Gliding rodents have prevailed.Jay Ward...
At a press conference Thursday afternoon, Richmond Pro Baseball announced that the name of the city's new Eastern League team will be the Flying Squirrels. The moniker was one of six finalists chosen in a name-the-team contest which drew over 15,000 submissions.
"Hokey smoke!"
The New Orleans Zephyrs unveiled their new logo on Tuesday morning, marking the first time in six years that the club has significantly altered its appearance. Whereas the previous logo prominently featured mascot Boudreaux the nutria, the new look emphasizes what has long been New Orleans' most recognizable symbol -- the fleur de lis.That logo in the left-hand corner just screams out "N to the O to the ZEEE!!" At least to me it does.
You go to the ballpark enough, and eventually you’ll see something you’ve never seen before.Owen remembered a similar play in a Dayton @ Wisconsin game from 2007.
Like Monday afternoon at Memorial Stadium when a Cedar Rapids Kernels player got strike three called on him without the opposing pitcher even throwing a pitch.
Alexi Amarista was the unlucky victim. The mighty mite struck out in the seventh inning of a 7-5 Beloit win after not getting into the batter’s box quickly enough for home plate umpire Nick Mahrley.
Amarista was in an 0-2 hole after taking an inside pitch from reliever Steve Blevins for a called strike. He stepped out of the box for a few seconds to regroup, and still was there when Mahrley suddenly punched him out on strike three.
Amarista, who speaks little English, stood there seemingly confused, as Kernels Manager Bill Mosiello came charging in from the third-base coach’s box to argue. The call stood.
Automatic Strike = Dumbest rule in baseball.Well, it wasn't a lot of fun to lose the game that way either. It happened on April 30, 2007 at Time Warner Cable Field. Oddly, the game story archive from April 2007...Heck the entire game story archive for 2007 has every game story written by me..Every.Single.One...except April 30, 2007? What the heck?
If I remember correctly, Wisconsin lost a game to Dayton on the rule back in '07 on the final batter of the game. Even working with Dayton at the time, I thought that was the worst way ever to win a game.
In the ninth, Timber Rattler frustrations bubbled over. Dayton had runners at second and third with no out. The Wisconsin infielders were playing in on the grass to cut down the run at the plate. Justin Turner hit a grounder right to Bonilla at third base. Bonilla dove for the runner at third and appeared to have tagged him out. Base umpire Alex Diaz ruled the runner safe and Rattler manager Jim Horner sprinted out of the dugout to argue the call. After a brief, but heated argument Horner was ejected. Just before the next pitch was ready to be delivered, Diaz ejected Bonilla.At one time Alex Ortiz -- who I am sure is a fine young man -- worked MLB Umpire Camps; worked for the Wendelstedt Umpire School, and had this written about him in USA Today.
When play finally resumed, Chris Valaika singled to center, two runs scored, and the Dragons had a 5-2 lead.
Alex Ortiz dreams of being the most hated figure on the baseball diamond. For him, the rules of baseball are more important than playing the game.He is currently an umpire in the Southern League.
Ortiz, 22, completed a five-week course this month at the Harry Wendelstedt School for Umpires in Daytona Beach, Fla. The school is one of two programs Major League Baseball uses to recruit those who call the game.
Because -- after all -- it's Shooter's jacket!
Follow the Cubs AAA team to OmahaThere is nothing about the author, the "Commissioner", at the "about me" link. Also, this blog just started up yesterday.
This blog will detail the Ricketts' family purchase of the Chicago Cubs and what we believe to be the subsequent departure of the Omaha Royals from the Omaha area. This will eventually lead to an agreement between the Cubs and Omaha to play their AAA games at Omaha's new downtown stadium - appropriately named "tdAmeritrade stadium".
The Pirates' near-total overhaul of managers for their minor league affiliates was capped yesterday with the selection of Frank Kremblas for Class AAA Indianapolis.
Kremblas, 42, managed the Milwaukee Brewers' Class AAA Nashville affiliate the past four seasons and won three consecutive division titles in 2005-07 while advancing a talented class of players that included Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun, Corey Hart and J.J. Hardy.
"Adding Frank gives us a talented teacher at the upper levels who brings not only his own strengths but also played a vital role in a system that thrived by graduating its own core players to the majors," Pirates director of player development Kyle Stark said. "His knowledge, passion, enthusiasm, creativity and commitment makes him a great fit with what we're doing in Pittsburgh."
To stay in the Pirate minor league news, I was looking at their respective minor league coaching staffs and did not see Brad Holman, the Timber Rattler pitching coach from 2006-2005, on any of them. If I find some news on Brad, I'll post it.
As befits a business that prides itself on its diversity and originality, the 20 letters to Santa that poured into my inbox varied wildly in their approach. While many front-office staffs took the tried-and-true approach and simply compiled a list of requests, others used illustrations and photos to bolster their argument. Apparently there are quite a few teams who think the fastest way to Santa's heart is through the funny bone, as humor was a common weapon in the gift-request arsenal as well (or, at least attempts at humor).Some to check out would be:
