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Archives: July 9-15, 2006

Archives: July 9-15, 2006

Schaumburg, Gary, Joliet to Frontier League?
Posted July 14, 2006
More than one reliable source today passed along an interesting nugget of information: a representative of the three Chicago-area teams in the independent Northern League — the Schaumburg Flyers, the Joliet JackHammers and the Gary-SouthShore RailCats — have approached officials of the independent Frontier League about a league shift. The three Chicago-area teams are a nice fit into the Frontier League’s footprint, and we’re guessing the moderate Frontier League economic structure (more stress on lower-priced, developmental players) would be especially welcomed in Schaumburg and Gary. From what we can tell, there’s a lot of internal dissention about the future of the Northern League, and the current geographic arrangement — with Edmonton and Calgary to the west, Fargo-Moorhead and Winnipeg to the west, Kansas City to the south and the three Chicago-area teams to the east — satisfies no one. If the three Chicago-area teams were to defect, it would also put the future of the remaining Northern League in some jeopardy: there’s just little rhyme or reason to a league with Calgary, Edmonton, Fargo-Moorhead, Winnipeg and Kansas City (especially with Calgary and Edmonton on shaky ground), and we’d bet the smarter owners would be seeking out membership in the independent American Association for next season.

Delay in solving cloud over Marlins’ future has to end
Posted July 14, 2006
Greg Cote says it’s time for the Florida Marlins to either relocate or move ahead with a new ballpark. The Fish drew 8,216 last night at Dolphin Stadium for a game that actually mattered: the team has gone 27-17 since late May, the Marlins are (theoretically) in the wild-card hunt after a horrible start and playing some interesting ball under Joe Giraldi, and Dontelle Willis was on the mound. In any case, there’s the basis of an entertaining team in place, with the great angle of scrappy young underachievers in action. Fans may have rightfully tuned out the team: waiting for a new ballpark in Hialeah — Hialeah! — shows the Marlins to merely be waiting for any sort of deal that doesn’t cost them serious money. The concern, however, should be the fact the Marlins are pocketing $30 million in revenue sharing and spending $15 million on payroll — some fellow MLB owners are reportedly peeved with a scenario ready-made for Major League III. It’s pretty clear nothing will happen with Jeffrey Loria owning the Marlins: the team doesn’t have the resources for a new ballpark, and until he either steps aside or sells a chunk of the team to local owners, the Fish are fried.

South Coast League announces Aiken franchise
Posted July 14, 2006
The South Coast League announced the naming of Aiken, S.C., as home to one of the league’s six inaugural franchises. The Aiken franchise will call USCA’s Roberto Hernandez Stadium home. Opened in 2004, the stadium is the home of the University of South Carolina Aiken Pacers, an NCAA Division II national power. Recently, the Pacers have played host to the 2006 Peach Belt Conference Tournament and earned their second straight NCAA Regional bid. Named after USCA alum and current Pittsburgh Pirate reliever Roberto Hernandez, the state-of-the-art ballpark features a partially covered grandstand, administrative offices, and ample space to add group picnic areas down the lines. The SCL is working toward a 2007 launch date; teams are already slated for Charlotte County, Fla., and Macon, Ga. More from the Augusta Chronicle.

D.C. says it has found parking near new Nats ballpark site
Posted July 14, 2006
District officials said yesterday that they have identified nearly 9,000 potential parking spaces near the site of a new Washington Nationals ballpark in Southeast Washington, more than enough to handle sellout crowds of 41,000 when the ballpark opens in 2008. Not all of the land for parking is under the city’s control, and some of the spaces would be as far as 10 blocks away. The farthest parking lots would be a 15-minute walk from the ballpark, but city officials pledged that fans will find access convenient at the ballpark’s premiere. More from the Washington Times.

Legends, Astros extend PDC
Posted July 14, 2006
The Houston Astros and the Lexington Legends (Low Class A; Sally League) announced today that they have agreed to extend their Player Development Contract (PDC) for two years. The two-year extension continues the affiliation between the Astros and the Legends through the 2008 season.
    "The Lexington Legends are very fortunate to have an affiliation with a first-class organization like the Houston Astros," said Alan Stein, President and CEO of the Lexington Legends. "They really emphasize player development and that always translates into winning teams and quality players for our fans to enjoy."
    The 2006 season marks the sixth that Lexington has been a Houston affiliate. The Legends became part of the Astros organization in 2001.

Diamond’s status is still uncertain
Posted July 14, 2006
As we’ve been reporting (literally) for months, the Richmond newspaper finally acknowledges the truth: the future of the Richmond Braves (Class AAA; International League) and a new ballpark are in limbo until the parent Atlanta Braves organization is sold by Time Warner to Liberty Media — a deal that (at present) includes the R-Braves, the Mississippi Braves (Class AA; Southern League) and the Rome Braves (Low Class A; Sally League). That deal, which calls for Liberty Media to trade Time Warner stock back to T-W for the Braves organization and cash, is still in negotiations. Still, the most outcome is a renovation of The Diamond.

Wichita awaits sign from Wranglers owner
Posted July 14, 2006
Wichita remains in the dark about the status of the Wichita Wranglers (Class AA; Texas League) as city employees still have not had contact with the baseball team’s owners, Bob and Mindy Rich. City spokesman Van Williams said they are in a waiting mode following a special election in Springdale, Ark., in which the residents voted to build a $33-million ballpark with the possibility that a Double-A team — which we identified months ago as the Wranglers — will move into it. (Springdale officials certified the tax vote, by the way.) City officials say they’ve not formulated a plan should the Wranglers announce a move; the lease for Lawrence-Dumont Stadium gives the city 30 days to buy the team for a fair-market value should it be broken before 2009.

Joplin ballpark plans should be made in open
Posted July 14, 2006
Joplin (Mo.) officials are looking at a renovation to historic Joe Becker Stadium, the former home to minor-league baseball in the city. Trouble is, these plans are being made behind closed doors, and with the city acquiring some properties near the ballpark, some local residents are wondering what the deal is. Let’s see: a renovated historic ballpark in Missouri, in the midst of a market of 400,000 within a 40-mile radius. We wonder if a certain independent league is looking at a Joplin team next season.

Next up in York: Construction bids
Posted July 14, 2006
The York Revolution (independent; Atlantic League) is scheduled to play ball next year, but there is a possibility the team’s proposed downtown ballpark might not open in June 2007, as planned. It could take much longer, considering potential obstacles in the construction process. Organizers, therefore, already have a contingency plan that includes taking York’s team across the Susquehanna River to play "home" games in Lancaster. The biggest issue will be building a new ballpark for $18.09 million, and given the rising prices of steel and concrete in recent months, it will be amazing if they can pull it off. Higher-than-expected bids are keeping the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs, owned by the same group as the Revolution, on the sidelines until 2008 at the earliest.

Now this is how it’s done
Posted July 14, 2006
The model for Sarasota’s spring-training-complex plans is Bright House Networks Field, the spring home of the Philadelphia Phillies and the regular-season home of the Clearwater Threshers (High Class A; Florida State League). To say Bright House Networks Field is a success is an understatement: Phillies spring-training attendance is way up since the move, the Threshers are averaging an amazing 2,400 fans a game, and several events have poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into city coffers. More importantly, the ballpark has given Clearwater — a formerly nondescript suburb of Tampa and St. Pete — a sense of identity.

Things are just Beachy for Bums
Posted July 14, 2006
It’s been a good year so far for the Traverse City Beach Bums (independent; Frontier League). The Beach Bums own the best record in the league at 29-15, and they’ve also drawn more fans that any other team — 86,444 through 21 games — and are second in average fans per game (4,146 to 4,116) behind the Gateway Grizzlies.

Big-league effort in minor-league adventure
Posted July 14, 2006
A reporter from the Chicago Sun-Times hits five minor-league ballparks in the Chicago area — Alexian Field, Elfstrom Stadium, Silver Cross Field, Hawkinson Ford Field and U.S. Steel Yard — on a single day, the Fourth of July. We’ve done this once in North Carolina, and to do this you need a little luck, a willingness to swoop in for just an inning, and some kindness from the scheduling gods.

New York Agency approves ballpark financing for Yankees, Mets
Posted July 12, 2006
New York City’s Industrial Development Agency approved $1.58 billion worth of tax-exempt and taxable financing for baseball’s Yankees and Mets to build new ballparks. Agency officials said the deal was contingent upon the U.S. Internal Revenue Service approving the issuance of tax-exempt bonds for most of the financing. The agreement would save the city about $113 million in the next 40 years by relieving it from maintenance and repair costs that would have exceeded rent payments at the two existing ballparks (including meeting ADA standards at Yankee Stadium), agency officials said in a prepared statement. By the time the stadiums are completed in 2009, they will have created 16,000 construction jobs, the officials said.

Springdale voters narrowly approve ballpark funding
Posted July 12, 2006
Voters in Springdale, Ark., narrowly approved a sales-tax extension Tuesday to pay for a $33 million minor-league ballpark project in the southwest area of the city. The vote was close — 2,410 for, 2,393 against — and city officials seemed surprised it the margin was so narrow. The 6,000-seat ballpark, which began as a much more modest project for an independent-league team, should be completed in time for the 2008 season. The Springdale City Council will negotiate a lease agreement that would likely include a 20-year contract with two five-year renewal options for a total of 30 years, and the team widely assumed to be in play is the Wichita Wranglers (Class AA; Texas League). If so, there are a number of complicating factors. For one, the Wranglers’ lease for Lawrence-Dumont Stadium runs through 2009, and the lease gives the city the right to buy the team should the owners — the Rich family — break the lease. (City officials say they have no interest in buying the team, but don’t be surprised if some enterprising potential team owner has offered to buy the Wranglers from the city should that option be exercised.) If the Wranglers move, the future of the National Baseball Congress, which has been revitalized in recent years, would seem to be in some doubt. If the Riches want to move the team immediately, there’s the chance the Wranglers could play a season at Baum Stadium, the home of the University of Arkansas baseball team, in nearby Fayetteville. And, finally, should the Wranglers move, you can be sure the independent American Association will have a proposed lease for Lawrence-Dumont Stadium ready for signing. More from the Wichita Eagle, the Wichita Business Journal and AP.

Baseball according to Bud: All’s well
Posted July 12, 2006
One of the great spectacles of the MLB All-Star break is Bud Selig’s annual state of the game press conference. To his credit, Bud takes all questions and answers them with a modicum of honesty. One issue of contention at yesterday’s meeting: progress being made over drug testing, steroid abuse and HGH testing. Bud insists MLB has made a lot of improvement on those issues, and he’s right: the mechanisms of making changes to drug policies and testing are seen by the players’ union as bargaining chips, not real-world programs, so progress happens much slower than fans and sportswriters want. Still, Bud seems to be whistling past the graveyard when he says he’s happy with the current drug-testing policy as it stands now; at some point the fans’ perception of the game will suffer if there’s a widespread belief that players bulk up with HGH and other performance-enhancing drugs. The apathy shown toward Barry Bonds’ slow crawl toward Hank Aaron’s home-run record should be a wake-up call. More from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the New York Times and the San Jose Mercury News.

Selig: Marlins need a new ballpark
Posted July 12, 2006
Honestly, there’s little new about Bud Selig telling the press Miami is a great market and that the Florida Marlins need a baseball-only ballpark to replace Dolphin Stadium as the team’s new home. Yeah, he’s right: the Marlins need a new home. Local government officials are working on a terrible plan for a new ballpark in Hialeah — which might as well be Orlando to the majority of baseball fans in the greater Miami area — and so far the Marlins haven’t really shown any imagination in putting forth a more doable plan. Really, it’s time for Jeffrey Loria to consider selling the team and letting a new owner start anew with local officials. We hear he’s clearly pissed off his fellow baseball owners by pocketing the proceeds of revenue sharing (the Marlins are expected to receive $30 million this season, but the team’s payroll is only $15 million), and local elected officials aren’t eager to work with the Fish.

Jays bidding for 2010 or 2012 All-Star Game
Posted July 12, 2006
The All-Star Break is also a good time for teams to announce their intentions to secure a future All-Star Game. The Minnesota Twins have already had discussions about landing the All-Star Game at a new downtown Minneapolis ballpark, the Arizona Diamondbacks want to bring the Midsummer Classic to Chase Field as soon as possible, and the Yankees are positioning Yankee Stadium as the game’s host in 2008 before it closes. In the meantime, Paul Godfrey believes the Toronto Blue Jays and Rogers Centre have a good chance of landing the 2010 or 2012 All-Star Game, a process he hopes will develop momentum next month when Major League Baseball’s club owners meet in Toronto. Toronto last played host to the All-Star Game in 1991, which will hurt the Jays’ chances to land the game when so many new ballparks are coming online (Great American Ball Park, for instance, has never hosted an All-Star Game) and teams like Tampa Bay and Florida have never hosted the bash. More from the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Hey, Nuttings, pay attention
Posted July 12, 2006
One bittersweet aspect to the All-Star Game at PNC Park: Pittsburgh Pirates fans now can look forward to a depressing second half of the season. Attendance at Pirates games has been up this season, partially because tickets to the All-Star Game were held out as an incentive to season-ticket buyers. But the team is underperforming on the field, and despite some bright spots — Jason Bay, Freddie Sanchez — the team’s owners don’t seem capable to laying the groundwork for a winning franchise.

Cougars may get cozier confines
Posted July 12, 2006
Minor-league baseball will be even bigger in Kane County under plans being discussed by Kane County Cougars (Low Class A; Midwest League) and forest preserve district officials. Hundreds of seats — including an upper deck and the ballpark’s first skyboxes — could be added to accommodate the growing number of fans who visit Elfstrom Stadium in Geneva every summer, forest district Director Monica Meyers said Tuesday. District officials will hire an architect and engineer to assess the site and develop plans under a $50,000 agreement approved by commissioners Tuesday. The forest district owns and operates the 15-year-old ballpark.

D.C. Council approves parking garage plan
Posted July 12, 2006
The D.C. Council ignored pleas from the Washington Nationals’ incoming ownership group and unanimously authorized the city to partner with Western Development on a plan to build two parking garages with condominiums and retail space on the north side of the team’s new ballpark, currently under construction, in Southeast Washington. The plan calls for two parking garages to be built on parcels outside the left-field wall of the ballpark, with about 600 condominiums to be built around and on top of the garages. Retail outlets and a boutique hotel are also part of the proposal, which was crafted as a compromise designed to satisfy much of the parking requirement at the site while spurring commercial development in the area. More from the Washington Post.

MLB, USA Baseball form 10-year business partnership
Posted July 12, 2006
MLB and USA Baseball (USAB) have reached a new 10-year agreement in which Major League Baseball will acquire all USAB commercial rights for $10 million, enabling USAB to focus its resources on growing amateur baseball in the United States, the two organizations announced today. MLB has acquired USAB sponsorship, licensing, and other business rights, which will immediately be transferred to the league’s business arm, Major League Baseball Properties. MLB Properties will provide USAB with a guaranteed level of annual funding to support its athlete programs. MLB Advanced Media LP (MLBAM) also controls USAB’s Internet rights.

MLB, Turner, Fox formally announce TV deals
Posted July 12, 2006
As we reported yesterday, MLB has reached new broadcast deals with Fox Sports and Turner Broadcasting System on new over-the-air and cable television rights packages through the 2013 season. Fox will continue to maintain the exclusive annual rights to the All-Star Game and the World Series. Game 1 of the World Series will now be scheduled to take place on the first Tuesday after the completion of the League Championship Series. The network will broadcast the American League Championship Series in 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2013 and the National League Championship Series in 2008, 2010 and 2012. Under the TBS agreement, TBS will telecast all regular season tie-breaker games, all Division Series games and the All-Star Game Selection Show each year. In addition, beginning in 2008, TBS will telecast a window of Major League Baseball games on 26 Sunday afternoons. TBS will continue to air Atlanta Braves’ games through the 2007 season, a year in which that contract and the new deal will co-exist.

A chance to make a billion impressions
Posted July 12, 2006
The American League may have won last night’s All-Star Game in dramatic fashion, but the real winner may have been PNC Bank, the owner of naming rights to PNC Park, where the game was held. PNC officials were thrilled the ballpark was named in 626 media reports in the past week, according to Factiva, a Princeton, N.J.-based company that tracks more than 10,000 news sources, and some media experts say the exposure was worth $10 million in marketing. Perhaps, but let’s also be honest: those mentions of PNC were wasted on viewers where the bank doesn’t do business. More on PNC Park’s performance during the All-Star Game.

Curve not going all-out to set single-game attendance mark
Posted July 12, 2006
Speaking of All-Star Games: don’t forget many leagues are holding games this week. The Eastern League All-Star Game will be played tonight at Blair County Ballpark, the home of the Altoona Curve. All the seats are sold out for the match, but standing-room-only ducats are available, and there’s the chance the game will be set an EL All-Star Game attendance record. Toledo is expecting a full house at Fifth Third Field for the Triple-A All-Star Game between International League and Pacific Coast League stars. Meanwhile, we’ll be at La Crosse’s Copeland Park tonight for the Northwoods League All-Star Game; a full crowd is expected there as well. We’ve been hitting the Northwoods League ballparks as of late: next week we’ll be updating our pages on Franklin Rogers Field, Mayo Field, Carson Park, Wade Stadium, Warner Park and Copeland Park. We’re also hitting the road next week, with stops planned at Spartanburg’s Duncan Park (July 15), Thomasville’s rebuilt Finch Field (July 16), Hickory’s L.P. Frans Stadium (July 17), Greensboro’s First Horizon Field (July 18), Kinston’s Grainger Stadium (July 18), Burlington Athletic Stadium (July 19) and Zebulon’s Five County Stadium (July 19).