Reassurance

From the Visalia Times-Delta comes a column with a headline that is the textbook example of damning with faint praise:

Change to Rawhide not so bad

Crash Davis turned down a coaching job with the Visalia Oaks.

But Kevin Costner's character in "Bull Durham" had some great motivation to stay in Durham, N.C. — Annie Savoy.

He did? I thought they left that open at the end of the movie. As in Crash was going to take a few months to think about it.

But if the opportunity were to present itself again, would Davis turn down the opportunity to coach the Visalia Rawhide?

He might. But it appears that some local baseball fans want nothing to do with the new name of Visalia's professional baseball club.

They don't? What if they got a new mascot, too?

Gone is Chatter the squirrel, and in is Tipper the cow ... or bull. Seidler did not specify.

Moooooooving on....

Let's pull a few comments out of someplace where people never lie or represent themselves falsely...an on-line forum:

BlueStarArmyMom says: "Hey, I may not be too keen on the name, but the idea of a cow as the mascot is perfect. Look at all the dairies in Tulare Co. And, to name it Tipper ... Hilarious!!!"

Others, for some reason, have a problem with the name change.

Skepticity says: "This is a joke, right? April Fools on the wrong day or something? Who in the world came up with such a dumb name for the team? The economy may not be as bad as we have been led to believe. Some company somewhere has enough money to pay a fool to come up with names like this."

Ouch. Seems a little harsh, considering there are some pretty crazy names for minor-league teams. The Lansing Lugnuts, Leigh Valley Ironpigs, Lakeland Flying Tigers and Montgomery Biscuits are some names worth mentioning.

Then, there is this bit at the end...

Ultimately, it won't be the team name that draws fans to the ballpark.

That responsibility falls on the Arizona Diamondbacks, the team's Major League parent club. If they can provide the Rawhide with top-notch prospects and field a competitive team, fans will come.

Really? Hear that, D-backs! It's on you. The major renovation to the stadium and the promotions will have nothing to do with bringing fans out to the ballpark.

The original Times-Delta story is ...

Oaks round up new name

Not everyone was pleased with the team's changes Wednesday Councilwoman Amy Shuklian said she favors keeping the Oaks name.

"I like the Oaks. I think it should have stayed the Oaks. It's been the Oaks for a long time," Shuklian said.

But Shuklian noted that the city has poured millions of dollars into the Recreation Park baseball stadium and hopes the changes will attract fans.

"Rawhide sounds like something my dogs chew on, but change is good," she said. "Let's see what happens."

Exactly like this guy.

One longtime Oaks fan, Mark Louro of Hanford, a press-sprayer on a Tulare dairy, plans to give the new team name a chance.

It could have been worse, he said.

"I heard the rumor a few years ago about the Visalia Moo," he said.

"I was like, 'Are we going to be a laughingstock?' "

Nobody will laugh at Rawhide, Louro said.

Well, that's not completely true.