The Portland Sea Dogs have been reaping a bumper crop of publicity – even more than usual – since switching affiliation from the Florida Marlins to the Boston Red Sox.

. In addition to having a few games broadcast by Portland-area television station WMTW, the Dogs find themselves appearing five times on the New England Sports Network schedule.

. Stories about the Sea Dogs organization, newly renovated Hadlock Field, and the team itself have appeared in newspapers all over New England, even as far south as Connecticut.

. The Sea Dogs and the city of Portland were the subject of a conversation lasting six minutes during a recent Boston Red Sox telecast on NESN. Announcers Jerry Remy and Sean McDonough talked about the newest member of the Red Sox affiliate family and how nice the city of Portland is, even including references to DiMillo’s floating restaurant and J’s Oyster Shack.

. The Sea Dogs were also the subject of a feature segment which aired during a recent edition of the W.B. Mason Extra Innings postgame show on NESN.

‘Jacks take sushi over borsht

No, Bangor Lumberjacks general manager Curt Jacey isn’t still worried about the Iron Curtain, the domino theory, or the red tide of communism sweeping across the Atlantic.

He just prefers to play teams who hail from a country located a little farther east, so instead of scheduling preseason games with a Russian team traveling around to various Northeast League team stadiums, the Lumberjacks will play the Japanese International Baseball Academy all-star team.

“We’ve played them the last three years [as the Adirondack Lumberjacks in Glens Falls, N.Y.] and that’s actually our connection to where our shortstop and second baseman come from,” said Jacey.

The Lumberjacks signed the two Japanese players – shortstop Mitsuru Kobayashi and second baseman Kenichi Miura – late last month as a result of their close association with the International Baseball Academy, which is trying to spearhead a drive to bring minor league baseball to Japan.

“I didn’t really find the need for the Russians because I feel you get a better quality of play from the Japanese,” Jacey explained. “The Russians may be a rung or two down from them in terms of play.”

Bangor will host the IBA team May 13 and 14. Both games will start at 6:30 p.m.

Weather and schedule permitting, the Lumberjacks will also play an exhibition game against the University of Maine baseball team on May 20 at 6 p.m.

Andrew Neff can be reached at 990-8205, 1-800-310-8600, or aneff@bangordailynews.net