Dmitri Young Photos (Rehab with Senators)

These are not my best work but they are okay. He is a big guy. The size 50 jersey they had for him was not big enough so they add 8" to it.

Any way. This was his first rehab game on 5/13 vs. the Reading Phillies. He was 1/2 with 2 walks in the game. Unfortunately no decent shots of him hitting.

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Use of Images

Do to the overwhelming amount of emails I’ve received lately by people asking to purchase or print copies of my images I wanted to post something to clear things up.

I greatly appreciate peoples desire to obtain my images as that means they are well liked. I should have been a little more specific when I initially wrote ‘please contact me regarding the use of my images.’ I apologize. I’ve edited the “Photo Credit” section to include the following line: Photographs are intended for publication by an authorized media and/or distribution at no cost to the players pictured.

This line has been added to prevent unauthorized media or unauthorized distribution of my images to non-media outlets and fans as this could present a legal issue for me (and you) that I would like to avoid.

I have edited, resized and tagged the images to discourage any unauthorized use, distribution and illegal profiting from my images.

Of course, authorized media and players would receive the original size image with the tags removed.

Please contact me with any additional questions or concerns.

Thank you,
Will

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Photos Added to Slideshow

I've added photos of the following players to the slideshow located on the right side of the page.

Jordan Zimmermann
Zech Zinicola
Tim Bittner
Marcos Yepez
Luiz Jimenez
Mike Daniel
Andrew LeFave
Alex Morales
Ofilio Castro
Devin Ivany

You can also view the photos on my Flickr page: Senators Fans Unite

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Addressing Fan Concerns with GM Randy Whitaker, Part 2

This is Part 2 of Addressing Fan Concerns with GM Randy Whitaker. Again, leave feedback if you still have additional concerns after reading this.

SFU: On the public relations side, the fans are reporting no boost in advertising and no visibility in the community. When Michael Reinsdorf purchased the team he said they would be knocking on doors and making phone calls, essentially to spread the word about the Senators. Are there any plans to boost the advertising and activity in the community?

RW: I’m not sure what the fans you are speaking of are watching, listening to or reading. We have already advertised more this season than the Senators did all last year. We’ve had hundreds of commercials on ABC 27, CBS 21 and CW 15. The Senators ran no television commercials last year.

We have commercials on WINK 104 almost daily – the number one rated radio station in the market – in addition to commercials on the other top three rated stations. We are in the Patriot News every home stand.

Someone is seeing our ads as website pageviews are the highest they have ever been by a tremendous margin. Granted we have not seen the results we expected from this advertising but we believe that our consistent advertising will yield the results we are seeking – ticket sales – as the season moves on.

The Senators are very active in the community via donations, fundraising and appearances. We probably need to promote ourselves a little more than we do.

SFU: A lot of people have voiced concerns regarding Sports Service. The quality of food being offered is below what was offered in the past and customer service has been reportedly horrible. How are you working to improve the quality of food and customer service they are offering?

RW: The food literally the is the same as in the past, being purchased from the same companies and prepared and served by the same people on the same equipment. The only difference is the management. While there may be concerns I find it hard to believe that the quality is down when we’re using the same products. I also find it hard to believe that people who have been serving in the past have suddenly become poor at customer service just because there is new management over concessions.

SFU: Every person I speak with is asking for new stadium updates. As I’m sure you are aware there have been a lot of false promises over the past few years. Are there any new updates on the progress of the new stadium? When can fans expect to see a design? Has there been any progress on state funding?

RW: We are actively working behind the scenes and believe there will be a new stadium for the 2009 season. The lack of public visibility is by design as we are sensitive to the history related to a new stadium.

SFU: Superior Customer Service was a big topic during our original interview back in February. A lot of fans have expressed customer service oriented issues. How do you rate the customer service being performed by the Senators staff? Where would you like to see improvements?

RW: Customer service can always be improved and we will be working to do so.

SFU: With the overwhelming backlash in the media and by the fans is there a sense of panic by the Owners and Front Office?

RW: No sense of panic. We have a long term plan which we believe will be successful. The fact that some people are upset and that the media have taken some shots at us is not pleasant, but people have a right to express their opinion. I’m confident things will change for the better.

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Addressing Fan Concerns with GM Randy Whitaker, Part 1

Over the initial 6-weeks of the season there have been a lot of questions posed by Senators fans regarding a variety of topics. The media has blasted attendance ratings at Senators games. Fans and Media have complained about Sports Service. I’ve heard the complaints from the fans since the start of the season. The same issues have been brought up time and time again. In my attempt to get answers for the fans I've asked GM Randy Whitaker some of your most pressing questions. I wanted to give him a fair opportunity to respond to the concerns of the fans.

Due to the length, I’m going to break this into 2 parts (part 2 will be posted later today). Each part will be broke up into 5 questions. If you still have questions after reading this, please e-mail me or respond to this topic and I will try to get answers for you. You may also talk directly with Randy at a game.


SFU: Season ticket holders I’ve talked with are especially frustrated this season. The ‘benefits’ they’ve received for over 20 years have been taken away and some are considering not purchasing tickets next season. What can you say that will convince them that the Senators Front Office has their best interest in mind?

RW: I can understand their frustration. I would ask that they evaluate us based on the entire season and not the first five weeks. We have many plans in place which have not been executed. It is a shortfall on our part for not communicating those plans better than we have thus far.

SFU: Season ticket holders are very important to the everyday business of the Senators. They act as the ‘unofficial voice’ of the team. They spread the word about what’s going on around the stadium. Also, bring friends and family to games which equate to additional revenue. Is there anything you can do to save the relationship between them and the Front Office?

RW: We absolutely value their business and their loyalty and I look forward to proving it in the coming months.

SFU: Some fans have become ‘overly excited’ during games when voicing their displeasure with how business is being conducted. This takes away from the fans experience and disrupts the game. Baseball games are considered a family event and sometimes profanity has been used. Is there another way in which you would like fans to express their frustration?

RW: Using profanity in a public setting is inappropriate. I would hope that while some fans may not like some things they would act as responsible adults given the environment. I’d be happy to meet with anyone individually who has an issue.

SFU: For all intensive purposes the in-game entertainment has remained the same as it was in past seasons. If you attended a Senators game 10-years ago and then again today it would be about the same. Prior to the start of the season you were excited about the new in-game entertainment & promotions. Why are fans not seeing new in-game entertainment and promotions?

RW: In a regular game, there are about nine in-game entertainment events/games. This season, four of those games are new (Slush Puppie Splash Down Game, HACC Strongest Man competition, Verizon Wireless Find the Phone and CBS21 TV Trivia contest). Also changed is the Sumo event which most nights is not the standard wrestling, but some other use of the Sumo suits. The others were considered classics and requested to be returned by many fans and the sponsors. Funny, the thing I keep hearing is that no one likes change from the way things were done in the past. Now the change is not enough.

SFU: Considering you were (and still are) a fan, would you pay to see the show being offered during the game?

RW: Absolutely. Senators Baseball is still the best, most affordable entertainment in Central PA. There is nothing better than affiliated Minor League baseball.

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Senators Win, Sun Burn, and Some Photos

As many of you know I've cut back a little to focus on family and photography. The family is doing well and I'm enjoy the time I get to spent with my wife and kids.

Finally, we got some sun today in Harrisburg. If you could see me it would be obvious that I spent several hours in the sun today. Unfortunately I forgot my sunscreen, don't worry I already put my SPF 30 in the car for future use. The Senators won 5-4(Box Score) before a crowd of 3,409 (seemed much larger then that, maybe they forgot to count a few people). Now to a few photos:

My player of the game would be Ian Desmond (pictured above) as he was 2/3, homerun, 4 RBI's and a run scored.

Mike Daniel (pictured above) was 1/5 with a homerun, run scored and a RBI.

Andrew Lefave (pictured above) was 2/4 with 3 runs scored.

Recently promoted, Zech Zinicola entered the game in the bottom of the 9. He got former Senator turned Reading Phillie John Suomi to ground out, then he walked Gookie Dawkins, Luke Appert then grounded into a double play to end the game. Zinicola earned the save.

I had a chance to talk with Zinicola prior to the game. He is very happy to be back in Harrisburg and he feels he has a lot to prove after his performance last season. He feels he found the location with his fastball and it will continue to get better as the weather warms up. That was a big problem last year as he got behind in the count and couldn't go to his slider and change up.

Next up: I will mostlikely be photographing a double-dip on Tuesday. First I plan to head to Hagerstown, MD to see the Hagerstown Suns play the Greensboro Grasshoppers at 10:35 AM. The I will travel back to see our Harrisburg Senators play the Connecticut Defenders at 6:05 PM.


Will

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