Opening night with the Suns

I spent the Hagerstown Suns opener with Rachel and have a few things to say,but first I want to comment on the sudden rumor of the team being "willing to listen" to Fredericksburg VA in their considering building a new stadium and attracting a team to play in it.

In short,I'm not concerned.
No,I am very concerned about the team leaving town as I have been for quite a while,but not to Fredericksburg.
Fredericksburg is 33 miles from Woodbridge Va,which is the home of the Potomac Nationals and their notoriously tight-fisted owner Art Silber.
That distance allows Potomac to block any team in their radius,so I would wager Fredericksburg would be building a park for independent baseball and not as a home for the Suns.
I understand Bruce Quinn floating that idea to attempt to break the logjam in negotiations,but just as the threat of the Frederick Keys allowing no future team to enter Hagerstown if the Suns leave town,the same would be applied to the Potomac Nationals,who don't exactly set the world on fire in attendance.

The Suns home opener was fun with Rachel,but once again featured a few eye rollers.
First,the good news,the team now has an area for kids to romp around in and occupy the uninterested children,so that's a good touch.
The bad?
Well,the in game "entertainment" featured a "Jimmy John's" make a sub contest that will be tough to top as the wind tossed the various parts of the "sub" around the field and the PA system still works too well in some areas and hardly at all in others.
I am not aware of Jimmy John's being in the area,although I may have just not heard of a new store,so I wonder why a franchise that does not have a store in the area is advertising with the Hagerstown Suns,although you take money wherever you can get it in business.

Editor's Note;There IS a Jimmy John's here in Hagerstown,It is in a part of town that I rarely go to,but this makes more sense to me now than it did when I wrote this.
Thanks to Corey Cunningham for letting me know!

But the worst was reserved for "Midwest Dueling Pianos" which featured music (and I am generous in using the term) pre-game at the typically obnoxious Muni decibel levels.
A rhetorical question,Why do I always find myself under the speaker that screams everything when I want to avoid the noise,but cannot hear when I need to,like a pitching change?
In any case,the piano playing was fine,but the singing made me think of my bad lounge singer act around the house.
I asked Rachel which she preferred and she said "You are,but that doesn't mean I want to hear you sing".
When these guys broke into "Sweet Caroline" by Neil Diamond,who I cannot stand,I was tempted to revoke my check to prevent deafness.
In any event,whoever in the front office that decided to book these guys certainly did not get their moneys worth and I'd be surprised if they returned in the future.

Editor's Note II;Dueling Pianos returns twice later this season.
They must have either A) been cheap or B) have a fan or family member involved in booking them.
Seriously though-Come out and check them out later this season. And bring some ear muffs....

The field clearly had some damage in both left and right fields (especially left) and it did not look pretty.
The groundskeepers have my sympathies when you consider what they have to work with in the Muni,but truth is truth and it didn't look good.
I hesitate to blame anyone for that as it is early and might be beyond anyone's control,but facts are that left field was filled with blemishes and it was clearly visible.

The graphing was good as the Suns knocked out whatever they were asked for and Delmarva was strong as well.
Local prospect (Frederick) Branden Kline was especially accommodating as was Adrian Marin from the Shorebirds and there were no problems at all.
Thanks to the team,who allowed us free reign of the area for signing since there was no one in the "suite area".which has not always been the case.
I never have a problem not being there when the seats are sold,as long as we can be there when they are not.
Good work there and thanks for the help!

It's always nice to spend time with Rachel and try to teach her more about the game,so that was an added bonus from the evening.
Municipal Stadium has its flaws and something needs to be done,but there is something to be said for the old park,especially on opening nights,catching up with my friends from the winter and seeing what we had waited for all winter..
Nights like these are worth waiting for.....