TBGKon

This will be the end of the Big 12. They were stupid to not expand. Yes, the sexy teams were not there to choose, but unless you have more kids at the table you cant grow.

Wow, lovin that Hillcats color scheme.

It's never been an issue before, so why make a rule just to please your wishes?

I was partial to Toucans, but alas...

True, but this link goes over the reason for the name: http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20161026&content_id=207219106&fext=.jsp&vkey=news_milb&sid=milb "Fire Frogs won the vote," said team president Joe Harrington, who spent the last three seasons as general manager of the Aberdeen IronBirds. "The name came from two fan submissions. Kara Morrison, from St. Cloud, suggested 'Fireflies.' Steven Strickland, from Orlando, submitted 'Coquis.' That's a species of frog native to Puerto Rico. So we merged those two into one made it part of the fan vote."

Ok it could be worse (I mean come on Rodeo Clowns and Mud Kickers were options). But in a league where all teams are in florida, that Florida moniker is redundant and stupid. Way to pander the tourists. Team pres says "this is a big area", it's not that big. I'm sure the teams in Tampa, Clearwater, Lakeland, Jupiter, Fort Myers etc. won't agree. "Central Florida" as a moniker would've sufficed.

Cincy's backdrop could be a "just in case measure", and BYU might just be keeping their fans posted....

As much as I'd like to see them expand to Florida (slightly selfishly), I have a gut feeling expansion's not happening. I guess not expanding is better than being left out.

I heard November for the Kissimmee team.

The affiliation changed after the team name contest was announced. They're also not a braves owned team, so best to have an original name.

No, that's an old stock photo. I cant find a pic, but it has been updated.

In what world? That one screams 90's. It's not bad without the text but the current one is far better. To each their own.

I like the change the Bolts did back last season after the 2015 Cup Finals....they made neutral banners that allowed for interchangeable logos...

I did hear Bridgport may have had some arena agreement issues, but that may have been a statewide issue in Connecticut.

Portland yes, but St Johns is always a geographic outlier.

Well if Kinston is going with Down East, Fayetteville better be going with Cape Fear... If it were me, the name would be Down East Wood Ducks.

I am really feeling like this expansion may be the beginning of the conversion of the Longhorn Network to Big XII Network or something in that direction. Texas and possibly Oklahoma could receive concessions in the new deal, and if I was Cincy, Houston and any other remaining candidate I would offer to take less $$$ for a set period of time. That decreased amount would still most likely be more of a cut than the current cuts in The American.

So did TCU and West Virginia deliver anything in a meaningful way?

I actually think of the Astros with Biggio, Bagwell, Derek Bell, and to an extent Lance Berkman.

I agree that Cincinnati is all but a given to create a tandem in that pocket of the world with W Va. Houston makes sense, but I get the feeling that if you're only adding the Ohio market in this expansion since you already own Texas, the possibility of gaining the Florida market by taking Central and South Florida as 13 & 14 would add to the deal.

Is it me or is 2016 the year of terrible minor league rebranding names?

Nice Work!!! Now team up with the guys in Orlando and make a tandem.

You'll be happy to know that the Manatees are relocating to Kissimmee's Osceola County Stadium in 2017. You can visit http://probaseballbackincentralflorida.com/ for more details.

If the independent Pacific Association wants to expand a little to SoCal, Adelanto and Bakersfield could start a south division with Vallejo, San Rafael, Sonoma, and Pittsburg. Or there's the Southern California Collegiate Baseball League wood bat league, with current teams in LA, Azusa, Newport Beach, Palm Springs, San Diego, and Riverside.

If you're following the stadium news in Fayetteville, the Astros are involved in the process so it's assumed Houston will also be joining the Carolina League http://ballparkdigest.com/2016/08/18/fayetteville-moves-forward-with-astros-milb-ballpark/