Snow still the story for Cats

By: Ken Lipshez
New Britain Herald Press

MANCHESTER, N.H. - Painting the scene from MerchantsAuto.com Stadium, home of the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, would require but one color - white.

New Hampshire general manager Rick Brenner wasn't dreaming of a White Easter, but that's exactly what he was looking at when he woke up this morning and that's after two days of trying everything imaginable to find some grasstops.

Picture this. On Friday, a Zamboni from the Verizon Civic Center lumbered over to the stadium with police escort and team mascots dangling from the side. It wasn't quite like resurfacing a skating rink, and did little to remove the seven inches of snow that fell Wednesday, but it made for great theater.

Stadium workers, Fisher Cats staffers and even volunteer fans reported to duty on the stadium's inundated sod but it wasn't enough to save Friday's scheduled game against the Rock Cats.

What's a general manager to do?

"Mother Nature typically wins when she wants to," said Brenner, formerly the general manager of the Trenton Thunder.

The Easter Nor'easter was most unkind to the Fisher Cats. Twenty miles south along I-495 in Massachusetts, there had been just a dusting. Areas to the south and east had mostly rain. In Manchester, it was the worst-case scenario.

"The hard part was we were on the line," Brenner said. "You could look at four different places and get four different reports. When we left here (Wednesday), 10 minutes down the road it was rain. It could have been an inch; it could have been 12.

"When I woke up in the morning, I looked out the window and said, 'Uh-oh.'"

Thursday's postponement will be made up as a day/night doubleheader on July 28. Friday's game will be made up as part of a single-admission twinbill on June 28.

UNCOMMON DOWN UNDER: Rock Cats infielder Luke Hughes, a native of Perth, Australia, couldn't believe his eyes.

"I was amazed to see snow for the first time, to get out there and play with it a little bit and throw some snowballs at (Rock Cats infielder Dave Winfree)," Hughes said. "It's crazy to see a field just covered with it."

Hughes studied the scenery as the bus departed New Britain. Dollops of old snow from the previous storm showed up in places but when the bus crossed from Massachusetts to New Hampshire, he noted how the landscape changed.

"About an hour into it, I started seeing a bit more and I talked to the guys about it," he said. "All the hills had snow. By the time we got here, everything was covered. I couldn't wait to get out there and play in it, just like a little kid."

Some of the Latino players got their first glimpse of what New Englanders endure.

"I've seen snow in the Midwest League but not like that," said Rock Cats second baseman Felix Molina, whose Puerto Rican heritage does not necessitate mittens and scarves among the attire. "The whole field with snow? It's crazy."

SITUATION FAMILIAR FOR INGRAM: The dilemma of playing spring baseball in New England is nothing new to New Britain Rock Cats manager Riccardo Ingram.

Ingram was the hitting coach in 2003 when the team had a series wiped out in Portland, Maine.

With Thursday and Friday's games against the New Hampshire Fisher Cats already safely tucked in as summertime doubleheaders, Ingram was optimistic the Rock Cats wouldn't go oh-for-Manchester.

"If they can get it all off (Friday) and they don't get any more weather, I think we may be OK (for today's scheduled series finale)," he said.

He said the footing was firm underneath the snow rather than a muddy mess that additional rain or a quick thaw would bring.

The Fisher Cats postponed Friday's game as early as Eastern League rules would allow. Today's game, a planned 1 p.m. encounter, has been pushed back to 3:05.

"They'll probably have to do a lot of work in the morning," he said. "Three o'clock sounds feasible if it stays as is. That's the key."

ROTATION RESTLESS: Righthander Nick Blackburn remains the projected starter but Ingram is getting concerned with the down time that faces the rest of the rotation.

"We may have to use two starters because of what's ahead of us - uncertainty in Portland," he said.

Photos on the Portland Sea Dogs' website showed what a foot of snow can do. An artfully crafted snowman stands where a fielder was slated to dwell. As with the Fisher Cats, Sea Dogs administrators postponed Friday's game with hopes of salvaging today's series finale with the Connecticut Defenders.

Ingram's greatest fear with the team trying to make the transition from five weeks of 85 degrees and sunny in south Florida to a week of snowy and 30 in northern New England is illness.

"My fear is that the whole club will get sick," he said. "It's tough to perform when you have a fever. That's what I fear more than anything. When the temperature drops after the sun goes down, that isn't good for the players."

Blackburn remains unfazed by the delay.

"There's not a whole lot you can do except wait it out," he said. "There's nothing I can do to change anything."

The Oklahoman has been playing catch daily and said his arm feels strong.

"It's been feeling pretty good because I haven't been throwing much lately," he said. "I'm ready to go. I'm ready to get out there on the mound and finally do something."