And more pics...

When they start the game, they don't yell, "Work ball." They say, "Play ball."

~ Willie Stargell

Wow... the Ems are on a real skid. They got blown out last night after holding a 5 run lead for the first 5 innings of the game. 13 - 6... ouch. I feel for the boys, I really do. But one must keep things in perspective after all. The Ems are the rookie short season A league team and they've had over 50 roster changes this season. Catcher Mitch Canham is already gone in a short stay here in Eugene. Ray Stokes has been out since early on in the season...

These young men are learning at a level beyond anything they've encountered to date and it is an intense experience where baseball happens virtually every day... its a tough grind and I'm sure team chemistry is a tough thing to maintain when guys keep coming and going with such regularity.

The Emeralds are a farm team of the Sun Diego Padres and the Pads are in 2nd place in the Nat'l League west. Salem Keizer, NorthWest League leaders, a farm team of the SF Giants, lead the NWL and have had very few roster changes... of course the Giants are in the cellar of the Nat'l League West, 12 games behind Sun Diego... so... hey, its hard to argue with the successful end results at the top of the chain. Lets see... hmmm... short season, A league champs or contenders in the MLB race? Tough choice for a professional sports organization.

There is just about a week left of baseball for the Ems and I'm going to be posting many more pictures in the next few weeks (I figure I've shot well over 2,000 images for the Emeralds this season and there are plenty I haven't posted here, some real good stuff. So here is today's offering, enjoy (and if you're interested in reprints, allan_e@efn.org):

"Voice of the Ems" Russ Eisenstein's last hurrah as he leads the 7th inning stretch singing of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" in his last game at Civic Stadium before heading to Idaho to be the "Voice of Idaho State" & Matt Latos multi-tasking... chewing gum and running the radar gun...

Joe (top) from the groundskeeping crew races his brother Matt (maybe thats why Latos has the radar gun?)

Greg Riddoch and Jose Flores... thanks you two for making me feel at home while I've sat perched with camera in hand on my step by the dugout! It truly is my pleasure to have made both your acquaintances. Kellen Kulbacki in a play at 3rd that is about as close as it gets.