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sam the man

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20 minutes ago, sportsfan7 said:

A lot of stories about the proposal seem to refer to many of their ideas about realignment as fact. Has the official report been leaked or released and if so, does anyone know where I could find it?

No official information as of yet.

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The CCSLC's resident Geelong Cats fan.

Viva La Vida or Death And All His Friends. Sounds like something from a Rocky & Bullwinkle story arc.

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14 hours ago, monkeypower said:

I don't know, maybe eliminating some of these teams will improve the working conditions of MiLB, especially will all the concerns raised about minor league wages? Trim some of the fat and maybe have some more money for the other teams, but that assumes that the MLB owners will want to spend the money.

 

I know it'll be terrible for the towns and some players, but I think MiLB might need something like this with the issues surrounding wages. Do we really need to have all of Rookie Advanced, A Short Season, A and A Advanced?

 

They won't.  Many refuse to spend money on their major league teams already. How many major league teams played this season with no serious playoff aspirations again?  MLB is seriously broken right now, and tightening up the minors in the name of efficiency isn't going to fix the core issue (which is, there's no point in watching if y'alls ain't trying to win)

 

Speaking of which, one of the complaints I saw leveled about the minors nowadays is that they "de-emphasize the game".  Well I have news for you as someone who typically sees a few minor league games a year-the on field product does a very bad job of selling itself, mostly because the hyper focus on player development sacrifices sound baseball play in the name of seeing how players handle various set piece situations, like "oh, a runner is on first, time for 20 pickoff attempts" or the pointless and failed steal attempts that make no sense situationally.  I'm not quite sure what the solution is, but what the majors are proposing probably is not it.

On 8/1/2010 at 4:01 PM, winters in buffalo said:
You manage to balance agitation with just enough salient points to keep things interesting. Kind of a low-rent DG_Now.
On 1/2/2011 at 9:07 PM, Sodboy13 said:
Today, we are all otaku.

"The city of Peoria was once the site of the largest distillery in the world and later became the site for mass production of penicillin. So it is safe to assume that present-day Peorians are descended from syphilitic boozehounds."-Stephen Colbert

POTD: February 15, 2010, June 20, 2010

The Glorious Bloom State Penguins (NCFAF) 2014: 2-9, 2015: 7-5 (L Pineapple Bowl), 2016: 1-0 (NCFAB) 2014-15: 10-8, 2015-16: 14-5 (SMC Champs, L 1st Round February Frenzy)

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There’s an economic system in minor league baseball where we heavily subsidize what goes on in minor league baseball. We are more than prepared to continue to do that. Against that backdrop, I don’t think it’s unreasonable for us to expect that we have facilities that are first class for some of the greatest athletes in the world, that we have league alignments that produce travel that is reasonable and not onerous for those same athletes. And I think over the long haul, minor league baseball will be at the table and prepared to discuss those things.”

-Rob Manfred

 

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Seems to me that anything involved with player development should be on MLB's dime. If they want to control player facilities, they should pay for it. 

 

Now, if they want a cut of ticket revenue for the trouble or whatever- that's a quibble between billionaires and millionaires. 

Honestly MLB teams really should just be owning their affiliates at this point.

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1 hour ago, RichO said:

Seems to me that anything involved with player development should be on MLB's dime. If they want to control player facilities, they should pay for it. 

 

Now, if they want a cut of ticket revenue for the trouble or whatever- that's a quibble between billionaires and millionaires. 

Honestly MLB teams really should just be owning their affiliates at this point.

They don't do that in hockey, why do it in baseball?

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2 hours ago, MBurmy said:

Bet the indy pro and summer-collegiate leagues are SALIVATING at the possibility of all these new markets & ballparks opening up for them...

Not if MLB convinces the NCAA to push back the CWS later. It would mortally wound, if not kill the collegiate summer leagues.

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The CCSLC's resident Geelong Cats fan.

Viva La Vida or Death And All His Friends. Sounds like something from a Rocky & Bullwinkle story arc.

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19 hours ago, dfwabel said:

There’s an economic system in minor league baseball where we heavily subsidize what goes on in minor league baseball. We are more than prepared to continue to do that. Against that backdrop, I don’t think it’s unreasonable for us to expect that we have facilities that are first class for some of the greatest athletes in the world, that we have league alignments that produce travel that is reasonable and not onerous for those same athletes. And I think over the long haul, minor league baseball will be at the table and prepared to discuss those things.”

-Rob Manfred


Here's the problem, Rob Manfred: If MLB officials and team owners have determined that there are certain criteria (beyond meeting standard, government-mandated safety code) that they require facilities to meet in order to play host to affiliated minor league teams, then MLB shouldn't simply "subsidize" minor league baseball franchises meeting said criteria. Rather, if MLB requires any facility standards beyond government-mandated safety code, then MLB should be footing the bill - in its entirety - to make meeting said standards a reality. 

Further, if MLB officials and team owners require "league alignments that produce travel that is reasonable and not onerous" for minor league ballplayers under contract to MLB teams, then MLB officials should be scheduling meetings with potential minor league team owners, civic leaders, and government officials in municipalities that MLB feels would fit within the territorial parameters of "reasonable and not onerous" league alignments. At these meetings, MLB officials could then hammer out agreements in which MLB contractually obligates itself to pay the entirety of the costs of meeting MLB-required facility standards in exchange for minor league owners/local civic leaders/local government officials committing to pick up the tab for construction of a facility that meets standard, government-mandated safety code.

Bottom line? MLB should be on the hook for paying the entirety of the cost of any facilities standards (beyond meeting standard, government-mandated safety code) that they require a potential minor league ownership group/market to meet in order to be considered to host an affiliated farm team. Period. If MLB balks at that arrangement, let them go out and pay the full price of building minor league ballparks from the ground up, maintaining said facilities, and operating the facilities and the teams that utilize them... without any financial assistance from minor league ownership groups and local civic and government leadership.

And while we're at it, how about Commissioner Manfred and the MLB owners see to it that they operate their entertainment businesses without the benefit of a federal antitrust exemption.          

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8 hours ago, MJWalker45 said:

They don't do that in hockey, why do it in baseball?

 

Many do, though, at least in the AHL, which is really the only formal developmental minor league.

On 8/1/2010 at 4:01 PM, winters in buffalo said:
You manage to balance agitation with just enough salient points to keep things interesting. Kind of a low-rent DG_Now.
On 1/2/2011 at 9:07 PM, Sodboy13 said:
Today, we are all otaku.

"The city of Peoria was once the site of the largest distillery in the world and later became the site for mass production of penicillin. So it is safe to assume that present-day Peorians are descended from syphilitic boozehounds."-Stephen Colbert

POTD: February 15, 2010, June 20, 2010

The Glorious Bloom State Penguins (NCFAF) 2014: 2-9, 2015: 7-5 (L Pineapple Bowl), 2016: 1-0 (NCFAB) 2014-15: 10-8, 2015-16: 14-5 (SMC Champs, L 1st Round February Frenzy)

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8 hours ago, MBurmy said:

Bet the indy pro and summer-collegiate leagues are SALIVATING at the possibility of all these new markets & ballparks opening up for them...

 

Pioneer and Appy league markets aren't really viable absent MLB subsidies.

On 8/1/2010 at 4:01 PM, winters in buffalo said:
You manage to balance agitation with just enough salient points to keep things interesting. Kind of a low-rent DG_Now.
On 1/2/2011 at 9:07 PM, Sodboy13 said:
Today, we are all otaku.

"The city of Peoria was once the site of the largest distillery in the world and later became the site for mass production of penicillin. So it is safe to assume that present-day Peorians are descended from syphilitic boozehounds."-Stephen Colbert

POTD: February 15, 2010, June 20, 2010

The Glorious Bloom State Penguins (NCFAF) 2014: 2-9, 2015: 7-5 (L Pineapple Bowl), 2016: 1-0 (NCFAB) 2014-15: 10-8, 2015-16: 14-5 (SMC Champs, L 1st Round February Frenzy)

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10 hours ago, MBurmy said:

Bet the indy pro and summer-collegiate leagues are SALIVATING at the possibility of all these new markets & ballparks opening up for them.

 

And also at the availability of so many players. If only the Camden Riversharks and especially the Newark Bears could have hung in for this, especially if the Atlantic League is now going to lose its team in Sugar Land, Texas (which, geographically, is a spectacularly poor fit for that league).

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8 hours ago, rams80 said:

Pioneer and Appy league markets aren't really viable absent MLB subsidies.

 

I hope they remain, despite the building evidence that they won't. There's something quaint about watching low-level baseball in a 3,000 seat all-bleacher ballpark with teams named after their MLB affiliates. It's like time-traveling to the 1950s.

 

That said, MLB subsidies are the only thing keeping the Danville Braves and Burlington Royals afloat - and if they do remain, that's the way it should continue to be.

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  • 3 weeks later...

From the New York Times, the 42 teams facing extinction(I'll list them here for those who get paywalled): 

Auburn Doubledays
Batavia Muckdogs
Billings Mustangs
Binghamton Rumble Ponies
Bluefield Blue Jays
Bristol Pirates
Burlington Bees
Burlington Royals
Chattanooga Lookouts
Clinton LumberKings
Connecticut Tigers
Danville Braves
Daytona Tortugas
Elizabthton Twins
Erie SeaWolves
Florida Fire Frogs
Frederick Keys
Grand Junction Rockies
Great Falls Voyagers
Greeneville Reds
Hagerstown Suns
Idaho Falls Chukars
Jackson Generals
Johnson City Cardinals
Kingsport Mets
Lancaster Jethawks
Lexington Legends
Lowell Spinners
Mahoning Valley Scrappers
Missoula PaddleHeads
Ogden Raptors
Orem Owlz
Princeton Rays
Quad Cities River Bandits
Rocky Mountain Vibes
Salem-Keizer Volcanoes
State College Spikes
Staten Island Yankees
Tri-City Dust Devils
Vermont Lake Monsters
West Virginia Power
Williamsport Crosscutters

 

Only the Cubs and Rangers will have their full set of affiliates survive the contraction.

MofnV2z.png

The CCSLC's resident Geelong Cats fan.

Viva La Vida or Death And All His Friends. Sounds like something from a Rocky & Bullwinkle story arc.

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54 minutes ago, buzzcut said:

From the New York Times, the 42 teams facing extinction(I'll list them here for those who get paywalled): 

Auburn Doubledays
Batavia Muckdogs
Billings Mustangs
Binghamton Rumble Ponies
Bluefield Blue Jays
Bristol Pirates
Burlington Bees
Burlington Royals
Chattanooga Lookouts
Clinton LumberKings
Connecticut Tigers
Danville Braves
Daytona Tortugas
Elizabthton Twins
Erie SeaWolves
Florida Fire Frogs
Frederick Keys
Grand Junction Rockies
Great Falls Voyagers
Greeneville Reds
Hagerstown Suns
Idaho Falls Chukars
Jackson Generals
Johnson City Cardinals
Kingsport Mets
Lancaster Jethawks
Lexington Legends
Lowell Spinners
Mahoning Valley Scrappers
Missoula PaddleHeads
Ogden Raptors
Orem Owlz
Princeton Rays
Quad Cities River Bandits
Rocky Mountain Vibes
Salem-Keizer Volcanoes
State College Spikes
Staten Island Yankees
Tri-City Dust Devils
Vermont Lake Monsters
West Virginia Power
Williamsport Crosscutters

 

Only the Cubs and Rangers will have their full set of affiliates survive the contraction.

 

Vancouver Canadians fan here.  I see 2 teams from the Northwest League on the list.  The league has only 8 teams.  Is there plans for the Northwest League to merge with another short-season Single A league?  A 6 team league is not ideal.

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I actually like the idea of consolidating the affiliated levels to four; Triple-A, Double-A, High-A and Low-A. And I really like the perceived idea of the "Dream Leagues" (need a better name though), which, If I've been reading correctly, would basically just be MLB/MilB-sanctioned Independent Leagues for free agent minor league players. I think  that would work better overall.

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5 hours ago, buzzcut said:

From the New York Times, the 42 teams facing extinction(I'll list them here for those who get paywalled): 

Auburn Doubledays
Batavia Muckdogs
Billings Mustangs
Binghamton Rumble Ponies
Bluefield Blue Jays
Bristol Pirates
Burlington Bees
Burlington Royals
Chattanooga Lookouts
Clinton LumberKings
Connecticut Tigers
Danville Braves
Daytona Tortugas
Elizabthton Twins
Erie SeaWolves
Florida Fire Frogs
Frederick Keys
Grand Junction Rockies
Great Falls Voyagers
Greeneville Reds
Hagerstown Suns
Idaho Falls Chukars
Jackson Generals
Johnson City Cardinals
Kingsport Mets
Lancaster Jethawks
Lexington Legends
Lowell Spinners
Mahoning Valley Scrappers
Missoula PaddleHeads
Ogden Raptors
Orem Owlz
Princeton Rays
Quad Cities River Bandits
Rocky Mountain Vibes
Salem-Keizer Volcanoes
State College Spikes
Staten Island Yankees
Tri-City Dust Devils
Vermont Lake Monsters
West Virginia Power
Williamsport Crosscutters

 

Only the Cubs and Rangers will have their full set of affiliates survive the contraction.

 

The Purge: Baseball Edition.

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By League:

 

AA

Eastern League (Down to 10)

Binghamton Rumble Ponies

Erie SeaWolves

 

Southern League (Down to 😎

Chattanooga Lookouts

Jackson Generals

 

High A

California League (Down to 7)

Lancaster Jethawks

 

Carolina League (Down to 9)

Frederick Keys

 

Florida State League (Down to 10)

Daytona Tortugas

Florida Fire Frogs

 

Low A

Midwest League (Down to 13)

Burlington Bees

Clinton LumberKings

Quad Cities River Bandits

 

South Atlantic League (Down to 11)

Hagerstown Suns

Lexington Legends

West Virginia Power

 

A (SS)

New York-Penn (Down to 5)

Auburn Doubledays
Batavia Muckdogs

Connecticut Tigers

Lowell Spinners
Mahoning Valley Scrappers

State College Spikes
Staten Island Yankees

Vermont Lake Monsters

Williamsport Crosscutters

 

Northwest League (Down to 6)

Salem-Keizer Volcanoes

Tri-City Dust Devils

 

Rookie

Appalachian League (All but Pulaski, wonder why they're special.)

Bluefield Blue Jays
Bristol Pirates

Burlington Royals

Danville Braves

Elizabthton Twins

Greeneville Reds

Johnson City Cardinals

Kingsport Mets

Princeton Rays

 

Pioneer League (RIP)

Billings Mustangs

Grand Junction Rockies
Great Falls Voyagers

Idaho Falls Chukars

Missoula PaddleHeads
Ogden Raptors
Orem Owlz

Rocky Mountain Vibes

 

Kind of surprised by some of the names here-looks like the bean counters drew up an arbitrary number and then looked for complaints, no matter how minor, to hit the list and subsequent logistics be damned.

 

Also, not calculating House districts for "that's a nice anti-trust exemption you have, shame if something'd happen to it" purposes, but a quick scan shows 21 states losing teams (or 42 Senators who might find cause to be annoyed).

On 8/1/2010 at 4:01 PM, winters in buffalo said:
You manage to balance agitation with just enough salient points to keep things interesting. Kind of a low-rent DG_Now.
On 1/2/2011 at 9:07 PM, Sodboy13 said:
Today, we are all otaku.

"The city of Peoria was once the site of the largest distillery in the world and later became the site for mass production of penicillin. So it is safe to assume that present-day Peorians are descended from syphilitic boozehounds."-Stephen Colbert

POTD: February 15, 2010, June 20, 2010

The Glorious Bloom State Penguins (NCFAF) 2014: 2-9, 2015: 7-5 (L Pineapple Bowl), 2016: 1-0 (NCFAB) 2014-15: 10-8, 2015-16: 14-5 (SMC Champs, L 1st Round February Frenzy)

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7 hours ago, buzzcut said:

From the New York Times, the 42 teams facing extinction(I'll list them here for those who get paywalled): 

Auburn Doubledays
Batavia Muckdogs
Billings Mustangs
Binghamton Rumble Ponies
Bluefield Blue Jays
Bristol Pirates
Burlington Bees
Burlington Royals
Chattanooga Lookouts
Clinton LumberKings
Connecticut Tigers
Danville Braves
Daytona Tortugas
Elizabthton Twins
Erie SeaWolves
Florida Fire Frogs
Frederick Keys
Grand Junction Rockies
Great Falls Voyagers
Greeneville Reds
Hagerstown Suns
Idaho Falls Chukars
Jackson Generals
Johnson City Cardinals
Kingsport Mets
Lancaster Jethawks
Lexington Legends
Lowell Spinners
Mahoning Valley Scrappers
Missoula PaddleHeads
Ogden Raptors
Orem Owlz
Princeton Rays
Quad Cities River Bandits
Rocky Mountain Vibes
Salem-Keizer Volcanoes
State College Spikes
Staten Island Yankees
Tri-City Dust Devils
Vermont Lake Monsters
West Virginia Power
Williamsport Crosscutters

 

Only the Cubs and Rangers will have their full set of affiliates survive the contraction.

If this list doesn't include the poor facilities found in Beloit, I'm not sure what sort of faith I could have in it 🙂

It's where I sit.

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