Jason Smorol, Syracuse Chiefs general manager, graces the cover of Central New York The Good Life magazine
They may fall slightly off the national radar, these eight games coming up between the Syracuse Chiefs and the Toledo Mud Hens.
But for this blogger and Beth, the author behind I Didn’t Have My Glasses On, the eight games in May are the equivalent of the World Series, the Super Bowl, the Final Four, the Masters, Ali vs. Frazier, the Kentucky Derby, the Indianapolis 500, the Daytona 500, Dewey vs. Truman …
OK, I’m over-reaching here.
Here’s the real skinny.
A friendly wager has been made on these May contests between these two Triple-A baseball teams. For the last 31 years, I’ve lived in Syracuse, the home of the Chiefs, the affiliate of the Washington Nationals. Beth lives in Ann Arbor, and is a follower of the Toledo Mud Hens, because they are the cub squad for her beloved Detroit Tigers.
We have each agreed that we’ll go to at least one of the games in our respective home ballparks. Easy for me. I’ve already gone twice this season to NBT Bank Stadium, just a couple miles from our house here in Syracuse. I don’t know how far Beth lives from Toledo, and, frankly, I don’t care. (She started the trash-talking when we made the bet by email, I swear.)
The winner will be determined by which team wins five, six, seven, all eight games of the four-here, four-in-Toledo stretch.
We’ll both post a photo on our blog afterward. That’s all I’m saying about the terms of the wager.
I do not have any inside information about the Syracuse team that would give me a leg up on the wager … even though I did interview the Chiefs new general manager Jason Smorol for the cover story profile for the new edition of Central New York The Good Life Magazine, pictured above, which hit the newsstands today.
Smorol is quite the hands-on general manager.
Both games I’ve been to, he’s grabbed the microphone to introduce various dignitaries before the game. The second game, he donned a faux blue mohawk to MC between-inning fan contests beside the field.
The start of my profile about Syracuse Chiefs general manager Jason Smorol. (From CNY The Good Life magazine)
Who are you rooting for to win the eight-game series, the Syracuse Chiefs or the Toledo Mud Hens?
Mark Bialczak 
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Unless I misread, you are on the wrong side of these contests. The Mudhens are one of the few things Toledo has going for it.
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I appreciate your ties to the Mud Hens, but alas, I live in Syracuse, home of the Chiefs, Cat. Simple as that.
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If we have to root according to “state” affiliations. If we root according to previously made friendship contractual agreements on cheering for someone’s teams…. I think I have to root for Syracuse. Were they in that willingness to cheer for your teams contract we made Mark????? Your answer will be fully believed by me. 🙂
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You did indeed make a verbal contract with me, Colleen, to root for whichever team I cheered, so, that said, the tally is now all tied up at 4-4!
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I will certainly hold up my end of the contract. Remember, you have to remind for when and who I am cheering! 🙂
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Beth is a darling! But I’ve got two Syracuse pals to think of, Beels and Malone. My money’s on the Chiefs.
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Sandra, your beautiful vote for Syracuse pulls the Chiefs within one, trailing 4-3.
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As someone who was proudly ranked 9th out of 38,000 in a facebook mash trivia contest, I throw all my votes to the Mud Hens.
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PLGCM, your dastardly vote for Toledo makes it 4-2 Mud Hens.
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let’s go hens! well, i suppose it is clear who i am rooting for in this rally, and with good reason. and don’t go thinking for a minute that i started all the trash talking, well maybe i did…by the way jamie farr was from toledo as other readers mentioned, a mud hens fan, and always talked about tony packo’s, the hungarian coney restaurant right across the street from the stadium, where we always eat before the game and plus we have very cool mascots, that’s right, multiple mascots! by the way, toledo is a quick 45 minute trip to the south of ann arbor, just over the ohio border, so don’t lose any sleep over my travel time, mark. and also by the way, how cool an interview you snagged, and i wonder if he shared any insider information…..can’t wait to see how this all plays out )
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While you are eating your Jamie Farr coney Beth and watching all the cool mascots, I will be watching the train go by on the tracks just outside the outfield fence and figure they’re shipping the coneys made in Syracuse out to Jamie’s restaurant in Toledo! As for the mascots, four of them will race from left field to home plate during our seventh inning stretch and I’ll be rooting for the Dunkin’ Donuts cup!
This will be a good one!
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looking forward to all of it )
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No comment in the sporting field Mark. Just good luck. Of course, I never heard your team mentioned on M*a*s*h* while Klinger constantly mentioned the Mud Hens, but then again, no comment.
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You are right, Angie. Corporal Klinger was a Toledo Mud Hens fan. I shall drag another point over to Beth’s side of the ledger.
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Gotta go with Mark and the hometown Chiefs. Only connection to Mud hens is my affection for the TV show M*A*S*H* and Cpl. Klinger! Now if it was Pawtucket . . .
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Yay. One for me. Thank you, Phil!
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Not many people leave me speechless, but you have certainly done that in your 3 for 3 posts today! Again, sports…I have no comment. 🙂 (But regardless of the subject, I think you’re an awesome writer! But then you already knew that, didn’t you?) 🙂
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Rachel, I swear I did not dodge your pursuits on purpose today. Total Co-Winky-Dink.
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LOL! I’m looking forward to your posts tomorrow….maybe one with no sports. 😉
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Good luck!!
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Thank you, Kim. I will consider that as neutral. 🙂
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Don’t take this personally, but I will root for the Mud Hens, due to their being from Ohio, close by BGSU where we did run up to Toledo to see some games… Take care and hope you two can get along, no getting into any kind of betting situations or angry ‘birds’ moments! Ha Ha! Beth and you will be friends, no matter what, I know this, Mark!
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We are buddies, Beth and Bialczak, two blogging B’s in a pod, Robin. But this is a match for bragging rights, so no holds barred! OK another vote logged for Toledo. That makes it 3-1 for the dreaded Mud Chickens.
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Sorry, proximity and I actually used to ride with a boyfriend, girlfriend and even a ‘gang’ of Toledo Mud Hens fans to games. It was only a short half hour drive up from Bowling Green, Ohio. BGSU had their teams I followed and of course, there will only be one team that I would root for, over the Mud Hens… The Columbus Clippers! Sorry, Mark, we agree on so many other things… Smiles, Robin
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You will not hear a cross word from me, Robin. I am saving all of the false trash-talking for Beth. It’s all in fun.
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and he really needs to save all his energy for this robin, believe him, you have not a bad word to hear towards you and your choices from either of us )
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I don’t know either team, but the Astros need me cheering for them this year. Oh, but I will. Love me some baseball!! Great post!
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Houston Astros. OK. I am trying to place exactly where you live in Texas, Audrey, to focus my interpretations of your poetry …
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Okay, I grew up in central Nebraska, college at Kansas State University, now living in Houston, TX. Phew! That covers it.
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I have now been given the full Rand McNally. Thank you, Audrey!
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Yes, so it seems. I have the middle of the country well taken care of, Mark!
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I can’t wait to read this story. As always, I’ll be rootin’ for the Chiefs.
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I think I’ve actually seen the Toledo Mud Hens play, many years ago. Either that, or I fell in love with their name in some other way. So my heart is with them.
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Beth will thank you for that, Ann. Me. Bah!
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We can’t please everybody, right, Mark?
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Somebody wise that I read every morning tells me exactly that, Ann. Oh, that’s you!
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Talk about coincidences!
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