Cleaning out the Inbox

The inbox gets a quick cleaning today as we eliminate the inbox buildup.

One piece of Pirate news that I hadn't noted was the announcement of the player to be named later in the Zach Duke trade with Arizona.
The player is pitcher Cesar Valdez and as recently as two years ago,Valdez was one of the top ten prospects in the Diamondbacks organization.
His 2010 Arizona numbers are pretty bad though and his only plus pitch is reported to be a good changeup.
Valdez looks Indianapolis bound to start the season.

Note to teams of all levels from the Hagerstown Suns to the majors,that want to reverse attendance that has miniaturized.
Ticket cuts are always a good idea as the Cleveland Indians are doing this off season.
The Tribe is cutting their bleacher seats in half and are cutting deep into the cost of single game upper box seats.
Cleveland also is slashing their season ticket plans as well with various bonuses and incentives for buyers.
Great idea and credit to the Indians.
I like this so much that I am beginning to ponder a mini two day trip that would hit either Cleveland/Pittsburgh or Cleveland/Cincinnati for a first ever trip to Great American Ballpark.

Near the bottom of the inbox is an article from vacation in which ESPN finally has an article that is fair to Cleveland in the LeBron James saga.
Extremely fair and interesting,Wright Thompson asks the people of the area about the "decision" and covers all the bases.
A great read.

Battlin' Bob sends this note on the Appalachian League's Johnson City Cardinals flattening their huge hill in right field.
We saw the hill on the inaugural trip in 2007 and it was quite a hill for sure.
It added character to the park and fun for the fans,but likely didnt help player development much.
Click the trip link for a picture of the hill....

Watching C-SPAN recently,I enjoyed a one hour program on the David Eisenhower book on the years following the Presidency for Ike based in Gettysburg-Going home to Glory.
I found it really interesting and the book seems well worth the read,if that interests you.

This recent Washington Post piece on David Eisenhower and wife Julie Nixon Eisenhower was interesting as well.
This talked about the book as well as the couple and one thing that I didn't know was that the John Fogerty written,Creedence Clearwater Revival performed song "Fortunate Son" was based on David Eisenhower and Fogerty's percieved special treatment of Eisenhower during the Vietnam War.

Finally,a return to the blogosphere for my little brother or Shane Shadows,if you prefer.
From the Shadows will likely feature wrestling and the Boston Red Sox,but who knows what else
"The Shadowman" will discuss in a post.
Shane's blog has returned to our links page,where his deceased blog had resided in the past..


Photo Credits
Bleachers:Chuck Crow-Cleveland Plain Dealer