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GREENSBORO -- It's another lovely Thursday evening at NewBridge Bank Park and the weekend looks good, too. What could possibly screw it up?

In the shed where he keeps his equipment and watches the radar like a leadoff man studies a 3-2 slider, Jake Holloway ponders a 111th straight scheduled date without a rainout and suddenly grows agitated. Hasn't he just said that only relentless rainfall can stop the streak? That an hour-long thunderstorm has a snowball's chance in Honolulu of calling it off?

"I may have just cursed everything we've been working for," the Grasshoppers' head groundskeeper said. "But that's how well this field drains."

When the weather's at issue, no news is perfectly palatable news for Minor League Baseball franchises, most of which would rather lose in competition than miss a chance to open the gates. The Hoppers have hosted 110 of their own contests and this season's South Atlantic League All-Star Game since the elements last knocked them off back on April 15, 2007.

Holloway's angst presupposes fate in the equation, and there has been some luck involved. The Triad's rainfall was 18 percent below historical averages for the period of April 1 through Thursday, and two other teams in the state, the Carolina Mudcats in Zebulon and the Durham Bulls, have been rainout-free in 2008, as well.

But the friendly skies can't explain everything. There have been five days in 2008 on which the Hoppers have played while a neighbor has had to throw on the tarp and throw in the towel. The Winston-Salem Warthogs, in fact, postponed on May 11 and July 6 while Greensboro enjoyed business as usual.

"We're here to play baseball games," said Donald Moore, the team's chief operating officer. "We're not here to cancel them."

Of the 120 full-season teams in Minor League Baseball, only 22 have yet to watch money and water flow down the drain because of weather in 2008. And 14 of them are in the relatively arid states of Texas, Arizona, California and Nevada.

These are among the benefits of a new facility; the place now known as NewBridge Bank Park is in its fourth season after replacing decrepit War Memorial Stadium, which lost 14 home dates -- 20 percent of its schedule -- to rain in 2003.

The current field drains, Holloway said, because it has a perched water table. (Trust him on this.) In layman's terms, it's a golf course. The surface meets the United States Golf Association's water-dispersal standards for putting greens.

The only real problem area is the warning track, but installation of drainage facilities a couple of years ago has made a difference.

The existence of a popular park also compels the Grasshoppers to work diligently to save the day. The club has already drawn more fans this year (284,007 before Thursday) than any Greensboro team attracted in any full season at War Memorial.

"There were times in the old stadium where, financially, it made no sense to play," Moore said.

The Hoppers have more to play for than almost anybody else. They're in the top quintile of all minor league teams in average attendance. Among the 22 meteorologically blessed full-season squads, they're fifth, and their average is 30 percent above the average of the other 21.

"People spend money to watch baseball," Holloway said. "We'll do anything and everything in our power to make sure that happens."

The tarp, a 28,900-square foot barrier between water and earth, costs about $7,000. It should last a few more years, and it has already paid for itself several times over.

Over the length of the Grasshoppers' streak, South Atlantic League teams outside of Greensboro have lost an average of 6.5 home games to weather. The Hoppers essentially make money that others never get their hands on, and that explains part of why the current ownership group has been able to make immediate and sizeable donations to disaster-relief efforts in the past two years.

The Hoppers, who played the second game of an eight-game homestand Thursday, know the streak can't go on forever. This isn't California, after all. Holloway waxes philosophical about that day when the heavens open up but don't let up.

"It's going to be disappointing, but come hell or high water, we're going to fight for it," he said.

Contact Rob Daniels at 373-7028 or rob.daniels@news-record.com