New companion blog...................

click on the link "my photo blog" to the right.

Giants trade C Yorvit Torrealba to Seattle so...

Yamid Haad from Triple A goes to the big team to replace him. What does this do to Justin Knoedler's stay with Norwich? He's probably out of here to go back to Frenso to replace Haad and the Navs need another catcher. Will it be the immortal Steve Holm? Stay tuned. Any other trades before the MLBB deadline hits Sunday afternoon?

Carlos slams, Navs win 8-2..........

over the RockCats. Just read a great article on Mike Veeck, Bill's son in SI. Mike like his late great Dad is a big time baseball promoter; especially minor bb. Story interlaces his personal struggles coming up along with his now teenage daughter's battle with blindness. Great piece--read it.

My record so far...........

in the 32 games I've attended so far this year is 15-17. I take pics of every game. It keeps my head in the game along with listening to Shawn & Jeremy on the radio call the game. Navs lose in N.B. 5-1. Can never beat those guys. Last weekend at home it was four in row.

Navs win 5-4 on walk off triple..........

in 10 innings. Randy Walter with the game winner as Navs score three in bottom of the 10th after FisherCats got two in the top half of the frame. Navs take three in a row from N.H. Justin K goes 2 for 3 and does all kinds of damage in his 2005 Navs return. I had to work today and missed the action.

The immortal Steve Holm.........

Steve has had the briefest Navigator career ever; a half inning.. He appeared in the top of the 9th Opening Day to spell Trey and was then sent back to the GreenJackets when Chris Curry returned to the team. With the addition of Justin the Navigators will have had six catchers so far this season. Maybe he'll be back in 2006.

Frenso East...............

as C Justin Knoelder is back, joining Misch and Athas, from the Triple A team. Justin is back because C E. Alfonzo is suspended for two week for substance violation. 50/50 I'm going tonite.

Beginnings...............

of a grass roots Navigator marketing campaign written about in today's Norwich Bulletin. Basically Tater and GM Keith Hallal knocking on doors of lapsed season ticket holders and signing them up for the 2006 season. Folks who sign up get free tickets to remaining 2005 games and a name plate on their seat plus some other goodies. Great idea by someone and exactly the beginning of what they need to do; intrude on people, remind them, let them know you're there, don't just drop off a bunch of pocket schedules at Xtra Mart and call it a day. Til the field and work it!
Misc Fan notes: Didn't go tonite. Pleased to see the victory. Chris Begg off the DL and back on the mound in relief picks up the win in a 3-2 victory. Saw OF Dan Trumble was dropped from the roster; he had been on the DL for a while. Box score attendance 1400.

Bombs(er) Away....................

Navigators first baseman Tyler (Bomber) Von Schell knocks in five runs with a two run double, a RBI single and a pair of SF's as the Navs roll behind the Pat Misch's 3 hit seven inning pitching performance for a 6-0 victory over the N.H. FisherCats. Both Bomber and Pat pictured above. Alfonzo goes 3-4 and Carlos breaks out a little with a 2 for 4. Brian Wilson gets the last five outs and the Navs break their 5 game losing streak.
Misc. Fan notes: Scott Chaisson was hit by a line drive but walked off under his own power in the top of the 8th. Markdown Monday--$5 to get in and $1 snacks--where was everyone?? GM Keith Hallal on the radio for the first time in a long time doing a little promoting.

Another day, another loss........

as the Navs fall to the RockCats again 5-3 and are swept in a three game home series by New Britain and have now lost five straight overall. RockCats jump on Maz for five quick runs in the first two innings and made it hold up. Chris Curry and 1B (see pic) Tyler (Bomber) Von Schell go yard late for the Norwich runs.
Misc Fan notes: Frandsen after being HBP yesterday didn't start but pinch ran in the 9th. Montville Day at Dodd as the mayor sang "Take me out to the ballgame" and was pretty good. Small crowd on a beautiful day. Misch goes Monday.

They don't call it a game of inches for nothing...

The Navs fall 9-8 tonight to the RockCats, their fourth loss in a row. Navs jump out to a quick 4-0 lead after two innings but New Britain scorces 9 unanswered runs before a Navs rally falls short. Fred Lewis was the story in alot of ways for the Navs going 4 for 5, 3RBIs and a SB as he continues his hot pace of late. Fred lead off the first with a single, stole second (see pic), went to third on a groundout and scored on a SF just what your leadoff guy is supposed to do. In the second he lines a based loaded clearing double into the gap but gets thrown out at third. In the bottom of the 8th he starts a 4 run rally with a single. In the 9th well..he misses a game tying solo HR by a few inches and again is thrown out on a wierd play at third. He had the double and with the play in front of him stops about 15 or so feet in front of third and is tagged for the final out.
Merkin Valdez cruised thru the first two inings and headed in the top of the third with a 4-0 lead but does what I swear is a trend for this pitching staff and that is after the team scores in the preceding inning they give up runs starting with the thing I hate most: a leadoff walk and give instant life to the other team. Now again about those inches--all the hits Merk gave up were dinks and dunks just in there by inches and the one hard hit ball Orty missed by inches and before you know it a 4-0 lead turns into a 5-4 score the other way. Malzone on the mound Sunday and I'm wearing an old school Navs hat as a steak breaker.

Misc. Fan notes: I haven't seen anything in terms of signage/promotion about the name change in the park. The Eliezer Alfonzo HR was a big time blast over everything. I was out in the Gator Garden when he hit it and took about 2 seconds to get out. Carlos' slump continues. Frandsen doesn't have a hit on the homestand yet and left the game after a HBP in the 8th. Walter with a start at DH.
Great night weather wise for baseball but a disappointing crowd with 3200 announced. Bat night for the kids helped the number. Nice looking bats too--real Louisville sluggers. There's always a bunch of RockCats fans at Dodd. I wonder how many Navs fans go to New Britain?

The good, the bad and the ugly..............

The good: Friday night ballgame! Fireworks Friday. A big crowd, most likely the biggest of the year. Full parking lots, cops directing traffic, a buzz as people were walking up. Plently of stuff going on: a live band, frisbee chasing dogs, a lot of civic groups present, tons of kids being entertained by Tater, the Gator Garden packed, exactly what the the place should look like on a regular basis.
The bad: Mother Nature put on her own fireworks show with a big thunderstorm in the top of the ninth and rained out the fireworks.
The ugly: the outcome of the game as Burres had nothing and was gone by the second inning. Navs manage only two hits and get blown out 11-0 by the last place RockCats.
Misc notes: Athas has some sort of hand injury. Dan Ortmeier totally busted it in a blow out game diving after two balls in right field, one foul that he just missed and caught the other one fair. Palmer pitched the 8th; I thought he was a starter?

Cap History 101......part two of an occasional series

This one came to me on 7/9/05 provided from the good folks at Foxwoods. The bill color makes no sense since it is not a Navigator color either pre-2003 or post-2003 (the year the team went from a Yankee to Giants farm team). Never worn, it currently resides in the rear window area of my car.

Looking forward to the game tonight. It's been 11 days and I need a Navs fix. Curious to see how they promote the name change contest. Nice article in the Bulletin about it.

That hurts..

Navs lost in extra innings despite a 15 hit attack. Three errors, a wild pitch, a couple of DPs and a runner out at the plate tend to bring things down. Pat gave up 9 hits in 5+ innings 3R, 2Er. Simon loses again and the road trip stands at 4 and 4. Only good news is the teams in front of them lost too. Navs 4.5 games out of first. Website scoreboard now provided by Foxwoods, a new deal. Off day today, Navs back in action Friday night against the RockCats. Note: Song roughed up in his triple A debut with Frenso but doesn't get tagged with the loss and the Grizzlies rallied and won 16-8; Micheal C. with 5 RBIs!

Navs split....................

They lose the second game 2-1 in extra innings. Anthony Moreno got the spot start; Simon lose the game in relief, Navs manage only four hits. Big game today; if the Navs win they split with the BaySox and end up the road trip 5 and 3, a loss would be a split on the trip and a downer after taking three of four against Erie. Pat Misch goes tonite against a BaySox with MLBB time so it'll be interesting to see the outcome. Pat put up some tough numbers in Tripe A this year; let's hope he re-groups. Where is Jamie Athas these days? Prediction: Julio Cordido will catch an inning before the season is out and will have played every position this year. I'm trying to figure out the Navs rotation: Song, Palmer, Burres, Mazone, Valdez, AND Misch? Will if you're reading please talk to the Steamer.

15 pitchers !?!>......

I know if I listened to the games on radio Shawn would have explained this all to me but I don't listen. Just went on-line to check the score of game one of the doubleheader, (Navs win 3-2; Brian rebounds, Wilson closes, Fred Lewis 3-4 2B, 3B, 4 BaySox errors) checked the roster and see that Pat Misch has been sent down from Triple A. Navs now have 15 pitchers on roster including 2 on DL. Threets hasn't been seen in weeks, Simon has been reshuffled back to the bullpen, Montes and Begg have been on the DL forever, and now Pat is back. Will...where are you? Can someone explain to me the number of players a team can have on their roster in the EL? Meanwhile Wilson has settled nicely into the closer role and Billy and Scott are doing great as the setup guys and I'm feeling good about the bullpen again.

Only three and a half out of first....

with three teams above them. Sept. playoffs here we come!

The name game....let's do Shirley.......

You have to know the song. Anyway I was away for the better part of three days. Navs take 3 out of 4 against the SeaWolves! Orty has a big day, the bats come alive and all's good in Gator land. Bonus--Yanks take 3 out of four against the BoSox! Gotta love that but how long can the MASH unit the Yanks call a pitching staff hold up?
The title of the post refers of course to the name change contest posted by the Navigators for the 2006. The team needs to get this in to the powers that be by Sept. 1. The team is looking for a regional name with attitude and you can submit suggestions on-line, as many as possible. There will be a new logo too (there goes half the stuff in my closet!). Suggestions???

Mazone lit up.....

for three HRs last night. Game suspended with Navs down 7-0 to Erie. Brian's been their best pitcher of late so let's hope he gets back next start.

random promotional tie-in thought....

Went to see the movie remake of "War of the Worlds" yesterday at the new theaters in Lisbon (very nice) and before the movie they're showing random local ads ( pizza house, insurance, etc. ). It would be pretty easy for the Navs to have one of those shown on the screen. Maybe a couple a dollars off a ticket with your movie stub?

Minor League All-Star shout-outs

Congrats to former Gators John-Ford Griffin, Mike Vento, Mitch Jones, and Micheal Cervenak for their Triple A All-Star selections. Watched the first hour of the Double A game from Portland ME. on NESN. Carlos went 2-3 with a single and triple both hits could have been played but yeah a hit is a is hit, Orty stuck out twice, Merkin gave up a bomb in his inning of work and Brian Burres (in for the injured Chris Begg) pitched a scoreless inning. Seemed like every other player on the North squad was a SeaDog. President Bush I in attendance. For box scores and game summaries go to http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com

The Mick tonight on HBO

The tale of the rise and fall is well known now. I'll watch because Mantle is the reason I'm a Yankee fan. At some point in time in the early 60's I asked my Dad who the best baseball player was and he said Mickey Mantle of the New York Yankees. I was wed to the team from that moment on. As a kid I always expected him to hit a home run. I mean just look at the short right field porch back then! I felt I could hit it out it seemed so close (296 ft. down the line). Biggest Mantle moment for me was when it hit Barney Schultz's first pitch out of the park in the bottom of the ninth for a 2-1 Yankee victory in Game 3 of the '64 World Series. That was Mantle's last big year: 35 HR, 111 RBI, .303 avg. Jim Bouton has some great Mantle stories in his book "Ball Four."

MLBB All-Star Game blues

Well I tried. I turned on Fox at 8PM and I'm greeted by Billy Bob Thorton selling his latest movie and God knows what else. I flipped and came back to Fox and something else was going on. I just don't care about it anymore. Yeah I know it counts toward home field in the World Series and as a hopeful (this season) Yankee fan I should care but I don't. Why? Sign of the times I guess. I'm 50 this year, and when I was coming up you had the game of the week Saturdays on NBC and maybe if you were lucky a Yankee or Red Sox game on once in a while. Today if you have the means you can watch every game; AL or NL and that's great. But back in pre-cable TV days this was my only shot to see certain players play and come alive off my Topps baseball cards and it was a treat; especially the pitcher/batter matchups. It was also a chance to see certain parks for the first time like the AstroDome. Interleague play, which I love, cuts down my interest. Now the All-Star Game is a prime time made for TV event; yes Virginia it used to be played in the afternoon. Anyway I'm re-reading the Joe D. book "The Hero's Life" by Richard Cramer which holds my attention far better. I'll probably check out the Eastern League All-Star game Wed. night.

Cap History 101, part 1 of an occasional series

It's the All-Star break and after that the Navs hit the road and don't return to Dodd until July 22. Since there's no game and I feel the need to post so from time to time we're going to take a journey into my closet.
My wife will be the first to tell you I'm a pack rat. I've been going to Navigators games since Game 2, 1995 and a lot of freebie stuff has come my way; just go into any closet or drawer in the house! I have no idea how many Navs caps I have so we're using the LIFO (last in, first out) method of describing the various caps that have come my way. The pictured hat is the latest and was this year's birthday present from my stepdaughter. It's quickly become my favorite and is one of the sharper hats in the collection. That all the posting for today. Tomorrow will feature an All-Star rant.

Navs complete a four game sweep of the Mets Monday 3-2. Brian Burres picked up the seventh victory with relief help from Scott Chaisson and a save from Brian Wilson. Navigators return home July 22th.

Pitching AND hitting star of Game 2's doubleheader Seung Song. Song went 2 for 2 at the plate including a two run rbi double as the Navs swept the twinbill with a 4-1 voctory over the Mets. Song evened his record to 2-2 on the season.

Navs GM Keith Hallal takes his turn in the dunk tank during Game 1 of Sunday's doubleheader. Navs won Game 1 2-1 on PH Eliezer Alfonzo's 2 run HR in the fifth. James Garcia earned the victory in relief of Alfredo Simon. Billy Sadler pitched the last two innings for the save.

Pitcher Matt Palmer, left, and Infielder Tim Hutting sign for fans during the rain delay. While rain lasted only a short while the field needed a lot of work. This scene is what draws me to minor league baseball; the easy access of fan to player. Palmer went in to pitch once the field was recovered and picked up the save.

What will this be all about....

thoughts, opinons, musings and observation about my "hometown" team the Norwich (CT) Navigators--Double A Eastern League baseball team, an affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. The team is currently struggling in attendance and in fifth place fighting for a playoff spot as we head into the All-Star break. It's raining right now--bad news from an attendance point of view as it is Fireworks Friday which is always a big drawing card. The Binghamton Mets are in town for a 4 game set. The Mets are directly above the Navs, 5 games ahead in the loss column so this shapes up as an important series for the Navs. More later....