Food, Glorious Food and Other Tid Bits

First item: Chris Marrero has torn his hamstring and is expected to miss the first part of spring training.

Second item: A couple of weeks ago, there was an article in the local paper recapping the Chiefs annual shareholder's meeting. Lots of good things ahead.

Chiefs paid off a loan they've been paying on since 1996.

The 10 games that Scranton Wilkes-Barre will be playing "at home" at Alliance Bank Stadium (while PNC Filed is being refurbished) will be included as bonus games at no extra cost for season ticket holders. YAY!

How about a new, state-of-the-art scoreboard?  If you don't think this is needed, please revisit the October 30th installment of this blog. Looks like it's going to happen.

The Chiefs have also entered into a partnership with Syracuse University's College of Sport and Human Dynamics. The purpose? Researching how to "increase attendance and improve overall fan experience". They could have just asked us. We have lots of ideas (none of which include tossing ice cream sandwiches into the stands).

Finally, Center Plate is out as the concessionaires, and Ovation Food Services is in. This is the same company that handles concessions at Rochester's Frontier Field. TV Stevie spoke to Jim from Center Plate at tonight's Syracuse University Basketball game. Jim seems to be OK with losing the Chief's account.

 This could be good, although I wouldn't want to lose Dinosaur BBQ pulled pork sandwiches. There are just some nights when a gal needs Dinosaur and a beer.

But my biggest concern is the hot dogs. Have you ever had a hot dog at Frontier Field? They are bar-none the worst hot dogs I have ever eaten. Ever. And they're small. Tiny. Which is good, because they're so awful, so there is less of them to choke down. I sure hope Alliance Bank Stadium sticks with Hoffmann's.

Where Have All The Players Gone?

The Syracuse Chiefs are going to look a whole lot different in the 2012 season. Inevitable at this level of play, I suppose. After all, the 2011 team was vastly different from the 2010 team.

Here's what's going on:

Manager Randy Knorr has been called up to the Nats as a bench coach.

Jhonatan Solano has been called up to the Nats.



Corey Brown has been outrighted to the Chiefs. I guess we have another season of being snubbed by him. Oh joy.

The Chiefs have signed a new 3B -- Josh Johnson.

And the following have opted for free agency:

• Jesus Valdez
• Tug Hulett
• Jeff Frazier
• JD Martin
• Gregor Blanco
• Garret Mock
• Seth Bynum
• Michael Aubrey
• Matt Antonelli
• Carlos Maldonado. (My heart is breaking!)

I know that Matt Antonelli has signed with the Baltimore Orioles.Yeah Matt! He also got engaged to his girlfriend Laura over last weekend. Only the best, Matt.

Other favorites from other teams who've also gone the free-agent route: Chase "Mr. Error" Lambin, Jason "J-Botts" Botts, and Valentino "Pistachio" Pascucci. (Admit it, Sandee, Pistachio is one of your favorites).

Generic Update

Wilson Ramos has been rescued and is getting ready to rejoin his Winter League team to play ball. So glad he's safe!

Ryan Tatusko decided to remain in Venezuela and play for his team there, saying he felt perfectly safe.

And Carlos Maldonado is from Venezuela, as well as playing in the Winter Leagues there right now.

A lot of people seem to think the Washington Nationals are poised to do great things in the next couple of years. And a lot of Syracuse Chiefs are being mentioned as being part of the process.

Molly, Brad Peacock, Sandee

Brad Peacock (RHP) is a name that's popping up with frequency. As is Steve Lombardozzi. Both Chiefs were called up to Washington near the end of the season. Tommy Milone is also on some lists.

Brian Bixler is going to the Astros.

 Matt Antonelli mentioned he's been talking to a lot of different teams.

There are going to be lots of changes in the next couple of months now that baseball season is over.

The continuing problem of minor league baseball: it's tough to get invested when the players might not be here tomorrow.

Former Chief Allegedly Kidnapped

Catcher Wilson Ramos played in Syracuse for a while in 2010.

Now he's allegedly been kidnapped.

Holy cow.

Let's hope he comes out of this okay.

Doctor Ice Cream

Remember back on August 8, Happiness Happens Day, when an dentist and a doctor from Canada were in Syracuse and came to the Chiefs Game?

Well, I'd swapped e-mail addresses with one of them, so he could check out the blog. A few days later, I received a very nice response:

It was very nice meeting you as well. We had a blast at the game . . . as you could see! We checked out the blog and had some great laughs seeing the photos and reading your comments. You do a great job. We're hoping to get down again next season for a game. Thanks again and best wishes.

DDS & MD: If you do come down for another game, be sure to stop by Section 207 to say hi. We'll be looking for you. 

Hockey vs. Baseball and Other Rants

A few weeks ago, TV Stevie and I attended the home opener for the local "minor league" hockey franchise. Like the Syracuse Chiefs, the Syracuse Crunch play in a county-owned facility. There was a sell-out crowd, capacity a bit over 6,000 fans. And it was loud. They had "cheerleaders" (Ice Girls), none of whom looked a day over 16.

But what struck me was the scoreboard and other lighting effects around the rink.

There are around 38 home games in the team's season. That's about half as many home games as the Chiefs play. Sellout capacity, too, is roughly half of what Alliance Bank Stadium holds. Have I mentioned that the War Memorial and Alliance Bank Stadium are both county-owned facilities?

Then what's wrong with this picture?

Let's take another, closer look at the Crunch's scoreboard:

Figured it out yet?

Okay, here are two more hints.

Frontier Field, Rochester

PNC Field, Scranton (which is being rehabbed this coming season)

I'm sure you see my point by now.

Speaking of Rochester's Frontier Field:

To all the people out there who thought the stadium should have been built in downtown Syracuse, come to a game sometime, then go to an event in downtown.Which location is easier to get to? Easier to locate parking? Easier to leave?

Syracuse isn't like Rochester, with all those huge, open Kodak parking lots near the stadium. I mean, think about parking at the Carrier Dome. Think about all the money the city of Syracuse has to spend on street closures, traffic cops, etc. because of the dearth of parking (altho' I understand that the University is now contributing payment to those costs). Granted, a stadium that holds around 12,000 people isn't going to generate the traffic a facility holding 60,000 will generate, but stuck in traffic is still stuck in traffic. Downtown Syracuse isn't built to handle massive influxes of traffic.

TV Stevie and I went to the Lion King last month. Finding parking was a nightmare. We ended up on the top level of the ONCenter garage. After the show, we sat for half an hour before TV even started the car. (It wasn't wasted time. We listened to a Washington Nationals game on TV's iPhone.)

I like Alliance Bank Stadium right where they built it. Now if only the county would do something about the scoreboard.

Fall Classic Sale, or How My Living Room Ended Up Looking Like Superman's Closet

I got to spend some time at the stadium yesterday.

Like last year, the Fall Classic Sale was held on a cold, overcast day. 

At least it wasn't blustery and rainy.

The field and stands looked a little sad. Lonely.

It didn't seem like there was as much "game worn" merchandise as there was last year. 

 Somebody bought the pink breast cancer awareness cleats

 before I had a chance to try them on. . . . 

or even get a picture.

Lot's of Michael Aubrey hats, 

but only numbers in the rest, 

and no one whose number 

I either remembered or wanted.

 Distance markers? Scoreboard numbers? Not sure.

TV Stevie and I arrived at 9:15AM for the 9AM start, 

and I learned that someone had already purchased Jason Botts' locker name plate. 

I was devastated when Josh told me that.

Lots of names I recognized, 

but only Gregor Blanco from this year's team. 

If they're selling his locker name plate, 

does that mean he won't be back in 2012?

I should have bought Joel Peralta's for Sandee.

But it wasn't a complete bust for me this year. Not at all.

You see, there was a rack of red and blue Starter jackets -- with the old Skychiefs logo on them. They still had their tags. They still had tissue stuffed inside them. Rumor had it that they were only $15. Turned out to be true. They were all size LARGE. I tried one on. It was big. I decided to buy it. TV Stevie saw how large it was on me, so tried one on. It fit him. He bought it. Another man heard they were only $15 each, so he grabbed one, not caring if it fit or not.

As we were heading back to our car, TV said, "You know, Anthony would love one of these." So I snapped a photo with my phone, texted it to Sandee with a message, then called her (she was teaching a class and couldn't make the sale). "Yes!" she said. "One for each of us!" 

In the meantime, TV tried calling XG-Man and got voice mail. He left a message. I went back up to the sale. There were five jackets left. I grabbed three. Another shopper asked me how much they were, and I (foolishly, according to TV) told him. He grabbed the last two. We debated whether or not to buy one for XG-Man (that's why I had three), and I said, let's just do it. So I did. While I was inside paying for them, XG called TV and said, "Yes!" I probably should have grabbed one for his wife, but wasn't quick enough.

General Manager John Simone walked by and saw me with an armful of jackets and asked, "Do you have a team?" I said, "No, this is for Row One of Section 207." He laughed and said, "The whole section."

We are going to look so sharp on opening day. Sandee e-mailed later last night, "Who would have thought we could get even more cool than we already are??" 


As we were driving home, TV commented that with five of these jackets, our house was going to look like Superman's Closet. I had no idea what he was talking about, so he explained. It was an episode of THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN (the B&W version starring George Reeves upon which TV & I grew up) where a mobster broke into Clark Kent's apartment and found a secret closet, filled with Superman's uniforms. The episode is actually called The Stolen Costume and is considered by some to be the best episode in the series. I don't remember it at all.

Then TV observed that only Maven didn't have a new jacket, but that he wouldn't want one anyway, because he refuses to wear anything with SKYCHIEFS on it. His loss.