Dollywood? Dollywood!

An interesting promotion by the Bowling Green Hot Rods, from their newsletter:

This season, fans will have an opportunity to register at the ballpark to win a two-night trip for four to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, the home of Dolly Parton's Dollywood. The grand prize includes accommodations and entertainment, and the winner will be selected at the end of the season. The Hot Rods will also host two Pigeon Forge Nights at the ballpark, featuring t-shirt and prize pack giveaways.

(Insert your own t-shirt/prize joke here.)

The Hot Rods are holding a job fair on February 28th:

The Hot Rods will host a job fair on Saturday, February 28th, from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM at 426 E Main Street in downtown Bowling Green. The team will be taking applications and conducting interviews for a variety of game day positions including customer service, bat boys, and security, among many others.

These positions will be part-time seasonal positions beginning in April and running through the end of our season in September. Applicants must be at least 16 years old and provide their own transportation to and from the ballpark. Game day staffers will work at Bowling Green Ballpark during our 70 home games, and possibly other events upon request.

UmpBump wonders who is better, the Kansas City Royals or the Durham Bulls:

The recent cagey signing of Adam Kennedy to a minor league deal the other day is yet further evidence that the Rays under Andrew Friedman are just about the best run organization in baseball.

Not only are the Rays stocked up and down the system with an incredible array of talented prospects, but they are also stocked in AAA Durham with an amazing collection of major-league ready talent.

Chuck Finder at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports Eric Hinske compares the 2009 Pittsburgh Pirates to the 2008 Tampa Bay Rays:

"I see a lot of comparisons," Hinske, the Pirates' top-billed offseason acquisition, said yesterday on the second full-squad day and fifth overall. "A lot of talent. And not a lot of winning.

"Tampa had lost for what, 10 straight years? They had talent. They had to learn to win. Luckily, we got on a roll. It's contagious."

The question remains: Can Hinske bring that same sickness to the Pirates, another of baseball's low-budget, long-time losers who retained this corner outfielder-infielder for much the same reasons as did the Rays?

"Yeah, right, I'd like to believe that it was all me," he joked. "But I definitely had a hand in it. I think [veteran leadership] can help out. With the Rays it was myself and Cliff Floyd."

It goes downhill from there, read at your own risk.