THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, May 29, 1995 TAG: 9505290146
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Bob Molinaro
LENGTH: Medium: 70 lines
Something has changed at the baseball theme park on Norfolk's waterfront.
In its third year of existence, this jewel of a stadium has a tenant worthy of the setting.
Chances are, the Norfolk Tides would still be leading the International League in attendance even if they were not leading the league in victories.
The beer is as cold, the hot dogs as tasty, the soft pretzels as salty and the view of the river as peaceful whether the Tides win or lose.
But if ambience is the name of the game, it doesn't hurt that the Rising Tides are a good enough draw all by themselves.
Short of the players opening their own cotton candy and face-painting concessions on the lower concourse, Toby Harrah's crew will not upstage Harbor Park. Like most modern stadiums, the Tides' home is more food court than Field of Dreams.
That's the way to market baseball today. Many curious customers would rather be handed a menu than a scorecard. So be it. Whatever works.
At the same time, no club can go wrong feeding its patrons a steady diet of winning baseball.
With their 6-1 victory Sunday over the Columbus Clippers, the Tides moved to 15 games over .500. Once again, excellent starting pitching, this time by lefthander Chris Roberts, highlighted the effort.
Roberts, Bill Pulsipher, Jason Isringhausen. The Tides feature great, young arms.
``My starting pitching,'' Harrah noted, ``you can't say enough about.''
Speaking of arms, leftfielder Ryan Thompson made the defensive play of the game in the eighth inning when his throw to the plate cut down the potential go-ahead run for Columbus.
These Tides find a way. In the bottom of the inning, shortstop Rey Ordonez, who came into the game batting .201, tripled in the winning run.
``Another good win,'' said Harrah.
Is there any other kind?
Then again, everybody seems to understand that winning is not the most important thing on the Triple A level. Developing players is.
The players can change from month to month, week to week, making it difficult for fans to identify with names and faces.
``It's just the nature of Triple A,'' said Harrah. ``This ballclub is different than it was two weeks ago, and it'll be different in another two weeks. This ballclub is going to be ever-changing.''
For better or worse, we cannot be sure. Instinctively, Harrah provides the usual disclaimer: ``We're just a third of the way through the season, and the toughest part is coming up.''
If that's the case, then there is nothing to do but enjoy the current success.
``Winning develops, too,'' Harrah said. ``You can develop a winning attitude, winning ways. Players become more team-oriented and less selfish when you win. They're more cooperative. More fun to be around. More apt to listen.''
This may or may not be the best Tides team since 1988, the last time the franchise made the playoffs. In the minor leagues, unlike the majors, history is not a required subject for fans or sports writers.
But with all that young pitching, the slick-fielding Ordonez, and Thompson, Jarvis Brown and Carl Everett in the outfield, the Tides are as attractive as they have been in many years.
``There comes a time,'' Harrah said, ``when the fans want to see an exciting product on the field.''
At Harbor Park, it's on the menu. by CNB