Just three weeks left in the minor league season! GABA 2010 Week 20 spends some quality time in the Bluegrass State (Kentucky), the Volunteer State (Tennessee), and... uh... whatever West Virginia's nickname is. Week 20:
Monday, August 16th:
Bowling Green, KY (196 miles from Huntsville)
Bowling Green Hot Rods (A Rays) vs. Great Lakes Loons (A Dodgers)
Bowling Green is switching leagues in ’10 to cut down on travel expenses, yet they’re still nowhere near their new Midwest League opponents. I call it proof that Bowling Green might actually be the ‘middle of nowhere’. Plenty of minor league oddity here – a new stadium whose right-center field wall is concave (bends inward) because of a road behind it, plus a franchise once called the South Georgia Waves. Surf’s up in Albany, GA!
Tuesday, August 17th:
Nashville, TN (65 miles from Bowling Green)
Nashville Sounds (AAA Brewers) vs. Colorado Springs Sky Sox (AAA Rockies)
Speaking of misplaced references to water, Nashville’s in the Pacific Coast League, setting up those great geographic rivalries with teams like Tacoma and Portland. Nashville does have one of the coolest scoreboards in baseball, a 116-foot high monster shaped like a guitar with the line score on the neck. Rumor has it Elvis tried to eat this guitar in his later days in Vegas.
Wednesday, August 18th:
Louisville, KY (174 miles from Nashville)
Louisville Bats (AAA Reds) vs. Syracuse Chiefs (AAA Nationals)
Midway through month number five on this trip, it’s easy to forget the sanctity of America’s national pastime. Seeing a game at Louisville Slugger Field, on the site of an old train station, will serve as a nice reminder. Plus, America loves underdogs, and between them, the Reds and Nationals have enough underdogs to fill a kennel.
Thursday, August 19th:
Lexington, KY (80 miles from Louisville)
Lexington Legends (A Astros) vs. Greenville Drive (A Red Sox)
Thursday night showdown delayed by two hours after team officials accidentally leave the outfield gates open, allowing horses to come in and eat all the stadium’s grass. Game is played completely on dirt, which makes no difference to inebriated Thirsty Thursday crowd. Seriously, I wonder if Lexington does a ‘sausage-race’ type promotion with horses?
Friday, August 20th:
Charleston, WV (177 miles from Lexington)
West Virginia Power (A Pirates) vs. Asheville Tourists (A Rockies)
I see this team’s name, and I feel like I’m overdue on a $150.00 electric bill. Wait, I probably am. The Power have a fan who, after an opposing batter strikes out, yells “you are toast!” and starts throwing toasted bread to the fans around him. The team put an electrical outlet in the backstop to help with the toasting. Brilliant! (Insert all your West Virginia jokes here. Go ahead, get them all out…)
Saturday, August 21st:
Knoxville, TN (310 miles from Charleston)
Tennessee Smokies (AA Cubs) vs. Mississippi Braves (AA Braves)
This might be the strangest detour in the entire trip. We’re going from West Virginia to the Midwest, and we stop in… metro Knoxville? It’s the only day the Smokies’ home schedule meshes with the trip. Trust me, I didn’t lose my atlas or have a brain meltdown after more than 100 games. Since we’ll be in speed-driving mode, it’s a perfect night for speed-eating – Smokies Park has a $10 all-you-can-eat buffet that ends at first pitch. I’m bringing two bibs.
Sunday, August 22nd:
Travel day. Nothing like going back through two cities you just visited (Lexington and Louisville) to make you feel like an efficient scheduler. I’m not bitter about the Smokies, I promise…
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