"Bakersfield is a joke"

[JaxRed]

BA article about how bad things are in Bakersfield.....

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today...0/2611025.html

[muddie]

I'm just wondering, with California's finances in the ditch with tons of debt from state to municipalities, is there really any expectation that these type things will improve right now? I'm thinking this economy is not going to be kind to this kind of financial need or request in this environment.

[JaxRed]

Maybe not, which is why MLB and MiLB ought to step in, take the franchise away from Bakersfield, and do something.

On another note, if as noted in the article Chico California gets a team, don't they have to be called the "Bail Bonds"?

[klw]

"Bakersfield? Bakersfield!"

[mdccclxix]

Sounds like this could wind up effecting performance and development of some of our players. Not good.

[redsmetz]

If this is this bad, why doesn't MLB plow the money in itself? Or some combination of the Reds and MLB. I agree that neither California nor the city or county will have the money. It's not until the end of the story that they mention how large the Bakersfield market is and how they want to stay there, so have MLB put it up. [yes, I know this is easier said than done]

[cinreds21]

From everyone I've talked to in the baseball world, Bakersfield is extremely brutal.

[mace]

Mike Piazza said that when he played in Bakersfield, the roof blew off the dugout one night.

[remdog]

The Reds were in Stockton, CA in '01 & '02 in an old stadium that drew many similar comments. By '05, Stockton opened a beautiful new ballpark that drew its' one millionth fan in a little over four seasons.

Assuming the economy rebounds I could see something similar possibility happening in Bakersfield. As mentioned in the article, the area has a large population base. It also is an area that has a very good financial base with much of it rooted in oil and agriculture. One problem with baseball there is that it's very hot in the summer.

For some background on the franchise: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/t...=.jsp&sid=t423

Rem

[gonelong]

My brother attended a game in that stadium. Said they counted the people there, all 69 of 'em. Sun sets behind the CF fence, can't start games until the sun has set.

Seems like a bad move on the surface.

GL

[texasdave]

Elizabeth Martin, the new general manager of the Bakersfield Blaze, doesn't mince words when asked to describe Sam Lynn Ballpark. "It's old and it's built backward," she said.

Indeed. The batter faces west at Sam Lynn, forced to look directly into the setting sun. Perhaps as penance for this indiscretion, the 70-year-old facility also boasts the shortest center-field fence, approximately 354 feet, in all of professional baseball ).

These eccentric quirks are trumped by more pressing concerns, however, as the archaic county-owned facility has been widely derided as being unable to meet professional baseball standards. The Blaze's previous parent club, the Texas Rangers, bolted for Myrtle Beach after the 2010 season. Bakersfield then signed a Player Development Contract with the Cincinnati Reds, a relationship that is the baseball equivalent of being the only two people left in the bar at closing time.But Martin, who came to the Blaze after an assistant general manager stint with the nearby Visalia Rawhide, says she "loves a good challenge." And one of the first tasks in this particular challenge is to "put a little extra lipstick on the pig."

[dougdirt]

One way to deal with the setting sun could be to just get two very tall flag poles and run up a 75 foot tall black tarp behind the CF wall. Could be cost effective and help solve part of the issue.

[camisadelgolf]

Originally Posted by dougdirt

One way to deal with the setting sun could be to just get two very tall flag poles and run up a 75 foot tall black tarp behind the CF wall. Could be cost effective and help solve part of the issue.

Instead of a tarp, you might as well put a 75-foot tall wall at that point. Once the sun issue is addressed, there is going to be a ridiculous amount of homeruns hit to center.

[dougdirt]

Originally Posted by camisadelgolf

Instead of a tarp, you might as well put a 75-foot tall wall at that point. Once the sun issue is addressed, there is going to be a ridiculous amount of homeruns hit to center.

This is true. Granted its the California League.... there are going to be a lot of HR's hit everywhere. Still, I just wish the Reds could get to the Carolina League and stay there. The California League and Florida State League play too many numbers games because of the environments they take place in.

[dabvu2498]

Originally Posted by dougdirt

One way to deal with the setting sun could be to just get two very tall flag poles and run up a 75 foot tall black tarp behind the CF wall. Could be cost effective and help solve part of the issue.

Apparently they already do. Found this link, but the further link to the pic of the "wall" is not available.

http://www.minorleagueballparks.com/saml_ca.html