Utica Brewmasters vs. Rome Coppers, originally uploaded by Rob Bluey.

I don’t live in Utica, N.Y., but I still care deeply about the community. That’s why I’m so disturbed about the failure of the New York State League of Professional Baseball. I was able to attend a game earlier this month and really enjoyed hanging out at Murnane Field again. Having spent many nights of my youth there, it was great to see baseball back in Utica.

When I attacked the messenger on Saturday, I did so because from a long distance it was incredibly frustrating to see little coverage of the baseball league in the Utica Observer-Dispatch or on WKTV’s website. I framed my criticism around a column by Craig Muder in the O-D. He placed the blame on Jay Acton, the league’s commissioner,
and while I didn’t absolve Acton of blame, I also said the Utica media should bear some responsibility.

I still feel that way, but after an e-mail exchange with Muder earlier today, I have a better understanding of what happened. First of all, let’s clarify what the Utica O-D did during the league’s existence: Muder said it ran 12 stories, had game results and the daily schedule. Although the O-D didn’t run box scores of the games, Muder said it wasn’t that his staff didn’t try. Apparently it was very difficult to get Acton to provide that information — creating problems for both the newspaper and the players trying to keep stats.

With that being said, I’ll now shift my criticism to Acton and encourage the O-D to blow the lid off his pathetic excuse for a business. This man is calling out for an investigative story to be written about him. Utica wasn’t the first place where he brought in a team with much hoopla only to skip town later; the same fate came of the Richmond Riverdogs in Virginia.

My feelings for Acton began to change when I found out that he paid the 70 ballplayers a paltry $250 for their time in Utica. These are college-aged kids who had to find an apartment, forgo other opportunities this summer and put their hopes on a brand-new league only to see it fold after three weeks. Jay Acton broke his promise to them. He broke his promise to the fans. And he broke his promise to Utica.

UPDATE — July 24, 2:10 p.m.: More thoughts on the failed league at Notes from the Shadows of Cooperstown.