Let's start with Tuesday's game. I'm glad I spoke with Steve Decker before the game because he was in a closed-door meeting much too long afterward for me to speak with him then.
The conversation was foreshadowing. He told me that he thinks guys press too much at Dodd Stadium opposed to on the road. He added the one thing they don't have at home is the three-run homer. As it turned out, Portland did.
Joe Paterson gave up a bomb that broke 5-5 tie in the ninth for an 8-5 Sea Dogs win. Jon Still, who hit the homer, was 6-for-65 heading into the game.
Mike McBryde left the game in the second inning with a strained groin. It's considered mild and day-to-day.
Off the field...
Yes, the Defenders are going to pay back the rent they owe the city -- over $222,000. I saw the checks with my own eyes. The debt will be paid today.
It's kind of funny that the money gained as a penalty from the failed purchase attempt by Richmond Baseball LC made this possible. After all, they did agree to pay the bill.
Also, the Shockoe Bottom development that included an expensive stadium for a team -- believed to be the Defenders -- was 86'd Tuesday by not the city, but the developers. They claimed they never wanted to use city-backed bonds to finance the project, but that's not true. If it were true, when the city's report came out over a month ago, the developers, Highwoods Properties, would have said so then. Instead, they pushed their agenda.
Where does this leave the Defenders? Right where they were before the news. Nothing's changed.
