Ballpark Fans & Friends

St. Paul Saints fans know when the calendar turns to March, the madness can officially begin.  I’m not talking about THE March Madness, as in the NCAA tournament, but the madness that starts to grow inside of you realizing the baseball season is just around the corner.  All winter long we here in Minnesota have dealt with record snowfalls, arctic chills and being cooped up inside for much too long.  Now is the time spring shows itself and we can start thinking about the boys of summer, but more about that in just a moment.  Before I get to the 2011 Saints season, let me share something with you.

             As I do every Monday-Friday morning, I was working out at my gym (that’s right I’m bragging) and a couple of guys came up to me and we started chatting about baseball.  These guys knew what I did and said they had heard rumors about a new Saints ballpark.  First off, I told them they weren’t rumors and second I told them it was a regional ballpark that would be used by amateur, college and Little League teams along with small and large tournaments from around the state and so on.  Why am I bringing this up?  For two reasons: #1 the word is out about the regional ballpark and people all over the state are aware of it which is a great thing and #2 I always tell people for more information head to the Ballpark Fans and Friends website at ballparkfansandfriends.org.

             As for your 2011 Saints here’s what I can tell you so far.  Manager George Tsamis usually spends the early off season re-signing players and trying to fill some gaps with guys from other teams in the American Association or other Independent League teams.  So far he has done that by re-signing three All-Stars from last season’s team: outfielder Brent Krause, first baseman Jason Cooper and pitcher Jake Schmidt.  Other players from last year’s team that re-signed were infielder Steve Mays and pitcher Kyle Foster.  The other three players the Saints currently have are pitcher Caleb Thielbar (free agent signee), catcher Richard Mercado (acquired from the Schaumburg Flyers for cash) and third baseman Ronnie Bourquin (also acquired from the Flyers for cash). 

             The rest of the 22-man roster will be filled out over the next couple of months with Saints players from last season, guys who are released by Major League organizations and other Independent League players.  This much is for sure, March Madness will take on a whole new definition as the signings continue leading up to Opening Day, May 12.