Two weeks until Opening Day. 14 days. 336 hours. 20,160 minutes. Okay, it's 6:55 PM as I write this so 20,165 minutes. Sue me.
Every time I stop by Greer Stadium I see more and more signs of spring. Robins? Naaaahhhhh. Outfield Billboards! The Stadium Ops crew is hard at work getting Greer Stadium ready for the 2006 season and as more and more sponsors get their billboard art work in, more and more outfield signs are being put up and since corporate marketing departments tend to put stuff like artwork off until the last minute, that must mean we are getting down to the....the last minute! 20,161 to be exact.
This off season has been more exciting than most. We had a great 2005 with more than 420,000 fans coming through the gates and that all culminated in a championship banner. The first professional championship in Nashville since the Sounds won the Southern League title 23 years prior. The Sounds are the defending Pacific Coast League Champions, yes, I know many of you may say "Pacific Coast League?" and wonder how we could be seven hours drive from the Atlantic Ocean and three DAYS drive from the Pacific Ocean but, go figure. We've even got the big gaudy rings to prove it. I think these things have Wonder Twin Powers or something, they are huge! If they have a secret compartment you could stick a small person in there. In reality they are great. White gold with the Sounds logo on the top with a bunch of diamond/cubic zirconia/glass/clear plastic on the top. On the sides there is a Milwaukee Brewers logo engraved and my name (Maybe that is why the ring is so big?) it also says PCL Champions on there and the 3-0 series score the Sounds won by. It's big, it's gaudy, it will punch through glass long before it cuts through it, but it is great. It was very nice of the Sounds owner, Al Gordon, and GM Glenn Yaeger to get one for the staff as well as the players.
Of course the other big news took place in the chambers of the Nashville City Council on February 7th when the council approved the new stadium. In 2008 the Sounds and Nashville will have a new home for baseball on the riverbank. The design process is yet to be completed but I know it is going to shine as one of the best ballparks in the country. I have already made two specific requests for the new stadium.
1. The new stadium has to have a broadcast booth. I need job security people!
2. The broadcast booth has to have a window.
3. I know I said two, but make sure the window faces the field.
A lot of people worked a lot of hours to get the stadium deal done, from the development partner, Streuver Bros., to the members of city council who lobbied on behalf of it, to longtime ticket holders and of course to the Sounds' staff. GM Glenn Yaeger led the fight for the new ballpark and it took more than three years of negotiations to get it done. Many would have folded their tents a lot sooner.
Yes, 2005 was a great year. We saw plenty of players who will be stars in the big leagues such as Rickie Weeks and Prince Fielder. We had a clubhouse full of talent that played as a team and didn't put self above Sounds. We'll miss them and we'll have to be happy with catching them on television playing for Milwaukee. However, the 2006 season is shaping up to be a pretty good one as well. Plenty of pitching talent should be on display at the start of the year and while back to back pennants are pretty hard to come by, I think the Sounds will have something to say about the 2006 champ when it's all said and done.
Next blog I'll try and go over some of the players.
Until then, if somebody hands you a carton of milk and says it smells funny? Don't taste it.
20,132 minutes to go.
email me at chuck@nashville sounds.com
No comments:
Post a Comment