After a few missed days ,some times that I intend to set down and write and time does not allow it,today will likely see a few posts to catch up and offer some opinions.
But this one will bring you back to the early days of the blog when the Hagerstown Suns were not too pleased with us and maybe after they read (and I know that you do!) they fix some of the things and move forward.
I have tried to be easy easier on Suns management and I think I have at least smoothed things over a bit with the lighter hand,but last nights Feed Your Face fiasco-some things need to be said.
However,let us give them some credit for something last night- the free Suns hat that was given away was a quality item that looked nice,was clearly not cheap and didn't have a sponsorship logo,which always lessens the look of the hat.
Great item and my compliments to the Suns for that part of the show.
The game itself?
A long,drawn out 14-7 Greensboro win that really was kinda dull for a high scoring game.
However,Feed Your Face Monday is rapidly becoming a must miss on the calendar.
The Suns used to have a few restaurants from around the area serving some freebie promo items before the game until they ran out,but last night?
None.
Unless you count some guys from Martins Potato Chips passing some mini bags out as a restaurant.
I have no idea if the Suns decided to eliminate these businesses,no one was interested or a combination of the two-but if anything can be done to try this-Please do so,it was the best part of the event in seasons gone by.
The news gets worse though.
The food that we decried last year as bad,dropped to the point of awful.
More food options are available at the third base concessions than the first,but dogs and nachos could be still gotten on the less hectic(ha ha) first base side.
The hot dogs weren't great,but not inedible as has been in the past,so the main knocks will go to the third base side.
Battlin Bob got most of our stuff from the third base stands as it was the only place that fried items were located and boy,did we pay the price as all items that came out of a fryer tasted like burnt 5 year old grease.
Yuck,I know Dyer's in Memphis is famous for its near 100 year old grease,but I am sure that they strain and maintain it more than once a year.
It was not one bad batch either as the Battler tried three different times and swung and missed all three times.
These are the type of things that make the Suns look bad and then result in poor attendance,which when you read things like this makes one wonder if that is not the general idea.
Could that be the idea from Mandalay Sports?
And then make the quick run to the perceived big bucks of Richmond?
If so,shame on them and if the Washington Nationals allow it,shame on them too!
I realize that the Richmond market must look attractive to all potential suitors,but one only needs to look at the difference in Hagerstown's attendance after the AA Eastern League was replaced with the Low A South Atlantic League to wonder just how the Richmond fans to react in a downgrade from AAA to a lower brand of baseball let alone a drop all the way to Low A.
I think that it will take time for Richmond baseball fans to accept High A after the tradition of AAA baseball,let alone low A ball.
Is the idea to just run things so poorly that a move to Richmond is easier to get approved?
Well,maybe,but still I would expect Richmond to prefer the High A Carolina League over the SAL.
Less travel,more in state rivals and a higher caliber of play makes the CL the main target in my opinion.
One rumor that is beginning to fly is that the Orioles are looking to move their High A team to a team in the Florida State League and out of Frederick.
This would be a totally ridiculous move,but this is a team owned by Peter Angelos and his track record for stupidity is quite long.
I can see two possibilities if this has a chance of happening.
One,Could the Orioles be considering a move of Bowie to AAA,bumping Frederick to AA and then sliding into the FSL?
Two.If Baltimore is indeed that dumb,could Pittsburgh jump all over Frederick?
That would move the Pirates High A team to 2 and a half hours from AA Altoona instead of the current 6 hour drive,stay in the same league and the Keys could then take advantage of the rabid Western PA fan base that exists in Maryland from Frederick west.
If Frederick keeps their team,then I have no concern what Baltimore does and if Pittsburgh is the replacement-don't let the door hit you on the way out!!!
All that said,Angelos takes a huge chance in pissing off fans by moving the Oriole affiliation itself,does he have the guts to take the chance if it costs Frederick pro baseball period??
Bullpen Notes
We will catch up on the Pirates in another post,but one thing is for sure-I never thought Jack Wilson was irreplaceable,but after 6 weeks of watching Luis Rivas and Chris Gomez play SS,maybe he is!
Anyone want to tell me why Brian Bixler is sitting on the bench here instead of playing at Indianapolis?
Nothing is helping Bixler by playing him once a week and pinch running him a few times.
The reason the Pirates released pitcher Olivo Astacio is because of an attack of a teammate with a bat in Florida.
Don't look for the hard throwing and temperamental Astacio to get another chance-he was released by Boston before the Pirates signing him.
Since our last post,the Pirates designated Evan Meek for assignment.
Word is that they are attempting to swing a deal with Tampa to keep Meek and option him to the minors,but not sure if that will get done.
Back later with the Pirate win over the even more pitiful Giants and maybe some stuff from today's Frederick Keys-Kinston Indians game......
2 comments:
The Giants wheel out Zito, if we don't win this game,We have HUGE problems!Of course these are the games the other teams worst pitcher looks like an ace against us
The hat was nice. The fact they're giving it away makes me wonder if they think they're going to have excess stock of it at the end of the season. Who knows. Mandalay does have a contract with the City which should keep the team here through 2009.
I agree that ma the idea may be to create a poor market and a good excuse for leaving. I would add the atrocious ads the Suns have. Those ads are enough to make people want to give up baseball for life. Again, I think the Suns management
I think it's stupid in so many ways for the Suns to move to Richmond. First, the Richmond Stadium is a run-down 80s stadium, in other words Municipal Stadium without the charm. Second, Richmond will *never* build a new stadium, as they built this one in 84, and it didn't even last 25 years. Third, the Braves probably aren't going to relinquish the Richmond market until 2010 (see article for explanation). Fourth, the Nationals would do well to keep a presence in western Maryland--the battle ground area between D.C. and Baltimore. Fifth, Kinston, in the Carolina League, draws worse than the Suns despite the Suns best efforts to prove otherwise. Fifth, with the developments at the Power Plant and the impending demolition of the hospital there are, for the first time, real possibilities for either a refurbishment of Municipal Stadium or a new stadium on the hospital site. A new stadium probably wouldn't be built until 2011, so it'd mean 2-3 more years at Municipal Stadium. But it could be done.
The problem, as I see it, is that Mandalay can't find a buyer. If they can't find a buyer, they want to move. If a buyer can be found, then the team can--and should--stay.
On the food: the hot dogs were good, the popcorn was fine, so were the nachos, and the fries were fine *early* in the game. Never get fries after the first inning.
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