Fans could win $10,000 New Lumberjacks promo offering lucrative payoff

Bangor Lumberjacks fans may have noticed a bulls-eye target above one of the advertising billboards in center field at Bangor’s new facility at Winkin Complex.

The target is a promotion, the first of its kind in the two-year history of the Lumberjacks’ franchise. It is sponsored by Varney GMC.

“Any time someone [from the Lumberjacks] hits a ball through that hole, a lucky fan in the stands will win $10,000,” said Lumberjacks general manager Curt Jacey.

To become eligible for a drawing held shortly after the feat, fans must fill out entry forms at the team’s U.S. Cellular customer service booth at the ballpark.

The promotion is insured by a company called Marketing Et Cetera.

“They insure all these types of events, like a hole-in-one where they give away a car at golf tournaments and things like that,” Jacey said.

So far, no Lumberjacks player has been able to buck the slim odds and come close to accomplishing the feat, although infielder Mark Burke hit the kind of shot that would do it Sunday with a ground-rule double that somehow bounced off the very top of the wall and onto the warning track.

Jacey said he hopes to have more unique promotions like that one, which are like the Portland Sea Dogs “Hit the Mitt” promo in which balls hit by Sea Dogs players win fans jackpot prizes if they land in a giant inflatable mitt in right field.

“I think we’ll add more of those because all that adds to the atmosphere and nuances of a ballpark and makes it more unique,” said Jacey.

Hairy situation

No one was happier to see Kazuhiro Kohno join the team than Bangor Lumberjacks outfielder Jake Whitesides.

The Northeast League all-star selection is getting tired of being the butt of all the long-hair jokes in the clubhouse from his teammates as the lone practitioner of limited haircuts.

“It’s nice to see that somebody else has long hair on the team now,” Whitesides said of his new teammate, a power hitting outfielder from the International Baseball Academy of Los Angeles who sports long dark brown tresses.

The 29-year-old Kohno played previously with the St. Paul Saints of the Northern League, and was a high school teammate of current New York Yankee outfielder Hideki Matsui.

Whitesides, whose dark hair protrudes out from under his cap and halfway down his neck, invites comparisons to another New England professional baseball player who’s almost as famous for his hair as his output right now.

“Yeah, I guess we’re going for the Johnny Damon look,”

Whitesides said with a laugh. “But if that’s the case, then Jose’s [fellow outfielder Jose Garcia] is going for Pedro [Martinez].”

For his part, Kohno, who speaks little English, said he’s just happy to be with Bangor and “wants to hit home runs as a Lumberjack and help the team win.”

Collar struggling

The second season of minor league baseball has been a tough one so far for Scarborough native and Houston Astros prospect Mike Collar.

The 6-foot, 210-pound righthander is currently 1-5 with a 10.11 ERA after his sixth start of the season three days ago for the Lexington (Ky.) Legends, the Astros’ low Single A affiliate in the South Atlantic League.

The 22-year-old Collar has given up 90 hits in 57 innings and yielded 71 runs, 64 of which have been earned. He is also wrestling with his control as he has notched 38 strikeouts and 35 walks.

The former University of Maine standout, who was selected in the eighth round by Houston in the 2003 Major League Baseball amateur draft, is wrestling with a new delivery as the Astros are trying to convert him into a submariner, or side-armer.

Last year, Collar led the Tri-City ValleyCats of the New York-Penn League with five saves. He appeared in 14 games with the short-season rookie affiliate and made three starts. He went 2-3 with a 4.11 ERA, struck out 26 batters and walked nine, and held opponents to a .216 batting average.

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