It's opening night for the minors. The Suns, now a NY Mets affiliate, will be taking on the WV Power, formerly the Charleston Alley Cats, in their first year as part of the Brewers farm system.

After a disappointing record last year, the Suns seem to have some potential this season. One link that might be useful to those interested would beMets Scout.

One potential standout is RF Ambiorix Concepcion, who will be living with us, BTW. He's from the Dominican Republic, and hasn't moved in yet, so I haven't gotten to talk with him. He has put up good numbers in the past, and I doubt he will last the season here. Here's a bit from NY Sportsday:

Hagerstown
Rookie manager Gene Richards has an interesting proposition: two very talented outfield prospects in Ambiorex Concepcion and Carlos Gomez — and two serious pitching prospects in Gabby Hernandez and Matt Durkin — as Hagerstown enjoys its first season as a Mets’ affiliate, replacing Capital City.

Pitching: In short, with Durkin, Hernandez and the equally intriguing Michael Devaney (5-0 at Brooklyn last year), with Blake Eager, Rafael Cova, Tim Worthington and Jeff Landing in the rotation mix. Carlos Muniz looks to be the closer, after strong stint at Brooklyn last season in that role, although hard-throwing Celso Rondon may get a shot as well. With a ton of talent and a number of good debuts in Brooklyn in 2004, these guys could be a strength.

Outfield: With Concepcion and Gomez roaming the outfield, likely complimented by Dante Brinkley, the Suns could feature the best outfield in the South Atlantic League — and a pair of future Major League stars. Just those two should be well worth the price of admission.

Infield: Although ultimately Jim Burt Jr. may find his way into the mix once he’s done in extended Spring Training, the wildly powerful Tyler Davidson should be the everyday first baseman, although Carp will get time their when Davidson DHs or returns to his natural position: outfield. Wilson Batista seems like a lock at second, with Ryan Coultas at short and Grant Psomas at third and Russ Triplett seeing time at short. Jesus Flores had been tapped to catch here, but a broken thumb suffered in a major league exhibition game on April 3, sidelined him, meaning Aaron Hathaway and Tony Piazza (no relation to the Major League catcher Mike, or his brother Tommy, who is assigned to extended spring training) will be the primary backstops.

Outlook: Obviously, this team will be a major improvement for the Hagerstown fans, who lived through the worst season in team history last year, as a San Francisco Giants farm club. Two questions stand between this team being a serious contender for the league title: can the young pitching hold up and ad advance in what is generally considered a hitters’ league with a number of small parks? And will the Suns be hurt by players being to sent to flesh out the Brooklyn roster in June, as has happened to Capital City the last couple of years?



It's always good to come out before the All-Star break to catch a glimpse of the talent. After that, all the trading and moving begins, especially with the new college players coming in and the filling of short season team rosters.

Suns yard signs are available in celebration of the 25th anniversary. We'll be getting ours at tonight's game, which just happens to be Thirtsty Thurdsday!! I'll try to keep up-to-date in here, but you should come to the game and experience it for yourself, at least a couple times this season!! If you can't make it to the field, tune in to AM 1410.

I'll be attending a few games this year, after the weather becomes a little more predictable....

I'll be there tonight !!! THIRSTY THURSDAY !

Less than two weeks and I can legally enjoy Thirsty Thursdays. I'll probably be there, but only on Thirsty Thursdays or when they play a Blue Jays affiliate.

Will mbarone be updating the Suns games this season?

The home opener was awesome, even if the rain destroyed my scorebook! The batting order was strong, all the way down to the catcher. My only disappointment was Concepcion who didn't even get a base hit. I'm sure it's a lot of pressure to live up to the hype, but I don't doubt he will come around soon. We saw more stolen bases last night than we saw all last season (not really, but pretty close). Very aggressive on the base paths, which is such a pleasure! Pitching was sound, as was fielding.

Finally met Concepcion. He seems to be a really nice guy. MB says he reminds him of Dontrelle Willis of the Marlins...all smiles all the time. Can't wait to get some inside insight when he moves in tonight after the game.

I must admit I didn't watch the game too closely. I spent a lot of time catching up with friends from last season, including former Suns broadcaster Jay Burhnam, and chatting in the beer garden. Jay is taking over the booth in Pensacola and stopped by to see everyone as he drove through to Florida. I promise I'll pay more attention tonight, though we will arrive late.

Yes, Biggins, I'm sure MB will pop up here from time to time. He can't let me have all the fun. Besides, he has to make up for the times I'm off socializing!

OK, I'm pathetic. We didn't even make the game. They did win, 3-2, but certainly not as impressive as Thursday, from what I heard on the radio.

Finally met our player. He's a sweet guy and has pretty good english skills. He isn't moving in just yet because he is very loyal to his teammates, who speak little english. He's helping them out (translating) and driving them around since he has a car. We brought him, Gomez, Perez, and Batista to the house just to show them around a bit. Nice guys. Anyone know where the Latino population hangs out around H-town??? Anyway, Amby is going to our daughter's soccer game with us in the morning.

I will see the entire game tomorrow night, I swear......

Saturday's game was close, 2-1. The Suns left the bases loaded in the seventh, but really could have used some insurance runs. WV brought in a run in the top of the ninth, and fortunately for the Suns, left men on when the final out came to pass. It was pretty chilly and the crowd was thin, but the game was pretty good.

Sunday was a beautiful day for baseball, and the crowds turned out for a treat. Another Suns victory, 6-0 against WV for the sweep. Mike Carp hit a homer in the second to get the Suns on the board.
We saw some aggressive base running by Carlos Gomez, though he got caught both times. The 19-yr-old was pretty frustrated with himself, but he made up for it with some great catches in the outfield.
Concepcion, who has finally moved into the house, is beginning to get comfortable at Municipal Stadium. He had a double today, after getting two base hits last night, along with a steal.

I didn't get to the game Monday, which is "Feed your Face Monday", since we have lots of after school activities. However, they won against Lakewood, NJ, 6-1. Last year's Suns never had a five game winning streak. Fire up for a great season, folks!!

People to watch....Grant Psomas has been hitting the Psh!t out of the ball. He's batting .421 over five games. Look for more aggressiveness on the base paths from our Dominican players. All of the 13 pitchers have performed at least once, and only 3 of them have and ERA. The only deficit I forsee in our pitching is that they are all righties.

Tonight's game....6:35 against Lakewood
Wednesday afternoon.....1:05 against Lakewood to end this homestand. Suns will return to Muni 4/22 to face Delmarva.

For some reason, I'm all jazzed up about the Suns this year. I can't put my finger on why, since I'm not really anymore enthused about baseball in general than I usually am. I'm really looking forward to attending some games, once the weather becomes more consistent.

"Anyone know where the Latino population hangs out around H-town???"

Municipal Stadium ?? J/K....

Hey all. Its been a long time since I posted. Just played catch up on the thread for the Suns and it appears that you've all been brought up to speed so I won't bother with recaps or the like until later. For now, I want to provide my own insight on the team this year so far:

Team:
For those that have not read any of the postings or the news articles in the HM sports section, THIS TEAM IS GOOD. They field solidly, bat for average, and have great game awareness.

This third point is the most critical in my opinion because this current crop of Suns seem to know what to do with the ball when it's hit to them or when they are at bat. Examples: Psomas came up with a clutch single on Sunday afternoon w/ two strikes and a runner on second. Instead of going for power he calmly took an outside corner pitch and swatted it into right field for an RBI single. Fielding, Concepcion gunned (and I mean it) down a runner at the plate from center field on a bloop single, the catcher (Arroyo) didn't appear ready, but snagged the ball at the last second to tag the runner out. The runner was completely clueless as to a throw coming into the plate. In talking with AC after the game, he said that they actually plan the game around situations like that and the catcher is baiting the runner into slowing up. How about that??

Fielding:
This is a rock solid fielding team. Granted you'll get errors here and there (most likely bad scoring but I don't think the team will lose games because of them. Opposing batters will need to hit the ball hard and far if they want to get extra bases with Gomez, Gamero, and Concepcion patroling the outfield. I think the weakest of the bunch would be Gamero, but I'll take him over any of last year's Suns outfield. On the infield, Psomas can pretty much pick up anything out there at third, the middle infield can cover ground with average arms, and the first base platoon of Carp and Davidson provide adequate intimidation although their range is suspect.

Batting:
This portion of the team, batting, we'll see in spurts here at the beginning of the season. With the majority of the players coming from warmer climates, it's difficult for them to stay loose. Just ask Batista, AC, and Carlos. Once it warms up, this lineup up and down will be solid with better than average power. The speed on the team is killer, as evidenced by all the attempted steals and multiple hit and runs over the weekend. Batista will be a solid leadoff man and score a lot with this lineup.

Pitching:
4 characters, 0.89. That's the TEAM ERA for the first 5 games. This staff is loaded with good arms that will throw even the best prospects off this year. Landing, Hernandez, Eager, and Sanchez all had solid outings. Durkin, the 5th starter, had some control problems last, but should settle in nicely. The middle and end relief won't cause to many ulcers this year compared to last year where you could really only count on Martin and Bateman.

Well, that should get some familiarity with team for everyone. I hope to see/hear of anyone that has made it to a game this year. Me and the wife will surely be there!

One last point, this team wants to win for Hagerstown. A lot of the players want a ring and they don't care at what level. This is a great attitude and is evidenced by their play on the field. This team won the championship for Brooklyn last year, so hopefully it will be true here as well. SMan put it right, I am jazzed up for this team, and I think you shoul de as well!

4/12 - vs. Lakewood (W 7-6)

I can't say much about this game since I was not present there last night (boo hoo!). The wife said it was a tale of two games. Hernandez was all over the place in the beginning, hence the 4 - 0 lead in the first. The guys on the base paths were not running smart, while the hitting were all fly balls.

Then from what I gathered on the radio, it sounded like we got turned around and scrapped at the lead to end up winning. Kudos to the spot starters of Derran Watts and Corey Coles for being ready to play at anytime and coming through. You guys have most likely earned another start during today's matinee game. Also, kudos to the relief pitching for holding your own while the rest of your team came back.

Notable: Carp got another dinger for the season (3) and took the SAL lead. Grant Psomas added another couple of hits to bring his average to .417.

That is what team baseball is about! We're now 2 games up on everyone!

Expect another summary tomorrow since I can not attend the 1:05 finale today against Lakewood. Go Suns!

I got to the afternoon game yesterday for a bit. It was great weather for a game, and I was surprised by the size of the crowd for a Wednesday afternoon.

CF Concepcion had a day off, suffering from a cold. RF Carlos Gomez was dugout bound, as was Mike Carp, giving some play time to some fresh guys. With a team this good, Coach Richards can use everyone and not worry about risking the game.

Starting pitcher Blake Eager had another great start, going 5 2/3 before being repalced by Chuck Smith. Dante Brinkley (.429) unleashed his inferno with a homer in the second that scored new face Armand Gaerlan. Derran Watts (.700!!)turned up the voltage with a consistent run at the plate. He had 3 singles and a HBP, with a RBI. Corey Coles also had a nice game, combining with Watts to compensate for the cooling bat of Grant Psomas.

Defensively, the Suns looked great. Coles patrolled center like a prison warden, making some nice catches on the warning track and at the wall. 1B Tyler Davidson, 2B Gaerlan, and SS Wilson Batista kept most runners from reaching base, with only one high toss from Batista which pulled Davidson off the bag just enough for a man to reach in time. The only real chance for Lakewood to get back in the game occurred when Kevin Mannix came in to close at the top of the ninth. Two men reached base, and with two outs, Timi Moni homered. But it was too little, too late for the Blueclaws. When all was said and done, the Suns had 8 runs on 10 hits for a 8-6 win, and series sweep, over Lakewood, ending the opening homestand at a perfect 7-0.

The team now heads to WV then to Lakewood to try to repeat what they just accomplished at home. WV is 0-7, but will be hyped with the opening of their home season and brand new stadium. The Suns return home 4/22, Fireworks Friday, for 4 games against Delmarva.

Moms, as the resident Suns expert, when is a good day to take an 8 year old girl who probably is more concerned with the food and "other" fun than the game? She says she wants to see a Suns game, but while school is in she has a 8:30 bedtime. Any advice? P.S. Her Mom isn't much of a baseball fan, either.

Snoopy,

I took my boys last Sunday and we had a good time. It was a 1:30 game.

Friday nights are great because of fireworks, and they tend to draw a good size crowd. That means plenty of kids on the playground.

Wednesday, kids get a free meal (hot dog, drink, popcorn, and something else) when they pay full price, $5. Trust me, it's a bargain, considering that hots dogs are $3 alone. Just not sure how well it will draw, since it's a weeknight.

Saturdays are usually good, especially when they broadcast from the beer garden and people get to help announce for a half inning. I think it is give-away night, but I'm not sure. Check the promo schedule for upcoming events.

Sunday afternoons are my favorite. Kids get to run the bases after Sunday games, and we usually go over to the Stadium Tavern and have wings on the patio for dinner, since kids can enter until 10pm.

Monday is Feed-Your-Face night. Ryan's, and some others I think, comes in and has food in addition to the regular concessions. $10 for kids and $12 for adults for all you can eat, I believe. We never go on Mondays, as we are in Fredneck from 4-9 for classes/rehearsals.

Tuesdays are pretty lame unless you are truly into baseball. The crowd is usually small, and this year they are doing a "throwback" thing, playing big band music and announcing batters with a mega-phone. Annoying if you ask me.

Thursday is buck beers, so it might not be the best time to bring the little ones, although they do have a "family section" under the awning that is supposedly no drinking. Unfortunately, the beer garden is right next to the playground.

Check out the promo schedule and other stuff here. Enjoy!

BTW, I used to be like your wife. I always brought a book or magazine, and would sit behind the nets so I didn't have to watch for foul balls.

Thursday night saw the Suns' first loss of the season. They looked (sounded, actually) like a totally different team, giving WV their first win of the season. Concepcion donned the golden sombrero, striking out 4 times. Wilson Batista had 2 fielding errors at short. No one could get it going at the plate. To add insult to injury, WV Power player Hernan Irabarren stole home on a double steal in the 8th, then Escobar scored on a wild pitch. In the end, the Suns set with a final score of 3-8. Ugly.

Friday was turnaround night. In the top of the second, 18 yr old 1B Mike Carp had a lead off homer, followed immediately by a homer from Grant Psomas. Carlos Gomez had a solo homer in the 3rd. Concepcion was getting the bat on the ball, but keeping it in the infield, reaching base twice. Jose Sanchez had another excellent start on the mound, going 6 full innings, giving up only 2 hits, one of those a solo homer by Corporan. In the end, the Suns got back on their horse with a 4-1 win, making them 8-1 on the season. Lake County is running second to the Suns, 1 1/2 games back.

Speaking of homers, the Suns already have 16 in 9 games, almost 2 per outing. Hub Labels, I think, is giving $50 to HCC's scholarship fund for each homer. If the guys keep this pace up, HCC will be getting $14,000 from Hub Labels. Pretty cool, huh?

How have they been doing?

Sorry, I have been around for a while. This is the Miserable Month of May, when every school, team, and activity group has to do the year-end show. We've been double timing the rehearsals and I'm insane.

Anyway, the team is on the road right now. They just split a 4 game series with the Asheville Tourists. Yesterday's game went 12 innings with a 19-16 victory for the Suns. They smacked four over the wall, with two of them coming from the catcher, Arroyo. (They've hit 40 homers as a team so far this season!)

However, the first 2 games of the series were pathetic. The pitching staff has to be completely demoralized because they can't hold a (substantial) lead to finish off the game. Friday, Hagerstown had an 8-2 lead going into the bottom of the ninth. They gave up 6 runs to tie it, then lost in the bottom of the tenth. But the night before, they had a 7-3 lead, gave up 4 runs inthe bottom of the ninth to tie, and lost again in the tenth. Absolute breakdown from the pitching staff. Granted that the disaster on the mound was accompanied by a fielding error both times, but it doesn't change the fact that the pitching was on shaky ground to start.

Hopefully things will look up as they move on to Hickory tonight. The team returns home Friday for a 4 game battle with Greensboro. BTW, Thursday is the Beer Tasting Festival at the stadium. Don't know any details, and won't be attending, but sounds like fun.

Overall, the team is 20-10, still in first place by a game. They like Muni Stadium, because they are 13-2 at home, but sadly 7-8 on the road. Need to work on those road numbers a bit!

I found that when my son was about that age,
he had a hard time seeing the ball during the
day...at night, the lights made it easier for him
to see it....yes, they are easily distracted at
that age, but anything that helps 'helps'....

Oh wow. I get home in a few weeks, so I should be able to check out a few games then.

Everybody fire up! The Suns are in first place, with Lexington nipping at their heels. There are ten games left in the half, with 6 of them at home, and 4 at Lexington. The guys would love to have the stadium rocking with fans, and they are playing their hearts out. You should have seen them tonight when Ryan Coultas drove in the game winning run in the bottom of the ninth.

Tomorrow is Thirsty Thursday and Friday is fireworks night. The team goes on the road for 4 games against Lexington, then return to finish the half against division cellar dwellers, WV Power.

If you haven't caught a game yet, now is the time to do it. The weather is great and so is the play. (For a$ much a$ I $upport the team, I feel obligated to remind you to eat dinner before you come!)

OK, teamwise, there have been a few changes. Jesus Flores, who was injured and DL'd to start the season, has returned to catch for the Suns. While he was talked about highly, he hasn't been all that. IMO, Aaron Hathaway calls a better game behind the plate, and the pitchers seem more confident with him. He also seems to have a better gun to throw out base thieves.

First baseman Tyler Davidson has moved up to high A St. Lucie Mets. While he wasn't an everyday player, he made an impact when he was placed in the line up. His replacement is Jim Burt, son of a major leaguer from what I hear. He's made a great impression so far, hitting a solo homer in the seventh tonight.

Fielding is OK, with a few mistakes, but a lot of great work in the infield. The team is turning a load of double plays, gunning down runners, and generally playing smart ball. The outfield has strong arms in Concepcion, Gomez, and Brinkley. Brinkley (league high batting average .377) is on the 7 day DL with a sprained ankle and is anxious to return. Gomez has a splint on one of his left fingers, but I don't have details about him. Even with those 2 sitting out, Corey Coles and Derran Watts are doing an excellent job in the outfield.

Pitching is still the weakest link on this team. The starters can go 5 or 6 innings most times, but middle relief is suspect. The closers are hit and miss as well. There are still no lefties in the bullpen, which seems to really hurt us.

The weather has warmed up, and so has the hitting. 18 year old phenom Mike Carp has climbed out of his slump (something like 2 for 50!) and is hitting well again. He is second in the league with 15 homers, following Lexington's Hunter Pence who has 21. Concepcion has crawled over the Mendoza line and is up to .227, but is hitting .344 in June. Gomez (.254) leads the team with 30 stolen bases, followed by Brinkley with 19, and Concepcion and Wilson Batista with 13 each. The only real struggles at the plate for now are when facing leftie pitchers.

This is a fun team to watch, so I hope to see you out there in the next few games!!

Jim Burt, Jr. is the son of Jim Burt, Sr., formerly of the NY Giants
and SF 49ers of the NFL. (he won a Super Bowl with each team)

Ah, thanks 5car. I knew his dad was a professional athlete, but I was under the impression his dad was a baseball player, too.

If you didn't make it to the game last Sunday, you should really try to make it Saturday. On Father's Day, 19 year old Gaby Hernandez pitched a CG shut out against West Virginia. It was awesome. The win put Hagerstown in a tie with Lexington for the first half champions. Since both teams were tied 5-5 in head to head play during the first half, the championship will be determined during the first game of the next series the teams play against each other. That means this Saturday will be the rubber game to declare a first half winner who gets an automatic trip to the playoffs at the end of the season.

The Suns are in Lakewood, NJ right now, but are playing down a bit by shuffling their pitching rotation so Hernandez will pitch again on Saturday. Lexington will pitch their own 19 year old phenom, Troy Patton. This will be a serious pitching duel.

And even if you aren't into baseball, you should come Saturday for the Fear Factor tryout thing they are doing! More info here. Hope you can catch the action Saturday!!

Whooo-hooo!

Suns are 1st half champs! Looking forward to game 2, and 3 if needed, in September, here in H-town!

Gaby Hernandez pitched 5 respectable innings against Lexington Saturday night. Lexington's Troy Patton began to tire in the 4th and was lifted in early in the 5th. Suns gained 5 runs that inning and never looked back.

Sadly, three of the guys that got Hagerstown to the playoffs are moving up to high A in Florida on Friday. Catcher Aaron Hathaway, RF Dante Brinkley, and SS/2B Wilson Batista are headed to warmer climes.

Matt Bacon will finally get to see some time calling the game from behind the plate when Jesus Flores gets an off day. Cory Coles and Derran Watts will most likely share duty in left and as DH. Who will take over the infield is the big question. Russ Tripplett is on the roster, but was injured early in the season. Even with him, it would make sense to bring in someone else as back-up. Will that player be someone moving down from high A, or someone moving up from short season. I would like to see Arman Gaerlan back, personally. The other option...bring in a rookie signee, most likely a high pick to test out.

Looking forward to the team's return after the All-Star break. Should be an interesting second half, with lots of player movement, now that college is done.

I see that our beloved Suns are in the playoffs for the first time since 2001

Go Suns!!!

Yes, they are in the playoffs, but I'm not too optimistic about them going anywhere after Friday. The team has been pretty much depleted of talent, with most of the players now on the team coming up from the Kingsport rookie league, all fresh out of the draft. They just don't have the togetherness that the early season folks had. There are glimpses of talent there, it just needs to be developed. Somedays, they look like little leagus, other days, they all look like they should be moved up.

Pitching is unstable, as it has been all season. Gaby Hernandez really shored up the starting rotation. Since his move up, the starters have struggled. As always, if the started has a good outing, the relief falls apart, and vice versa.

Tonight's 1st game in Delmarva was a 3-13 loss . I'm sure there was a closed door team led meeting...no coaches allowed! These guys seem really good about working things out themselves and motivating each other.

I would encourage everyone to come out Friday night to support the guys. They are enthusiastic, even with disappointing games like this. I'll be there, sporting the jersey of our pitcher from last year! Love my boys, so I can't miss what could be the last game of the season. Looking forward to a lot of these guys being back next year. Will be nice to watch them progress. I'm only 6 or 7 years older than them, but I still feel like a parent, lol.

I was at the final regular season game on Monday. Only a turnout of a little over 2000 people. I hope attendance is better on Friday night !!!

Isn't there a chili cookoff in the near future at the stadium? Like this weekend? NOT SURE BOUT THAT. I read in an "Out and About" section of the paper that one was coming up.

Yeah, attendance Monday was a little slim. I think having it in the afternoon interfered with people's other plans, so the team lost out. Would have been better in the evening, especially for my sunscreenless shoulders...ouch!

It was a very good game, though. The guys were really cohesive, even though both sides were letting a lot of non-starters get some action. Lexington's starting pitcher is normally a middle reliever, so I wasn't surprised that he couldn't go the distance and got shelled early. Loved Matt Fisher's in the park home run! Yeah, I know, there was an error on the play, so it isn't technically a home run, but still.....

I'm just glad we're playing Delmarva and not Lexington in the playoffs, since it came down to us beating them the night before and Delmarva winning to decide that fate.

WVD, the chili cookoff is the 24th. I will definitely be there. It was so yummy last, and I ate so much, I thought they were going to have to roll me to the car! Although, it looks like you don't get as many sample tix with your admission this year. Oh, well, it won't deter me from buying extra samples!! Chili addict, I am!

Tonight is your last chance to see the Suns for the season. Game time is 6:35.

Surprisingly, the guys really pulled themselves together after the blow-out against Delmarva. Game 2 was excellent. Pitching was great, everbody was hitting, no costly errors in the field. They won 7-4. That forced game 3 on Saturday, which was a bit more of a nail-biter.

Dante Brinkley moved back to Hagerstown to replace Carlos Gomez who is finished for the season after a groin problem that occurred when trying to run out a bunt the night before. Brinkley made an instant impact, hitting a homer over the right field wall in the second. Nine of the teams 14 hits were for extra bases! The Suns had a nice 8-4 lead when reliever Rafael Cova just couldn't get going in the eighth and gave up 3 runs. Marcello Perez came in for his second close in as many nights to finish the inning without any more damage. The ninth inning was intense. With 2 outs and no one on, Delmarva hit a single, bringing the very big, very dangerous Jason Franz (.308, 22 HR) to the plate for the go-ahead run. Down to his last strike, Franz nailed a ball deep into right-center field. CF Ambiorix Concepcion caught it at the wall to give the Suns the northern division championship and the chance to move into the finals against Kannapolis.

Since I was in class last night, I didn't get to go to the game1 of the best-of-5 finals against the Kannapolis Intimidators. I caught the last 2 innings on the radio on my way home. Sounded like pitching was a bit of a let-down, and there were some fielding errors that really hurt in the 2-8 loss.

Hopefully tonight the guys can have a bit more confidence and will pull off a final win at home. Game 3 (and 4 & 5 if needed) will be played in Kannapolis. I hope the guys can return as champs. Otherwise, it might be a long bus ride home.

I was at the game last night. Suns started early and never trailed
all night. Some questionable calls from the first base umpire had
the crowd on his back all night long, and a close play at the plate
went against Hagerstown as well, although from where I was sitting,
it was the correct call (out). Clutch two-out hitting, decent bullpen help
from both teams kept the game tight. It was easily one of the best
games I've ever seen at Hagerstown. Good luck to the team on
their trip to NC.

An aside: Come on, Hagerstown....this is YOUR World Series !!!
Where's the support ?? Just 800 or so on Monday and my estimate
for last night is equally disappointing...no wonder there's no new
stadium happening.

The game last night really was good. The Suns have some great arms in the outfield. Only 913 fans showed up !!! That's awful for a championship series !!!!

Very good game last night! I've decided the 1B um's fave movie is "Eyes Wide Shut" I missed the play at home because I was getting my last indulgence of ball park food for the year. Though the LF Kyle Brown play before it was excellent. If they keep playing like last night, they can win it all. AC's motto has been "One at a time" during this whole playoff run. Marcello Perez has been a busy boy, closing all three of the Suns' playoff wins so far.

I invited them over to our cookout Saturday evening, so they better get it done in 2 games and not 3!

Attendence was lousy, but it is a weeknight (Tuesdays are also light) and we are back in the school year. Only die-hards like me would have kids out there at 9:30, so it eliminates a lot of families. If only we had the back half of the playoffs. We would have had better crowds on Friday and Saturday, I think.

Did anyone see that three of the best players from the 2005 Suns were traded to the Florida Marlins ???

Gaby Hernandez and Dante Brinkley were part of the Paul Lo Duca deal.

Grant Psomas was traded as part of the deal for Carlos Delgado.

The Mets are dealing away a lot of young talent for experienced players. Are they turning into the National League equivalent of the Yankees ????