Monday, August 5, 2013

You'd Better Thank Your Lucky Stars Frank Boulton Blessed Your Town With a Team

This is not a baseball blog. I'm just not that kind of fan. But I am a homer, and I do know when my team sucks because ownership doesn't give a damn. From time to time you'll see some of that. Sometimes about the Mets, but mostly about the Bridgeport Bluefish.




This evening there was a lively conversation about the recognition of Luis Lopez, Bluefish third baseman for the last 22 years, with a paper certificate. This got me going and my sister, Bluefish fan blogger Vivianna (her blog), and eventually the above pearls of wisdom spilled from the face of one Michael Pfaff, the general manager of 'fish cross-sound rival Long Island Ducks. Basically his contribution was "you'll eat your dirt, and you'll like it".

I'm having a very difficult time doing this without working blue, but I wanted to expand on what 140 characters wouldn't allow me to fully express. So here goes.

Mike, I don't enjoy baseball in Bridgeport. None of us do. It's not what you think though. We want baseball in Bridgeport. We love baseball in Bridgeport. But what Frank Boulton has left us with in Bridgeport is not baseball.

Don't get me wrong. We all breathed a giant, if cautious, sigh of relief when we heard he was buying the team; we didn't want to lose our beloved 'fish. But for the last 5 years, we've seen nothing to indicate that he did anything more than keep that 8th team around for a balanced schedule. We watched in agony as Tommy John drew a paycheck while watching the game from the dugout. We tore our hair out as we watched Boulton's Long Island Ducks sign big name after big name while the 'fish became less and less relevant. We've watched Willie Upshaw, still the only manager with a title, perform every coaching function in his 2 year slide into mediocrity.

I'm not sure what exactly you think it is I should be kissing Frank Boulton's feet for, Michael Pfaff, but your version of events differs greatly from what we have witnessed firsthand in the Park City since 2008, and the only thing we'll be grateful for is Boulton finding a buyer or group of buyers who know how to run a ball club, because what he continues to put on the field in Bridgeport is an insult to the fans, the Bluefish staff and grounds crew, and the city of Bridgeport.

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