Tuesday night to decide division title for Stars

Published on June 16, 2008 under Southern League (SL1)
Huntsville Stars News Release


Stars fans, it's come down to it.

Thru two-and-a-half months we've just set the table for what is going to be an all-or-nothing game to start the Southern League's 2nd half of the Season.

Here's what's at stake:

The team that wins tomorrow night's (Tuesday) game will win the first half championship and will be inked in for some post-season September baseball. That's huge because you can start making plans for the playoffs

The team that loses will not only miss an early shot at the playoffs, but will also start the 2nd half with a loss...and that's disheartening.

The sight of the other team drinking champagne on your field is a tough one to swallow. That alone has me convinced we're going to seal the deal tomorrow with Hambone on the mound for the good guys.

West Tenn has their staff and a large contingent of season tickets holders (two bus loads) coming down for the game. It's time all the Huntsville faithful showed up and extended some ‘southern hospitality' to the Diamond Jaxx fans. Don't wait until Friday night fireworks; we need you here tomorrow night. Yeah, yeah, we've heard a lot of excuses, but if you want to be added to the hard core fan list you'll quit making them and get your butt to the ballpark with the rest of the Stars faithful to shake this stadium up.

Early arriving fans will receive Card Strip #2 of the six set series.

If you never forward emails, please reconsider this one because I can't tell you how many times that our players have said that the raucous, thumping crowd is like the 10th man on the field. You do make a difference. Tomorrow night is another Comcast Two-for-Tuesday; buy one ticket, get one free!

Things I learned this week:

- A Minor League Baseball game with a Bobblehead Giveaway Night is never going to compete with the Lynyrd Skynyrd concert going on across the street (in Jacksonville Saturday night). Ouch, baby. Maybe if the bobblehead was of one of the Van Zant's...

- The real Leonard Skinner, the hard case PE teacher/coach at a local Jacksonville HS, is a family friend of Stars 3B Mat Gamel's girlfriend, Julienne. Leonard sat behind us at Saturday night's game. All I could think about was whether he'd smack me in the back of the noggin once or twice if I started whistling ‘Sweet Home Alabama' when our guys took the lead over the Suns...apparently the band chose the name to cheese him off because he didn't groove on male students with long hair back in the day. He's up in there years but not somebody I'd want to tangle with in some back alley of J-ville. Think of Cotton Hill on ‘King of the Hill' and add some height. Maybe add some more attitude, too. Definite Drill Sergeant status here. I would've flunked PE if I was in his class. I'm sure of it.

- Diehard Bobblehead collectors didn't like the way we distributed our bobbleheads a week ago. Everyday fans did. We protected the integrity of the giveaway and assured early arriving fans received their collectibles. In Jacksonville I watched a guy walk out with an armload of bobbleheads Saturday night. There had to be 10-12 of them in his arms as he struggled not to drop them. I just didn't want to be the guy with the kid that didn't get one after watching somebody walk away with that many.

- Our most expensive seat is a pretty good bargain. The same seat in Jacksonville goes for $20; $11 in Montgomery; ours is $8. Our concession, merchandise and parking costs are much lower, too. I think our games are a bargain for families looking for something to do in Madison County.

- That like most Americans, I'm fed up with the rip-off gas prices and that we're all looking for a way to pay less at the pumps. But I found out that the gas additive eeFuel actually works. I had a friend who gave me a sample, asked me to just try it...I felt like a junkie scoring drugs for my car. He told me to add just 8ml of the additive to every 10 gallons of gas. I netted 52 extra miles to a tankful of gas. I was really skeptical, so I added it to my daughters' gas tanks on the way home from Florida and they also had serious mileage improvements. In fact, the older the car, the better the results. I'm using up the rest of the freebie samples provided me, but anybody who wants the scoop on this stuff can call Ed Drosten at (386) 383-0693. Ed will also be in Huntsville for a visit to Joe Davis Stadium on the July 4 weekend. All I know is that I've made two 1500-mile round-trips to Brevard County, Florida in the past two weeks; one without the additive, one with the additive and it's made a believer out of me. Now I'm testing it on around-town city driving. The additive is less expensive than buying gas and it's my way of ‘sticking it to the man.' Let's be real, I'd rather pay an All-American chemist for this stuff and get better gas mileage than a Saudi oilman to finance his new downhill snow-skiing center in Dubai. I'm not selling this stuff, nor am I employed by them, but it's amazing stuff.

This entire home stand is against the West Tenn Diamond Jaxx. This will be a six-game home stand, not the normal five. All games will begin at 7:05 pm, except for Sunday's 5:05 pm start. After we clinch tomorrow night's game and the champagne bottles are but a memory, here's how the rest of the home stand shapes up.

Wednesday is We Wanna Win Wednesday. If the Stars win, everybody gets a ticket to Thursday night's Thirsty Thursday game. Tickets are provided by our friends at Rocket 95.1 FM.

Thursday is Thirsty Thursday...all 12-ounce draft beers and Pepsi products are only a buck thru the seventh inning, courtesy of WTAK 106.1 FM.

Friday is another Fireworks Friday, which means we'll have another most excellent fireworks show, followed by our Diamond Dig, sponsored by Osborne's Jewelers. Ladies 18 and older will be invited onto the field for a scramble to find buried poker chips that may be redeemed for prizes. One of those prizes is a one-carat diamond. Guys, this is a freak-show of epic proportions. It's a sight to watch sweet southern belles turn into a mass of Cruella de Villes as they dig and claw for the prizes. Let's just say that any customary politeness is left on the sidelines. If you're currently dating a ‘sweet young thang' and wanted to see her real personality for the first time, bring her to Friday night's game and see for yourself. We'll provide digging instruments for the ladies; no spoons or hoes (hey, that's garden hoes) allowed. We don't want to destroy the field; we have to play baseball on it the next night.

Saturday is the annual Bat Giveaway Night, sponsored by Lynn-Layton Chevrolet, WAFF-48 and WDRM 102.1 FM. The first 2500 kids 14 and under receive Little League bats. These bats are an excellent autograph item. The team store has Sharpie's available for sale for those that don't have the Terrell Owens hookup.

Sunday is Super Soaker Sunday, presented by the folks at Fox-54. Bring your squirt guns, water pistols, etc. to the ballpark and we'll have tubs of ice water available as ammunition. All bleacher seats are ‘wet zones,' dare to stay dry while seated there. The Fox-54 staff is a little nuts, you know it, we know it...so it was a natural fit when the Fox-54 folks jumped on sponsoring this weekly event. If you haven't been out to a Sunday game, check one out. But that's not all, every Sunday fans can go onto the field for 30 minutes to play catch when the gates open, just bring your gloves, we'll provide the souvenir baseball that you get to keep, all sponsored by Athens State University and WDRM 102.1 FM. And if that's still not enough for you...Immediately after the game all kids 14 and under are invited onto the field to run the bases.

Monday will be another Pray n' Play/Military Monday. Bring your church bulletin to receive $1 admission. Or, those will military ID Cards, present your ID Card at the Box Office and receive $1 admission as well. It doesn't matter if you are active duty, guard, reserve, retiree, family member, GS/CS, we'll accept all of them; thanks for serving this great nation!

Tuesday, June 23d, the Stars will head out on a long bus ride to Carolina (Zebulon, NC). But back at The Joe the Stars will assist the City of Huntsville in hosting one of the Concerts in the Park series. The concert is free to the public and is dedicated to the military. There will be helicopters and military static displays outside the stadium and a military band performing on a stage at second base inside the stadium. After the concert there will be a great fireworks show. Early arriving fans will receive a free bottle of water.

That's two fireworks shows in less than 72 hours this home stand!

OK, Stars fans, I know some of you have the craving to go watch Sex and the City at the theater tomorrow night, or maybe watch those classic Seinfeld reruns at the house, but this is it...we can lock up a playoff berth tomorrow night and all it takes is having some extra bodies here to get vocal to push the guys over the top. If you're out of the area you can tune in to www.730ump.com and listen live as Brett Pollock, the Voice of the Stars, brings you the play-by-play. His pre-game show begins at 6:50 pm (Central Time). But if you're in the area we need your vocal cords here at The Joe tomorrow night. If you're one of those people that don't like noise, this is certainly NOT the place to be tomorrow night. But if you want to feel the electricity and be a part of something special and show the staff and fans of the Diamond Jaxx who are the more hard core fans, well then we'll see you at the yard with your horns, cow bells and attitude because there isn't going to be a rematch. Here's to playoff baseball, Stars fans. You stuck thru good and bad, thick and thin for the first 75 days of this season. You sat thru cold weather, snow flurries, fireworks in the rain and some blistering hot days. You watched some first class baseball. You raised the volume of the stadium. You pumped up the players by getting vocal. Now it's fourth and goal with seconds on the clock. We're not kicking a field goal here. This is your time, Stars fans. This is what you've waited for. It's time for take the final step, plant that flag and help claim the title for all things Stars-dom. Bring your family, friends and anybody with a heartbeat to tomorrow's game because it's all on the line. Don MOney will have the Stars ready, you can bank on that. It's your turn to shine and get the players jacked up! Those in the front row should bring rain gear as we will not take responsibility for any champagne stains that don't wash out.

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Southern League Stories from June 16, 2008


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