12-team NABL in 2011. Who's missing?

It has certainly been a busy offseason for folks in the Golden Baseball League. The six-year-old independent league's remnants have joined forces with teams from the United League and what's left of the Northern League to form a 12-team indy league that stretches from Alberta to Texas and from Hawaii to Illinois. And, yep, there is even are you freaking kidding me? a team in Tijuana. Skepticism about the latest Tijuana "adventure" aside, it's good to see the new North American League taking shape as the new year looms.

[skip to bottom for official press release]

There is still plenty to do before the first pitch is thrown, but the league's website is already up and running, albeit with limited content to this point. The most telling bit of information is the "Teams" section that lists 12 clubs for the 2011 season. Just as telling are clubs that are omitted.

Eastern Division


Western Division


The Eastern Division comprises three teams from the Northern League (Lake County, Rockford and Schaumburg) and three from the United League (Edinburg, Rio Grande Valley and San Angelo). The Joilet JackHammers from the Northern League were originally speculated to be joining the party but based on the website won't be part of the new North American League. As far as old United League teams, the Laredo Broncos, Alexandria Aces and Amarillo Dillas are MIA instead of NABL.

In the Western Division, everyone still playing baseball from the Golden Baseball League will be a part of this half of the new league. The two remaining teams in Canada - Calgary and Edmonton - are back, along with GBL originals Yuma and Chico. Maui appears set to return for a second season and a new Tijuana franchise is listed as well. Missing participants of the 2010 GBL include the Tucson Toros, which have gone dark while the Padres Triple-A affiliate is in town after moving from Portland, the Victoria Seals, which ceased operations during the fall, and the St. George RoadRunners, which essentially folded midseason last year.

North American Baseball League

It looks like enough cats are getting out of bags across the country that independent baseball fans can see the handwriting on the wall of a mega-merger that would weave what's left of the Golden Baseball League, United League and Northern League into one big baseball league. While merger talk had been speculated over the last week, Ballpark Digest brought it all together in a Sunday article that detailed some of the how and why of the new league.

Low and behold, yet another cat escapes from the bag today as Ballpark Digest reports that the name being kicked around is the North American League. Either that or the North American Baseball League, according to a source close to the negotiations. While nothing is finalized and formalized just yet, it seems like things are progressing as all three leagues are not in a position to survive on their own in 2011, but combining the trio would infuse new life into all remaining markets.


While the sale of the (?ex-)Northern League Joliet JackHammers seems to be the big hang-up currently stalling any major announcement, it appears 16 teams are listed as potential cogs in the new league's big machine.

Northern League
Joliet JackHammers
Lake County Fielders
Rockford RiverHawks
Schaumburg Flyers

United League
Coastal Bend Thunder
Edinburg RoadRunners
San Angelo Colts
Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings

Golden League
Calgary Vipers
Chico Outlaws
Edmonton Capitals
Orange County Flyers
Na Koa Ikaika Maui

Three other potential teams include a Tijuana franchise, reportedly nicknamed the Ambassadors or Embajadores, as well as Omaha and Yuma.

It all sounds well and dandy, but this issue of high travel costs will still be an issue for teams in the "Canadian" or "West Coast" divisions. I can't imagine any bus trips going from Chico or Orange County to Illinois, and Texas-area teams will probably have to make their way to Houston or Dallas-Ft. Worth for the best flight options to get to Calgary or Edmonton. Obviously not every team will play each other, especially if there will only be 76 games with 24 of them being played "out of league."

GBL: Giant Baseball League?

When the Victoria Seals announced the club was ceasing operations this week, the news -- coupled with Tucson taking a year off and three franchises being absorbed by the league during the 2010 season -- seemed to spell the end of the Golden Baseball League. But a report out of the midwest points the other direction entirely. Could we be looking at the GBL going from the brink of extinction to becoming a super-league?

The Rockford (Illinois) RiverHawks will be joining the GBL for the 2011 season, according to a report from WREX Channel 13, an NBC affiliate. Before we get into the ramifications of what it all means, here is the story from WREX:

RiverHawks join Golden League
Posted: Nov 12, 2010 8:20 PM

By: Mike Morig

ROCKFORD (WREX) - After one season in the Northern League, the Rockford RiverHawks leave for the Golden League.

An official announcement is expected next week, but team owner Dave Ciarrachi told the 13 Sports Authority Friday night that the ‘Hawks are Golden League bound and the league itself will expand.

Ciarrachi said the league's new format will feature four divisions, one on the west coast, one in Canada, one in Texas, and one in the Midwest.

The RiverHawks will play in the Midwest division along with former Northern League teams from Schaumburg, Joliet, and Lake County. A potential fifth member of the division could come from Omaha.

Ciarrachi said the Golden League rules will allow the RiverHawks to keep the players they have, no matter their age.

The league will feature 16 or 17 teams and the name of the league along with the divisions will be discussed at the owners meetings later this month.

Talk about a game-changer. When the Golden Baseball League announced on the league's twitter feed that a major announcement was on the way, my only thought was a merger. What else could it have been? No league drums up attention to announce it's folding. But while I thought there might be a "merger" that would either bring the Calgary and Edmonton franchises back into the fold of the Northern League, the idea of a mega-league didn't quite come into focus.

Goodbye Golden League?

It's a sad day in the sports world whenever a franchise closes its doors. Seattle SuperSonics fans mourned the departure of their franchise moving to Oklahoma City. Cities that hosted Arena Football League teams saw them shut down in 2009 due to the economy (arena football has since been revived). And in the realm of independent baseball, it seems we are witnessing the inevitable demise -- or best case scenario, the incredibly drastic reshuffling -- of the Golden Baseball League.

The GBL, which played its first season in 2005 with eight teams throughout California and Arizona, finished its sixth season this September after expanding to a league-high 10 team format that stretched from Tijuana to Edmonton to Maui. Many thought the league's massive expansion, especially amid difficult economic times with dwindling crowds, would be the final nail in the coffin for the league. Yesterday, someone took a hammer to that last nail and began driving it home.

Boosting butts in the ballpark

Looking at pictures of an empty Pittsburgh Pirates ballpark this afternoon, part of me hopes/wonders if our little-engine-that-could operation of the Long Beach Armada can rid ourselves of days like this next season. After working three years in independent baseball for the Golden Baseball League, stadiums with this look of a sold out "dress as a seat" night theme may be a bit too common. On the plus side, I see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Now's the time where we get to fight to make a difference. The Armada and the GBL have just hit the offseason, and for me as the team's broadcaster, that's when I take off the headset and put on a tie. Time to sell, sell, sell. So is the world of all minor league baseball.

From now until the first pitch of the season, all efforts revolve around finding ways to get people through the gates of Blair Field here in Long Beach. And I get the feeling it's happening. Personally, I've already set up 10 meetings coming up in the next week with either local little leagues or sponsors. Gettin' an earlier start than last offseason. It's not a situation where we can just give tickets away (as much as people often suggest), for two reasons: 1. We've gotta make some money, and 2. If you do that, you lose all possible value of what you actually have.

This offseason I'm trying to find a way to build some value in what we can do for the community. Maybe it's get our players out to talk to the little leaguers more often, or getting the mascot to be the guest-umpire for a tee-ball game, or have guys out to dedicate the new local playground or something. Whatever it is, there has to be some sort of focus that we're doing is something to give back. If not, if we're just in it to sell tickets, then you end up with a stadium like the one pictured above. People know when you're just out to try to sell them something, and it's an extremely off-putting feeling when you get those phone calls.

With eight months until our season starts anew, we've got a find a way to make people want to answer the phone when we call. It's all about the baby steps. Last season the local newspaper finally covered every one of our games. No exception. Each game had a write up in the paper. Now if only they would publish the GBL standings so people can see where we rank (actually, after the sluggish season we had last year, maybe it's better that they didn't).

This is when the difference is made. The offseason.

Just as players work year-round to improve their on-field abilities to improve year by year, now is the time when our organization must improve. I get the feeling we're doing it. And the motivation? To not end up as an attendance punch-line that gets outdrawn by little leagues. Looking at that picture of the Pirates game says that somewhere along the line, someone has lost that drive (and lost a lot of baseball games). In Long Beach, we can't fall victim to those same traps. It's great motivation for us here. Geez, I'd hate to be like that.

Sure we had some lighter attended games this past summer, but it was leaps and bounds ahead of what things looked like at Blair Field in 2008. And with as much progress as (I felt like) we made from '08 to '09, to reality is I know there is plenty more to get done. Now is the time when we can make that sort of thing happen. We are making it happen. Mascot visiting schools. Meeting with little leagues and churches and others. The hype has already started.

Worst case scenario, at least we're not stuck in Pittsburgh.

Weekend Quickhits

The Cowboys and Steelers are just a few hours of renewing a rivalry between two of the most historic teams in the NFL.  And as I sit on my couch eating my coconut-topped cake donut and small hot chocolate from the place down the street, there's a few thoughts I need to get out from this past week in sports.

+  Watching the USC game last night, did anyone else chuckle at the awkward silence following the back-to-back uniform-induced timeouts to start the game? With Mike Patrick and Todd Blackledge calling the game for ABC/ESPN, and as the referee announced the timeouts (for the home jersey followed by UCLA's voluntary timeout), here's how it went down:

(Flag thrown)

Referee: "Failure to wear required equipment. By the kicking team. That is a violation. That is a charged timeout. The first of the half by USC. Charged timeout, UCLA, their first of the half. Those will run concurrently. 30 second timeout"

Mike Patrick: "Sounds like the O.J. sentencing."

(silence for my count of 7-Mississippi)

+ I wonder if NHL commissioner Gary Bettman wakes up each morning and gets some sort of national security style briefing like the President does, except Bettman's contains a report on who call whose girlfriend a slut. As much as I think the Stars will be better off without Avery, sort of an addition by subtraction, and that's simply based on what everyone in that locker room is saying, I do think this whole league-imposed suspension is a grown-up version of the middle school assistant principle sending a kid to detention for name-calling.

If the Stars really didn't like what he said, they could have suspended him before the league did, but that wasn't going to happen. If Dallas is really serious about moving on without Avery, they should follow the lead of the NFL's Eagles and Buccaneers when those teams deactivated receivers Terrell Owens and Keyshawn Johnson. Both teams followed Super Bowl seasons, and both teams decided that their high-priced headaches weren't worth it. The Stars, coming off a successful season, might just want to get rid of this name caller. Gawsh!

+ Cowboys are playing the Steelers today without Marion Barber and a questionable DeMarcus Ware on a cold, blustery day in Pittsburgh. If weather could ever truly describe a city, today might be the perfect Pittsburgh day. Chance of snow, Wind chill in single digits. And the only people nuts enough to go outside at all today will be the 65,050 at Heinz Field. With a healthy Barber and Ware, the Cowboys could take down Pittsburgh, but without these two Pro Bowlers, could we see the resurrection of the Steel Curtain? The Cowboys offense better find a spark with Tashard Choice or hope that there's a Doomsday revival on the other side of the ball.

+ Oh, Canada! Today the Buffalo Bills are playing their first "home" game in Toronto, the NFL's first ever game in Canada. We saw a Cardinal/49ers regular season game in Mexico a few years ago. Now the NLF is invading the Great White North. I understand playing in Mexico and England, but Canada has the CFL. Grey Cup enthusiasts will be plenty upset aboot these hosers, eh. All three other major pro sports in the US have Canadian-based teams (although technically, I'd argue the NHL is really Canada's league that we're allowed to play in), and now the NFL is beginning it's move to embrace the Canucks. Goofy-looking 20-yard end zones not required.

+ Did the Mavericks find a useful player in J.J. Barea. He put together solid games against the Clippers, Suns and Hawks, and the Mavs are rolling along at 11-8 now. It's still only good for 7th in the West, but it's a great improvement from 2-7. All without Josh Howard, by the way. Now if they can just take care of Mark Cuban's kindergarden haircut, they'll be great.

+ The GBL made Rickey Henderson a $1M offer to go into the Hall of Fame as a San Diego Surf Dawg. Some league critics on message boards are upset that a league that history doesn't spend a lot of money would solicit Rickey for seven-figures. And that's the genius of it all. Because the Hall of Fame has the final say on which cap a player wears into the HOF, the league knows the possibility of Rickey as a Surf Dawg is virtually none, while the publicity generated is virtually a lot.

+ I tried to get through this week without talking about this, but I just can't. I'm weak. But how the heck does a world class athlete shoot himself in the freakin leg?! I swear, carrying a gun in your sweatpants. Plaxico Burress could lose up to $27M in salary and spend years behind bars. Doesn't make Terrell Owens look so bad now, huh?

+ Obligatory mention of Manny Pacquiao defeating Oscar De La Hoya. I don't care. Moving on.

+ Looks like the college football national championship will go down between Oklahoma and Florida, a pair of one-loss teams, but the Rose Bowl match up between USC and Penn State should be just as good. Penn State runs the spread, while USC has been led by a defense that gave up 93 points on the season. Oh, and these two teams have just one loss each as well. The BCS title will be decided in Miami, but the best game of the BCS Bowls will be played in Pasadena.

+ Finally, speaking of BCS Championship games, we're seen plenty more blowouts than close, amazing games. Here's some of the recent bloodlettings in the title game:

Blowouts
2007-08: LSU 38, Ohio State 24 - enough OSU
2006-07: Florida 41, Ohio State 14 - so much for being undefeated
2004-05: USC 55, Oklahoma 19 - OU was supposed to roll; rolled over instead
2003-04: LSU 21, Oklahoma 14 - not as close as 7 point difference
2001-02: Miami 37, Nebraska 14
2000-01: Oklahoma 13, Florida State 2
Nail-biters
2005-06: Texas 41, USC 38
2002-03: Ohio State 31, Miami 24 (2OT)

Happy football watching today. I'll be back Monday with some thoughts on the Cowboys-Steelers, providing I don't repeatedly slam my head into a wall during this match up.

Surfs up for Rickey Henderson, HOF

Interesting story from the Golden Baseball League - an independent minor league in the Western US... the GBL has offered Rickey Henderson $1 million to go into the Hall of Fame as a San Diego Surf Dawg. Henderson spent his final professional season with the Surf Dawgs in 2005, leading them to the inaugural GBL championship.

How amazing would that be to see this Hall of Fame lock in Cooperstown with the old Surf Dawgs cap on. Of course, the one snag in this plan is that the Hall of Fame museum has the final say as to which logo a player goes in under. Not sure just how much consideration Henderson will get as a Surf Dawg. That's what makes this PR move by the GBL so great.

The craziest part of the story is the fact that the Surf Dawgs are not currently playing in the GBL. The San Diego franchise went dark after the 2006 season, and the St. George (Utah) Roadrunners entered the league.

The same league that brought you Rickey Henderson, Jose Canseco, trading "Leon" from the Budweiser commercials for a case of Bud, trading a player for Maple bats, and so much more, now the GBL is pushing for a Hall of Famer. Gotta love it!

Golden Baseball League Makes Rickey Henderson $1M Hall of Fame Offer
Baseball Legend Would Enter Cooperstown as a San Diego Surf Dawg


Dublin, CA. December 3, 2008) The Golden Baseball League (GBL) announced today that they have offered professional baseball superstar Rickey Henderson $1M if he elects to be enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown as a San Diego Surf Dawg.

"Rickey played his final professional season in the Golden Baseball League in 2005 as a key member of the championship winning San Diego Surf Dawgs," said Golden Baseball League CEO David Kaval. "Cooperstown is the National Baseball Hall of Fame for professional players and the San Diego Surf Dawgs were Rickey's last professional team and one of only three teams, along with the 1989 Oakland Athletics and 1993 Toronto Blue Jays, that Rickey won a championship with. We stood by Rickey in 2005 when no major league team would sign him and continue to support him with this offer. We are confident that Rickey will be a first ballot selection and we look forward to seeing a bronzed Surf Dawg cap displayed on his Hall of Fame plaque."

Henderson played the entire 2005 season for the San Diego Surf Dawgs in the inaugural season of the Golden Baseball League, the premiere independent professional league in western North America, under Manager Terry Kennedy. He appeared in 73 of his team's 88 games, hitting .270 as he stole 16 bases and led the league with 73 walks as a 46 year old centerfielder. His team went on to post the best record in the league, led by four former Major League 1st round draft choices, and is considered one of the legendary independent professional teams of the modern era. Both coaches, plus the manager ended up signed by major league organizations along with four of the players, although not Henderson.

Rickey thrilled the GBL crowds that gathered to see him play with outstanding baseball on the field and with several uniquely Rickey moments off the field. From being ejected in the first inning during Little League Day at Tony Gwynn Stadium in San Diego and then spending the next nine inninngs in the stands rotating seats throughout the ballpark to sit with different little league teams to driving through the desert in a pickup truck with a lettuce farmer to reach Yuma by game time after being removed from his flight for not hanging up his cellphone fast enough, Rickey embraced the intimacy of the independent minors and demonstrated his love for the game regardless of where he was playing. His quest to be signed that year and spend one last day in a major league uniform and officially retire went unfulfilled. His championship game win at the end of that season was the last time he would wear a professional uniform as a player after first donning one 29 years earlier in 1976 in Boise, Idaho as a rookie in Oakland's farm system.

"This is a legitimate offer and a signed agreement has been sent to Rickey." continued Kaval. "Considering that Rickey played for nine major league teams in his career this gives him an excellent solution to the problem of slighting any of those fine organizations by picking a favorite. We would gladly donate the funds to a charity of Rickey's choice and look forward to being with him in Cooperstown on July 26th next summer."

In addition, the GBL will donate Rickey's final professional jersey and hat, now on display at the San Diego Museum of Sports History to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. The Golden Baseball League already has a team in the Hall of Fame as the 2005 Japan Samurai Bears, the first professional Japanese team to play as a regular member of a U.S. professional sports league had a jersey and team ball requested by Hall of Fame President Dale Petrosky at the conclusion of the 2005 season (see attached photo of GBL minority owner Todd Anson presenting to Petrosky), but Rickey would be the first GBL player to be enshrined in Cooperstown.

Armada thoughts

Things have been crazy with the Armada as we are now three games into our first home stand.  The team is currently 7-10, and I've been nothing but busy.

Here's a few recent thoughts I've had about the team that I've been posting to the "Official Armada Blog" which I've also been running with the team's other broadcasters.

• Fleet sailing into strong headwind
• Wild n Crazy night
• Arby I and myself visit a Little League
• Catcher David Parrish moves up
• 2nd game slumps

Armada win season opener

Long Beach Armada - 14

St. George Roadrunners - 3

Here's the post-game recap I wrote for the team website

Armada Audio

Today the LB Armada held open tryouts before training camp next week. Two of the Armada arms who signed in April were on hand and voiced their thoughts on the upcoming season. Check it out.

New arms, same result

The Flyers bullpen couldn’t preserve Alex McRobbie’s quality start for Orange County. OC dropped its sixth straight game tonight in a 6-5 loss to the Long Beach Armada at Blair Field.

New Flyers relief pitcher Daniel Arizmendi suffered a rude welcome to the GBL in his debut. The lefty gave up two runs, two hits and hit two batters, giving the Armada a come-from-behind win to drop the Flyers to 14-12 on the season. Long Beach center fielder John Kaplan hit a two-run double to turn a 4-5 deficit into the 6-5 winning score for the fleet.

McRobbie pitched 7 innings, giving up four runs (three earned) while striking out eight batters and walking only two. McRobbie provided a stable start for OC, but did not factor into the decision.

Garry Templeton II helped put the Flyers out front early, scoring runs in the first and fifth innings. GT2 finished the evening 2-for-4 with an RBI. Catcher Buddy Morales also scored two runs in the game for OC.

Templeton II, Morales and Dave Bacani all scored in the fifth to give the Flyers train a 5-3 lead. However, the offense stalled in the late innings, coming up with just four hits the rest of the game.

The Flyers will look for freedom from their six-game skid on Independence Day when they start a 3-game home series against the Armada tomorrow at Goodwin Field. Reed Dickert will take the ball for OC for the 5:05 p.m. start.

The game can be heard live on orangecountyflyers.com.

Armada sinks OC

The Orange County Flyers offense never left the station in tonight’s 10-1 loss to Long Beach at Blair Field. OC is now 14-11, having lost their last five in a row. Armada starting pitcher Jeremy Zick shut down the Flyers in 8 innings of work, finishing with 6 SO, 2 BB while giving up just three hits.

The theme at Blair Field was “Awful Night,” but Zick defied the trend, retiring nine of the first 10 batters he faced.

Long Beach jumped out to a 3-0 lead after the first inning and were never challenged by the Flyers the rest of the way. Garry Templeton II scored Orange County’s only run thanks to two Armada errors in the fourth inning.

Robert Salini (3-1) picked up his first loss of 2007, allowing nine earned runs in 5 1/3 innings with 6 SO and 5 BB. Reed Dickert, Nick Casanova and Mark Okano came out of the bullpen to wrap up the night for OC. Okano – who has now played five different positions this season – displayed his versatility, taking the ball in the eighth inning to help the Flyers recently-renovated bullpen finish the evening.

Seven different players scored runs for the Armada, who improved to 14-10 on the season, passing the Flyers in the GBL standings less than a week after being swept by OC at Blair.

Alex McRobbie will take the ball tomorrow night in an attempt to stop this five-game skid. The Flyers face the Armada tomorrow at Blair Field before taking on the fleet in three games at Goodwin Field to close out the week. First pitch Tuesday is at 7:05 p.m. and the game can be heard live on KWRM 1370 and orangecountyflyers.com.

Flyers battle full moon for win

Maybe it was the full moon.

After a nearly four-hour marathon rife with confusion, shaky officiating, a schizophrenic scoreboard and a lineup card blunder, Orange County Flyers wrapped up a three-game sweep over the Long Beach Armada, 10-9, Wednesday night at Blair Field. The Flyers improved to a Golden Baseball League leading 14-6 record. They have now won their last seven games, including 11 of their last 12.

This game began to develop an eyebrow-raising theme as a full moon set in, however no credible horoscope could have predicted the ensuing confusion. In the bottom of the third with the Armada holding a 2-1 lead, Long Beach’s DH Chris Wakeland opened the inning by blasting a shot to deep left field just inches shy of clearing the wall. The ball bounced on top of the wall and came back into the field, never actually leaving the ballpark. The umpires ruled it a homerun for Wakeland, which brought Flyers manager Garry Templeton out for the first of the games many discussions.

Long Beach (10-10) scored three in the bottom of the third to open at 5-1 lead. Scott Goodman jump-started the Flyers offense to lead off the fourth inning with a solo homerun off the scoreboard in right-center field. The Flyers used a three-run fourth to get back into the game. Goodman finished the night 2-3 with 3 RBI.

With the game tied 5-5 heading into the sixth inning, David Bacani and Garry Templeton II reached on consecutive walks. Flyers DH Rich Pohle singled to score Bacani and move Templeton to second, setting up Peanut Williams for what would turn into an eventful at-bat. Williams struck out looking as both Templeton and Pohle began running for third and second, respectively. Long Beach catcher Cole Cicateli threw the ball into left field trying to catch Templeton at third.

As Templeton broke for home and Pohle for third, the focus shifted to the batter’s circle, where home plate umpire Jeff Cisneros tossed the 2006 GBL MVP Williams for arguing the called third strike, taking Cisneros’ attention away from the play. Armada manager Darrell Evans then emerged from the home dugout to argue interference on Williams.

The game settled down until the seventh inning, where the only thing more unclear than the umpires was the scoreboard, which at one point displayed a football-like score of Flyers 17, Armada 31. Aaron Davis stepped up to the plate in the top of the seventh with one out and Hector Zamora on first. Davis tapped a ball in front of the plate, and Cicateli made the routine fielder’s choice throw to second for the force out on Zamora. Davis ran down the first base line, stepped on first and veered off into foul territory before the next at bat. Armada pitcher Sean Buller then threw the ball to first base, where Jason Mooneyham tagged Davis in foul territory for the final out of the frame. The umpires ruled Davis had vacated first, however, Davis – the league’s leading hitter – never made an aggressive move toward second.

The moon played tricks on the Armada’s compass in the bottom of the eighth when Dan Trumble stepped in to bat for Jorge Araiza. With no one out and Armada second baseman Kirk Gross on first, Trumble popped up to shallow right field. The ball dropped, but Bacani quickly slung the ball to second for the force out. Templeton then came out to protest Trumble’s at-bat, arguing he was not on the lineup card for this game. Trumble was ruled out, prompting Evans to come out of the dugout and argue the call. The inning ended one batter later when Long Beach’s John Kaplan grounded into a 6-4-3 double play.

The Armada made a charge in the bottom of the ninth down 10-7, when Jaime Martinez crushed a two-run homerun through the thick Long Beach sky, pulling the fleet within one run before Dave Coggin retired the next two batters to secure the win.

After battling the full moon and all her mischief, the Flyers hit the road for four games against second-place Chico to wrap up the week. Orange County is 2-0 against the Outlaws on the season. Thursday’s first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

The games can be heard live on 1370 KWRM and at orangecountflyers.com.

OC Flyers

As many of you know, for the past month I've been working with the Orange County Flyers professional baseball team -- and what a month it's been. If you haven't heard about the Flyers, you're missing out. Big time.

I've been to different minor league baseball stadiums from Texas to California and a few places in between, and from what I've seen, no one puts on a better show than the Flyers. Sure, it's not major league baseball, but that's not why you're going to come to our games. You're going to come for the fun atmosphere and the family setting.

So if you're sitting at home at night not having any fun, we've got the cure down at Goodwin Field in Fullerton. Come to a Flyers game!

And hey, if you're not there for the baseball, you can see me get beat up by Coal Train the coyote, our crazy mascot. So check it out, and we'll see yall there.