The legend of baseball thrives with the Auburn Doubledays

When you were a baseball-loving kid growing up in New York during the belly of the 20th century, the name Abner Doubleday carried weight. The old soldier dude invented the game we loved, said the Lords of Baseball. Of course now the myth-busters say it ain’t so. None of that matters to the folks that…

Ellie B puts her best paw forward for the Chiefs

The Syracuse Chiefs were thankful that the last Saturday in April went to the dogs. Our Triple-A baseball team has been having one heck of a time with the spring weather so far this season, general manager Jason Smorol pointed out several times with the microphone in his hand during the pregame pooch parade at…

A great, beautiful, sad baseball game

I’ll call the 1 p.m. start the Syracuse Chiefs Triple-A baseball organization offered this past weekday a Business Person’s Special. My buddies Dave, Steven T. and I snuck off on Monday to NBT Bank Stadium on the north side of Syracuse to catch some increasingly rare early afternoon American pastime. Yes, call it a Throwback…

A suite night at the stadium

It was not a run-of-the-mill visit to the old ballpark the last time out to see the Syracuse Chiefs. My dear wife Karen had some big news for me with her text. Her co-worker and our friend Marlene invited her to the SMG suite for a Friday night International League game against the Indianapolis Indians.…

Son of a gun, satisfaction is all relative with the Chiefs

As Saturday’s morning sun kissed us in the living room of our Little Bitty in the Syracuse city neighborhood of Eastwood, dancing through the two big windows to warm our weekend spirits, I offered the suggestion. Our first Syracuse Chiefs baseball game of the 2015 season, perhaps, my dear wife Karen? Great mind, yes, she’d…

A turnaround season ends too soon

I didn’t get to a Chiefs playoff game. After all these years of no postseason baseball play here in Syracuse, we got one-and-done. I had to catch the score on my iPad. A 7-6 loss to the Pawtucket Red Sox in the third game of the International League’s first round was the final note of…

All-American night at the park

The folks who run the Syracuse Chiefs and the city’s department of parks and recreation decided that NBT Bank Stadium was the perfect place for a July Fourth doubleheader. The 7 p.m. Triple-A game between the Chiefs and Pawtucket Red Sox and following fireworks display drew quite a buzz. By 6:30 p.m. all entrances to…

Syracuse Chiefs win on the field, now the fans should follow

The season of baseball promise fulfillment continues on the north side of Syracuse. On Saturday night, my dear wife Karen and I went out to NBT Bank Stadium with a whole bunch of her co-workers at the Syracuse Media Group. The company that publishes The Post-Standard, syracuse.com and the glossy magazine bought section 118, reserved…

the speed of the boss is the speed of the team – lee iacocca

Today I present guest blogger Beth, esteemed Ann Arbor author of I Didn’t Have My Glasses On. Beth and I engaged in the baseball bloggers death match, Syracuse Chiefs vs. Toledo Mud Hens style, the past two weeks. Take it away, Beth: and in the end, the mud hens tried to cross the road to…

The baseball bloggers wager is down to this

One game does a bet make. Syracuse Chiefs at the Toledo Mud Hens, Fifth Third Bank Field, Toledo, Ohio, tonight, for all the marbles. If the Chiefs win, to take the eight-game series 5-3, it shall be on the pages of markbialczak.com: If the Mud Hens win in front of Beth of I Didn’t Have…