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March 9

Well, I never knew that Calgary was the inspiration for the mythical town of Springfield.

On last Sunday's episode of The Simpsons, Homer found out that the beloved local pro baseball team is moving...to Albuquerque.

Albuquerque is, of course, the place that is the Cannons are slated to be moved to next year. High up sources at the popular TV show claim that the mention was purely a coincidence, but who knows...now I just have to go looking for that nuclear power plant that's somewhere in town.

Down south in Florida, spring training is proceeding, with daily games featuring the Marlins, and of course many players who will end up here in Calgary. One of the players who has been down here at AAA the last couple of years is guaranteed not to start the season at Burns. Chris Clapinski, who hit .322 down here in 1999 is out for the next four to six weeks with a partly torn rotator cuff.

Better news from Melbourne and the Marlins spring training camp is that Marlins manager John Boles is impressed by two men who were off season free agent signings. B.J. Waszgis and Ryan McGuire hit homers in Thursday's spring training game. The good news for Cannons fans is that although Boles is impressed with the men (Waszgis is a catcher while McGuire is a backup first baseman who can play the outfield.), both players will probably end up here in Calgary because of numbers. One of the problems with last year's team was that there was a lack of leadership in the clubhouse. Both Waszgis and McGuire have beein up in the bigs, although they have also spent a lot of time at Triple A. Perhaps they can be part of the nucleus for a winning team at Burns in 2001.

If you want to catch the Marlins spring training games, click on the link below. Most games start at 10:05 AM Calgary time. Not all spring training games are on the radio, but most days Friday through Monday you can listen in as the marlins and their farmhands prepare for the 2001 season.

January 25

The biggest news was, of course, the letter of agreement between Russ Parker and a New Mexico group to sell and move the team following next season. I did a bit of thinking about the whole situation, and have come to the following conclusion.

This will the the Cannons last season in Calgary.

Goodness knows that there have been enough trials, tribulations and missteps along this path, with the team being 'sold' at least once, and 'moved' by the Parkers once as well. However, this time, the team will be gone.

There are a couple of different ways that everybody from the Parkers, down to people like me, and even the fans could handle this. The approach I have chosen to take is to celebrate that I have one more year to see the best baseball in Western Canada, one more year to say hi to all the people that I have had the pleasure of meeting through the Cannons, and one more year for the Cannons to win a PCL championship.

To that end, I am a bit optimistic going into spring training (gosh, it's only a few weeks away!) The Cannons have 'signed' (meaning Florida non roster signings) three guys that will be here for their third year. Reid Cornelius, a righthanded pitcher, plus infielders Chris Clapinski and Mike Gulan will try out for the Marlins, but will probably be back in Calgary, at least for a significant portion of the season. This, added with other signings, and the addition of new skipper Chris Chambliss, points the way forward for what I hope will be a great 2001 season.

On the concession side of things, we are firming up our management, and making plans for the upcoming season. One idea we are investigating is using community and sports groups for some of our staffing needs. If this peaks your group's interests, please mail me at hawker@canada.com.

December 14

Time for a paragraph or two about various baseball happenings (centering of course on the Cannons).

I remember seeing A-Rod here in Calgary when he was here in 1994. Great player, but NOBODY is worth $252 million for playing baseball. I don't know where it will end, but I hope it's right here and now. Makes me happy thought that I can see the guys here at the Triple A level before they get all rich and crazy.

There will be a few changes at the Cannons next year on the field. Starting second baseman Amaury Garcia was traded to former Cannons parent club Chicago White Sox. In return, the Cannons get pitching prospect Mark Roberts, who was 7-2 at AAA Charlotte last year. Goodness knows we can never have too many pitchers here!

Julio Ramirez, who was a September callup from the Guns to Florida after hitting .266, was also traded to the Sox in a separate transaction, in return for major league outfielder Jeff Abbott.

Joe Funaro, who hit .282 in about a third of the season here, was drafted away from the Fish by Seattle in Monday's Rule V draft, and we may see him when Tacoma comes to town.

From Tacoma comes pitcher Pat Ahearne, who led the PCL in wins last year. Ahearne was 13-8 last year with the Rainiers, and has been up and down the past few years between Triple A and the majors. He'll be given a chance to be the fifth starter in Florida next year, but more likely will be down with the Cannons, at least for a portion of the 2001 season.

With Lynn Jones moving up to become the first base coach for the Marlins, the Cannons needed a new manager. Former Yankee hitting coach Chris Chambliss was snatched up by the Marlins when he came on the market after the World series. Chris has had managing experience (including a year in London Ontario when it had a AA team), and will be a good marketing addition to the team, as the former player is the highest profile manager the Guns have ever had.

Britt Burns is replacing beleagured pitching coach Randy Hennis next year. Burns was minor league pitching coordinator, while Hennis will move closer to home, to the Fish's single A team in Florida.

Off the field, preparations continue for the 2001 season. Sales and BBQ 'cheese boy' Jason McAskall is back with the Cannons after two seasons with the Medicine Hat Blue Jays. He and the other sales and marketing folks are working hard to make sure that people will be in the park for me to feed next year.

Although the schedule hasn't been released yet, I can tell you that the tentative schedule I've seen has the Cannons NOT opening at home, a great blessing in my opinion.

What have I been doing? I've been working (and hawking) at the Saddledome, learning things that may help us bring a better foodservice experience to the Stadium next year. If you have any ideas that you think will work there, please feel free to email me with them at hawker@canada.com.

October 1

Something that the Cannons have not had in the past several years is stability. It is nice to see that next year there is that stability.

After doing some flirting with other teams, the Cannons decided to stay with the Marlins as their parent club. I think what sealed things was two developments. First, Ottawa and Montreal decided to stay together. The Expos were looking at staying in Canada if things did not work out with the Lynx, and Florida had expressed an interest in being in the east (I think they are the major league team furthest away from it's top affiliate.) When the Lynx and Expos got back together, the die was cast for us sticking with the Marlins. The Twins hooking up with the Trappers just sealed the deal.

There will be changes in the clubhouse at Burns next April however. The Guns manager of the past two seasons, Lynn Jones, has been promoted up to the Marlins, where he will be first base coach. One possible candidate would be Portland Seadogs manager Rich Renteria. The Marlins AA skipper is also an ex Cannon player, having played here for parts of the 1987-1989 seasons. Having a skipper who played here at Burns, and on two playoff teams at that, would only be a positive for the Cannons.

September 30

A few post season thoughts before putting the season to bed.

In a few ways, this was a very disappointing year, both for the Cannons and personally. The Guns on the field had one of their worst records in club history. There never seemed to be a cohesive 'team' feeling like there has been in other years. I'm sure some of this was because of the number of players (and especally pitchers!) that came through Burns Stadium this year.

Off the field, things were not much better. The Guns had the lowest average attendance ever, at 4,101 per game, and only avoided having the lowest number of people in the park because of the lack of rainouts. This number came despite the "Year of the Child" promotion that allowed kids in free during the week for the first three months of the year. In fact, the first part of the year featured several of the smallest crowds in Cannons history, an indication of a low season ticket base.

Given this, it may seem odd, but Cannons season ticket prices are going up, but only if you buy after November 1. Up until then the prices are at 2000 levels. Talking to Cannons ticket manager Greg Winthers, it is heartening to see that renewals are at a fairly high rate, one he's happy with. It is also good to see the team's sales staff working hard to sign up new ticketholders. In past years the sales guys have sat back and waited until Christmas to start being aggressive, but have already been hard at work, with the Cannons hiring new sales staff to work during the winter.

As is usual at this time of year, as sales people are being hired, staff whose focus is more game related are leavign the ballpark. A couple of people that bear special mention is PR director J.J. Hebert and Community Relations person Roxanne Bury. J.J is moving to Hockey Canada, while Roxanne is currently working part time with the Calgary Hitmen. Both of these folks are pretty darn talented, and will be missed. (There J.J., I finally said something nice about you!)

Amongst the other people leaving for the winter is those of us who worked for Western Foods at the ballpark. I'd like to give a big shoutout to all the staff that I had the pleasure of working with this year, and I hope that I will have the pleasure of working with most of you again next year. (Assuming of course they will let me back in the park!)