That franchise has had its commercial troubles, given to poor management and lame promotion, but, it has played competitive ball in the league and served as a stopping point for a few players who actually made it to The Show, or got back up.

It’s known that a new investment/management group has assumed the debt of the franchise and extended a $1 million line of credit to the league to get on the 2009 schedule. They’ve brought in a GM who might actually have a handle on running at minor league property, and added Raines, Torrez and Karkovice, who lend not only their expertise, but also their former major league profiles and name recognition to a team that’s been under the radar for years.

The Star-Ledger, which did nothing for the team since the start in terms of promoting it, lined up quickly to be paid as a creditor. Great that the biggest daily newspaper in Jersey has made such a yeoman’s effort for the Home Town team!!! Really chokes me up. Maybe the turds over there can be made aware that they have a minor league team in their city and be persuaded to get behind it, rather than kowtow to the Somerset operation this season…

The franchise has to figure out a means to tie in the noted restaurants of Down Neck, or what you outsiders call “The Ironbound.” Those places get plenty of deep suburbanites as customers. Why not the ballpark?

Because the public is not aware that the stadium is very accessible and not in a high crime area. In fact, that part of Newark is fairly sleepy.

And, I’m sure the new ownership/management realizes that it has to find a way to draw local residents to the park. That’s one issue the previous regimes couldn’t figure out.

Let’s see how the new people perform before making gross, unsupported blanket statements.

Collaro looks like he’s an all-or-nothing kind of hitter. I did notice that he’s roughly the same age as Matt Esquivel and put up roughly the same numbers as Esquivel in the Southern League is ‘07, so maybe he’ll be that kind of player.

Andrade was pretty darned good in AA last year (except for a high BB rate) with a .150 BA against. He wasn’t good in AAA last year, but you can’t gather much from 15 innings. For his career, it looks like he doesn’t give up many hits, but he has control problems.

I’m excited by these signings, old and new.