I'd Like to Buy a Vowel

The Diamondbacks have announced that they will be unveiling a new mascot on Friday. For the past two and a half years, the team has resisted the temptation to add a mascot and thereby maintain some sanity at the ballgame. But after attendance has been down 2 percent this season, it seems the marketing department has won out. Leading up to the big game on Friday, the Diamondbacks are holding a couple of contests for the fans to guess the name of the mascot and also what type of animal it is. My kids and I have been out to the Diamondbacks web site trying to figure out what the mascot should be. At the game each night, they hold a contest similar to Wheel of Fortune where part of the name is revealed and you have to guess what it might be. Trina took this as a personal challenge and has spent the last two nights racking her brain trying to figure out what the name is. So far, they have revealed _A_TER. For eight and one-half innings Trina went through every permutation of word that she could think of. Finally, as the final out was recorded, she determined that the name has to be BAXTER. Now if we can only figure out what type of animal we are dealing with, we will be set.