WINNIPEG GOLDEYES DAILY CLIPPINGS FRIDAY, JULY 3rd , 2020 - Goldeyes Get Set for Some Game Action—Winnipeg Free Press (Hayden Goethe), 7/3/20 - Goldeyes Holding Out Hope of Playing Some Games in Winnipeg in 2020—Winnipeg Sun (Ted Wyman), 7/3/20 - RedHawks Games at Newman Expected to Feel Different for Fans This Summer Due to COVID-19—INFORUM (Eric Peterson), 7/3/20 - Fishing Around in Fargo—Winnipeg Free Press (Hayden Goethe), 7/2/20 - ‘It’s a Breath of Fresh Air:’ New Goldeyes Just Happy to be Back on the Diamond—Winnipeg Sun (Ted Wyman), 7/2/20 - Mitchell Lambson Interview (Audio Link)—680 CJOB (Christian Aumell), 7/2/20 - Goldeyes Manager Forney ‘More Than Happy’ to Play in Fargo—INFORUM (Eric Peterson), 6/27/20 - Fish Take to Field in Fargo—Winnipeg Free Press (Taylor Allen), 6/26/20 - Goldeyes to Broadcast Unique Season in CJNU—Winnipeg Goldeyes (Steve Schuster), 6/25/20 - ‘We’re Just All Thankful to Have Some Baseball’—Winnipeg Free Press (Mike McIntyre), 6/25/20 - Challenges Facing Goldeyes Baseball (Video Link)—CTV Winnipeg (Joey Slattery), 6/25/20 - ‘It All Doesn’t Seem Real’: Goldeyes Rick Forney Deals With Tragedy, Pandemic, as Camp Opens—Winnipeg Sun (Paul Friesen), 6/25/20 - Goldeyes Add Three Pitchers to Roster—Winnipeg Sun (Paul Friesen), 6/23/20 - Goldeyes GM Talks Play Catch Week, Team Prepares for ‘Strange’ Season Away From Home—Global News Winnipeg (Sam Thompson), 6/22/20 - Goldeyes Add Three, Including Team Canada Righty—Winnipeg Goldeyes (Steve Schuster), 6/22/20 - Goldeyes Sign Nine Players, Release 10, Ahead of American Association Training Camp—Winnipeg Sun (Ted Wyman), 6/19/20 - Goldeyes Add Power Bat, Pitcher From High-Minors—Winnipeg Goldeyes (Steve Schuster), 6/18/20 - Goldeyes Pitcher, Wife Kept Apart by a Closed Canada-U.S. Border During Pandemic—Winnipeg Sun (Ted Wyman), 6/18/20 - Goldeyes Grab Ex-MLBer Sweeney in League Draft—Winnipeg Free Press (Taylor Allen), 6/17/20 - Goldeyes Select Nine Players in American Association Dispersal Draft—Winnipeg Sun (Ted Wyman), 6/17/20 - Goldeyes Players Ready to Play Ball in What Promises to be ‘Extremely Competitive’ Season—Winnipeg Sun (Ted Wyman), 6/17/20 - Goldeyes Acquire Nine Players in Dispersal Draft—Winnipeg Goldeyes (Steve Schuster), 6/16/20 - No Home Pond for Fish—Winnipeg Free Press (Taylor Allen), 6/16/20 - ‘There is no Financial Incentive’: Goldeyes Embark on a High Risk, Little Reward 2020 Season Away From Home (Video Link)—CTV Winnipeg (Joey Slattery), 6/15/20 - Goldeyes Announce New 2020 Schedule—Winnipeg Goldeyes (Steve Schuster), 6/15/20 - Goldeyes Home Field Will be Fargo, N.D.—Winnipeg Free Press (Staff), 6/13/20 - Winnipeg Goldeyes Will Play in 2020, But All Games Will be on the Road—Winnipeg Sun (Ted Wyman), 6/13/20 - Goldeyes Baseball Will be Back This Summer—But Not in Winnipeg—CBC Manitoba (Staff), 6/12/20 - Goldeyes to Operate as Road Team, Will Play 2020 Season—Winnipeg Goldeyes (Steve Schuster), 6/12/20 GOLDEYES GET SET FOR SOME GAME ACTION HAYDEN GOETHE – WINNIPEG FREE PRESS – FRIDAY, JULY 3 rd FARGO, N.D. — As Winnipeg Goldeyes manager Rick Forney watched his players during a recent workout, he was struck by the team’s potential. In theory, he said, one would think the level of play this season should be better than ever. "There are good guys in the infield, but I got a major-leaguer standing in centre field (Darnell Sweeney)," Forney said this week. "I’ve got a right-fielder (Logan Hill) who has been hitting 15 to 20 home runs in Double-A and Triple-A the last couple years. I’ve got two really good catchers (John Nester and Roy Morales). We have a lot of good baseball players." The Goldeyes open their abbreviated 60-game season tonight at Newman Outdoor Field, which is their 2020 home owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, they’ll be in their familiar position as the road team when they face the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks. The season opener comes exactly three weeks after the American Association announced that six teams would play this season. "I somewhat had a roster in place, but I somewhat stopped building because I didn’t think we were going to play," Forney said. "When this whole thing came together, we had to put it together really fast. I had some immigration issues because I had some guys signed that couldn’t come into the U.S. I had some guys who chose not to play this year and move on with their careers. I had to get some players in a hurry." For the six teams who are playing in what is normally a 12-team league, there were players available. The league held a dispersal draft two weeks ago, where the six active teams drafted players from the six teams that are inactive. Winnipeg drafted nine of the 42 players chosen in the draft, giving the Goldeyes and the other active teams a mix of additional independent league stars and much-needed depth. There’s even more talent available after Minor League Baseball cancelled its season on Tuesday. Baseball America reported that Minor League Baseball players could sign with independent teams if approved by the player’s team. The Mexican League also cancelled its season earlier this week. "I think the media coverage and scout coverage could be bigger than ever before," Forney said. "We’re the only game in town." Chris Coste, who is serving as the RedHawks’ interim manager this season, feels this season will provide players with more exposure than ever before. "There are guys on the field on both teams that, if we get a whole season in, they will be signed by somebody," said Coste, a Fargo native who was a member of the 2008 World Series champion Philadelphia Phillies. "There will be a couple guys or more in this league who will make the major leagues as a result of us playing this season." The Goldeyes had just nine players on their training camp roster who played in Winnipeg last season. Despite the new faces on both teams, a pair of returning pitchers will start tonight’s game. Left-hander Mitch Lambson, who is in his fourth season with Winnipeg, is expected to face RedHawks right- hander Bradin Hagens, who pitched just seven innings with the AA club last season before spending the rest of the year with the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Triple-A team. Goldeyes first baseman Kyle Martin acknowledged last week that he was still learning the names of many of his new teammates. The pitching, in particular, has caught his eye. "Normally, the hitters lag behind the pitchers," Martin said. "That will take a little longer than normal." Newman Outdoor Field has been approved to play games at 50 per cent fan capacity, which means a little more than 2,000 fans could be in attendance for tonight’s game. Stadium staff will be required to wear face masks, while fans are encouraged to do so but aren’t required. Additionally, hand sanitizing stations, plastic shields and enforced social distancing between fans will be part of the safety measures. Five new Fish to watch Most of the Goldeyes players on tonight’s opening-day roster weren’t with the team last season. Here are five players to watch as the season unfolds: • 3B Eric Wood: the Toronto native spent most of the last three seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Triple-A affiliate. In 2018, he hit .269 with 11 homers and slugged .481 for Indianapolis. • OF Darnell Sweeney: the former major leaguer was the Goldeyes’ first-round pick in the June dispersal draft after he batted .288 and posted a .968 OPS for the Kansas City T-Bones of the AA. He has 87 big league at-bats in stints with the Philadelphia Phillies (2015) and Toronto Blue Jays (2018). • OF Logan Hill: Hill played the last five seasons in the Pirates’ organization. Last year at Double-A and Triple-A, he batted .250 with 14 homers and 72 RBIs. • OF Jordan George: George has spent time in the Pirates, Royals and White Sox organizations. In his five-year pro career, he has more walks (208) than strikeouts (203). • C John Nester: acquired from Cleburne in the dispersal draft, Nester hit .277 with 16 homers and a .505 slugging percentage for the Railroaders last season. GOLDEYES HOLDING OUT HOPE OF PLAYING SOME GAMES IN WINNIPEG IN 2020 TED WYMAN – WINNIPEG SUN – FRIDAY, JULY 3 rd Winnipeg Goldeyes owner Sam Katz is closely monitoring the federal government’s response to requests by the Toronto Blue Jays and the National Hockey League to lift COVID-19 quarantine orders for returning or visiting players. The Blue Jays have announced their intention of playing their home games at the Rogers centre in Toronto — pending government approval — while the NHL is reportedly planning to use Toronto and Edmonton as hub cities for it’s 24-team restart later this summer. The Goldeyes, meanwhile, are set to begin play as a road team for the entire season in independent baseball’s American Association because of border restrictions and quarantine orders in Canada. The American Association season begins Friday, with the Goldeyes taking on the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks at Newman Outdoor Field in Fargo. The Goldeyes will make Fargo their home base for the entire 60-game season unless some opportunity arises for them to return home and play in front of fans at Shaw Park in Winnipeg. “We hope to play some home games in Winnipeg, even though when we started this journey, that was not the case,” Katz said Thursday.