Early this morning (Washington time), the Adelaide Bite lost to the Perth Heat 6-0 in the first of their four-game series in the Australian Baseball League.

Why is this important?  Because with a sudden hole in my baseball life thanks to the end of the Major League season I have adopted Adelaide as my team to follow throughout the cold North American winter.

The main reason I chose them is their city has a fun nickname, rAdelaide, plus the starting pitcher today was a guy named Matt Williams, which just happens to be the same as the manager of my beloved Washington Nationals.

To add to my pain this morning, my desk neighbor at work (is that a thing?) is coping with the World Series loss of his beloved Kansas City Royals by following the Perth squad.  He was quite pleased with their resounding victory.

The league is pretty interesting compared to what we’re used to.  There are only six teams, and the atmosphere of their stadiums is akin to what you would expect for a A or AA team here. 

Our squads also have pretty legit corporate sponsorships that include patches on the jerseys and awkward mentions in game stories on their websites.

For example, Perth’s sponsor is “Alcohol. Think Again.”  Their deal includes all kinds of things from signs in the park encouraging responsible drinking, to limits on alcohol sales and even stipulations that lower-alcohol beverages be available at cheaper prices than their higher-content brethren.

In stories though, it’s beyond strange to see: “The Alcohol. Think Again Perth Heat played the Sydney Blue Sox in their third consecutive game…“

My team’s sponsor is easier to work in, but the lede to today’s story is downright amazing with the Perth sponsor in there:

“The Adelaide Bite, proudly presented by SA Power Networks went head to head against the Alcohol. Think Again Perth Heat in game one of their four game series at Norwood Oval…“

At the rAdelaide park, they seem to be a bit less concerned about alcohol consumption, offering $5 beer specials.  But unlike such promotions at MLB stadiums, you can only get the cheaper drinks until the end of the first inning, so arrive early.

A few more 6-0 shutouts and they may need to stretch that to the third or fourth inning in order for Bite fans to cope.  But I’m confident they will bounce back and make a run at the Claxton Shield, which is pretty epic.