Friday, June 13, 2008

Night of our 2nd Cub Scout Sleepover

What a busy day today ….one minute we were down 7-3 and the next up 8-7. Fireworks went great in Right field ….seems like the talent in this league is far away the best ever. Seems like players are being picked up all over the league. I just wish there was more control over the waterfront parking and concerts concerns. Moving the fireworks help but the city needs to finish the proposed parking facility. The good news is im a little slimmer directing traffic in the heat!

The cub scout sleepover in underway. Had a deep fried smores ….did a couple of patrols and made sure proper measures are in place…I am already look forward to breakfast...guess im no longer slimmer....

Nice being in first place with no rain in sight this homestand!!!

As always, if you ever need to reach out to me, please call at 856-583-0030 or email at alorber@riversharks.com

Time to go to sleep for 2 hours…


Adam

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

They go in threes...
















Brian Lawrence is back to the National League. Well, close. Lawrence has been picked up by the Braves and will be throwing for their Triple-A team. Lawrence is a former 15 game winner in the Majors who pitched well in the Atlantic League. He leaves the Riversharks with a 3.21 ERA over eight starts.

Props

Looks like our grounds crew is getting some of the props they deserve.

Monday, June 9, 2008

Practical Jokers and superstitions

Wednesday afternoon I was approached by 3B/1B Brett Bonvechio in regards to having his Intro music changed.  I happily obliged when he told me it was because he was trying everything to get out of the hitting slump he was currently in.  Don't ever let someone tell you they are more superstitious then a baseball player.  

The very next day I was approached by Richard Lewis about a new intro song.  I didn't think anything of it.  I'm not exactly sure exactly how the whole thing went down but it had to be pretty close to this.  

R: Hey Chris,
C: Hey what's up man? 
R: Can I get a new intro song tonight? 
C: Yeah, sure. 
R: You know Bonvechio's old song?
C: Yeah, "The Originators" by Bone Thugs in Harmony
R: Yeah, The entire first time through the batting order everyone but Bonvechio is going to come out to that song.  Let him (Bonvechio) walk out to his new one.  
C: OK, we can do that.
R: O yeah, and Chris every time after that I'm going to keep coming out to that song.  

So that's how it all started.  

No one knew.  Just the players and the video booth.  The top of the first flies by and up to the plate steps Nic Jackson.  The entire walk to the plate Jackson is looking back into the dugout laughing at Bonvechio who is wondering what is going on.  

"Now batting, third baseman, number 7, Richard Lewis"   is heard over the loud speaker.  Lewis strolls to the plate looking back into the dugout and almost losing it while Bonvechio throws his hands into the air as to give up.  

The same routine took place through every player's first trip to the plate. 

As I recalled on Friday with Brett, the joke was really on the rest of the starting line up as Bonvechio was the only player to record a hit during that first trip through the batting order.  

Practical jokes are always a good sign that the clubhouse of your favorite team is loose and headed for a good season.  A team that is able to interact on and off the field will generally go further then a group of individuals playing for themselves.  

In terms of superstitions, last Thursday was also Salute to Old School Baseball.  Players were given old school stir-ups, and the highlights of some of the greatest plays of all time were played in between innings.  

Most of the players really enjoyed the evening and the chance to kick it back to the good old days.  On the other hand, RiverSharks CF Nic Jackson was having a bonfire with his stir-ups after the game.  It may have been the stir-ups or he may have just been out of sink with the another person's intro music but Jackson broke his 9 game hitting streak.  

I'm still a fan of the shaving cream pie to the face or the bubble gum bubble on the hat but the RiverSharks are a team that gets along well enough for the occasional practical joke.  This team is loose and a half game ahead of Bridgeport going into an important series this week.  

- Chris Reed

Friday, June 6, 2008

Salute to Baseball

Amidst all of the dreary weather and rain today, my spirits are still incredibly high! Tomorrow’s game is the event I have been waiting for since the beginning of the season. There has been so much anticipation and excitement for tomorrow’s Salute to Old School Baseball Night since the end of last week!
Now you might ask why I am so excited about tomorrow, well maybe it is because there is so much to look forward to! ESPN’s Page Two writer, Paul Lukas, will be joining us to report from the game. This is a monumental event for us to have ESPN take an interest in our ball club and come here to report on the game. The most distinctive thing about Paul and his column is his commentary over unique aspects of America’s greatest game. In his Uni-watch column you can find him obsessing over the length of the players sleeves or minutiae aspects of there uniforms, even commenting about the styles and amount of stripes on the players socks.
In the spirit of Paul Lukas visit we have ordered stirrups for all of the players to wear. However we have yet to open the box and see exactly how they turned out. The wait for the stirrups and all of the great events planned, has brought back those feelings I used to get on Christmas morning when it would almost be time to open up all the gifts under the tree.
The excitement over the guest, the gear, and the game against the York Revolution will provide for one of the greatest events of the season. Don’t miss out on the great atmosphere tomorrows is guaranteed to bring. For me tomorrow will be Christmas in June. Until then peace, love and homeruns

-JC Williams

Sorry the post didnt go up on Wednesday