September 2007 – Page 3

Picks and pans as a Shorebirds fan

For the last five months or so I’ve talked a lot about my adopted hometown team’s players and how they’ve done on the field. But as a way of putting the subject to bed for a long, cold winter’s nap (unless events warrant of course) tonight I’m going to look at the organization from a fan’s perspective. I suppose I’m qualified in that respect, I made over half the home games this season.

First of all, team GM Chris Bitters and his staff do deserve congratulations as attendance was up this year. The Shorebirds drew 220,219 for 64 dates – only 2 SAL teams had fewer openings. This worked out to an average of 3,440 per game. While I don’t have last year’s number in front of me, if memory serves it was right around 215,000 and they had a couple more dates (fewer rainouts) in 2006.

There were some things the new team did really well and were an improvement over the previous management.

While it’s actually Ovations that handles the food service, I thought they did an excellent job this year. In past seasons it seems like they ran out of stuff quite a bit, this year all was well-stocked. And staffing generally was sufficient.
It seems like the new regime managed to secure a lot more in giveaways and such, plus they made a really good effort to keep admission affordable.
Once they had a few bugs worked out, the sound system truly was a lot better. It was a good initial investment by team owner Seventh Inning Stretch, LLC.
This has more to do with next season, but I’m sure our management complained to the SAL office this season and got results. Instead of playing long, long stretches against the same three teams (Lake County, Lakewood, Hagerstown) next season Perdue Stadium fans will only see those teams 10 times apiece. Instead, we get rare appearances from the teams in Charleston (SC) and Savannah next August and a few more games against some other foes. In all we’ll host 11 of the other 15 teams in the SAL and only miss out on playing two.
Finally, I have to say that the staff seemed a LOT more fan-friendly this past seeason starting from the top down. Something tells me that the attitude will pay off in future years provided they can keep the same friendly staff and put an entertaining product on and off the field.

The team did a lot good in 2007, so these friendly suggestions are my five biggest for improvement as we look forward to the 2008 season. What, do you think I’ll not show up anyhow if they don’t do them?

I’ve been told that it’s “on the radar” but the stadium really, really needs a new scoreboard and videoboard. From what I understand they were purchased second-hand for the stadium’s opening 11 years ago so I’m guessing these components are close to 20 years old. If we had to split the deal the scoreboard needs to be replaced first – it would be nice to have an operator who would update player stats and the like too. Along with that it would also be helpful to get an auxiliary scoreboard (just balls, strikes, outs, score) to be placed on the first base side.
In a way this is related to suggestion number 1. Because of the nature of the stadium’s setup, a fan has to constantly turn around to watch the game while standing in line for food or drink. Why not a CCTV system with a camera in the pressbox following the action? As a trial basis I’d suggest the main first base and third base concession stands be equipped. You already have the TV’s at the third level concession stand, they would just have to be hooked in.
There was some of this during this season, but it would be nice to have more player availabilities during the year where kids (and guys who pick Shorebirds of the Week) could get autographs and pictures. Maybe it could be a regular Sunday feature as well as the daytime games during the week. (Since I’m working on those dates maybe you do this already and I just don’t know it.) Seems like the “Bird Pen” was underutilized this season.
About fireworks. Yes, I realize they are a huge draw and with only 10 Saturday games next season you may only have about 16 shows. But can we work it out with whoever bought the Clear Channel stations to let some other radio stations pick the music? Personally I think 96 Rock should pick but I know Froggy and Q105 have a batch of listeners too. (Can’t figure out why but that’s just me I guess.)
Since we’re on music, you know I’m not letting this go by without my pet peeve. Thirsty Thursday is my favorite game day of the week but it’s just not the same as it was in 2005 when they had the local bands play pregame/postgame concerts. I suppose the one drawback is that there’s only two Thursday games (opening night and May 1st) before SU lets out, but I recall it being a decent draw once the weather warmed up and there’s 8 Thursday games May through August.

On the whole, the thing I hope most for is something that’s pretty much beyond the control of Chris Bitters and his staff, and that’s a winning team on the field. But win, lose, or draw, I’m still looking forward to cranking it up all over again April 3, 2008. Guess that means I’ll have to write my Shorebird of the Week the night before.

Now, when do tickets go on sale?

Late edit: Tonight I came across a bit of player news thanks to one of my Shorebirds Fan Club cohorts. Shorebird Brandon Tripp was named as the Orioles’ Minor League Player of the Year while fellow Shorebird Brandon Snyder was named as the organization’s top comeback player. Both were honored last night before the Orioles’ game against the Los Angeles Angels.

Another case of mistaken identity?

Now this one is interesting. Today I got a press release from State Senator Nancy Jacobs:

“Gilchrest Campaign Misleads Voters”

The Gilchrest campaign recently issued a misleading statement implying that Senator Nancy Jacobs supports Wayne Gilchrest’s re-election.

In the statement, the former title of Jeff Griffin, who at one time worked in Senator Nancy Jacobs Annapolis office, was used to imply there was a connection between Senator Jacobs and the Gilchrest campaign.

While quick to point out Griffin’s ties to Senator Jacobs, the statement failed to mention that Griffin was now a paid employee of the Gilchrest campaign.

At no time has Senator Jacobs given permission to associate or use her name in conjunction with the Gilchrest campaign.

Senator Jacobs requests the Gilchrest campaign publish a public apology for attempting to intentionally mislead the voters of the first congressional district.

Senator Jacobs released the follow statement concerning Gilchrest’s misleading campaign tactics:

“I have always considered Mr. Gilchrest a friend, and it saddens me to see my trust in him and the trust of voters betrayed for political purposes.

I resolutely stand beside and endorse my conservative colleague Andy Harris for Congress. Andy is a committed to our Republican values and will work hard for voters of the 1st Congressional District.”

Obviously, most of the Republicans in the Maryland General Assembly would stand behind their cohort in the race as Andy has seemingly worked well with them. (Both Senator Colburn and Senator Stoltzfus are among Andy’s local cadre of supporters.) It’s the second time a situation like this has occurred, the other having to do with a Gilchrest fundraiser where a couple sponsors backed away.

This race is promising to be a little dirty by GOP standards as both sides have leveled charges and countercharges against each other, some previously detailed on monoblogue.

In addition I feel the contest holds an interesting dynamic. If Gilchrest wins, the local GOP turnout may be less on Election Day 2008 as Maryland statewide will almost certainly go for the Democrat Presidential nominee. This knowledge of Maryland’s typical recent voting pattern will unfortunately give Republicans less incentive to show up at the polls. Also lower Eastern Shore GOP participation would help the early voting ballot issue that will be on the 2008 docket since Republicans tend not to favor early (and often) voting. (Oh – did I say that?)

Conversely, a Harris victory in February (or if one of the other two challengers makes it to the top) would get the conservatives in the GOP to the polls but runs a risk of Democrats who like Gilchrest’s moderate stance voting for the Democrat primary survivor and switching the seat over to a Pelosi supporter that may actually vote far left of what Eastern Shore voters would prefer. Again, I point to a statistic I cited back in July where the least loyal (or considered most “conservative”) Democrat still votes the party line 70% of the time.

Finally, it looks to me like a race on the GOP side (and possibly on the Democrat side if more people get in) that will be won by a plurality of the primary vote rather than a majority. In that case, there may be a whole lot of disappointed people on the right side of the GOP who will regret their votes for the two bottom-feeders in the primary.

Observation on progress

Tonight I’m not going to dip into the news too much nor am I going to write a lot. This was just a thought I had about the political process.

Over the last two days General David Petraeus testified in front of Congress and late today it was learned President Bush is expected to announce troop cuts on Thursday to reduce the forward force in Iraq by 30,000. At that point we would be back to “pre-surge” levels as far as staffing goes. Of course as one would expect, Nancy Pelosi and company bitched and whined about not getting out immediately. Anyone who reads monoblogue on a regular basis knows my position, so I’ll not restate it here.

Most of the 110th Congress has been spent arguing over how many troops we have in Iraq anyway, so what’s a few more months of caterwauling on that? Never mind that most of the appropriations bills aren’t done yet. I suppose as far as the Democrats are concerned the less time spent on figuring out where the money goes the higher chance that some devious way of expanding government can be slipped into the budget bills.

With primary elections now spanning a time period 8 to 10 months before the general election, the traditional moratorium on big issues being tackled during an election year makes the next 16 months until we swear in the winner of the 2008 Presidential election a period where little good will come out of Congress. All of the domestic issues that have been eclipsed by the constant bidding by the legislative branch to do the executive’s job and run the military aren’t going to go away, or worse, they’ll simply have more money shoved at them without getting the badly needed reforms in return.

I hear a lot about a lack of interest in politics, particularly on the Republican side. Pundits have all but written off the chances Republicans will win back Congress and look at whoever the GOP nominee will be as just a sacrificial lamb, simply getting in the way of a triumphant Clinton return to the White House. Sometimes I wonder if this Bataan Death March of a campaign isn’t contributing to the apathy on our side. We’ve heard about Election 2008 for months already because of the absurdly early primary schedule. (It’s a good thing I write about other stuff too because I’d be completely burned out by now otherwise.)

A good way of summing up my thought about how the next year of Congress will play out is this: should Wayne Gilchrest lose in the GOP primary he will be a lame duck for almost half his elected term, 10 1/2 months. But I suppose one bright side to this process is that people with nothing to lose and knowing they have a limited time may decide to show true leadership on issues to create a legacy.

Ok, I’m dreaming. But it is nice to do so once in awhile because in reality we’re going to remember the 110th Congress as a do-nothing Congress that if anything made our situation worse. Don’t look for a change on that in the next year either.

It’s a Tuesday again…

Six years ago on this very time and day of the week as a matter of fact, thanks to the magic of post-timing my post. In reality I’ll be at work when this comes up, just as I was on that fateful day in 2001.

That day was a glorious Tuesday weatherwise, a perfect late summer day in northwest Ohio. At the time I was working for my last firm, Hobbs and Black Architects, and as was normal on most days I had my headphones on listening to a CD when the phone rang. For whatever reason, I picked it up and it was my co-worker Larry who informed me that he would be in shortly and did I know that a plane had hit the World Trade Center? I told him no, and I’d see him shortly.

What I assumed, not knowing the whole story at the time, was that what struck the WTC was a small Cessna-type plane. I had no idea that it was the first jetliner to hit or that by the time Larry made it in that a second plane was making contact. But when Larry turned on his radio straight away to continue monitoring the events, we all knew something bad was happening. This was probably about 9:15 or so.

Obviously we were all glued to the radio accounts of the news, but we did have work to get done. Some of my cohorts were wrapping up presentation drawings for a new synagogue that was to be presented in a meeting to the congregation that evening. But later that morning we got a call from the design architect who decided maybe meeting that night would not be a good idea. Not a whole lot was done that day as obviously we were all waiting for another shoe to drop, particularly when we heard that the Pentagon was hit and there was another plane that had dropped out of contact over Ohio (this would be Flight 93.)

It seemed like an eternity until 5:30 when my workday was done. I figured I’d better stop for gas on the way back home and found that the gas priced at $1.10 or so when I went to work was now $1.80. Still, there were lines to get in the station. And all that was normal when the day began was now different. There were no ballgames on, nor any of the regular TV shows. All we had on was the wall-to-wall coverage of the mounting death toll and the question about why we were targeted.

In the days that followed, the questioning turned to mourning and then to solidarity. I remember all the members of Congress singing patriotically on the Capitol steps. For a few days afterward we weren’t Democrats or Republicans, liberals or conservatives, we were just Americans.

But when I think about that day, I think more about the effect it had on my daughter. We all live some of our lives through our children and even though I wasn’t around when she was born Dani is still my daughter. So perhaps the thing that upsets me the most is that this occurred during her senior year of high school. It’s supposed to be one of the most fun years of a child’s life, but hers forever has the black mark of being associated with 9/11.

There’s one incident that typifies that melancholy feeling I get when 9/11 comes up. On the Saturday afterward, Dani’s high school hosted a band concert with several other bands in the region. They all played 3 or 4 songs, essentially a typical halftime show.

As was traditional, her school’s band closed the show. Instead of a regular show though, as I recall they marched onto the field and took their formation. Then, to the sound of a single drum keeping time they slowly and somberly marched off one by one. It’s a bitter memory that I have, thinking about the joy that a high school marching band generally brings tempered by events beyond their control.

9/11 was an event that continues to define a generation. It’s Dani’s age group that volunteered to fight against the enemy who took the fight to us on that brilliant day turned dark, and it’s her age group that takes most of the casualties in that fight on both sides.

But for those of us who were just doing our jobs on a regular workday not unlike the thousand before, living through that one changed us too. We still take time to remember and mourn those for whom it was their last workday; the ones who never knew what hit them, those on the planes who never made it to their destinations, some who died trying to save their cohorts in the Twin Towers, and still others unfortunate enough to be at the top of the towers who faced a horrible choice of how to end their life.

Because of some agenda, political or otherwise, we rarely see the pictures anymore. But placing the events that happened on a Tuesday not unlike today six years ago out of sight cannot and should not place them out of mind. We owe it to my daughter’s generation not to forget.

luvya, kiddo.

Support our troops and their mission!

You should definitely notice the eye-catching link to the left of the screen. Today I got an e-mail that went like this:

Folks:

Wanted to reach out to you on an effort I’m working on with Victory Caucus and a coalition of other support-the-surge type groups. (Apologies to those of you who are already aware of this effort). We’ve put together a petition that allows signatories to declare their support for General Petraeus and the surge, and calls on the nation’s leaders to resist calls for a premature withdrawal.

The unique aspect of this project is that there is a single petition, but any website or blog can host a copy of it. The code has been developed so that it is a simple matter of pasting a small chunk of HTML on a website page. Because of this approach, each site hosting the petition can track and collect the names/email addresses of people signing on their version, while at the same time all signatures are aggregated centrally in a combined list that will ultimately be presented to Congress.

An example of the petition hosted on the Victory Caucus here:

http://victorycaucus.com/standbythemission

Supporters include pro-victory groups such as Vets for Freedom, Gathering of Eagles, Foundation for Defense of Democracies and Victory Caucus; blogs such as Captain’s Quarters, Wizbang and Instapundit; and media outlets like Pajamas Media, FrontPageMag and Redstate.com — with many more in progress.

Please consider this an open invitation to put the petition on your blog. We’ve got a bunch of options for doing so, including posting it ‘inline’ within a blog post or a new page on your site, and a method of placing a DHTML pop-up link that pops up the petition when the reader requests it. You can see exact HTML for using all the options on this page:

http://victorycaucus.com/hostthepetition

…including just a simple graphic link-button that can be used if you don’t want to host the petition but would like to link to it on someone else’s blog.

If you’re game, you can use the code on that page to try it out. But if you really want to get serious, drop me an email and I can set your blog up with its own unique ID, which will allow you to track and keep the signatures / emails coming from your version as well as tailor the petition to match your site design.

Hope this is of interest, and best regards…

NZ Bear
The Victory Caucus
http://victorycaucus.com

Obviously with the pitched battles I’ve gone through with Congressman Gilchrest you know where I stand, so this was a good way to allow others to express their support as well. Since I’m not that “game” at computers, I’ll just link to someone else’s blog but the signatures add up nonetheless. With the way General Petraeus was trashed today by the Democrats (actually MoveOn.org but they’re one and the same) the battle lines continue to become sharper and sharper. And a great quote by Duncan Hunter from the FOX story:

White House hopeful Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., issued a statement calling MoveOn.org a “left wing anti-military organization,” and called on Democratic leaders to rein in the group.

“General Petraeus is an American soldier. His professional life is a reflection of adherence to duty, honor and country. For the Democrat leadership to allow this slur by their ‘Move On’ allies to stand would be a slap in the face of every member of the Armed Forces. I call on the leadership of the Democrat Party to denounce this advertisement and disassociate themselves from it,” said Hunter, who is the top Republican on the House Armed Services Committee.

I know, if you think the Democrats really will do this I have a bridge I’d like to sell you too.

So it may not be a lot, but placing the link to the Support Our Troops petition is a step in showing that I’m on the right side in this.

Election Calendar: September 10-23

This is the first edition of what will be a weekly calendar of appearances and events leading up to the February 12, 2008 Presidential primary. It’ll be a little sparse at first as I get ramped up, hopefully I’ll have a few things each week to add. While most of the Presidential campaigns do have at least a rudimentary calendar of events, I’ve only found Joe Arminio’s site has one at the Congressional level. (I also get Andy Harris’s e-newsletter which details some of the events he’s attending as well. Unfortunately he’s going on a Monday format so it’s a week old when I do this. Oh well.)

For this exercise, the inclusion rule will be appearances on the Lower Shore (Dorchester, Wicomico, Somerset, Worcester) for Congressional candidates and anywhere on the Eastern Shore or Delaware for Presidential hopefuls.

Using that rule, at this moment I have just one event within this timeframe:

Saturday, September 15: GOP Congressional candidate Andy Harris has confirmed he’ll appear at the Wicomico County Republican Club Crab Feast at Schumaker Park in Salisbury. Also expected to appear (no official word yet) is fellow Republican candidate John Leo Walter. The event begins at 1 p.m. and ticket information is here.

We all have to start somewhere. So, Bill Reddish, when you read this consider it the bat-signal to start feeding me your political morning guests when you get them – I know you have Gilchrest on about every other Thursday and I’m sure you’ll have the others sooner or later. (Wonder if I can get a searchlight to project a small “m” someplace?) And for those of you connected with the other campaigns, let me know. Hey, I’ll even put up Democrat events, just don’t expect me to show up with a check for you. There are monoblogue readers of the Democrat persuasion though who might.

So be looking for this Election Calendar on a weekly basis, generally on Sunday nights. I’ll take a break around the holidays but from here on out this should be a fixture in your reading.

By the way, I sent out the 2008 edition of the Ten Questions last night. We’ll see if anyone cares to bite first.

Salisbury RiverFest 2007 in pictures

Time for me to play photojournalist again and give you something to enjoy on a Sunday evening.

Yesterday I spent the better part of the day at RiverFest. Here’s a little of what you missed if you didn’t go.

A view looking down the Wicomico toward Brew River.

This was the fourth annual event. Obviously I wasn’t here to see the Salisbury Festival during its inception and formative years but RiverFest certainly doesn’t have the participation or the crowds that the springtime Salisbury Festival has. This despite the fact both are sponsored by the same group – the Salisbury Chamber of Commerce. In RiverFest’s case, there’s a little more of an environmental focus, like this trailer:

This trailer purported to be Wetlands on Wheels. Don't recall seeing it at RiverFest last year.

While I didn’t get a blog-sized photo of their setup, rest assured the Chesapeake Bay Foundation was present. They were running the boat rides up and down the Wicomico River (it’s their boat on the left in the top picture above.) That was a popular event as each ride sold out pretty quickly. That was one thing I didn’t do that I would have liked.

But I did get my classic car fix. This was just one of the beauties they had there.

I think this is a 1955 Ford Thunderbird - hell, that was before my time. Sweet looking ride though.

The Wheels that Heal classic car club is a regular participant in events like these. With over 80 cars there, it showed that a lot of people are interested in preserving Detroit’s heritage, not to mention in this case helping out the Maryland Food Bank.

There were a lot of antique and trinket shops open along the Plaza downtown. Unfortunately as you can see, I’m not sure it did them much good.

Looking east along the Main Street Plaza. I believe I took this photo about 1:30 or so. You can see one of Salisbury's finest in the photo on the left.

Looking west along the Main Street Plaza, I took this picture about noontime.

Even the jazz trio that was playing at the time I walked through wasn’t drawing a crowd. But it did make for one of my favorite photos of the event.

These guys were playing nice jazzy tunes, but not many were about to enjoy them.

Speaking of music, the booth where I spent the majority of my day was placed in such a manner that we had the giant inflatable slide between us and the stage. So I didn’t really get to hear a lot from the various bands that were there. When I took my break, I did walk over and caught a song or so from two of them, along with the picture.

Hotline played covers of classic rock and pop songs.

This band is called Boats to Tangier. From what I heard they have a very eclectic influence and sound to them, sort of alternative.

I thought it was pretty funny how they had the stage set up, just worked the bands down from one end to the other.

Where I was situated most of the day was the area of the stage and rides, the little field at the corner of Main and Lake Streets. This is a shot of some of the other booths there.

Here's a sampling of some of the booths lined up toward Lake Street. We had a little traffic during the day, but nothing like Salisbury Festival and the booths on Main Street.

Of course, one would guess if they attended which booth I worked at.

The Wicomico Republicans represented at the RiverFest.

Gilchrest on the left, Harris on the right. Appropriate, don’t you think? No, we really didn’t plan it that way, it just happened.

If I recall correctly, last year the Democrats also had a booth but this time they were no-shows unless of course you count the radical environmentalists who vote that way if there’s no one from the Green Party on the ballot.

Regardless, most of what we had on our table were holdovers from the Farm and Home Show booth we had, with the exception of the Ron Paul items in the middle. In the photo, the Paul cards are being held down by the pile of pens next to the basket of suckers. We generally joke that it’s how we represent the Democrats.

Some of the political wares we were pressing.

There are two other observations I’d like to share about the event. There were a few who complained that there wasn’t much in the way of publicity for RiverFest. Because we were in last year’s event, we were contacted but there wasn’t the big push in the media that I’m aware of. Even Joe Albero wasn’t at the event too long, although apparently he found a more important event to cover. I did see one of the news channels taking shots at RiverFest as well, they were shooting where the Segway demos were occurring.

I do want to thank those who helped out with our booth at the event. Gail, George, Dave, Bob, Dustin, John – I appreciate your assistance. Be ready for the Autumn Wine Festival! I also want to thank again the gentleman who complemented me on monoblogue, even though he is a confirmed Democrat. We can change that you know.

So another RiverFest is in the books. I think they did have a little better attendance and support than last year, but whether the Chamber of Commerce wants to maintain an event which probably isn’t a moneymaker remains to be seen.

I guess every man has his price

Yesterday I ran across a story on Michelle Malkin’s website concerning a corruption sting in New Jersey. Eleven state and local officials are accused of taking bribes in return for steering government business to certain clients. After reading it I felt compelled to comment (it’s comment #28 if you care to read that far.)

This story troubles me in two respects.

First of all, because one of the accused, Jonathan Soto, is a “former GOP Passaic…City Councilman”, it becomes a “bipartisan” scandal in the eyes of the media, despite many of the defendants being Democrats. It’ll be looked at as another example where the Republican Party is the so-called party of corruption.

Secondly, and much more importantly, this reveals the sad fact that each office seems to have its “price” – a few thousand for a school board member, closer to five figures for an Assemblyman or City Councilman, and $30-50k for a mayor. Being in the “real” work world, I know what it takes for me to clear that kind of cash yet these guys and the bribery they were allegedly taking are likely just the tip of the iceberg as far as corruption is concerned in that state. And I shudder to think about the size and scale of it on a federal level.

As well-meaning as New Jersey’s Governor Corzine might be, all the ethics laws that can be written are only treating the symptoms and not the disease. Instead of being public servants, these men have turned the definition on its head; wishing the public serve them by creating a trough of public funds that they can use their influence to allow their favored friends to dip into.

To truly cure the disease, the bottomless pit of public funds needs to be filled in somehow. Even the lowly office of school board has become a source of big money, and where you have easy money, you have scoundrels who want to get their hands on it rather than honestly working to attain it.

By many accounts, New Jersey is a state where corruption and graft are second nature; however, I can’t say I’m an expert on their state or their politics. I think in my blogging existence I’ve only mentioned their politics once when they had the last election for Governor in 2005. And I’ve visited there only one time, made it no farther north than Brick Township and Lakewood.

Regardless, the article made me think about how money has gotten so pervasive in politics and also how getting it in the most dubious of ways seems to have become the goal of many a politician. You may recall that one argument made for passage of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform was that all the campaign money makes politicians dishonest. In the New Jersey case though and in so many others (both Congressman William Jefferson and his former cohort Duke Cunningham are shining examples of this) the money that corrupted them was the money they were placed in charge of by being elected to Congress. Unfortunately not enough Republicans and few if any Democrats seem to want to get at that particular cause of corruption; most turn a blind eye to it as they pass larger and larger, more pork-laden budgets.

Another thing that depresses me is that the New Jersey corruption reached all the way down to a school board. That’s the real grassroots of the political world, the place where many first come into elected office. Some use that office as a springboard to a city council seat or Delegate post, while others simply serve because they care about the welfare of local children and seek no higher office. Even so, school districts now control huge sums of money – much of it coming from federal and state sources. These men likely professed their service to the local children on the one hand while using the other to direct the flow of money to their favored friends.

One irony of this is while Michelle was wrapping up this article, I was working the Wicomico County Republican Party booth at Salisbury’s RiverFest (more on that later today.) Because Wicomico County has an appointed school board, the office I occupy of Central Committeeman is the lowest of the low on the elected office totem pole, much like the school board in New Jersey. Likely it’s the only elected position I’ll ever take since I don’t have a great desire to work and play with others in a legislative body someplace, nor do I plan on making elected office a lifetime avocation.

But the article she wrote is another example of elected officials violating the public trust and making all of the rest of us – the 99% of us who are honest and want to do what’s right for those who elected us – look bad and maintains a public perception that we’re all crooks. However, if we can take some of the money out of the equation, the shysters and others who simply seek to make their fortunes through the world of politics may have to find another more dishonest profession.

GOP infighting and more conventional news

What do you know, I just made a pun of sorts since the by-laws I’m referring to will be discussed at our fall convention. But I titled the piece as I did because there’s a bit of a news roundup toward the end.

Fellow Maryland blogger Brian Griffiths did a series of posts about proposed changes to the state GOP by-laws. Honestly it seems like since I’ve come on board to the Maryland GOP hierarchy with my election last year to the Wicomico County Republican Central Committee, a great deal of time and energy has been spent talking about the by-laws. Granted, they did need some work and updating so a subcommittee was formed at the Fall 2006 convention to rework certain portions and streamline the document. They did a yeoman’s job and some of the changes took effect this spring, while others are included in this fall’s proposals. We’ve also done the same process with the county’s by-laws and are working on the same style of changes in the Wicomico County Republican Club’s version of their by-laws.

As far as Griffiths’ take is concerned, I’m in agreement with most of his objections – particularly on this one:

The Party shall not, without the prior approval by at least a two-thirds affirmative vote of the State Executive Committee, contribute money or in-kind aid to any candidate for any public or party office except the nominee of the Republican Party or a candidate who is unopposed in the Republican primary after the filing deadline for that office. Nothing in this section shall preclude any member of the State Central Committee from personally contributing money or in-kind aid to a candidate in a Republican primary or Party election.

Yes, it’s the John Kane “incumbent protection” policy that I ran on ending coming back in the back door. Obviously it’s quite important this fall as we’ll be in the midst of a spirited battle for the First Congressional District seat. For this purpose, I say a thousand times no on the proposal. Let the Republican voters decide!

The other objection Griffiths and I share is the voluminous postamble a Central Committee member wants to add to our “purpose”:

We, the members of the Maryland Republican Party, believe in the inalienable, natural rights of each individual as endowed by our Creator, including the rights to life, liberty, property and the pursuit of happiness. We agree with our nation’s founders that government is instituted to protect those rights and will oppose all efforts to interfere with their legitimate exercise. The Republican Party is committed to protecting and defending the Constitution of the United States, which is the law of the land, and further to interpreting the Constitution in its original intent as written by the Founding Fathers. The Republican Party recognizes that the United States is a republic, governed by laws enacted by elected representatives pledged to protect the rights guaranteed in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

The Republican Party, from its inception, and under the leadership of its first President, Abraham Lincoln, has championed justice, equal rights, and opportunity for all, regardless of race, religion, gender or national origin. We are proud that our President, George W. Bush, has put into action our messages of hope, opportunity, family values, and individual rights; which is an inclusive message for all who love freedom, believe in individual rights and responsibility, and believe in government of the people.

I’m not wild about the first paragraph, but really what is the purpose of the second? Since GWB is leaving office in January 2009, is it appropriate to add this to our by-laws? We could approve it as a resolution but I see no need for cluttering the by-laws that some in the state Central Committee have worked hard to clean up and streamline.

Kudos to Brian Griffiths on this and his (along with the other RedMaryland contributors) coverage of the Anne Arundel GOP leadership situation. Fortunately here in Wicomico County we get along pretty well despite some differences of opinion here and there.

Speaking of the Maryland GOP, perhaps they stole a bit of Wicomico County’s thunder by holding their own Straw Poll during the Maryland State Fair. I found the results rather interesting. From the Maryland GOP press release:

Dr. Jim Pelura, Chairman of the Maryland Republican Party, released the following statement:

“When we came up with the idea of holding our first-ever presidential straw poll at the State Fair, we never expected such a large turnout. We were extremely pleased by the steady flow of people casting a vote in the straw poll, signing our petitions opposing the gas tax increase, sales tax increase, and illegal immigration, and picking up a “Don’t Blame Me…I Voted For Ehrlich” bumper sticker. We heard loud and clear that Marylanders are not happy with the direction of our state under one-party rule.”

Chris Cavey, First Vice Chairman of the Maryland Republican Party and Co-Chairman of the MDGOP’s State Fair Planning Committee, stated the following:

“The final vote showing Ron Paul won is a lesson for all campaigns of how grassroots politics can make all the difference. The Paul campaign repeatedly e-mailed their base of support to turn out at the State Fair to cast a vote for Dr. Paul, and in doing so, demonstrated that a small organized operation can beat the odds.” Cavey continued, “The Maryland Republican Party’s booth at the State Fair was a huge success. By contrast, the Democrat Party’s booth was a ghost town. Where were the Democrats? They were at our booth signing our petitions opposing tax increases.”

The Straw Poll results ended up as follows:

Ron Paul, 263 votes (28.9%)
Rudy Giuliani, 220 votes (24.1%)
Fred Thompson, 188 votes (19.8%)
Mitt Romney, 89 votes (9.8%)
John McCain, 54 votes (5.9%)
Mike Huckabee, 35 votes (3.8%)
Newt Gingrich (write-in), 17 votes (1.9%)
Tom Tancredo, 16 votes (1.8%)
Sam Brownback, 12 votes (1.3%)
Duncan Hunter, 3 votes (0.3%)
Bob Ehrlich (write-in), 3 votes (0.3%)
Other write-ins, 11 votes (1.2%)

I suppose that most disappointing to me is that there were only 911 votes when fair attendance was over 400,000. However, Ron Paul was pretty happy with the results and compared it to the “restrictive” Townhall.com Texas Straw Poll that he finished third in and Duncan Hunter won. I do have to hand it to the Ron Paul campaign as they’ve been the most responsive in getting me material and possibly a speaker for the upcoming Wicomico County Republican Straw Poll. It also surprised me because Mitt Romney is the candidate of many of the “establishment” Republicans in Maryland, another one being Rudy Giuliani. Finishing a distant and poor fourth had to shock the Romney supporters.

And in late breaking news about the Wicomico County Republican Straw Poll, Congressional candidate Joe Arminio is planning to visit and likely put a vote in for his own campaign. (One would hope so anyway. Wonder who he supports for President?) Meanwhile, I got word from the Andy Harris camp (just confirmed with Chris Meekins) that Harris will attend next weekend’s Crab Feast sponsored by the WCRC. Apparently another Gilchrest opponent, John Leo Walter, is planning to attend the Crab Feast as well. Moving down the calendar, Wayne Gilchrest has his annual Bull Roast the following weekend (September 22nd), which is the first time I recall it not conflicting with our event – so I’m sure many Gilchrest supporters will be at our shindig if not Wayne himself.

From all of this news, one can infer that for Wicomico County political partisans it’s a case of “welcome to the battleground.”

Sloganeering redux

I’m sort of bummed because I took too long to write this post and those Democrats picked their winning slogan. But it wasn’t my favorite, which was simply “About DEM Time”. That had just SO many possibilities…

About DEM Time…we let al-Qaeda win
About DEM Time…your taxes get raised
About DEM Time…we suck up to the special interests

I could have had a field day with that one. But no, the Democrats picked this lame slogan:

“Sorry W, I’m the Decider…Dems in ’08”

What the heck are you going to decide as far as President Bush goes? Earth to Democrats – he’s not on the ballot. Hello?

I guess this goes back to the whole 2000 election decided by the Supreme Court thing. They still aren’t over it – meanwhile their last President never got a majority of the votes either. Perhaps if the electoral rules were like those in some places there would’ve been a runoff between the top two and the results could have been different.

The group sponsoring the slogan contest was the DSCC, those who want to extend the slim majority the Democrats have in the Senate. Essentially the Democrats got their Senatorial majority last year because of one word – “macaca.” And for most of the time since, they only had 50 Senators with the illness of South Dakota Sen. Tim Johnson (who by the way has recovered and is back at work.) Obviously they tout the advantage they have of only defending 12 seats in 2008 while the GOP defends 22. These would be the Senators elected in 2002, right after 9/11 and just before the Long War began.

I suppose my question for the Democrats is what they have to offer “deciders” like the California man who entered that particular slogan. So far the Democrats inhabiting Congress have decided that the Long War isn’t worth fighting, it’s not worth saving the tax cuts that ushered in our latest round of prosperity (despite the cooling of the housing market, unemployment is still under 5%), and that the ethics reform they campaigned on isn’t all that important after all. Further, we all know what their ilk in the Free State have up their sleeve, digging deeper into the citizens’ pockets instead of making tough choices about where to cut the budget.

In response to their slogan let me say this: the approval rating of Congress is at a historic low, so maybe America should decide that it’s time to send Harry Reid and the Democrat majority back to Searchlight, Nevada. Putting a true majority in Congress interested in reforming and cutting the size and scope of our federal government would be a decision we could all live and prosper with.

Shorebird of the Year – a 2007 season wrapup

This season was one of several ups and downs for our local nine, but when it was all said and done we finished winning and losing 68 games. It was a perfect .500 season that even included a tie because our final road game in Hagerstown was called on account of rain after 8 innings with the teams knotted at 2 apiece.

As far as the second-half standings, Delmarva finished 34-35 which was good for fourth place, and by beating Lake County 3 of 4 in the final series we finished just in front of them. Hickory won the second half by 7 games over Lakewood, so it’s Hickory and West Virginia for the North title while Augusta and Columbus tangle in an all-Georgia final for the South.

Delmarva finished in the middle of the pack as far as overall standings, too. Numbers in parentheses indicate each half’s finish, and teams in italics are in the North Division with Delmarva:

Augusta 89-51 (1,3)
Columbus 82-53 (3,1)
West Virginia 82-54 (1,3)
Asheville 80-58 (2,4)
Charleston 78-62 (4,2)
Lakewood 69-65 (3,2)
Hickory 70-66 (8,1)
Greensboro 71-69 (2,6)
Delmarva 68-68 (4,4)
Kannapolis 69-70 (5,5)
Rome 66-74 (7,6)
Lake County 64-74 (5,5)
Lexington 59-81 (5,7)
Greenville 58-81 (6,7)
Hagerstown 55-81 (7,8)
Savannah 41-94 (8,8)

I guess the league was good at swatting Sand Gnats. Savannah finished 45 1/2 games behind, which doesn’t say much for the Mets organization. And congratulate Hickory for going from worst to first in one half!

As strong as the South looked, I think I have to go with Augusta to defeat West Virginia for the league title.

Now let’s look at how Delmarva stacked up against the rest of the league in some other respects. The offense was better than last year’s but still ranked among the bottom as far as average. The Shorebirds’ .259 aggregate average was 12th. Other categories:

Runs scored: 662 (4.87 per game), 10th
Doubles: 245, tied for 9th
Triples: 31, 7th
Home Runs: 88, 12th
Walks: 433, 12th
Strikeouts: 1,094, 4th most
Stolen Bases: 145, 9th
On-base percentage: .329, 13th
Slugging percentage (total bases/at-bats) .381, 14th
OPS (total of on-base and slugging percentages) .710, 14th

As it was last season, pitching was more the strength of the team. Their overall 3.91 ERA ranked sixth in the circuit. (This may come as a surprise with what you’ll see in a moment.) Some of the other overall rankings:

Saves: 36, 7th
Runs allowed: 655 (4.82 per game), 10th
Home Runs allowed: 73, 3rd fewest
Walks allowed: 590, most in the SAL
Strikeouts: 1074, 2nd (Rome had 1088 but they played all 140 scheduled games.)
WHIP (walks+hits/innings pitched) 1.41, 10th

Looking at the Oriole organization as a whole, the oddity is that the team with the second-worst record is the lone playoff team. Frederick won the first half title in their Carolina League division with a 32-37 record and played the exact same ball in half number 2 (finishing third.) Unfortunately for the Shorebirds, the worst team was the one right below us in Aberdeen – they finished 32-41. Rookie league Bluefield was also a sub-.500 team at 32-36, but the lower level rookies in the Gulf Coast League did manage a winning season. Doesn’t look like a lot of help for 2008.

However, we may get a few of those I picked as Shorebird of the Week back. Starting back from April, here’s how my picks fared.

April 5: Brandon Snyder

Snyder was expected to carry a good deal of the offensive load this season while learning a new position, first base. He did just fine, finishing with a .283 average, 11 homers, and 58 RBI. It was a far cry from a disastrous 2006 campaign as he stayed healthy all year and amassed a valuable 448 at-bats of experience. His season was right among the top as far as offensive category leaders go. I think we’ve seen the last of Brandon, he’s earned a shot to play at Frederick.

Other honors: Brandon was picked by the Shorebirds Fan Club as their Player of the Half for the second half.

April 12: Brad Bergesen

I think had Brad stayed here the entire season and kept putting up the numbers he was amassing, I would have had zero issue with him being Shorebird of the Year. But he moved up to Frederick and opened up the field. With Delmarva he finished 7-3 with a 2.19 ERA and a WHIP of 0.98, allowing just 75 hits and 17 walks in 94 innings. For Brad the Carolina League was less to his liking, as he ended up 3-6 in Frederick with an ERA of 5.75, the WHIP ballooning to a pedestrian 1.54 mark. I suspect he’ll anchor the Frederick staff to begin 2008 anyway.

Other honors: Brad was a 2007 SAL All-Star.

April 19: Victor Castillo

Castillo proved to be by far the better catcher with the bat, finishing with a .294 batting mark. The other impressive thing to me was striking out just 33 times in 231 at-bats while drawing 27 walks. While he doesn’t have the power his stocky frame might suggest, he does show a little bit of speed and can steal a base once in awhile. He did hit one homer and knock in 27 though, and I think he’ll move up next season someplace along the line. Delmarva tends to get new catchers each year and Victor’s earned a shot at moving up.

April 26: Brandon Tripp

Brandon got off to an outstanding start and was an SAL Player of the Week in late April but found things much more difficult after missing some time with an injury in May. While the overall line of .288/19/79 is fairly good and Tripp led the team in home runs, the post-April line of .247/14/54 may be closer to what can be expected at the higher level I feel Brandon will be placed at in 2008. Another oddity I found was that Brandon hit a lot better on the road than in Perdue Stadium (.330 vs. .243).

Other honors: As noted, Brandon was the SAL Player of the Week for the week of April 23. He was also an SAL All-Star, voted by the Shorebirds Fan Club as their Player of the Half for the first half, and selected by Mountaire as their Player of the Year in August.

May 3: Chris Vinyard

For most of the year, the Shorebirds indeed had a deadly lefty-righty power combination and it turned out that Vinyard led the team with 82 runs batted in to go with 16 home runs. The home run total was second to Tripp’s. Chris also batted a respectable .269 on the season, so he may get a shot at Frederick to share first base and DH duties with Brandon Snyder again. Working against Vinyard though is a much lower draft slot so he may come back here for at least some time next year too.

Other honors: Chris was selected as an SAL All-Star.

May 10: Pedro Beato

Beato was supposed to anchor the Delmarva starting staff and pretty much did his job. Even better, he got the thrill of appearing in this season’s All-Star Futures Game. While Pedro led the team in innings pitched with 142 1/3, in August he faded quite badly and it pushed his overall season ERA to a mediocre 4.05. On the whole he finished with a 7-8 record and WHIP of 1.39 – 3 terrible starts in August ratcheted that number up quite a bit. Since Beato only turns 21 during the off-season I think he’ll be back here for the first half of 2008 but gone before season’s end.

Other honors: As I alluded to, he was selected to pitch for the World team in the All-Star Futures Game.

May 17: Wilfredo Perez

When he first arrived in Delmarva, this guy just flat out killed lefties. But as it turned out, they fared a little better against him than right-handed hitters did. Still Wilfredo put together some monster numbers for the Shorebirds. How about an ERA of 1.67? Even better, as a starter his ERA was a sick 0.28. In 81 innings he walked 28 and struck out 108. As for the modern-day measuring stick of a pitchers’ prowess, the WHIP, Perez’s was exactly 1. Among pitchers with a reasonable number of innings, only the aforementioned Bergesen had a better figure than Wilfredo’s. Honestly, if this guy’s not in a Frederick uniform next year, I’ll be shocked.

Other honors: Wilfredo was picked by Mountaire as their Pitcher of the Year in August.

May 24: Billy Rowell

It wasn’t quite up to par with the Second Coming, but Delmarva fans did expect big things from 2006 first round pick Billy Rowell when he arrived. In only playing 91 games though his numbers weren’t really impressive – Billy hit .273 with 9 homers and 57 RBI. Projected over another 45 games or so to make a full season and they’re a tad more impressive compared to the team leaders. The thing Rowell needs to work on is the error total, as he committed 21 miscues at the hot corner. As most kids do, he made some sensational plays and bolloxed up a few easy ones. To me, he’s on the fence between deserving a promotion to start the season or spending a month or so here first. Either way, he’ll likely be in Frederick at the end of 2008.

Other honors: Billy was chosen as the SAL Player of the Week for the week of June 11.

May 31: Stu Musslewhite

Stu’s season came to an untimely end as he had shoulder surgery in late July. Thus, we may never know if his lackluster numbers were caused by a bum shoulder or some other factor. Stu only hit .182/0/13 for the season in 56 games that he split between third base, shortstop, and catcher as a valuable utility player. With the injury and the fact he’s recently turned 25, it may be past Stu’s time as far as being a player in the Orioles organization is concerned. However, if he does come back in 2008, Stu would be welcomed.

June 7: Jeff Moore

Here’s another guy who was cruising along and putting together a fine season when the injury bug got him. Jeff was shut down in July and never reappeared. It’s too bad because he was 6-4 with a fine 2.45 ERA in 18 starts. He also had a solid 1.17 WHIP going too. If the injury is not too serious, he’ll probably be back here to begin 2008 but could make a rapid climb up a level or two by season’s end – at 25 his peer group is at the AA level in Bowie.

Other honors: Jeff was selected as an SAL All-Star.

June 14: Chad Thall

Chad served as Delmarva’s closer for a good part of the season and amassed a team leading 17 saves. His numbers weren’t the greatest for a shutdown closer but his 3-5 record with a 4.14 ERA and 1.29 WHIP were still good enough for him to earn a last-minute promotion to Frederick for their playoff run. For the Keys he made one regular-season appearance, giving up a hit and striking out two. I suspect he may have to get used to Frederick since my guess is they’ll begin 2008 with Chad on board.

June 21: Josh Tamba

I noted in picking Josh that his problem was walking too many batters, and shortly after being selected as SotW he was demoted to Aberdeen to get some more starts and work on the issue. Unfortunately, he fared worse for the IronBirds. With Delmarva, Josh was 0-3 with a 5.82 ERA and 1.71 WHIP – walking 32 in 55 2/3 innings. His Aberdeen numbers were ghastly: 1-5 with a 9.23 ERA, .331 average against, and a WHIP of 2.20. Tamba allowed over 2 runners per inning for Aberdeen and for the season he allowed more runs than innings pitched (101 vs. 95 2/3). He may get another shot at working out whatever issues he has though since he was a high draft pick and only 23, probably here with the Shorebirds.

June 28: Miguel Abreu

“Miggy” turned in a nice season for the Shorebirds, finishing among the leaders in several offensive categories. He was the team leader in at-bats (486), hits (130), triples (5) and just behind in most of the other offensive numbers. His .267 average, 13 homers, and 60 RBI combined with 20 stolen bases will likely allow him a promotion to begin 2008.

July 5: Tim Bascom

Tim was the first 2007 draft choice to play for the Shorebirds and for much of the next two months was the highest draft choice signed by the Orioles. While he was drafted in the fourth round, he was Baltimore’s second pick as they lost picks as compensation for signing major league free agents. Tim hung around long enough for 12 starts, earning a 3-3 record with a 3.74 ERA and a nice 1.25 WHIP. He also had a good strikeout/walk ratio of 55/24. At the tail end of the season he also got a promotion to Frederick, pitching 6 innings in 2 appearances, allowing 2 runs.

July 12: Michael Pierce

Michael finished 2007 with a .232 average, poked 5 home runs, and knocked in 21 RBI in 82 games. With only 224 at-bats since he shared catching duties with Victor Castillo, it could be a case where he stays here in 2008 to lend support to the catchers sure to come up from Aberdeen or Bluefield and gets about the same number of AB’s.

July 19: Todd Davison

After a slow start at Frederick (7 for 33 in 15 games), Todd went down to extended spring then to Delmarva. He got off to a good start with the Shorebirds, but fell off sharply as time went on. With the Shorebirds he hit .234 in 197 at-bats, hitting 2 homers and knocking in 30. Davison turns 24 in October so he may get another shot with Delmarva in 2008, probably as a utility infielder who spells the normal starters.

July 26: Kyle Schmidt

In his second go-round with the Shorebirds, Kyle put together some good stats. While his 6-8 record was mediocre, he finished second on the staff with 131 innings pitched and tied for third in the entire SAL with his 145 strikeouts. Had he pitched the same number of innings as the league leader, Kyle would likely have led the loop (Aneury Rodriguez of Asheville struck out 160 in 152 innings, 21 innings more than Schmidt threw.) Better still, Schmidt only walked 38 so his 1.24 WHIP was one of the team’s best. I think Kyle will be plying his trade in Frederick next year as well.

August 2: Paul Winterling

Winterling wasn’t playing much in Frederick (hitting .206 in 21 games) but proved in 100 Delmarva at-bats that he can hit at this level, amassing a .320 average here. Toward the end of the season Paul was our best hitter, hitting 4 homers and knocking in 11 – not bad numbers for just 29 games here. The OPS of .957 was the team’s best. Paul could be the anchor to our lineup next year, although the Orioles may not give him much of a chance since he was an undrafted free agent. If he can stick here and get some regular playing time for an extended period Winterling could put up really good numbers for the Shorebirds next season.

August 9: Zach Clark

Zach bounced around between three teams this season, spending a forgettable few weeks in Frederick before being sent down to Aberdeen. With more success there, he came to Delmarva in July and put in 9 solid starts for the Shorebirds. Clark only had a 2-3 record here but put up a sound 3.10 ERA and allowed only 57 hits and 9 walks in 58 innings with Delmarva (translating to a 1.14 WHIP.) Overall between the three teams, Zach was 5-5 with an aggregate ERA of 3.14 – the horrid 11.05 Frederick ERA in 3 appearances balanced out by his Aberdeen dominance, where he was 3-1 with a 1.03 ERA in 5 games. With Zach turning 24 during the 2007 season, probably he’ll be given the opportunity to return to Frederick and see if he can improve on what he did during his short stay there this season.

August 16: Danny Figueroa

Like a freight train gathering speed, Danny managed to continually improve his numbers as 2007 progressed. Overall he had a nifty .278 mark with 14 doubles, 5 triples, and 28 RBI (no home runs). The key stats for Danny were his team-leading 35 stolen bases and .398 on-base percentage – at one point he had a streak of 40 straight games where he got on base somehow. Helping him in that regard was a team-leading 68 walks, which placed him in the league’s top 10 for that category as well as for on-base percentage. He has certainly earned the right to move up and try to catch up to his twin brother (and ’05 Shorebird) Paco, who played for Bowie this season.

August 23: Ryan Ouellette

Ryan ended up going full circle this season – Frederick to Aberdeen to Delmarva and back to Frederick for one September appearance. For the Shorebirds Ryan made 18 appearances, finishing 2-1 with a 2.10 ERA in 34 1/3 innings. The big difference between his numbers for the three teams was the lack of walks he gave up at Aberdeen (1 in 8 innings) and Delmarva (11) vs. the number he gave up in Frederick (6 in 12 innings pitched.) Thus he had a 2.25 ERA in Aberdeen, 2.10 here, and 6.00 with the Keys. Because Ryan is yet to turn 22, he’s probably a borderline case between continuing with Frederick or returning to Delmarva to open 2008.

August 30: David Cash

The last SotW picked, David had a decent year with Delmarva. In 112 games he hit .262 with 1 homer and 51 runs batted in. Additionally, he had 20 stolen bases. Probably the two things he’ll be working on here in 2008 are getting more work in the outfield (he’s a converted infielder) and developing a little better batting eye since he only had a .295 on-base percentage, walking just 20 times in well over 400 plate appearances. While the average was passable, he needs to find more ways to steal first and most likely he’ll be here next season to work on that.

********************

So it’s time for me to pick my Shorebird of the Year.

As I stated above, had Brad Bergesen stayed the whole season and kept putting up the numbers he was, I would be honoring him right now. However, I am giving him honorable mention as the best prospect this season. Despite the fact Brandon Tripp was selected by the Shorebirds Fan Club as their Player of the Half for the first half, my personal vote as a member was for Bergesen.

With Bergesen out, this left me with a number of position players who had a lot going for them with very similar averages and leadership in a number of statistical categories. It was a group that included Brandon Snyder, Chris Vinyard, Miguel Abreu, Danny Figueroa, Brandon Tripp, and if you project out the numbers for a full season, Billy Rowell.

So I had to look beyond the numbers to an extent. I looked at the expectations each player had placed on him for the season.

Both Snyder and Rowell were first round picks by the Orioles, so one would assume they have the talent necessary to thrive at this level, or would have so once they gained a bit of experience. In Snyder’s case, he needed a year to excel at this level while Rowell is close to that point, maybe a few dozen games in 2008 away. As well, Brandon Tripp was a pretty high pick, drafted 12th in 2006.

This leaves Miguel Abreu (28th in 2005), Chris Vinyard (38th in 2005, drafted as a catcher), and Danny Figueroa (drafted 43rd in 2005). All of these guys were basically what’s known as “organization picks”; the guys you draft to fill out the season’s roster at Aberdeen and Bluefield. All three of them had very good seasons and can be arguably deserving of the Shorebird of the Year moniker.

I can only pick one guy though. And as things turned out, the person I selected as my Shorebird Fan Club vote for Player of the Half for the second half did not win either. It was close between him and Brandon Snyder for my personal choice, and Snyder got the nod from the Fan Club.

While the Fan Club had many voters, my blog has one. And my vote for Player of the Half is my selection for Shorebird of the Year:

Danny Figueroa gets my nod as the 2007 Shorebird of the Year.

Because of his outstanding ability to get on base and jumpstart the Shorebirds’ offense, plus a great job manning center field, my 2007 Shorebird of the Year is outfielder Danny Figueroa.

And now the long winter wait begins as the next Shorebirds contest with any meaning comes April 3, 2008 at Perdue Stadium against cross-state rival Hagerstown. I’ll have one more Shorebirds post next week with some comments as a loyal fan about what was good and bad about 2007 and suggestions for 2008.

More Congressional action

This quick update from two camps:

The “big announcement” from the Andy Harris for Congress campaign was that former Governor Ehrlich will host a fundraiser on Andy’s behalf October 18th in Queen Anne’s County. The actual press release is as follows:

Former Republican Congressman and Governor Robert Ehrlich announced today he will be hosting a fundraiser for Andy Harris, a candidate for the Republican nomination in Maryland’s first congressional district.

“Andy Harris has been a consistent leader in promoting our Republican values and beliefs,” said Governor Ehrlich. “His leadership on fighting for lower taxes, eliminating wasteful spending and support for honest government is legendary in the legislature. I am proud to offer my help.”

The fundraiser will be held on Thursday, October 18th at 6:30p.m. at Harris’ Crab House (no relation) in Queen Anne’s County. A private VIP reception and photo-opportunity with Governor Ehrlich will begin at 6 p.m. The main event will run from 6:30 p.m. until 8 p.m. Veterans and current members of the military will be given a discount to the event in honor of their service.

“I appreciate Governor Ehrlich’s willingness to host a fundraiser on my behalf. As Governor he moved the state of Maryland and the Republican Party in a positive direction. His support at this event will help us get out our message of support for the traditions and principals that made America the greatest nation on earth,” said Andy Harris.

Individuals interested in attending should contact the Harris campaign at dave@andyharris08.com, or call 443-797-5144, or visit www.andyharris08.com.

So Andy’s bringing out the biggest gun in the Maryland GOP arsenal to help him out. It’s intriguing because Ehrlich supported Gilchrest in previous elections against other conservative challengers.

The second note that caught my interest was the passing of Ohio’s 5th District Rep. Paul Gillmor today. While most in this area wouldn’t know his name, he happened to be my Congressman before I moved here. So I immediately thought about succession since Ohio unwisely chose a Democrat, Governor Ted Strickland, in 2006. Could he put a Democrat in the seat?

Fortunately for northwest Ohio residents, by law a special election will be scheduled. Thus the GOP will likely not lose the seat as that area of Ohio is arguably the most “red” part of the state. My money would be on Ohio House member Robert Latta, whose father held the 5th District seat prior to Gillmor (the elder Latta retired in 1988.) But I’m sure a plethora of GOP aspirants will be gunning for the seat since it’s one of the most safe Republican seats in the nation.