Midland welcomes Dodgers' Minor League team to mid-Michigan

April 16, 2007 —

The Great Lakes Loons, the Los Angeles Dodgers' 'A' affilate, finally landed in Midland on Friday night, playing the first-ever game in the newly constructed Dow Diamond. The game marked the beginning of Minor League Baseball in Mid-Michigan and the homecoming of a local legend.

After starting their inaugural season on a six-game road trip, the Great Lakes Loons flocked north from Indiana Friday for their home opener and the first game at Midland's Dow Diamond.

The stadium was sold out, as 5,454 mid-Michiganders came to see the Loons in action for the first time. Despite a 6-2 loss to the Lansing Lugnuts, the crowd remained in full throat well into the night.

"I feel like I'm in the big leagues already," centerfielder Trayvon Robinson said of the atmosphere of excitement that filled the air at the new stadium Friday night.

Manager Lance Parrish, a former Gold Glove catcher and member of the 1984 World Series Champion Detroit Tigers, was also happy to be home for the first time this season and to get the chance to open a new ballpark.

"It's everything I thought it would be. A beautiful ballpark, the best day we've had weather-wise, and the crowd was everything we expected."

The pomp and circumstance of opening Dow Diamond may have been fresh in the minds of some, but the night's loss remained the most important topic to Parrish.

"I don't think it's really any indication of what kind of team we are; we were just kind of sluggish," Parrish said. "I think we may have had a little stage fright in front of a big hometown crowd. We just need to put this one behind us."

Right-handed starter Steve Johnson was given the starting nod, but was jumped on early by the Lugnuts and knocked out after only pitching just two innings, giving up five runs, four of which were earned.

"I felt good today, but things just didn't go our way, didn't go my way, didn't go the team's way. It just didn't turn out good for us today," Johnson said.

Parrish was quick to defend his young starter, citing several factors that led to the loss, not just pitching.

"Steve is usually very much in control of the game," Parrish said. "I think his command was off a little bit, but the bullpen came in and picked him up and kept us in the ball game. We just shot ourselves in the foot a couple of times with the mistakes we made out there."

Johnson also talked about how exciting it was throwing the first pitch at Dow Diamond.

"I wanted it to be a strike, but I also didn't want it hit out of the park," Johnson joked. "I tried to make it a good one, and it ended up being a strike and the crowd went wild. It was pretty cool."

Friday's loss may have put a small damper on the festivities of the home opener, but Parrish didn't seem too worried about it.

"We're a young team; we're here to learn, and by gosh we're going to learn," he said.

The game marked Parrish's return to Michigan for the first time since departing in 2002 to manage the Ogden Raptors, the Rookie Leauge affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. In November 2006, he was selected by the Dodgers to manage their newly formed minor league team, which would eventually become the Loons.

Tonight, the Loons will be in Lansing to finish their four-game series with the Lugnuts. They are looking to get off the schnide as they are currently in the midst of a three-game losing streak that has dropped them to 4-5. Josh Wall will toe the hill for the Loons and look to get them back in the win column.