A question

Do baseball stadiums need to install netting to protect fans?

Prosecutors attempted to prove a baseball was a lethal weapon last week in the trial of former Peoria pitcher Julio Castillo, who hit a fan in the head at a Dayton Dragons game last summer.

If that’s the case, why aren’t they taking the Dragons — and the rest of baseball — to task for not putting up netting to prevent injuries to fans enjoying a family entertainment game?

Discuss.

It didn't happen like this

Sorry for the confusion with the linescore and all of the related nonsense after the game last night. Here is the reason. The play-by-play of that bottom of of the eighth inning looked like this...

* Pitcher Change: Nick Tyson replaces Daniel Merklinger.
* Justin McClanahan singles on a ground ball to center fielder Lorenzo Cain.
* Jonathan Talley out on a sacrifice bunt, catcher Corey Kemp to first baseman Brock Kjeldgaard. Justin McClanahan to 2nd.
* Balbino Fuenmayor singles on a ground ball to left fielder Peter Fatse. Justin McClanahan to 3rd.
* Kenneth Wilson reaches on a fielder's choice, fielded by second baseman Brett Lawrie. Justin McClanahan scores. Balbino Fuenmayor to 2nd.
* Tyler Pastornicky walks. Balbino Fuenmayor to 3rd. Kenneth Wilson to 2nd.
* Brian Van Kirk singles on a fly ball to left fielder Peter Fatse. Balbino Fuenmayor scores. Kenneth Wilson to 3rd. Tyler Pastornicky to 2nd.
* Johermyn Chavez singles on a ground ball to center fielder Lorenzo Cain. Kenneth Wilson scores. Tyler Pastornicky scores. Brian Van Kirk out at 3rd on the throw, center fielder Lorenzo Cain to shortstop Michael Marseco to third baseman Jose Duran.
* Michael McDade strikes out swinging.

That is...what's the word...wrong.

This is what the 8th inning really looked like. Corrections in bold.

* Pitcher Change: Nick Tyson replaces Daniel Merklinger.
* Justin McClanahan singles on a ground ball to center fielder Lorenzo Cain.
* Jonathan Talley out on a sacrifice bunt, pitcher Nick Tyson to first baseman Brock Kjeldgaard. Justin McClanahan to 2nd.
* Balbino Fuenmayor singles on a ground ball to left fielder Peter Fatse. Justin McClanahan to 3rd.
* Kenneth Wilson reaches on a fielder's choice, fielded by second baseman Brett Lawrie. Justin McClanahan scores. Balbino Fuenmayor to 2nd. Throwing error on second baseman Brett Lawrie, Balbino Fuenmayor to 3rd. Kenneth Wilson to second.
* Tyler Pastornicky walks. Balbino Fuenmayor to 3rd. Kenneth Wilson to 2nd.
* Brian Van Kirk singles on a fly ball to left fielder Peter Fatse. Balbino Fuenmayor scores. Kenneth Wilson scores. Tyler Pastornicky to 2nd.
* With Johermyn Chavez at bat, Tyler Pastornicky steals third. Brian Van Kirk steals second. Throwing error on catcher Corey Kemp. Tyler Pastornicky scores. Brian Van Kirk out at 3rd shortstop Michael Marseco to third baseman Jose Duran.
* Johermyn Chavez singles on a ground ball to center fielder Lorenzo Cain.
* Michael McDade strikes out swinging.

......R...H...E
WIS...1...7...2
LAN...5...7...1

That's what the linescore should look like when it's been corrected.

New National HQ

There is a new address in the works for Minor League Baseball.

Minor League Baseball has purchased two buildings, totaling 10,348 square feet, at 9550 16th Street North in St. Petersburg, Florida, and will move its headquarters there later this year. For the past 10 years, the building housed the non-profit group "R-Club Child Care, Inc." Another 3,600 square foot addition will be built on the property to accommodate the needs of the Minor League Baseball staff.

Somehow, the whole Child Care building seems appropriate as the new home of MiLB.

Early candidate for Headline of the Year

When a story has a headline like this and it has a tie-in to a Midwest League team, you just know Rattler Radio will be there.

Cardboard heroes repel bird droppings

Andrew Ottmar crunched along the frosty Fifth Third Field outfield, avoiding goose droppings as he advanced on a sentinel coyote.

"It's like a piece of rubber," said Ottmar, the Dayton Dragons director of operations said while bending over to readjust the fake coyote torso.

He grabbed the similarly fabricated rabbit that was in the coyote's mouth.

"You don't really need this," he said. "We thought it looked more real."

To geese, the rubber coyote, his furry prey and their cardboard friends are real enough.

Last week, Dragons personnel installed several decoy animals throughout the infield and outfield to displace geese that periodically sat in the downtown stadium and used it as a restroom.

Since then, geese sightings have drastically reduced.

I can see why....Can I just mention that Geese are stupid? Geese are stupid. There I said it.

"Full Speed Ahead"

The former home of "Crash" and "Nuke" is getting some renovations.

The road hasn't always been a smooth one, but Minor League Baseball and the City of Durham are moving full-speed ahead on the Durham Athletic Park renovations.

This $5-million project, whose initial funding was provided by a bond referendum, is a crucial one for those involved in Minor League Baseball. Once the renovations are complete, the venerable facility will be used as a comprehensive "Baseball Lab," in which nearly every category of baseball employee will receive education and training.

Additionally, the refurbished playing surface will serve as a home field for nearby educational institutions (most notably North Carolina Central University), and will also be used as a location for city festivals and other events. When the work is done, the city of Durham will function as the owners of the facility, while Minor League Baseball will be the operator.

"Baseball Lab" that almost sounds like a course in school.

Two things of note

Two notes about minor league baseball.

One from last week at Big League Stew.

The Globe's Tony Massarotti reported an interesting item on Thursday that I hope simply won't be shrugged off or allowed to be minimized in any way.

According to two of Tony's sources, Major League Baseball recently denied a proposal that would have increased the amount of road meal money that minor leaguers receive each day.

Oh, it wasn't anything life changing — the daily total would only have been upped to $25 from $20 — but MLB is said to have conveniently cited the flagging economy as a reason.

Yes, the same MLB that reported $6 billion in revenue in 2007 and oversees teams handing out $161 million contracts to one pitcher is the one that's putting the kibosh on a plan that had already been approved by all 30 minor league directors and then by all 30 GMs.

I pretty sure that this is a bit more complicated than giving players $5 more in meal money a day. But, this has gone over about as well as might be expected.

And good for MLB! Times are tough for everyone, and $20 is more than enough feed yourself every day when you’re constantly on the road and eating on the go. Why, if memory serves, I believe that Subway has a special that offers “Five. Five-dollar. Five-dollar footlonnnnnnnnngs.” An ad that catchy has to be a good deal!

The other note was this...
MLB says aloha to league in Hawaii
With HWB's contract up, possibility rises of a new Arizona League

While most of the country is concentrating on its Christmas shopping this week, Major League Baseball scouts may already be looking ahead to the possibility of doing their own virtual "one-stop shopping" next fall when it comes to seeing more of the game's top prospects.

Since Major League Baseball's three-year contract with Hawaii Winter Baseball has expired, the league announced an end to their affiliation Tuesday.

According to a press release issued by HWB, once the game's GMs "voted for logistical reasons to consolidate their ... fall and winter developmental leagues ... the decision essentially ends any participation in HWB by players from the MLB and its Minor League affiliates."

So much for a Rattler Radio trip to HWB in 2009.

The Challenge

Keep in mind that part of my job -- the main part when you think about it -- is selling sponsorships for the Timber Rattlers like the one mentioned in this story from JSonline.com.

In another sign of the effect the economy is having on sports, Mercedes-Benz has pulled out of its sponsorship of the right-field picnic area at Miller Park.

Mercedes had a three-year deal, but is not coming back, said Rick Schlesinger, the Brewers' executive vice president for business relations.

The new affiliation with the Brewers has helped us, but the challenge is still there. We have a great product, stadium, and future. But, we have to meet the challenge.

116 days until Opening Day, 2009.

A bottle of Wild Turkey, a map, and some darts

No. Not the ingedients to a MacGyver invention.

The title of this post is taken -- probably paraphrased because I can't find it on-line and for the "life" of me I can't remember who said it* -- from a description of how it was perceived that major league schedule makers, um, make schedules.

Benjamin Hill of milb.com reports that maps are used, but there are factors other than darts and sweet, sweet bourbon.

Schedules made from organized chaos
Annual game lineup creates headaches for Minor League presidents

Schedule makers (be they team executives, league presidents or, occasionally, outside contractors) have to take a seemingly infinite number of factors into consideration when crafting their five-month, 140-game opuses.

First, there are regulations to contend with concerning the length and frequency of road trips. For example, the industry-wide "500-Mile Rule" stipulates that teams cannot travel more than 500 miles between destinations without the benefit of an off day or plane ride. Schedule makers also must work around a wide variety of "blackout dates" (days in which certain teams are unable to play home games) and similar nuisances, which must be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.

It is also important to equitably distribute home and away games throughout the season as a preponderance of home games within the cold weather or school-in-session months of April and May is sure to result in howls of protest from affected clubs.

The following is a case of: Be careful what you say and to whom you say it.

One of the most experienced schedule makers in Minor League Baseball is Norfolk Tides General Manager (and 2004 "King of Baseball") Dave Rosenfield, who devised his first schedule in the mid-'60s and has been handling International League duties for four decades. When asked what first drew him to this masochistic endeavor, Rosenfield answered with a humorous anecdote.

"We were brand new to the Carolina League in 1964 and I went to the league's scheduling meeting," he recalled. "There were 20 weekends in that year's schedule, which meant that each team was entitled to 20 Friday and Saturday home dates. But when the schedule was handed out, we had only seven weekend dates and the guy who made the schedule had 28.

"After it was passed around, it was asked if anyone had any comments. I spoke up and complained, and the league president, a distinguished Southern gentleman, asked if he thought I could do it better. I decided to endear myself to the schedule maker by replying, 'A monkey could do it better.' The league president said, 'Fine, you've got two weeks.' I had no idea what I was getting into. I just sat down and did it. And I've been doing it ever since."

Hey, Look! We get a mention.

"Every year, eight or 10 teams will think their schedule is the greatest thing since sliced bread, while three or four won't like it at all," [Midwest Leaue President George] Spelius said. "But in those cases, a successful team won't start crying and go to the Kleenex box, they'll utilize their baseball knowledge and work on turning a negative into the positive. It's not like the season starts a day after the schedule is released. There's plenty of time to plan ahead."

Spelius cites the steady rise of contractual dates as one of the biggest scheduling challenges facing his league. These are days in which a club's stadium is unavailable due to non-league commitments.

"There are sometimes high school state tournaments we have to contend with, and in Appleton [Wisconsin, home of the Timber Rattlers], the Division III college championships are held every year," he said. "But we've come a long way since the old days, when a contractual date was more likely to have something to do with a flea market opening or something like that."

I've always said that there are two jobs in baseball that I do not want. I think I will add schedule maker to the list that already includes umpire and official scorer. Go read the whole thing.

*-I seem to remember John Kruk saying this.