Back at the ballpark at 9 AM after a fantastic night in which the Cats clinched the first half championship with a 9-1 victory over second place Grand Prairie.  With last night’s win, the Cats have won 28 games in the first half.  The AirHogs have won 21 games.  They have 6 games to play in the half, while the Cats have just five.  Even if the “Hogs win all six of their remaining games, while the Cats lost all five of ours,  they (Grand Prairie) would finish at 27-21, while the Cats would be 28-20… which means the Cats’ win last night was the “clincher”!

I was very proud of our team last night….  not just because we won the first half, but because they did so in a very professional manner.   There was no big party on the field or in the clubhouse.  Yes, they were very happy and there was certainly a tad more exuberance than a regular victory might induce, but they all know that this first half championship merely assures us of a playoff spot.  There is a lot more to be accomplished if we are to defend our title as American Association Champions.

What makes me even more proud is the fact that our manager Chad Tredaway as well as six of our players and one batboy, are here bright and early at 8:30 in the morning to work with about 100 youngsters in our “Future Cats Training Camp”.   Brian Fryer, Dan Grybash, Osiel Flores, Jon Hunton, John Allen and Tim Haines along with batboy Caleb Crossman were back at the ballpark working with youngsters on the field just hours after winning the big game last night.  I was doing my walking routine around the warning track while watching and listening to the interaction of the players with the youngsters.  You can’t help but be proud when you see how good these guys are with the kids.  And the players I’ve named here this morning are not alone in this quality.  We have many players who continually go out into the community and help with everything from clinics to school functions, parades and events of all sorts.  Even during the off-season guys like Charles Carter and Lee Gwaltney are always ready to go when asked.   This is also true of ex-Cats, beginning with our “vintage Cats”, Carroll Beringer, Mike Napoli, Jack Lindsey and Joe Macko, who stand at the ready to help in any possible way.  They are joined by good guys like Terence Green, Jordan Foster, Pat Hannon, Kevin Hull, Ryan Weems and many others who make their homes in the area.  These fellows understand that even though they are not in the major leagues, they are fortunate to have been able to play baseball at the professional level.  They are humble and respectful, and make me proud to be a Cat.  

Baseball is a very humbling game.  I love the game for that very reason.  It mirrors life more than any other game ever invented.  I would like to share some of the reasons why I think it is the greatest game ever invented……

To begin with, like life, baseball is played EVERY DAY.  There is little time to savor last night’s victory, because we have to play again TONIGHT!  When the two teams show up on the field tonight to play one another, they will approach the game with virtually no thought of what was done yesterday.   Yes, in the back of their minds they will remember mistakes during their at-bats, etc. because, like life, we learn from our experiences.  But, as for the actual game… the slate is clean… what happened yesterday is over.  They will play to win the game TODAY….   and that is what we learn in our lives.  Lois and I went to see “Kung Fu Panda” last weekend.  The old “master” character repeated a “mantra” (for lack of a better word) which is one of Lois’ favorites.  He said “Yesterday is history…. tomorrow is a mystery…. today is a gift…. that is why it is called the PRESENT!”   Unlike other sports such as football, in which they seem to spend about three days hyper-analyzing the last game and then three more days hyper-analyzing the upcoming game, we don’t have time for that….  we’ve got another game to play TODAY!

Secondly, baseball is a “failure based” game.  For example:  A .300 hitter is considered a VERY GOOD hitter, but the fact is that a .300 batting average means that he gets a hit 3 times in every 10 at-bats… which means he FAILS 70% OF THE TIME.  Why is this a good thing?  Because, as I said, it is a humbling game just as life is a humbling experience.  When a batter strikes out, he has to suffer the humiliation of walking to the dugout knowing that the entire stadium has watched him FAIL and that while some are sharing his disappointment, others are taking delight in his failure.   Such is life.  What does a baseball player learn from this aspect of the great game?  He learns that there are always those who will encourage and support you (your teammates and fans) and there are others who wish you ill (your opponents and their fans).  That is also a fact of everyday life.  We have t o learn that everyone will NOT be on our side all of the time.  It mirrors the spiritual battle of good vs. evil.  But good will win out!  Remember this fact:  The great BABE RUTH is remembered for hitting 714 home runs.  He is considered an American icon and his name is still known all over the world today, 70 years after his death.  Many fans of the game can tell you how many home runs were slugged by the great “Bambino”.. the “Sultan of Swat”…. but hardly anyone can tell you that he struck out over 1,300 times…. YES, BABE RUTH STRUCK OUT NEARLY TWICE AS MANY TIMES AS HE HIT HOME RUNS.  And that doesn’t count the other outs… ground balls and fly outs… just strikeouts 1,300 of them!  So what do we learn here?  We learn that our human nature is to delight in our success and the success of others and to forget our failures and forgive the failings of others.  The great B abe Ru th had many faults, but yet people loved him and forgave him because it is our nature to place a premium on the good things and discount the bad.  Just like we remember the three hits and forget the seven outs for our .300 hitter.

Finally, baseball is the greatest game because it is the FAIREST game.  The primary element of fairness involves the lack of a clock.  In almost all other team sports (at least the big four “clock” sports of football, basketball, hockey and soccer), the clock is a factor.  The clock introduces an element of “unfairness” because the team with the lead can actually employ a number of strategies to “eat up” the clock.  All of these strategies involve avoidance of play.  In other words, stalling, which means rather than being forced to play the game and give the losing team an opportunity to come back and win, the clock allows the leading team to find ways NOT to play the game.  That is why they eventually had to install the shot clock in basketball… to minimize, but not eliminate, this strategy.  But in baseball, if a team has the lead, they still must give the other team an equal OR GREATER number of opportunities to play offen se.  Thus, the phrase “The game is not over until the last man is out!” applies only to baseball.  In some games, the team which is LOSING the game actually gets more at bats than the winning team.  When a home team is winning, the visiting team may get 27 outs (9 innings) while the home team will only have 24 outs…. because we don’t need to actually pile on runs in the bottom of the 9th, do we?

There are many more anecdotes and detailed reasons why baseball is the greatest game.  But enough about that…. tonight, the Cats will play the AirHogs and we will begin our preparations for the second half and for the playoffs!   

GO CATS!       JPD Â

Happy Father’s Day to you dads out there!   This is the first Father’s day that I have experienced without my dad, who passed away 8 weeks ago.  I miss him and I know that those of you who have lost a parent can relate.  Those of you who have not, I pray that you have taken the time to let your dad know how much you love him and appreciate him. It was nice to see all the dads on the field today and as I write this from the press level of the ballpark I am watching a father and son continue to play catch on the field.  What a special place this is, and what a special way to enjoy it.  I remember playing catch with my sons so many, many days and I miss that experience very much.  In fact, the next time I see them, I am going to suggest that we play catch, even though they are 32 and 26 years old!

If you recall my last blog, I told you that I would give you a link to a discussion forum on which there was some debate about the article which appeared last week in the Star-Telegram.  It is on the website of my friend, Bill Tyler who hosts a fans’ site for both the American Association and the Northern League.  He is a die-hard Saints fan and he started the site many years ago when the Saints were, of course in the Northern League.  Thus, he now maintains the site for the many fans who still follow the Northern League and when the Saints joined forces with the Cats and other teams to form the moden version of the American Association, Bill opened up a combined site for both leagues.  I encourage you to visit the site at www.aabfan.com   If you would like to go directly to the stream regarding the recent article, try this link: http://nlfan.yuku.com/topic/2370

Some of the folks at the game today have let various members of our staff know that they are a little warm out there in the seats with the 2:05 start time, because so many of the seats are still in the sun at that time of day.

I have to agree.  We will have to make an adjustment to the Sunday start times, even early in the season for 2009.

Early in the year, when the league schedule was released to us, Carl Bell and I sat down and went over every date.  We talked long and hard about each game, about the travel plans for our road trips, and about every possible quirk in the schedule.  Trust me when I tell you that our ownership and management gives every consideration to both the fans and our players when it comes to setting the game times.  Unfortunately, we do not have total control over our schedule, of course, because each team in the league is given the opportunity to send in requests with regard to special home dates as well as certain times during which the team would prefer NOT to be at home. 

In our case, we try to stay away from home during the Colonial as well as certain other dates, such as Rangers - Yankees and Rangers - Astros dates.  We also try to minimize the conflict with Rangers home games as much as possible.

Then, when we are given the schedule, there are always some quirks as a result…. and we deal with them.  The most difficult situation in this year’s schedule was the first road trip which put us in the Northern Division at Sioux City, Wichita and then St. Paul.  That was a long and difficult trip for our team.  We decided to use air travel in order to reduce the stress on the team as much as possible.

Then, we turned our attention to the game times, particularly on Sundays.  We do like to have some “day” baseball at our historic little ballpark, so the best opportunity to do that is on Sundays.  When you consider Sundays here in the “Bible Belt”, you have to think a little bit about the fact that we are in an area in which church attendance is very high.  Many folks attend church in the evening as well as the morning on Sunday.  Furthermore, a lot of folks do not like to plan outings on Sunday evenings because they have usually enjoyed some activities on Friday night or Saturday and they are resting up for the work week again on Monday.

So… finding a time to play on Sunday is a bit of a dilemma.  Over the years, we have tried 2 PM… 3 PM…. 4 PM….. 5 PM… 6 PM and 7 PM.   The difference in attendance is almost negligible.  The fact is that in our part of the world, Sunday just isn’t a good day to play when it comes to attendance.

So, our decision to play a few day games in May and June stems from the fact that we are hoping it will be a little cooler still (although that was NOT the case this week!) and that our fans AND OUR PLAYERS will then get an evening off.  Keep in mind, that our players can spend the ENTIRE SUMMER in Fort Worth and get very, very few evenings off while in their own home city.  So, since there seems to be very little difference in the attendance factor, we tried to give the guys a couple of evenings off in Fort Worth early in the season.

However, after this Sunday… we will be playing night games on Sunday the rest of the year, and we will be looking hard at the game time on Sunday for next year. 

Once again, even if the day has passed, it is never too late to call your dad and tell him you love him, if you are lucky enough to have that ability.

God Bless,    JPD

I’ve had a number of calls and e-mails asking about the article in yesterday’s Star-Telegram, which outlined Carl Bell’s desire to sell LaGrave Field to any one of a number of public entities.  I know folks are expecting me to blog about it.  Tomorrow, I will give you a link to a discussion forum on which I have posted some business points.  If you are really interested in getting into the matter, you will find some interesting reading there, including a post from a reader using the moniker “strictly business”, who is a friend of mine and an individual who is very qualified to comment on the situation.
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But tonight I am going to give you the personal side of the story……………………..
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The issue of the ultimate, long-term ownership of LaGrave Field is a matter about which many people in Fort Worth who have been close to the Cats’ organization have known and understood for several years. Â
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The history of the efforts by Bobby Bragan, Carl Bell and others in our community to re-build LaGrave Field dates back to the 1990’s, but we will pick it up in late 2001.  The Cats had completed their first season of their “modern” existence which was played at Lon Goldstein Field, a nice high school ballpark in far South Fort Worth….  Here’s a little-known tidbit of information…. The Cats’ organization spent around $200,000 on Lon Goldstein Field to make it a little more viable for professional baseball, including installation of chair back seating, a new outfield wall and other less noticeable improvements.  Those improvements stayed at Lon Goldstein as a donation from the Cats.Â
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While there had long been discussions about rebuilding LaGrave Field on exactly the same historic location of its’ previous existence, the opportunity to do just that presented itself in a more urgent manner in late 2001.  The land on which the old ballpark once stood was available and the owner was willing to sell it to someone who would commit to rebuilding the ballpark whether it be the City of Fort Worth, the Sports Authority, the Trinity River Water District, or a private individual.  The owner of the property just wanted to see the old ballpark brought to life.  But the stars were not aligned for public financing of the stadium.  It was clear that the effort to get a publicly financed LaGrave Field was going to take still more time. Â
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Carl Bell saw a window of opportunity to acquire the old site and was afraid that the window would close if immediate action were not taken.  So, he acquired the land on behalf of the Cats’ ownership in the hope that a deal could be struck with one of the aforementioned entities to build a ballpark.Â
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Now, it was the fall of 2001 and we were facing a decision… play at least one more year at Lon Goldstein or try to figure out a way to re-build LaGrave Field.  Keep in mind that playing at Lon Goldstein was not a viable long-term option due to sponsorship limitations, sharing of the facility with high school baseball, lack of adequate concessions, restrooms, locker rooms, office space and many other challenges.  Â
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One thing we knew for sure…. Carl wanted to see LaGrave Field re-built sooner rather than later.  His motivation for this came in many forms…. not the least of which was his desire to make a dream come true for a special man who is admired by thousands of baseball fans in our community…..  Bobby Bragan.Â
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Bobby was 83 years old when he threw out the first pitch in “modern” Cats’ history at Goldstein in June of 2001.  He had attended numerous civic meetings with Carl Bell to lobby for the rebuilding of LaGrave prior to that historic evening, and the fact that Bobby wanted to see the day when baseball would be played again at LaGrave Field was not lost on Carl Bell.
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So, in the fall of 2001, Carl “pulled the trigger”.  He asked me to arrange a meeting with the former head groundskeeper at Arlington Stadium and the Ballpark in Arlington, Jim Anglea.  Jim had just a year earlier been enlisted to build a new ballpark in San Angelo, TX.  He had done the job in a very short turnaround time and on a very limited budget.  Our idea was to build a facility which would serve our basic needs and allow the Cats to return to their rightful home while negotiations would continue for a larger and more elaborate publicly owned facility. Â
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Well…. the rest is history…. the fans of Fort Worth fell in love with the little ballpark from day one.  It became obvious that the right thing to do was to continue to find ways to improve upon what we had already constructed and so, we settled in to our beautiful little ballpark, still expecting that someday it would belong to the community.  Each year since then Carl has found a way to make improvements.  Some of them have been more subtle, like additional safety netting, or more deck areas and some have been more dramatic such as the stadium roof and additional chair back seating in year #2, the new concession building and some permanent restrooms in year #4, and the locker rooms, permanent restrooms ON THE CONCOURSE, and KINCAID’S kitchen and decks in year #5!  As we enter our 7th season at the new LaGrave and our 8th year of the “modern” Cats (hard to believe, isn’t it???), we continue to improve the ballpark. This year, we’ve softened the slope of the left field levee and opened the fence in left field to allow fans to enjoy an evening of baseball with a blanket or lawn chair on the levee.  Â
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What we have now is a pretty nifty little ballpark!  Sure, it is “quirky”…. but that is part of what makes it so special and gives it character.  I’ve worked in a lot of ballparks over the years and I’ve loved them all.  Some were old wooden structures like my first ballpark, Bringhurst Field in Alexandria, LA and others were super modern facilities with all the “bells and whistles” of the day, such as Newman Outdoor Field in Fargo, ND and Alexian Field in Schaumburg, IL.   As I said, I’ve loved them all and loved every day that I’ve spent in them…. but none has given me as much personal satisfaction and personal pride as LaGrave Field. Â
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It has been a treat for me to have been involved since the very day we cut our way through the brush to reveal the old ballpark remnants.  What a thrill to be asked to be the emcee for the ground breaking in December of 2001…. and what an honor to be involved with Carl Bell, a man of undeniable decency, who did all of this for all of the right reasons…. I am eternally grateful to Carl for allowing me to play a role in making our much loved mentor Bobby Bragan so happy and so proud as we brought his beloved franchise and ballpark back to life!
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Not only did Carl bring LaGrave Field back to life, he brought an entire section of the City of Fort Worth back to life!  Prior to the reconstruction of LaGrave Field, the entire part of town between North Main Street and the Trinity River from NE 4th Street to NE 7th Street was pretty much a collection of dilapidated and abandoned buildings and hardly a human being had ventured East of Calhoun Street on that side of town in 20 years!  All of this urban blight was right in the shadows of the two magnificent glass towers and our glorious Court House…. just blocks from Sundance Square.  Visitors staying in our downtown hotels and traveling down North Main Street to see our Historic Stockyards area would drive past this blighted, ugly scene every day.Â
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There is still much to do as we continue to improve our part of the city and make it a vibrant contributor to the economy, but there can be no denying the fact that rebuilding LaGrave Field was a bold move on the part of Carl Bell.  It doesn’t matter whether the grand plan of the Trinity River Vision comes to complete or just partial fruition.  There is no doubt that the development of our new LaGrave Field opened some eyes in our community and  made people realize that the revitalization of the near North side was both necessary and feasible.
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Now, it is time for all of us to take the next step.  It is time to make sure that LaGrave Field is preserved and that the Cats’ stay in Fort Worth for many, many years to come.   The only way to make sure of that is to get the ballpark into public ownership as it should be.  Carl Bell has stepped up to the plate.  He has rebuilt the ballpark and he has built a team and organization which has clearly made all of Fort Worth very proud.Â
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As I write this, I don’t want to jinx our three-time Champion Cats, but we are making a legitimate run at the playoffs again in 2008.  There is little more Carl Bell can do to make it clear that he has done his part.  He could have waited for the political process to re-build LaGrave Field…. but something tells me we would still be waiting. Â
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It is only right that the citizens of Fort Worth should own LaGrave Field.  It should be Fort Worth’s ballpark…. forever. Â
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 JPD

The Cats have returned from a very difficult but successful road trip to Pensacola, Florida.   It is a grueling 12 hour bus ride each way.  The team pulled out from LaGrave Field in our “luxury motor coach” (I like that better than “bus”) at 2 AM on Tuesday morning and arrived in Pensacola around 12 hours later only to experience some problems upon check-in at the hotel.  I will not go into detail other than to say that the hotel was not up to the standards we have set as a league.  I won’t name the hotel, but you can probably figure it out by looking at our league media directory or maybe the Pensacola website.Â
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At any rate, we moved to the nearby Quality Inn and it was an improvement which obviously agreed with our team since we went on to score 29 runs while allowing only 9 for the opposition in the three game sweep of the Pelicans at their own ballpark!Â
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The Cats were certainly firing on all cylinders, both offensively and defensively in Pensacola.  The pitching was nothing short of sensational, highlighted by Joel Kirsten’s near no-hitter in the first game.  Joel, winner of the dramatic, series winning, game 5 in last year’s playoffs, has continued to pitch in spectacular fashion again this season.  Dan Grybash and Pedro Flores were also outstanding in the series as was the bullpen, when needed.
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But even more encouraging was the offensive output.  Twenty nine runs in three games is pretty impressive.  Everyone in the lineup contributed to the offense and that is, of course, what it takes to produce runs in great volume.  As I’ve mentioned before, we had two or three guys who we expected would be pretty productive hitters and had not yet produced this season.  All of that changed in Pensacola, and we’re hoping that it will carry through for the remainder of the season.Â
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Of course, we were worried that the guys would be extremely tired when they arrived home on Friday, and they were….  but that did not stop them from posting a very nice 4-1 win on Friday night behind a strong pitching performance from Lee Gwaltney and Nelson Teilon’s 4-4 hitting including a mammoth home run off the LaGrave Field scoreboard.Â
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What was even more impressive about Friday night was the crowd and atmosphere at the ballpark.  It was a special night as we honored our newest Fort Worth Cats’ alumni to be elected to the baseball Hall-of-Fame in Cooperstown, NY, Dick Williams.Â
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A very nice crowd turned out for the game despite extremely muggy and windy conditions and the  fact that Danica Patrick, Mario Andretti, and company were at the TMS and the improved Rangers were playing the first place Tampa Bay Rays!Â
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Our fans were, as usual, totally into the game!  Dick Williams commented several times on how enthusiastic our fans seem to be.  He also was very complimentary about the politeness of folks who waited in line to get autographs.  I hope everyone can appreciate that Mr. Williams is almost 80 years old and it is asking a lot of him to sit and sign for a long line of people like that.  But most of all…. he RAVED about our beautiful little ballpark.  He was totally impressed by the fact that we had rebuilt the ballpark on the very same spot where it stood when he played for the Cats in the late ’40’s and early ’50’s.  He thought we had preserved a tremendous piece of Fort Worth and baseball history and had done so by creating a “traditional” baseball environment.
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I could’t agree with him more.  LaGrave Field isn’t as fancy as the new ballparks in Frisco or Grand Prairie or other places.  It doesn’t have a lot of the “bells and whistles” as they say.  It is just a beautiful little “patch of heaven” for a baseball fan like me.Â
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After the game last night… and the fireworks…. the kids were running the bases… and there were a lot of kids at the ballpark last night.  I was sitting in the back row listening to the music, watching the kids run the bases, watching the smiles on their faces and the faces of their parents and older siblings.  My boss (he likes to call me his “partner”, because he is a class act and treats me as an equal), Carl Bell, was doing the same thing as he stood on the concourse and spoke to fans while watching the kids on the field.Â
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All I could think about at that sweet moment was how great it was to be a part of all of this and how nice it has been to have spent our lives and raised our three kids in ballparks.  (They are all grown up now and live a thousand miles away.)  How sweet it was to savor a 4-1 win and to see so many happy people sharing our own little heaven on earth called LaGrave Field.  How wonderful the downtown skyline looked over the right field grandstand…. and how lucky I was because…… it was my birthday!
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All of the kids called more than once yesterday…. (they pretty much call every day… thanks to cell phones!) and I continue to be ever grateful to our Creator who has given me a great wife, Lois, and family, a great mentor in Bobby Bragan, a great boss or “partner” in Carl Bell, and has allowed me to spend just about every single day of my life for the last 35 years in a ballpark.
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I can think of no better birthday gift than that! 

JPD

It is the beginning of a new month.  The first month of the season is behind us and, believe it or not, we have played 25% of our home games!  Sunday’s game was the 13th home game of the season already!
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So far, we haven’t been playing as well as everyone, including the coaches and players themselves, expected us to play.  We are holding our own, but now is the time for us to make a move if we are going to challenge for the first half championship.Â
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You can be sure that Chad Tredaway is always looking for ways to improve the ballclub.  We’ve made some very nice additions to our pitching staff in the last few days with the addition of Kyle Yates and the return of Lee Gwaltney.  Now, we have to get some folks swinging the bats.  It is no secret that two or three players who were expected to deliver with the bats have struggled.  I really believe the bats will come around.  Patience is a big part of baseball, particularly with hitters.  The hitters need to display patience at the plate and the coaching staff needs to patiently work with proven hitters to bring them out of slumps.Â
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Unfortunately, with two 48-game halves in our 96 game season, we do not have as much time as a major league team to work our way out of a slump.   When you play 162 ballgames, you can come back from a bad start and still have a good season.  Look at the Rangers, they have made a very nice rebound from a poor start.Â
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Now, our start hasn’t been all that bad, but of course, Chad and his team won’t be happy until they are solidly on top of the standings.
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One of the things that really hits home for me on the business side of baseball at the end of the first month of the season is the economic impact of the Fort Worth Cats, or any minor league team, on the community.
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The May 31 payroll is the first “big” payroll of each season.   At that point, all of the players, coaches, concessionaires, ushers, ticket takers, parking attendants, groundskeepers, cleanup crew, souvenir merchandise staff, ticket office staff, clubhouse attendants, batboys, and yes, even DODGER expect to receive a paycheck.  Dodger is a very talented Cat, and he is paid for his talent!
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In all, over 225 people work at LaGrave Field during the summer months.  Of course, don’t forget that our full-time, year round staff numbers about 20 people!  So that is over 225 jobs, including the 20 year-round jobs, that did not exist in Fort Worth when the Cats didn’t exist.  Many of our seasonal employees are students, teachers or retirees who are looking to pick up some extra cash during the summer.   I know that everyone who works here can use the money in these tough economic times!
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I’m not sure that folks fully appreciate the economic impact of a minor league baseball club on the community.   Not only do we create jobs, but we are a HUGE customer for everyone from the hotels and restaurants to the food service and janitorial suppliers to the local transportation companies.   Since the home team must provide hotel rooms for the visiting teams, the umpires and other visiting dignitaries, we rent over 1,200 rooms each year.  Our hotel bills exceed $100,000 annually.  And think about the money spent in town by the visiting teams alone.  Each team gives the players, coaches, trainers and broadcasters a per diem for road trips.  A lot of people think this is a small amount, but the total for the team is about $600 per day.  We also provide hot food to both teams every night after the game…. but you can bet that the guys spend their full meal money every day.  This adds up to teams spending more tha n $30, 000 in our restaurants, etc.Â
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Now, since a large number of our players are NOT from the Fort Worth-Dallas area, you can also count on a lot of visitors who spend their own money to come to town and visit their sons, boyfriends, college pals, etc. who play for the Cats.  These folks fly or drive to town, rent hotel rooms and buy food and other items while they are here.  This is NEW MONEY to our economy.Â
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There is a lot more to tell about the economic impact of the Cats and I will do so on another day.  But just remember…. NONE of this was going on when the Cats were not in Fort Worth.  It is all good.
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Meanwhile, we are ready to begin our three game series with the Pensacola Pelicans in beautiful Pensacola, Florida.  The Pelicans have a one game lead on the Cats in the Southern Division.  When you are trailing in the standings, you like nothing more than to play the very team that you are trailing.  Each win is a “double whammy” to the losing team, because a full game is gained in the standings.  So, let’s tune in to Emil Moffatt on 1460 AM or tune in your computer by clicking the link to our internet broadcast on www.fwcats.com  …. and root, root, root for the Cats!