No, it wasn't drive your tractor to the park night on Tuesday in Nashua at the Can-Am's American Defenders of New Hampshire baseball game.
Nashua Mayor Dannalee Lazeau prevented the Defenders from playing their regular season scheduled game against the New Jersey Jackals because the team, whose co-principal is none other than former Red Sox general manager Dan Duquette, owed the city $45,064 in rent, police and fire department detail. The mayor added additional locks to the gates and parked a city tractor on the home plate tarp to prevent the game from being played.
"We tried to avert this with discussions we had with the city," Duquette told the Nashua Telegraph. "We couldn't seem to satisfy the city and forestall the inevitable. We're doing the best we can. It's been a tough market and a tough year. It's disappointing for everybody. You try to do the best you can with what you have and where you are."
The team, coached by former Red Sox slugger Brian Daubach, played a Wednesday doubleheader at Campanelli Stadium in Brockton, Mass., the home of the Rox, who were playing in Quebec.
"Obviously, this is a situation I've never been in before," Daubach said. "I just feel bad, really, for the players. This being my first managing job, it's disappointing. But you learn from every experience."
The remaining four home games scheduled for Labor Day weekend vs. Sussex have been moved to Augusta, N.J., in the form of doubleheaders on Sept. 4 and 5 to finish the season.
