slapshot Posted July 3, 2005 Share Posted July 3, 2005 Bus -> BusesOpus -> OperaJesera?Jesuses?Jeses?Jedi! Back-to-Back Fatal Forty Champion 2015 & 2016 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjrbaseball Posted July 3, 2005 Share Posted July 3, 2005 They should move to Bethlehem and called themselves the BETHLEHEM JESUSES!!!--Roger "Time?" Clemente. No, the team should regionally market itself. Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton are the three big cities in the market, so use the first letters from each city.Then name the team ...the Lincolns! (get it?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian in Boston Posted July 3, 2005 Author Share Posted July 3, 2005 Allentown is not going to become the Phillies AAA team, at least in the near future. The Phillies and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre recently renewed a long-term agreement. (Not sure what Brian in Boston means by "the situation surrounding ownership of their current Triple-A affiliate." The Red Barons are owned by the county, not a private organization.) And while an Allentown rival may seem good for the Red Barons, it could actually hurt Scranton/Wilkes-Barre because it cuts into their market area. The Red Barons currently draw a lot of people from the Poconos. But that area would be closer to Allentown than to Moosic. The stewardship of the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons - both by the Multi-Purpose Stadium Authority and Lackawanna County - has long met with criticism from Philadelphia Phillies management. The MLB team is particularly unhappy with the condition of the playing surface at Lackawanna County Stadium. Additionally, both the Phillies and the International League were less than thrilled with the way Lackawanna County went about transferring control of the Red Barons from the Multi-Purpose Stadium Authority to the county. In fact, there was some talk that the IL might pull the operating rights for the franchise. Although that didn't happen, the Red Barons and the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area are "on thin ice" with regard to maintaining their position as Philadelphia's Triple-A affiliate.Further, the Phillies extended their PDC (player development contract) with the Red Barons in August of 2004. That extension was for two more seasons: 2005 and 2006. In fact, given that PDCs can only be signed in increments of two or four years, use of the term "long-term agreement" is a bit of an exaggeration. In point of fact, only four Triple-A teams currently have PDCs with MLB parent clubs beyond the 2006 season: Colorado Springs (Colorado Rockies), Memphis (St. Louis Cardinals), Oklahoma (Texas Rangers) and Round Rock (Houston Astros) are all signed-on as affiliates through 2008. How coincidental that barring an extension in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, the Phillies will be free to move their Triple-A PDC to another city just a year prior to the Lynx franchise being free to move to a new facility in Allentown. Given their constant problems with the condition of Lackawanna County Stadium, as well as the fact that a franchise in Allentown would be that much closer to Philadelphia and Reading (site of the Phillies' Double-A affiliate), it is not implausible to see the Phillies organization opting out of Scranton/Wilkes-Barre at the end of their current PDC with the Red Barons and dealing with a single season in Ottawa so as to facilitate a move to Allentown in 2008.I'll stand by my initial assessment: the current Ottawa Lynx Triple-A franchise will be playing in Allentown, PA by the 2008 International League season at the latest. I believe that much is certain. Further, I also believe that the Philadelphia Phillies organization will do everything within its power to establish a Triple-A PDC with the Ottawa Lynx for 2007, either "sucking it up" for a year in Ottawa or helping Messrs. Finley and Stein buy-out the remaining year on the current lease at Lynx Stadium, thus facilitating a move to Allentown in 2007. I also think that the powers-that-be in Harrisburg will be making every attempt to secure the finances to get their ballpark up to Triple-A standards by 2008. If the latter happens, I would not be surprised to see the current Scranton/Wilkes-Barre franchise purchased and moved to Harrisburg as the Orioles' Triple-A affiliate.Bottom line? Any way you cut it, Triple-A baseball in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area is in trouble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjrbaseball Posted July 3, 2005 Share Posted July 3, 2005 Hey you know what?The International League will no longer be international if Ottawa leaves! maybe then they will merge PCL and Int'l leagues to creat one 30-team Triple A Baseball league and use Pacific Coast as the western US and Atlantic Coast as the east Doubtful, at best. Cost would be too big for most clubs. This was tried (sort of) back in the late '80s, when the International League and the (now defunct) American Association had interleague games. It was costly, and a logistical nightmare.It wasn't quite coast-to-coast AAA baseball, because the PCL wasn't involved. But you did have situations such as Pawtucket travelling to Denver, which on a minor-league budget is a nightmare. (Then again, not all the interleague trips were so bad; consider Columbus vs Louisville.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabrejeff Posted July 3, 2005 Share Posted July 3, 2005 It wasn't quite coast-to-coast AAA baseball, because the PCL wasn't involved. But you did have situations such as Pawtucket travelling to Denver, which on a minor-league budget is a nightmare. (Then again, not all the interleague trips were so bad; consider Columbus vs Louisville.) Which is why the American Association was disolved in 1997.from Association to International League:BuffaloIndianapolisLouisvillefrom Association to Pacific Coast League:IowaNashvilleNew OrleansOklahoma CityOmahaThe old Association teams have fared well in their new leagues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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