Is the Affiliation Dance about to begin?

[Mr. Ed]

One nice thing about the new CBA and the accelerated signing date is that a guy like Buxton got more PAs with a wood bat this summer than he might have in previous years if the signing process had been stretched out. It seems to me that whether he starts the season in A ball or stays down south a month or two might depend on what the Twins do with the outfielders that finished the year in Beloit.

 

I am really happy with the accelerated signing date. No doubt, without it, Buxton would have likely only been in the GCL. Got some Eliz experience.

 

As for the OF, there really isn't a reason Lin/Leachman should stay in Lo-A. JD Williams shouldn't either. He'll be 22. Time to advance a level and try to get better.

 

Roberts will be in FM, for at least part of the season. Rosario should be getting more reps at 2nd, less in the OF.

[jtrinaldi]

Dominos continuing to fall. Peoria and the Cardinals have made it official. Four years. (Hat tip to MWLTraveler's tweet, which brought this to my attention).

 

http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120918&content_id=38612194&vkey=pr_t443&fext=.jsp&sid=t443

 

QC deciding between

Houston

Oakland

LAA

 

I would be shocked if they do not chose Houston. Here are the Scenarios that play out. I am expecting QC to have an announcement today regarding which team they will chose. The Royals are heading to Lexington, and that should get done today as well. The A's had an issue with Burlington at the end of the year so I see no chance that the renew. Beloit also has great surrounding area's (janesville). I have talked to guys and they have all echoed that they would rather be in Beloit than Burlington.

 

QC takes Oakland

Beloit takes Houston

Burlington takes LAA

 

QC takes Houston

Beloit takes Oakland

Burlington takes LAA

 

QC takes LAA

Beloit takes Oakland

Burlington takes Houston

[nowheresville]

Considering that Beloit seems to be a tad higher than Burlington in the MWL pecking order, wouldn't the Snappers ultimately get the say of the two leftover after Quad Cities?

 

In other words, couldn't the As get stuck back in Burlington anyway if QC picks the Astros, and the Snappers decide they'd rather work with the Angels?

[jtrinaldi]

Considering that Beloit seems to be a tad higher than Burlington in the MWL pecking order, wouldn't the Snappers ultimately get the say of the two leftover after Quad Cities?

 

In other words, couldn't the As get stuck back in Burlington anyway if QC picks the Astros, and the Snappers decide they'd rather work with the Angels?

The A's are doing everything they can to get out of Burlington, so if they sense that they are no longer an option for Quad Cities (keep in mind that 25 of the 53 years of Affiliation for QC was with Houston and LAA) then they will likely jump ship and come to Beloit. I the A's are determined not to be in Burlington again. They had numerous problems that I cannot mention because the people who told me asked to keep it quiet. I'll just say this, The problems are on and off the field in Burlington but I cannot specify.

People that I spoke to in the A's organization have hated Burlington and are the advocates to move the team anywhere else. Another thing to note is that Janesville (where the coaches normally rent) is a great city and the guys who live their love it. The players on Off Days in Beloit would go to Lake Geneva, Milwaukee or Chicago. Most of the Rovers for the Twins would stay in Milwaukee and then drive down to Beloit in for the game (1.5 hours). Burlington offers nothing like that. Beloit is definitely higher on the pecking level than Burlington.

[nowheresville]

I understand why Oakland would want to be in Beloit. I've talked to a number of player parents over the years who love the fact that you can get from Pohlman Field to MKE in about an hour, and to OHare in under 2. I'm sure that would be a big plus for any AL West team. Although, I don't know that I've ever heard anyone who wasn't a politician say they love Janesville.

 

The bigger question for me is why Oakland might be a better choice for the Snappers than the Angels. I'd think Beloit would see the longstanding relationship between LAA and CR as a big positive, especially if the As are so desperate to leave Burlington after just 2 years. I guess if Oakland is really desperate they could offer the Snappers something extra? I'm just not sure what that might be.

[IdahoPilgrim]

 

The bigger question for me is why Oakland might be a better choice for the Snappers than the Angels. I'd think Beloit would see the longstanding relationship between LAA and CR as a big positive, especially if the As are so desperate to leave Burlington after just 2 years. I guess if Oakland is really desperate they could offer the Snappers something extra? I'm just not sure what that might be.

 

If I understand correctly, that isn't allowed by MLB rules. They don't want bidding wars for minor league affiliates. I don't know how easy it is to "game" the system or not.

[jtrinaldi]

I understand why Oakland would want to be in Beloit. I've talked to a number of player parents over the years who love the fact that you can get from Pohlman Field to MKE in about an hour, and to OHare in under 2. I'm sure that would be a big plus for any AL West team. Although, I don't know that I've ever heard anyone who wasn't a politician say they love Janesville.

 

The bigger question for me is why Oakland might be a better choice for the Snappers than the Angels. I'd think Beloit would see the longstanding relationship between LAA and CR as a big positive, especially if the As are so desperate to leave Burlington after just 2 years. I guess if Oakland is really desperate they could offer the Snappers something extra? I'm just not sure what that might be.

Beloit is meeting with Houston and Oakland, no LAA.

Most of the players and who don't live with host families live in Jansville. Also the 3 pieces of the coaching staff last year lived in Janesville.

[nowheresville]

The Royals and Lexington deal is done, with official announcement coming tomorrow, according to a Lexington TV station.

 

http://www.lex18.com/news/lexington-legends-switching-major-league-affiliation/

[Jim Crikket]

It's no shock, obviously, that the Cubs and Kane County have announced an affiliation.

 

But here's what I find at least a little interesting... they only signed on for two years. Given that these two organizations were so keen on hitching up together that they reportedly violated MLB Rule 56 by initiating those discussions well before that rule allows, I find it peculiar that they ended up less committed to one another than the Cardinals & Peoria and the Twins & Cedar Rapids, both of which not only contracted for the maximum four years, but in both cases all the parties went to great measures in saying they intended the relationships to go on well beyond four years.

 

When new affiliation relationships are the result of shotgun weddings where one or both parties find themselves in a "this is the best we could do but we're not thrilled with it" situation, a 2 year PDC is understandable and extensions of existing affiliations are very commonly just two years. But a new deal where both sides are anxious to hook up? Just seems odd to me.

 

It will also be interesting to see whether the Cubs and Cougars end up getting slapped with fines for their transgression, though I suppose that may never become widely public.

[jtrinaldi]

The A's will be the team in Beloit, announcement is going to come early next week. I am very excited that the A's will be in Beloit. It is very exciting for me because the A's have gone young recently in the draft, and have ponied up to spend big $$$ on the Latino's. This year upcoming will not be the same with out the Twins in Beloit but I am ecstatic for the team. The Twins were not nearly as pro active in the community in their 8 years in Beloit, as they have shown in the last 2 days towards Cedar Rapids. I will miss the Twins players, but not much else about the Twins.

[East Coast Twin]

An article in the Beloit newspaper about that city's situation. Members of the organization mention some concern about whether Beloit will still be a minor league affiliate when the Player Development Agrement expires in 2020.

“One thing where this could be beneficial is that maybe now some people will see that what the Snappers have been trying to do for the last eight years or so is something that we need to pay a little more attention to,” [snappers Chairman Dennis Conerton] said. “But when you see an affiliate leave for facilities that are better, you do start to wonder when the Player Development Agreement is up in 2020 will the standards change at all, and if we were to continue with Minor League Baseball in the Beloit community.”

 

http://www.beloitdailynews.com/sports/snappers-must-replace-twins/article_d5f5f100-0329-11e2-8b27-001a4bcf887a.html

[jtrinaldi]

An article in the Beloit newspaper about that city's situation. Members of the organization mention some concern about whether Beloit will still be a minor league affiliate when the Player Development Agrement expires in 2020.

“One thing where this could be beneficial is that maybe now some people will see that what the Snappers have been trying to do for the last eight years or so is something that we need to pay a little more attention to,” [snappers Chairman Dennis Conerton] said. “But when you see an affiliate leave for facilities that are better, you do start to wonder when the Player Development Agreement is up in 2020 will the standards change at all, and if we were to continue with Minor League Baseball in the Beloit community.”

 

http://www.beloitdailynews.com/sports/snappers-must-replace-twins/article_d5f5f100-0329-11e2-8b27-001a4bcf887a.html

Beloit gets the Midwest League All Star game in 2020, and likely will have to sell the rights to the game because of the lack of stadium. 2020 is also the last year that Beloit will be around unless a new stadium is put up, or enough money has been collected to begin work on a stadium. 2020 is the first year that Beloit will be elligible to lose the team. If they lose the team, It will be all because they did not put the stadium on the river. When they had the plan to put it on the river, the head guy said no because the bugs would be terrible, and he wanted it right off the interstate. The big donors then removed all their money from the stadium that they had committed. If Beloit loses their team, I will not feel bad for the city, because they had a chance to put a stadium up, and ultimately did not. Also, just a personal note,this is likely one of my last years shooting in Beloit.

[Jim Crikket]

An article in the Beloit newspaper about that city's situation. Members of the organization mention some concern about whether Beloit will still be a minor league affiliate when the Player Development Agrement expires in 2020.

“One thing where this could be beneficial is that maybe now some people will see that what the Snappers have been trying to do for the last eight years or so is something that we need to pay a little more attention to,” [snappers Chairman Dennis Conerton] said. “But when you see an affiliate leave for facilities that are better, you do start to wonder when the Player Development Agreement is up in 2020 will the standards change at all, and if we were to continue with Minor League Baseball in the Beloit community.”

 

http://www.beloitdailynews.com/sports/snappers-must-replace-twins/article_d5f5f100-0329-11e2-8b27-001a4bcf887a.html

 

It will be interesting to see what happens when the time comes to extend the Professional Baseball Agreement between MLB and MiLB. It was last renewed during the 2010-11 offseason and that was actually a few years before it was set to expire, so I guess it's possible that could happen again before 2020. The last time, the only real change in the agreement was a bump in the amount of money minor league teams have to pay to MLB out of their ticket revenues, but historically previous renewals of the agreements had been a bit more problematic in areas such as facilities standards.

 

I hope we never get to the point where communities the size of Beloit and Burlington can't keep affiliated minor league baseball due to facilities issues, but at some point somebody is going to have to step up and make some pretty significant improvements.

[Jim Crikket]

As I believe jtrinaldi projected, the Astros and Quad Cities have been reunited.

[jtrinaldi]

As I believe jtrinaldi projected, the Astros and Quad Cities have been reunited.

Yup,a deal is expected between Burlington and LAA later tonight.

Really excited for Oakland to be in Beloit.