MGM to host 2015 AllStar Game, promotion suggestion, history abounds!

Lots to get to with the second half starting up on Thursday, so lets get to it!

ALLSTAR GAME?
WE GOT NEXT

Montgomery will host the SL AllStar game next year. With Mobile passing, our fair city moves up!

Thats right fans, as predicted here in the blog we get the '15 SLASG and you heard it here first! Tell your friends how DrM told you about it!


 I hope we can do what the Lookouts did and host our home run derby in our historic park, Paterson Field, site of the very first Southern League All Star Game in 1972.

Announced this week, plans for a busy offseason of work on Paterson, which hosts over 200 events annually, making it still the most-used sports venue in the city.

The old park is basically the same as it was when it was built in 1949, except for the dugout roofs which were added later.

Among the renovations being discussed is the removal of the old roof, hopefully to be replaced or fans will bake!

Also needed would be updates for the clubhouse and press box.

Oh, and the turf and infield grass and the drainage.

Oh and the seats, they say they want to replace the old wooden bleachers with seats, but I suspect thats a stretch.

However for a home run derby, Paterson Field is the perfect venue with a deep history for Montgomery including MLB players like Bucky Dent and Cal Ripken Jr.

What better way to raise a few funds for the old park and honor the cities history than to hold our own home run derby at the old park?

Paterson overlooks the cemetery

CURRENT EVENTS

Thursty Thirsday should be lively this week now that the weather has heated up. With Jello Shooters added into the factor it could be a memorable event for some and a forgotten night for others.

SUGGESTION BOX
So with the thursday promotion, I felt it was time to offer up a suggestion to the Biscuits for a future promotion. Its a very similar thing to what other teams have done, but I think the Biscuits are a perfect fit.

Two words...

Biscuit Headphones

Teams have already been giving away themed headphones, but what would be a more iconic way to promote the brand! Here is example A - the Washington Nats gave away team colored headphones...

Now if they were just biscuits for headphones, wouldn't it be perfect??

If you doubt the food-for-headwear concept, just check out Josh Gates hamburger ear muffs -  they became a runaway viral holiday purchase.

Google Josh Gates Hamburger Earmuffs and see for yourself!

Go ahead, I mean it, I'll wait....

Told ya!
So whats to stop the Biscuits from having the best giveaway by any minor league baseball team ever?

I better get an extra pair for this suggestion, which I do consider my finest offering for a giveaway short of a Victor Mateo Bobblehead!

SPEAKING OF VICTOR....
I am thinking of ordering a small run of Victor Mateo No-Hitter Bobbleheads, please contact me if you are interested in getting one, though it may take until the offseason to get together. More details coming!

THE BASHIN BAYBEARS

With the second half we finally get some new teams coming to call. First up is powerhouse Mobile's BayBears.

The BayBears are led by top prospect Jake Lamb, who would be the studliest player in the Southern league if it weren't for some Cub named Kris Bryant. Also the Mobile team features power-hitting Jon Griffin, currently second in the league in homers.

Justin Fitzgerald leads the BBs with six wins in ten games, and Bradin Hagens with five. Jake Barrett is the closer, second in the league in saves.

As a team, Mobile is a good hitting club, among the leaders in batting average. However they struggle to touch the dish, currently last in the league in runs scored. They hit the ball over the wall, second in homeruns and leading the league in RBI.

The BayBears are last in stolen bases with just 19 on the year - thats less than Willie Argo!

In the field the BayBears have the best ERA in the Southern League, more than a full run lower than the Biscuits.

FAMILIAR FACE

Mobile has one name Biscuits fans will know - catcher Mark Thomas.

Now with a new team Thomas has finished his league obligations and been reinstated just in time for him to hit three homers in his first 11 games.

Thomas shares catching duties with Steve Rodriguez and RayWilly Gomez.



RAYWILLY GOMEZ

yes, Raywilly Gomez.

THE Raywilly Gomez.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR

The Mobile BB's are tough at the plate and on the hill, it could be a harsh start to the second half for the MoSkitz. Hopefully the Montgomery players have rested and the new meat on the team will be up to the task at hand.

Bradys Boys will need pitchers to keep the ball in the yard and figure out a way to stop the Mobile thundersticks from putting up crooked numbers. Also the home team needs baserunners, an endangered species on the last homestand. The GumpSkitz need to keep running to survive and without baserunners the team has no weapon to score.


REBELS VOICE TURNS UP
I talked to Joe at the last homestand and learned that he was the PA Announcer for the Rebels in the 1970s! Sweet gig, I had no idea he was the man behind the mic.

So now I am working up questions, its always cool to find a Rebels fan, especially someone connected with the team. Getting the history is wonderful and Joe was there in the booth when the team was at its zenith.

Superfan Richard, Uncle Mikey, Joe and Big Mo kicking back at the game

Already he shed some light on the reason for the teams move, and its pretty much what we could have suspected.

A new face in municipal government didn't want to put budget towards upgrading the stadium - see above - and put the ownership in a tough spot. The reasons cited in the newspaper are attendance but its obvious thats not the problem, winning pennant after pennant the Rebels put about the same numbers up annually. But when the city pulled support for the park it became impossible for the Rebs to do business and so Montgomery lost its baseball team.

JUNE 18 1907 
Montgomery and Little Rock play to a 13 inning tie, 3-3

1907 Montgomery Senators

JUNE 18 1920 
 Knoxville, TN
"Grey Sox Win and Lose to Knoxville

In two games thus far played between the Montgomery Grey Sox and the Knoxville team of the Negro Southern League of baseball clubs, each has one game to its credit.

Steel Arm Dickey

Sam Streeter

Today's game was won by the visitors, 5 to 2, with Maddox in the box. Streeter hurled for the locals and was hit at opportune times by the Alabamians.

In yesterday's game the Knoxville team defeated Montgomery 5 to 3, Dickey working for the visitors, while Moss hurled for the local club."



JUNE 19 1916 

John Dodge

Third baseman John Dodge of Mobile is killed by a pitched ball during a Southern league game.

Tom Rogers

With over 100 games in the major leagues as a Phillie and Cinci Red, the light hitting Dodge was unable to dodge a high and tight fastball from Nashville pitcher Tom Rogers. He was hit in the face and did not recover, dying the next day.

Rogers was just 11 days removed from his perfect game against Chattanooga when his errant pitch struck Dodge. Rogers would go on to a long career including four MLB seasons and over 160 minor league victories.

Friday the 13th

 The 13th

The unlucky numbered friday brings images of curses, black cats and bad occurrences happening without reason. In fact, most bad luck is self made, a fact not lost on irony as concerns the Biscuits team, who already have just four wins against seven losses in the month of June.

Not all black cats are bad luck!

 We did take the second game against the Barons, even though we are just playing out the first half string. The next team we host is Mobile, after the SL Allstar Break.

Perhaps on the next homestand we can get Brady Williams or RC Lichtenstein to shed some light on the recent roster moves. Of course, there may be more moves before we get the chance!

 

 THIS WEEKS HISTORY LESSON

JUNE 8, 1942
CHEATHAM THE REBEL TIGER

The Montgomery Rebels added to the drawing power of the club by signing Auburn Tiger Lloyd Cheatham.

He would hit .324 in 30 games for Montgomery and later would play four seasons of pro football for New York and St.Louis in the 1940s.





JUNE 11, 1937 
PISTOL PETE PLAYS FIRST GAME... IN ALABAMA

Pete Reiser appears for Union Springs in a game vs Pensacola, going O-4 with an error at third base.

Reiser, aged fifteen at the time, later claimed never to have appeared in a game for Union Springs, but the box score indicates a forgettable game did happen.

DRIVERS LICENSE?
The Cardinals employed him as a chauffeur for scout Charlie Barrett after Reiser sneaked into a Cardinals tryout and impressed the team. Cards brass, who knew he was too young to sign, hired him to keep him loyal until he was of age. It was on his trip through the South with Barrett that Reiser wound up on the field at Pensacola.

Pete was later among a group of minor leaguers deemed free agents by Commissioner Landis, he wound up in the Dodgers chain. The Dodgers ownership had promised to sign Reiser and deal him back to the Cards, but Reiser was so impressive in spring training that the Brooklyn manager refused to part with the speedy, powerhitting lefty.


Pistol Pete is an AllStar Of/3B in the National League, mostly for Brooklyn from 1940-52. As a rookie he impressed manager Leo Durocher and later made an impression on the outfield wall in St.Louis and up to a dozen other fences in the National League.


INJURIES TAKE TOLL

Reiser learns the outfield wall is undefeated

Pete Reiser was carried off the field on a stretcher 11 times, he was conscious for six of them. Head injuries, shoulder injuries, broken arms and ankles, to say that Pete was injury prone is an understatement and it ended his playing career at age 30.

After baseball Reiser scouted and coached. He helped Maury Wills develop his base-stealing skills into an artform. After breaking Ty Cobbs stolen base record, Wills credited Pete Reiser as his baserunning mentor.


JUNE 13 1956

The Montgomery Rebels move to Knoxville.

A midseason shift is rare, but it did happen to Montgomery fans. Fortunately we dont go without baseball long, the Arkansas Travelers are brought in to replace the Rebels in just a few weeks.

Its a very unusual situation that will warrant its own blog post when we can dedicate more space to the circumstances!



JUNE 15 1907 
MOXEY'S DOUBLE-SHUTOUT DAY

New Orleans pitcher Moxey Manuel pitches both games of a doubleheader vs Bham, winning both games 1-0 with a two hit shutout and a six hit shutout.

'06 Pelicans, Moxey top row, second from left

Not Montgomery-related, but Wow, TWO shutouts in ONE day? Impressive!

Mark "Moxey" Manuel is said to be ambidextrous, perhaps he pitched one game lefthanded and one game righthanded, but that isnt known. He would earn a trip to the big leagues with the White Sox in 1908 for his fine work with New Orleans.

Annual June Roster Revamp

Second half roster shakeup begins....

Braulio Lara returns from Durham, Luke Bailey is sent down to Port Charlotte, Bryce Stowall driven off the roster to XST, new catcher Jake DePew added to Biscuits.

Got it?

In other words...

we get a guy who is very hittable for our bullpen

Relief Pitcher Lara

Braulio returns to the 5.60 ERA he had before his trip to Durham.
Lara didn't fare any better in his run with the Bulls as his 9.00 ERA will attest. Up to his usual tricks there, losing three games before being sent back. He has good stuff, but he gives up more than a hit an inning as well as walking one per game. When Lara comes into the game, it equals an intentional walk and a base hit guarantee.

we lose a platoon catcher who made good contact
Bailey played so well as a second catcher in Double-A he has been sent to be the third catcher at Single-A Port Charlotte.
The StoneCrabs current catching tandem is excellent, perhaps with the best numbers in the Rays organization at that position. Bailey will be the bullpen catcher there, quite possibly seeing fewer at bats than he was getting here, which aint easy.

we lose an arm that was good

RHP Stowell

Stowall gets few chances to pitch in Montgomery so he gets taken off the roster.
Stow's numbers? 1w-1L 3.43 ERA, 21innings pitched 21 strikeouts. Great numbers compared to some others in the bullpen. Stowell had only allowed two earned runs dating back to May 10, both when he was asked to pitch multiple innings.


we get a backup catcher who is full of question marks
Jake DePew gets to hear a whole new league make the same old jokes about his name.
Batting .222 for Port Charlotte before his promotion, Biscuits fans will be challenged to come up with their own new puns. He does hit lefties well and can be a clutch hitter with runners on base - both of which we desperately need.


MORE PLEASE!
I am going to predict that we have not seen the last of the roster moves for the Biscuits, a few more may be made this week. And we can all probably agree that its for the best, even if it makes zero sense how. But hey, at least we can hear some new walkup music!

CHANGES SHAKE UP TEAM
Fat lotta good it did us, we got beaten by the Barons 4-2.

On the bright side, Jeremy Moore hit a homer.

Except for his first Biscuits homer, a three run jack that helped the Skitz down the Generals at Jackson, all of Moore's homers have come in Montgomery losses.

Numbers Fib & Stay Classy, Pensacola

The Biscuits continued their tailspin during the ten game homestand, tossing three to the Ms.Braves and four of five to the P-Cola Blue Wahoos.

Braves P Cornelly

The Skitz have been terrible the past six weeks, capped off by the seven losses on the homestand.

Brady's Boys have struggled to hit the ball, kicked it around afield and been ineffective as pitchers and baserunners. Every aspect of the game has fallen apart for this team, and is in a sad state heading into the second half of the season.


HIGHLIGHTS
The ten game homestand featured some notable events - rainouts, an unplayable field, a pair of doubleheaders, Big Mo passing out from the heat, Guest of Honor Mountain Man almost passing out from the heat, coaches away from the team.

Also there is Jeremy Moore getting hit in the head while caught in a rundown, Reds top prospect Stephenson getting drilled on a comeback line drive, several late inning losses, an Emcee falling down on the field, the GM barefoot in the rain, the owner with her pig and a whole pile of Biscuits striking out.
  

MO-SKITZ MOVES
Taylor Motter was activated from the Disabled List. On the seven day DL since May 3Oth with a shoulder injury, Motter was quickly inserted back into the lineup on his return.

To make room for Motter Reliever Mortensen was sent to the DL with a sore arm. After his last appearance, I may hit the DL with a sore ass - it chafed me to have to watch it. He wont be out long, meaning we can hope to see some roster changes soon.

 WHERE ARE THESE GUYS?

Only the Lookouts score fewer runs than the Biscuits and on the pitching side Chattanooga is also the only team with a worse ERA than ours.

Can't wait to play them, should be lots of people running the bases!






NUMBERS DO FIB
We are in the middle of the pack in most other stats, which sounds better than it actually is - we were among the league leaders in the first thirty days. That means that we have been at the bottom of the stats lists since, averaging us out to simply mediocre instead of registering the "barely living" level that we have been playing at the past six weeks.

Ryan Brett and Cam Seitzer during warmups

INSULT TO INJURY

Exacerbating the frustration of the doubleheader loss, bloodthirsty Blue Wahoos supporters were relentless in their fandom. Vocal during the whole series vs Pensacola, the Monday afternoon pair of contests became a blowout but the Wahoos fans were merciless as a cheering section.

Even worse, it was a family of fans doing the incessant encouragement - installing in the children a concept that there is never enough, that your team should pad the score and you should shout about it while visiting another's ballpark.



HEY MEAT!

Heads up Wahoos fans, get out your pencils, I'm gonna teach you something here....

The old "Lets Go Wahoos" Clap-Clap-Clap is a fine way to show your support.
However when your team is up 9-0 in the last inning its not acceptable.

There is no need to cheer every pitch or out-shout the home fans in a blowout game between two teams out of the race.




HERES THE CLUE

When the first baseman stops holding the runner on, its time to lay off telling EVERY Wahoos player that they had a good cut on every swing and miss.

Its great to applaud hits by your batters, strikeouts by your pitchers or nice catches by your defenders. You should cheer that.

Don't yell at the ump for not giving you the corners when you have more runs than outs left in the game.

Winning by nine runs not enough? Is your team so bad that nine isn't a big enough lead?

It got to the point that even the Pensacola players would cringe on hearing their own fans. At that point the fans are doing their own team a disservice and disrespecting the host team and its fans.


NOT A SORE LOSER
The Wahoo cheering guy said to me, Thanks for being good losers about it, but I didn't even offer a reply to him.
People in Montgomery are simply nice enough not to lower themselves to that level. Its not that we are "good losers" about it, its that we know how to respect the game.

In other ballparks you will be yelled at, abused and insulted, for less than what the Pensacola fans brought out at Riverwalk. Its the equivalent of standing in the batters box too long to admire your homer off of us, of stealing bases with an eight run lead or spiking us on a late slide into second on a double play in a meaningless game.


Sometime in the future, maybe this season maybe next, maybe later - we will be there to return the favor.
Everyone loses games, has a tough stretch and gets blown out.
Biscuit fans will be cheering loudly when Montgomery gets to give it back. If your goal was to create a rivalry, Pensacola fans, you have succeeded.

And don't expect a second chance in Montgomery, the fans here are already arming themselves with cowbells and Air-Horns to drown out opposing fans. There may be times we lose 9-0, but we won't let anyone else's fans be louder in our own park again. 
Ever.

TODAY IN MGM BASEBALL HISTORY

JUNE 10 1906 

Bert Maxwell

Montgomery pitcher Bert Maxwell shuts out the New Orleans nine on 3 hits.


Bert wins 17 games for the oh-six Sens which would propel him to the majors later that year - in September Maxwell makes his big league debut for the Pirates. He takes the loss in his cup of coffee and returns to Montgomery in 1907 to have another good season, winning 18 of his 27 decisions.

Maxwell. an Arkansas native, will spend parts of four seasons in the majors with Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, the New York Giants and the Brooklyn TipTops of the outlaw Federal League.

Biscuits Owner puts foot in mouth, Guevara Returns

The Return of Hector Guevara


It happened quickly.
Riccio Torrez decided a seven game losing streak was the last straw on the back of the camel that carried his big league hopes. Torrez hung up the spikes, cleared his locker and headed home to the ranch.

The Biscuits were without an infielder to start the ten game homestand.

Seitzer, Shortstop

Cameron Seitzer played shortstop.

He handled his chances cleanly, a six-three putout was his first game action at short. Later he would field a grounder and step on second base to get the force out as he threw to first in a double play attempt.

He had no hope of getting the runner at first, but he threw a 95 mile an hour missile to first in his exuberance - nearly taking 1B Jeff Malm's arm off at the shoulder to complete the fielders choice.

A roster spot open, a phone call already made.

Hector Guevara is a Biscuit.
Again.

The Venezuelan utility infielder was a Skit last summer, batting .230 with two steals in 34 games.

Hector will worry about what he is arriving to, last time his promotion brought him into a heated series and he took a beanball in his very first double-A at bat.

Welcome to the team, Hector

BUT WHY?
Here in Montgomery, fans should be wondering why we are getting Hector.
Like so many of the previous promotions in recent years, we see the parent club send us less of what we need and more of what can be termed "roster filler".

Guevara is a decent guy, I have no beef about him, but we have to look at the numbers.

At Charlotte, Guevara is hitting .204, just 19 hits in 24 games with one stolen base. Sure, Hector plays three infield positions, Shortstop, second base and third base, but his career fielding percentage is just .962 and already he has more errors this year than he did all of last year.

How does a guy hitting .204 on his way to a career high in miscues get promoted?


WHO ELSE IS THERE?
Overlooked in the promotion to replace 24 year old Riccio Torrez is 24 year old Leonardo Reginatto.

Leo plays the same Shortstop, Second base and third base, is hitting .339 with 11 stolen bases in the Florida State League. Sure, hes been liable to make errors for the Crabs with 13 already this year, but he would seem to have the stats to warrant promotion.

How about Pat Blair down in Bowling Green, hitting .275 with two homers and twenty RBI in 45 games at shortstop. Blair is 23 years old and a collegiate out of Wake Forest, likely enough experience to make the jump over a level. Bowling Green has two Shortstops on their roster, they might survive with just one with Blair promoted.

Other than the fact that he was here last year and knows how to find the ballpark, I don't see alot of help coming from the Hector Guevara promotion.



HOW NOT TO ENDEAR YOURSELF TO THE FANS

I don't usually flat out complain about the Biscuits owner Sherry Myers, but sometimes she says or does something that sticks out more awkwardly than her frontward-facing fanny pack.

In a newly published interview with a writer covering sports logos, Sherry makes it obvious what she thinks about the people she wants to support the team.

The rest of us...

I was always taught to be inclusive, not to draw verbal lines excluding people or putting myself above or apart from others. I find this to be a continuing trend of Biscuits ownership putting down the fans of the team and the people of Alabama as a whole.


Tolerance and honesty go a long way in building trust, qualities that we have often been disappointed in where Biscuits ownership is concerned. If Sherry Myers doesn't want to be seen as a carpetbagger, she should learn to stop putting down southerners.

Even MLB owners have had serious backlash for their personal biases when they affect the bottom line and start causing bigger problems for the league as everyone realizes the bigotry and hatred they harbor.

Its not like female baseball owners have the best reputation to begin with, she should be careful with the stereotypes she uses or risk being one herself.