The boys are back in town!
That being the Buffalo Bisons, who are in Buffalo for a couple days to get settled, hold practices, and then hit the road to open the regular season this Thursday. The Bisons will play four at Norfolk and then four more at Richmond before their home opener on Friday, April 11 at 6:05PM at Dunn Tire Park against the Toledo Mud Hens.
Aaron Laffey has been named the Opening Day starter by Manager Torey Lovullo. And why not? Laffey was 6-0 for the Herd last season with a 0.87 ERA before his call up to Cleveland, and on most teams he would already be on a major league roster. Lovullo is still tweaking his hitting lineup in preparation for Thursday, but the deep outfield will include last year’s MVP Ben Francisco, Jason Cooper returning, and also newcomer Jason Tyner, who was with the Bisons in 2004 for their championship run.
The popular Fridaynightbash parties will be moved to the plaza in front of Dunn Tire Park this season, so that even fans without a ticket can take part in the festivities, reports Brad Bisbing, PR Director for the team. (Side note here - that it took so long for the Bisons upper management to recognize Brad and give him the appropriate job title for the hard work he does is outrageous. Better late than never I guess.)
Brad and other Bisons front office staffers spent a few days in the new home for Rich Baseball’s AA baseball affiliate, the Northwest Arkansas Naturals, who have moved from Wichita and are opening a new ballpark there. “The new ballpark is awesome” said Bisbing. “The community there is so pumped about their new team.”
It was such a neat feeling just being back at the ballpark, seeing the players do their warmups, reconnecting with the team and seeing fellow media guys who also took part in the happenings. Dave Ricci who reports for Sports and Leisure and MLB.com, among other assignments, will be covering the team, and Jon Splett at our sister site Buffalo Baseball Blog here at WNYMedia, will be doing his excellent season long coverage. Both guys were there tonight and are primed for the season.
Pete and I will be doing our regular column for Artvoice, “Play Ball”, which debuted in last week’s edition, and will be at the ballpark all season long. If you’re at a Bisons game this season, you know where to find us!!
