New Year New Post - Back In Bizness!

 

Its been a long time since our last blog. New year means new post and while we aren't always happy to see the old year end its nice to have a fresh start. This year I hope to spend some time covering the Biscuits and maybe expand into a new area - we have been invited to check out Alabama State University's baseball club.

 

So it looks like the blog is back in bizness, tho with less info for plagiarists to rifle. HMU if you are interested in learning more about Montgomery baseball and its long history, I am available for speaking engagements and consultation. 

In an almost-related note, I am open to adding co-writers and creators who would be interested in helping maintain a steady flow of content on all levels of the game in our area. I am available on twitter at DrMiraculous, feel free to reach out!

WHATS UP BISCUITS?

Time for some honesty here. 

It's been difficult for local fans to support the Biscuits team for many, many reasons, among them the constantly shifting MLB affiliations among minor league teams. Now that affiliations are ten year deals, fans have a little longer to figure out what big league club opposing teams are tied to. However now its on the minor league owners to kowtow to Rob Manfred & Co. demands to update ballparks, often in impossible situations. Which is to be expected when you make covert pacts with corporate pirates who lurk behind the curtain of anti-trust exemptions and non-disclosure agreements.

Look for Montgomery to make various required changes that put MLB first and push fans farther from the game while hyping them as improvements. Updates around the park like new umpires rooms and expanded locker room areas for expanded staff are probably neeeded. But they also mean less room for patron amenities and increased separation from the game and players, added at the expense of city coffers and local owners who will be forced to increase fees and prices across the ballpark to compensate. 

When the net goes up, YOU pay for it!

That being said, the current ownership in Montgomery is uniquely suited to handle adversity, be it competing sporting events, challenging marketing environs or even MLB mandated construction. 

Maybe they don't knock it out of the park every time but the Biscuits usually get the job done at a level local fans appreciate and the front office has earned back some respect as the team tries to repair its local image after the previous owners burned many bridges before selling.

 
Biscuit fans will have to wait to see what the team chooses to work with, around, and against as we move forward.

 

LEFTOVERS

Biscuits hurler Josh Roberson: in four seasons has pitched for eleven different teams!

Andrew Gross is one of three blue gloves on the team. I asked how he came to choose his game leather and he told me a great story about umpire finding dirt on his glove and confiscating it on suspicion of using a foreign substance. That left Andrew, a 39th round pick, without a glove to use! 

Andrew reached to to his agent who in turn contacted a smaller company who offered a twice-a-year deal to keep the sidearm hurler supplied in game gear. That company, JL Gloves, makes pro gloves for players at many levels in a family-run business. I had a chance to ask their representative about Andrew Gross' standout blue glove and how visible it is. "Not everyone makes as bold a statement as Andrew, but we are happy to accommodate his choice and it looks great!" That it does, my friends, that it does!

The Biscuits have been using a new system for tracking game data. 

PREDICTING THE SKITZ 2023 EDITION

These just don't get any easier, do they? With Durham skipper and our "Biscuit of the Decade" for the teens Brady Williams getting promoted to Tampa's base coach box, will Morgan Ensberg take over filling out the Bulls lineup card? If not, will he keep his apartment in Montgomery this summer? So many questions, so until we have answers... let us have predictions!

 

MGR Wuarner Rincones

Pitching Coach Jim Paduch

 

1B Dillon Paulson

2B Ronny Simon

3B Tanner Murray

SS Alika Williams

C Logan Driscoll

RF Diego Infante

CF Mason Auer

LF Hariberto Hernandez

Tyler Frank UT

Eric Ostberg C

Kyle Manzardo 1B

Matt Dyer C/UT

Abiezel Ramirez UT

PITCHERS

John Doxakis

Mason Montgomery

Patrick Wickander

Anthony Molina

Nathan Wiles 

Logan Workman

Ben Brecht

Joe LaSorsa

Zack Trageton

Andrew Gross

Graeme "Yukon Cornelius" Stinson

Franklin Dacosta 

Kyle Whitten

Cameron Leonard