St. Paul Saints Press Release
 
ST. PAUL, MN -- The 2005 Northern League season will pick up where the 2004 season left off. Eight months and a day after the St. Paul Saints rallied for seven runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to defeat Schaumburg, 10-6, to win the league title, the two teams will face off again to start a new year.

 

"All I can say is I hope they don't have the same lineup next year," said manager George Tsamis, who begins his third year at the helm of the Saints against the Flyers on Friday, May 20 at Midway Stadium. "That was as tough a series as I have even seen in independent ball. But I have a lot of respect for the Schaumburg organization and am sure they will be a solid team again in 2005."

 

The Saints opens the 96-game 2005 slate with a 10-game homestand. After the Flyers start it off with a four-game set, expansion foe Calgary and Kansas City visit for three games each. The Saints move into the newly formed South Division in 2005. In addition to the Flyers, Kansas City, Joliet, Gary and Lincoln will make two trips each to Midway.

 

Old rivals Winnipeg, Fargo-Moorhead, Sioux City and Sioux Falls have moved to the North Division with the expansion teams of Calgary and Edmonton. All but the latter visit Midway for one series in 2005.

 

The 48-game home schedule features a little every but of everything -- including 38 night games and 10 day games. One of those daytime affairs -- Thursday, May 26 against Calgary -- will be played at 11:05 a.m. with tickets directed towards kids.

 

There are two other midweek day games -- July 26 vs. Gary and August 18 vs. Schaumburg. As in the past, Sunday games will be played at 1:05 p.m. with the exception of a Fireworks Night game against Kansas City on May 29. With the exception of three games noted earlier, all Monday-Saturday starts are scheduled for 7:05 p.m. starts.

 

There are eight weekend series. The team is also home on Monday, July 4 for a 7:05 p.m. Fireworks Night game with Joliet. The first half of the regular season ends July 10 with a home game against Lincoln. The final regular season home game is Monday, August 29 against Sioux City. The regular season ends with a six-game road trip that finishes Sept. 4 at, ironically, Schaumburg.

 

The promotional schedule isn't complete yet. However, Derek Sharrer, the team's Executive Vice President/General Manager, said returning players and coaching staff will receive their rings in a pre-game ceremony prior to the game with longtime rival Winnipeg on Friday, June 24, the only regular season visit by the Goldeyes. Fargo-Moorhead, the team St. Paul defeated in the NL semifinals, makes its lone trip June 13-15 for a three-game series.

 

St. Paul, which set a team record with 61 wins last year, won its fourth NL title in its 12-year history when they outlasted the Flyers in a thrilling five-game series capped by Marc Mirizzi's gamewinning, grandslam home run.. It was the third NL postseason championship in four seasons for Tsamis, who skippered New Jersey to the titles in 2001-02. "We'll have a target on our backs next summer but that goes with the territory," said Tsamis, who pitched for the Minnesota Twins in 1993. "I'm looking forward to being back at Midway next summer."

 

The Saints report to training camp on Thursday, May 5. An eight-game preseason schedule opens two days later when Sioux Falls visits Midway Stadium for a 4:05 p.m. game.