Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Of Local Interest

There are signs and portents that the Indians may be moving their AAA affiliation to your old pal Shyster's neck of the woods next season:

Opening Day in Buffalo was missing a regular tradition this year. Sure, fried bologna sandwiches were a hit as always at the concession stands and Buster the mascot was as entertaining as ever. However, unlike the four previous times that Buffalo’s player development contract with the Cleveland Indians had expired, no announcement of a new deal was announced as part of the season-opening festivities.

In fact, the Indians announced that no decision will be forthcoming until after the season—an indication that rumors circulating that the Indians will begin 2009 in Columbus’ brand-new ballpark may be accurate.
It's no secret that Columbus officials have been angling to get the Indians down here for some time. Though I'm not an Indians fan myself, I'd certainly like to see the switch simply because the Tribe has a much better track record of having a talented farm system than do the Nats (the current affiliation) or the Yankees (the previous one).

(link via the Diabolical Pete Toms)

5 comments:

Chris Needham said...

GRRRR!!!

Where else are you going to see budding young future superstars like Irish Mike O'connor strike out 10 helpless batters???

And Tony Batista! We brought you Tony Batista, and you go running off to the first saberteam that woos you! For shame, Shyster! For shame!

Craig Calcaterra said...

Don't forget Dennis Tankersley. He used to be well thought of back before the war.

Also, though I don't know who "Larry Broadway" is, with a name like that, I'm gonna go hang out with him after a game this year.

Chris Needham said...

I suspect that you'll see him behind the counter at your local Denny's next year.

Alex Brissette said...

What's it like to be a die-hard fan of a AAA team, if such a thing exists? (Or any minor league team for that matter.) They exist entirely to get rid of players once they get good. If I was a big fan of a minor league team in my town, I'd probably resent the big league club a little for constantly tearing my team apart.

Craig Calcaterra said...

I've lived in Columbus for 14 of the past 17 years, and I am not now nor ever will be a big Clippers guy. I maybe go to a couple of games a year. I know a few people who go regularly, but their rooting is very different than what you see of MLB fans. Each season really is new to them. To the extent storylines are maintained season-by-season they tend to be about the stadium and affiliation as opposed to how the team will be.

Just a very different beast altogether from what I can tell.