Greenville Drive Baseball

[g-man430]

What the heck did they do to their field. I didn't realize it was that bad until now. I saw it on WYFF earlier tonight during the Greenville Drive highlights.

[g-man430]

...and I thought this field was developed world class and by one of the most top notch groundkeeper's in the country.

[RestedTraveler]

It was and I'm sure he'd be sick at his stomach if he saw the condition it is in. I'm not sure what happened, but it looks like they've taken some radical steps toward trying to repair it. It still looks a lot better than my own lawn.

[g-man430]

Is the grass on the grass berm still alive or is that dying too?

[RestedTraveler]

Is the grass on the grass berm still alive or is that dying too?

It's showing some signs of wear and tear, too...of course, it has been since very early in the season. I had kidded Nate that they could turn that part of it into a sand box for the kids.

The field looks to have been mowed very low and the turf isn't reacting very well to it. I couldn't tell because I wasn't down on it to see if those were plugs, but it seems that they've aerated it, too. The turf behind home plate had been replaced several weeks ago. Now, there is new turf along the seams between the infileld and the outfield, and down the base lines. There appears to have been some overseeding as well, in areas. I'd be curious to know exactly what has happened to call for all of this effort at once or if it's just coincidence that it has all happened at once.

[RestedTraveler]

I almost forgot to mention...

It's not just the At Bat that is now a lighted sign. The player # for the Error portion of the scoreboard is also lighted:

[g-man430]

It looks nice, I think. It's also easier for them to change that at-bat thing now.

[breed]

Greenville News article discussing grass problems... from about a week ago...

http://www.greenvilleonline.com/apps/pbcs....607120387/1002/

[RestedTraveler]

Greenville News article discussing grass problems... from about a week ago...

http://www.greenvilleonline.com/apps/pbcs....607120387/1002/

Thanks, Brian! This explains much. The thought that the Rye (a cool season grass) had died due to the recent hot weather and the Bermuda (a warm season grass) hadn't yet begun to take hold did cross my mind. I have encountered the same thing on my own lawn that first spring. However, I thought for some reason that this field was entirely Bermuda with some Kentucky Blue Grass mixed in, not Rye. Either way, a cool season grass is a cool season grass is a cool season grass and they don't react well to warm hot sunny weather. It'll be nice to see the Bermuda flourish. It looks dead and brown at the moment on most of the field.

[whitehourseview]

Thanks, Brian! This explains much. The thought that the Rye (a cool season grass) had died due to the recent hot weather and the Bermuda (a warm season grass) hadn't yet begun to take hold did cross my mind. I have encountered the same thing on my own lawn that first spring. However, I thought for some reason that this field was entirely Bermuda with some Kentucky Blue Grass mixed in, not Rye. Either way, a cool season grass is a cool season grass is a cool season grass and they don't react well to warm hot sunny weather. It'll be nice to see the Bermuda flourish. It looks dead and brown at the moment on most of the field.

Lots of fields, designed for multiple season work, face this sort of problem their first year or so of existence.

Remember the grass here was sodded in March, so all things considered, the field is doing what you would expect for its first season. No amount of water could really change this. It just takes time for the grass to mature. I would be surprised if this problem happened next year due to more maturity in the grass.

[g-man430]

Either way, a cool season grass is a cool season grass is a cool season grass

Somebody obviously did not get enough sleep last night.

[RestedTraveler]

That was purely intentional, I assure you.

[g-man430]

That was purely intentional, I assure you.

That's good.

[g-man430]

Here is a good slideshow of the new ballpark: http://greenvilleonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/...010/1004/NEWS01

[Fiddlestix]

Anytime I've tried to get a lawn going in the spring, it has failed. You can't get an undeveloped root system to sustain turf through the summertime here. It's not even about watering -- which comes fraught with its own perils if you try to save a lawn from heat by overwatering. It's about time. Time for roots to grow. Water and shade are no substitute for giving turf the time it needs to put down its roots. And this field wasn't laid down until very, very, very late in the spring. Give it a winter to grab hold of the soil and it should make it through next summer in good condition.

On another note, as we follow players on their way up through the system into The Show, there are also the stories of disappointment.

Today's stories of hope and disappointment star Aaron Bates, called up from the Lowell Spinners and Logan Sorensen, who was released from the Red Sox organization.

Edited July 21, 2006 by Fiddlestix

[RestedTraveler]

Released? He was such a great first baseman, too (at least during the games I attended). That's a major bummer. His batting average did start to tank toward the middle of the season though...I guess one bad slump spells doom at this level there's nowhere to go but out.

[whitehourseview]

On another note, as we follow players on their way up through the system into The Show, there are also the stories of disappointment.

Today's stories of hope and disappointment star Aaron Bates, called up from the Lowell Spinners and Logan Sorensen, who was released from the Red Sox organization.

At first I thought they were just busy, but I guess I see it's not a priority for the Drive to regularly update their website. The latest "transaction of players" is in May.

I signed up for their email list, never heard anything from them. Seems odd, that's a real cheap way to build a fan base and keep folks up to date. The Grrrowl had a nice weekly email with news, etc. they sent out.

[RestedTraveler]

Fortunately, Fiddlestix has been doing an outstanding job of keeping us up-to-date with important press releases which are not posted on their web site for this very same reason, which he had cited previously.

Thanks, Fiddlestix!

I'll mention this lack of information on the web site to Nate the next time I speak to him (which is nearly every game I attend).

[Fiddlestix]

Fortunately, Fiddlestix has been doing an outstanding job of keeping us up-to-date with important press releases which are not posted on their web site for this very same reason, which he had cited previously.

Thanks, Fiddlestix!

I'll mention this lack of information on the web site to Nate the next time I speak to him (which is nearly every game I attend).

You're welcome.

Now, this next item isn't in any press release. And there's the smallest possibility that it's just coincidence. But has anyone seen Nate Lipscomb and Myron Noodleman together, same place, same time? I hate to get all Oliver Stone here, but do you see what I'm getting at?

Or were they simply separated at birth?

Nate Noodleman?

Edited July 23, 2006 by Fiddlestix

[RestedTraveler]

Hahah. Myron looks more like Jerry Lewis Nutty Professor in that photo, though.

[whitehourseview]

The Drive/West End Field management are amazing and brilliant.

Best moment of the night for me in the USA vs. Japan game... Daniel Moskos, Clemson pitcher, comes on to close the game for USA in the 9th and they play Tiger Rag over the loud speaker and the crowd goes into a good cadence count. He then knocks them down 1-2-3.

Great crowd, really hope that West End Field can be a site for some good Clemson games in the future.

Oh yeah, go USA! win 5-0 over Japan.

[distortedlogic]

Anyone know what the current attendance for the drive is?

[RestedTraveler]

For 50 Home Games thus far, the Drive have drawn 242,544 fans for an average of 4,850 per game.

Check here for updated Sally League Attendance Stats:

http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/app/mil...att&lid=116

You can also find attendance stats for the other various Minor Leagues on MiLB.com.

[distortedlogic]

Thanx, cool. I am surprised it is still below 5000, it seems like there have been a lot of sell-outs the last couple of months.

[RestedTraveler]

I went to a Wednesday Afternoon game last week and there were barely 3000 people there. The weather was hot and muggy, too...I'm sure that had a lot to do with it that day. Nobody wants to sit out in the sun at 5:00pm in the afternoon for 3 hours in late July.