MURRAY COOK'S FIELD BLOG

Olympic Bugs

2008-08-21T14:35:37Z

Beijing has some crazy insects. Over the past few weeks I have witnessed some very unusual critters. The first flying creatures were the dragon flies. For a few weeks when it was super humid we had 1000's flying around the fields. I noticed they really liked it when we watered the infields. I guess they were looking for a drink of water. Or maybe a shower.

When the games began last week we had a grass hopper attack and everynight they have swarmed the fields when the lights came on. Players are actually swatting them away. As with any food chain shortly after they begin to land on the turf the flying praying "mantises" or "manti" came into feed on the grass hoppers. Remember the TV show "Kung Fu." ..where they called David Carradine "grasshoppa" Must be something to it.

Another noticeable feature of Bejing is the lack of birds. In the past 4 weeks I have seen 4 birds. Total! Two of those birds are turtle doves that fly over the field about 6pm every evening. Birds and bugs....the rice must be getting to me.

Two more days left then we are heading back to USA. Hopefully all goes well with the Cuba -USA game. The winner advances to the gold medal round. The games have been real exciting. MSNBC normally covers the games. I am sure this one will be on.

Olympic Games are Underway...Rain an all!

2008-08-17T15:01:28Z

We are over the hump as it relates to the Beijing Olympic games. The competition fields are taking a beating with 32 games in 9 days. Add daily Batting practice sessions to the games along with rain it makes for quite a challenge. Feel a lot like Disney Sports...in the summer time. I thank my lucky stars that Chad Olsen, Erik Frey and Budgie Clark are here helping with manage the fields and the 100+ volunteers. As these days pile up it makes it tough to Blog so hang with me.

MLB.com's Mark Newman is the best. The fact that he runs as much as he does makes me feel like a wimp. Thanks for the pose Mark!

The crowds have been big and the games long. We have had 5 games in the past 3 days go into extra innings. Again not the best for the fields but thats why they are there.

Here are a few photos I have been snapping for as we move toward the medal rounds this weekend. yes...USA is still in it which as an american, is a very good thing.

Here we go!

2008-08-08T21:15:12Z

SO what did you think of the Opening Cerimonies. Me personally , Comparing to Sydney and Athens...I would have to say these were better. My favorite part was the drum corp and obviously when USA entered the field.

At Wukesong, We are rolling along with workouts. Cuba, Nederlands, USA, China and Canada have reported. How about Taiwan, Japan and Korea's baseball team missing the Opening cerimonies? They show up on the 11th. Weather has been really rough on the crew.

The humidity and foggy smuggy whatever has been thick. We have rain coming in this weekend which will give us some clear skies for a few days next week. That will be awesome for the opener. We are getting great reports from the teams on field conditions. Its hard to believe they are going to tear the stadiums down after its over. Hopefully the games will be as successful as we all have planned and they keep Field 2 which is the 3500 seat stadium. USA'a Tiffee is teeing up some China pitching. Its going to be a great tournament. Check out Mr Liu our groundskeeping supervisor umping behind the plate.

Day 1 - Team China Takes the field at Wukesong Olympic Venue

2008-08-01T14:27:32Z

Its official. The first practice is under our belt and the China team had nothing but praise about the practice field and venue. Jim Leffebre , manager of China's Olympic team, was extremely gracious as he told all the volunteers what a great job they did to bring the field up to Olympic standards. Going as far as saying it was as good as any professional field he has ever played on. The volunteers were visibly moved by his talk as Jim is somewhat of a baseball god here. He has been working with the chinese for over 5 years. My hats off to the entire sportsturf team as we were still adding tons of conditioner only hours before the team took the field. This was only because the conditioner didn't arrive until this morning due to customs snags. I'm just glad it made it.

Meanwhile across the venue our landscape partners were spraying a fertlizer on the common areas with a very unique spray rig. These folks amaze me. NO really. We also welcomed Waldorf's Darrell Lemmer, Brickman Sportsturf Manager with open arms today as we know he will be an asset to our olympic groundcrew.

Olympic Logos ....Spray cans vs. Paint machine

2008-07-31T20:11:20Z

As part of the ongoing practice of everything... we held a logo painting practice a couple days ago on the training field. The "competition" team and the "look and image team" and volunteers all took part in the fun of spraying the grass. We need to work more on the volunteers spraying form a bit. You can see Brickman Sportsturfs Erik Frey's smile as one of the volunteers paints the logo with the sprayer. We had one side of the field use the spray cans and the other the machine. It was very quickly determined after using the cans of spray paint ( which were very very expensive) that they would use the competition teams spray machine to paint the logos. In the olympics the logos are all white as they can not use a color because it could favor a particular team. A bit of sky clearing rain today. Should be a good one today!

How many people does it take to pull a tarp...in China

2008-07-24T11:03:31Z

Since the Beijing Olympic test event last summer to now, BOCOG increased the size of our FOP (field of play) volunteers by another 60. We now have about a 100 groundcrew. Half are new and pretty green when it comes to baseball field maintenance. We are going through a barrage of field maintenance training needs before the teams arrive in a week including tarp pulling since the month of August has the highest amount of rain. As far as club schedules, the Chinese team is already here. (Makes sense.)

Erik Frey and I split up the crew into smaller 15 to 20 man crews throughout the day. Still collecting photos of turf signs and we found another one just outside the stadium. "Keep off the grass" signs are seen pretty often around china.

The groundcrew is a great group of guys and considering they are volunteering for 30 days of there personal time ...its pretty tough to comment on negatives. 98% of the volunteers are college students.

On the eco front - There has been a lot of chatter about the climate and pollution issue. Well I can tell you first hand that the pollution issue is being addressed through government regulations, but there isn't much even they can do about the heat and humidity. It was 90 degrees at 9am with 92% humidity.

SMOKIN HOT.

As you can see from the photo the haze lingers up to about noon then attempts to clear out but never does. Leaving the venue today at 7pm all you could see of the evening sun was a red glow. Should be interesting.

Raising the Olympic Rings

2008-07-21T12:39:36Z

Nia'Hao... Baseball's Wukesong Olympic Stadium is getting a facelift. As we draw closer to the games all of the venues are sporting a new "look. Together with Olympic rings, banners and field upgrades these facilites are going to be great. I would be wrong to say things are going perfectly...but condidering these are the first baseball stadiums being operated at this level there was obviously going to be challenges. From here on out I will be in Beijing. Its bitter sweet as it will be my last trip to china and potentialy the last time baseball will be played in the Olympics. Don't get me wrong we are going to fight for reinstatement but the black and white of our position as an Olympic sport beyond 8-8-08 is in the hands of the IOC. A vote that is set to take place in the fall of 09 is the next step to being included for the 2016. But until then lets enjoy the 08 Olympics as the chinese people have planned a great show for the world. "Si-Tein"

Preparations Underway for the 2009 World Baseball Classic

2008-07-08T15:06:45Z

This past week we took a look at the venues in Mexico City and San Juan that will host the 2009 World Baseball classic. Foro de Sol in Mexico City is no stranger to MLB events as we have played in the venue a few times over the years. It was good to see Mr Martine the head groundskeeper of the venue. It is a synthetic turf field that has been in place for at least 9 years. He still has the same groundcrew that we worked with over the years. In addition to Foro del Sol we looked at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in P.R. This park has been used extensively by MLB games as we ran the venue for the Montreal Expos series in 2003-4 as well as the season opener in 2001 with the Rangers and Bluejays. Its hard to believe we are only 8 months away from this great event. More to come on these ballparks as they prepare for the WBC.

Countdown to Beijing 2008 Olympics Wukesong Baseball Venue

2008-06-27T17:06:00Z

We have struggled with the internet here in Beijing therefore the blog is a bit cumbersome. Nevertheless we are Counting down the days before we start the Beijing Olympics and I would have to say that we are going to take it down to the wire. From shipping delays for materials and equipment to the typical last minute rush you have in these projects. All fields are grassed and now its time for the details. As you can see the equipment is a little dated but its getting better. We do have a lengthy list of details to complete but i am sure we will find a way to finish them.

Our Olympic crew is pretty much set. Along with an amazing Competition team at Wukesong we will supplement with Chad Olsen and Erik Frey (who will be speaking Chinese fluently by the time they leave the country). Darrell Lemmer is slated for a tour of duty. Budgie Clark will be giving us a hand as he as been with us in the last 2 Olympics. We have two back ups.... Former Disney Sports Field Manager and current Botetourt County Parks and Rec sports field manager Chad Kropff is no stranger to international travels and Rick Newville from Oklahoma will be pinch-hitting for us pending how the final field renovation push goes. Rick was in Cuba and Athens with us for other Olympic projects.

We did receive a Laser painter for the foul lines which everyone marveled at. The Competition Manager Walter Li took a stroll with the new machine. In perfect Chinese form a couple of the guys started to tinker with it to see how they could make it better.

The practice field is Rivera and the main stadium is a cross between 419 and Rivera. The field struggled through the winter with the Bermuda from shanghai and then it was over seeded with ryegrass for the MLB event. In the end the field was stripped and re-sodded with 419 last month and overseeded with Rivera. Should be an interesting group of fields to manage.

Seasons in full swing...Rain or shine!

2008-06-06T15:34:33Z

With all of the international work we have rolling I sometimes forget how things are holding up around the homefront. We take care of a few ballparks around the country and the fields are really playing well and looking nice thanks to a great group of Brickman sportsturf employees. Darrell, Kevin, Brandon, Aaron, Zach. This time of year with the fields being heavily used ...plus the heavy rains up and down the eastern seaboard we really have had our hands full....of water. Here in maryland we had the rainy-est month ever. In some areas as much as 14 inches.

Rain can cause a lot of groundskeepers headaches that require tarp needs for the field, pressure from team managers and G.M.'S mount - it takes a toll. Managing that type of work stress is something everyone in this industry learns in there own way. When I was running Disney's wide world of sports complex fields we had one heck of a schedule. It just so happened that the facility is located in the lightning capital of the world. After the first year of 3 feet of rain I figured out there was not much else the crew and I could do. Putting out the big tarp on a few fields at night became just part of the system. The old saying "when in doubt put it out" took on a whole new meaning as we just put it out all summer. The other night I was watching the Nationals / cardinals game and the storms blowing through caused the team to delay the start of the game. Well it was delayed until 10pm then cancelled. There were some breaks here and there in the clouds but it never really let up, obviously a big crowd on hand so they waited it out. I had friends that went and said they had a blast even though the game never started. Goes to show you that sometimes you can only manage what you can control and mother nature is not one of them the stadium ticket gates fall under the same category.

The fields from top to bottom are Camden, York and Charles County. They look great guys

A day of Mourning for China

2008-05-19T20:55:05Z

Beijing - Exactly 1-week after the powerful 7.9 earthquake hit central china the 1.3 billion people that live in this country stopped everything they were doing at precisely 2:28 pm in memory of the over 50,000 people that died. When I say everything I mean everything stopped. All the traffic on all the beltways, businesses, etc. For three minutes all you could hear was the blare of car and bus horns, trains and air raid sirens. As we sat in the parking lot waiting for the memoriam to end, it really moved me as well as others about the great loss this country has gone through.

Over the next 3 days the country will fly the national flag for the first time in it's history at half-mast for the "common people." In addition they have closed all movie theaters, all entertainment events, discotheques and pubs for the time period. They have even stopped all transmission of international TV shows and all CCTV will show on the TV are stories in memory of those that have died. Even last night 7 days after the quake they are still pulling people out of the rubble that are still alive.

It's obvious this disaster is one that will leave scars on the people for many years to come. My heart and prayers go out to those in China that have lost so much.

Checking out ballparks in Europe for the 09 World Cup

2008-05-17T02:55:02Z

Baseball is planning for a big year internationally in 2009. For a lot of reasons. Not only will we have the WBC (World Baseball Classic) but also in September, IBAF will hold the Baseball's World Cup Championship throughout Europe. As I began blogging this entry we were rolling along the autobahn outside of Regensburg, Germany at 192 kilometers per hour. (Thats about 120mpg.) We were in Prague earlier in the day and Stockholm on Tuesday. Today we are in Moscow. One thing all the sites have in common is traffic. It's a common issue where ever you live and here in these European cities it's the same. Traffic is traffic. My traveling partner on this excursion is Jim Baba Executive director of the Canadian baseball federation. We are part of the advance team for IBAF inspecting venues for the 2009 world cup. (Photo below is Jim Baba and "Jim" Georgia. Thats the Basilica behind us in Red Square) The Russian Federation were tremendous hosts! The photo of the outfield fence is quite electrifying! The astro turf type grass was partially replaced in the infield a couple years ago but the outfield turf is original...1989.

Each baseball venue will host the first round of competition with each site having 4 teams. With a 20 team tournament we will then go to the second round where locations are still being determined. On the list of other sites for the second round include locations in Italy, Spain and the Netherlands.

Regensburg, Germany is about 140 miles from Prague. Both Regensburg and Prague have nice sport complexes and stadium improvements are planned at all the venues. What is great about the new venue evaluation system is that we have more time to allow the venue to make improvements. Our suggestions and recommendations will help to improve the fields to bring there venues up to a higher standard of play for this particular tournament.

Regensburg has a type of blue/fescue blend turf type and Prague is all bluegrass. Stockholm is a variation of several grasses at the time and Moscow is synthetic. As I mentioned, the tournament is being played at a key time. Just a few weeks after the World cup the IOC will vote once again in Copenhagen to add new sports to the Olympic program for 2016 so baseball is staging a huge event throughout Europe to showcase the game in multiple European cities that embrace the sport. The folks we have met on this trip are baseball crazed!!!! Baseball was voted out of the Olympics for the 2012 year but if the vote goes well in Copenhagen we will be back in the Olympics for 2016.

This was my first time back to Moscow since being here in 1989 for the Diamond Diplomacy tour. Peter Kirk and a group of other Minor League owners brought over two minor league teams to play. At that time it was still the USSR and some folks joke about the fact that the next year the wall came down and the countries split due to baseball coming to tour the country. Dave Trembley manager for the Baltimore Orioles was the manager of the team we brought over to play friendly games with local clubs in Kiev, Tallinn and Moscow. The country has truly changed and for the better...except for the traffic.

Prague's complex was delivered a brand new smithco today and also has a Jacobsen 1900 tri- king. The facility has 2 full size baseball fields and a couple youth facilities. It's a real gem in Europe with a great location just outside of the old town in Prague. Stockholm will also be making some improvements to there venues to host a 4 team round. The Mayor of Stockhom and other local officials greeted us warmly.

"Bull Durham Field" to be Minor League Baseball Training Facility

2008-05-01T11:16:28Z

Minor League Baseball and the City of Durham held a groundbreaking at the old Durham Bulls Ballpark to begin a renovation that will turn the old girl into a state of the art facility. It will be training grounds for MLiB teams to send staff to learn about marketing, umpiring, stadium operations and even grounds keeping. Pat O'Conner, President of MLiB was on hand along with City Officials to do the honorary hole digging. Ron Shelton, producer of the movie Bull Durham was also there. He told some great stories about the movie that was made there in 1987. He stated that 80% of the movie starring Kevin Costner and Susan Sarandon was shot in Durham.

Another part of the renovation will include the development of a Minor League museum using the old tobacco building behind the right field fence. The building will house the history of Minor league baseball and provide an interactive experience about the game. A question was asked why Durham? Well ... Durham is home to 2 division I college baseball schools, USA Baseball's Olympic Training Facility, The Bulls triple AAA franchise to Tampa Bay and not to mention the best baseball Movie ever made according to ESPN and numerous news agencies.

Having worked as a groundskeeper in this league back in the mid 70's I went to the old Durham Bulls stadium often. Its good to see old parks getting a face lift instead of a wrecking ball. It will be fun working on this park. The grand opening will take place in the spring of 2009.

Beijing Final Baseball Field Under Construction

2008-04-23T17:05:00Z

With under 100 days before the 2008 Olympic Play starts on the baseball fields..... we still have a ways to go. After building the first 2 fields in 2007 there were a lot of lessons learned and I am sure this field will turn out just fine. It will be sodded with Rivera Bermuda Grass about mid June giving us a month to have the field healthy enough to take on all the practice sessions that begin July 26th.

The left field fence on this new field is a bit close to the buildings. Probably about 15 meters. Should be fun for hitters that bash the long ball. Not so fun for the folks in the building. This photo provides insight that the intent of keeping these fields here after the Olympics is going to be a stretch as the commercial property is pretty hot in the city.

I did get a chance to watch the USA Womens Bsketball team defeat N.Z. in the new Olympic basketball arena. It is NBA quality, from suites to mascots, to dancers. The Basketball venue is located just beyond center field of the main stadium. China LOVES basketball...when China plays. Tomorrow USA takes on the locals. Should be a fun test match.

Everyone can Celebrate Earth Day

2008-04-22T18:30:58Z

We are all Groundskeepers of mother earth and there are a lot of things all can do to make our field and lawn maintenance a little more earth friendly.

1. Sharpen your mower blades regularly - This sounds crazy but by sharpening your mower blades on a regular basis you increase the life of your mower by helping it not work as hard to cut the grass thereby saving fuel and reducing emissions. Just as important your grass will be healthier as a ragged cut tends to introduce turf problems.

2. Use Earth friendly fertilizers - You see these products on the shelf at your local home depot such as milorganite or alfalfa meal. pro-gro, Bio magic 0-0-12 the list goes on. There are specific bio friendly fertilizers that can work on any lawn in any country.

3. Today is a great day for us all in celebrating not only the work we do but helping to make our world a little better for the future. There are a few synthetic turf stadiums out there but in some areas of the world they can't grow grass so they are needed.

4. Water Conservation - Water your lawn in the morning and not during the day as more water goes deeper into the ground instead of into the air during evaporation

5. New Mowers are being developed that use Bio fuel. In 2008 TORO and other vendors are introducing the "BIO Diesel" equipment for there sports turf and golf equipment. They have already developed upgrade kits to existing diesel equipment to use bio fuel. Using Bio fuel reduces carbon dioxide emissions buy 78.4%Implement more Propane equipment over petroleum use products will reduce harmful emissions and carbon dioxide.

6. Implement Best Management Practices (BMP). Develop a compost bed from your yard debris and use it as mulch. Plant shrubbery and grass that is low maintenance to reduce maintenance. Instead of spraying for insects look into using bio stimulants like stress-X which is a seaweed product. It does a great job on your lawn and helps prevent disease and bugs.

Remember to do all you can to take care of our planet for the future.

Happy Earth Day!

]]> We are all Groundskeepers of mother earth and there are a lot of things all can do to make our field and lawn maintenance a little more earth friendly.

4. Water Conservation - Water your lawn in the morning and not during the day as more water goes deeper into the ground instead of into the air during evaporation

Happy Earth Day!