Welcome to Portland, minor league baseball fans! Now get out.
The weather gods are not smiling on AAA minor league baseball. The two leagues at that level, the Pacific Coast and International Leagues, are holding their all-star game at PGE Park this week. The home run derby is scheduled for tomorrow and the actual game for Wednesday. It's been nearly 50 years since such an event was held in Portland. But today's chilly rain is doubtlessly dampening the spirits of the many who are arriving in town for the festivities.
The weather isn't the only thing for baseball fans to be bummed out about, of course. It turns out that the owner of the Portland team in AAA has decided to move the franchise out of PGE Park, and probably out of Portland entirely, so that he can upgrade his soccer team to the "major league" (by U.S. standards) level and make the stadium incompatible with baseball, forever. In just another couple of months, the sights and sounds of baseball will be departing downtown Portland for good.
Thanks for the link. Weather should be fine for tomorrow and for AAA ASG. Could be worse... check with some that are in St. Louis for the MLB All-Star Game festivities. The Futures game had a long rain delay, and almost washed out the Celebrity Softball tourney.
Glad I could be of service. Hey, as I said on conditional award for the Timbers... decouple the Beavers and the stadium would come. That pretty much says it all :-)
Uh yeah, that speaks well of your economic philosophy ... get rid of two upper-minor league teams with a long history and replace them with ONE "major league" team in a questionable new organization and that will draw, at the owner's own best estimates, maybe 300,000 per year. Even the Beavers pull that off right now, and it isn't costing us anything!
The Beavers' announced attendance statistics, padded though they are from the reality of people actually in the stands, show 201,833 so far this year. That is for 40 home game dates. There are 29 more to go.
The Timbers, with seven regular season games and three other exhibitions, report attendance so far of 84,998. That is at mid-season.
If we had to guess, we'd say the Beavers will announce total attendance in the 350,000 to 375,000 range, and the Timbers will come in under 200,000.
Beavers tickets are a lot cheaper than "major league" soccer tickets will be, but there's no evidence that the soccer fans will spend more on food, beer and junk than the baseball fans do.
Soccer's fine, and better soccer is more attractive than inferior soccer. But here we're going to spend tens of millions, give up 15 or 20 years' worth of rent on the stadium, and kick out baseball for the upgrade. It makes no sense financially, and it's an insult to the baseball fans.
"Timbers for life"? Does anyone remember the North American Soccer League (NASL) - operated from the late 1960's to the mid-1980's, and when soccer first really started to become a popular youth sport in this country, in the mid-70's, the league had guys like Pele and Franz Beckenbauer playing in it. I grew up in suburban Minneapolis and remember going to Minnesota Kicks games. Its all just history now, and it seems more than likely the current manifestation of "pro" soccer will go the same way, and the curent version can't even boast the same level of play the old NASL did. This is still baseball nation, not soccer nation.
Charamba, Douro 2008
Horse Heaven Hills, Cabernet 2010
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills Pinot Grigio 2011
Avignonesi, Montepulciano 2004
Lorelle, Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2011
Villa Antinori, Toscana 2007
Mercedes Eguren, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Lorelle, Columbia Valley Cabernet 2011
Purple Moon, Merlot 2011
Purple Moon, Chardonnnay 2011
Abacela, Vintner's Blend No. 12
Opula Red Blend 2010
Liberte, Pinot Noir 2010
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Indian Wells Red Blend 2010
Woodbridge, Chardonnay 2011
King Estate, Pinot Noir 2011
Famille Perrin, Cotes du Rhone Villages 2010
Columbia Crest, Les Chevaux Red 2010
14 Hands, Hot to Trot White Blend
Familia Bianchi, Malbec 2009
Terrapin Cellars, Pinot Gris 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2009
Campo Viejo, Rioja, Termpranillo 2010
Ravenswood, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2010
Waterbrook, Reserve Merlot 2009
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills, Pinot Grigio 2011
Tarantas, Rose
Chateau Lajarre, Bordeaux 2009
La Vielle Ferme, Rose 2011
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio 2011
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir 2009
Lello, Douro Tinto 2009
Quinson Fils, Cotes de Provence Rose 2011
Anindor, Pinot Gris 2010
Buenas Ondas, Syrah Rose 2010
Les Fiefs d'Anglars, Malbec 2009
14 Hands, Pinot Gris 2011
Conundrum 2012
Condes de Albarei, Albariño 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2007
Penelope Sanchez, Garnacha Syrah 2010
Canoe Ridge, Merlot 2007
Atalaya do Mar, Godello 2010
Vega Montan, Mencia
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir, Marlborough 2009
Portuga, Rose 2011
Revelation, Chardonnay, Pays d'Oc 2010
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 2005
Monte Alto, Tinto Reserva 2005
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Cabernet, Indian Wells 2009
Espiral, Vinho Rose
Vin-Koru, Pinot Gris 2011
14 Hands, Hot to Trot Red 2009
Rodney Strong, Cabernet, Sonoma 2009
Abacela, Vintner's Blend #11
Portuga, White 2010
La Bourgeoisie, Red 2009
Januik, Red 2009
Three Rivers, River's Red 2008
Kirkland, Alexander Valley Merlot 2008
Muga, Rioja Rose 2010
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2009
Mauro Molino, Barbera d'Alba 2009
Garda Chiaretto Rose
Columbia Crest, Two Vines Vineyard 10 White
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Pinot Gris, Columbia Valley 2009
L'Hortus, Rose de Saignee 2010
Maculan, Pino & Toi 2008
McKinley Springs, Bombing Range Red 2008
Trader Joe's Pinot Gris 2009
Montes Alpha, Cabernet 2007
Gran Sasso, Sangiovese, Terre di Chieti 2009
Garda, Classico Chiaretto Rose
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 1999
Picos del Montgo, Tempranillo 2008
Chateau de Montmirail, Vacqueyras 2008
La Granja 360, Syrah 2009
Montgras, Carmenere Reserva 2009
Lange, Pinot Gris 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Cabernet 2008
Kirkland, Pinot Grigio 2010
Trader Joe's Coastal Syrah 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Merlot 2008
Trader Joe's Coastal Chardonnay 2009
Vieux Papes Red
Domaine de l'Aujardiere, Chardonnay 2009
Santa Rita, Cabernet, Medalla Real 2007
Penfold's, Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet 2008
Guild, Red, Lot #02 2008
Dievole, Dievolino Sangiovese 2008
Laforet, Burgogne Chardonnay 2009
Columbia Winery, Merlot 2007
Bonterra, Cabernet 2008
Elk Cove, Pinot Gris 2009
Maquis Lien 2006
Scott Paul, Pinot Noir, Le Paulee 2007
The Occasional Book
Neil Young - Waging Heavy Peace
Mark Bego - Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul (2012 ed.)
Jenny Lawson - Let's Pretend This Never Happened
J.D. Salinger - Franny and Zooey
Charles Dickens - A Christmas Carol
Timothy Egan - The Big Burn
Deborah Eisenberg - Transactions in a Foreign Currency
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. - Slaughterhouse Five
Kathryn Lance - Pandora's Genes
Cheryl Strayed - Wild
Fyodor Dostoyevsky - The Brothers Karamazov
Jack London - The House of Pride, and Other Tales of Hawaii
Jack Walker - The Extraordinary Rendition of Vincent Dellamaria
Colum McCann - Let the Great World Spin
Niccolò Machiavelli - The Prince
Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird
Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus - The Nanny Diaries
Brian Selznick - The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Sharon Creech - Walk Two Moons
Keith Richards - Life
F. Sionil Jose - Dusk
Natalie Babbitt - Tuck Everlasting
Justin Halpern - S#*t My Dad Says
Mark Herrmann - The Curmudgeon's Guide to Practicing Law
Barry Glassner - The Gospel of Food
Phil Stanford - The Peyton-Allan Files
Jesse Katz - The Opposite Field
Evelyn Waugh - Brideshead Revisited
J.K. Rowling - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
David Sedaris - Holidays on Ice
Donald Miller - A Million Miles in a Thousand Years
Mitch Albom - Have a Little Faith
C.S. Lewis - The Magician's Nephew
F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby
William Shakespeare - A Midsummer Night's Dream
Ivan Doig - Bucking the Sun
Penda Diakité - I Lost My Tooth in Africa
Grace Lin - The Year of the Rat
Oscar Hijuelos - Mr. Ives' Christmas
Madeline L'Engle - A Wrinkle in Time
Steven Hart - The Last Three Miles
David Sedaris - Me Talk Pretty One Day
Karen Armstrong - The Spiral Staircase
Charles Larson - The Portland Murders
Adrian Wojnarowski - The Miracle of St. Anthony
William H. Colby - Long Goodbye
Steven D. Stark - Meet the Beatles
Phil Stanford - Portland Confidential
Rick Moody - Garden State
Jonathan Schwartz - All in Good Time
David Sedaris - Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
Anthony Holden - Big Deal
Robert J. Spitzer - The Spirit of Leadership
James McManus - Positively Fifth Street
Jeff Noon - Vurt
Road Work
Miles run year to date: 21
At this date last year: 52
Total run in 2012: 129
In 2011: 113
In 2010: 125
In 2009: 67
In 2008: 28
In 2007: 113
In 2006: 100
In 2005: 149
In 2004: 204
In 2003: 269
Comments (15)
Jack,
I've always wanted to use the word "sardonic". Thanks for the opportunity.
This week was supposed to be a showcase of a great Portland tradition. Maybe in some ways, it is.
Posted by Walter | July 12, 2009 6:54 PM
It's barely drizzling. In Portland, you don't call a game until the bases start floating away.
Besides, this little front is supposed to blow over by Tuesday.
Posted by Gil Johnson | July 12, 2009 7:32 PM
It's supposed to be pretty nice by game time Wednesday evening. Things will probably be damp for the home run derby tomorrow, though.
Posted by Jack Bog | July 12, 2009 7:38 PM
Jebus, it's felt like October today. What a drag!
Posted by none | July 12, 2009 7:40 PM
Thanks for the link. Weather should be fine for tomorrow and for AAA ASG. Could be worse... check with some that are in St. Louis for the MLB All-Star Game festivities. The Futures game had a long rain delay, and almost washed out the Celebrity Softball tourney.
Posted by Maury Brown | July 12, 2009 8:10 PM
you are an idiot, you know nothing about economics, or sports. go play kick-the-can on I-5.
Timbers for Life.
Posted by timbers2 | July 12, 2009 8:33 PM
That pretty much says it all.
Posted by Jack Bog | July 12, 2009 9:28 PM
Glad I could be of service. Hey, as I said on conditional award for the Timbers... decouple the Beavers and the stadium would come. That pretty much says it all :-)
Posted by Maury Brown | July 12, 2009 9:31 PM
I have always found lemmings a fascinating animal. Now we have our very own unique species right here in Portland. They are also known as MLS fans.
Posted by portland native | July 12, 2009 9:37 PM
Uh yeah, that speaks well of your economic philosophy ... get rid of two upper-minor league teams with a long history and replace them with ONE "major league" team in a questionable new organization and that will draw, at the owner's own best estimates, maybe 300,000 per year. Even the Beavers pull that off right now, and it isn't costing us anything!
Posted by Mike (the other one) | July 12, 2009 9:43 PM
The Beavers' announced attendance statistics, padded though they are from the reality of people actually in the stands, show 201,833 so far this year. That is for 40 home game dates. There are 29 more to go.
The Timbers, with seven regular season games and three other exhibitions, report attendance so far of 84,998. That is at mid-season.
If we had to guess, we'd say the Beavers will announce total attendance in the 350,000 to 375,000 range, and the Timbers will come in under 200,000.
Beavers tickets are a lot cheaper than "major league" soccer tickets will be, but there's no evidence that the soccer fans will spend more on food, beer and junk than the baseball fans do.
Posted by Jack Bog | July 12, 2009 10:04 PM
JB - Love your attendance stats for Beavers v. Timbers - Having been to one Timbers game a few years back - I have no desire to see another
Posted by LucsAdvo | July 12, 2009 10:33 PM
Soccer's fine, and better soccer is more attractive than inferior soccer. But here we're going to spend tens of millions, give up 15 or 20 years' worth of rent on the stadium, and kick out baseball for the upgrade. It makes no sense financially, and it's an insult to the baseball fans.
Posted by Jack Bog | July 12, 2009 10:43 PM
"Timbers for Life."
Hey, what can you say about a bunch of grade-schoolers who have Dan Saltzman as a hero for being the swing vote?
Man, these guys are playing with less than a full side.
Posted by Steve | July 12, 2009 10:49 PM
"Timbers for life"? Does anyone remember the North American Soccer League (NASL) - operated from the late 1960's to the mid-1980's, and when soccer first really started to become a popular youth sport in this country, in the mid-70's, the league had guys like Pele and Franz Beckenbauer playing in it. I grew up in suburban Minneapolis and remember going to Minnesota Kicks games. Its all just history now, and it seems more than likely the current manifestation of "pro" soccer will go the same way, and the curent version can't even boast the same level of play the old NASL did. This is still baseball nation, not soccer nation.
Posted by Kurt Runzler | July 13, 2009 8:31 PM