The Portland Sea Dogs have declared Friday, April 27th as Opening Day, Again. Seven out of ten Sea Dogs home games this season have been postponed due to bad weather. Looking for a fresh start and convinced that Mother Nature will finally be bringing baseball weather to Maine, the Sea Dogs will host Opening Day, Again, this Friday, April 27th when the Sea Dogs take on the New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Blue Jays) at 6:00 PM at Hadlock Field.

Highlighting Opening Day, Again, will be a post-game fireworks show. The first 2,500 fans to enter the ballpark will receive a 2007 Sea Dogs Schedule magnet courtesy of Paul G. White Tile and a 2007 Promotional Schedule magnet courtesy of AIG. The Sea Dogs will also celebrate the milestone of raising Three Million Dollars for the Maine Children’s Cancer Program through the Strike Out Cancer in Kids Program. This year’s Slugger’s Kid Andrew Cilea will throw-out the ceremonial first-pitch.

Mother Nature has hit Portland hard this season dropping a foot of snow on Opening Day April 5th along with a powerful Nor’easter on April 16th forcing the Sea Dogs to postpone seven out of ten scheduled home games.

The postponed games have been rescheduled for doubleheaders on:
Tuesday, May 8th @ 6:00 PM vs. Trenton
Saturday, June 2nd @ 6:00 PM vs. Connecticut
Wednesday, June 27th @ 6:00 PM vs. Connecticut (originally scheduled for 7:00 PM)
Thursday, June 28th @ 6:00 PM vs. Connecticut (originally scheduled for 7:00 PM)
Saturday, July 28th @ 1:00 PM vs. Connecticut (Day/ Night Doubleheader)
Saturday, July 28th @ 6:00 PM vs. Connecticut (Day/ Night Doubleheader)
Tuesday, August 28th @ 6:00 PM vs. Trenton (originally scheduled for 7:00 PM)
Wednesday, August 29th @ 6:00 PM vs. Trenton (originally scheduled for 7:00 PM)

All doubleheaders are seven inning games. With the exception of the Day/ Night Doubleheader on July 28th all games are single admission, tickets are good for both games. The games on Saturday, July 28th will have separate admissions, games will be seven innings.

The following games were postponed:
April 5th vs. Connecticut
April 6th vs. Connecticut
April 7th vs. Connecticut
April 8th vs. Connecticut
April 16th vs. Trenton
April 17th vs. Trenton
April 18th vs. Trenton

If you have tickets to any of these games, you may exchange your ticket at the Hadlock Field Ticket Office for a ticket of equal or lesser value to any remaining 2007 Sea Dogs home game, subject to availability. Please contact the Sea Dogs Ticket Office at 207-879-9500 or tickets@seadogs.com.

Tickets for Opening Day, Again, and all other home games are available by calling the Sea Dogs Ticket Office at 207-879-9500 or online at www.seadogs.com.

The Sea Dogs put together a fine performance to beat the Rock Cats, 8-5 on Monday night.

Hometown hero Jeff Natale put together his best Double-A performance, going 4-for-5 with 2 doubles and 2 RBI. Natale grew up in Hamden, Connecticut, located 20 minutes south of New Britain.

Eric Crozier and Dusty Brown each blasted 2-run homers for the Sea Dogs. Kyle Jackson earned the win and Beau Vaughan notched his third save of the season.

The Sea Dogs are gearing up for an afternoon contest with the Fisher Cats in New Hampshire.

Today's lineups:

Portland
Jacoby Ellsbury CF
Jeff Corsaletti LF
Jeff Natale 1B
Eric Crozier DH
Jed Lowrie SS
Corey Keylor RF
Dusty Brown C
Andrew Pinckney 3B
Zach Borowiak SS

Matt Goodson - Starting Pitcher

New Hampshire
Dustin Majewski CF
Manny Mayorson 2B
Robinzon Diaz C
Chip Cannon 1B
Sergio Santos SS
Ryan Klosterman 3B
Aaron Mathews LF
David Smith RF
Erik Kratz DH

Kyle Yates - Starting Pitcher

Quick Hits...Goodson, Yates and Majewski all played together at the University of Texas (other notable Texas alum: Roger Clemens, Ron Gardenhire, Phil Seibel and Greg Swindell)

Portland is hitting .200 (13-for-65) in the series...Ellsbury is 7-for-8, without his offense, the 'Dogs are hitting .105 (6-for-57).

Sea Dogs are looking to go over .500 for the first time this season

MerchantsAuto.com Stadium is filling up for today's game, they love the Sea Dogs here in Manchester, NH...it helps the Sox are playing at 4:00 PM.

Enjoy your afternoon!

In a result of Scott Shoemaker being traded to Texas on
Thursday night, the Portland Sea Dogs have received right-handed pitcher
Lincoln Holdzkom from Extended Spring Training to complete their bullpen.
Daniel Haigwood, who was received in the Shoemaker trade, has been put on
the temporary inactive list and sent to Extended Spring Training.

Holdzkom was signed by the Red Sox as a free-agent on April 12 after being
released by the Chicago Cubs during Spring Training. The Yuma, Arizona
native was selected by the Houston Astros from the Cubs in the Major
League phase of the Rule 5 Draft on December 9, 2006. He appeared in two
games with the Astros during spring training, allowing five hits and five
runs in two innings pitched - he was returned to Chicago on March 12.

Holdzkom has gone 5-18, with a 2.62 ERA in 135 minor league games (eight
starts). He spent 2006 in the Cubs Organization, going 2-3 with a 1.95
ERA at Double-A West Tennessee and appeared in five games with the Arizona
Cubs (Rookie) and two games in High-A Daytona. The 25-year old righty was
originally drafted by the Florida Marlins in 7th Round of the 2001 Draft.
His best season came in 2002, compiling a record of 1-5 with a 2.53 ERA
and 11 saves with Single-A Kane County.

The righthander will be in uniform tonight as the Sea Dogs take on the New
Hampshire FisherCats in game two of their four-game set. Holdzkom threw
30 pitches yesterday in Extended Spring Training and is not scheduled to
pitch tonight.

Just about five minutes before tonight's pre-game started on the U.S. Cellular Sea Dogs Radio Network (shamless plug, why not!) I got a tap on the shoulder from Dan Hickling who is covering the game for the Portland Press Herald. He told me Sea Dogs reliever Scott Shoemaker was traded to Texas for Daniel Hagwood. I didn't believe him until the official release came across on my e-mail.

I jogged down to the clubhouse (I'm still out of breath) to wish Scott good luck. He's excited about the opportunity and plans to stay here for the night and leave at some point tomorrow. I'll keep you updated!

The Sea Dogs and Trenton Thunder will attempt to play a twinbill on Wednesday afternoon beginning at 12:00 p.m.

Portland travels to New Hampshire on Thursday to start an 8-game roadtrip which takes them from Manchester, NH to New Britain, CT.

Nice seeing former Sea Dogs trainer Masai Takahashi in the dugout on Tuesday night. Takahashi is an assistant trainer with the Red Sox and frequently receives camera time when Dice-K or Hideki Okajima are pitching. Nice to see Masai smiling a lot, must be the big league meal money!

The Sea Dogs front office did an outstanding job working around the stadium during the past few days. Hadlock Field suffered some damage to their seats down the left field line and various signage around the ballpark.

REMINDER!!!! Doubleheaders are two 7-inning games and one admission for fans holding tickets to that particular twinbill.

See you at the ballpark

Another day with no game - let's hope we can play a doubleheader tomorrow at 12:00 p.m.

I'll keep you updated

Tomorrow's pitchers - RHP Clay Buchholz and RHP Chris Smith

As 10:30 p.m. rolls around on Monday night, I realize I’m usually driving home from Hadlock Field or checking back into my hotel room for the night. Instead, I’m at home watching Fletch on AMC in the comfort of my own bed, I’m not use to this routine in early April and I’m not sure if I like it…On the other hand, Chevy Chase is simply the best in those comedies of the early 80's. What was he thinking try to host a late night television show? That’s like trying to work in radio…ha ha!

Anyway, I know the rain and all the postponements are getting people down but Hadlock Field will be rocking, we just need some help from good ole' mother nature. She’ll pay us back with a beautiful spring – just don’t quote me on that.

What I really wanted to talk about was the terrible events that happened at Virginia Tech University. I've been to that campus many times and some of my best friends that I've met in baseball are from the state of Virginia. On my way home from work, I was still fuming about somebody who hit my car over the weekend and left (if anyone knows who did it, please let me know). I was also a little down that the Sea Dogs didn’t play their game against the Trenton Thunder at Hadlock. When I heard about the tragedy on the way home, I didn’t care about my day! It's just car, I can fix it. It's just a game, we’ll play again.

It’s amazing how life’s lessons can smack you right in the face.

On the baseball end; Charlie Zink pitched great in game two of a doubleheader on Saturday at Binghamton. Jacoby Ellsbury continues to impact games with his game-changing speed. Ellsbury is like a shutdown cornerback in the NFL, if you give him a chance to beat you, he will!

I really think fans are going to enjoy watching this team all summer!

SUNDAY'S SEA DOGS GAME POSTPONED IN BINGHAMTON

Binghamton, NY- Sunday's Portland Sea Dogs game scheduled for 1:05 against
the Binghamton Mets in Binghamton, New York has been postponed due to
inclement weather. No make-up date has been announced.

The Portland Sea Dogs return home for a three game series with the Trenton
Thunder (Yankees) starting on Monday at 4:00 PM at Hadlock Field. Tickets
are available for all remaining Sea Dogs home games. Tickets can be
ordered by calling the Sea Dogs Ticket Office at 207-879-9500 or online at
www.seadogs.com.

The Sea Dogs are gearing up for their first doubleheader of the season, taking on the B-Mets at 1:05 p.m. In case you're new to minor league baseball, the format is two 7-inning games. The Binghamton front office made the right decision to play a doubleheader today, despite it being so early in the season. There's a chance of a nasty snowstorm coming through Binghamton on Sunday aftenoon which could wipe out tomorrow's contest. Portland and Binghamton already have four doubleheaders on the schedule due to opening weekend, if today was a single game tomorrow got postponed, the two teams would have six on slate without a week of games in the book.

Notes...Tommy Hottovy gets the start in Game 1 opposite Michael Devaney (Luis Jimenez blasted a towering home run off Devaney last season at NYSEG Stadium).

Game 2 - Charlie Zink vs. Kevin Mulvey

-Both teams took batting practice inside before today's game.

-Get this, the sun is out! Temps in the 40's

Earlier this afternoon, the Binghamton Mets front office postponed tonight's game due to inclement weather. The Sea Dogs and Mets will play a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon beginning at 1:05 PM. Usually you don't schedule twinbills so early in the season but Sunday's forecast is calling for 2 to 6 inches of snow (lovely!) here in Binghamton, NY.

So happens now? The team is working out at the ballpark today for about two hours. Portland will take batting practice in the cages and the pitchers will do some light throwing.

For now, the pitchers for Saturday are Tommy Hottovy and Charlie Zink - no official word who gets the nod in game one but I'll keep everyone posted.

Have a good night back in Maine and stay warm!

Temp's in the 30's, overcast skies, a beautiful night for baseball in the hometown of Rod Serling (creator of the Twilight Zone) - Binghamton, NY

Starting lineups

Portland
Ellsbury CF
Corsaletti LF
Natale DH
Crozier 1B
Brown C
Pinckney 3B
Bacani 2B
Pritz RF
Borowiak SS

Goodson P

Binghamton (tonight is their home opener)
Negron (former Fisher Cat) RF
Coronado SS
Martinez CF
Carp 1B
Harper DH
Nickeas C
Jackson LF
Kiger 2B
Ragsdale 3B

Aguilar P

have a great night!

The Sea Dogs departed Hadlock Field around 10:15 p.m. on Wednesday night from Binghamton, NY. The weather was okay until the last half hour when it started snowing. As of 1:15 p.m. in B-town, the sky is clear and the temperature is the mid 40's. The weather report is showing a blanket of snow heading towards Central New York.

I'll be leaving the hotel at 3:30 for NYSEG Stadium! Tonight is the start of a four-game set against the Binghamton Mets - Game time is 6:35

The Portland Sea Dogs have announced make-up dates for all four games with the Connecticut Defenders (Giants) that were postponed due to snow and poor field conditions to begin the 2007 season. The April 5-8 postponements will force the Sea Dogs and Defenders to play doubleheaders on June 2nd, June 27th, June 28th, and July 27th at Hadlock Field.

As a result of the doubleheaders, several changes in game times have been announced:

• Saturday, June 2nd vs. Connecticut @ 6:00 PM
• Wednesday, June 27th vs. Connecticut @ 6:00 PM (originally scheduled for 7:00 PM)
• Thursday, June 28th vs. Connecticut @ 6:00 PM (originally scheduled for 7:00 PM)
• Friday, July 27th vs. Connecticut @ TBA (originally scheduled for 7:00 PM)

The June 2nd, June 27th, and June 28th doubleheaders will be single-admission doubleheaders consisting of two-seven inning games. Tickets for those dates are good for both games. Fans who had tickets to any of the postponed games; April 5th, April 6th, April 7th, or April 8th may exchange their tickets for tickets of equal or lesser value to any remaining 2007 Sea Dogs home game, subject to availability. Any questions regarding tickets should be directed to the Sea Dogs Ticket Office at 207-879-9500 or tickets@seadogs.com. Details regarding the July 27th doubleheader will be announced at a later date.

The Sea Dogs embark on their first road trip of the season to take on the Binghamton Mets for a four game series beginning on Thursday, April 12th. Portland will return to Hadlock Field on Monday, April 16th for a three game set with the Trenton Thunder (Yankees). Tickets are available for all remaining 2007 Portland Sea Dogs’ home games.

Could the Sea Dogs finally open tonight. Here is Portland's starting line-up...

Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Jeff Corsaletti, LF
Jeff Natale, 1B
Cory Keylor, RF
Jed Lowrie, SS
Dusty Brown, C
Andrew Pinckney, 3B
Bryan Pritz, DH
David Bacani, 2B
Tommy Hottovy, LHP

Play Ball!

Enough talk about snow…The Portland Sea Dogs will unveil the much anticipated monument, the American Baseball Family Group, on Monday, April 9th at 12:00 Noon on the front plaza at Hadlock Field. The public is invited to attend.

The American Baseball Family Group is a gift to the City of Portland from Daniel Burke, the Owner of the Portland Sea Dogs, to thank the community for its outstanding support through the years. Burke, the former President & CEO of Capital Cities, ABC, Inc., worked diligently to bring the Sea Dogs to Portland in 1994, returning professional baseball to Maine’s largest city for the first time since the 1940’s. In 13 years of play in Portland, the Sea Dogs have welcomed more than five million fans.

Mr. Burke commissioned nationally known artist Rhoda Sherbell in 1997 to create the monument. Ms. Sherbell has had 22 solo museum and gallery exhibitions. She has received 45 awards including those from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, the Ford Foundation, the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation, and the National Sculpture Society. Her work is in the permanent collections of 25 museums throughout the country, including the National Baseball Hall of Fame, the National Art Museum of Sports, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, and the National Academy of Design. Some of her best known works are Yogi Berra, Casey Stengel, Aaron Copeland, Raphael and Moses Soyer, and Marquerite and William Zorach. Ms. Sherbell is a member of the National Academy of Design in New York.

The monument, which stands nine feet high and measures 11 feet long by four feet wide, depicts a family attending a baseball game including a father figure holding tickets to the game, a male child dressed ready to cheer for the Sea Dogs, and a mother figure carrying a small female child. The monument will be located on the front plaza at Hadlock Field by the Sea Dogs Ticket Office. A maquette of the American Baseball Family Group recently won an award from the National Academy of Design and the sculpture went to the Czech Republic for “The Art in Embassies Program” where it was displayed at the residence of the U.S. Ambassador in Prague.

The Easter Bunny has failed to deliver at Hadlock Field as the Sea Dogs have postponed Sunday's game for a fourth consecutive day due to field conditions. Sunday’s game was scheduled for 1:00 PM at Hadlock Field against the Connecticut Defenders (Giants). Opening Day and the Championship Ring Ceremony are now scheduled for Monday, April 9th at 6:00 PM against the New Britain Rock Cats (Twins), weather and field conditions permitting. No make-up dates have been announced for any of the four postponed games with the Connecticut Defenders.

Fans with tickets for April 5th, April 6th, April 7th, or April 8th games may exchange their tickets at the Hadlock Field Box Office for a ticket of equal or lesser value to any 2007 Sea Dogs’ home game, subject to availability. Any questions regarding tickets should be directed to the Sea Dogs Box Office at 207-879-9500 or by email to tickets@seadogs.com.

An April 5th snowstorm dumped a foot of snow in Portland, one of the largest April snowstorms ever to hit Portland, and the largest snowstorm of the season. Sea Dogs’ officials have spent the last two days removing snow from the field. The snow has now completely been removed from the infield and the outfield has only a minimal amount of snow remaining. Sea Dogs personnel will continue the snow removal on Sunday in an effort to play on Monday.

This marks the third time in franchise history that the Sea Dogs have been forced to postpone Opening Day due to snow. In 2001, the first three games of the season were postponed due to snow, even a helicopter couldn’t dry the field in time to save Opening Day. In 2003, the first as a Red Sox affiliate, the first seven games of the season were postponed (four in Portland and three at New Britain) when a snow storm struck New England on Opening Day.

The Portland Sea Dogs will unveil the American Baseball Family Group, a bronze monument created by Rhoda Sherbell, on Monday, April 9th at 12:00 noon on the front plaza at Hadlock Field. The monument is being donated to the City of Portland by Sea Dogs’ Owner Daniel Burke to thank the community of its outstanding support throughout the years. The public is invited to attend.

I'm begining to think Mother Nature is not a baseball fan. For the third straight day, the Portland Sea Dogs have been postponed due to field conditions. Saturday’s game was scheduled for 1:00 PM at Hadlock Field against the Connecticut Defenders (Giants). Opening Day and the Championship Ring Ceremony are now scheduled for Sunday, April 8th at 1:00 PM, weather and field conditions permitting. No make-up dates have been announced for any of the three postponements.

Fans with tickets for April 5th, April 6th, or April 7th games may exchange their tickets at the Hadlock Field Box Office for a ticket of equal or lesser value to any 2007 Sea Dogs’ home game, subject to availability. Any questions regarding tickets should be directed to the Sea Dogs Box Office at 207-879-9500 or by email to tickets@seadogs.com.

An April 5th snowstorm dumped a foot of snow in Portland, one of the largest April snowstorms ever to hit Portland, and the largest snowstorm of the season. Sea Dogs’ officials spent Friday removing snow from the field. The snow has now completely been removed from the infield and the outfield has lost more than seven inches of snow since the storm hit on Thursday. Sea Dogs personnel will continue the snow removal on Saturday in an effort to play on Sunday.

The Portland Sea Dogs have announced the postponement of their 2007 Opening Day for a second straight day, due to field conditions. Friday’s game was scheduled for 6:00 PM at Hadlock Field against the Connecticut Defenders (Giants). Opening Day and the Championship Ring Ceremony are now scheduled for Saturday, April 7th at 1:00 PM, weather and field conditions permitting. No make-up date has been announced for either the April 5th or the April 6th postponements.

Fans with tickets for either the April 5th or April 6th games may exchange their tickets at the Hadlock Field Box Office for a ticket of equal or lesser value to any 2007 Sea Dogs’ home game, subject to availability. Any questions regarding tickets should be directed to the Sea Dogs Box Office at 207-879-9500 or by email to tickets@seadogs.com.

An April 5th snowstorm dumped a foot of snow in Portland, one of the largest April snowstorms to hit Portland. Sea Dogs’ officials will spend Friday removing snow from the field in an effort to play on Saturday.

Opening Day and the Championship Ring Ceremony will have to wait. A foot of snow has fallen at Hadlock Field forcing the postponement of the Sea Dogs April 5th opener against the Connecticut Defenders (Giants). Sea Dogs' President and General Manager Charlie Eshbach made the announcement Thursday morning. Weather and field conditions permitting the two teams will attempt to begin the 2007 season on Friday, April 6th at 6:00 PM at Hadlock Field. No make-up date as been announced for Thursday’s postponed game.

Fans with tickets for the April 5th opener may exchange their tickets at the Hadlock Field Box Office for a ticket of equal or lesser value to any 2007 Sea Dogs’ home game, subject to availability. Any questions regarding tickets should be directed to the Sea Dogs Box Office at 207-879-9500 or by email to tickets@seadogs.com.

THE BOYS OF SUMMER WON'T PLAY ON THURSDAY
The Snowville Nine Take the Field
What do you do when Mother Nature throws you a curve ball? Hadlock Field was all set for the Sea Dogs Opener on Thursday night, yet Mother Nature dumped a foot of snow on Portland. Although the Sea Dogs will not take the field on Thursday, baseball is still taking place. The second Snow Man Series in team histoRy will take place this afternoon. Sea Dogs staff members are doing all they can to have a little fun with a disappointing situation by building snow men in the nine positions on the field. The last time snow men took the field was in 2001.