J.R.

Hopefully Marmol cleans up his act in time to command a halfway decent return. http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/04/07/kerry-wood-carlos-marmol-ugly-it-up-again/

No, the Target ad is on one of the smaller outfield doors. The Under Armour logo remains, and if memory serves their agreement runs concurrent with the Soriano contract. The ad I referenced is on the brown padding on the wall that runs parallel to the RF foul line.

Additional views of this classy addition: http://www.washingtonpost.com/rf/image_606w/2010-2019/WashingtonPost/2012/04/05/Sports/Images/142474963.jpg http://media.zenfs.com/en/blogs/sptusmlbexperts/ledboard.jpg http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/sun-times%20cubs%20opener%20bill%20murray.jpeg http://i.usatoday.net/sports/gallery/2012/MLB/Opening%20Day/1-wrigleypg-vertical.jpg Also classy: the deal allowing the rechristening of the bleachers as belonging to Budweiser apparently didn't include exterior signage: http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m1idfcJfbX1rofrujo1_500.jpg Not so good: this Advocate ad and the Vegas ad on the aisle door nearest the Cub dugout (not pictured) are terribly distracting and out of place, especially given their proximity to the well-done, subtle Citibank ad in the same area. http://cdn0.sbnation.com/photo_images/6354811/20120405_jel_ag5_179.jpg There is also a new ad on one of the right field corner pads, but I didn't get a direct look yesterday and there are no pics yet available.

Not that they shouldn't have built the new parks, or that either team should have stayed in the Astrodome. MLB and the NFL made lots of money in Houston through their respective franchises thanks to the county's investment in the Astrodome. It would have been completely honorable for the municipality to insist that these very wealthy conglomerates help to pay off the one-time wonder that both leagues suddenly found unfit. They didn't, and now Houston is left with big bills and no way to pay them with the carcass pictured above. The fact that Drayton Mclane was allowed to basically abandon all maintenance in the latter years speaks to the fleecing that went on here, and contributed to the state of the facility at present. This scenario has played out in all four sports in just about every city caught up in the stadium boom. Houston is unique in that their white elephant is still standing. Debt service on the $30 million owed and security is all they can manage right now. Coming up with the ~$140 million needed to demolish the thing is a pipe dream in Rick Perry's Texas. What really irritates me is the fact that the team owners and suite inhabitants are the ones who benefited most from these arrangements across the country. From the average fan's perspective, good seats are exponentially more expensive, concessions are more costly, and with rare exception (intimate parks like Pittsburgh) the new cheap seats are no better than the old cheap seats.

Perhaps I should have worded it better ... Harris County should have insisted that the Astros and/or Texans cough up the remaining Astrodome obligations before proceeding with the new facilities.

Why get mad? You knew this was coming. This is the summer of doh.

I will give them credit for agreeing with me on this one front. From the other thread: I also like the Otis Shepard scorecard-inspired graphics. Now if only they would bring the upper deck boards into compliance ...

Actually, they're playing in a little over an hour from right now.

think it's going to be quite awhile before sammy is in good graces again. True, but I don't think a "silent" retirement would be too much to ask for. At the very least hold it back for someone with some clout in the game instead of handing it to the guy who just showed up yesterday.

#21 unnecessarily used once again.

Really makes no sense, as in past years you only painted the "opening week" logo if you wound up with one of the second round home openers. Detroit has "opening day," which makes the Wrigley paint even more unusual.

So we're announcing "strike out" and "home run" in screaming fonts now? I'm starting to hate it before the first pitch. It is extremely frustrating to look up at one of these boards expecting valid statistical information (ostensibly their sole purpose while play is under way) only to see some silly animation for the baseball-challenged.

2014: $12 million 2015: $14 million 2016: $20 million 2017: $22 million 2018-23: $25 million per year 2024: $20 million team option with $7 million buyout http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/04/04/joey-vottos-deal-includes-a-20-million-option-for-2024/

And so it begins: Reds bench Chris Heisey on Opening Day

http://www.chicagotribune.com/media/photo/2012-04/69213463.jpg The RF basket has to go.

The Harris County-Houston Sports Authority still owes roughly $30 million on this place and has flirted with default in recent years after taking on two more new parks. I'm not among those who oppose the funding of ballparks and arenas with public dollars. However, I think it is outrageous that so many structurally sound parks from the late '60s and early '70s were handed over to the rats or demolished with outstanding debt still on the books. The failure to negotiate enforceable lease terms that would at least cover the term of public indebtedness represents a gross betrayal of public trust. How on earth did the authority get talked into new baseball and football parks without insisting that the former be paid off? Of course, they're not alone - long-gone edifices like Three Rivers Stadium, the Kingdome and Giants Stadium (Meadowlands) are still being paid off. In sum, it is a relatively paltry figure in comparison to what this country wastes to prop up the military-industrial complex. However, lots of bridges and schools are going to [expletive] while cities pay off ghost parks.

Very well done. I agree that symmetry would be served by a twin board in left, but it would be a shame to wreck those seats. The genius of the RF board is that it took the place of seats facing the worst obstruction in the house. The Target ads are garbage.

They (UK at least) have pre-conference games that are marketed independently.

It's not hard to start an RSN. Everything that sustains the Cincinnati arm of Fox Sports Ohio could be brought together under another banner if the deal is right. College sports are very strong in Cincinnati, and you could conceivably survive on college basketball (UC or Xavier, select UK games) from November through the start of spring training. The Reds had to do this. They had a dominant regional brand at the end of the 1970s, and thanks to horrendous ownership blew it a little at time over the next 30 years. Current ownership is cognizant of the fact that they have fallen behind the horribly run Bengals and Ohio State football, and is trying to restore the franchise to the point that they could sustain their own RSN or command big fees from someone else. The meathead sports radio callers (a formidable constituency in a town where the big AM talker - 700 WLW - is a driver of opinion many orders stronger than any local TV outlet or newspaper) staked their legitimacy on the supposed fact that ownership wouldn't pony up for Votto. Now they will have to find something else to complain about.

And no-trade throughout. http://content.usatoday.com/communities/dailypitch/post/2012/04/joey-votto-reds-contract-extension/1#.T3ovq6tSQ_h

Big Z is pitching his first game in the new park right now on MLBN. The backstop aquarium is not nearly as prominent as I imagined.

Alou actually had a great 1994 season. He was hurt in late '93. The "reasonable time frame" bit was in reply to the contention that Joba's career is over. Others have come back, though sans their speed (which wasn't a key to Chamberlain's game anyway.) I don't think it's a sure bet that he's done.

Moises Alou, Jason Kendall and Geoff Jenkins all came back from similar injuries within reasonable time frames.

It was bush league [expletive]. Hope it stays gone.

He could be throwing off a mound by July. http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/blog/eye-on-baseball/18022099/theres-a-chance-joba-chamberlain-could-still-pitch-this-season