Where the Bulls Are — Coca-Cola Park

(Photo Courtesy of Brian Merzbach)

This is Coca-Cola Park in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The park is so new that the Google satellite shot doesn’t show the location. I found the photo, and several more, on Brian Merzbach’s fascinating website. He’s got photos and reviews of more than 400 ball parks there and clearly he loves what he does.

His comments on Coca-Cola Park are here.

Coca-Cola Park is a nice enough new venue, resembling many other new ballparks built in the past decade. It is on the small side for a AAA park, which does make it more intimate.

If you’re interested, he visited Durham in 1997 and commented on the DBAP and the old DAP. By the way, does anyone know how the renovation’s going?

Most AAA teams don’t have any bloggers following them. Phillies’ affiliate, the Iron Pigs, has three that I’ve found: The Pork Roll, the Hog Blog, and Ironpigpen. Only Ironpigpen, so far, has taken note of the Bulls coming town.

As you will recall, their daddy beat our daddy in last year’s World Series. As far as I can tell, the only Bull on our roster that was on the Rays’ roster for the series is David Price. Not sure about their roster.

Former Bull, Jorge Velandia, one my all-time favorite Bulls, is on the Iron Pig roster.

Webworld:

• Adam Sobsky has a terrific story on Monday afternoon’s game and the last home stand. Recommended reading. Very good on clubhouse dynamics as he observed them. I was particularly interested in the comments by pitcher Carlos Hernandez and catcher Craig Albernaz. I’m having second thoughts about my posting on that battery that I made earlier. In the larger view, it seems to me that Albernaz is in a particularly tough spot. Jaso’s having a crummy year (at bat, doing fine behind the plate), but he’s a “prospect” and on the 40-man. The persistently injured Shawn Riggans is on Tampa Bay’s disabled list, and Michel Hernandez is doing a fine job at Tampa Bay (a better job than their first stringer Navarro). So that’s five catchers between Tampa and Durham, and I’m not counting Alex Jamieson, our “Hudson Valley” player. This is a huge puzzle for the Rays to figure out. My hope is simply that “our” catchers, John, Craig, and Alex, can keep their focus.
• I’m a big fan of local radio guy Dick Gordon, who hosts a nationally syndicated interview show called, The Story, produced across from the DBAP at WUNC’s studies.. One of his shows captured the story of some serious LA Dodger fans. They collect and recycle the debris from around their seats to pay for their tickets. Interesting podcast.