My My, It's July...A Look Back

A new Outlaw to tell you about...Wayne Franklin has been signed and will start tonight on the mound against the Edmonton Capitals. Check out chicooutlaws.com for the story.

Here is a link to today's game notes: Copy and paste...
http://www.goldenbaseball.com/Files/F533/GAME NOTES20.doc

CHICO LINEUP
1. Dale Swinford SS
2. Dan Luyben 2B
3. Rich Janeway CF
4. Bryan Silverman DH
5. Truan Mehl LF
6. Jason Crosland 1B
7. Blake Gailen RF
8. BJ Underkofler C
9. Jonny Ash 3B
SP - Wayne Franklin

EDMONTON LINEUP
1. Marcus Nettles LF
2. Max Poulin SS
3. Darryl Brinkley RF
4. Jorge Cortes 1B
5. Joey Gomes DH
6. Aaron Hornastaj 2B
7. Chad Ehrnsberger 3B
8. Matt Ceriani C
9. Kevin House CF
SP - Trevor Caughey (0-1,)

And here is a picture of the special Green Bay Packer inspired jerseys the Outlaws will be donning tonight. The game-worn jerseys will be auctioned off to raise funds for the Chico Young Life organization. Email bids early in the evening will be accepted...



Hey Folks…our final TV game tonight, and what a special night. Aaron Rodgers will be our honorary guest of the Outlaws. The starting quarterback for the storied Green Bay Packers, Rodgers is returning home to Chico and coming out to the ballyard to raise money for Chico Young Life. The Outlaws will wear special green-and-gold uniforms (pictures promised), and they will be auctioned off after the ballgame for the fundraiser. Email bidding accepted…

The TV crew from Comcast HomeSports will be here, marking today as a special broadcast. The night will be captured on camera, and the whole crew does an awesome job. Fred and the crew of half-a-dozen arrive at the ballpark about 4 p.m., and by five, they’ve created a spiderweb of cables all around the ballyard. They have six cameras combing The Nett and a TV monitor in my booth!! So exciting!

As we’ve gotten to our third month, I’m ready to conclude that being on the road is quite the grind and the dog days of summer are ahead of us. Yes, the hotel rooms are calm places to work/relax. However, the days spent on the bus, getting near 10,000 miles, is starting to show. I don’t see how the players do it. I’ve seen some sleeping on the floor, some pool-rafts turned air-mattresses, a lot of Ben Shockey’s feet, too many action movies, and every mile on the Grapevine ten times.

The road though seems like a place to focus. The bus to the ballpark is a regimented time of the afternoon, and a routine of “I’ll get up for breakfast at 8 a.m. or not” is a decision to be made. I’ve loved all the cities I’ve gotten to visit so far, especially Tucson. I appreciate the travel as part of my overall job experience, and really enjoyed catching up with a previous host family, the Lauer’s in Yuma. They hosted me for six weeks during an internship with the GBL operated 2009 Arizona Winter League, and I ate way too many great stakes and porkchops not to be thankful.

Just sitting in a seat for 10+ hours is difficult. The bus is comfortable and our exclusive driver Art Gonzales is awesome. But, the miles have piled up. Coping is all about an Ipod, a newspaper, and some agreeability with whatever flick is not just showing, but shaking the bus-speaker above your head with all of 2009 action-movie, gun-firing sound-effects…at 2 a.m. or 8 a.m.

I don’t complain though. I feel very much a part of the traveling party, and enjoy the travel and spectacle of the different baseball cities we’ve gotten to go to..

So…We will have our last TV game and then get all the DVD copying together so folks (like myself) outside the Comcast customership can review the games. Great artifacts for a 2009 summer. We thank the Yuba City crew for traveling up the Hwy. 99 to work with us. No better time to start a hot-streak. The weather is going to remain a little bit on the cooler side of the 90 degree C mark, and the Outlaws will look to even the series.