Three games into a series with the Everett Aquasox, it has been a rollercoaster ride for the Boise Hawks – using the long ball to win the series opener, then blowing a pair of leads late in Friday and Saturday night losses.

One of my highlights of the weekend was the performance on the field by the Sweet Right Brothers traveling mascot troupe, which entertained the crowd on Saturday night.  Outstanding act by a trio of guys from North Carolina that made the long trek across the country in a pick-up – thanks for keeping Hawks’ fans entertained.

Also, kudos to the fireworks proprietors, who had another outstanding display on Friday night – including the artillery type fireworks that wowed the crowd.

Thursday was about the homers – as Paul Hoilman launched a tape measure shot into the trees deep in right-center, with Jose Guevara curling one just around the foul pole in left.  Friday, it was an up-and-down night from Cam Greathouse, who struck out seven men in two-plus innings, but he walked Patrick Brady twice, with Jim Wood delivering a pair of run-scoring hits that gave Everett a win.  Saturday was just a weird game, as the Hawks trailed 5-0, took a 6-5 lead, then lost, 8-5.

A LONG DAY: It was an extremely long Saturday for me – as a long game on Friday night (getting to bed at my typical 1 a.m.), but a 6 a.m. walk-up call ensued, as my family and I competed in the Fit For Life racing series, co-sponsored by the Boise Hawks.  The race had a 5K, a 10K, and a half marathon, with the Safford deciding to tackle the 10K – which after 93 minutes, we were crossing home plate at the ballpark.  Special thanks to race organizer and Hawks fan Jeff Ulmer for making it happen.

THE JOKER: Visual evidence of the Everett Aquasox 2010 playing card set that features former Hawks manager Jody Davis as the “Joker” in the card set.  The card was in reference to Davis pulling the Hawks off the field in August of last season, resulting in a forfeit on a night in which the Aquasox had a sold-out crowd.

ROSTER MOVES GALORE: A carousel of roster moves have changed up the Cubs farm system over the last week – with the Hawks amongst the teams in the mix.  Ben Klafczynski was promoted last night to Class-A Peoria, while Su-Min Jung, who pitched for the Hawks in 2009, returns to Boise, with Blair Springfield, a 2009 draft pick, heading out of Mesa for the first time to join the Hawks.  Peoria sent former Boise outfielder Matt Szczur (who will play in Sunday’s MLB Futures Game in Phoenix) to High-A Daytona, while pitchers Brent Ebinger and Matt Loosen are headed to AA Tennessee.  Marcus Hatley was promoted from Daytona to Tennessee, while Chris Rusin and Marwin Gonzalez were promoted from Tennessee to AAA Iowa.

COVERAGE FROM VANCOUVER: Look for extended coverage in the Treasure Valley of the Boise Hawks trip to Vancouver next week on KBOI-TV, Boise’s CBS affiliate.  Sports anchor Troy Oppie will be accompanying the team on the trip North – including skyping live on Tuesday’s morning show from the bus, while learning how the minor league players are able to eat on just $20 a day in meal money.

The Hawks returned home from Yakima with a 9-8 record, having dropped their final two games of the trip – and faced a group of Cubs field coordinators waiting for them at Memorial Stadium.  However, the mystique that is the “Big House on Glenwood” for nearly 25 years continued each of the last three nights – as Boise picked up three extra-inning walkoff wins, by three different players.

Before a super-sellout crowd on the 4th of July, the squad rallied from a 4-1 hole to tie the game late, with Paul Hoilman ending a 1-for-20 slump with a walk-off homer  – the first by the Hawks since Jake Opitz won a game on opening night in 2008.  Tuesday, the bullpen squandered a 4-0 lead, only for Kenny Socorro to hit a seeing-eye single to right in the 10th for another win.  And tonight – it was a Ben Klafczynski bloop single to left that scored Pin-Chieh Chen with the winner in the 12th inning.

It marked the first time in recent memory that the Hawks played three-straight extra-inning contests (they played back-to-back games in extras in both 2003 and 2004).

The piggybacks the last two nights have been stellar – as Welington Cruz and Joe Zeller combined to allow just one run in eight innings, while Luis Liria (who went a season high six innings) and Kyler Burke limited Yakima to just two runs and five hits in 10 innings.

HOW BOUT THEM EMS? The Hawks opened up 2011 in Eugene, losing 3-of-5 to the Emeralds – though had the chance to win 4-of-5.  Until tonight, Boise was the lone team to beat the Ems, as Eugene set a new NWL record by winning 14-straight game.

THE LONG DRIVE HOME: Following Sunday’s game in Yakima, the Safford family loaded up the car and made the trek back to the Treasure Valley – and it was an interesting five hours.  Not only did I have to stop twice to get coffee, we witnessed a crazy event in Hermiston, Ore., where a trunk ran off with $173 in unpaid gas – it was intense.  I hope they caught the guy.

ROSTER MOVES: The Hawks added a player today, as Colin Richardson joined the team from Mesa – as righty Hector Mayora is on the shelf for at least a week with shoulder soreness.  Richardson was thrown into the fire tonight, tossing two shutout innings for the win.  Other news has both Marwin Gonzalez and Chris Rusin earning promotions to AAA Iowa, while Marcus Hatley is now at AA Tennessee.  Finally, congrats to former Hawk, Austin Kirk, who tossed a nine-inning no-hitter at Class-A Peoria.

Getaway day in the Yakima Valley and the final day of a six-game road swing through Eastern Washington.  After a error-filled 7-2 loss to the Yakima Bears last night, the Hawks face a must win tonight to win the series and to finish the trip with a 3-3 record.

The game yesterday could have been a bit different, as the Hawks loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the first inning, but the RBI guys – the 4-5-6 hitters in the order, each struck out to end the threat.  The follies on the infield then began – an error by Paul Hoilman (though I thought it should have been ruled a hit) brought in Yakima’s first run and Kenny Socorro had a ball roll up his arm, allowing another to score, making it 2-0.  A fielding error by Socorro and a throwing miscue by Willson Contreras helped Yakima push the lead to 7-1 in the fifth, while Wes Darvill added to the parade by booting a ball in the eighth – though a run didn’t score.

It was the most errors by a Boise team since seven miscues against Tri-City on June 20, 2009 – and overshadowed a great pitching performance by Jose Rosario, who allowed just one hit in four innings of work.

WHO’S HOT, WHO’S NOT ON THE TRIP: Two players are hitting below the .100 mark on this road swing, as Yaniel Cabezas (0-for-9) and Paul Hoilman (1-for-17) have hit a rut in the road nearing the midway point of the first half.  Hoilman has struggled with the strikeout bug, have swung and missed for strike three in 12 of his 16 outs this trip.  On the flip side, Reggie Golden (5-for-12), Rafael Lopez (6-for-13), and Contreras (7-for-19) each have swung a solid bat this trip.

TOP WRITERS, PAPERS IN THE LEAGUE: Major props have to go to the beat writers of the Tri-City Herald and the Yakima Herald-Republic for their coverage of their respective teams.  Jack Millikin for the Tri-City Herald does a great job and his online blog gives the Northwest League outstanding coverage, while Roger Underwood of the Herald-Republic has front page news on his squad day in and day out.  In fact, in Sunday’s Herald-Republic – they have a half-page spread with the league statistics, league leaders, and updates on former Yakima players and local players in the Big Leagues…if only we could have that sort of coverage back home.

FAMILY TIME: The trip to Yakima also allowed the Safford’s to have some fun, as my wife and son made the trek up to the “Palm Springs of Washington” on Friday.  Saturday was spent with two long stints in the pool (sunburns are a must), a long walk around the area, and a scouting trip to a fruit stand, where I was able to find two jars of AJs Walla Walla Sweet Mustard (which I fell in love with at Gesa Stadium last season).  PJ got to do something he’s always wanted to do – rode the team bus back to the hotel following the early bus to the stadium, while he got to come on the pregame show with his dad, and promptly told the fans back home that the Yakima Bears were his favorite team.

COMMENTS GALORE: Lastly, there was a lot of buzz around County Stadium yesterday regarding my blog – which focused on my take of the Bears potential move to Vancouver, Wash.  No fewer that six front-office staffers came up to me at the stadium – with all of them saying thank you for the support and appreciated my honesty.

Since I began calling games for the Hawks in 2003, heading to Yakima has always been one of my highlights of the season.  Everyone thinks I am crazy – since there isn’t a whole lot to do in the smallest market in the league, but from the front-office staff of the Bears to the team hotel, everyone has went out of their way to treat me and my family amazingly.

So when I heard in May that the franchise was exploring an option to relocate next season to Clark County, Wash., and build a new facility in Vancouver – my heart sunk, thinking, not Yakima…

Unfortunately, after returning to town last night – I think that the McMurray family is making the right decision, it is time for the Bears to look for greener pastures.

Just as we have done in Boise for years – everyone has overlooked the obvious, County Stadium is inadequate for the Northwest League.  Folks forget that the ballplayers that entertain fans all summer are working, and most of the work that they put in is done 3-4-5 hours prior to the game.  Two rogue batting cages sit outside the perimeter of the park – with players traversing a dirt trail to get to them, the clubhouses are tiny with no air circulation (imagine sitting in a cubicle at 90 degreees each day), and the playing surface has hit a rough spot as well.

A leak in the sprinkler system in right field has caused the area near the warning track to turn marshy – literally.  If it were a golf course, there would be a painted line around it and “clean and lift” rules would be in place.  The groundscrew has been forced to turn off the water to minimize the leak – which in turn, has caused enormous brown patches in the outfield, which is a thin layer of grass at best.

But the facility is only half the issue.  Most forget that baseball is a business – and that the Bears have to be able to provide for their employees (remember, the players are sent here and paid by their parent club, the Arizona Diamondbacks).  With the lowest ticket and concession prices in the NWL, less than 1,800 fans turned out for a Friday night game on a absolutely perfect night (80-degrees, light winds, crystal clear sky) – and I think that number may have been a bit high. 

Even if the Bears and the cities of Yakima, Union Gap, and Selah were able to come up with a new stadium – how long would the luster of a new yard last?  After a couple years, would 1,800 fans show up for a Friday night game with $1.00 hot dogs?  I don’t think that would be the case in Vancouver – with the ability to draw from a possible fan base of over a million people, instead of 100,000.

I will miss Yakima, I will miss the staff at the Best Western here, it is painful to say, but it’s time to go to the other Vancouver.

GAME NOTES: The Hawks nearly equalled their home run output of the season in the first inning last night, as Rafael Lopez and Ben Klafczynski each launced two-run homers (listen to the home run calls at http://yotestats.i8.com/hawks/Highlights7-1-11.wma )…the duo combined to go 6-for-7 with seven RBI in the win…Luis Liria and Kyler Burke each struck out the side in the victory – the first time this season that a Hawks’ pitcher accomplished the feat in 2011…Boise pitchers combined to strike out a season-high 13 men in the victory…it was the sixth time in nine wins this season that the Hawks have scored 10-or-more runs…

After battling fierce winds in the Tri-Cities for three nights, the Boise Hawks are happy to head up I-82 to the northwest this morning, set to open up a six-game, home and home series with the Yakima Bears.

After stranding 10 men on the base paths on Wednesday night – plus two runners thrown out at second base and a third gunned out at home to end an inning, the Hawks allowed a trio of unearned runs to fall behind 4-2, then a Brian Humphries grand slam in the sixth blew the game wide open, as Tri-City took the final two games of the series.

Positives were some arms in the Hawks bullpen – as Hector Mayora went three strong innings and Austin Reed went four solid innings on Wednesday night, while Joe Zeller (in his 2011 Hawks debut) tossed 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief in Thursday’s loss.  Reggie Golden continues to hit the ball hard – extending his hit streak to four with a base hit on Thursday (and a fly ball out to the wall in left).

Negatives were the start by Jin-Young Kim on Wednesday – completely unraveled by early walks…two hits, three walks two runs in one inning of work.  Also slumping is both Ben Klafcyznski and Paul Hoilman, a combined 0-for-22 in over the last four games they played.

NOTES – Former Hawks Welington Castillo (Iowa) and Russ Canzler (Durham) were selected for their respective AAA All-Star teams – Castillo for the Pacific Coast League team and Canzler for the International League.  The game will be played in Salt Lake City…also, former Hawks hurler Sergio Mitre was released by the Brewers and subsequently picked up by the Yankees off of waivers…another former Hawk, Mike Perconte was signed by the Houston Astros – his third organization during the 2011 season.

FOOD REPORT: 14 games into the 2011 season and one thing that I have focused on is the pre game meal we have received this season – including a wide variety of meals…including lasagne, egg rolls, and french toast.  The best has been the Philly Cheesesteak we got at Boise last week, while we have had hot dogs and chicken sandwiches three times, and hamburgers twice (BTW – here is a look at Wednesday’s spread in Tri-City)

A three-game sweep at home and an opening win in the Tri-Cities, and yet the Boise Hawks are not the hottest team in the Northwest League.  However, with five-straight wins, fans in the Treasure Valley are taking notice of the Hawks 8-4 start – their best start to a season since at least 2002.

The five-straight wins are the most by the Hawks since winning six-in-a-row twice during the 2008 season.

After starting the season hitting .133 over the first three games (going 1-2), the Hawks have hit .298 since – winning 7-of-9 games, having recorded five games of 10-or-more runs.  All the while, the Hawks bullpen has also been solid, with closer Bryce Shafer going 4-for-4 in save opportunities, while Charles Thomas has not allowed an earned run in three appearances.

Last night, Reggie Golden blasted his first professional home run – a go-ahead two-run shot, that gave the Hawks the lead for good.  It made a winner of Yao-Lin Wang, who allowed just one run in five and a third innings – the first Boise pitcher to throw into the sixth inning.  Willson Contreras also had a big night, going 4-for-4, having logged just seven hits all season coming into the contest, with Kyung-Min Na ending an 0-for-18 slump with an RBI single in the sixth.

HIGHLIGHTS: Here are highlights from five games over the last week…June 22 (http://yotestats.i8.com/hawks/Highlights6-22-11.wma), June 24 (http://yotestats.i8.com/hawks/Highlights6-24-11.wma), June 25 (http://yotestats.i8.com/hawks/Highlights6-25-11.wma), June 26 (http://yotestats.i8.com/hawks/Highlights6-26-11.wma), June 28 (http://yotestats.i8.com/hawks/Highlights6-28-11.wma).

ROSTER MOVES: Following the Spokane series, the Chicago Cubs sent catcher Chad Noble and infielder Dustin Harrington to Advanced-A Daytona, while three players have been promoted from the Arizona Rookie League – knuckleballer Joe Zeller, infielder Travis Garcia, and catcher Rafael Lopez.  Zeller opened 2010 with the Hawks out of The Masters College, while Garcia (from Martin Methodist) and Lopez (from Florida State) are 2011 draft picks.

DRAFT UPDATE: The Cubs have signed a total of 12 players from the 2011 draft, but none of the Top-15 picks.  Six of the players (Lopez, Garcia, Paul Hoilman, Ben Klafczynski, Kenny Socorro, Brad Zapenas) are in Boise, with 40th round pick Patrick Francescon in Peoria.  James Pugliese, Pete Leavitt, and Scott Weismann have debuted in Mesa, while Sheldon McDonald and Casey Lucchese have yet to appear in a game.  Three others, Ryan Durrence (Bethune-Cookman), Nick Johnson (Cincinnati), and Pat Terry (Santa Clara), are non-drafted senior signs by the Cubs in Mesa.

WIND, WIND, MORE WIND: Life in the Tri-Cities is nothing new – as the wind that never seems to stop blowing…hasn’t.  The blowing dust advisory that was posted when we got to town on Tuesday hasn’t been lifted – it is a pure dust bowl.  I asked a lot of the players if they’d played in conditions with a gale blowing straight in from right at 30 mph, most haven’t.

Some quick hits on Sunday morning as the Boise Hawks sit at 5-4 on the season – the first time the team has been above the .500 mark since they were 19-18 last season (beginning the downward spiral that was the final month and a half of the 2010 season).

It was the bottom of the order that was the key in Saturday’s 10-4 win over Spokane – Wes Darvill had his first three-hit game of the year, while both Willson Contreras and Yaniel Cabezas each had two hits and multi-RBI nights.  Cabezas came up huge, ending an 0-for-18 slump with a two-run single in the second, then adding a RBI double in the seventh.

The Hawks won despite giving leading hitter Pin-Chieh Chen the day off, while Paul Hoilman failed to register a hit (though he pushed his league-leading walk total to 14).  Boise scored 10 runs for the second-straight night and the fourth time this season – one off the season-high of 11 runs on Tuesday in Eugene.

DRAFT NOTES – Four new players have been signed this week by the Cubs, including catcher Rafael Lopez out of Florida State – the highest draft pick signed by Chicago (16th Round).  Vice President of Player Personnel Oneri Fleita told me that though it has been tough to sign a lot of the high school players drafted in the Top-10, the Cubs will get it done – which could bode well for the 2012 version of the Hawks.

NEWS AND NOTES – Former Hawk Mike Perconte was released this week by the Texas Rangers after spending most of the 2011 season with the Frisco RoughRiders…the Everett Aquasox had a playing-card giveaway on Friday night, commemorating the 2010 Northwest League championship season – with pictures from the year on the cards…the Joker in the set was none other than former Hawks manager Jody Davis (a tongue in check tribute to the crazy forfeiture in Everett last August)…Reggy the Purple Party Dude graced the Memorial Stadium grounds on Saturday night with his always entertaining act – every time I see the dance with the umpire, I have to laugh…former Tri-City play-by-play man (and KBCI-TV sports reporter) Mike Boyle is now the play-by-play voice of the Spokane Indians, as longtime voice Bob Robertson has gone into semi-retirement…Robertson will join Boyle on broadcast in the NWL’s western cities.

The Tri-City Dust Devils and their 35-man roster full over “older” players have now boarded their charter for home, after the Boise Hawks took 2-of-3 games from the Rockies affiliate, winning their first series of the 2011 season.  No fewer than eight players on the Dust Devils squad are 24-years of age or older – remembering the days of when the Northwest League limited teams to just four players of such age at a single time (in fact, the Hawks one year had to make a quick roster move so that they were not out of compliance).

Pitching was the key in the series for the Hawks – as in the series opener, Ben Wells and Jose Rosario locked down the Dust Devils bats in the 3-2 win, with a nice job in relief tonight by Jin-Yeong Kim, tossing 3 2/3 innings of scoreless relief.  It was Bryce Shafer who impressed me the most, picking up a pair of saves, including working out of a bases-loaded, one out jam in the eighth, getting the final five outs tonight.

Offensively, Tri-City didn’t want any part of Paul Hoilman, who walked six times in the series – clubbing a go-ahead two-run double on Wednesday, adding a 3-for-4, two double, three RBI night in today’s 10-6 win.  Ben Klafczynski has also heated up, hitting safely in all three games of the series, including two RBI doubles tonight.  An Pin-Chieh Chen has just hit – extending his hit streak to seven with an RBI single in the third, though a quartet of base-running blunders in the series marred a stellar three days.

On the flip side, Yaniel Cabezas is struggling mightily, going hitless in his last 18 at-bats, while Wes Darvill snapped an 0-for-9 skid by reaching base four times tonight with two singles and two walks, scoring three runs.

NOTES: Hoilman has made the most of his opportunities with runners in scoring position, going 5-for-9 with 10 RBI – as the Hawks are hitting .278 as a team in such situations…the Hawks have scored first in six of their eight games and are undefeated when leading after the sixth inning…Chen’s hit streak of seven games is the longest in the Northwest League so far this season…Hoilman leads the league in RBI and walks, while Chen is tied for the league in hits.

ROVERS IN TOWN: The Chicago Cubs have made the Hawks clubhouse cozy this weekend – as no fewer than  roving instructors are at Memorial Stadium to evaluate talent.  Catching instructor Marty Pevey, infield instructor Franklin Font, Latin America field coordinator Carmelo Martinez, strength and conditioning coordinator Doug Jarros, and Vice President of Player Personnel Oneri Fleita are all in town watching the Hawks.

Less than two years ago, Civic Stadium in Eugene was the place to be in the summer in the upper Willamette Valley – playing host to 38 Eugene Emeralds games, giving fans an opportunity to watch baseball in a venue that was steeped in tradition and the lore of yesteryear.  However, when the owners of the Ems, the Northwest League, and the University of Oregon agreed to allow the Emeralds to move their operations to P.K. Park on the other side of the Willamette River, Civic Stadium was abandoned – literally.

I had the opportunity to see the old yard first hand, thanks to former Ems’ assistant general manager, Bryan Beban, who got me as close as I could to the facility – which is under a bevy of padlocks and chains.

To put it lightly, it looks as if nothing has been touched since that final game in September of 2009 – the outfield grass is shin-high, resembling more of a cow pasture than the green lawn that future major league players roamed.  The infield surface isn’t a manicured clay-based track with the hand-painted chalk lines, it is strewn with a bevy of weeds – some of which are 3-4-or even five feet tall.

It looks as if there isn’t a pitchers mound, as weeds have taken refuge on the bump, while the old manual scoreboard looks bare without the large Emeralds “E” that used to grace it.  The only leftover from yesteryear is a KUGN radio sign near the pressbox, which, according to Beban, dates back to the early 1990s.  In front of the facility is a sign that says it all – “For Sale or Lease”.

It is a sad shame that the folks in Eugene have let the park go to waste – if is going to sit and rot, as it is, burn the facility and make it a civic event so the community can come out and have one last hurrah.  Or restore the facility and take a page out of Birmingham, Ala., where the AA Birmingham Barons host the Rickwood Classic each summer at the oldest active ballpark in all of the minor leagues.  The Ems would be guaranteed 6,800 fans for that game – something the glitz and glamour of PK Park can’t provide.

Speaking of PK Park – it is a great facility, but without a visiting clubhouse, it draws a bitter taste in the mouth’s of some NWL skippers.  With teams having to make the 8-10 minute walk (one-way) to the Autzen Stadium visitors locker room, squads are unable to take a full infield-outfield, make the trek, have a pregame PB-and-J, dress, and make the 8-10 minute walk back to the field for gametime.  In fact, the Hawks did not take infield in any of the five games during the series due to this fact.  I was under the impression that the U of O was paid up-front to build the clubhouse (by the 2011 season), however, they instead have plans to build a new football-only office complex and a new soccer-lacrosse field near the stadium. (RIP to the old girl – with a picture of its glory from just a couple years back)

The season opening series for the Boise Hawks comes to a close this evening in Eugene, with skipper Mark Johnson learning a ton about his squad over the first four games of the Northwest League season.  The ups and downs of minor league baseball has definitely been evident – some good, some very good, and well, some bad.

The good has to be the starting pitching – four outings, with three of the four earning quality starts.  Ben Wells allowed just two runs in five innings (despite as the skipper mentioned without his best stuff), while both Yao-Lin Wang and Willengton Cruz were nearly unhittable.  Cruz especially, as a devestating change-up complimented a low 90s fastball that had the Ems hitters guessing – something that Eugene manager Pat Murphy attested to in the game recap in the Register Guard.

I like the speed of this team – Reggie Golden really resembles Kirby Puckett to me (size, stature, and enthusiasm), while both Wes Darvill and Pin-Chieh Chen can flat out fly.  I felt for Chen last night losing the ball in the lights – though that won’t be the last time it occurs in a Hawks game this season.

On the flipside, the bullpen has been a struggle at best.  If you throw out the outings by Charles Thomas (retiring six of the seven men he faced on Saturday, fanning three), and Bryce Shafer (tossing an inning and a third scoreless), the relievers have a combined 10.80 ERA, allowing 14 earned runs in 11 2/3 innings, with an eye-popping 13 walks.  You could chalk that up to the wide-eyed nature of pitching on the “big” stage for the first time – but if the team is going to be successful, this is a number that needs to change.

It was good to see the bats come alive on Monday night – after the enemic three hits on Friday and two hits on Sunday.  Paul Hoilman squared up on a ball for a homer (a ball that was crushed, but died in the heavy air in Eugene), Golden roped a opposite field triple, and Chen hit a ball to the warning track for a sacrifice fly.  The staff is waiting for the emergence of Willson Contreras, who is still searching for his first hit.

HIGHLIGHTS:  Here are the audio highlights from Games 2-4 in Eugene – http://yotestats.i8.com/Highlights6-18-11.wmv(Saturday), http://yotestats.i8.com/Highlights6-19-11.wmv (Sunday), http://yotestats.i8.com/Highlights6-20-11.wma (Monday).

ROTATION: According to David Rosario, the Hawks rotation will remain the same to start the homestand – as Ben Wells will throw the home opener against Tri-City on Wednesday night, followed by Jose Rosario.  Wang will pitch Thursday, Jin-Yeong Kim will start Friday (with Austin Reed in relief), Cruz gets the nod on Saturday, with Luis Liria on Sunday (with Kyler Burke in relief).

NO CHANGES AT PK: In their second year at the University of Oregon’s PK Park, not much has changed from my vantage point at the newest ball park in the Northwest League.  Though the press box is amazing – with a phenomenal view, it is still a struggle with its configuration, to get scoring decisions and substitutions on a timely manner (which are not indicated on the scoreboard or video board).  The clubhouse situation is still a mess, as the Hawks must hike at least a 1/4 mile from the Autzen Stadium visiting football locker room, around the stadium on the sidewalk of a busy street, then in the gate of the stadium (I don’t like the idea of the players having to fight through fans/etc. going to-and-from the clubhouse).  A new clubhouse was said last year to be in the works in right field – but no construction is visible.  The Ems, however, are able to use the spacious U of O clubhouse at the stadium (with the Coaches’ Office pictured).

SOCIAL MEDIA: Remember to become a follower of our broadcast on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/BoiseHawksRadio and like our Business, Baseball, and Politics Facebook page as well.