Cats return to Fort Worth with baseball dreams
by Robert Barowski ,Reporter

    The oldest sports team in the Metroplex is back on the field preparing for its latest campaign.
    The Fort Worth Cats, celebrating their 115th season, are in the middle of spring training and the 2003 exhibition season.
    The team hopes to have a better showing this year for fans. Last season's record of 19-29 doesn't really do too much justice to the team.
    The team has a new manager for this season; veteran club leader Wayne Terwilliger takes the reigns of the Cats this year.
    Terwilliger was appointed manager Dec. 12, after serving as a coach with the St. Paul Saints.
    Terwilliger, 77, has a varied background, serving as a coach or a manager for several minor league and major league teams including the old Washington Senators, better known now as the Texas Rangers.
    Spring training for the Cats is going in a different direction for the 2003 season.
    "The new focus is on getting guys who want to win and prove themselves," Emil Moffatt, assistant director of communications, said.
    Moffatt said the preseason will also set the tone for the upcoming regular season.
    Terwilliger said he is optimistic about the new season, having put together a good staff who makes him very confident. His goals are very simple: to win.
    "Beer doesn't taste as good after a loss," he said.
    The Cats upcoming exhibition schedule is a really tight one. The team plays the San Angelo Colts tomorrow in San Angelo.
    Friday, the team faces a Japanese minor league team in San Angelo, immediately followed by a re-match with the Colts. Sunday, May 4, the team plays Shreveport at LaGrave Field in Fort Worth at 2 p.m.
    Tickets for the May 4 game are $4 and can be purchased at the LaGrave Field box office. Gates open one hour prior to game time.
    The team's regular season starts May 7 against Coastal Bend at LaGrave Field.
    The new stadium opened last year, but time constraints left some of the facility unfinished although fans seemed not to care.
    During the offseason, seats have been added along the first and third base lines, and bleacher seats behind home plate have been replaced with stadium seats. Construction crews are currently working to build a roof to cover the concourse.
    For ticket information, call 817-226-2287 or visit www.fwcats.com.