Bayou Brief: Stadiumgate controversy strikes at 2B again!!!

[Reg]

By Scott Plack

2-10-2009 – When New Orleans GM Tanner announced that once again that New Frontier Park would be receiving an upgrade allowing for additional seating few eyebrows were raised. The league had mandated a maximum of 35,000 seats at the beginning, and anyone can see that if you have more seats then you have the ability to sell more tickets. However, when it was announced that part of the plans included an office building along the outside of the stadium which would be housing only Microsoft employees and that a new section would be opened up and known as the Gates Championship Plaza, as well as a TV ad running in New Orleans starring Bill Gates announcing how proud he was that Floyd Gates was a part of the championship tradition, questions began to be asked.

While recent controversy has flared around the trade for another 2B, Floyd Gates found himself in the middle of an improbable media storm. Gates fielded questions about exactly how he was picked to replace injured star Deschamps, and what connection he might have with Microsoft owner, Bill Gates. Gates offered no comment on either question, and so the digging began.

The first inquiry, whether or not Gates was really the best choice to fill in at second for the remainder of the year and then on into the playoffs quickly provided more fuel to the fire. When Gates was called up, he wasn’t even starting at AAA and for the season he had a stat line of .235/.283/.342. The player starting in front of Gates, 2008 draft pick Roberto Martinez’s stat line was .366/.366/.415. Martinez was picked after the phenomenal success of Todd Hansen, though neither Martinez’s defense nor speed quite matches Hansen. Wouldn’t the better more logical, statistically call have been to bring up Martinez? We may never know, but the fact is that the back-up AAA infielder jumped all the way up to being the starting second baseman for the Trendsetters.
Of course, to the victor goes history and Gates, owner of his own fan club (The Great Gatesbies) as well as a championship ring, really has no pressure to answer any of these questions. For what its worth, Gates performed adequately in the playoffs and proved to be a pesky out to Crystal Lake pitchers, and adept at fielding anything hit his way.

When Tanner was questioned about Floyd Gates, he smiled and said simply, “From day one, day one now, I told you we would build this team on pitching and defense. I called up Floyd because he was older and had the leather to help the team. Martinez is a great prospect and player, but I want to see him in the minors a few more years before we put the pressure of PEBA on him.” Possibly Martinez would stay in the minors only a few more months if Gates somehow loses the golden charm that he has seemed to place around Trendsetter front office and fans alike. New Orleans natives aren’t ruling out voodoo.

Perhaps the more intriguing undercurrent to this story is that somehow Bill Gates, whose relationship to Floyd Gates is still a mystery, might have been able to influence who they put on the field with the promise of financing a stadium expansion. Gates was straightforward about his reasoning behind the expansion, if not his relationship with the Trendsetter second baseman. “It is simply business. I get to expand operations into New Orleans, and I get my name out there every time people drive by the stadium, attend a game, and during the game broadcast. New Orleans is committed to winning games, and I am committed to proclaiming the name Gates in bigger and brighter ways.”

The office back of the office building will be on the left field side and the offices along its back with have great views of the field. The whole building will be dedicated to support staff whose only job is convincing people that Vista is not evil incarnate. The Gates Championship plaza will add a new twist for fans attending the game as well. Fans who sit in this section are encouraged to dress in tweed jackets, ties, and glasses and say things like, “Hello, I’m a PC.”

Overall, the organization has denied any tempering or bowing to pressure involved with the Gates call up, releasing a statement that all personnel issues are and will always be handled internally without outside influence.

In the end, while things seem suspicious, most people don’t care as long as the home team is winning.