It has been discovered that sometime during the season that ownership had called a confidential meeting with several key Bomber, team engineers and the GM and Manager, Gary Altman.
This meeting remained a secret for much of the summer, but was just uncovered by the cub reporter Connie Lingus who also discovered that the players attending were Cecil Gibbons, Dave Nicholson, Gunner "Get" Smart, Orlando Bustamante and Stephen "Action" Jackson.
Ownership had their own thoughts and ideas, but wanted to get a fresh perspective and new "eyes" on the subject before making any decision. Part of the thought process was some quiet internal grumblings within the clubhouse over park dimensions and how difficult it was to hit there.
The ballpark the Bombers play in is pretty much a pitchers park, especially for right handed batters. with an .852 HR average. But left handed hitters also suffered and they were at a .922 clip.
Anonymous sources within the South Carolina organization revealed that there will be adjustments to each of the ballparks, organization wide.
Connie Lingus couldn't get any team official or any of the engineering firm CEO Phil A. She-Oh to comment on the pending changes but when a search of permits at the city planning office, the following changes were discovered:
Currently, the fences are 8' tall all the way around the ball park.
The new wall height will be 6' tall with the exception of the right and left field lines, where 3' will be the new height. Think Dodger Stadium here.
Now the depths will really be brought in. Starting down the left field line the distance will drop a modest 2', from 312 to 310. In left field the fences will move from 387 to 375. In the power alley in left center field, the fences move in a whopping 50', from a cavernous 430 to a more manageable 380. Dead center field will now be 400 from 417. Right Center Field will move in 5' from 385 to 380. In a bit of a bizarreness, the right field fence will move BACK, from 367 to to 375, becoming a more symmetrical ballpark. The right field line will remain at 310'.
Based on some preliminary numbers, the park should play to a more neutral setting, or at least that is the hope.
We contacted Cecil Gibbons who stated, "Wow, what took so long for you to track this down Connie? All kidding aside, me and Dave looked at our home and away splits and realized we did just as well on the road as we did at home. The only thing the park's dimensions did was prevent US from coming back when down in the game.
"We have some thumpers, and now, adding Everett to our lineup I'm super excited!"
Stephen Jackson commented saying, "We have some real good pitchers coming up through our system and they know how to keep the ball in the park even if we're playing on a little league field. If that can happen as it should, and Ownership spends the money on moving in the fences, I think we're going to win a lot of games.
Chance Everett, heavily rumored to be coming to South Carolina, without denial by ANY source, was quoted as saying, "Man, to say I was a little concerned about playing in South Carolina would be an understatement. You have to hit the ball so hard just to reach the warning track! But this is excellent news, as I'm really excited now! Everett, in his one series coming to SC June 16, 17 and 18 went a combined 3 for 12, in the series with 1 HR, 2 RBI's
Construction is anticipated to be completed prior to Spring Training.
At press time Commie Lingus could not find out from Phil A. She-Oh if new seats were to be added in this construction as well.
