JETHAWKS NOTEBOOK: WELCOME WEATHER : JETHAWKS BRASS PLEASED WITH ATTENDANCE.Byline: Chris Cocoles Daily News Staff Writer Monday seemed like the perfect afternoon to ``Hide From Your Boss'' at Lancaster Municipal Stadium, which is how the JetHawks marketed Monday's 12:35 p.m. start. Temperatures in the low 80's, high clouds and a slight breeze greeted those who attended the game against the Visalia Oaks The Visalia Oaks are a minor league baseball team in Visalia, California, U.S. They are a "high-A" class team of the Arizona Diamondbacks operating in the California League. The Oaks play home games at Recreation Park; opened in 1967, the stadium seats 1,800 fans. . The weather, normally the JetHawks' worst enemy in April, has cooperated during a season-opening, six-game homestand. It also contributed to a smaller-than-hoped-for paid turnout of 2,074 for the second edition of the JetHawks' businessperson's special. Last year's April 20 Monday-afternoon game attracted a paid crowd of 3,061 to The Hangar, the 12th home game of the early season. Frigid April weather was a major cause in five crowd counts that were under 3,000. In five previous 1999 home games, comfortable conditions, combined with daily promotions, helped the JetHawks get off to a quick start at the turnstiles. ``We probably would have more people actually show up (for a Monday-night game),'' said JetHawks vice president/general manager Matt Ellis Matt Ellis (born August 31, 1981, in Welland, Ontario, Canada) is a professional ice hockey left winger. He currently plays as captain for the Grand Rapids Griffins of the American Hockey League. , who tentatively is planning another Monday matinee next season. ``I'll take the good weather for one bad day. We'll probably do it again next year.'' Including a 5,213 Saturday turnout, the first six home games totaled 20,210, almost 5,000 fans ahead of last season's April schedule. Further, the current pace is just slightly less than the 21,628 tickets sold for the first six home dates in the franchise's 1997 debut season. ``It was a great homestand,'' Ellis said. The 5,200-plus who showed up Saturday would have made for the third-most attended game of 1998. In last season's weekday afternoon experiment, a large group from Desert Christian school A Christian School is a school run on Christian principles or by a Christian organization. The nature of Christian schools varies enormously from country to country according to the religious, educational, and political culture. boosted attendance. The JetHawks have future plans of getting local schools to participate in such an event. ``The concept of a day game is to get all of the schools involved and do a DARE program before the game,'' Ellis said. ``This is fun. It's different. We still have 1,000 people showing up today. That's better than most (rival California League The California League is a minor league baseball league which operates throughout the state of California. Before 2002, it was classified as a "High-A" league, indicating its status as a Class A league with the highest level of competition within that classification, and the fifth ) teams do at night.'' On fire: Monday's small brush fire that broke out behind the right-field stands and got everyone's attention fit in perfectly with Shawn McCorkle's three-run homer just seconds before smoke started rising in the distance in the sixth inning. McCorkle can now be described as ``hot'' after his 0-for-18 deep freeze deep freeze see freezer. last week. The first baseman who jumped from short-season Everett to the advanced Single-A Cal League had four hits in the second game of the season but struck out 11 times during his slump. The 21-year-old had a hit apiece on Friday and Saturday, went 2 for 3 in Sunday's 13-2 loss to the Oaks and then sent a Julian Leyva's pitch off the secondary billboards in right-center to make Monday's game interesting. ``I'm going up there with a lot more confidence right now. I'm staying back on the fastball,'' McCorkle said Sunday. ``You go 0 for 18 with (11) punchouts and something has to go your way.'' McCorkle wasn't finished hitting. He just missed another homer in the seventh, settling for an RBI RBI abbr. Baseball runs batted in Noun 1. rbi - a run that is the result of the batter's performance; "he had more than 100 rbi last season" run batted in double off the scoreboard in right. But representing the go-ahead run in the eighth, McCorkle grounded out to second and a late JetHawks rally fell short in a 12-8 loss, their fourth straight to complete a 1-5 homestand. Timing is right: While it was a bad break for Emerson Bello - the JetHawks reliever suffered a right-shoulder strain Sunday and was placed on the disabled list - it provides returning infielder Joel Ramirez to slide into Bello's spot on the roster. Ramirez was promoted to Double-A New Haven New Haven, city (1990 pop. 130,474), New Haven co., S Conn., a port of entry where the Quinnipiac and other small rivers enter Long Island Sound; inc. 1784. Firearms and ammunition, clocks and watches, tools, rubber and paper products, and textiles are among the many last Wednesday after the Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are a professional baseball team based in Seattle, Washington. The Mariners are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Mariners have played in Safeco Field. suffered a rash of big-league middle-infield injuries. When Ramirez left and infielder Rick Southall was sent down to Wisconsin, it left the JetHawks with 13 pitcher`s and just three position-player reserves. Manager Darrin Garner downplayed the depleted de·plete tr.v. de·plet·ed, de·plet·ing, de·pletes To decrease the fullness of; use up or empty out. [Latin d bench, citing the versatility of Greg Connors (third base/catcher/first base/outfield), Craig Kuzmic (third base/catcher) and Harvey Hargrove (outfield/middle infield). Garner hinted Ramirez's replacement, Jose Moreno, would be the odd man out until Bello's injury opened a spot. Sunday-night fights: At first glance, the beanball that former JetHawk Brett Hinchliffe threw at Todd Greene Todd Anthony Greene (born May 8, 1971 in Augusta, Georgia) is a catcher in Major League Baseball who is currently a free agent. He previously played for the Anaheim Angels (1996-2000), Toronto Blue Jays (2000), New York Yankees (2001), Texas Rangers 2002-2003) and the Colorado to trigger a brawl between the Mariners and Angels on Sunday would seem to be planned. But Hinchliffe, who was ejected from Sunday night's game, swore the plunking of Greene, an inning after serving up a Troy Glaus Troy Edward Glaus (born August 3, 1976 in Tarzana, California) is a Major League Baseball player who plays third base for the Toronto Blue Jays. Previously, Glaus played with the Anaheim Angels (1998-2004) and the Arizona Diamondbacks (2005). homer, was an accident. ``It was not intentional,'' Hinchliffe told reporters. ``It was coincidental coming after the homer. We pitch them soft and away. I came in on him hard and K'd him the first time, and I was trying that again when the pitch got away.'' Another JetHawks alumnus ALUMNUS, civil law. A child which one has nursed; a foster child. Dig. 40, 2, 14. , Ken Cloude, earned the victory in relief in Seattle's 8-5 win. CAPTION(S): Photo PHOTO (Color in Verb 1. color in - add color to; "The child colored the drawings"; "Fall colored the trees"; "colorize black and white film" color, colorise, colorize, colour in, colourise, colourize, colour SAC Edition only) JetHawks infielder Ramon Valera has Visalia's Todd Mensik caught in a rundown. Tom Mendoza/Daily News |
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