The Joys of Midland

Normally when I title a post like the above, it's some sarcastic remark about a miserable hotel or a terrible ballpark.  But today, I actually mean that I am really enjoying this trip.

First of all, the hotel here is one of the best in the league with a great restaurant (Big E's Sports Bar) attached to it. 

Secondly, the Silver Hawks are winning here with a 6-3 mark against the Loons at Dow Diamond this season.

Thirdly, I had a chance to get out and golf this morning at the Midland Country Club with Loons broadcasters Brad Golder and Matt Park.  Awesome course, but very challenging.  Unfortunately, my score ended up in the triple digits (ouch!)

The only bad part of this trip?  My hotel room had a terrible view.  See below!

Greetings from Midland, Michigan

Well it snowed basically the entire time from when we left South Bend at 8 AM until we got close to Midland, Michigan -- home of the Great Lakes Loons.

Thankfully, the snow has stopped and isn't expected to impact tonight's game.  What might impact the game from the players' perspective is that it is not warm at all! 

Current temperature a whopping 35 degrees.  BRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

Greetings from Midland, Michigan

We left Coveleski Stadium at about 8:25 AM and arrived at about 12:30 PM Eastern Time to the Holiday Inn in Midland, Michigan.

After a quick stop in the room to drop off luggage, most of the players (and staff) headed down to a sports bar in the hotel lobby to grab lunch. I had a bacon cheeseburger that I would highly recommend.

The bus to the ballpark leaves today at 2 PM.

I'll have lineups and some more notes when I get to the stadium.

(I completely forgot about taking pictures of Coveleski Stadium before we left for the road trip. I'll do that next home stand. I'll have some pictures of Dow Diamond in the next day or two).

Dow Diamond Part 4

This is the fourth and final post of photos. I forgot to take pictures of the radio station in the press box. Yes, you read that right. The flagship station for Loons baseball is owned by the team, and operates out of the press box. I'll try to get some photos of that tomorrow. In the meantime, enjoy the photos I've taken thus far, of what I consider the best ballpark in the league. Note: Anytime I post photos on this blog, you should be able to click on them and it'll open up a larger version of the same image.


The scoreboard, turned on, from a distance.


A zoom-in shot of the video board, featuring Brad Golder -- the Loons broadcaster -- sporting a beard this season.



The visiting dugout.


The ballpark from the parking lot.


One more view of the field during the batting practice.

Dow Diamond Part 3

From the suite level, looking down on batting practice.


A sweet suite -- notice the flat screen on the wall, and how big this thing is.


The lobby of the suite level. There's a bar on the other side of the wall.


Team store.


A glass case on the concourse with some Loons gear in it.

Dow Diamond Part 2

From centerfield, looking in towards home.


When you are buying food on the concourse, the stands are facing away from the game, so you can wait in line and still see all the action.




Glass doors at the end of the concourse seats that can be closed to keep it warm inside.



The left field corner, with a picnic area in foul territory (click on picture and it will enlarge to give you a better view of the picnic area).


The mammoth scoreboard in right field -- it's turned off in this picture.

Photos of Dow Diamond - Part 1

Cold? Warm up by one of two fire pits in the outfield.


A shot towards the plate from the right field lawn section.



Kids playground down the right field line.




The widest concourse I have ever seen. There are garage-like doors that come down to close off the concourse, and they can heat them to have events on the concourse during the winter.

Directly behind home plate from the concourse.

Greetings from Midland, Michigan

Midland is the home of the Great Lakes Loons, the Midwest League affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Silver Hawks have a four game series here, with tonight through Saturday starting at 6:05 PM, and Sunday's game at 3:05 PM. We'll be on the air 20 minutes prior to the first pitch with the pregame show.

The Loons play at a stadium called Dow Diamond, funded largely by the Dow Chemical Corporation located nearby. This ballpark is easily the nicest stadium in the league, and it's not really close. I'll post some pictures for you in the next day or two.

It took us about 4 hours and 15 minutes to get to the hotel, then a quick lunch and back on the bus to the stadium. I was a bit behind on my media notes because of the doubleheader last night, so my posts are limited before the game today. I'll be back shortly with tonight's lineup.