Have three minutes? Spend it watching the season end Fan Tribute video from BisonsVision on Bisons.com. Linked here, as part of the homepage features on Bisons.com.

From the long ball to Little Leaguers at the ballpark there were great moments on and off the field and it’s a fitting sendoff into the off season for you, the Bisons Fan.

I think it was wonderfully done by the Bisons’ Matt Lasota and his army of production gurus, set to O.A.R’s “This Town.”

The Bisons are 9-6 against Pawtucket this year and have already clinched the season-series win. Tonight, Buffalo will go for their third straight 10-win season against the PawSox. The Bisons have won 18 of their last 27 games against Boston’s Triple-A affiliate. That includes an 9-5 record in their last 14 games at McCoy Stadium.

TODAY’S GAME: Tonight, the Buffalo Bisons take on the Pawtucket Red Sox in the final game of a two-game series from McCoy Stadium (6:05 p.m.). The Herd is looking for the two-game sweep following a 2-0 shutout victory last night. After tonight’s game, the team will travel to Rochester for a two-game set with the Red Wings to conclude the 2008 season. On the mound today for Buffalo will be LHP Aaron Laffey. The southpaw suffered just his second loss of the season on Monday, falling in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The Red Sox will counter with RHP Eric Hull.

TODAY’S STARTER: Aaron Laffey
-Last Game: 8/25 @SWB: (L, 5.2IP, 16H, 7R, 7ER, 2K), Bisons’ 7-2 Loss.
-2008 w/ Bisons: (6-2, 3.65ERA)(10GS, 56.2IP, 61H, 26R, 23ER, 16BB, 45K).
-2008 w/ Cleveland: (5-7, 4.23)(93.2IP, 103H, 52R, 44ER, 31BB, 41K).
-2007 w/ Bisons: (9-3, 3.3.08)(16G, 96.1IP, 89H, 36R, 33ER, 23BB, 75K).
-2007 Bisons Warren Spahn Most Valuable Pitcher (Buffalo 13-3 when he pitched).
-2007 Indians Bob Feller Minor League Pitcher of the Year (13-4, 2.88ERA).
-Selected in the 16th round (468th overall) of the 2003 First-Year Player Draft.

DOMINATING STUFF: LHP Scott Lewis and three relievers combined on last night’s three-hit shutout. The group faced just one more than the minimum, giving up three singles and no walks while getting a pair of doubleplays. Lewis worked six innings and struck out six. RHP Jeff Stevens, LHP Rich Rundles and RHP Bubbie Buzachero each threw an inning of shutout relief. It was the Bisons 10th shutout this year (T4th in IL). Buffalo’s 3.76ERA as a team is the third lowest in the league.

BURST THEIR BUBBLES: RHP Bubbie Buzachero has excelled in the closer role and has closed out nine straight games for the Herd. Buzachero has now posted a 0.77ERA in his last 12 appearances. Since July 29, he has allowed just seven hits and struck out seven in 11.2 innings of work.

BISONS BITS: RHP Preston Larrison has thrown 11 consecutive scoreless outings, a streak that began on August 1 (11.1IP, 10H, 11K)…OF Todd Linden hit his team-leading 14th home run of the season last night…RHP Jeff Stevens made his first Bisons appearance last night since winning a bronze medal with Team USA at the Summer Olympics in Beijing, China.

The Buffalo Bisons will open the 124th season of professional baseball in Buffalo at home against the Pawtucket Red Sox (Boston Red Sox) on Thursday, April 9 at Dunn Tire Park. The game will be part of an eight-game homestand with the first four games against the PawSox and the last four (April 13-16) against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees.

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More details on 2009 schedule: CLICK HERE

2009 Schedule Highlights
Two great Buffalo Bisons traditions will become one on July 3, 2009 against the Rochester Red Wings. On a fridaynightbash!®, the Bisons will host their 15th Annual Independence Eve Concert with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus and the largest fireworks show of the year. In the previous 14 years, the event has drawn over a quarter of a million fans.

The Bisons will begin the home portion of the 2009 Thruway Series when the Syracuse Chiefs come to Dunn Tire Park on Friday, April 24. In its 12th year, the Thruway Series features the three Triple-A teams located in New York state. The team with the best winning percentage in head-to-head competition wins the Thruway Cup.

The Gwinnett Braves, the new Triple-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves, will make their first visit to Dunn Tire Park from May 12-15. The Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, will play eight games in Buffalo (April 13-16, July 7-8, September 2-3).

All season long we talk about the long haul and the grind of the season. Buffalo starts a two stop tour for the final four games of the year, opening tonight against playoff bound Pawtucket and then closing against rival Rochester.

Travis Hafner is not in the lineup tonight but he will be tomorrow. Josh Barfield will hit as the DH in his return-to-play program. Victor Martinez is back with the Tribe tonight, ending his assignment with the Herd. To allow room for Martinez on the roster the Indians designated INF ANDY GONZALEZ for assignment.

Martinez has been on the disabled list since June 12 and underwent surgery on his right elbow the following day. He began a 20-day rehab assignment on August 15 and appeared in 8 games at AA Akron and AAA Buffalo (.308, 8-26, HR, 3RBI) before today’s activation. Martinez hit .278 (55-198) with 11 doubles & 21 RBI in 54 games (.333SLG, .332 on-base) prior to going on the DL in June. It marked his second career stint on the Major League DL, his first since the 2003 season.

Gonzalez has been with the Indians since July 26 and appeared in 10 games (5-24, .208)

TODAY’S GAME: Tonight, the Buffalo Bisons take on the Pawtucket Red Sox in the first game of a two-game series from McCoy Stadium (7:05 p.m.). This is the start of the final four-game roadtrip of the season for the Herd. On Sunday, the team will travel to Rochester for a two-game set with the Red Wings to conclude the 2008 season. On the mound today for Buffalo will be LHP Scott Lewis. In just his third Triple-A start, the southpaw threw a complete game in a 2-0 loss in Scranton/Wilkes-Bare on Sunday. The Red Sox will counter with RHP Charlie Zink.

TODAY’S STARTER: Scott Lewis
-Last Game: 8/24 @SWB: (L, CG, 8.0IP, 6H, 2R, 2ER, 8K), Bisons’ 2-0 loss.
-2008 w / Bisons: (1-2, 3.50ERA)(3GS, 1CG, 18.0IP, 17H, 8R, 7ER, 4BB, 15K)
-2008 w/ Akron: (6-2, 2.33ERA)(13GS, 73.1IP, 62H, 22R, 19ER, 9BB, 61K).
-2007 w/ Akron: (7-9, 3.68)(27G, 25GS, 134.2IP, 135H, 58R, 55ER, 34BB, 121K).
-2006 w/ Kinston: (3-3, 1.48)(26G, 26GS, 115.2IP, 84H, 24R, 19ER, 28BB, 123K).
-2006 VYTORIN Most Spectacular Pitcher Award -lowest ERA in domestic leagues.
-Selected in the 3rd round (77th overall) of the 2004 First-Year Player Draft.

VS. PAWSOX: The Bisons are 8-6 against Pawtucket this year and can clinch the season-series with a win tonight. It would be the third consecutive year the Herd has collected the series victory. The Bisons have won 17 of their last 26 games against Boston’s Triple-A affiliate. That includes an 8-5 record in their last 13 games at McCoy Stadium.

COMPLETE EFFORT: LHP Scott Lewis is coming off a complete-game performance in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Sunday -just the Bisons fourth complete game of the season. Lewis delivered eight fantastic innings in just his third Triple-A start and struck out eight without issuing a walk. Unfortunately, a two-run home run from Yankees’ Ben Broussard gave Scranton/WB the offense they needed for a 2-0 win. Lewis now has a 3.50ERA in his first three starts with the Bisons.

ROSTER MOVE: C Victor Martinez has been activated and promoted to the Cleveland Indians. Martinez had been with the Bisons for 10 days on a major league rehab assignment after elbow surgery in June. Martinez hit .300 (6-20) with two doubles and four RBI in six starts with the Bisons.

MVP: Bisons 2008 MVP, OF Todd Linden went 2-4 with a double and an RBI yesterday. The switch-hitter has failed to reach base in only 12 of 86 games while leading the club in home runs (13), walks (51), on-base percentage (.386) and slugging percentage (.476). A clutch performer, Linden has averaged .348 (32-92, 36RBI) with runners in scoring position.

TODAY’S GAME: This afternoon, the Buffalo Bisons take on the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees at Dunn Tire Park in the final game of a five-game home-and-home series (1:05 p.m.). The Herd needs a win today to avoid a Yankee sweep of the series. This will also be the final home game for the Bisons in 2008 as the team will finish up the season with four road games. On the mound today for Buffalo will be LHP David Huff. The southpaw has allowed three runs or less in each of his last eight starts. The Yankees will counter with LHP Chase Wright.

TODAY’S STARTER: David Huff
-Last Game: 8/23 @SYR: (ND, 5.2IP, 10H, 3R, 3ER, 4K), Bisons’ 5-4 Loss.
-2008 w/ Bisons: (5-4, 2.97)(15GS, 75.2IP, 66H, 29R, 25ER, 13BB, 77K).
-2008 w/ Akron (AA): (5-1, 1.92)(11G, 10GS, 65.2IP, 44H, 17R, 14ER, 14BB, 62K)
-2007 w/ Kinston (A): (4-1, 2.72)(11GS, 59.2IP, 57H, 23R, 18ER, 15BB, 46K).
-2007 Carolina League All-Star, missed second half of season (left elbow strain).
-2006 w/ Mahoning Valley (A): (0-1, 5.87)(4GS, 7.2IP, 9H, 5R, 5ER, 8K).
-Drafted by Cleveland in the 1st round (39th overall) of the 2006 MLB Draft

HOME FINALE: The Bisons enter today’s game with a 32-38 record at Dunn Tire Park this season. It’s the first time since 1999 (33-38) that the team will finish under .500 in Buffalo. Over the last eight seasons, the Bisons have averaged 43 home wins a season. Since the ballpark opened in 1988, the team has finished a season with a home losing record only three times.

COOP’S RECORDS: OF Jason Cooper drove in both of Buffalo’s runs last night in what was his 202nd game in Dunn Tire Park. Coop is the only person to play 200 games in this ballpark. His 119RBI are also more than any other player while his 105 runs scored and 36 doubles rank second in the parks history.

VERY IMPRESSIVE: RHP Preston Larrison threw another shutout inning relief last night. The righty has now tossed 11 consecutive scoreless outings, a streak that began on August 1. During the streak, Larrison has struck out 11 and allowed 10 hits in 11.1 innings of work. Overall with the Herd, Larrison is 0-2 with a 3.52ERA and one save in 18 outings.

MVP: Last night, OF Todd Linden was named the Bisons Stan Barron Most Valuable Player. The switch-hitter has failed to reach base in only 12 of 85 games while leading the club in home runs (13), walks (51), on-base percentage (.385) and slugging percentage (.472). A clutch performer, Linden has averaged .341 (31-91, 35RBI) with runners in scoring position.