Fort Myers capitalizes on Billy Donovan fiasco

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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.”

Promos, Hilligoss and the empty South Coast League

The Dugout just finished scouring the Web for June's promotions of the month. Again, there are some awesome ideas out there. Car giveaways are big this month. Toward the end of June three minor league clubs will give away autos on the same day. Another, Tulsa, is holding their second annual clunker car night, too. Go to the ballpark in one car, leave with another.

Still empty: Any idea who is leading the South Coast League? MinorLeagueDugout.com isn’t sure either. The Dugout went to the SCL site a couple of days ago as part of the promotion hunt, but stuck around a little longer to see what’s going on in the first-year league. There are still no scores and no standings available on the site. The “coming soon” message that appears on those pages probably means “we’ll get to it after the season.”

Go-go Hilligoss: A day after laying claim to the longest-ever South Atlantic League hitting streak, Charleston’s Mitch Hilligoss added a four hit night to push his streak to 37. One of those hits was a homerun for the Yankees’ minor leaguer.

RTB guys: Kevin Slowey and Ian Kennedy, two players featured earlier this season in MinorLeagueDugout.com’s Rounding the Bases feature, are having pretty good weeks. Minnesota promoted Slowey from Triple-A Rochester to the bigs. He started on Friday against Oakland, allowing one run in six innings of work. Tampa pitcher Ian Kennedy was named to the Florida State League’s All-Star team on Friday. Maybe there’s something to this whole RTB thing…

Minor Leagues play major role in NCAA baseball tourney

The field of 64 for the NCAA baseball tournament was revealed today and most of the big name collegiate powers are there. The first round will be played at 16 different sites. Two of those places are worth noting.

The University of Texas is a No. 1 seed, but they aren't really playing at home. They're playing in the Austin suburb of Round Rock, Texas - home of the Triple-A Round Rock Express.

Coastal Carolina is also hosting a first round tournament, playing at the home of the Class A Myrtle Beach Pelicans. This partnership is particularly worth noting because of the unlikelihood that the small-school Chanticleers could have persuaded the NCAA to allow them to host the tourney at their home ballpark.

These are two wonderful examples of how minor league baseball clubs can help their community.

The Myrtle Beach Web site quotes Coastal Carolina coach Gary Gilmore as saying:

“Without the Pelicans helping out throughout the regional bid process this would not have happened, regardless of our talent on the field. The Pelicans boast a venue that gives us a chance to host a regional because we don’t have that type of facility on our campus. Coastal Federal Field is one of the top venues in the country and we are proud to host the regional there.”

The Dugout hopes this becomes a trend, allowing more small colleges a fair chance at advancing to the College World Series.

Dark FSL: How tough is it to get people to attend Florida State League games? The FSL didn't even schedule games on Memorial Day. The league has learned from past years that Florida baseball fans simply have better things to do on their holiday. And it's not just Memorial Day. The League also didn’t play on Mother’s Day. July 4, however, is one of the biggest days of the year for most clubs.

Great photos of families in the same pair of underwear

The West Virginia Power had a pretty impressive home stand. Twice this week the Brewers' South Atlantic League franchise hosted the Promotion of the Day. Monday was a Salute to Indoor Plumbing.

They topped that with Thursday night's World’s Largest Tighty Whitey Race and the World's Fastest Fat Guy Race. Kristin Call, the Power’s Director of Promotions, was kind enough to send photos from Thursday night.

The top two photos are from the Tighty Whitey race, which may be one of the funniest new promotions The Dugout has seen in a while. Let's hope West Virginia keeps it as a between-inning promotion for the rest of the year. The Dugout boldly predicts that this promotion may soon be as popular as the dizzy bat race at ballparks across the country.

The bottom photo is a shot of the contestants in the Fat Guy race. The Dugout was hoping for some real lard asses, but most of these contestants seem only moderately overweight. And there are no overalls. Really hoped to see fat guys in overalls. Oh well.

By the way, just judging from these photos, the ballpark in West Virginia looks pretty cool. And pretty full, too. Nice going guys.

Good month: No one will be sorrier to see the month of May end than Charleston’s Mitch Hilligoss. The RiverDogs third baseman has a hit in every game this month. A single in his second at bat on Saturday extended Hilligoss' hit streak to 32 games, longest in professional baseball this year. If he keeps it up, MinorLeagueDugout.com will have to do a full feature on him. Give it a week.

Race Fans: Tomorrow is the Indy 500. The Dugout was fortunate enough to attend the race in 1993, and while the five-day jaunt to Indianapolis was the trip from hell the six hours spent at the Speedway were downright incredible. Those cars are really just low-flying missiles. Incredible. If you ever have the opportunity, check it out.

While fried chicken is the traditional fare at the Speedway, The Dugout spent Saturday preparing ribs and fixins. It’ll be a great day of racing.

Yes, he really lost a ground ball in the sun

Some of the things that happen on minor league baseball fields simply wouldn't be believed if not seen. Take last night's Florida State League game between Tampa and Jupiter, during which Hammerheads first baseman Gaby Sanchez lost a ground ball in the sun.

In the top of the second inning, Tampa's Marcos Vechionacci smacked a ground ball to first. It took a bit of an unexpected hop as it got to Sanchez, causing the first baseman to pop the ball into the air. As Sanchez attempted to corral the ball, the setting sun temporarily blinded him. Sanchez to lost sight of the ball while attempting to shade his eyes. The ball bounded over his shoulder, allowing Vechionacci to reach on an error.

A pitcher pretty much knows it's not going to be their day when the first baseman loses a ground ball in the sun. Former first round draft choice Chris Volstd took the loss, falling to 3-5 on the season.

A Flag of a Different Color: There's plenty of fun at Space Coast Stadium, home of the Brevard County Manatees (See lead story on MinorLeagueDugout.com), but there is also a good dose of pragmatism.

A couple of weeks ago one of the clips used to attach the American flag to the flagpole beyond the outfield wall broke. The Manatees made numerous phone calls to the city of Melbourne, which operates the park, only to be told the city was too busy to fix it. During one game a member of the Palm Bay fire department offered to fix the connector.

The next day the Palm Bay fire department drove their fire truck the 20 or so miles up I-95 and performed the repairs. Then they asked Brevard County General Manager Buck Rogers if they could fly the City of Palm Bay flag on an adjacent pole (photo, right). Grateful that Palm Bay was able to accomplish something his own city couldn’t - or wouldn’t - Rogers gladly agreed.

Word is that Melbourne is pretty mad at Rogers, but has yet to send out a truck to take down the Palm Bay flag. The Dugout commends Rogers and the City of Palm Bay for their actions. And Melbourne, if the flag is that unimportant to you, don't complain when yours is replaced.

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.