As cliche as it sounds, the off-season truly does seem to go by faster and faster every year. As I type this, we are 10 weeks — 70 days — away from Opening Night, which is Thursday, April 3, when the Sounds play in Omaha. Some news and notes from recent days…
- If you’re in the Nashville area, you likely already are well aware of this, but the groundbreaking ceremony for the Sounds’ new ballpark in Sulphur Dell, slated to open for the 2015 season, is this Monday, January 27th, at 3:30. It will be at the new ballpark site at 5th and Jefferson St. It is open to the public — so please come show your support! It is going to be a great event, and some of the notable attendees include: Sounds principal owner Frank Ward; Nashville Mayor Karl Dean; Brewers GM Doug Melvin; Minor League Baseball President Pat O’Conner; Sounds first baseman Hunter Morris; and superstar Angels slugger Albert Pujols, who will be in town for an event involving the Nashville chapter of his charity. If social media response is any indication, it’s going to be a great crowd on Monday! Go HERE for more details about the groundbreaking event.
- Tonight I and a few other Sounds front office staff members will be attending the 76th Annual Nashville Old Timers Baseball Association Banquet. I’ve attended this each year I’ve been with the Sounds, and it’s always a fun event…a room filled with baseball fans, coaches, players and executives with various ties to baseball in Nashville all convening in the dead of winter to enjoy a night of baseball. This year’s keynote speaker is former Yankees great Bobby Richardson. Part of the ceremony tonight will be to award Johnny Hellweg as the Sounds’ 2013 Team MVP. Check out the Old Timers Association HERE.
- The Sounds’ parent-club Milwaukee Brewers announced their non-roster invitees to major league spring training camp yesterday. “Non-roster invites” are players who are not on the club’s 40-man roster. Teams typically invite several NRIs each spring for a number reasons, including so the major league coaching staff can get a look at promising players they otherwise haven’t seen much, so the team has plenty of players for split-squad games and late-game substitutions early in camp when the “regulars” don’t play a full nine innings, and so those players get a shot to compete for a spot or two that might be up for grabs for the Opening Day roster. The Brewers’ group includes ’13 Sounds Michael Olmsted, Dustin Molleken and Kentrail Davis; likely Sounds pitcher this year David Goforth and off-season acquisitions and possible Sounds like Kevin Mattison and Zach Duke. More details HERE.
- The Brewers announced the other day that they are going to place a new statue of their legendary radio voice, Bob Uecker, in the section where the “Uecker Seats” are inside Miller Park. As usual, Uecker was ready for a joke or two. I had the pleasure of meeting Bob for the first time in Milwaukee this past September. He couldn’t have been nicer.
- The New Orleans Zephyrs, in conjunction with their parent-club Miami Marlins, announced a new manager last night. It’s Andy Haines. He was manager at High-A Jupiter the past couple seasons for the Marlins and replaces Ron Hassey for the Z’s this season. That leaves Colorado Springs (Rockies) as the only team in the 16-team Pacific Coast League that hasn’t named its 2014 manager yet. The updated breakdown of skippers is HERE.
Thanks for listening! (On the Air…and Off)
Jeff
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