Our friends at Frontier Field in Rochester always seem to be at the cutting edge of cool promotional ideas.

This season, fans are encouraged to “Eat For The Cycle”, and try each of the specialty hot dogs which will be rolled out during separate homestands throughout July and August. Fans can have a card punched on each purchase, and if you try all four you get a free t-shirt memorializing your accomplishment.

Here is the mouth watering lineup…

Ay Chihauhau (at the La Fiesta stand, first base side of the concourse)
Quarter-pound hot dog on a sausage roll topped with lettuce, onions, taco beef, tomatoes, nacho cheese and jalapeños. Served with a side of tortilla chips topped with nacho cheese.

Tony Soprano ( at Mama Mittsy’s, near the front gates)
Quarter-pound hot dog on a sausage roll topped with pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese and pepperoni. This “capo” (boss) of dogs will be run thru the pizza oven for toasting and melting. Served with a side of two breadsticks and marinara.

French Poodle (at Batter Up, third base side of the concourse)
Quarter-pound hot dog on a sausage roll topped with fresh cut French fries and coleslaw. Served with a side of fresh cut fries.

Bar-B-Dog (at Big Red BBQ, third base side of the concourse)
Quarter pound hot dog on a sausage roll topped with pulled pork BBQ, nacho cheese and onions. Served with a side of tortilla chips topped with nacho cheese.

Back in 1999 Pete and I both “ate for the cycle” at Milwaukee’s old County Stadium… we did separate concession runs and had a bratwurst, kielbasa, italian sausage and a cheesy grillwurst all during the same game!

We’re heading to Rochester to cover the Bisons/Red Wings the weekend of June 30, and this will be worth checking out!

Gotta interview Bisons Manager Torey Lovullo for this week’s “Play Ball” column. He’s doing his thing with Bisons play by play announcer Ben Wagner right now. Then I’m next.

Just so cool being down here at this time of day… the grounds crew and maintenance people are scrubbing and cleaning and getting the place ready; players jogging around the warning track or hitting balls in the batting cage. All is good… except?

Well, seems like a sewage pipe right behind the Bisons dugout busted last night. “Smelled like s**t the whole game”, Torey groused. They were still pumping and disinfecting as I left the dugout.

I never take for granted how lucky I am to be able to do this job and experience the game from this perspective. Yeah..even the sewage part.

Bisons Manager Torey Lovullo will be heading to Albuquerque in July as a member of the International League’s squad coaching team.

Congrats to our skipper!

More info on the Bisons website.

An awesome game turn out into a nailbiter… Buffalo scores seven times and is in total command of the game, only to see Ottawa crawl back into it late. But it was good news for our guys in the end as Buffalo takes it and sends Ottawa fans home disappointed.

OK… this is really about the Buffalo Bisons game last night at Lynx Stadium in Ottawa. But I sure as heck wouldn’t mind copying and pasting this text into a Sabres recap 14 hours from now.

Keep hope alive!

How’s this for a line score…

Pawtucket 3 1 2 2 0 0 0 1 5 / 14 / 12 / 4

Buffalo….. 0 0 5 0 1 0 0 0 9 / 15 / 17 / 2

The Bisons plate NINE RUNS in the bottom of the 9th to steal this one. A walkoff base on balls with the bases loaded seals the deal. Final score… Buffalo 15, Pawtucket 14 at Dunn Tire Park.

With the pitching staff stretched thin, infielder Trent Durrington came in to pitch in the top of the 9th, recording one out to end the inning. For his effort he earns the win, the first position player to accomplish such a feat for Buffalo since Chris Coste did it in 2002. This also ties a Bisons modern era record for the greatest comeback ever by the team.

More baseball to come… this is a doubleheader and the second game will go 7 innings.

11:45PM update… Bisons take nightcap by a score of 5-0, and now lead the IL North by 1/2 game. With Torey Lovullo tending to family matters, Coach Dave Myers led the team tonight and admitted that he hadn’t called the boss yet to share the news. “He’s going to know soon enough he’s going to have to call this in” said a smiling Myers. The Bisons sent 13 batters to the plate in the 9th inning, resulting in five hits, three walks, a hit batter, and three Pawtucket fielding errors.

Yes it’s early, and yes there’s still a lot of baseball to be played this season, but as the calendar flips to May, it is the Buffalo Bisons and the Rochester Red Wings battling out for supremacy in the International League North. If the season ended today, the two teams would meet in the first round of the playoffs, with Buffalo as the wild card team.

The two ball clubs share a friendly rivalry, their fans exchange friendly banter through the “Thruway Cup” competition, but such was not always the case. Buffalo and Rochester held an intense and heated rivalry for decades… in 1933 the teams faced each other in a deciding game at Offerman Stadium before a packed and overflow crowd, a game won by Buffalo 8-1 and a night referred to as “The night the Great Depression stood still”. In 1959 Bisons fans were horrified to learn that team icon Luke Easter had been released after a slow start that season. A week later he signed with the Red Wings, and played and managed for several seasons in Rochester, where he became a fan favorite and an oft Bison killer. In 1961 the team moved to the Old Rockpile, and the Kirby Farrell managed team defeated the Red Wings in the Governors Cup championship. It was unfortunate that Buffalo was out of baseball in the 70s, arguably the golden era for Rochester baseball. The teams resumed their rivalry when the Bisons entered the “AAA Alliance” in 1988, and fans packed Pilot Field in May to see these two teams meet for the first time in almost two decades.

Last year Red Wings GM Dan Mason and I talked about this legacy and history, and I asked him what could be done to really reignite that passion and rivalry like it was in the old days. “We need a little hatred” replied Mason. One of the best tonics, said Mason, would be for the clubs to face each other in the playoffs. Unfortunately, because of the IL’s arcane playoff format, these two teams could never meet in the finals, but a first round matchup always remains a possibility.

Buffalo and Rochester play for the first time next weekend - Friday and Saturday at Dunn Tire Park, then on to Frontier Field Sunday and Monday, and first place in the division will be at stake. So enough of fluffy mascots, hugs and warm and fuzzy feelings between these two cities. Time to talk trash and show some ugliness. Somewhere, the spirits of Luke Easter, George Toporcer, Kirby Farrell and Danny Carnevale would be nodding their heads in approval!

Andy Marte is back in Buffalo, sent down from the parent Cleveland Indians on a rehabilitation assignment. Last season, Marte played in 96 games for the Bisons and hit .261 (93-357) with 23 doubles, 15 home runs and 46 RBI.

The Bisons return from their road trip this Saturday, and it looks like we’ll be grooving to the beat of the Chacarron once again at Dunn Tire Park!

Before each game the Bisons put out a nice spread for the operations staff and the media, but the Sunday buffet is always the best… fruit plate, bagels, scrambled eggs, sausage, roasted potatoes and waffles. One awesome perk if you’re a sports reporter!

Time to chime in on a little Buffalo Bisons baseball.

The team traveled to Columbus and Toledo on an eight game road swing, and managed to earn a 6-2 record on the trip, including a sweep at Columbus, with one of those games a 17-1 throttling of the Clippers.

How good was the offense? They outscored the two teams 40-17 in the eight games and were led by outfielder Jason Cooper
(.333, 6-18, 3 2B, 5RBI), Ben Francisco (.345, 10-29, 3 2B, HR, 4RBI) and Shin-Soo Choo (.313, 5-16, 5RBI).

Buffalo is home for a five game set beginning tonight, and in a true Mike Veeck moment, have come up with a cool promotion - the 60 degree guarantee. They are guaranteeing it will be 60 degrees for the next two home games, Saturday, April 21 (6:05 p.m.) and Sunday, April 22 (1:05 p.m.) against the Pawtucket Red Sox. If the weather doesn’t match the very promising forecast for the weekend, everyone in attendance will get a free ticket to a future Bisons game in 2007.

With a 9-3 record, Buffalo leads the IL North.

UPDATE… 6:08PM at Dunn Tire Park… official game time temperature 62 degrees…lots of fans in the building on a great night for baseball… Better luck tomorrow for a free ticket folks!

UPDATE… 8:30PM at Dunn Tire Park… Brad Bisbing just told us that even though the temperature officially crossed the 60 degree threshold, the team is still giving a freebie ticket to everyone in attendance tonight. Nice job Bisons!!!

It’s 4:30PM… my cool downtown sports day continues…

Bisons 2, Lynx 1 at Dunn Tire Park
After turning a strange 1-5-4 double play in the 6th following by Choo’s diving catch in right to end the inning, Manager Torey Lovullo had to be pleased. “After some of the defensive outings we’ve had here, it was nice to see that kind of performance. The lead out was the key out, and those plays essentially saved the ball game for us.” Offensively, solo home runs by Keith Ginter and Ryan Mulhern were the difference in this one.

The team now hits the road for sets in Columbus and Toledo before returning home (to hopefully better weather) on Saturday, April 21.

In between games…
So with the Sabres game not starting until 8PM, this means some time to kill, so I’m going to catch up on some writing and some web surfing until they shut down the pressbox here at the ballpark… then head down to the arena. I think I’m in the mood to check out the team store and buy some souvenirs, and maybe see if the pregame concert is still a go. The rain has started though.

Lotsa cookies, ice cream bars and popcorn…but no wi-fi.
Let me start by saying this… the Sabres media department are the best bunch of guys you would want to meet. Mike Gilbert, Chris Bandura, Kevin Snow and webmaster Brian Wheeler always cooperative, always professional, and a joy to interact and work with.

Unless… you have the temerity to ask them to jump on their wi-fi internet service. That’s when the Guardians of the Bandwidth and Lords of the Surf come harshly into play. Bottom line… I’d gladly take a reliable internet connection at the arena over the pressbox junk food buffet any day.

Amy Moritz from the Buffalo News and Dave Ricci from Metro Community News are in the saddle today… Outside it’s sunny…40 degrees… a little bit better than yesterday.

And memo to Torey Lovullo… Inside its 68 degrees and toasty.

Bisons 5, Lynx 3 (5:00PM report)
No Pete and I are not going to do a game report each game we’ll leave the hard core reporting to Buffalobaseballblog, but if we’re in the building we will chime in with some takes.

Anyways, the Bisons make it two in a row this afternoon DESPITE three errors on second baseman Hector Luna. He coulda been tagged with a fourth when he turned a double play and the relay skipped into the dirt at first base, but scorer Kevin Lester correctly ruled it a fielder’s choice. After the game Torey Lovullo defended his player, saying he really didn’t have to talk to Luna on the bench; he is a seasoned pro and if it becomes a pattern then it’s time to work on it. Luna did redeem himself with a RBI single in the 6th and later scored.

For the second day in a row, Keith Ginter serves up the heroics - a two run double in the 7th to give Buffalo the lead for good, this after falling behind 3-0 and being no-hit through the first 5.

About 450 in attendance, up from 300 on Opening Day. Can we make it 600 tomorrow?! Just kidding… hey warm spring nights and full houses of happy fans are just a homestand or two away, we promise!

Sun and clouds… temperature 35 degrees… maybe 300 fans in the stands. But after four days of cancellations, it is just GOOD TO BE DOWN HERE!

I left my flash card reader home so no pics to attach… I will add a game recap later.

Bisons 8, Lynx 3
Short game update… the Buffalo Bisons took the Opening Day game with a convincing 8-3 win at Dunn Tire Park, collecting 7 runs on 10 hits in the first three innings. That was enough to make a winner out of starter Adam Miller, who was pretty solid himself, pitching 6 innings and batting out of a bases loaded jam in the 3rd inning.

After the game I asked Manager Torey Lovullo on how the team can maintain its focus after such a lengthy layoff from baseball. “We had the guys down here Saturday and Sunday and tried as best we could to simulate a game in the cages, but actually it is quite nice to get out on the field.”

As we walked into his office, Torey greeted the media with a big smile and welcome, and asked “So was it nice and warm up there in the pressbox?”

Heh..heh… Yes it was Torey… but best of all, great to see all the familiar faces and old friends… Mike Harrington, Amy Moritz, Dave Ricci and Bob Matuszak in the press crew… Scorer Kevin Lester… Brad and Jon from the Bisons as well as guys in the game day crew.

One more take… Ben Wagner was totally solid in his first game as Voice of the Bisons. Looks like the team has found itself another blue chip choice!

They tried to play baseball at Jacobs Field yesterday… and in fact got 4+ innings of play in, before conditions deteriorated to the point that they had to call the game.

Here was the game situation… Cleveland was up 4-0 on Seattle, and starter Paul Byrd was throwing a no-hitter and had the count at 1-2 with 2 outs in the 5th. One more strike and the game would have been official… and a no-hitter, although an abbreviated one, would have counted in the record book!

Cleveland has cancelled today’s games, as have the Buffalo Bisons. And it’s not just us being affected… Rochester, Erie and Akron have yet to begin their seasons. More of the same tomorrow - sub freezing temperatures. Best bet for baseball here is Tuesday; it’s supposed to hit 41 for a high.

The grounds crew is trying to get the field ready for play.

Pitcher Paul Byrd is doing his stuff as the snow flies.

With 4 2/3 innings completed, Tribe Manager Eric Wedge pleads for play to continue.

Photos from the Cleveland Plain Dealer

Just in from the Buffalo Bisons media relations office…

“Friday’s doubleheader between the Buffalo Bisons and the Richmond Braves at Dunn Tire Park has been postponed due to snow and freezing temperatures. The teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday, April 7 and Sunday, April 8 at Dunn Tire Park to make up the games lost. The teams will play two, seven-inning games on each day with the first games starting at 1:05 p.m.”

SAT: Snow showers, high 31

SUN: Snow showers, high 34

This sucks.

HIGH 28 — Snow Showers — Wind W22 mph

Why haven’t the Bisons cancelled this event yet?

Udpate at 10:15 AM Thursday, common sense has prevailed and the game has been postponed as part of a DH beginning at 4:05. The weather forecast is going to be little, or any different though.