Many of my readers know that I'm a baseball nut, so when a chance encounter with Bisons GM Mike Buczkowski led to discussions with Herd play-by-play man Ben Wagner about openings in the broadcast schedule, there was no question I'd do everything in my power to be there.
So I'm behind the microphones with Ben for the Bisons' season-opening series against the Norfolk Tides in Virginia, and after a bunch of comments from folks after my live blog from Toronto for the Sabres/Leafs, I figured I'd update from Norfolk with some glimpses into life on the road for a AAA ball club. For the record, I'l have color for innings 1-3 and 6-9, with play-by-play duties during 4-6. Feel free to email me some home run calls: nick@wgr550.com. Just kidding, but you can email me. Hope you enjoy:
10:34 p.m. THURSDAY
— Pretty fun evening, and the Herd's on the way to a perfect season with a 9-4 win. Couple thoughts: First, Josh Barfield is so talented that it's hard to imagine him not becoming the Major Leaguer many projected him to be when he was the top prospect in the Padres system. Four-for-five with two ribs and a run. Second, Aaron Laffey is legit, and you should catch him at Dunn Tire Park while you can. This lefty can pitch, and it helps that he's a polite, good kid.
Looking forward to tomorrow. Don't know if I'll do a live blog, but I will have some sort of a feature, and another behind the scenes peek at life in the minors.
P.S. You'll have to tell me how bad the Sabres looked in their loss to Montreal. I now turn my attention to hoping for an NHL Final Four that features Washington, Montreal, San Jose and Calgary. Here's hoping. Could have an all-Canada finals.
9:30 p.m. THURSDAY
— Alright, we're in the 7th inning stretch, and I'm going to throw a big ol' C+ on my first three innings of play-by-play of the year, not because the good moments weren't there, but because of the following errors:
1) Not once, but twice, calling the Norfolk Tides, the Tidewater Tides. I had to sound like one of those 70 year-old men who still call the Nationals the Senators, or calls the Dodgers the Brooklyn Dodgers. I'm apparently old, cranky and I need a nap.
2) When you're in Virginia, don't say it's a rainy night in Maryland, even if you catch yourself during the Mary- part. Now, certainly no one wonders why Howard allowed me to take some time off.
(Also, to the WGR listener who emailed the broadcast and asked how I'm dealing with working nights when I usually work mornings, I amend my answer. It should read, "I thought well, until I called Virginia 'Maryland.' "
7:08 p.m. THURSDAY:
— I love a well-sung national anthem, and the Tides' singer is the American version of that Lyndon "The Cowardly Lion" Slewidge character from Ottawa. The Tides also have bagpipes and a harbor full of tugboats blasting their horns for opening night, which would be awesome if I wasn't distracted by the terribly awkward Riptide, Norfolk's mascot. Picture Cookie Monster with a baseball jersey and fluffy blue dreadlocks. This mascot is supposed to be a tidal wave. Think about that. I know they can be extremely destructive, but it's a big load of water. Versus a Bison named Buster. Advantage: Buffalo. Alright, I've gotta call some baseball now.
5:25 p.m. THURSDAY:
— A quick description of Harbor Park, which is pictured above: Built on the Virginia Harbor and opened in 1993, the park is nice, but about 6,000 seats smaller than Dunn Tire Park. The dark blue seats are sharp, and the scoreboard is a nice mix of the classic and the new. A pretty good-sized screen and an out-of-town scoreboard are bordered by advertisements reminiscent of the fences in old ballparks. Sitting about 90-feet beyond the rightfield wall lies the water, so splash down is possible.
5 p.m. THURSDAY:
— Pretty good chance of rain for tonight's opener between the Buffalo and Norfolk, but it's been a fun experience since we flew out of Western New York last night. The shuttle ride to the airport with Scott Elarton, Jason Tyner, Brian Slocum and Jordan Brown was in a sense a microcosm of a minor league roster. Elarton was an All Star with the Royals in 2006, while Tyner has swiped 187 Major League bases. On the flip side, Brown is considered a potential stud, hitting .333 last year at AA Akron with 11 dingers, and Slocum is a 27-year old former second round pick trying to overcome a forearm injury that cost him much of 2007.
— Tyner's bag bears the mark of a journeyman, with a Minnesota Twins badge sitting amongst the bevy of tags hanging from the zipper. He's talkative with a warm Texas accent, and has the shuttle laughing with his description of "Parking Wars," a cable television show (Note to self: check out "Parking Wars").
— Jeremy Sowers is one of the most interesting players on the Bisons. The former No. 6 overall pick of the Indians out of Vanderbilt was white-hot in his first stints with Buffalo and Cleveland before cooling off last year and being sent to Buffalo. Both he and opening night starter Aaron Laffey have to be less-than-thrilled to lose out on the last spot in the Cleveland rotation to Cliff Lee, but they provide Buffalo with a killer rotation that includes Sean Smith and Slocum. I spotted Sowers reading a Kurt Vonnegut book, and is a Vandy political science grad, so I'm hoping to pick his brain for a feature before the end of the trip, even though he generally very reserved.
— The fact that these travel days usually occur on a game morning or very late evening is alarming, considering our five hours of airport time has me beat by the time we arrived at the hotel Wednesday night. The rain talk inspired me to ask about the players' worst delays. Slocum and Bisons vet Jason Cooper tell me they've had some two-hour delays before returning to play. I hope polyester's comfortable.
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