TCB- Taking Care of Business...

In Augusta, I had the chance to catch up with an old friend.  Jeff Meehan was the Director of Food and Beverage at Appalachian Power Park for my first three years with the team before he and his then-girlfriend-now-wife moved to Augusta to run a restaurant.  Jeff and I had the chance on my very first day in Augusta to hit the golf course.

He plays fairly consistently and I do not.  But I held my own and stuck with him for most of the round.  I shot a 91 playing a new course and I'm good with that.

Jeff Meehan- Augusta's big hitter

By not playing golf as much as I would like due to the baseball schedule, my swing can fall apart pretty easily.  At times, it feels like folding broken lawn chair looks... not fluid at all.  In fact, I shanked this shot (maybe because I knew the camera was there).

Me- the Jim Furyk of short amateur golfers

After golf, Jeff picked a place called the Whiskey Bar because of its creative and unique hamburgers.  He went classic with cheddar while I was adventurous.  I got the "TCB": an Angus burger with apple wood smoked bacon, peanut butter and banana slices on a croissant bun.  An Elvis-inspired adventure perhaps...

It. Was. Amazing.

As for Lake Olmstead Stadium, home of the Augusta GreenJackets...  Well that is a different story.

This park was built in the mid-1990's and seems to collect all features from of all of the lower-echelon parks in the league.  The seating bowl is what would happen if Municipal Stadium (Hagerstown) and Grayson Stadium (Savannah) had a ballpark baby.  In addition, they do not have a video board (Kannapolis) though they do have a very nondescript outfield wall (Delmarva).  They do not have any suites either (Asheville, Hagerstown and Savannah).  The 'Jackets are under new ownership and management (albeit now owned in part by the former management).  They are working on building a new park in downtown Augusta that has been met with criticism and lawsuits.  Nothing is ever easy, especially when millions of dollars are on the line.  The GreenJackets do, however, put on a high-energy show despite their stadium limitations that was entertaining.

One other thing that the GreenJackets do have?  A sense of humor.  On the first day of the series, I, a veteran Media Relations manager, received this front page of game notes as "written" by the Media Relations department of the Jackets.

Notice the very black section titled "Last outing:"

I posted this on Facebook and tagged some broadcaster friends... one of which who tagged an GreenJackets employee... who passed along my joke to the rest of the staff. And the whirlwind ensued.  I walked in on Thursday to the comment, "Oh look.  It's Mr. Twitter."  I replied with "It was Facebook and I have no idea what you are talking about."

My high maintenance ways caught up with me on the last day. My copy of Augusta game notes included a fully completed front page, a word search, a crossword puzzle, two coloring book pages and an invoice for "services rendered."

Well played, Augusta.  Well played.

The joke is on the 'Jackets though.  Since my middle initial is not "D,"  I'm not paying this fake bill.

I'll never have another bad day.

Greenville's Monster and More...

The current Power road trip has taken us to Greenville, SC, and Augusta, GA.  Greenville is a long-storied franchise with short-timed roots at Fluor Field.  The club has its origins in Shelby, NC, and 35 years ago, was a Pirates affiliate.  Rafael Belliard came through Shelby, Bucco fans.  Pay your respect.

Ok... That's enough.

The franchise moved... and then moved again, settling in Greenville at the old stadium.  Fluor Field opened one year after the team became a Red Sox affiliate, so the park was built with Boston in mind.  A gamble in my opinion because of affiliation changes and how often they occur (read about Medlar Field at Lubrano Park in State College to understand more of what I mean).

The coolest part is their version of the Green Monster.  33 feet high instead of Boston's 37-foot original.  Like its parent club, the Drive included a hand-operated scoreboard.

I asked for a quick look.  What is behind the scenes?  Stacks of metal plates with numbers and team names.  League opponents, colleges and even a few high schools.

For lunch on getaway day, I scouted Smoke on the Water.  A Saucy Southern Eatery... or something like that.

I went for the pulled pork sandwich with fried okra.  The pork was decent.  Not the best yet, though, by any stretch.  This stop served as a learning point for my BBQ challenge.  From this point on, I will not order something that is not already sauced.  Smoke on the Water had five sauces: Sweet Tomato, Spicy Mustard, KC-Style, Eastern Carolina, and Fiery Tomato.  I sampled them all with the top half of my sandwich bun (since the waitress never brought the promised cornbread).  Ultimately I split the sandwich down the middle with KC-style and Eastern Carolina.

By not getting something pre-sauced, the meat didn't have time to suck up the sauce and therefore... wasn't as good.  This is my fault, not theirs, but the waitress also didn't recommend a better option.

After four rounds:
1.  Willie's Almost Famous (Lexington)
2.  Chestnut (Asheville)
3.  Smoke on the Water (Greenville)
4.  Jim 'N Nicks (Kannapolis)

As we move on to Augusta, I leave you with this unique view from inside the Greenville Monster.   What a way to see the game.













I'll never have another bad day.

Tooting our own horn. Well...

Building a promotional night that garners attention in the industry and gets people excited about coming to the stadium is a difficult thing.  So often, ideas are formulated and embellished to the point that it makes the follow through difficult to match the plan.  I'd like to believe that our April 26 game against Hagerstown was, from conception to execution, on point with what was planned.





First off, celebrating the 35th anniversary of the Pittsburgh Pirates 1979 championship.  We gave away championship ring replicas and our players wore Pirates-themed Power jerseys.  Adding to the fun was our Wall of Fame induction ceremony and appearance by former Charlie (and member of the 1979 championship team) Omar Moreno.

Omar and his wife Sandy were a blast to spend time with.  He wore both of his championship rings (he also won one with the Royals in '85).   I think they both had fun being in Charleston and Omar was quick to tell stories about walking to Watt Powell Park, eating big steaks from Ponderosa and remembering his teammates from the Charlies era.

I'll say this about his visit.  It wore me out.  I was on the go and on my feet the whole time. Maybe that is what a great promotion takes.

One food update... During our recent trip to Kannapolis, I went back to Jim 'N Nick's for barbecue.  I sampled their food last year in Charleston, SC.  This time around, I went for the Carolina BBQ.  It was sauceless (even though Carolina-style is supposed to have a vinegar-based sauce...  Maybe I got a dry batch.).  The sauce on the table was... ok.

So... On the 2014 BBQ Leaderboard after three rounds:
1.  Willie's Almost Famous (Lexington)
2.  Chestnut (Asheville)
3.  Jim ' N Nick's (Kannapolis)

I'll leave you with this tidbit.  During homestands, I have the luxury of prepping for games in the home radio booth.  Over the years, I have created a near Zen temple in the home booth.  Lights out, television on, a tart burner going (mostly to mask the scent of tarp shoes).

While prepping for games, I'll have episodes of Seinfeld on the television.  I now own all nine season of the Seinfeld collection on DVD and even just one hour of watching serves as a welcome change of pace to the day.  Mind you, I never just sit there and watch.  I'll listen and look up occasionally because a little laughter never hurts.  In the rotation during the last homestand, this disc came up.

Season Four-Disc 2.  Maybe the best single disc in the entire nine season set.  I'll never have another bad day.