The Tri-City Valleycats opened defense of their New York-Penn League baseball championship Friday at soggy Joe Bruno Stadium. The inclement weather prior to the game kept some fans away as it was not the complete sellout I suspected it might be.
The gates opened at 5:55 p.m., but the box office had been open all day. Surprisingly, there was no line when I arrived, so I had no problem getting a ticket. To borrow a line from Tom Petty, dating back 30 years, the waiting was the hardest part, standing in the rain, waiting for those gates to open.
The traditional opening night festivities were punctuated this year with the official presentation of the league championship trophy, along with the banner, which now hangs beneath the press box, as there's no other place to hang the banners. First pitch was at 7:24, and by the time it was over, some three hours later, the 'Cats suffered another opening night defeat at the hands of the Vermont Lake Monsters, 9-3.
It was promising early, even though Vermont drew first blood with a run scored on a wild pitch. Tri-City would score their first run the same way an inning later, but shoddy defense proved to be the champs' ultimate undoing, as Tri-City committed 5 errors. There were three wild pitches in all, plus a hit batsman, and the Lake Monsters capitalized on seemingly every mistake.
The Lake Monsters changed major league affiliations this year, switching from Washington to Oakland. In turn, the Auburn Doubledays are affiliated with Washington, after previously being linked with Toronto, which has no representation in the NY-P league this year.
With less than two weeks after the Major League Baseball entry draft, NY-P teams aren't really expected to jell right away, and, thus, mistakes are to be expected. Tri-City only returned 5 players from last year's championship team, which illustrates the high turnover rate in the league as players move up the ladder toward the bigs. While the 'Cats suffered on defense in the second half of the game, the Lake Monsters, with only one error, were much more disciplined on the field.
The fans were kept entertained with the on-field promotions between innings, though it seemed a little strange that the 'Cats apparently cut loose one of their mascots, as "Sammy Baseball" was missing on opening night. The "Mayors Race" might be more entertaining if the real mayors were asked to sub for their "mascot" counterparts for a night, just for kicks, especially considering that Troy Mayor Harry Tutunjian will be leaving office at the end of the year. Just my opinion.
With World Team Tennis' NY Buzz having merged with the downstate Sportimes, and the team only making 2 appearances in Albany this season, plus the uncertainty of the NY Giants being able to hold training camp at the University at Albany due to the NFL lockout, the Valleycats may have the sports fan's attention all to themselves this summer, at least until Saratoga begins its annual horse racing meet at the end of July. It says a lot about fan loyalty that the 'Cats, in their 10th season, are a steady draw despite having no television contract, and having discontinued radio broadcasts a while back. The fans have seen the team go through growing pains every year, so they know what to look for. 3 division titles and a league championship in the first 9 seasons is pretty good. Will the 'Cats recover and make the postseason for a 2nd straight year? It's too early to tell, so all I can say is, stay tuned.
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