor night. They will show video of some of Hollywood's goofiest neighbors (Kramer, Wilson, etc.) on the big screen throughout the game.

In the coming weeks Modesto will also pay tribute to Bond movies (April 11), horror movies (April 23), and the 80s classic, Weird Science (May 4).

They have some other interesting promotions on the schedule, making Modesto an early front runner to claim MinorLeagueDugout.com’s Promotional Organization of the Year Award.

On top of all that, the Modesto Nuts have one of the best logos (right) in sports. The Dugout encourages all readers to make their logo the background on random computer screens. We know for a fact it is already loaded on one of the Palm Beach Post's (Fl.) computers.

Some snow is good, some not so much

The Dugout is dreaming of a white Easter.

Snow is everywhere this weekend. For the second consecutive night, snow postponed several minor league games. The New Hampshire Fisher Catsare threatening to bring in a zamboni to clear the field and are offering free tickets to fans who help shovel their field. Gametime for today's contest has been moved to 4:05 in order to give the sun more time to melt the snow.

On the west coast, the Fresno Grizzlies are giving away snow – kind of. The first 2,500 fans will receive a snow globe containing a replica of their ballpark (right). It looks pretty cool. Think New Hampshire will send Fresno some real snow for their ballpark?

Florida parks don’t have to worry about snow. Rattlesnakes, however, are another story. Last night's Florida State League game between Jupiter and Palm Beach was delayed fifteen minutes when a rattlesnake slithered onto the field.

Rattlesnakes have been spotted before on the back fields of the Roger Dean Stadium complex, which hosts the Florida Marlins and St. Louis Cardinals for spring training. This was the first time one made it onto the main field during a game.

A full story about the incident will appear on the minor league dugout site shortly.

Why sharks can't get driver's licences

Last night The Dugout witnessed one of the worst mascot entrances in the history of minor league baseball. The Jupiter Hammerheads' mascot, Hamilton R. Head, usually enters Roger Dean Stadium from behind the left field wall driving a go cart. He is supposed to speed across the outfield warning track all the way around to home plate.

Usually this takes a few seconds but last night seemed to take forever. The drama grew as the P.A. announcer egged him on. Laughing fans were wondering aloud whether the cart would make it to home plate.

Was the cart out of gas? Did it have a flat tire? Was the engine failing? Was Hamilton driving with two left flippers?

When Hamilton finally arrived at home, he jumped out of the cart and waved to a relieved crowd. Then a Hammerheads' staffer jumped into the cart, released the parking brake, and sped off down the left field line.

Add Hamilton to the long list of Florida drivers who prefer to drive slow in the fast lane.

There's no snowing in baseball: As noted in yesterday's blog, not every opening day goes as planned.

The snow and cold weather that struck the east coast on Thursday cancelled games as far south as Richmond. Rain interrupted several Florida State League games, including the one The Dugout attended in Jupiter. Nothing like an hour and 20 minute rain delay to start the season.

While the rain put a damper on the fans, it came too late to please local fire marshals. Palm Beach became the latest FSL team to cancel a fireworks show. The Roger Dean Stadium front office banged tonight's display before the start of yesterday’s game because of drought conditions.

As disappointing as that is for fans, no organization is having a worse opening weekend than Akron. The Eastern League's Aeros postponed their season opener because of snow and were forced to cancel tonight’s fireworks show because of high winds. It's not a great week to be in Ohio.

The long wait for opening day might be too short

What amazes The Dugout about opening day in the minor leagues is how much shorter most of the young guys are in spring training compared to their big league brethren.

Most of the players who take the field today arrived at camp weeks after their major leaguers, yet the season starts just four days later. Mind you, most of the pitchers have been in camp the full time, which is the group of players who really need the time to shake off the winter. And most of the position players think the spring lasts too long, anyway. After about a week, those guys are ready to hit.

Still, you'd figure major league organizations would have a vested interest in making sure all of their players have sufficient time to prepare for the season, especially considering many of these guys who basked in the Arizona and Florida sunshine are now in less than ideal baseball conditions. It would seem to be a question of protecting one’s investment.

That being said, no one is happier than The Dugout that the season is underway.

Less bang for the buck: Not all opening days go as planned. The dry conditions in South Florida caused the Fort Myers Miracle to cancel their opening night postgame fireworks show. If the drought continues, look for more Florida State League teams to have to move their fireworks nights.

More weather woes: A cold front moving through the northeast is supposed to bring snow to upstate New York and New England, which could make for a very unpleasant opening night for fans of International League teams.

Up in the sky: The Florida State League’s Lakeland team has changed its nickname from the Tigers to the Flying Tigers to honor the World War II flying group. The name works, in part, because the Lakeland complex was built on an old military base. Some of the old buildings are still in use. The Dugout likes the way Lakeland managed to add some local history to its name without losing the connection to their major league affiliation with Detroit.

On rubber ducks and baseball

Today is the true opening day in Major League Baseball (one game on Sunday doesn't count), which means minor league opening day isn't far away – Thursday to be exact.

The Dugout has always found minor league opening day be like that duck pond game at traveling carnivals, where you pick a duck and get the prize that’s on the bottom of the duck. You are guaranteed a prize, you just don’t know how good it’s going to be.

Fans of Major League Baseball have a pretty good idea of who's going to be on their teams well before opening day. That's not the case with minor league fans. Take the Jupiter Hammerheads of the Florida State League.

The Big League Marlins' housecleaning last season left Jupiter unsure of its opening day lineup until the days prior to the opener. The young, mostly unrecognizable roster didn't fare well. The personalities never seemed to click and the team failed to captivate the fan base.

What a difference an off-season makes. The Hammerheads have yet to announce their roster, but it appears it will boast five pitchers drafted in the first round and another early second-rounder. One of those aces, Chris Volstad, is a hometown kid, which should help build the fan base.

So relax and enjoy today's MLB openers. And get ready for the carnival to start this weekend.

Fighting the broken bus blues

The Dugout woke up early and hustled up to Jupiter, Florida's Roger Dean Stadium to catch some minor league Dodgers games. It would have been the first – and possibly only – chance to talk face-to-face with L.A. farmhands this season.

The Double and Triple-A clubs were slated to play the Cardinals, but that game never materialized. The story being told by Cardinals' players was that the Dodgers bus broke down on the way to the game, so the team never showed up.

There are some pretty funny stories in The Funniest Thing I've Ever Seen: More than 100 crazy minor league baseball stories that deal with bus problems. There are a couple of instances where the bus caught fire. In one, the players were jumping off the bus while it was still moving, scattering players along the highway for about a mile.

In the other, players boarded a second bus to the game. When they returned past the original bus, they were shocked to see that it had burned almost completely to the ground. Only the shell remained.

Fortunately for the Dodgers, their problems were not nearly that bad. If the game was a regular season contest, they certainly would have found alternative transportation. During the laid back times of Spring Training, they just decide to scrap the game.

How many times have you started your car in the morning; then wished aloud that you didn't really have to go to work?

The days of Knights and Tunas

JUPITER, Fla. - The St. Louis Cardinals' Triple-A club has found an interesting way to beat the South Florida heat. By starting their games at 10:00 a.m., the players clear the field before the searing afternoon sun is able to do most of its damage.

The Triple-A Cardinals, who call Memphis their regular season home, finished their game against Florida and were off the field before 1 p.m. on Monday. It's a nice deal for Cardinals fans, who can watch some of their top prospects in the morning, then enter Roger Dean Stadium and watch the big club.

Those who don't have a ticket for the big league game can turn the day into a minor-league doubleheader. The Dugout caught the end of the Triple-A game before headlining to a back field to watch the Double-A game.

The only drawback of these quasi-minor league doubleheaders is that they won't last much longer. Memphis will play a couple of exhibition games prior to the start of season - one of which will be against the big league club in Memphis - so they are shipping out earlier than most minor league clubs.

The Dugout ran into old friend Pop Warner for the first time this spring. Warner skippered Palm Beach last year before spending September in the St. Louis dugout as an extra coach for the World Series Champions. He's been bumped up to Double-A Springfield for this season and from the sound of it, he's taking almost the entire 2006 Palm Beach pitching staff with him.

Top-prospect Colby Rasmus, who ended 2006 at Palm Beach, is also slated to start the season in Springfield, as is former first-round draft choice Tyler Greene, a shortstop. Greene started 2006 in Palm Beach, but was sent down to Quad Cities after hitting .224 over the season’s first 71games.

He's apparently performed well enough this spring to leapfrog Palm Beach and head to Springfield. The Dugout isn't sure why he struggled so mightily in Palm Beach, but he wouldn't be the first player to say he simply didn't see the ball well at RDS.

Final note: Bill Parcells and Bobby Knight shared a skybox for Monday's Grapefruit League contest between St. Louis and Florida. The Tuna has seen a couple of Cardinals games this spring, but as far as The Dugout knows, this was the first General sighting. Knight kept RDS soundboard operator Ross Howard busy by requesting an obscure song be played over the public address system. To his credit, Howard took less than an inning to track down the song. No chairs were thrown and Knight isn't believed to have threatened to fire anyone. Wasn't General Tuna a character in the board game Clue???

Where baseball and music combine

ORLANDO - The Dugout first noticed the phenomenon in 2001. Seven Mary Three was in San Antonio touring in support of their fourth album, The Economy of Sound. The San Antonio Missions - at the time the Double-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners – had a day game, affording some players the opportunity to leave the park in time to catch 7m3's late afternoon show.

Following the show, Missions' pitcher Matt Jarvis and catcher Brad King were talking with band members by their tour bus. King had been a fan of 7m3 for years. His eyes were as big as the baseballs he’d just finished swatting, and from the smiles on his and Jarvis’ faces, it was obvious they were thinking, "Wow, we're talking with rock stars."

Though not nearly as popular as when their debut album, American Standard, hit the charts 7m3 was still pretty big at the time. Which made it seem odd that the band members talking with the minor leaguers had the same looks on their faces: "Wow, you guys play professional baseball."

King, who doesn’t really have any musical talent, would often joke about starting a band when his baseball career ended. At least two of the 7m3 guys are baseball fans, frequently watching a few innings of minor league baseball games before their gigs. They talked that afternoon about how cool it would be to be professional baseball players.

That scenario played out again Friday night when members of the Detroit Tigers made the short trip from their spring training home in Lakeland, Fla., to downtown Orlando to see Lucero lead singer Ben Nichols (top photo) and Seven Mary Three's Jason Ross (lead singer, middle photo) and Thomas Juliano (bottom photo, guitar) play acoustic shows as part of the opening night activities for an art gallery expo of rock-n-roll art.

Two of the guys in the Tigers' contingent were wearing Lucero shirts. They talked with Nichols after his set, congratulating him on his performance and just shooting the breeze. The Dugout was fortunate to stand next to a beaming Nichols for part of Ross’ and Juliano's set. The conversation went something like this:

Nichols: Can you believe some of the Detroit Tigers are here?

The Dugout: Some of them are even wearing Lucero shirts.

Nichols: Yeah, how amazing is that?

Ballplayers and rock stars possess talents that ordinary people planned to master before growing old enough to learn that adults, more often than not, cannot grow up to be anything they want to be. Perhaps that's why the average fan becomes so excited to meet people who are living their dream.

Because they know how difficult it is to become an elite athlete or musician, practitioners of those crafts tend to have a mutual admiration for the other’s accomplishments. Or maybe baseball players and rock stars are still young enough that they consider music or baseball to be the career that got away. Either way, after seeing ballplayers and musicians constantly having to respond to the needs of their fans, it's unusual and ultimately refreshing to see the rolls change – to watch the idols become fans. It's a humanizing transformation, and one The Dugout believes makes both the musician and the ballplayer that much more interesting.

The Braves and The Mouse mix well

Orlando – One word to describe the Atlanta's spring training complex: Holy Freakin' Cow! Or, perhaps more accurately, holy freakin' mouse.

The Braves train at Disney's Wide World of Sports, which is located on the massive campus owned by the Disney Corporation. The Mouse did it right. There are some 30 different athletic fields in the complex. On Thursday, the complex was flowing with high school lacrosse teams and softball teams in town for a tournament.

Oh, and there were a few minor league games. Because of the corporate nature of the complex, The Dugout expected a hassle obtaining media credentials. Not so. Walked freely through the lush campus talking with players and management, alike.

The minor league camp setup is the best in Florida. The fields are close together and the bleachers are covered (top photo), a big plus in the burning Orlando sun. The Braves also have a policy that players makes players who don't travel with their minor league teams sit in the stands and watch at least five innings of a Braves game being played on site. As a result, The Dugout talked in great length to some Triple-A pitchers who didn't make trip to Lakeland as they watched the High-A team play Lakeland. Those stories will appear on MinorLeagueDugout.com in the coming months.

The Big League park is even more phenomenal (bottom photo). Aside from being aesthetically wonderful, the park is absolutely huge. It is one of the few Grapefruit League parks that doesn't host a minor league team, which is a real shame. Tampa Bay's Double-A squad played there for three years, but attendance was abysmal and the team moved. Word is the folks ran the stadium as though the Orlando Rays were a major league team. Tickets were too expensive and the promotional stuff – other than Disney tie-ins – was non-existent. If Major League Baseball were smart, it would extend the bleachers to create a full park and move the Tampa Bay Devil Rays to Orlando. Nothing could be worse than leaving the Devil Rays in that awful dome in Tampa.

The Dugout also visited the Astros complex in Kissimmee. The facilities appeared functional, but were no match for the quaintness of Dodgertown and Chain of Lakes Park, or the vastness Disney.

Gotta cut this short. Going to see Seven Mary Three's Jason Ross and Thomas Juliano, along with Lucero's Ben Nichols play tonight in downtown Orlando. Should be a great evening.

Rock down to Edison Avenue

The Dugout has been quiet. That doesn't mean it hasn't been busy.

We've hit four minor league spring training camps in the last two days. Internet issues on the road have kept us from updating the blog until now.

The Red Sox have an interesting set-up for their camp. The minor league camp is located two miles down Edison Ave. from their major league camp/ballpark. The players seemed to split on how much they like the situation.

The younger guys would like the big league players to train in the same complex, while the older minor leaguers are glad to be away from the media circus that follows the Red Sox nation. Look for a full blown feature about the Sox minor league camp on MinorLeagueDugout.com in the coming weeks.

The Sox held a camp day on Monday, which featured a bunch of intra-organizational scrimmages. The highlight was watching Hall-of-Famer Carl Yastrzemski (above, signing an autograph) pull aside some of the younger hitters to give them pointers. He kept preaching “soft hands.”

Left Fort Myers and found a new way to get to Orlando. Took Route 17, which is mostly a rural road through orange groves, churches, cow pastures and the occasional goat farm. It was quicker than the normal I-75 to I-4 route and much more enjoyable.

Hit the Cleveland and Detroit camps today. Does any uniform look cleaner the Detroit Tigers? Too bad most fans don't get to see the minor leaguers. The folks in Lakeland don't have the best setup for viewing the minor league games. Some are completely hidden from fans, and access to players is more restricted than any other complex in Florida. The Dugout managed to talk to a few players. Those interviews will be posted on the site or in this blog periodically during the season.

Atlanta and Houston camps are scheduled for tomorrow. Some basketball; then a beer at the Matador in downtown Orlando on are tap for tonight.

Most minor league seasons open in two weeks. The countdown is on.

Head to the Outback, mate

Want to make an Australian-born minor league baseball player laugh? Ask him about Outback Steakhouse. Turns out we Americans have been duped. The Aussies will tell you there is nothing like Outback in the Land Down Under.

What makes it even stranger for the Aussies is that there always seems to be an Outback near a ballpark or hotel. Unwitting fans often comment to the Aussie players that if they get homesick, they can head across the street to the Outback.

They mostly smile. The players seem to like the food, even if Outback doesn't remind them of home. Here's what a few of them said about the restaurant:

There's nothing like it mate. You come over to Outback and none of the food they serve there is Australian. We don't have any cheese fries with bacon on it. I don't know where that came from. – Minnesota farmhand and Perth native Luke Hughes, who is featured in the currrent lead story on MinorLeagueDugout.com.

I like it. It's a bit of a corny gimmick. I like them even more now that they have Coopers beer. That's the beer from my home state in south Australian. – Florida's Paul Mildren, who also referred to Fosters as a “sell out beer.”

I love Outback. I think it's the greatest marketing idea ever made. But it has nothing to do with Australia, except for the maps on the walls, what they call certain burgers and "Blokes" and "Sheilas" on the bathroom doors. We have no steak. We have no blooming onions. We have no cheese fries. We have nothing like that. – Pittsburgh's Brett Roneberg, as quoted in The Funniest Thing I’ve Ever Seen: More than 100 crazy stories from minor league baseball.

Curing a bout of Madness

Been light on the blog, but with good reason. The first two days of the NCAA men's basketball tournament should be national holidays. I spent Thursday and Friday sitting on virtually the same bar stool at Bru's Room in Delray Beach, Fla. Any bar that allows you to control four TVs at once can't be all bad. (Yeah, I've been there before).

I'm watching Saturday’s games from home. Delray is holding its annual St. Patrick's Day parade, which turns Bru's into chaos. May try to get there for the night games, but don't have much need to get pushed around by drunken green people who aren't interested in the ball games.

Caught up with Chris Ashby, whose story about being hated in Norwich, Ct. was the inspiration for The Funniest Thing I've Ever Seen. He's in camp with the Marlins (Jupiter) and hopes to start the season with Triple-A Albuquerque. I'll keep you posted.

Next week looks like a good one for baseball. I'm planning to spend Tuesday and Wednesday in Fort Myers talking with minor league players from Minnesota, Boston, and maybe Pittsburgh. Thursday features trips to Lakeland (Tigers), where I'm interested to see the complex's makeover, and Winter Haven (Indians), a complex I have never visited. Friday should be Kissimmee (Astros) and Orlando (Braves). Saturday stops in Melbourne (Nationals) and Vero Beach (Dodgers) complete the trip.

As an added bonus, Jason Ross and Thomas Juliano (Seven Mary Three) and Ben Nichols (Lucero) are playing together at the opening of an art gallery. Two greatly underappreciated bands.

Planning to post a story about Australian baseball players on MinorLeagueDugout.com by the end of the weekend.

More soon.

An order of Pujols, some false teeth and a couple of suits

Yet another postcard-quality day for baseball. St. Louis defeated Minnesota 2-1 in a split squad game. Joe Mauer and Johan Santana remained on the west coast, but still got to see Albert the Great and Justin Morneau. A treat, indeed.

Roger Dean Stadium (below), home of St. Louis and Florida, is situated as part of Abacoa, which is like a town within a town in Jupiter, Fla. The surroundings are pretty cool, even if some parts of the stadium lack warmth. After seeing more than my share of sparsely-attended Florida State League games at RDS over the past couple of seasons, it was good to see the stadium filled to near capacity.

Saw two things I still haven't fully processed. When I arrived, I walked past an overweight, mobile-home-living woman getting out of her car. The overweight lady was sporting a quality wifebeater and was bulging out of the bottom of her jean-shorts. As I approached her car, she was bending over to pick something up – trust me, not the best view to start a day. I finally got close enough to see what she was picking up. Apparently as she got out of the car, her false teeth fell out of her mouth and were lying on the grass in the adjacent parking spot, teeth part facing the sky. Unfortunately, I was running late and couldn’t stick around to see what happened next.

I had almost purged that image when, in the third inning, two men wearing full suits and carrying winter overcoats walked into the stadium and down to their box seats. It was 80 degrees. I was hot in shorts. Now, people leave the office and come to the ballpark in suits all the time, but why the winter coats? Did they just fly in for the game? In that case, why didn't they leave the jackets in the car? If they took a cab, where was their luggage? If they stored their luggage, why didn't they store their coats? We made fun of them for an inning. Two innings later, they were gone. They never took their suit jackets off. Maybe they lost a bet.

Minnesota's Tommy Watkins, a favorite of MinorLeagueDugout.com, continues to impress. The utility infielder featured in The Funniest Thing I’ve Ever Seen, made a diving play behind first base to quash a Cardinals' rally. That's three big plays in three days.

Rounding the Bases:

1. I personally am not a big believer in this whole global warming thing, but maybe it explains the weakness of both team's bats. It's hard to generate much offense when bats are shattering all afternoon. No less then six bats broke – some spectacularly, including one barrel that sheared off at the handle and sailed over the third base dugout, clobbering a couple of fans. I'd consider suing Al Gore.

2. RDS is an autograph seeker's Mecca. The bullpen benches are so close to the stands that fans carry on conversations with players throughout the game. Great for fans. For players, not so much.

3. RDS food ranks near the bottom of spring training sites. The hot dogs may be the worst around, the peanuts lack salt and everything was overpriced, even for ballpark cuisine. Two beers and a bag of peanuts: $19.50.

Home: Getting home was no cinch. The quaintness of a stadium tucked into a small community loses some of its appeal when there aren't any officers helping direct the 7,000 or so out of the ballpark. Spent as much time going the first mile as I did going the final 39. That said, it’s still better than working.

Spring is here, even for Australians

I’m a little late getting to spring training, but I’m cutting myself a break because the minor leaguers are just starting to arrive in many camps. Where to start the tour this year? Why not the camp that hosts the reigning AL MVP (Justin Morneau), batting champ (Joe Mauer) and Cy Young award winner (Johan Santana)? Those three and the rest of the Minnesota Twins make Fort Myers, Fla., their spring home.

Plenty of Midwesterners make the trip to Fort Myers, which makes for a pretty friendly atmosphere. Truthfully, I think they are just happy to be away from Minnesota for a week or two. The announced temperature at the stadium was 77 degrees. They were kind enough to announce the temp in Minneapolis – two degrees with the wind chill. Nice.

Minnesota’s minor leaguers don’t report until tomorrow (March 8) but a few guys were already in town working in the cage and the weight room. Three of the guys (Luke Hughes, Trent Oeltjen and Allan De San Miguel) had just flown in from Australia. Travel time: 30 hours. Again, nice.

Funny part of their story is that these guys were happy to play in the cool Florida temperatures. It’s the dead of summer right now in Australia and they left 100 degree days down under. Just shows everything is relative.

Look for a story featuring those guys in the coming weeks on MinorLeagueDugout.com.

Saw Twins host the Dodgers on Tuesday and the Pirates on Wednesday.

Three Ups:

1. MinorLeagueDugout.com fav Brad King (above, left) has a big league invite with the Twins. Good to see him with a major league organization after two years in the Atlantic League sandwiching one year of retirement.

2. Two players featured in The Funniest Thing I’ve Ever Seen: More than 100 crazy stories from minor league baseball, Tommy Watkins and Glenn Williams (also an Aussie) are in the Twins’ big league camp. Williams went yard against the Dodgers and Watkins hit an absolute bomb off the Pirates.

3. Had my first Eb and Flo’s dog, which is essentially a fat hotdog covered in coleslaw. Not a big fan of coleslaw, but decided to give it a try. Excellent. Highly recommend it. Still don’t know where the name comes from. Is this a Minnesota thing?

Heading across Alligator Alley. Will spend tomorrow at Roger Dean Stadium with the World Series-champion St. Louis Cardinals. Many, many more then.