Sully's Sports: The Bluefish launch their most crucial season in Bridgeport

As I strode under the I-95 overpass on my way to The Ballpark at Harbor Yard for the Bluefish home opener against the New Britain Bees, I heard the loudspeakers blaring Raspberry Beret by Prince. Since this is my favorite Prince tune, I took this to be a good omen. Maybe not for this particular game perhaps, but for the entire 2016 season.

As most readers of this column know, the team’s lease with the city for the ballpark expires at the end of the season and the fate of the local nine is anybody’s guess. Team owner Frank Boulton has said repeatedly that he wasn’t to keep the Bluefish playing in the confines of their home on the banks of Long Island Sound.

However, with the city in a severe financial crisis, anything can happen. That’s why I considered it another good omen when Boulton and Mayor Joe Ganim were convivially chatting prior to Ganim’s throwing out the first pitch.

One would think Ganim would want to keep the Bluefish here. The city has already lost the Gathering of the Vibes due to the economy so it would be tough to lose the local baseball team a few months later. But this is about more than perception and image.

This is about waste. The city owns the ballfield and if the Bluefish swim away then the only remaining tenants will be the University of Bridgeport and Sacred Heart baseball teams. If that happens, the pretty little baseball field will be an albatross around Bridgeport’s neck.

If there is one person who should want to find common ground to keep the Bluefish in town it should be the mayor. He more than any other individual is responsible for the Bluefish hosting the Bees last night.

Ever hear of a guy named Donald Trump? Back in the casino in Bridgeport craze back in the early 1990s, Trump scooped up the Jenkins Valve property in anticipation of cashing in. Well, if you look around today you might notice that there are no casinos in Bridgeport.

Once the casino plan fizzled, Trump was stuck with property in Bridgeport that he did not want and a hefty tax bill. Ganim was able to broker a deal to acquire the land from Trump for $1 in exchange for forgiving the tax debt. Enter Mary-Jane Foster, Jack McGregor and Mickey Herbert, and the rest as they say is history.

As for Thursday night’s game, Bridgeport’s first in-state rival, the Bees, formerly the Camden Riversharks, ruined the home opener by winning 7-6. New Britain had opened up a 7-0 lead after chasing Bluefish starter Matt Iannazzo in the fourth inning.

The local nine came storming back with six runs, but it was not enough and the Fish fell to 3-5 under first-year manager Luis Rodriguez, who caught for the team for many years. New Britain improved to 4-4 Still the comeback was quite impressive and the game took place in conditions that resembled mid-November.

Yet a Bridgeport Bluefish baseball game is much more than the product on the field, although that is the premier element. There is B.B. the Bluefish, the ballpark food, the promotions, seeing old friends and the sound of kids running through the concourse. Yes, a Bluefish game is a special experience and it would be a tough loss to replace for Bridgeport, whose residents need all the entertainment they can get.

At this stage of the season, I am optimistic they will be back. They say all baseball fans are optimistic in the spring. I know I am. Being a Red Sox fan I have to be, but that’s a story for another day.

As for as the Bluefish and their chances of remaining in the Park City, I am reminded of the story of Benjamin Franklin at the close of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787.

The document had been completed and ratified and an aging Franklin had been rather quiet throughout the weeks of debates. When a fellow Founding Father asked Franklin what he thought of the Constitution, Franklin took his time.

He finally answered, “I have been staring at the back of the chair in front of me lo these many weeks. On it is painted a half sun. I have wondered whether it is a rising sun or a setting sun. I have decided that it is a rising sun.”

Here’s hoping the sun keeps rising for the Bluefish. See you at the games.