Well our first road trip is off and underway after the game last night in Richmond.  I have to say that even though The Diamond is a concrete behemoth and is a bit out-dated, it’s still a very neat place to watch a game.  Anyways, I had a chance to put down some words and thoughts about our first trip on our nice 4.5 hour trip over here yesterday and now I’m just finally getting around to actually putting online for you all to read so here goes…

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It was a crazy and exciting first five games for the Curve during the season’s first homestand and now the team finds itself on a five (ish) hour bus ride to Richmond so I figured there’s no better time to recap what’s been going on at the ballpark and preview our upcoming road trip since I’ve got some time.

The bus left at 8 a.m. today and we’re slated to get to Richmond sometime between 12 and 1, depending on traffic and Becki (our bus driver) of course.

A 3-2 record and five games out of six played in the early parts of April in the northeast isn’t a bad feat for a team’s first homestand.  It looks like the club once again started to hit the baseball in what turned out to be the final game of the series on Tuesday night (a 6-1 win over Akron).  Tyler and I had a great time calling first few games at home in front of some great crowds and excited fans.

We hope that you enjoyed some of our new contests on the field if you came out to the first few games this season.  If you didn’t, when you do come for your first game of 2012 in Curve, Pa. you’ll see some new things like the Laurel Eye Clinic Laser Tag, the Sorbera Lose It to Win It Challenge and our very own rendition of live-action Angry Birds in the Allegany College of Maryland Angry Birds: Ballpark.  Yes, we have a slingshot on the suite level that we launch Angry Birds on to the field in and contestants must catch the Angry Birds while trying to avoid being taken out by our pig (the very same one from Angry Birds) in shallow right field.

All in all it was a pretty fun homestand, especially with the news that the Pirates will be making their way back to Curve, Pa. for the first time since 2000 to play an exhibition game before the beginning of the 2013 season.  It’ll be a great way to kick off the 15^th season of Curve baseball and also celebrate the tremendous relationship that we have with our parent club, the Pittsburgh Pirates.

We’ve also got something else up our sleeves that Tyler will be putting out on facebook sometime here soon as a reward for such a fun first homestand.  Two lucky fans will have an opportunity to win a pretty unique on-field experience thanks to 7epicdays.com but check out our facebook page for more on that.

You might be asking what are others doing on the bus for a 5ish hour ride?  Sleeping, of course.  Last season, we had an outfielder Jose Hernandez who sat behind me on the bus rides early on in the season and I swear Jose would fall asleep as we strolled out of the parking lot at the ballpark in Curve, Pa. and then arise when we got to the hotel in our destination city.  It was remarkable and I wish I had his sleeping skills.  I can usually only get a given hour or two of sleep in on the bus and it’s not constant but it is nice.  Movies are also some things that go on but other than that, it’s pretty much a bus ride.

I did not purchase any movies to watch on my iPad this trip but put a few classics on there to pass the time (Back to the Future II, which if I’m not mistaken ranks as No. 1 on our Dir. of Mascot and Brand Development Bill Bettwy’s favorite movies of all time, and also Definitely, Maybe because it’s quite humorous).  I’ve also been a bit behind the times with the Dan Brown books so I bought The Lost Symbol which I hope to read throughout this trip as well.

If anyone has any good recommendations on things to read, by all means throw them our way (either here in the comments or at the Curve twitter/facebook) as I always enjoy a good read (other than team media guides of course, which are also fun).  No suggestions for Game of Thrones, though, as I tried to read those and they were just abysmal and boring; I couldn’t get past the first 40 pages of the first book.

I’ll try to work on that list of players at-bat and entrance songs while I’m on the road and report back later in the trip.  It’s supposed to be a sold-out crowd at The Diamond tonight in Richmond and their mascot, Nutzy, is allegedly flying in on a jetpack to kick off the season and that only brings back memories of Cliff and the movie The Rocketeer from the mid-90s with Jennifer Connelly.  Seen now only on the SciFi Channel once every 6 months.

Listen in while the team is on the road online by clicking the Gameday Audio link from our site (online stream provided by the MSA Sports Network) or you can even listen to our games on the TuneIn Radio App for your iPhone, Android, Windows 7 or other smartphone device.

Signing off for another nap…

Mike

Oh. My. Goodness. That sound you hear is that of heads exploding with excitement everywhere across the world of Minor League Baseball. Opening Day is just over 24 hours away in Curve, Pa. (Another sound you hear? Rhyming. In that last sentence.) Hot dogs! Cracker Jack! Curverogies! 2012 is upon us and, despite what the Mayans and John Cusack might say, it’s going to be a great one around these parts.

You might know that the Curve is the reason you get out of bed in the morning and the engine that drives summers in the big ’Toona, but what you might know is that you can be even more addicted to the Curve than you already are! Seriously. Not even kidding. Here’s how.

AltoonaCurve.com: Chances are you visit the Curve’s official site regularly. Maybe daily (or hourly). You wait with baited breath for our latest game recaps, press releases, and stories. And you are right to do so. This year, AltoonaCurve.com is better than ever. Head to the official site of your Curve for everything from player stats, bios, and highlights to the Curve community calendar, promotions information, and ways to purchase tickets and merchandise. AltoonaCurve.com is your headquarters for all other Curve tentacles into the world of the interwebs such as…

Facebook/Twitter/Pinterest: Did you see that movie about Mark Zuckerberg? The Curve’s Facebook page is AT LEAST ten times cooler than that, mostly because our page involves 100% less Jesse Eisenberg. And our Twitter feed and Pinterest page are equally as awesome. Like and follow us for chances to enter into unique and exclusive social media contests, get up-to-the-minute Curve info including in-game updates, and much, much more. Speaking of in-game updates…

Curve Radio Network: If you can’t make a trip to the ballpark (or even if you can!), you can tune into 2012 Curve games on the Curve Radio Network. Covering most of central and western Pennsylvania along with parts of Maryland and West Virginia, the Curve Radio Networks is comprised of seven stations including our flagship, ESPN Radio 1430 (WVAM, Altoona), to carry all 142 games. Mike Passanisi and I will bring you every inning of the 2012 season. Don’t live in the CRN’s coverage area? Never fear…

Online Stream: With a potential audience of seven billion people globally, online Curve broadcasts are the perfect way to stay up-to-date with your favorite hometown team no matter where you are. Through our partner MSA Sports, you can listen to Curve games through your computer by visiting the Curve’s official site and clicking on the link to our live stream. Not near a computer during Curve games? Never fear AGAIN…

TuneIn App: We live in an age of technological glory. Did you know you can listen to thousands upon thousands of radio stations right on your phone? Could you imagine if you went back 20 years and showed someone an iPhone streaming live music or video and then explained to them that that device not only does those things but also holds all of your contacts, emails (even though they might not know what emails are), music, and makes phone calls? Their face would literally melt in front of you.

This year, you can melt 1990s time travelers’ faces with live Curve games on your phone or tablet. Through the TuneIn App, available for iPhones, iPads, Androids, and other mobile devices, listen to all the action from Curve, Pa. and points throughout the Eastern League wherever you are on your device via TuneIn. And of course…

The CurveBall Blog: You’re already here. Enjoy it.

That just about covers it for today. Lots of things to get to, players to study up on. The alarm clock is set for 3:00 a.m. for the morning news at Peoples Natural Gas Field, the grills are firing up to cook as many Curverogies as the masses demand, the Bottoms Up beer dispensing system is chomping at the bit to pour up to 44 pints of beer in one minute (seriously) all season long, and somewhere in Altoona, Curve catcher Tony Sanchez has borrowed my car to move a bunch of players into their apartments. Hmm…I might need to start looking for him. Opening Day! Be there!