I know its the last week of December and also the year! There is snow on the ground and were tucked between two holidays, Christmas and New Years. We couldn't be any further away from baseball!   This is why it's more important now than ever that we think about our Batavia Muckdogs and the upcoming 2010 season. 

The Rochester Red Wings have been operating the Muckdogs the last two seasons and have stepped up to the plate and will operate the team again in 2010. I say stepped up to the plate because for two seasons the Wings have lost  a lot of money operating the Muckdogs. This is a critical time for our team. The Wings came on board at the last minute a few years ago when we were about to lose our pro team.  They really saved our team.  If Hollywood was involved, they probably couldn't have written a script any better. 'A Small city franchise since 1939 on the brink of losing its only pro team when a neighboring big city franchise saves the team.  Then its a magical year where for the first time in 45 years that small city wins a championship!'  It was a magical season, but  now after two seasons of operating in the "red" , you have to wonder how much longer the Wings can keep the Muckdogs in Batavia!

I have spoken with several people involved with the Red Wings and they all want this to work in Batavia. This is where I ask you, the citizens of Batavia and Genesee County to step up to the plate and support our only professional franchise.  If every business in our area bought just one pair of season tickets, that would be enough to save the team! Just one pair! Its a tax write off for the business and in turn they can use the tickets for their employees and a gift to other businesses they work with.  

A summer night at Dwyer Stadium is so much more then a night out at a baseball game. Dwyer stadium is really the only place left in our County that people can gather together in a community atmosphere and visit with old friends while making new ones. I worked for a small business in Batavia on Main st. for years. I used to hear all the time how our community would gather together on a Saturday night on Main st. and visit with old friends while making new ones! Dwyer stadium is our last place like that!  I can't tell you how much fun the social aspect is at Dwyer!  Also the cost for a family of four sitting together on a summer night outside compared to a night of sitting in the quiet dark movie theater is no contest! The Muckdogs win in price and entertainment every time!

Batavia has had pro ball since 1939. The league we play in was born right here at the Hotel Richmond!  Yes it has grown and moved on to bigger markets like Staten Island, Brooklyn and Aberdeen. How cool is it hat Brooklyn comes to Batavia to play pro ball?  How cool is it that a parent can bring their kids to a game where they can watch future MLB stars in our own backyard?

There are bigger markets that would jump at the chance of having a pro baseball franchise in their city.  We are lucky to still have ours and its up to us, the citizens and businesses of Batavia and Genesee County to hold onto ours!  I hope you consider stopping down to Dwyer in the coming month, the first of 2010, to show Rochester and the New York Penn League that were serious about keeping our franchise for many years to come!

It only took Jess Todd a few years to make it from Batavia to St. Louis. He then was traded to the Cleveland Indians. The 2007 Muckdog is now on the same roster as former Muckdog catcher Lou Marson.  You just never know how fast their trip will be from the minors to the majors! Be sure to see future MLB players start out their professional careers. There is no better view then watching pro ball at Dwyer stadium. Both 6 game and 8 game packs are on sale now. Also you can even get a 4 game pack (good for any games even 4 single games) along with a Muckdog T-shirt and 2010 Game program for just $25.00. Check out this article on Todd and watch his Indian debut!  http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090806&content_id=6285854&vkey=news_cle&fext=.jsp&c_id=cle

The Batavia Muckdogs have announced a ONE DAY ONLY SALE! The sale will be this Saturday from 10am - 2pm. They will have select caps and t-shirts marked at 2 for $20They also have some new merchandise in. Holiday Packs and Coupon Books will be available. If you spend $25 or more, you get a free gift and are entered into a drawing to win some autographed memorbilia. Come on down to Dwyer Stadium (299 Bank st.) this Saturday and take care of that baseball fan on your holiday shopping list! For more information you can call the Muckdogs at 585-343-5454!!!  Let's come on out and support Genesee Counties only professional  sports franchise!!!!

The Batavia Muckdogs will host their home opener for 2010 on June 19, according to a schedule released by the team today.

Game time will be 7:05 p.m. and the opposing team will be the Auburn Doubledays.

It will be one of 38 home games for the minor league team.

The Muckdogs open the season the day before in Auburn.

There will be six Friday and seven Saturday games played at Dwyer Stadium in 2010.
 
Holiday packs, ticket packages, and season tickets for the 2010 season are now on sale. They can be purchased by calling 585-343-5454, or in person at Dwyer Stadium from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m..  The Muckdogs will also be at Christmas in the City on Friday, Dec. 4.
 
For a complete schedule, visit www.muckdogs.com.

The Batavia Muckdogs will have a new coaching staff for 2010.

Mark DeJohn, who led the Muckdogs to a NY-Penn League championship in 2008, will not be back. He's being replaced by Dann Bilardello.

Bilardello has served in the St. Louis Cardinals organization for the past three years as catching coordinator. Prior to that, he was a manager in the Red Sox and Dodger minor league systems.

The new pitching coach is Ace Adams, who filled that role in Quad Cities in 2009.

DeJohn remains in the Cardinals organization as a roving instructor.

 It's finally time to enjoy one of the greatest moments in sports! The 2009 World Series is about to get under way and Batavia can be very proud to cheer on some former Muckdogs! The Philadelphia Phillies have several former Muckdogs on their roster. Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, J.A. Happ, Ryan Madson, Andrew Carpenter and Kyle Kendrick! Were very proud of our former 'Dogs!!!  Also don't forget to stop on down to Dwyer Stadium and get your 2010 Muckdog season tickets! Makes for a great x-mas gift! You can also call 343-5454 to place an order. They also have 8 game packages for sale. Let's Go Muckdogs!

This just came across came across the wire:

St. Louis Cardinals minor leaguer Alan Ahmady has been suspended for 50 games after testing positive for an amphetamine. The 21-year-old Ahmady played this season in Class A Batavia, N.Y.

Ahmady was one of my favorite players this past season. He's also the one who hit a home run over The Batavian sign in right field in the fifth inning, winning one lucky fan $250.

37-39 record, 4th place in Pinckney Division, 12 games behind division leader

Longest win streak: 5 games, August 8-August 13

NYPL STATS LEADERS:

• Alan Ahmady:46 runs (4th), 71 hits (T-9th), 47 walks (3rd), .407 OBP (2nd),
• Devin Goodwin:19 doubles (T-5th)
• Kyle Conley:8 homeruns (T-2nd)
• Santo Maertz:26 games (T-8th)
• LaCurtis Mayes:26 games (T-8th)</li>
•  
• As a team…

  Hitting: .249 BA (5th), 333 runs (5th), 630 hits (4th), 125 doubles (5th), 37 homeruns (3rd), 264 walks (5th), .357 SLG (4th),

  Pitching: 233 walks (5th fewest), 626 strikeouts (3rd)

  PLAYERS OF THE WEEK:

• Alan Ahmady (June 29-July 5)
• Kyle Conley (August 3-9, August 31-September 7)

  Moved on up:

• Matt Carpenter:.219 BA, 2 homeruns, 9 RBI with Palm Beach Cardinals

• Eric Fornataro:0-5, 5.24 ERA, 11 strikeouts with Quad Cities River Bandits
• Scott Schneider:1-3, 3.45 ERA, 29 strikeouts with Quad Cities River Bandits
• Jack Cawley:.222 BA, 2 homeruns, 13 RBI with Quad Cities River Bandits
• Xavier Scruggs:.295 BA, 7 homeruns, 33 RBI with Quad Cities River Bandits (Midwest League Player of the Week August 3-9)
• D’Marcus Ingram:.246 BA, 8 doubles, 11 RBI, 7 stolen bases with Quad Cities River Bandits
• Ryde Rodriguez:.222 BA, 9 doubles, 19 RBI with Quad Cities River Bandits

There was a standing ovation in Dwyer Stadium on Saturday night, but it wasn't for a great diving catch, or a rare triple play or a bomb hit over the dead center field fence -- it was for the stadium announcer, Wayne Fuller.

Fuller, the voice of Batavia baseball for 25 years, announced his retirement from the PA mic, and the crowd paid Fuller the ultimate sporting honor -- a Standing-O.

Fuller, who also served as the official scorer, has been positioned in the Dwyer press box -- dubbed "Wayne's World" -- calling out starting line-ups and determining hits and errors through the baseball eras of the Trojans, Clippers and Muckdogs.

"There is a trick to determine when you leave on your own or are asked to leave," Fuller told the crowd. "I have decided this is my time to retire and leave the two jobs. As I have gotten older it has become harder, as they say today, to multi-task, and that's the principle reason for my decision."

Fuller continues on in his afternoon shift with WBTA and will also remain in the booth for high school and college games.

Fuller told me this morning he's looking forward to a trip to Alaska next summer -- a dream he couldn't fulfill while obligated to the Muckdogs for home-game announcing.

As the season winds down, the Muckdogs (37-38) couldn’t provide a win in their last game at home, losing 7-3 to the Jammers (33-42).  Batavia was 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position on the night.

The offense was scattered with one run each in the 4th, 7th and 8th innings.  In the 4th, Kyle Conley doubled, moved to third on a wild pitch and came home a batter later on a sacrifice fly by Niko Vasquez.

Later in the 7th, Ivan Castro singled and Devin Goodwin hit a RBI double.  And in the 8th, Conley placed his eighth homerun of the season over the left field wall.

Michael Blazek (4-9, 4.50) picked up the loss as the starter going four and two-thirds innings with four runs (three earned) on five hits and one walk while striking out six.  Daniel Calhoun followed him with three runs, six hits and four strikeouts in four innings.  Santo Maertz pitched to two batters in the 9th with one strikeout.

Kyle Conley ended the night 2-for-3 with a double and a homerun.  It was his second consecutive night with a both a two-base hit and a round-tripper.  Ivan Castro also had two hit, going 2-for-4 with a run scored.

Batavia finishes up the season Sunday in Jamestown.

The Batavia Muckdogs take on the Jamestown Jammers tonight at 7:05pm. This will be the last home game for the Muckdogs 2009 season.  Its Fan Appreciation Night and also Rock the Park Night at Dwyer! Come on out for a beautiful Saturday night of great baseball action at the best baseball venue in WNY! There isn't a bad seat at all in Dwyer stadium.  The fun starts at 6:05pm with the pregame concert by Papa and Mama Root presented by Tim Horton's of Batavia and New Buffalo Impact. Enjoy great end of summer fun at Dwyer with your Batavia Muckdogs!

Batavia’s (36-35) offense couldn’t match State College’s (35-36) pitching as the Muckdogs only had four hits on the night and were retired in order in seven out of nine innings.  They also struggled on defense, coming up with three errors that resulted in three unearned runs.

 Joseph Kelly (2-3, 5.27) started the game, going four innings with four runs (two earned), four hits, two walks and four strikeouts.  Deryk Hooker also went four innings with three runs (two earned) on two hits, two walks and six strikeouts.  Jonny Bravo pitched the 9^th with one hit while striking out one.

 Devin Goodwin, Matthew Adams, Jon Edwards and Niko Vasquez were the only Muckdogs to pick up a hit.  Goodwin’s double was the only one for extra bases.

Let's meet up at Dwyer Stadium Thursday and take in the greatest show in town -- a Batavia Muckdogs baseball game.

The game against the Auburn Doubledays is the next to last home game of the season, and I have free tickets available.

Between what the Muckdogs gave me for advertisers' appreciation night (because The Batavian was a sponsor this year) and the unused season tickets I have -- I have 28 tickets available.

E-mail me your request for tickets and we can either arrange for you to stop by the office to pick them up or meet me before the game and I'll give them to you.

Game time is 7:05 p.m. and my e-mail address is howard (at) the batavian dot com.

Request as many tickets as you like, just make sure you can use them. First come, first served.

I usually set in the third-base bleachers and you're welcome to join me for the game. Heck, I might even let you buy me a beer.

Batavia (36-34) was down 7-4 going into the bottom of the 6th but was able to score four runs across the last four innings to get the 8-7 win over State College (34-26).

Both teams started scoring early; the Spikes scored three in the first and the Muckdogs followed with four.  Bases became loaded right away for Batavia after Devin Goodwin and Ryan Jackson had back-to-back singles and Alan Ahmady walked.  Matthew Adams then hit a double to center to clear the bases.  Adams was able to come home later in the inning on a sacrifice fly by Niko Vasquez.

The 4-3 lead lasted until the Spikes had a three-run inning in the 5th and scored once again in the 6th.  But, the Muckdogs answered right back.  Kyle Conley homered in the first at-bat of the 6th inning to decrease to deficit to 7-5.

The comeback continued with another run scored in the 8th as bases became loaded once again.  Ahmady walked, Conley reached on a fielder’s choice that also allowed Ahmady to move to third on an error and then Jon Edwards also reached on a walk.  Walks proved problematic for the Spikes as Luis De La Cruz was also walked after a pitching change to score Ahmady.

The Muckdogs tied the game in the 9th after Goodwin doubled and came home on a sacrifice bunt by Jackson.  Conley got the game-winning RBI on a single later in the inning to score Jackson.

Michael Blazek got the start, going three and two-thirds innings with three runs, two his, five walks and four strikeouts.  Kevin Siegrist went three innings with four runs on six hits and two walks.  LaCurtis pitched the 8th with two hits and two strikeouts and Josh Squatrito (4-1, 1.38) got the win in the 9th, allowing one hit while striking out one.

Conley finished 3-for-5 on the night with a homerun and two RBI.  Goodwin went 2-for-4 with a double and two runs scored.

Both teams had ten hits in the ten inning game, but Batavia (35-34) was able to beat Auburn (24-44) in the end.

The Doubledays scored one run right away in the 1st inning and one more in the 3rd but the Muckdogs took a 3-2 lead after the bottom of the 3rd.  Devin Goodwin and Ryan Jackson were issued back-to-back walks and came home when Matthew Adams hit a two-out double.  Adams himself came in to score when Kyle Conley followed with another two-base hit.

Auburn took the lead right back, though, scoring once in the 4th and once again in the 7th.  However, Batavia decided to make things interested by scoring tying the game up in the bottom of the 7th.  Alan Ahmady reached on a walk, was advanced to third on a Conley single and then came in to score the tying run on a single by Jon Edwards.

The game stayed notched at four a piece until the bottom of the 10th.  Niko Vasquez led off the inning with a single that allowed Ivan Castro to reach on a force out during the next at-bat.  Goodwin then came up with a game-winning triple to score Castro and end the game.

Dan Calhoun got the start on the mound, going five innings with three runs (two earned), five hits, one walk and three strikeouts.  Tyler Lavigne followed him in an inning’s work with one hit, one walk and two strikeouts.  Tyler Leach came next, throwing three innings with one run on three hits while striking out two.  Santo Maertz (3-1, 1.52) picked up the win, hurling the last two innings with just one hit, two walks and four strikeouts.

Offensively, Conley, Edwards and Vasquez all went 2-for-5, Conley and Edwards each with a RBI.

Batavia (32-31) was able to even things back up with State College (32-31) by taking game two of the doubleheader by a score of 4-1.

Scoring started in the 3rd as the Muckdogs plated three.  Travis Mitchell reached on an error and Michael Swinson walked to start things off.  They both came home on a double down the left field line by Devin Goodwin.  Goodwin came in later to score on a single by Kyle Conley.

The Spikes answered with one of their own in the 4th but Batavia scored once more in the 5th to make it a 4-1 final.  Their final run came in as Alan Ahmady walked and came home on Matthew Adams double.

Jesse Simpson went four innings in the start with one run, two hits, two walks and eight strikeouts.  Justin Edwards (3-2, 3.15) followed him, throwing two innings with one hit, one walk and two strikeouts.  Santo Maertz came in the 7th and struck out three to end the game and pick up his 3rd save of the season.

Adams finished 2-for-3 with two doubles and a RBI.  Goodwin went 1-for-3 with a double, two RBI and one run scored.

 The Muckdogs (31-31) fall one spot in the Pinckney Division standings after a 5-2 loss to division-rival State College (32-30).

 The Spikes got on board early, scoring two in the 1^st and adding another run in the 3^rd.  Batavia scored their first in the bottom of the 3^rd when Travis Mitchell singled and came home later on another base hit by Matthew Adams.

 State College plated two more, one each in the 6^th and the 7^th to make things 5-1.  Batavia tried to rally in the bottom of the 7^th as they scored one run after Niko Vasquez singled, moved to third on a double by Ryan Jackson and then Vasquez came home on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Mitchell.  But that would be all of the scoring in game one of the doubleheader.

 Starter Justin Smith (0-1, 2.40) lasted four innings in the start with three runs on five hits and one walk while striking out four.  Chris Corrigan finished up the last three innings with two runs, four hits, one walk and one strikeout.

 Jackson was the only one with multi hits, going 2-for-3 with a double.  Mitchell finished 1-for-1 with a RBI, two walks and one run scored.

Fresh off a sweep of the Ironbirds in Aberdeen, the Muckdogs return home to take on State College tonight at 7:05. UFC Fighter Matt "The Hammer" Hamill will sign autographs from  6pm-8pm. The first 500 fans through the gate will receive a Championship Souvenir Travel Mug. Should be a great night! See everyone at Dwyer!