As the play-by-play guy for the Princeton Rays, with the season just about to start, more and more I'll be asked, "How are the Rays gonna do this year?"
Right now, the best answer is, "I have no idea."
That's due to how things work in a rookie-level circuit like the Appalachian League. Opening Day is June 23, but we won't know which teams have which players until just a few days before.
Predicting how a Major League team will do, or a AAA or AA team, is comparatively easy. Prognosticators usually know well in advance which player will be at which level, and can reference each player's performance in the Cactus or Grapefruit leagues.
Meanwhile, players that will ultimately wind up on Appy League teams are in "extended spring training," which has been going on since started higher-level teams (MLB/AAA/AA/Full-Season A) began their regular seasons in late March/early April.
By now, each organization has a pretty good idea which players will wind up in the Appy League, a step above in a Short-Season A league, or a step below in the Gulf Coast League.
But that knowledge is only temporary.
The annual First-Year Amateur Draft starts June 9. When it's over, each organization will have selected about 50 new players, which will have to signed, evaluated, and assigned to a team. Some players won't be signed in time to play this season. Many others, usually lower-round selections, will sign quickly and make at least a cursory appearance at extended spring training.
The influx of new players puts the potential rosters of low minor league teams teams in turmoil. A player who may have been a lock for an Appy League spot, for example, could get moved up or down a level depending on who his organization drafts. That player may not know which team he's assigned to until the very day that team breaks camp.
Obtaining statistics from extended spring training can be a daunting task. Finding a position player's batting average or a pitcher's ERA isn't nearly as simple as it is when it comes to MLB or the higher minor leagues. Which makes it difficult to tell who's excelling and who's struggling in the run-up to the regular season.
On top of that, in the Appy League, even when the rosters are set, they're certainly not set in stone. Player turnover is a fact of life and changes come at the strangest of times.
Case in point: Last season, Princeton hosted Pulaski on Opening Day. Literally just minutes before the first pitch, someone from the Mariners' organization hurried to the press box to announce that the two draft picks had just signed and would be joining the team shortly. As that announcement was made, two players, carrying their luggage, walked across the field to the Mariners' dugout.
There are certain things that are a given in the Appalachian League no matter what the year.
But the only sure thing is that there are no sure things.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
An Open Letter to Tony George
To: Tony George
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Re: Open-wheel racing in America
Dear Tony,
This is your fault.
=================================================================================
(From the May 27, 2009 USA Today:)
Indianapolis 500 losing television drawing power
You have to wonder: What's left, theoretically, that could resurrect the Indianapolis 500's drawing power?
But then you concocted your Indy Racing League brainchild and the walls caved in.
You don't need me to remind you that the schism you created between CART and the IRL in the mid '90s opened the door for NASCAR's massive growth and put American open-wheel racing solidly in the death-spiral that currently swirls around it.
What's most galling is your justification for the split. You wanted American drivers, in American-built cars, racing on American ovals.
What we have are Japanese engines in Italian chassis with an international cast of drivers competing in a series that visits foreign countries and includes street circuits and road courses.
Which is what open-wheel racing in the US used to provide us -- before your power grab.
What were you thinking?
Despite its travails, open-wheel racing is still viable, somehow, yet finds itself at a crossroads. There are conflicting predictions of its future and your role in it. USA Today had another story this week, lauding your Indy Racing League for so far avoiding the economic pitfalls that have struck NASCAR and Formula 1. Meanwhile, speedtv.com reported earlier this week you'd been removed as CEO of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a story you were quick to deny.
But the ratings prove that the very foundation of your IRL -- what old-timers still call "The 500 Mile" -- is inspiring viewers to stay away in droves.
Whatever the future holds, open-wheel racing and its fans would benefit from you not being a part of it.
Sincerely,
Disgruntled in West Virginia
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Re: Open-wheel racing in America
Dear Tony,
This is your fault.
=================================================================================
(From the May 27, 2009 USA Today:)
Indianapolis 500 losing television drawing power
 |
by Michael Hiestand, USA TODAY
You have to wonder: What's left, theoretically, that could resurrect the Indianapolis 500's drawing power?
The merger of what had been two competing Indy-style circuits, ending a split that had supposedly hampered the sport for years, came last year. Danica Patrick was supposed to bring star power if she could also be a contender on the track — and she finished third in Sunday's race.
But ABC's coverage drew just 3.9% of U.S. TV households. That's down 13% from last year, down 40% from coverage four years ago — and the lowest rating since the 500 got live start-to-finish TV coverage in 1986.
And if the recession kept some viewers off the roads this Memorial Day weekend, it didn't mean they wanted to watch cars on TV.
===================================================================
Tony, I used to be a rabid open-wheel fan, especially in the heyday of the CART series. I'd watch every race on TV and attend 3-4 races a year.But then you concocted your Indy Racing League brainchild and the walls caved in.
You don't need me to remind you that the schism you created between CART and the IRL in the mid '90s opened the door for NASCAR's massive growth and put American open-wheel racing solidly in the death-spiral that currently swirls around it.
What's most galling is your justification for the split. You wanted American drivers, in American-built cars, racing on American ovals.
What we have are Japanese engines in Italian chassis with an international cast of drivers competing in a series that visits foreign countries and includes street circuits and road courses.
Which is what open-wheel racing in the US used to provide us -- before your power grab.
What were you thinking?
Despite its travails, open-wheel racing is still viable, somehow, yet finds itself at a crossroads. There are conflicting predictions of its future and your role in it. USA Today had another story this week, lauding your Indy Racing League for so far avoiding the economic pitfalls that have struck NASCAR and Formula 1. Meanwhile, speedtv.com reported earlier this week you'd been removed as CEO of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a story you were quick to deny.
But the ratings prove that the very foundation of your IRL -- what old-timers still call "The 500 Mile" -- is inspiring viewers to stay away in droves.
Whatever the future holds, open-wheel racing and its fans would benefit from you not being a part of it.
Sincerely,
Disgruntled in West Virginia
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
A Nominee Who's Already Made History
The breaking news today is President Obama's nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court. If Sotomayor sounds familiar to baseball fans, Don Walker of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel explains why.
The day Sotomayor saved baseball
Sonia Sotomayor, a judge in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, was nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court by President Barack Obama.
Baseball fans with good memories may recall that it was Sotomayor, then a federal judge, who ruled in March 1995 against Major League Baseball owners, ending a 232-day strike.
At the time, Sotomayor granted an injunction sought by the National Labor Relations Board and ordered owners to restore free-agent bidding, salary arbitration and the anti-collusion provisions of baseball's expired collective bargaining agreement.
"The loss of playing time to the players can't be more than adequately compensated by monetary damages," Sotomayor said.
Sotomayor made her ruling that year just days before the start of the season. Owners at the time had voted to use replacement players who had been in spring training.
By April 1, baseball's lawyers agreed to postpone the season opener. The next day, owners accepted the players' offer to return to work. Exhibition games began April 13, and opening day was set for April 26.
Owners ultimately appealed Sotomayor's injunction. But in September 1995, an appellate court upheld Sotomayor's ruling, saying she was correct in ruling that the owners acted improperly in unilaterally implementing new work rules earlier in the year.
Ultimately, Sotomayor's decision saved the baseball season that year because it prompted the players to end their strike and get back on the field.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
A Big Ten Guy Weighs In
Penn State football coach Joe Paterno made some waves recently, with his suggestion that the Big Ten add a 12th team to make the league eligible to stage a conference championship football game.
The waves JoePa created crashed over the national sports media, with many pundits suggesting Notre Dame would be the natural choice to be the twelfth team.
But as former Big Ten football coach Lee Corso is noted for saying, "Not so fast, my friend."
As someone born and raised in a Big Ten state and a proud graduate of a Big Ten university, I have a vested interest. With that in mind, here's one perspective on Notre Dame:
You don't want us, and we don't want you.
Let's backtrack a bit.
Speculation over Notre Dame joining the Big Ten has risen and fallen over the years. About 10-15 years ago, it appeared that it was going to happen, but Notre Dame balked. The rumors started up again a few years ago, but the two sides wound up farther apart than before.
This time, more importantly, Notre Dame came off as dismissive, which created hostility within Big Ten Nation.
Ask many Big Ten fans, and they'll tell you -- Let Notre Dame have its national TV contract and Big East membership; if the Big Ten expands, it will bring in a team that wants to be in.
(Then again, we're talking about the Big Ten, which isn't exactly forward-thinking. Case in point: The league spent years resisting the idea of a post-season basketball tournament, effectively handing the national spotlight to the ACC, SEC, Big East and Big XII. But at least the Big Ten realized what it was missing, and now its tournament is one of the most visible in the country.)
If and when the Big Ten adds a 12th team, it won't be in South Bend.
Louisville would be an appealing candidate. Pitt would be a good fit, and would instantly be part of geographic arch-rivalries with Penn State and Ohio State. But it's hard to imagine the Panthers leaving the Big East. The same holds for Rutgers, and especially for Syracuse, which was a charter member of the Big East.
More likely possibilities to join the Big Ten are two Big XII schools: Missouri or Iowa State.
Each is a perfect geographic fit, each meets the conference's rigorous academic standards, brings in tailor-made arch-rivalries and has historically expressed an interest in joining the Big Ten.
Moreover, while they wouldn't reach into East Coast media markets, they'd be better fits for when the Big Ten goes to two divisions:
Big Ten East: Indiana, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue
Big Ten West: Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Northwestern, Wisconsin, Missouri/Iowa State
A football championship game will get the green light once the divisions are set. Look for it to be rotated among domed stadiums around the league -- Lucas Oil Field in Indianapolis, the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, Ford Field in Detroit and the Metrodome in Minneapolis.
Or, if the conference wanted to play in real football weather, the game could go outdoors to Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Soldier Field in Chicago or Browns Stadium in Cleveland.
One day, the Big Ten will have to expand. The trend toward bigger and bigger mega-conferences makes it inevitable. So it will happen.
It just won't include Notre Dame.
The waves JoePa created crashed over the national sports media, with many pundits suggesting Notre Dame would be the natural choice to be the twelfth team.
But as former Big Ten football coach Lee Corso is noted for saying, "Not so fast, my friend."
As someone born and raised in a Big Ten state and a proud graduate of a Big Ten university, I have a vested interest. With that in mind, here's one perspective on Notre Dame:
You don't want us, and we don't want you.
Let's backtrack a bit.
Speculation over Notre Dame joining the Big Ten has risen and fallen over the years. About 10-15 years ago, it appeared that it was going to happen, but Notre Dame balked. The rumors started up again a few years ago, but the two sides wound up farther apart than before.
This time, more importantly, Notre Dame came off as dismissive, which created hostility within Big Ten Nation.
Ask many Big Ten fans, and they'll tell you -- Let Notre Dame have its national TV contract and Big East membership; if the Big Ten expands, it will bring in a team that wants to be in.
(Then again, we're talking about the Big Ten, which isn't exactly forward-thinking. Case in point: The league spent years resisting the idea of a post-season basketball tournament, effectively handing the national spotlight to the ACC, SEC, Big East and Big XII. But at least the Big Ten realized what it was missing, and now its tournament is one of the most visible in the country.)
If and when the Big Ten adds a 12th team, it won't be in South Bend.
Louisville would be an appealing candidate. Pitt would be a good fit, and would instantly be part of geographic arch-rivalries with Penn State and Ohio State. But it's hard to imagine the Panthers leaving the Big East. The same holds for Rutgers, and especially for Syracuse, which was a charter member of the Big East.
More likely possibilities to join the Big Ten are two Big XII schools: Missouri or Iowa State.
Each is a perfect geographic fit, each meets the conference's rigorous academic standards, brings in tailor-made arch-rivalries and has historically expressed an interest in joining the Big Ten.
Moreover, while they wouldn't reach into East Coast media markets, they'd be better fits for when the Big Ten goes to two divisions:
Big Ten East: Indiana, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue
Big Ten West: Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Northwestern, Wisconsin, Missouri/Iowa State
A football championship game will get the green light once the divisions are set. Look for it to be rotated among domed stadiums around the league -- Lucas Oil Field in Indianapolis, the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, Ford Field in Detroit and the Metrodome in Minneapolis.
Or, if the conference wanted to play in real football weather, the game could go outdoors to Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Soldier Field in Chicago or Browns Stadium in Cleveland.
One day, the Big Ten will have to expand. The trend toward bigger and bigger mega-conferences makes it inevitable. So it will happen.
It just won't include Notre Dame.
Monday, May 18, 2009
More Notes on the Atlantic Regional
Each of the three WVIAC teams in the NCAA Division II Atlantic Region tournament are eliminated -- two of them quickly, the other heartbreakingly.
WVIAC champion Shepherd was the first conference team to bow out of the playoffs in West Lawn, PA, falling to West Chester 10-1 on Friday.
West Chester starting pitcher Bret Moyer shut down the Rams' offense. Moyer allowed only two hits in eight innings, striking out nine while improving his record to 10-1.
Meanwhile, the Golden Rams banged out 14 hits -- five for extra bases -- against four Shepherd pitchers. West Chester catcher Bob Stumpo was the star, going 4-5 with a home run, a triple, three runs scored and three RBIs.
Concord was the next WVIAC team to get knocked out, dropping a 9-4 decision to Kutztown Friday afternoon. The Golden Bears reached Concord starter Trey Smith for three runs in the top of the 1st; Concord squared the game with two runs in the bottom of the 1st and a single run in the 3rd.
But the Mountain Lions' defense betrayed them in the top of the 4th. Concord committed two errors and uncorked three wild pitches, allowing Kutztown to score four unearned runs to take the lead.
For the second straight year, Concord ended with four consecutive post-season defeats -- two at the conference tournament and two in the regional.
On the upside, coach Kevin Garrett loses only three seniors (C Will Moody, OF Tim Merolillo, P Allen Schurdell) from this year's 27-15 club. With the bulk of the roster due back -- including Brooks Cullen, Donovan Huffer, Greyson Schramm -- the Mountain Lions will be one of the favorites to win the WVIAC in 2010.
West Virginia State wound up as the WVIAC's last hope. The Yellow Jackets downed Kutztown 4-1 on Friday morning, then fell into the losers' bracket after a 4-1 defeat to Mercyhurst Friday night.
WVSU rebounded with a superlative performance from Eric Workman to eliminate Kutztown 6-1 Saturday afternoon. The senior from Ivydale was the Jackets' starting pitcher, and he threw a complete-game six-hitter. Meanwhile, at the plate, Workman flashed his conference Hitter of the Year credentials, going 3-4, including a two-run single in State's decisive three-run rally in the bottom of the 5th.
The Yellow Jackets had to immediately follow their win over Kutztown in the afternoon with a night game against Mercyhurst, and the quick turnaround may have had an impact. Mercyhurst jumped out to a 5-0 lead after three innings, chasing WVSU starter Mike Barron in the process.
WVSU replied with a three-run rally in the bottom of the 4th, another three-run rally in the 5th and a single run in the 7th to go ahead 7-5.
But the bullpen couldn't hold the lead. Mercyhurst answered with a game-tying two-run rally in the 8th, then took the lead in the 9th on John Blike's pinch-hit RBI double.
The Yellow Jackets then had to wait out an agonizing 97-minute rain delay before getting to bat in the bottom of the 9th. Josh Bower drew a walk to lead off the inning, and advanced to third with two outs. But Mercyhurst's Jamie Walczak struck out State DH J.D. Broderick on a 2-2 pitch to end State's season.
WVSU coach Cal Bailey will have some roster restructuring to do for 2010. The Jackets will lose eight seniors, among them Workman, Broderick, 1B Michael Deleeuw and 2B Chad Chambers. But, as always seem to be the case in Institute, the cupboard won't be entirely bare. Among a strong core group of returning players are Bower, WVIAC home run champion Bo Darby, 3B Joey Jobst, C Jeremy Fisher, pitchers Ryne Holstine and Jacob Kight and P/INF Nate Koepsel.
NOTES:
Concord's Cullen, Shepherd 3B Brian Collins and West Virginia State's Workman and Chambers earned spots on the All-Atlantic Regional Team .... West Chester completed an undefeated run through the regional with 14-0 paddling of Mercyhurst in Sunday's championship game; the Golden Rams outscored their opponents 35-6 in their four wins at Owls Field .... West Chester advances to the Division II National Championship Tournament starting Friday, May 23 at the U.S. Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, NC .... Joining the Golden Rams in the championship field are Grand Valley State, Mesa State, Dowling, Belmont Abbey, Lynn and UC San Diego. Central Missouri and Emporia State were playing for the eighth and final championship berth in their regional final at the time of the writing of this article Monday afternoon .... The next potentially big event for the WVIAC's star players is baseball's amateur draft on Tuesday, June 9.
WVIAC champion Shepherd was the first conference team to bow out of the playoffs in West Lawn, PA, falling to West Chester 10-1 on Friday.
West Chester starting pitcher Bret Moyer shut down the Rams' offense. Moyer allowed only two hits in eight innings, striking out nine while improving his record to 10-1.
Meanwhile, the Golden Rams banged out 14 hits -- five for extra bases -- against four Shepherd pitchers. West Chester catcher Bob Stumpo was the star, going 4-5 with a home run, a triple, three runs scored and three RBIs.
Concord was the next WVIAC team to get knocked out, dropping a 9-4 decision to Kutztown Friday afternoon. The Golden Bears reached Concord starter Trey Smith for three runs in the top of the 1st; Concord squared the game with two runs in the bottom of the 1st and a single run in the 3rd.
But the Mountain Lions' defense betrayed them in the top of the 4th. Concord committed two errors and uncorked three wild pitches, allowing Kutztown to score four unearned runs to take the lead.
For the second straight year, Concord ended with four consecutive post-season defeats -- two at the conference tournament and two in the regional.
On the upside, coach Kevin Garrett loses only three seniors (C Will Moody, OF Tim Merolillo, P Allen Schurdell) from this year's 27-15 club. With the bulk of the roster due back -- including Brooks Cullen, Donovan Huffer, Greyson Schramm -- the Mountain Lions will be one of the favorites to win the WVIAC in 2010.
West Virginia State wound up as the WVIAC's last hope. The Yellow Jackets downed Kutztown 4-1 on Friday morning, then fell into the losers' bracket after a 4-1 defeat to Mercyhurst Friday night.
WVSU rebounded with a superlative performance from Eric Workman to eliminate Kutztown 6-1 Saturday afternoon. The senior from Ivydale was the Jackets' starting pitcher, and he threw a complete-game six-hitter. Meanwhile, at the plate, Workman flashed his conference Hitter of the Year credentials, going 3-4, including a two-run single in State's decisive three-run rally in the bottom of the 5th.
The Yellow Jackets had to immediately follow their win over Kutztown in the afternoon with a night game against Mercyhurst, and the quick turnaround may have had an impact. Mercyhurst jumped out to a 5-0 lead after three innings, chasing WVSU starter Mike Barron in the process.
WVSU replied with a three-run rally in the bottom of the 4th, another three-run rally in the 5th and a single run in the 7th to go ahead 7-5.
But the bullpen couldn't hold the lead. Mercyhurst answered with a game-tying two-run rally in the 8th, then took the lead in the 9th on John Blike's pinch-hit RBI double.
The Yellow Jackets then had to wait out an agonizing 97-minute rain delay before getting to bat in the bottom of the 9th. Josh Bower drew a walk to lead off the inning, and advanced to third with two outs. But Mercyhurst's Jamie Walczak struck out State DH J.D. Broderick on a 2-2 pitch to end State's season.
WVSU coach Cal Bailey will have some roster restructuring to do for 2010. The Jackets will lose eight seniors, among them Workman, Broderick, 1B Michael Deleeuw and 2B Chad Chambers. But, as always seem to be the case in Institute, the cupboard won't be entirely bare. Among a strong core group of returning players are Bower, WVIAC home run champion Bo Darby, 3B Joey Jobst, C Jeremy Fisher, pitchers Ryne Holstine and Jacob Kight and P/INF Nate Koepsel.
NOTES:
Concord's Cullen, Shepherd 3B Brian Collins and West Virginia State's Workman and Chambers earned spots on the All-Atlantic Regional Team .... West Chester completed an undefeated run through the regional with 14-0 paddling of Mercyhurst in Sunday's championship game; the Golden Rams outscored their opponents 35-6 in their four wins at Owls Field .... West Chester advances to the Division II National Championship Tournament starting Friday, May 23 at the U.S. Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, NC .... Joining the Golden Rams in the championship field are Grand Valley State, Mesa State, Dowling, Belmont Abbey, Lynn and UC San Diego. Central Missouri and Emporia State were playing for the eighth and final championship berth in their regional final at the time of the writing of this article Monday afternoon .... The next potentially big event for the WVIAC's star players is baseball's amateur draft on Tuesday, June 9.
Friday, May 15, 2009
LOB = SOL
The first round of play at the NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional baseball tournament is over, and it was marked mostly by frustration for WVIAC.
Both Concord and Shepherd had little trouble runners on, but much trouble in bringing them in to score.
The Mountain Lions left 11 runners on base, five in scoring position, in their 5-3 loss to West Chester. Concord went just 2-14 with runners in scoring position in suffering a third consecutive loss.
The Rams were actually outdone in the LOB category by Mercyhurst, 11-10, in the Lakers' 3-1 win. The outcome hinged on taking advantage of opportunities. Mercyhurst scored all the runs they would need with two outs in the 1st inning; Shepherd starter Matt McCarty set the table by hitting a batter and walking another, the Lakers then got consecutive RBI singles from Ethan Santora and Trey Bennett.
Meanwhile, Shepherd wound up out-hitting the Lakers 9-4, but left the bases loaded twice.
West Virginia State got the WVIAC into the win column with their victory over Kutztown. The Yellow Jackets got a strong effort from starting pitcher Shane Long (8 IP, 6 H, 1 ER) and clutch 9th-inning RBI single from Joey Jobst and an RBI fielder's choice from Nate Koepsel. The rally broke open a close game and propelled the Jackets to a 4-1 win.
Rain has wreaked havoc on the tournament in West Lawn, PA. The start of play Thursday was delayed by two hours, Shepherd and Mercyhurst had to wait out a 40-minute rain delay before finishing their matchup, and the WVSU-Kutztown game was rained out Thursday night and had to be played at 9:00 am Friday.
The delays could result in nine games having to be played between Friday morning and Sunday afternoon. That's a lot of baseball....
Both Concord and Shepherd had little trouble runners on, but much trouble in bringing them in to score.
The Mountain Lions left 11 runners on base, five in scoring position, in their 5-3 loss to West Chester. Concord went just 2-14 with runners in scoring position in suffering a third consecutive loss.
The Rams were actually outdone in the LOB category by Mercyhurst, 11-10, in the Lakers' 3-1 win. The outcome hinged on taking advantage of opportunities. Mercyhurst scored all the runs they would need with two outs in the 1st inning; Shepherd starter Matt McCarty set the table by hitting a batter and walking another, the Lakers then got consecutive RBI singles from Ethan Santora and Trey Bennett.
Meanwhile, Shepherd wound up out-hitting the Lakers 9-4, but left the bases loaded twice.
West Virginia State got the WVIAC into the win column with their victory over Kutztown. The Yellow Jackets got a strong effort from starting pitcher Shane Long (8 IP, 6 H, 1 ER) and clutch 9th-inning RBI single from Joey Jobst and an RBI fielder's choice from Nate Koepsel. The rally broke open a close game and propelled the Jackets to a 4-1 win.
Rain has wreaked havoc on the tournament in West Lawn, PA. The start of play Thursday was delayed by two hours, Shepherd and Mercyhurst had to wait out a 40-minute rain delay before finishing their matchup, and the WVSU-Kutztown game was rained out Thursday night and had to be played at 9:00 am Friday.
The delays could result in nine games having to be played between Friday morning and Sunday afternoon. That's a lot of baseball....
Monday, May 11, 2009
Not Over Yet
Concord baseball coach Kevin Garrett has described the last month or so as a "roller-coaster ride."
In that month, the Mountain Lions:
> Stumbled through losing three out of four games in an important series against West Virginia State, which ultimately cost Concord a chance at the WVIAC Southern Division title....
> Recovered to win nine straight games, secure a spot in the conference tournament and put themselves firmly in the running for, at the very least, an NCAA tournament at-large bid....
> Saw their league-leading offense fall silent while going two-and-out at the WVIAC tournament, putting themselves back on the NCAA bubble.
But Garrett's roller-coaster ride has yet to stop. In fact, it just got a lot more exciting.
The Mountain Lions found out late Sunday night that they had earned the sixth and final spot in the NCAA Atlantic Region tournament, which starts Thursday, May 14, in West Lawn, Pennsylvania.
"We sat around all week, not knowing if we were in or not," Garrett said of the long week between the end of the WVIAC tournament May 3 and the announcement of the NCAA bids. "That's the worst part, not knowing. So we practiced like we were in. Everybody on our team was extremely excited (when the bids came out)."
It's typical for college baseball teams to play 50 or more games in a season. But soggy weather this spring has limited Concord to only 40.
The Mountain Lions' 27-13 record, on the surface, isn't as impressive as some other teams in the Atlantic Region. Fellow WVIAC teams Seton Hill and Pitt-Johnstown didn't get a bid, despite respective records of 30-17 and 29-15. Slippery Rock, of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, is also left out despite finishing 36-15.
So how did Concord get in?
"Strength of schedule was the number one thing for us," said Garrett, who makes a point of scheduling tough opponents, "and our in-region record against ranked opponents."
Highlighting Concord's in-region performance this season: A three-game sweep at eventual WVIAC champion Shepherd April 4-5, and a doubleheader sweep of Seton Hill in Athens on the final day of the regular season.
Concord also enhanced its NCAA chances by splitting two games with Wayne State (Nebraska), which is 42-13 and the #3 seed in the Central Region, and by playing two games at Armstrong Atlantic State during spring break. While the Mountain Lions lost both games to AASU, the Pirates went 38-18 this season, a number that surely helped Concord's strength-of-schedule.
So the roller-coaster ride continues.
Which presents a particular series of challenges and a greater workload at what is already a very busy time of year -- it's finals week on the Campus Beautiful.
"Their finals are the number one priority right now," Garrett said of his players on Monday. "Since we are leaving on Wednesday (May 13), they need to reschedule their finals for today and Tuesday."
But Garrett acknowledges that's a nice problem to have for a team who could just as easily be spending today packing up its equipment and going through end-of-the-season interviews with an eye on 2010.
Instead, it's on to the Regional, and a meeting with top seed West Chester. The Golden Rams are 42-10, won the PSAC East Division by five games and clubbed West Division winner Mercyhurst 16-2 in the conference championship game last Thursday.
"They are a very good baseball team," Garrett says of West Chester. "Depending on what national poll you look at, they are as high as second. (They are) the number one seed in the region (and) have held that number one spot pretty much the whole season. Once you reach this level, there are no weak teams."
The regional may as well be called "The 2009 WVIAC-PSAC Challenge." Besides the Concord-West Chester matchup, other first round games have Shepherd against Mercyhurst and WVIAC runner-up West Virginia State meeting Kutztown, which finished second in PSAC East.
"It gives us a 50% chance to advance a team from the WVIAC to the (Division II) World Series," Garret said of the weekend ahead. "It’s a nice feeling to say that you are one of 48 teams in the nation practicing right now."
Let the roller-coaster ride keep rolling.
In that month, the Mountain Lions:
> Stumbled through losing three out of four games in an important series against West Virginia State, which ultimately cost Concord a chance at the WVIAC Southern Division title....
> Recovered to win nine straight games, secure a spot in the conference tournament and put themselves firmly in the running for, at the very least, an NCAA tournament at-large bid....
> Saw their league-leading offense fall silent while going two-and-out at the WVIAC tournament, putting themselves back on the NCAA bubble.
But Garrett's roller-coaster ride has yet to stop. In fact, it just got a lot more exciting.
The Mountain Lions found out late Sunday night that they had earned the sixth and final spot in the NCAA Atlantic Region tournament, which starts Thursday, May 14, in West Lawn, Pennsylvania.
"We sat around all week, not knowing if we were in or not," Garrett said of the long week between the end of the WVIAC tournament May 3 and the announcement of the NCAA bids. "That's the worst part, not knowing. So we practiced like we were in. Everybody on our team was extremely excited (when the bids came out)."
It's typical for college baseball teams to play 50 or more games in a season. But soggy weather this spring has limited Concord to only 40.
The Mountain Lions' 27-13 record, on the surface, isn't as impressive as some other teams in the Atlantic Region. Fellow WVIAC teams Seton Hill and Pitt-Johnstown didn't get a bid, despite respective records of 30-17 and 29-15. Slippery Rock, of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, is also left out despite finishing 36-15.
So how did Concord get in?
"Strength of schedule was the number one thing for us," said Garrett, who makes a point of scheduling tough opponents, "and our in-region record against ranked opponents."
Highlighting Concord's in-region performance this season: A three-game sweep at eventual WVIAC champion Shepherd April 4-5, and a doubleheader sweep of Seton Hill in Athens on the final day of the regular season.
Concord also enhanced its NCAA chances by splitting two games with Wayne State (Nebraska), which is 42-13 and the #3 seed in the Central Region, and by playing two games at Armstrong Atlantic State during spring break. While the Mountain Lions lost both games to AASU, the Pirates went 38-18 this season, a number that surely helped Concord's strength-of-schedule.
So the roller-coaster ride continues.
Which presents a particular series of challenges and a greater workload at what is already a very busy time of year -- it's finals week on the Campus Beautiful.
"Their finals are the number one priority right now," Garrett said of his players on Monday. "Since we are leaving on Wednesday (May 13), they need to reschedule their finals for today and Tuesday."
But Garrett acknowledges that's a nice problem to have for a team who could just as easily be spending today packing up its equipment and going through end-of-the-season interviews with an eye on 2010.
Instead, it's on to the Regional, and a meeting with top seed West Chester. The Golden Rams are 42-10, won the PSAC East Division by five games and clubbed West Division winner Mercyhurst 16-2 in the conference championship game last Thursday.
"They are a very good baseball team," Garrett says of West Chester. "Depending on what national poll you look at, they are as high as second. (They are) the number one seed in the region (and) have held that number one spot pretty much the whole season. Once you reach this level, there are no weak teams."
The regional may as well be called "The 2009 WVIAC-PSAC Challenge." Besides the Concord-West Chester matchup, other first round games have Shepherd against Mercyhurst and WVIAC runner-up West Virginia State meeting Kutztown, which finished second in PSAC East.
"It gives us a 50% chance to advance a team from the WVIAC to the (Division II) World Series," Garret said of the weekend ahead. "It’s a nice feeling to say that you are one of 48 teams in the nation practicing right now."
Let the roller-coaster ride keep rolling.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
There's a Wrong Way, Part II
Reading how David Steele was unceremoniously fired from the Baltimore Sun got me to thinking....
There's an old saying in my line of work: "You haven't really worked in radio until you've been fired."
If that's true, then I have indeed "worked in radio."
I've been fired from radio stations twice. Each time it had nothing to do with my work.
The first time, I was fired from a small station in my home state. I'd been there seven years and had figuratively helped build the station from the ground up. The general manager hired me away from another station because, as he said, "we want to start a Sports Department and you're the best guy to do it."
The GM let me essentially run my own shop. We did good work, had fun doing it, and had a Sales Department that was in our corner. Eventually, Sports became the station's most profitable department.
But, one day, as happens in radio, the station was bought out. New ownership came in and new managers took over. Among them was a new GM who took great pains to tell everyone that he had experience in Chicago and New York.
What relevance that had to running a small station in a small town in a small state, we were uncertain. But it was important to him that we knew.
(About that same time, my grandmother passed away. The day she died, I was down with a terrible case of influenza, so I couldn't make it to the hospital in time to say goodbye. That still bothers me to this very day.)
After taking over, the new GM made cuts -- of costs and people. He let go a bunch of part-timers, including those that worked under me.
As a result I was expected to be at the station at 5:00 am for the morning shift, and stay there until the evening news was done at 6:15 pm.
Bad Sign #1.
The new GM also called a series of "important planning meetings for the entire air staff," only to conspicuously un-invite me.
Bad Sign #2.
At one of those "important planning meetings" the new GM told the staff that he was thinking of eliminating Sports. However, we had already promised our sponsors a certain amount of games and related programming, and eliminating Sports would mean a loss of revenue. So the new GM swore everyone to secrecy until he made a final decision.
Bad Sign #3.
Soon after our sports broadcast season ended (about two months after my grandmother died), the new GM called me in for a meeting.
He started it by asking, "You recently lost a relative, right? Your grandmother or something? Must have been tough. How are you feeling about it?"
"Well, you're right, it has been tough," I said. "Especially since I was so sick on the day she died, and...."
He raised his hand and cut me off.
"Yeah, well, get over it."
(Get over it?)
While I bristled over his callousness, he explained that, in his experience in New York and Chicago, he found that nobody -- and he emphasized "NOBODY" -- listens to sports on the radio anymore. So he was eliminating the Sports Department and me along with it.
Effective immediately.
I sat there, shocked and saddened.
No thank you's, no pats on the back, no handshakes, no "hang in there."
Just a curt, "This meeting is over. You have 15 minutes to clean your desk and leave the building."
Quickly and quietly, I did.
The new GM promised me a severance package and a three-month continuance of my health insurance.
Three days later, he reneged.
Three days after that, after I'd filed for unemployment (with no severance to fall back on, I had no choice), he challenged my claim.
It got nasty.
He fabricated a story that I'd "made a statement harmful to the station's reputation" while calling a game. He also alleged I'd been "combative and insubordinate after being provided the opportunity to pursue other professional possibilities."
That led to an investigation by the state.
The new GM couldn't substantiate his allegations, because they were, well, a fabrication. An audiotape review proved I'd made no "hurtful" statement, and a state deposition of the station's internal memos revealed the GM had conspired to make up his story.
The state investigator told me "the plaintiff's allegations are unfounded ... and, between you and me, this is one of the easiest decisions I've ever made."
The station lost a lot of sponsors, and, with them, a lot of revenue.
The moral of the story is that I can empathize with David Steele.
Even when you can see your firing coming, it still hurts when it arrives.
It hurts even more when the person doing the firing adds to the pain.
There's a right way to fire someone, and a wrong way.
There's an old saying in my line of work: "You haven't really worked in radio until you've been fired."
If that's true, then I have indeed "worked in radio."
I've been fired from radio stations twice. Each time it had nothing to do with my work.
The first time, I was fired from a small station in my home state. I'd been there seven years and had figuratively helped build the station from the ground up. The general manager hired me away from another station because, as he said, "we want to start a Sports Department and you're the best guy to do it."
The GM let me essentially run my own shop. We did good work, had fun doing it, and had a Sales Department that was in our corner. Eventually, Sports became the station's most profitable department.
But, one day, as happens in radio, the station was bought out. New ownership came in and new managers took over. Among them was a new GM who took great pains to tell everyone that he had experience in Chicago and New York.
What relevance that had to running a small station in a small town in a small state, we were uncertain. But it was important to him that we knew.
(About that same time, my grandmother passed away. The day she died, I was down with a terrible case of influenza, so I couldn't make it to the hospital in time to say goodbye. That still bothers me to this very day.)
After taking over, the new GM made cuts -- of costs and people. He let go a bunch of part-timers, including those that worked under me.
As a result I was expected to be at the station at 5:00 am for the morning shift, and stay there until the evening news was done at 6:15 pm.
Bad Sign #1.
The new GM also called a series of "important planning meetings for the entire air staff," only to conspicuously un-invite me.
Bad Sign #2.
At one of those "important planning meetings" the new GM told the staff that he was thinking of eliminating Sports. However, we had already promised our sponsors a certain amount of games and related programming, and eliminating Sports would mean a loss of revenue. So the new GM swore everyone to secrecy until he made a final decision.
Bad Sign #3.
Soon after our sports broadcast season ended (about two months after my grandmother died), the new GM called me in for a meeting.
He started it by asking, "You recently lost a relative, right? Your grandmother or something? Must have been tough. How are you feeling about it?"
"Well, you're right, it has been tough," I said. "Especially since I was so sick on the day she died, and...."
He raised his hand and cut me off.
"Yeah, well, get over it."
(Get over it?)
While I bristled over his callousness, he explained that, in his experience in New York and Chicago, he found that nobody -- and he emphasized "NOBODY" -- listens to sports on the radio anymore. So he was eliminating the Sports Department and me along with it.
Effective immediately.
I sat there, shocked and saddened.
No thank you's, no pats on the back, no handshakes, no "hang in there."
Just a curt, "This meeting is over. You have 15 minutes to clean your desk and leave the building."
Quickly and quietly, I did.
The new GM promised me a severance package and a three-month continuance of my health insurance.
Three days later, he reneged.
Three days after that, after I'd filed for unemployment (with no severance to fall back on, I had no choice), he challenged my claim.
It got nasty.
He fabricated a story that I'd "made a statement harmful to the station's reputation" while calling a game. He also alleged I'd been "combative and insubordinate after being provided the opportunity to pursue other professional possibilities."
That led to an investigation by the state.
The new GM couldn't substantiate his allegations, because they were, well, a fabrication. An audiotape review proved I'd made no "hurtful" statement, and a state deposition of the station's internal memos revealed the GM had conspired to make up his story.
The state investigator told me "the plaintiff's allegations are unfounded ... and, between you and me, this is one of the easiest decisions I've ever made."
The station lost a lot of sponsors, and, with them, a lot of revenue.
The moral of the story is that I can empathize with David Steele.
Even when you can see your firing coming, it still hurts when it arrives.
It hurts even more when the person doing the firing adds to the pain.
There's a right way to fire someone, and a wrong way.
There's a Right Way and a Wrong Way
We all know times are tough. We also know times are even tougher in the newspaper industry, which is hemorrhaging jobs. We further know that the bottom line is a cruel master and that it's difficult to fire somebody.
But this is ridiculous.
Here's the story behind how a man lost his job, and a venerable newspaper lost a very good baseball writer.
(Credit: Realclearsports.com)
May 05, 2009
Press Box Layoff: How the Baltimore Sun Fired Me
By David Steele
Full disclosure: the first two times I was given stunning news about my newspaper job – in 1986 at the about-to-merge St. Petersburg Evening Independent, and in 1991 at the about-to-be-defunct National Sports Daily – I didn’t get it face-to-face either time. Also full disclosure: the latter time, I learned while in the press box at a Baltimore Orioles game, too.
Of course, I was, respectively, 21 and 26 years old back then. It’s a little different when you’re 44, when you’ve been in the business more than half your life … and when it’s your specific job, not your entire newspaper, which has just become defunct. And when the people responsible for giving you the news were a few dozen blocks away, calling you on your cell phone in the middle of a baseball game you thought you were going to write a column about for the next day’s paper.
To answer your question: yes, it felt just as bad as you imagine it would. To answer another of your questions: no, I have no real desire to visit the press box at an Orioles game any time soon. Next time, maybe I’ll be told that they’re foreclosing on my house during the seventh-inning stretch.
It’s sort of funny that even five days later, there were a lot of people in the news industry who thought it was an unconfirmed rumor: that three of the more than 40 Baltimore Sun staffers laid off on Wednesday, April 29, found out when their editors called their cell phones while they were at that fateful Orioles game. Let me confirm that definitively for everybody, because I was one of the ones who got that call, the second of the three, if my timeline is correct. A fourth got a similar call, but with the option of moving out of sports to return to a previous news reporter position. Otherwise, the list of injured bystanders was me, our other general sports columnist Rick Maese, and photographer Elizabeth Malby.
All of us had shown up at Oriole Park at Camden Yards that morning (for a 12:35 first pitch) heartbroken over a staff purge the previous afternoon and apprehensive about if, or when, another wave might come. I had seen a collection of goodbye emails from those staffers, mainly editors – including one of the best in my department, an experienced and invaluable voice in Ray Frager – that morning before I headed to the game. Other names I heard about on a phone call from a friend and former colleague while driving to the ballpark, seemingly sacred names, all of them presumably vital to the very act of putting the paper out every day, until that day at least.
The Sun contingent at the ballpark confirmed the rest of the names, including another longtime editor, George VanDaniker, whom I had just spoken to the afternoon before … to ask to leave me a parking pass for this game in my office mailbox. I had picked up the parking pass that morning, and thought that the security guard posted at the entrance to the walkway from the garage was there because of a recent spate of car break-ins. In hindsight, I probably should have been a little more attuned to the hints screaming out at me, instead of, you know, the game I had to write about later that day.
As game time approached, everybody was speculating about the next possible string of layoffs, with worst-case scenarios putting it at the end of the week. I was nervous, but a few of the others on hand were much more so, because they had come to the Sun since I had arrived and were sure they were the most vulnerable. I didn’t feel that much safer, and it was no relief whatsoever to think that they might be out in the street even if I would survive for the time being. It was impossible to think that your days there were suddenly numbered, no matter how big or small that number was.
Days? It turned out that what was numbered were our hours.
Not long before the game started, Liz left the press box and headed down to the field with all her gear, and we decided we’d talk later about what had gone on at the paper the day before. I made a couple of calls about columns I was planning for the weekend – Morgan State’s basketball coach signing a new contract and the first celebration of Negro Leagues Day at city hall on Saturday. Things got underway, and for a while, my predominant thought was how cold it was for late April, after several days in the 90s, and how a column idea wasn’t exactly jumping out at me so far.
Soon, Peter Schmuck, our columnist/blogger, told me that he had just been told to write live for the next day. That’s crazy, I said, we can’t have two columns from this game. There must be a mistake. Or some other news is breaking and I need to switch. Or my editor forgot that I told him I’d be here. Or something. Oh, it was something all right, but again, the giant hint just whizzed right over my head. Schmuck figured it was a mistake, too, and dashed off an email to tell our editor that we were both here, so let’s try to clear this up.
Not long after that, around 2 p.m., one of the other writers pulled me aside: “Maese just sent a text saying he got laid off." It was a perfectly legible sentence, but it made no sense to anyone there. It’s the middle of the game, they just had layoffs yesterday, he’s a prominent columnist … huh? It wasn’t anything to joke about, but it didn’t sound true at all. But he had, for the moment, disappeared from his seat.
I went back to my seat and saw that there was a message on my cell from the office. I hadn’t turned the ringer back up after the manager’s pre-game press conference, so I hadn’t heard it. The message: call back as soon as you get this. Good, I thought, we’ll straighten out this business of who is writing for the next day. Which, technically, is what happened. Still, apparently, I was either completely clueless or in total denial, I’m still not sure which.
It didn’t matter. I called back and got the voice mail. At 2:34 p.m. (that time-stamp is kind of stuck in my head for the time being), the office called back. I went into a hallway behind the press box and answered it with something like, “Hey, what’s up?’’ Or “What’s going on?’’ Along those lines.
My editor greeted me, paused, took a deep breath. “David, I’m sorry you have to be told this way …"
I actually doubled over. It wasn’t a sharp pain, and it wasn’t like I was about to get sick. It was more like a knot in my stomach. I know I said, “Aw, shit,’’ but I don’t know how loud I said it, apparently not loudly enough for my editor to take note of it. The rest is a little fuzzy, something about just now getting the list and the union and not wanting me to hear it from someone else and getting paid through the end of May and severance and human resources and return your possessions to us and thank you for your hard work and professionalism and blah blah blah.
Brief digression:
In October 1986, I was on a road trip to cover the Buccaneers-Chiefs game in Kansas City, and when my flight landed in Tampa the following night, the friend who picked me up at the airport was holding up a copy of the paper announcing it was going to merge with the St. Pete Times in a month or so. Back then, there were no cell phones, or at least I didn’t have one of those suitcase-sized ones. The editors knew I was traveling that day, so there was nothing else they could do.
In June 1991, I was at old Memorial Stadium, assigned to do the usual summary and notes for the game that night. I overheard two people in the press box saying what a shame it was that the National didn’t make it. I called my answering machine (again, no cell phones, or even pagers), and first heard a friend expressing the same sentiment, then an editor saying to call the office right away, the messages minutes apart. The main office was in New York, and reporters for the various editions were spread across the country. Teams of editors were working the staff phone lists as fast as they could, but no one had made it to “S’’ in time. Again, logistically, not much else could have been done. Both times, I thought I was just really unlucky to have two papers die from up under me at a young age.
For some reason, I stuck with it, moved around some more, worked my way up to columnist, then made it to the paper less than an hour up the road from where I grew up, the paper I felt I knew all about even if I didn’t see it every day, the paper I knew so many people at long before I ever started working there. A paper that got into huge trouble soon after I got there – and by “got into huge trouble,’’ I mean, “was bought by a so-called financial wizard who deserves to spend the rest of his life in jail’’ – but one I felt more attached to than any other one I’d been at.
And just like that, I was unattached, by phone, while on an assignment.
The next couple of hours were a flurry of shocked expressions and reactions, condolences, bitterness and dread, plus lots of phone calls to family members and friends whom, ironically, I didn’t want to hear the news from someone else. Rick – who is roughly the age I was when the National sank – looked as if someone had drained all the blood from his body.
The overriding theme from all concerned: “They couldn’t tell you to your face?’’
They had their reasons. Step back far enough and squint really hard and you can see them. As long as you ignore the fact that they made arrangements to get a replacement column into the paper long before they ever dialed my number. And the fact that if you go up high in the stands behind home plate, you probably can see the Sun building from Camden Yards. It’s not a plane flight away. It’s literally walking distance; Sun people with tickets had been making that walk since the ballpark opened. In fact, that day, not long after a water main had broken downtown and ground traffic to a halt, walking probably would have been faster.
Not that there is any good way to tell someone he’s been laid off, just as there is no good way to fire a manager. But there’s a way not to fire him – ask Willie Randolph. (I’m now in the market for a Willie Randolph Mets jersey to commemorate the occasion.)
Then, there is this to consider: the people ultimately responsible, for the gutting of the paper and the callous treatment of its employees, whether they were in the office at the time or not, are a plane flight away. Clearly, to them “Baltimore Sun’’ is just a line on a balance sheet. Or a bankruptcy claim, in this case. Practically speaking, none of us should even have had low expectations for how this would be handled. “No expectations’’ was probably shooting too high.
Eventually, I packed up to leave (since I now knew I didn’t have to write) and decided to send a goodbye email to the people back at the paper, and grab a couple of numbers for the editors let go earlier, Ray and George. I couldn’t log in. My email password had already been canceled.
So I gathered my things and went down the hall to where the photographers develop and send their shots from the game. Liz was in the back, on her computer, game photos on the screen, talking on her cell … to her editor. She tilted her head toward me. “I just got laid off,’’ she whispered.
“You too?’’ I replied.
David Steele is a sports columnist, formerly of the Baltimore Sun and San Francisco Chronicle. He may be reached at dcsteele@hotmail.com.
But this is ridiculous.
Here's the story behind how a man lost his job, and a venerable newspaper lost a very good baseball writer.
(Credit: Realclearsports.com)
May 05, 2009
Press Box Layoff: How the Baltimore Sun Fired Me
By David Steele
Full disclosure: the first two times I was given stunning news about my newspaper job – in 1986 at the about-to-merge St. Petersburg Evening Independent, and in 1991 at the about-to-be-defunct National Sports Daily – I didn’t get it face-to-face either time. Also full disclosure: the latter time, I learned while in the press box at a Baltimore Orioles game, too.
Of course, I was, respectively, 21 and 26 years old back then. It’s a little different when you’re 44, when you’ve been in the business more than half your life … and when it’s your specific job, not your entire newspaper, which has just become defunct. And when the people responsible for giving you the news were a few dozen blocks away, calling you on your cell phone in the middle of a baseball game you thought you were going to write a column about for the next day’s paper.
To answer your question: yes, it felt just as bad as you imagine it would. To answer another of your questions: no, I have no real desire to visit the press box at an Orioles game any time soon. Next time, maybe I’ll be told that they’re foreclosing on my house during the seventh-inning stretch.
It’s sort of funny that even five days later, there were a lot of people in the news industry who thought it was an unconfirmed rumor: that three of the more than 40 Baltimore Sun staffers laid off on Wednesday, April 29, found out when their editors called their cell phones while they were at that fateful Orioles game. Let me confirm that definitively for everybody, because I was one of the ones who got that call, the second of the three, if my timeline is correct. A fourth got a similar call, but with the option of moving out of sports to return to a previous news reporter position. Otherwise, the list of injured bystanders was me, our other general sports columnist Rick Maese, and photographer Elizabeth Malby.
All of us had shown up at Oriole Park at Camden Yards that morning (for a 12:35 first pitch) heartbroken over a staff purge the previous afternoon and apprehensive about if, or when, another wave might come. I had seen a collection of goodbye emails from those staffers, mainly editors – including one of the best in my department, an experienced and invaluable voice in Ray Frager – that morning before I headed to the game. Other names I heard about on a phone call from a friend and former colleague while driving to the ballpark, seemingly sacred names, all of them presumably vital to the very act of putting the paper out every day, until that day at least.
The Sun contingent at the ballpark confirmed the rest of the names, including another longtime editor, George VanDaniker, whom I had just spoken to the afternoon before … to ask to leave me a parking pass for this game in my office mailbox. I had picked up the parking pass that morning, and thought that the security guard posted at the entrance to the walkway from the garage was there because of a recent spate of car break-ins. In hindsight, I probably should have been a little more attuned to the hints screaming out at me, instead of, you know, the game I had to write about later that day.
As game time approached, everybody was speculating about the next possible string of layoffs, with worst-case scenarios putting it at the end of the week. I was nervous, but a few of the others on hand were much more so, because they had come to the Sun since I had arrived and were sure they were the most vulnerable. I didn’t feel that much safer, and it was no relief whatsoever to think that they might be out in the street even if I would survive for the time being. It was impossible to think that your days there were suddenly numbered, no matter how big or small that number was.
Days? It turned out that what was numbered were our hours.
Not long before the game started, Liz left the press box and headed down to the field with all her gear, and we decided we’d talk later about what had gone on at the paper the day before. I made a couple of calls about columns I was planning for the weekend – Morgan State’s basketball coach signing a new contract and the first celebration of Negro Leagues Day at city hall on Saturday. Things got underway, and for a while, my predominant thought was how cold it was for late April, after several days in the 90s, and how a column idea wasn’t exactly jumping out at me so far.
Soon, Peter Schmuck, our columnist/blogger, told me that he had just been told to write live for the next day. That’s crazy, I said, we can’t have two columns from this game. There must be a mistake. Or some other news is breaking and I need to switch. Or my editor forgot that I told him I’d be here. Or something. Oh, it was something all right, but again, the giant hint just whizzed right over my head. Schmuck figured it was a mistake, too, and dashed off an email to tell our editor that we were both here, so let’s try to clear this up.
Not long after that, around 2 p.m., one of the other writers pulled me aside: “Maese just sent a text saying he got laid off." It was a perfectly legible sentence, but it made no sense to anyone there. It’s the middle of the game, they just had layoffs yesterday, he’s a prominent columnist … huh? It wasn’t anything to joke about, but it didn’t sound true at all. But he had, for the moment, disappeared from his seat.
I went back to my seat and saw that there was a message on my cell from the office. I hadn’t turned the ringer back up after the manager’s pre-game press conference, so I hadn’t heard it. The message: call back as soon as you get this. Good, I thought, we’ll straighten out this business of who is writing for the next day. Which, technically, is what happened. Still, apparently, I was either completely clueless or in total denial, I’m still not sure which.
It didn’t matter. I called back and got the voice mail. At 2:34 p.m. (that time-stamp is kind of stuck in my head for the time being), the office called back. I went into a hallway behind the press box and answered it with something like, “Hey, what’s up?’’ Or “What’s going on?’’ Along those lines.
My editor greeted me, paused, took a deep breath. “David, I’m sorry you have to be told this way …"
I actually doubled over. It wasn’t a sharp pain, and it wasn’t like I was about to get sick. It was more like a knot in my stomach. I know I said, “Aw, shit,’’ but I don’t know how loud I said it, apparently not loudly enough for my editor to take note of it. The rest is a little fuzzy, something about just now getting the list and the union and not wanting me to hear it from someone else and getting paid through the end of May and severance and human resources and return your possessions to us and thank you for your hard work and professionalism and blah blah blah.
Brief digression:
In October 1986, I was on a road trip to cover the Buccaneers-Chiefs game in Kansas City, and when my flight landed in Tampa the following night, the friend who picked me up at the airport was holding up a copy of the paper announcing it was going to merge with the St. Pete Times in a month or so. Back then, there were no cell phones, or at least I didn’t have one of those suitcase-sized ones. The editors knew I was traveling that day, so there was nothing else they could do.
In June 1991, I was at old Memorial Stadium, assigned to do the usual summary and notes for the game that night. I overheard two people in the press box saying what a shame it was that the National didn’t make it. I called my answering machine (again, no cell phones, or even pagers), and first heard a friend expressing the same sentiment, then an editor saying to call the office right away, the messages minutes apart. The main office was in New York, and reporters for the various editions were spread across the country. Teams of editors were working the staff phone lists as fast as they could, but no one had made it to “S’’ in time. Again, logistically, not much else could have been done. Both times, I thought I was just really unlucky to have two papers die from up under me at a young age.
For some reason, I stuck with it, moved around some more, worked my way up to columnist, then made it to the paper less than an hour up the road from where I grew up, the paper I felt I knew all about even if I didn’t see it every day, the paper I knew so many people at long before I ever started working there. A paper that got into huge trouble soon after I got there – and by “got into huge trouble,’’ I mean, “was bought by a so-called financial wizard who deserves to spend the rest of his life in jail’’ – but one I felt more attached to than any other one I’d been at.
And just like that, I was unattached, by phone, while on an assignment.
The next couple of hours were a flurry of shocked expressions and reactions, condolences, bitterness and dread, plus lots of phone calls to family members and friends whom, ironically, I didn’t want to hear the news from someone else. Rick – who is roughly the age I was when the National sank – looked as if someone had drained all the blood from his body.
The overriding theme from all concerned: “They couldn’t tell you to your face?’’
They had their reasons. Step back far enough and squint really hard and you can see them. As long as you ignore the fact that they made arrangements to get a replacement column into the paper long before they ever dialed my number. And the fact that if you go up high in the stands behind home plate, you probably can see the Sun building from Camden Yards. It’s not a plane flight away. It’s literally walking distance; Sun people with tickets had been making that walk since the ballpark opened. In fact, that day, not long after a water main had broken downtown and ground traffic to a halt, walking probably would have been faster.
Not that there is any good way to tell someone he’s been laid off, just as there is no good way to fire a manager. But there’s a way not to fire him – ask Willie Randolph. (I’m now in the market for a Willie Randolph Mets jersey to commemorate the occasion.)
Then, there is this to consider: the people ultimately responsible, for the gutting of the paper and the callous treatment of its employees, whether they were in the office at the time or not, are a plane flight away. Clearly, to them “Baltimore Sun’’ is just a line on a balance sheet. Or a bankruptcy claim, in this case. Practically speaking, none of us should even have had low expectations for how this would be handled. “No expectations’’ was probably shooting too high.
Eventually, I packed up to leave (since I now knew I didn’t have to write) and decided to send a goodbye email to the people back at the paper, and grab a couple of numbers for the editors let go earlier, Ray and George. I couldn’t log in. My email password had already been canceled.
So I gathered my things and went down the hall to where the photographers develop and send their shots from the game. Liz was in the back, on her computer, game photos on the screen, talking on her cell … to her editor. She tilted her head toward me. “I just got laid off,’’ she whispered.
“You too?’’ I replied.
David Steele is a sports columnist, formerly of the Baltimore Sun and San Francisco Chronicle. He may be reached at dcsteele@hotmail.com.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Closing Thoughts on the WVIAC Baseball Tournament
The 2009 West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference baseball tournament has come and gone, and it's time to clear out the notebook with some final impressions....
Good pitching DOES beat good hitting.
Shepherd cruised to the title on the strength of its pitching staff. Over the four games the Rams played, their team ERA was a stellar 2.50, 1.82 runs a game better than the second-best team, Seton Hill -- which went two-and-out.
Rams' starter Matt McCarty was the star. Going 2-0 in two starts less than 72 hours apart, the senior from Stephens City, VA allowed only nine hits and three earned runs in 13 innings pitched (a 2.08 ERA).
In his first start, McCarty beat Concord, which went into the tournament with a league-leading .364 team batting average. He allowed the Mountain Lions only one run on four hits in six innings, while striking out ten.
In his next start, on two days' rest, McCarty arguably did better. He helped the Rams clinch the championship by limiting heavy-hitting West Virginia State to two runs and five hits over seven innings. (During the regular season, the Yellow Jackets hit .351 and bashed 66 home runs in 39 games.)
Shepherd's pitching neutralized WVSU's hitting in their two tournament matchups. In the Yellow Jackets' three wins in Johnstown (one over Fairmont State and the other two against Davis & Elkins) they totaled 59 hits with a .450 average and six home runs. In their two meetings with Shepherd, State mustered 15 hits, a minuscule batting average of .214 -- and no home runs.
The other way CAN be the best way.
The quirky dimensions of Point Stadium and the prevalent pitching philosophy in college baseball combined to make the park a haven for hitting to the opposite field.
In this aluminum bat-dominated era, most pitchers are reluctant to work the inside corner; a mistake there against a good hitter can lead to disaster. So, most of the better hitters in Johnstown faced a steady stream of pitches on the outside corner.
Right-handed hitters happily pinged pitches off the short porch in right, just 290 feet away, for easy doubles. Meanwhile, lefties battered the 40-foot high "Mesh Monster" fence in left field, where it's only 336 feet to the alley.
Don't expect that hitting approach to change anytime soon.
It's not about us, it's about them.
In an earlier post here on "Inside The Headset" I detailed the problems we had in trying to webcast the games at Point Stadium. While those problems did little to improve our happiness level, and certainly annoyed the fans who couldn't make it to Johnstown, they didn't diminish the teams' experience in Johnstown.
By most accounts, the players enjoyed their time at the tournament. So did the coaches, who appreciated Point Stadium's ability to withstand bad weather and still be playable, which helped the weekend stay essentially on schedule.
The Point's artificial surface and good drainage allows it to quickly recover from rainy weather. Good thing, too, since rain affected just about every day of the tournament.
The proximity of several hotels within walking distance of Point Stadium also aided the teams in their turnaround between games and removed a big logistical concern for the coaching staffs.
So, while it was a pain in the you-know-what for us in our attempt to broadcast the games, and the weather wasn't exactly ideal, it was a largely positive tournament experience for the teams involved. Which is what really matters.
Good help is hard to find....
...but not at Point Stadium. The tournament staff was outstanding from start to finish.
The grounds crew from the City of Johnstown was stellar in getting the field ready in the face of the frequent rain. The athletic training staff from the host school, Pitt-Johnstown, was constantly on call and responded quickly when needed.
Also doing superlative work was UPJ's sports information staff, which handled the official scoring, live stats, public address announcing, etc., and put out any fires that popped up.
A lot of hard work and long days go into planning and running an event like this. The UPJ staff handled it without a hitch.
I'd like to extend my heartfelt thanks and warmest regards to SID Chris Caputo, along with Nikki Babik, Scott Mamula, Elissa Till, Todd Williams, and everyone in the UPJ staff for making my stay in Johnstown so enjoyable. Thanks too to Seton Hill SID Jason Greene for his help.
Thanks again to Reid Amos, "The Voice of the West Virginia Conference," for his yeoman work in troubleshooting the webcast problems and allowing us to broadcast the games that we did.
Thanks as well to WVIAC Associate Commissioner Will Prewitt, who supervised the baseball tournament while also staying on top of the conference softball tournament and track and field meet, and did his usual quality job. Also, Will, thanks for the ride.
I've been invited back to be a part of the tournament next year and am already looking forward to it.
Consider me there.
Good pitching DOES beat good hitting.
Shepherd cruised to the title on the strength of its pitching staff. Over the four games the Rams played, their team ERA was a stellar 2.50, 1.82 runs a game better than the second-best team, Seton Hill -- which went two-and-out.
Rams' starter Matt McCarty was the star. Going 2-0 in two starts less than 72 hours apart, the senior from Stephens City, VA allowed only nine hits and three earned runs in 13 innings pitched (a 2.08 ERA).
In his first start, McCarty beat Concord, which went into the tournament with a league-leading .364 team batting average. He allowed the Mountain Lions only one run on four hits in six innings, while striking out ten.
In his next start, on two days' rest, McCarty arguably did better. He helped the Rams clinch the championship by limiting heavy-hitting West Virginia State to two runs and five hits over seven innings. (During the regular season, the Yellow Jackets hit .351 and bashed 66 home runs in 39 games.)
Shepherd's pitching neutralized WVSU's hitting in their two tournament matchups. In the Yellow Jackets' three wins in Johnstown (one over Fairmont State and the other two against Davis & Elkins) they totaled 59 hits with a .450 average and six home runs. In their two meetings with Shepherd, State mustered 15 hits, a minuscule batting average of .214 -- and no home runs.
The other way CAN be the best way.
The quirky dimensions of Point Stadium and the prevalent pitching philosophy in college baseball combined to make the park a haven for hitting to the opposite field.
In this aluminum bat-dominated era, most pitchers are reluctant to work the inside corner; a mistake there against a good hitter can lead to disaster. So, most of the better hitters in Johnstown faced a steady stream of pitches on the outside corner.
Right-handed hitters happily pinged pitches off the short porch in right, just 290 feet away, for easy doubles. Meanwhile, lefties battered the 40-foot high "Mesh Monster" fence in left field, where it's only 336 feet to the alley.
Don't expect that hitting approach to change anytime soon.
It's not about us, it's about them.
In an earlier post here on "Inside The Headset" I detailed the problems we had in trying to webcast the games at Point Stadium. While those problems did little to improve our happiness level, and certainly annoyed the fans who couldn't make it to Johnstown, they didn't diminish the teams' experience in Johnstown.
By most accounts, the players enjoyed their time at the tournament. So did the coaches, who appreciated Point Stadium's ability to withstand bad weather and still be playable, which helped the weekend stay essentially on schedule.
The Point's artificial surface and good drainage allows it to quickly recover from rainy weather. Good thing, too, since rain affected just about every day of the tournament.
The proximity of several hotels within walking distance of Point Stadium also aided the teams in their turnaround between games and removed a big logistical concern for the coaching staffs.
So, while it was a pain in the you-know-what for us in our attempt to broadcast the games, and the weather wasn't exactly ideal, it was a largely positive tournament experience for the teams involved. Which is what really matters.
Good help is hard to find....
...but not at Point Stadium. The tournament staff was outstanding from start to finish.
The grounds crew from the City of Johnstown was stellar in getting the field ready in the face of the frequent rain. The athletic training staff from the host school, Pitt-Johnstown, was constantly on call and responded quickly when needed.
Also doing superlative work was UPJ's sports information staff, which handled the official scoring, live stats, public address announcing, etc., and put out any fires that popped up.
A lot of hard work and long days go into planning and running an event like this. The UPJ staff handled it without a hitch.
I'd like to extend my heartfelt thanks and warmest regards to SID Chris Caputo, along with Nikki Babik, Scott Mamula, Elissa Till, Todd Williams, and everyone in the UPJ staff for making my stay in Johnstown so enjoyable. Thanks too to Seton Hill SID Jason Greene for his help.
Thanks again to Reid Amos, "The Voice of the West Virginia Conference," for his yeoman work in troubleshooting the webcast problems and allowing us to broadcast the games that we did.
Thanks as well to WVIAC Associate Commissioner Will Prewitt, who supervised the baseball tournament while also staying on top of the conference softball tournament and track and field meet, and did his usual quality job. Also, Will, thanks for the ride.
I've been invited back to be a part of the tournament next year and am already looking forward to it.
Consider me there.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Hinton, We Have A Problem
Rain is good for your lawn. Rain is good for farmers. Rain is good for many things.
But today, rain is not good for Classic Rock 102.3 FM The New River.
The days upon days of bad weather that we've been experiencing in southern West Virginia has wreaked a bit of havoc on The New River's transmitter building in Hinton.
Our chief engineer, Randy, is on the scene and busting his you-know-what to get us back on the air. However, it's uncertain if that will happen in time for tonight's edition of our "Mountain Lion Weekly" Concord sports talk show.
So here's what we're going to do.
For the convenience of our featured guest, CU's former Director Athletics Greg Quick, we're postponing tonight's show. We'll make it up next Tuesday, May 12, at the regular time (6:00 pm EDT).
This is an edition of "MLW" that you don't want to miss, for a couple reasons.
One, it's the last show of the season.
Two, there have been several important recent changes in Concord's athletic department, and Greg Quick is the perfect person to tell us all about them.
The management and staff of Classic Rock 102.3 WMTD-FM The New River apologizes for any inconvenience.
In an unrelated note: Today, we are precisely six weeks away from the start of the 2009 Princeton Rays season. That's 42 days and counting....
But today, rain is not good for Classic Rock 102.3 FM The New River.
The days upon days of bad weather that we've been experiencing in southern West Virginia has wreaked a bit of havoc on The New River's transmitter building in Hinton.
Our chief engineer, Randy, is on the scene and busting his you-know-what to get us back on the air. However, it's uncertain if that will happen in time for tonight's edition of our "Mountain Lion Weekly" Concord sports talk show.
So here's what we're going to do.
For the convenience of our featured guest, CU's former Director Athletics Greg Quick, we're postponing tonight's show. We'll make it up next Tuesday, May 12, at the regular time (6:00 pm EDT).
This is an edition of "MLW" that you don't want to miss, for a couple reasons.
One, it's the last show of the season.
Two, there have been several important recent changes in Concord's athletic department, and Greg Quick is the perfect person to tell us all about them.
The management and staff of Classic Rock 102.3 WMTD-FM The New River apologizes for any inconvenience.
In an unrelated note: Today, we are precisely six weeks away from the start of the 2009 Princeton Rays season. That's 42 days and counting....
It's Up To You, New York, New York....
There's an old saying that "What's good for the Yankees is good for baseball."
That may no longer be the case.
The Yankees are being vilified this season -- and rightly so -- for their bumbling efforts at public relations. Their bloated ticket prices have resulted in the embarrassment of thousands of empty seats, right behind home plate, where everyone can see them on TV.
Turns out the Yankees are also stumbling when it comes to media relations. For proof, here's an illuminating article by Bob Raissman in the May 5, 2009 New York Daily News (Yankee haters will enjoy this):
YANKEES PUT SQUEEZE PLAY ON MEDIA AT THE NEW STADIUM
Considering the peculiar media vibe floating around those empty seats inside Yankee Stadium, Joe Girardi's Sunday soliloquy about the publishing industry, specifically Selena Roberts' book on Alex Rodriguez, was not surprising.
Girardi sounded like someone looking to control something he has absolutely no business controlling. This urge to play King Fool may have filtered down from the Yankees' high command.
After all, the suits are already putting the squeeze on the electronic media. In terms of access and money, life is being made uncomfortable.
The campaign may not be totally adversarial. It's part of Yankee brass' obvious strategy, authored by Bombers COO Lonn Trost, of wringing every penny out of the new building. It could also be a miscommunication of security policy. Or maybe it's just stupidity.
The latest episode came during the weekend series with the Angels. Paul O'Neill, a revered former Yankee, now an analyst for the Yankees Entertainment & Sports Network, was asked by security to leave the indoor batting cages, where he was watching Yankees hit, prior to one of the games.
A security guard told O'Neill, the man George Steinbrenner called "warrior," he could not loiter in the area. O'Neill had another reason to be perturbed. Security would not allow his wife, Nevalee, into the Stadium "wives room." She was told by security it was for "current" wives only.
Think about it. Here's O'Neill, a guy who bled for the franchise, trying to prepare for a broadcast. Not only is he told to take a hike, so is his wife. O'Neill was not the only broadcaster ejected from a part of the Stadium over the weekend.
The Angels bring multiple announcers (including voices who work Spanish language broadcasts) on the road. The mouths rotate between radio and TV. At times, some of them are not on the air. During those breaks, they need a place to watch the game. There were two empty Stadium broadcast booths during the series. Angels voices, not on the air, used one of them to chill.
Until they were booted by security.
The Angels broadcasters were told they weren't allowed to sit in the empty booth. When asked Monday if the voices had been mistaken and were sitting in a private box reserved for patrons, an Angels source said: "No, it was a broadcast booth." When asked if security invited the broadcasters downstairs to sit in those empty seats behind the plate, the source laughed and said, "no."
The announcers wouldn't be able to expense one of those $1,000-plus seats. Still, when it comes to the electronic media, money is an issue. Yankees suits, according to industry sources, have increased the fee they charge local TV outlets to do live reports inside the Stadium. Earlier in the season, sources put the price at $4,000 a pop. After negotiations the price has dropped.
Networks already are paying billions to MLB for TV rights fees. When these networks, or a local TV station, broadcast a game, they also must pay the home team a "park and power" fee. The fee is paid so a network can park its trucks outside the Stadium, "plug in" and transmit the telecast.
Network sources say they are being asked to pay the Yankees a much higher fee (about $12,000 per game) to "park and power" than they did at the old Stadium. The charge in the old building was around $3,000. The price hike is not sitting well with the networks. Some of the suits, convinced the Yankees are price-gouging, have taken their case to MLB. The situation has yet to be resolved. (The Mets currently are in negotiations over their "park and power" fee at Citi Field, which also was increased).
Some outlets use walkie-talkies for internal communication during a broadcast. A source said the Yankees want these outlets to now pay to use their equipment and frequency. Part of the reason for this is that the Yankees claim "other" walkie-talkies interfere with their "wireless food service."
Recently, when one broadcast crew tried using its own walkie-talkie inside the new Stadium, the frequency was jammed.
The Yankees also insist broadcast outlets use their microphones to pick up game audio. Some networks are not thrilled with the quality of the audio produced by Stadium mikes.
Even during Steinbrenner's most manic times, he was not inclined to engage in this kind of media strategy. The Boss would be more direct, like telling his Al Yankzeera puppets to keep Don Zimmer off camera. Or instructing his PR man to prohibit Tony Kubek, the former Yankees shortstop and MSG contrarian, from interviewing any of his players.
The approach now is different. O'Neill watching batting practice is a security issue. Angels voices in a vacant booth are a threat to the Yankees empire. Broadcast crews, like fans, pay much more to enter. Then there's Girardi's meteoric ascent to literary critic.
Plenty of material.
For another book.
That may no longer be the case.
The Yankees are being vilified this season -- and rightly so -- for their bumbling efforts at public relations. Their bloated ticket prices have resulted in the embarrassment of thousands of empty seats, right behind home plate, where everyone can see them on TV.
Turns out the Yankees are also stumbling when it comes to media relations. For proof, here's an illuminating article by Bob Raissman in the May 5, 2009 New York Daily News (Yankee haters will enjoy this):
YANKEES PUT SQUEEZE PLAY ON MEDIA AT THE NEW STADIUM
Considering the peculiar media vibe floating around those empty seats inside Yankee Stadium, Joe Girardi's Sunday soliloquy about the publishing industry, specifically Selena Roberts' book on Alex Rodriguez, was not surprising.
Girardi sounded like someone looking to control something he has absolutely no business controlling. This urge to play King Fool may have filtered down from the Yankees' high command.
After all, the suits are already putting the squeeze on the electronic media. In terms of access and money, life is being made uncomfortable.
The campaign may not be totally adversarial. It's part of Yankee brass' obvious strategy, authored by Bombers COO Lonn Trost, of wringing every penny out of the new building. It could also be a miscommunication of security policy. Or maybe it's just stupidity.
The latest episode came during the weekend series with the Angels. Paul O'Neill, a revered former Yankee, now an analyst for the Yankees Entertainment & Sports Network, was asked by security to leave the indoor batting cages, where he was watching Yankees hit, prior to one of the games.
A security guard told O'Neill, the man George Steinbrenner called "warrior," he could not loiter in the area. O'Neill had another reason to be perturbed. Security would not allow his wife, Nevalee, into the Stadium "wives room." She was told by security it was for "current" wives only.
Think about it. Here's O'Neill, a guy who bled for the franchise, trying to prepare for a broadcast. Not only is he told to take a hike, so is his wife. O'Neill was not the only broadcaster ejected from a part of the Stadium over the weekend.
The Angels bring multiple announcers (including voices who work Spanish language broadcasts) on the road. The mouths rotate between radio and TV. At times, some of them are not on the air. During those breaks, they need a place to watch the game. There were two empty Stadium broadcast booths during the series. Angels voices, not on the air, used one of them to chill.
Until they were booted by security.
The Angels broadcasters were told they weren't allowed to sit in the empty booth. When asked Monday if the voices had been mistaken and were sitting in a private box reserved for patrons, an Angels source said: "No, it was a broadcast booth." When asked if security invited the broadcasters downstairs to sit in those empty seats behind the plate, the source laughed and said, "no."
The announcers wouldn't be able to expense one of those $1,000-plus seats. Still, when it comes to the electronic media, money is an issue. Yankees suits, according to industry sources, have increased the fee they charge local TV outlets to do live reports inside the Stadium. Earlier in the season, sources put the price at $4,000 a pop. After negotiations the price has dropped.
Networks already are paying billions to MLB for TV rights fees. When these networks, or a local TV station, broadcast a game, they also must pay the home team a "park and power" fee. The fee is paid so a network can park its trucks outside the Stadium, "plug in" and transmit the telecast.
Network sources say they are being asked to pay the Yankees a much higher fee (about $12,000 per game) to "park and power" than they did at the old Stadium. The charge in the old building was around $3,000. The price hike is not sitting well with the networks. Some of the suits, convinced the Yankees are price-gouging, have taken their case to MLB. The situation has yet to be resolved. (The Mets currently are in negotiations over their "park and power" fee at Citi Field, which also was increased).
Some outlets use walkie-talkies for internal communication during a broadcast. A source said the Yankees want these outlets to now pay to use their equipment and frequency. Part of the reason for this is that the Yankees claim "other" walkie-talkies interfere with their "wireless food service."
Recently, when one broadcast crew tried using its own walkie-talkie inside the new Stadium, the frequency was jammed.
The Yankees also insist broadcast outlets use their microphones to pick up game audio. Some networks are not thrilled with the quality of the audio produced by Stadium mikes.
Even during Steinbrenner's most manic times, he was not inclined to engage in this kind of media strategy. The Boss would be more direct, like telling his Al Yankzeera puppets to keep Don Zimmer off camera. Or instructing his PR man to prohibit Tony Kubek, the former Yankees shortstop and MSG contrarian, from interviewing any of his players.
The approach now is different. O'Neill watching batting practice is a security issue. Angels voices in a vacant booth are a threat to the Yankees empire. Broadcast crews, like fans, pay much more to enter. Then there's Girardi's meteoric ascent to literary critic.
Plenty of material.
For another book.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
So, where's the WVIAC baseball webcast?
Here it is, Saturday night, Day 3 of the 2009 WVIAC Baseball Tournament, and I'm enjoying my time here in Johnstown, PA.
The tournament has given us a little bit of everything. One of the favorites -- North Division champion Shepherd -- is 3-0 so far and will play in the championship game tomorrow afternoon.
Two division runners-up who were expected to contend -- Concord and Seton Hill -- have headed home after going 0-2.
The Cinderella team is Fairmont State. The Fighting Falcons came into the tournament with a 14-22 record, but shocked Seton Hill and Concord before falling to a 32-win Shepherd squad Saturday afternoon to drop into the loser's bracket.
Even Davis & Elkins, which finished second to Fairmont State in the "mediocre" Central Division, showed a lot of grit before being eliminated by powerhouse West Virginia State.
So there are many intriguing storylines.
Unfortunately, baseball fans around the conference (and around the country, via the internet) aren't hearing any of them right now.
Why?
If you're scoring at home, you'd put it down as "E ISP."
The internet service provider for Point Stadium has, figuratively, dropped the ball. The problem is that the computer we're using to stream audio for the broadcast was supposed to have been assigned what's called a "static IP." That is, an internet protocol address (every computer has one) that will not change, no matter what.
But somewhere along the line, the ISP didn't do that.
There have brief, sporadic outages in internet service here. Each time that's happened our streaming computer was assigned a new IP address. In essence, when the IP address changes, the ISP's network doesn't recognize our computer as a streaming computer anymore and won't carry the audio.
So with the IP/ISP snafu we're SOL.
However, experts are working on the problem and we hope to resume our coverage for Championship Sunday tomorrow.
Thank you for your patience.
The tournament has given us a little bit of everything. One of the favorites -- North Division champion Shepherd -- is 3-0 so far and will play in the championship game tomorrow afternoon.
Two division runners-up who were expected to contend -- Concord and Seton Hill -- have headed home after going 0-2.
The Cinderella team is Fairmont State. The Fighting Falcons came into the tournament with a 14-22 record, but shocked Seton Hill and Concord before falling to a 32-win Shepherd squad Saturday afternoon to drop into the loser's bracket.
Even Davis & Elkins, which finished second to Fairmont State in the "mediocre" Central Division, showed a lot of grit before being eliminated by powerhouse West Virginia State.
So there are many intriguing storylines.
Unfortunately, baseball fans around the conference (and around the country, via the internet) aren't hearing any of them right now.
Why?
If you're scoring at home, you'd put it down as "E ISP."
The internet service provider for Point Stadium has, figuratively, dropped the ball. The problem is that the computer we're using to stream audio for the broadcast was supposed to have been assigned what's called a "static IP." That is, an internet protocol address (every computer has one) that will not change, no matter what.
But somewhere along the line, the ISP didn't do that.
There have brief, sporadic outages in internet service here. Each time that's happened our streaming computer was assigned a new IP address. In essence, when the IP address changes, the ISP's network doesn't recognize our computer as a streaming computer anymore and won't carry the audio.
So with the IP/ISP snafu we're SOL.
However, experts are working on the problem and we hope to resume our coverage for Championship Sunday tomorrow.
Thank you for your patience.
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