How’s this for a bombshell!

The International League Charlotte Knights might be on the move, and it looks now like it won’t be from their current digs in Ft. Mill, South Carolina to a new venue in Uptown Charlotte.

The Charlotte Herald reported last week that the planned opening date for their new ballpark would have to be pushed back yet again. With the current credit crunch and the ever escalating costs of building the ballpark, plus the added on lawsuits from obstructionists, the entire project may have become untenable.

So now Knights owner Don Beaver is examining all his options, which would include claiming the open Richmond market. Meanwhile, an investment group led by the owner of three independent teams named Peter Kirk has proposed $1-million in proposed upgrades and renovations to The Diamond, locating an independent league team there for 2009, while moving forward with plans to build a new ballpark in Richmond to AAA specs, and even using some of the new fixtures at The Diamond in the new facility.

If Richmond puts together a plan with real teeth this time to get a new ballpark done, then the Charlotte Knights are history. With the NFL and NBA and their gleaming newer facilities, not to mention being a NASCAR hot bed, my guess in that AAA baseball in Charlotte would hardly be missed.

After all the stability and lack of franchise movement in the I.L. for the longest time, this has been a crazy 24 months, and it’s about to get crazier.

THIS is the Shea Stadium that I remember as a young lad.

With all due respect I have for that other New York baseball stadium. It is with great sadness that we say goodbye to Shea Stadium today.

For me personally, it is where I saw my first major league game as a wide eyed seven year old. The house was packed on that day(Jacket day promo, I believe) and I remember that because we were sitting in the very top row of Shea. I could turn around and see the parking lot through the wire fencing atop the facility.

I went a few more times(about ten or so) through the years as Shea went through changes. I still remember when that giant scoreboard ad was a giant message board. Remember the exterior with the old red and blue panels. When the “Big Apple” beyond the center field fence was a brand new cool thing. And that Jumbotron in left was once a breakthrough in technology as well. What? A videoboard at a stadium….in color….get out???

Yeah, I’m dating myself. I know. But while all the hype is going to that hyperbolic venue in the Bronx, it’s easy to forget that Shea too, was the home of some incredible memories. Even for us in Buffalo…..

Where did Buckner let the ball roll through his legs? Yep…

Where did OJ Simpson become the only NFL back to rush for two thousand yards in a fourteen game season? Uh-huh.

Where did the greatest underdog story in American (pro)sports history occur? You bet!

Who didn’t love Robin Ventura’s grand slam(single) in the fifteenth inning in deluge in ‘99.

For an offbeat moment….does anyone remember the guy that flew into a World Series game on a parachute with a “Let’s Go Mets” flag. I sure do. Hillarious!

Where a black cat may have assisted the Mets in their 1969 run to the playoffs.

Todd Pratt’s NLDS winning home run in 1999…..Mike Piazza’s home run in the first game after 9/11. The “Ya Gotta Believe” Mets of 1973….a mediocre team that nearly won the whole thing.

Ahhh, yes 1973…the year that that (alleged) double murderer slashed and dashed across a football field in a season like no other for a running back. And speaking of Bills players named Simpson. What about Bill Simpson’s game sealing interception at the goal line in a 1981 playoff game at Shea? The interception stalled an incredible Jets rally as they had come to within four points of the Bills after trailing 24-0 at one point.

And Endy Chavez’ catch in Game 7 of the ‘06 NLCS…..what should have gone on to become the greatest catch EVER(had the Mets won the game)

Could go on and on….It’s tough to say goodbye to an old friend.

Here’s to a Mets win today and a stay of execution for a couple of weeks.

-pjf

Now it’s official.

The Buffalo Bisons have signed a two year affiliation agreement with the New York Mets to be their AAA affiliate. The announcement was made at a press conference this morning that turned out to be a star studded affair of political leaders, civic luminaries, officials from the Mets and the Bisons, ballplayers and representatives from city public schools and a full compliment of media people who packed Pettibone’s Grill to its seams.

On hand to herald the announcement was none other than New York State Governor David Paterson, who arrived with his entourage in a jet black limo and accompanying security vehicles, all under the watchful eye of state troopers guarding the entrance to the ballpark. Other luminaries included Mayor Byron Brown, County Executive Chris Collins, Erie County Legislature Chairman Lynn Marinelli and State Senator William Stachowski. School Superintendent James Williams accepted a $25,000 check from the New York Mets which will be earmarked towards the baseball program in Buffalo’s public schools.

Representing the Mets was Chief Operating Officer Jeff Wilpon, General Manager Omar Minaya and Director of Minor League Operations Adam Wogan.

The arrival of the Mets to Buffalo capped a chaotic week where the Syracuse Chiefs ended up as the big loser in an attempt to lure the Mets to their city, following their breakup with the Toronto Blue Jays. The deal breaker, according to Mets Chief Operating Officer Jeff Wilpon, was the Chief’s refusal to cede control of the franchise to outside interests. “We’ve been looking to buy a AAA team for quite a while now” Wilpon explained. “We made an offer for controlling interest of the Chiefs, which they refused to listen to. Those conversations were then followed by an offer to sell a minority interest in their team to us, but we really were not interested in that, and by then it was too late anyway.”

Wilpon said that stable ownership in Buffalo is what made the difference in favor of the Bisons. “We recognize that Buffalo has such a strong ownership group and solid management team in place. By the middle of the day on Thursday (the first day that teams could negotiate affiliation agreements) we realized that this was a no brainer and that we would be coming to Buffalo.”

Governor Paterson drew a hearty laugh when we said “What scares me most right now is not the state budget, not AIG, not the Federal Reserve. It’s the Mets bullpen.” Paterson lauded the Mets efforts to position its minor league affiliates throughout New York State. The AA affiliate is located in Binghamton, while their short season A affiliate plays in Brooklyn.

Following the news conference, media representatives, dignitaries and team officials were invited down to the field for photo opportunities and one on one interviews. With a “Welcome New York Mets” message on the scoreboard, the snappy “Meet the Mets” jingle playing on the PA system and a crisp and beautiful WNY fall day, it all made for a perfect backdrop to usher in a new era in Bisons baseball.

Bisons PR Director Brad Bisbing was passing out press kits with a new blue masthead on the letterhead, and Bisons President Jon Dandes stated that the team would be reconfiguring the Bisons logo and colors, with a strong likelihood that the Mets blue and orange will play a part in the new look.

So just to recap the musical chairs in AAA - the New York Mets, of course, come to Buffalo. Cleveland goes to Columbus; Washington goes to Syracuse; Los Angeles goes to Albuquerque; Florida goes to New Orleans. The big loser here? TORONTO! They end up affiliated with the Las Vegas 51s. At least there are non stop flights from Toronto/Pearson for players going up and down, although that’s a far cry from the 90 minute drive to Buffalo had they been able to land the Bisons.

This will be the Bisons’s fourth AAA affiliation in the modern era, following stints with the Chicago White Sox, Pittsburgh Pirates and Cleveland Indians.

Saw this cool pic hanging on the wall in the concourse at PNC Park in Pittsburgh… in the club level which is called the “Pittsburgh Baseball Club”.

Forbes Field was the home of the Pittsburgh Pirates prior to their moving into Three Rivers Stadium in 1970. Located east of downtown where the University of Pittsburgh stands today, one can find remnants of the outfield wall on the grounds of the campus, and home plate is preserved in the tile floor of the university’s library.

One of the signature moments of this storied venue was back in 1960, when Bill Mazeroski hit a walk off home run in game 7 of the World Series to give the Pirates the championship over the New York Yankees.

A chilly night in Batavia. Temperatures dropping. No problem!

The noisy and spirited fans who showed up at Dwyer Stadium last night were well rewarded, as their Batavia Muck Dogs advanced to the NY-Penn League championship series, with a hard fought 3-2 win over the Lowell Spinners. The Muck Dogs won their best of three series two games to one.

And who will they face for the hardware? None other than the Jamestown Jammers, owned by Rich Products, and part of the same umbrella organization which owns the Buffalo Bisons. Their best of three series starts in Jamestown on Friday night, before shifting to Batavia on Saturday, with the third game, if necessary, Sunday night.

Batavia’s success last night came via stellar pitching. Starter Adam Veres only allowed one run on two hits in seven innings, with reliever Ramon Delgado then striking out the side in the eighth inning. But closer Adam Riefer then ran into a patch of trouble in the 9th, and with the ‘Dogs nursing a 3-1 lead, he gave up a run scoring single with two outs, but then managed to get the game’s final punchout with the tying run stranded at second base.

This franchise was teetering on the brink of insolvency just last winter, until the Rochester Red Wings management stepped in to take over operations of the team. For the community owned Muckdogs, this arrangement has proved to be a big success, wth interest in the team at a new high.

Red Wings General Manager Dan Mason was beaming after the game, standing near the main exit and thanking exiting fans for their attendance and support. “Yeah it’s been a nice ride here this year, and hopefully we can bring Batavia a championship for these fans” Mason said.

Always one of the friendliest and gregarious GM’s in the International League, we asked Mason if the coming Jamestown/Batavia showdown is an offshoot of the Bisons/Red Wings rivalry. “Well you could say that” Mason laughed, “although I’d much rather have Buffalo and Rochester on the field facing each other this time of year.”

Here is the complete finals schedule. If you want to see some great playoff baseball and watch the Western New York showdown for NY-Penn League supremacy, then hop into your car and head out to the ballparks!

Game 1 Batavia at Jamestown - 7:05 PM Friday, Diethrick Park
Game 2 Jamestown at Batavia - 7:05 PM Saturday, Dwyer Stadium
Game 3 Jamestown at Batavia - 6:05 PM Sunday, Dwyer Stadium

Finding pictures of old Offermann Stadium, online or anyplace else for that matter, is one tough chore, as we found out when we did the research for our feature article in Artvoice back in August.

Frank Offermann III has extended us an invitation to visit with him and see all his stuff, and we are hoping that once we get the time to pay that visit we can get some cool photos of the old yard to scan and post right here and/or on the USRT site.

I got the picture above from Jim Hornung, former head groundskeeper at Dunn Tire Park and now Erie County Parks Commissioner. When I saw this photo hanging in his office, I asked if I could scan it and he said fine.

So here it is… East Ferry St runs directly behind third base and Michigan St runs behind first base. The buildings directly behind first base were actually part of the stadium property and served as administrative and ticket offices. Behind the center field scoreboard is the corner of Masten Ave and Woodlawn Ave.

Enjoy!

Kind of lost in shuffle after returning from last week’s trip to New York City and across New England were the completion of two Ultimate Sports Road Trip milestones - we can now claim bragging rights to having visited EVERY ballpark and stadium in the AA Eastern League and the short-A New York Penn League in their current and active venues.

We sort of did a mini celebration and a high five at LeLacheur Park in Lowell last Saturday, as well as Merchantsauto.com Stadium in Manchester later that night. No, it didn’t have the drama and emotion of the official USRT finish line in Detroit back in 2002, but still satisfying nonetheless.

So now we have prepared both those league’s pages on the USRT site. Want to do a rapid fire tour through both leagues, with thumbnailed photos and descriptions of each venue? Then click on for the New York-Penn League as well as the Eastern League and follow us along!

We’ll be kind and refrain from any Professor Dickweed references.

Today’s journey takes us up to see the Blue Jays play the Cleveland Indians in the final game of the three game set. Mike Harrington and David Briggs from the Buffnews are up here as well covering the games, and Mike already pointed out one of his famed useless stats when he indicated the the Tribe is playing their 9th game in a row in an indoor venue (three at Minn, three at TB and now here). But for the record, the roof was open here on Friday night. Unfortunately it’s closed today, which is a shame because it is a crisp almost fall like day outside and an outdoor game would have been nice.

The “Bills in Toronto” thingy is fast coming upon us, and a large banner draped across an overpass when heading into the city just portends the excitement that is to come. Not for this week’s preseason game, which has all the makings of a flop at the turnstiles, but the December conntest, the first regular season NFL game on Canadian soil, promises to be a big deal.

Cliff Lee is on the mound for Cleveland today, and with a 15-2 record is the big spark plug on the team in what has otherwise been a disappointing season. Earlier this week we were checking out the rotation and was hoping Toronto would have Roy Halladay pitching for the Jays, but that alignment of the planets did not happen.

Uh oh… we had a big credentials snafu on the way in today. Our editor Geoff Kelly never faxed in our attendance, and to make a long story short, Pete’s credential was nowhere to be found. Jay Stenhouse, the head PR honcho here came down and was very nice and wrote Pete up, but had no clue who were were, even though we’ve covered a Jays game or two for each of the past five seasons. As for the “uh-oh” we’ve got a big thick black line on the cred covering the word “clubhouse”… looks like our postgame will be yet another media adventure. *Sigh* We weeklies get NO respect!

I’ve had it with the lovefest.

How many freaking times have I had to hear “this is the last time (insert event here) will be played at Yankee Stadium” and “What an historic and wonderful stadium this is”. Enough! Quite frankly I could give two bits about The House That the Overwieght Philandering Former Brooklyn Dodger Coach Built.

If you’re here to read another glowing review of Yankee Stadium, move on. This one definitely isn’t for you.

It’s for the rest of us out there, those who can’t stand the Yankees with a passion, for those who believe that being named Murderer’s Row and the Evil Empire really aren’t good things to be referred to as. And I have a few random thoughts about the passing of this incredibly overrated venue and the unbelievably overhyped club that plays in in it. Basically some of the moments and stories that I’ll remember most from Bronx.

Yankee Stadium….ahhh yes. Where Casey Stengel managed the Yanks to seven World Series titles and ten pennants in twelve seasons. Then he was told to not let the door hit him on the way out.

And you thought the Mets were classless after firing Willie Randolph.

Where Roger Maris was despised in many corners of the Yankees organization for having the gall to make a run at the Babe’s hallowed single season home run record. Heck, even Barry Bonds was revered in San Francisco while doing the same.

A place so enamored by fans in the sixties that the woeful crosstown Mets outdrew them at the box office as the Yanks won pennants.

Where the Yankees had the nerve to have a player called out on a result of too much pine tar on the bat(common sense prevailed)……where slapping a ball out the hand of a fielder as they run to first is acceptable practice.

Where CBS ran a clinic in “how to run an iconic franchise into the ground”. Are they willing to buy in again? Just wonderin’.

Where a team can have a nine digit payroll yet cut dental benefits for the grunts in the office that take the 4 train to get to work in the Bronx.

Where Howie Spira became a national figure resulting in George Steinbrenner being banned from baseball for life….oh, nevermind.

Ditto for Brian McNamee. Still fresh news so I won’t go there.

Where Jason Giambi “apologized”.

Where the Yanks’ dynasty of the nineties was sparked by the most egregious blown call of the post Denkinger era. Thank you Jeff Maier, who in typical arrogant and pompous Yankeefan manner was paraded around like some conquering hero in the following days.

Where the Yankees’ wild spending on players threw the salary structure of baseball out of whack and stifled the competitive balance of the game .

St. Louis had Jack Buck, the Dodgers have Vin Scully, and the Yankees have this.

Where managerial stability reached an all time low, just ask the seventeen managers in seventeen years. Better yet, just look up Billy Martin.

I can just hear it now….” oh but, but, this is where Ruth and Gehrig played!!!”

Yes, they also performed at Dunn Field in Elmira. Take a ride if there if seeing a field where they played ball is that important to you.

“What about all those championships!!!”…money was a big help, don’t you think?

I have to admit, I felt no chills, no feelings of awe, no sense aura or mystique on Sunday as I wandered through the sterile and cramped walkways of Yankee Stadium while meandering through the hordes of fans wearing their crisp, brand new caps and their jerseys with players’ names on the back(a clear sign of a fan on the wagon) as they spent the day cheering on the easiest team in sports to root for.

It was nothing like all the other times I’ve wandered through a ballpark in its final days. There was no twinge of sadness, no feeling of relief that I was able to come here one last time and drink it all in and enjoy the experience. Simply a feeling of “good riddance, I’m outta here” was sufficient on this day.

For me, it’s always been about dollar signs and how the Yankees have always had far more of that than anyone else in the sport and how(surprise, surprise) they’ve been able to use that wide gap in revenue to produce more on field success than any other club in the game.

The sad thing is, the new joint will help the Yankees in that regard even more as you can bet prices for everything from scorecard pencils to luxury suites will set a new standard for revenue generation in baseball. Just like Sunday, next year we’ll go, we’ll cross it off the list and gleefully head off to Citifield to complete the New York doubleheader.

-Peter Farrell

Taking photos of the new Yankee Stadium is a bit challenging in terms of finding good vantage points. We did the best we could. Here are some pics to whet your whistle.

Sunday afternoon, and it was time for the marquee event of this journey – one final USRT visit to the hallowed grounds of Yankee Stadium.

With stadium traffic, construction of the new ballpark and everything else going on, we decided to park the car in one of the neighborhoods north of the stadium on the #4 line, and then simply rode the train into the ballpark. We craned our necks in anticipation, and all of sudden, there it was! The cranes, the construction and the gleaming new Yankee Stadium, rising next door to the venerable old place. It is still one great sight to see.

The streets were bustling with fans on a beautiful warm Sunday afternoon, and really, the neighborhood surrounding Yankee Stadium is really pretty cool. Tucked underneath the elevated train platform are a ton of small merchandise shops, restaurants, taverns and bodegas catering to the baseball fan. The smells in the air and the cacophony of noises is great to just soak in.

We walked around the new ballpark and took pictures and then made our way in for one final time. One final game.

And what a game it was! The West Division leading LA Angels were in town for what could be a playoff preview, and the packed house was disappointed early as the Angels took a quick 5-0 lead and were seemingly in cruise control. But the Yankees chipped away and tied the game at 5, then took an 8-5 lead in the 7th and the place was absolutely going nuts.

Then the crowd got deflated as the Angels Mark Texeira hit a grand slam home run to give his team a 9-8 lead. But the Yankees would storm back in the bottom of the 8th, plating 6 runs to eventually win the game 14-9. Amazing!

We hung out with our friends Gary Herman and Mike “The King” Casiano. These guys are big Mets fans and definitely not Yankees supporters, so their Shea Stadium antics are much more muted and sedate here at The Stadium. These guys have also been doing a lot of road trip planning now that the NHL schedule is out, and like us they await the NBA schedule which should be out in a couple of days. They’ve got a visit to Buffalo the first weekend in November for the Bills/Jets game at The Ralph on their radar, so we will look forward to welcoming them if that comes off.

It was a long game, and we took one long final look at Yankee Stadium before heading back to the subway station. By the time we got back to the car it was 5:20PM and the ride home to B-lo awaited.

Five ballparks in four days in five different states. This summer road trip was yet another awesome one!

We’ve posed this question before, and we will pose it again… What is it about sporting events that seems to attract these douchebags? We caught this piece of shit hanging outside of Yankee Stadium this afternoon.

Take a look at this loser… shouldn’t he be doing something more productive with his time? Like blowing up an OBGYN clinic or beating the crap out of some guy outside a gay nightclub. That’s what people of this ilk seems to know how to do best, isn’t it?

The exterior “back” of the stadium

Part of the Ted Williams Museum

Brightly lit and wide concourse

The seating bowl

We raced, really raced, up Hwy 3 (listening to the Bisons game on a crystal clear KB 1520 signal from Buffalo the whole time) and arrived at Merchantsauto.com Stadium in the 5th inning. Of course, that game was sailing right along, when lots of base runners, pitching changes and a tied score would have suited us much better.

Merchantsauto.com opened just three years ago, and when we last visited Manchester (back in 2005 for the AHL All Star Game at Verizon Wireless Arena) this was just a big hole in the ground. Sandwiched in between I-293 and the downtown core, there is but one way in and one way out of the place and onto Granite Street.But the signature of the venue isn’t even a part of the stadium itself; a six story Hilton Garden Inn dominates the outfield, and the rooms there surely have a great view of the action. The pool area and patio was pretty crowded with fans watching the game on the field, but even though the hotel property literally abuts the outfield wall, they have nothing to do with the fisher Cats. “we really don’t have a good relationship with them” explained Media Assistant Tim Hough.

Part of the stadium includes the just opened the spacious Samuel Adams Bar and Grill out in left field. Plenty of HD televisions, a long mahogany bar, table and bar seating and a great view of the action. This is the hangout at the stadium, but actually, with the monster wide concourses, lots of concession stands, a small but nicely done Ted Williams Museum behind home plate, this is a pretty comfortable place to enjoy a game with plenty to see and do.

We saw no scoring in this one - it was 2-1 Manchester when we arrived, an even though Connecticut mounted a threat in the 7th and 8th, they could not push the tying run across. The game ended, and in the same night we celebrated yet another USRT accomplishment - all 12 Eastern League venues DONE!

This trip has blown by so fast, and one more adventure awaits - tomorrow we get up early and drive down to the Bronx for our farewell visit to old Yankee Stadium. We plan to park up at the northern end of the 4 line and take the train to the stadium.

Check out the outfield at the home of the New Hampshire Fisher Cats

Inside and outside views of one beautiful ballpark