Still here

I'm still alive, y'all - just checking in. I know I haven't posted in a while.

Not much new is going on as far as the Navigators go. Things will be picking up soon. I'm currently working on a story about our reading program, which is being developed this week; it will be similar to the Spirit's program from the last few years.

As for everything else - well, life is life. Busy, but I can't complain.

Who else is still out there? What have you all been up to this winter?

Ottawa,Grays Set For 2008 Can-Am Season

FROM CAN-AMLEAGUE.COM:
With a unanimous vote of the Ottawa City Council and a unanimous vote of the Board of Directors of the Canadian American Association, the Can-Am League welcomes Ottawa as the eighth team for the 2008 season. The league had been set to operate again with the Grays as a road team, but a strong push by fans and baseball supporters in the Canadian capital, led to a lease being available for the Can-Am League.

The Ottawa Stadium seats 10,000 which will make it the largest in the Can-Am League. A Canadian ownership group is being developed, and initially a two-year lease will be signed. A name for the new team will be chosen through a name the team contest. Front office and a field staff will be selected in the coming weeks.

Commented Can-Am Commissioner Miles Wolff, "Ottawa is a great addition to our league. With a great stadium and an area population of over 1 million, the city has the potential to be one of the top members of the league. We are excited about Ottawa."
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So the talks from way back when have finally come true. Good for them.

ALSO: I pick the Grays as my 2nd favorite team next year ^_^

New poll: name your team

So, apparently our team name choices are down to:

-Wave (ew)
-Tidal Wave (double ew)
-Nor'easters (Not bad at all - North Shore Nor'Easters sounds cool, and it was already supposed to be the name of Lopardo's ill-fated Lynn hockey team)

Out of those three, I don't mind Nor'easters, but I'm not really enamored with any of them. I suggested a few more in a comment in the last post.

I put up a new poll on the right hand side asking you to chime in.

I vote "Sailors." "Lynn Sailors" would be a good way to honor the history of baseball in Lynn. Alternatively, "North Shore Sailors" sounds cool.

If you pick 'other', specify here in the comments. We know that the new owner reads this blog, so think long and hard about this!

NECBL: Fun is Good.

I've already given my take on the NECBL coming to Lynn in the comments, but I'd like to discuss it further here on the front page.

You won't find many people who were as emotionally attached the Spirit as I was, and thus, you won't find many people who will miss them as much as I will next year. I'll miss the familiar players and familiar opponents, I'll miss the length of the season, and I'll miss all the roster quirks of independent baseball.

I can't imagine for one minute that I will ever care about this new team as much as I cared about the Spirit.

But with that said, I am very pleased that the NECBL is coming to Lynn, for several reasons.

First of all, here's something we can all be happy about: the presence of the NECBL will help keep Fraser Field the beautiful park that it is. I was afraid that it would go to ruin when only the city held games there. Now that the field is held by a group that needs to appeal to paying customers, they will keep it at least close to the glistening condition the Spirit had it in, and for that, I am grateful.

Secondly, many people have mentioned the quality of play. I do think that the quality of play will be much spottier than Can-Am League ball, but we will also see players in the NECBL that are better than CanAm guys, younger than CanAm guys, and with way, way more upside. We'll also see many worse players. But it won't be too bad.

Remember, many people wouldn't come support the Spirit - they would rather drive to Manchester or Pawtucket, or just stay in and watch the Sox on TV - because they scoffed at the idea of going to see low-quality independent baseball, refusing to believe that entertainment could be derived from watching the 'riff raff' of the Can-Am League. We know that that wasn't true at all.

As far as the league being 'small-time,' well, it is, but so was the Can-Am; average attendance isn't that much lower than the Can-Am's, save for Brockton and Quebec.

Additionally, I am approaching this season the way I approached the Spirit's first season early on in 2003. I never expected that I would wind up going to every home game, taking road trips all over, making a blog, etc. etc. etc. I was just pleased that not only would I have something to do 20-30 times during the summer, I'd be able to see affordable, live baseball in a nice ballpark. What could be better than that?

Who knows, maybe I will develop the same affinity for this group that I did for the Spirit, but even if I don't, I'll enjoy having baseball to watch close from home.

Also, the fact that an NECBL team filled the vacuum right away proves that people still view this as a viable baseball market - meaning that some owner might plunk down here with an independent team in a few years if we adequately support this team.

Finally, remember how we felt when the final out was made against Nashua? We felt awful for a number of reasons. Obviously, I was upset that we lost, and upset that the team was going out of business, but as much as anything, I was upset that I probably wouldn't see all of the people who comprised my 'Fraser family' ever again.

I can't speak for everyone, but it seems like we all had that same reaction. Who didn't get emotional when reading the story about our group in the Globe? I was going to miss the experience of going to Fraser with some great people. Fortunately, this won't be the case - not even one dormant summer will pass at Fraser Field.

I just can't wait to get back to Fraser and watch baseball.

Won't you join me?