Stars of the Future

Unless you've been living under a rock for the last few days, you've heard that the Mets may acquire two-time Cy Young Award winner Johan Santana from the Twins.

What you probably don't know is that Santana, like several other big-league stars, is an alum of the New York-Penn League -- the same league in which the Cyclones play. In 1997 and 1998, Santana played for the Auburn Doubledays -- then a Houston Astros' affiliate. Santana pitched in just one game for Auburn in 1997, but made 15 starts in '98, going 7-5 with a 4.36 ERA and 88 strikeouts in 86.2 innings. Statistics that easily could be overlooked.

It just goes to show you that when we say you're watching baseball's stars of tomorrow, we mean it! At any point, you could be watching the major leagues' next big thing...even if he doesn't quite look it yet.

Part of the fun is taking guesses at who that player might be, and trying to find the next jewel of the minor leagues. Who's next? Who knows? But I know that if you're at a Cyclones game, you have a chance to see them first!

-- Dave

Mav's First Meeting

This morning certainly wasn't the first time a staff member spent an entire meeting whining and squirming in their seat. It was, however, the first time that staff member could be appeased by a chew toy (unless you count an Applebee's quesadilla).

Maverick the Wonder Dog attended his first meeting this morning, with mixed results. He provided both entertainment and distraction, but seemed to enjoy the weekly updates from each department. He did NOT seem to enjoy being referred to as "she," but rebounded quickly, thanks to some random potato chip crumbs that were for some reason under the conference room table.

The little guy (that's GUY, Steve) is still just a baby, so he can't be expected to contribute too much to these meetings (after all, I'm 32, and I still can't be counted on to always contribute something positive). But in the months to come, he better polish up his presentation skills -- and maybe prepare an excel spread sheet or two, or come up with at least one viable promotional idea -- if he wants to truly gain the respect of his colleagues.

-- Dave

Bet on it!

There's no betting allowed in baseball. Everyone knows that. But friendly wagers involving something other than money can make for some great entertainment.

With that in mind, Cyclones GM Steve Cohen challenged Lowell Spinners (Red Sox affiliate, and New England area rival) GM Tim Bawmann to just such a wager, based on the outcome of each franchise's hometown football team in the Super Bowl.

The premise is a simple, but fun one. If the Giants win, Bawmann will have to make the four-plus hour trek to Brooklyn to work on the KeySpan Park grounds crew before a game between the Cyclones and the Spinners. If the Patriots win, Cohen will make the reverse trip and work on the Lowell grounds crew.

The idea was spawned by Assistant GM Kevin Mahoney, who loves to:

A) come up with different ways to promote the Cyclones
B) find new ways to put Steve in potentially unpleasant and/or embarrassing situations
C) use the thin veil of A to justify doing B

Steve, being the good sport he is, signed on for the bet, despite the fact that he doesn't know Sam Madison from Madison Hedgecock and thinks the key to a Giants Super Bowl victory is making sure Lawrence Taylor and Carl Banks can get to Tom Brady. He knows New York is better than New England, though (despite the recent sports teams' evidence to the contrary), and is willing to stake his banged up body on the claim, with some heavy-duty manual labor hanging in the balance.

So cheer especially hard for Big Blue this Sunday (or don't, if you're evil and want to see poor Steve dragging the field and chalking the lines) because there's a little something extra on the line in Brooklyn.

-- Dave

Fireworks WEEK

Fireworks Fridays at the ballpark are always among the most popular nights of the year. People love sitting in their seats and watching the night sky light up over the Atlantic.

With that in mind, we've expanded the fireworks to beyond just Fridays this year, and have created an entire week of fireworks, July 22nd-25th!

Behind the scenes, the fireworks shows can be a little stressful. The usual Friday night shows are not under the Cyclones' control, though we work with and support them. They are set to go off at 9:30pm every Friday night, but as you probably know, sometimes our games are not quite finished at that point. The shows can be held off until 10pm, at which point, I have heard that the fire marshal on duty literally starts pushing the buttons to begin the show, due to city ordinances.

Unfortunately, sometimes our games are still not over by 10, so we have -- from time to time -- had in-game fireworks, rather than postgame fireworks. (Last year, in particular, we seemed to run into this problem every Friday night.)

This makes for some funny imagery (pictures of the players' reactions are great), some very unfortunate timing (the worst was when the show started immediately after JR Voyles had been hit in the face), and some interesting at-bats (Paul Lo Duca said he'd never experienced anything like it).

Despite the hassles and the heartburn they cause, though, the fireworks do make the fans happy. So, while adding a few more shows this year during Fireworks Week may also add a few more ulcers for Steve Cohen (watching him sweat out the long innings near 10pm can sometimes be the best entertainment of the night), in the end, we hope you'll enjoy them and make it all worthwhile.

-- Dave

Puppy Love

Each week, the Blog will contain updates on the newest member of the Cyclones -- Maverick, the Wonder Dog! The adorable chocolate lab joined the team this morning, and has quickly become an official member of the front office staff. Maverick has his own cubicle during the day, and will be adding to the nightly entertainment at every Cyclones game. Check back in throughout the year to watch Maverick grow up with the Cyclones!

Remember trying to convince your parents to let you get a puppy when you were a kid? I’m sure almost everyone can say they’ve tried. Remember trying to convince your boss to let you get a puppy to bring to work? I think I’m in the minority on that one.

What originally began as a joke has actually become reality. The Brooklyn Cyclones have a dog. Maverick, the new addition to our front office staff, is a 6-week old Chocolate Labrador Retriever. He has spent his first day of work chewing, running, playing, and – for the most part – sleeping.

Maverick will spend his first few weeks of employment getting to know his new co-workers, and enjoying being a puppy. But after that, it’s down to business. (Did you really think Steve Cohen would tolerate more than a few weeks of sleeping on the job?) As a full time member of the Promotions Staff, Maverick will be taught all the important tricks of the trade. He’ll be out on the field this summer to help entertain the great Brooklyn baseball fans on a nightly basis, so be sure to keep your eyes out for him!

Although Maverick, like all other Cyclones employees, will have to keep a tough schedule this summer, there is one thing he can get away with that no one else can: sleeping under his desk. (I was going to say eating food off the floor...but some of my colleagues actually already do that.)

-- Rebecca Schwartz
Marketing & Entertainment Manager