Ever the optimist, Mark Lee says there will be an Amarillo Dillas team on the field this summer — bankruptcy court be damned.
Ever the optimistic, Mark Lee says there will be an Amarillo Dillas team on the field this summer — bankruptcy court be damned.
Lee is the GM of the Amarillo Dillas, one of the seven United League Baseball teams on the block after the league entered bankruptcy proceedings late in 2008. (Here’s the full story on the ULB financial situation.) Amarillo is considered one of the two desirable ULB franchises, along with San Angelo, so Lee’s optimism may be warranted.
But the logistics don’t bode well for 2009. There are three scenarios laid out by Lee: playing in a new six-team Texas indy circuit, joining the independent Golden Baseball League or joining the independent American Association. Lee estimates it would take a week to get a Texas league up and running, something we don’t believe, especially with a bankruptcy court involved. Joining the American Association has its logistical challenges: the league has already released a 2009 schedule, and retooling it to include ULB refugees would be something many GMs would fight.
That leaves the Golden Baseball League, which apparently has some cash and an eagerness to expand eastward. Plus, the GBL hasn’t released a 2009 schedule. Do the math.