The Rockies AA affiliate, the Hartford Yard Goats have yet to play a game at home as the money sink that is their new stadium is two months behind schedule. They are playing thier home games at the opponents park until the new facility is complete. (I see it every week when I drive down to see my dad. Progress is painfully slow.)

Given the way they are playing, however, they should stay away from the I90-I91 exchange:

Manager Darin Everson stands firmly behind his make-the-best-of-it attitude. The Yard Goats, 19-6 after 25 games, are 11-2 in their “home” games away from home.

“We see that we’re the home team on the scoreboard in our road home games,” Everson said. “We don’t have any fans, but in those games we know we have the last at-bats. We get the development time on the field before the games as we would in a home game. The development time is crucial for our young players.”

Everson and Ron Gideon, the Rockies’ development supervisor in Double-A, began preparing their players for the challenges ahead during spring training.

“The biggest thing was creating a mind-set that we were going to compete the way we know how to compete every day no matter what,” Everson said. “We’ve had to have good energy throughout.”

That’s pretty amazing. It also adds to the embarrassment of Hartford. They could have opened a stadium with the best team in the league, building an immediate fan base. Revenue would be high, and politicians would be patting themselves on the back. Instead, they, and the citizens of Hartford, get to watch money pour down the drain.

On the other hand, fans of the MLB club should be excited. Success in the minors often translates to success in the majors down the road.