Tides report: Norfolk hosts ODU Wednesday, opens Thursday

The Norfolk Tides will face Old Dominion at 7 p.m. today in their first and only exhibition game at Harbor Park before Buffalo arrives Thursday for Opening Day.

It's the 18th time the Tides have played the Monarchs. Norfolk holds a 13-3-1 advantage in the series.

By Friday, the Tides' roster was being tweaked as the team waited on the Baltimore Orioles, its parent organization, to determine which players were being retained by the major league club.

Manager Gary Allenson and his Tides were expected to arrive Monday in Norfolk from Sarasota, Fla., where the minor league camp took place. "We're ready to get it going," Allenson said.

Know your neighbors

Seven years ago, Major League Baseball instituted an unbalanced schedule. After years of playing the same number of games against each opponent during the regular season, teams would face divisional rivals a disproportionate number of times.

This season, the International League will structure its schedule similarly, in part because of the rising costs of travel.

"There were a couple of factors that went into that decision," IL spokesman Chris Sprague said. "Teams won't have to take as many trip to those cities. Plus, fans enjoy seeing a team that is close by."

Norfolk will play opponents in the North and Western divisions eight times this season - once on the road and once at home in a pair of four-game series. That means clubs that might attract large crowds at Harbor Park, such as the Pawtucket Red Sox and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees, will make only one trip to Norfolk.

In turn, the Tides will see a lot of Richmond, Durham and Charlotte - three clubs in the South Division.

"For us, it's all about who is in our division and who is going to be better," Allenson said.

The Tides will face Richmond 22 times this season as the IL tries to stoke the embers in the I-64 rivalry during the final year in which the Braves will play their home games in Virginia.

No fly zone

Don't expect too many balls to fly out of Harbor Park in April and May, Allenson said.

"For the first two months of the season, the wind blows in off of the harbor from rightfield and, if you don't hit it on the screws or down the line, it's being caught," Allen said.

Norfolk accounted for 92 home runs last season; only three teams in the IL hit fewer.

Making concessions

Ken Young has been working in the food service for more than 30 years but, for now, he is not ready to open an all-you-can-eat section at Harbor Park.

Stuff-your-face premium seating areas have become all the rage at several big-league ballparks. At least 13 MLB franchises offer tickets that allow patrons to eat all the hot dogs, popcorn and nachos they want for a fixed price.

"I'm not sure how we would do that," Young said. "It is something I'd be interested in trying to figure out.

"But with the configuration of the ballpark the way it is, I'm not sure that it is that doable."

Nevertheless, Young invested money in improving the stadium's concession stands. New countertops were installed and food won't come prewrapped like it was in the past.

"I think people will see the increased quality," he said.