Jim Crikket

Beloit is in the playoffs. They will open their best of 3 quarterfinal series on Wednesday night at Clinton (games 2-3 will be in Beloit). Midwest League plays a split season format, which means they start over at mid season with all teams 0-0. The two division winners and runners-up in the 'first half' qualify for the playoffs. Similarly, the division champs and runners-up in the second half qualify. (If a team that already qualified in the first half finishes 1 or 2 in the second half, they take the next team in line in the second half standings). In this case, Beloit finished 2nd in the first half western division standings and they play a best of 3 series against the second half western division champions, the Lumber Kings.

Overblown fan outrage? Say it ain't so, Rick. Face it, the success of Twins Daily is, at least to a degree, the direct result of overblown outrage on the part of Twins fans these days about one issue or another. JB_Iowa's comments are pretty on the money. I admit I have no clue whether medical/training staff are doing a good job in a tough situation or are botching things. Similarly, I don't know whether successive 90+ loss seasons are due to bad managing, coaching, scouting, general managing, overly frugal ownership or just poor player performances. As a fan, I do know the Twins have been a bad team for too long and the results on the field, in much of the farm system, and in the training room have not been good. It also just seems far too simplistic to say it was all Bill Smith's fault and since he was reassigned, the Twins have installed a culture of accountability. I'm not giving up on Terry Ryan because I don't think you can fix everything in one year. That said, although I'm not an expert on running a ballclub, I would like to see some evidence on the part of those in charge of the Twins (who certainly should be experts) that they are actively identifying areas that need improvement and are holding those in charge of those areas accountable.

Orioles climbed within 2 games of the Yankees tonight. How great would it be if the O's and Rays managed to push the Yankees clear out of the playoffs over the next month?

WTG E'town! Keep on rollin'!

Exactly, thry. Even purchasing and moving an existing team comes with a big bunch of hurdles involving approval of a number of people. There are "territory protection" provisions in the rules, as well. To go back to ScottyB's point, those provisions WOULD protect a team like the Twins from having the affiliate of ANOTHER MLB team from coming to the Twin Cities without the Twins approval. (So, if the Rays had been in St Pete first, the Yankees, Phillies, Blue Jays and Pirates might not have their minor league affiliates in the same area now.) But if it would be for their own affiliate, the Twins could certainly waive the territory rights restriction. Of course, as we've discussed elsewhere, they'd better be darn sure that affiliation would last in perpetuity. Otherwise the Saints owners could dump the Twins some day and affiliate with a rival. That would be awkward. Glad to hear that the Miracle will be extending soon. We wouldn't want Jake Mauer to be unemployed next summer.

I don't believe MLB would have any issue with the Twins affiliating with the Saints. At least it would have nothing to do with territory protection. It's the Twins' territory, so they could waive their "rights" for their own affiliate. However, there's a legally binding contract between MLB and MiLB that governs affiliations and the rules under that contract govern all things dealing with the relationships between MLB teams and affiliate minor league teams. Those rules are what prevent the Twins from just saying "we're going to affiliate with the Saints." Doing so would mean an existing minor league team with an affiliation would be put out of business for lack of a MLB affiliate.The rules are there to protect the existing minor league owners. And the minor league teams in the Tampa/Clearwater/Dunedin/Bradenton area very likely had pre-existing territory rights to the St. Pete area BEFORE the Rays came to town. Meaning the Rays made the decision to open up for business knowing the minor league teams were in the area. Not even close to the same situation in St. Paul.

From what I saw of him with Beloit a couple years ago and in Spring Training since then, James Beresford (New Britain) would rank right up at/near the top of defensive shortstops in the Twins organization.

I wondered about Ft. Myers a while ago in another thread, as well. But digging a bit deeper, it's hard to see where either party would turn if they did decide they no longer wanted to affiliate with the other. Sure, there are two other ballparks in Lee County that the Miracle could conceivably move to. However, both JetBlue (new Sawx ballpark) and City of Palms (old Sawx ST ballpark) are owned by Lee County, I believe, owners of Hammond, as well. So no matter where they play, the Miracle is going to be dealing with the same stadium owners on rent issues. Then you look at the rest of the teams in the FSL: Bradenton is owned by the Pirates. Brevard County is signed to the Brewers through 2014. Charlotte is partially owned by the Rays. Clearwater is owned by the Phillies.Dunedin is owned by the Blue Jays.Jupiter is owned by the Marlins.Lakeland is owned by the Tigers. Palm Beach is owned by the Cardinals.St. Lucie is owned by the Mets. Tampa is owned by the Yankees. The only option for either the Miracle or the Twins would appear to be to swap affiliations with the Daytona Cubs. Daytona and the Cubs have an agreement that is up for renewal this year as well. I could see the Cubs thinking about moving west... but a lot further west than Ft Myers. They may consider a California League affiliation closer to their AZ spring training site. If Boston had a Class A affiliate that they were willing to walk away from, it would be at least plausible that Ft Myers ownership would drop the Twins and sign on with Boston. But The Sawx already own their Class A affiliate, Salem, in the Carolina League. And the other seven Carolina League PDCs all expire in 2014 or after. So... unless the Twins want to move their Class A team to Daytona or the California League, they won't dump the Miracle. And unless the Miracle can convince the Cubs or one of the expiring California League affiliates (Reds, Mariners, Angels, Astros, or Dodgers) to flip coasts, they can't really make a move, either. Just doesn't seem at all likely. However... if, like me, you are really a closet conspiracy theorist and you don't want to let go of this until pen is put to paper... consider this: The reason the Red Sox affiliate is in Salem, rather than Ft. Myers (where their spanking new ST ballpark is), is that minor league teams have "territorial rights" just like MLB teams do and the Miracle moved to Ft. Myers before Boston came to town. In fact, when City of Palms Ballpark was built for the Red Sox in the early 90s, the team and city tried to get the territorial rights issue waived, but were not successful. However, would it be possible, for the Red Sox to approach the ownership of the Miracle about a "location swap" that would allow the Red Sox to bring their Class A team to Ft Myers where they'd play in JetBlue, while the Miracle would move to Salem and try to convince the Cubs or one of the California League expiring affiliates to move to Salem with them? Not likely, I know, but if the Miracle ownership REALLY wanted to end their relationship with the Twins, it might-maybe-could happen, right? It would all require approval of a bunch of league presidents and commissioners, but until the Twins and Ft. Myers have a deal in place, we might as well speculate wildly.

I'm not really a mascot expert, but I will say this much. The guy in the Kernels' "Mr Shucks" gear this year is really good. Very good at interacting with the kids and crowd in general and he's the best dancing mascot I've seen. When he gets on top of the dugout, he gets attention. I've heard he used to be an NBA team's mascot and this is his first year in CR. Gotta believe he'll be moving back up the mascot ladder, though.

It's quite possible (even likely) that Spelius has helped keep Beloit in the MWL to this point, but even he can only prolong things for so long. Beloit's facilities have been arguably below standard for a couple of decades. As long as there have been occasional plans floated for new facilities in Beloit, there has been some rationale for patience. I'm not sure anyone is even pretending anymore that they may have a plan for a new ballpark in place any time soon. I've also heard Spelius' time as MWL president could be nearing an end (then again, I've been hearing that for at least a couple of years).

Future Shock or Rinse and Repeat (the real Twins mantra) Case in point regarding "the means to spend" argument which the Twins are in the process of completely blowing up: The Baltimore Orioles- on a hot streak, hottest team in August-playing 16-8 baseball, a .667 clip, revived from the dead for years on end to competitive, third best record in the AL, the best record in one-run games in baseball, only 3.5 games behind the best team in the league, the Yankees, playing in one of the best parks in all of baseball- Camden Yards, playing a first place team in the White Sox- with a Cy Young favorite on the mound, Chris Sale perfect night for baseball in Baltimore drew all of 12,841 fans last night. I realize that Baltimore has become a quick target when people want to talk about how fans stay away despite a beautiful ballpark and, now, a competitive team. However, this week's attendance is not indicative of any such thing. There were actually a couple thousand fewer people at their game on Monday night, I believe, but the low attendance is not really indicative of fan apathy. The orioles have had over 1.6 million fans in 2012, averaging 25,337 per game. That's not great... 23rd among MLB teams... but then the White Sox, who lead the AL Central are currently ranked 24th, behind Baltimore. Attendance is actually over 15% higher on a per game basis (nearly 3,400 more fans per game) compared to last season. The unusually low attendance this week is likely due to the week-long construction process of the race course for the Baltimore Grand Prix this weekend. Starting this past Saturday, a lot of the roads adjacent to and around Camden Yards are being closed and re-routed to allow for the contruction of the Grand Prix course through the streets of the Harbor area. A lot of the locals aren't even bothering to try to get to their offices in the area this week because of the traffic and parking restrictions, much less trying to get down to Camden for a ballgame. Baltimore is indeed a cautionary tale for Twins ownership, indicating that a nice ballpark alone won't put butts in the seats forever. But it is incorrect to use Baltimore as an example of a fanbase that won't come back even for a competitive team. They may not be filling the stadium at this point, but there are a lot of teams (including the Twins) that would love to be seeing a 15% increase in attendance.

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?982-Twins-2013-Class-A-Affiliation-Gets-Muddied

A Twins coach said he tweaked an ankle on Monday nights game. Wasn't impressed with Tomshaw. Topped out at 88. Jairo had a rought night. Picked off at 2nd, probably twice, as the umpire missed the 1st call and several balls got by him at catch that should of been dug out or blocked. Disappointing at bats for Nate Roberts who I was told the Twins are suddenly high on again. Having gone to all four games in the series, I believe the technical baseball term for the Snappers' performance Tuesday night would be "that was a clunker." Every team has them now and then, I guess. Thinking about driving over to Clinton for their first playoff game. Should be next Wednesday night, I believe.

Sano sat out two of the four games in the Snappers series at Cedar Rapids, but it wasn't two straight games. He did play Monday night. Sat out Saturday and Tuesday.

Do you suppose the "team interested in owning the Beloit franchise" would be the Twins? They could buy the franchise, give Beloit/Janesville 2 years to come up with a new Stadium plan and if/when they don't, move the franchise to St. Paul. Just spitballing here. I like conspiracy theories. Burlington is community owned and I haven't heard anything about facility issues there. Even with low attendance, they apparently are operating in the black (even Beloit is supposedly managing to do that, but if they're forced to bring their ballpark up to standards, it could be problematic financially). The good news is that in just 3-4 weeks, we'll know all the answers

I'm pretty sure Burlington is community owned, like Beloit and Cedar Raipds, and last I knew they were operating in the black. If that's the case, they're probably "safe". It's all but impossible to take away a franchise that's community owned as long as they meet financial obligations and maintain facilities at or above standards outlined in Rule 58. There are very few MWL franchises that you'd consider even possibly at risk. Beloit (facilities?) and Peoria (financial?) are the only two I've ever heard as even possibly having problems and I have no idea if even those two would really be possibilities.

Good synopsis. I would add that some of us find ourselves in a different subgroup during one outing to the ballpark than we might in another trip. Sometimes, I'm with a group and it really is a social gathering with a ballgame going on in the background. I enjoy those events. Other times, I go just to watch some baseball. Other times, I really do feel like concentrating on the specific nuances of the players/teams. Just depends on my mood and the company I'm attending the game with. I actually feel fortunate that I can enjoy ballgames from a variety of vantage points.

MLB Rule 58 (and "Attachment 58") address minor league facility standards. There are two sets of standards, those for "new facilities" (defined as those with construction starting after Jan 1, 1991) and "existing facilities" (everything else). Sections 11, 12, and 13 of the rule apply to both new and existing facilities and address the playing field itself, player/manager/umpire clubhouse, etc., and maintenance. Teams that don't comply with the standards can ask for a "variance." Variances can be extended for a period corresponding with the term of the team's current PDC. There's a lot of, "the Commissioner shall consult with... etc." language, but the bottom line is that if a facility remains out of compliance and are unable to meet reasonable deadlines for bringing facilities up to standards, penalties can be imposed. They range from monetary penalties up to and including forced divestiture of the franchise by current ownership. I have no idea if Beloit's ownership is currently operating with such a variance, but having been to their ballpark, it wouldn't surprise me. It also wouldn't shock me if one of the reasons the Twins are finally looking to move out of Beloit is that they don't want to be the "bad guy" that is responsible for not signing off on allowing extensions of any such variances that might be in place now. So, yeah... in my opinion, for whatever little it's worth and based on a layperson's reading of Rule 58, I think Beloit could face a required divestiture of their franchise if they don't have a stadium plan soon (which seems doubtful). I'm not sure about franchises that might voluntarily be sold. A lot of MWL teams are community owned, so those don't change hands except for financial reasons.

It struck me as odd that the Twins didn't start him off with at least a few weeks in Beloit before sending him to Ft. Myers, but figured his health issues were such that they wanted him where the training staff at the Ft. Myers complex could keep an eye on him. Seems like High A was a rough place to start him, with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, though.

I've been in the "just need to improve the rotation to at least become competitive" camp all season. I'm not smart enough to know exactly how to do that, but if fans have to listen to the front office tell us that all the improvement needed is available internally, whether Gibson, Vasquez, a re-signed Baker, or any other combination of question marks, we'll know the organization isn't even trying to improve.

Originally posted at Knuckleballsblog.com. These days, it’s not often that I go more than a couple of days without getting asked whether I think the Twins will be the Major League affiliate of my home town Cedar Rapids Kernels in 2013. When I’m not answering that question, I’m the one asking it of pretty much anyone I can think of who might have some insight. http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/KernelsLogo.jpg At the beginning of August, I was telling people I thought it was about a 50-50 proposition. The Twins and Cedar Rapids make a lot of sense for a number of reasons on both sides. Then again, The Kernels have been affiliated with the Angels for 20 years and that’s a long relationship to walk away from. The Angels have been reported as having indicated a desire to keep the relationship going. Between early August and a week ago, my hopes for a watching Twins prospects playing for my home town team kept going upward. In fact, just a week or so ago, I was 90% certain that the Twins would be sending their prospects through Cedar Rapids for the next several years. I kept hearing that it was all but a lock. But I was remaining just cautiously optimistic because you just never know about these things. Weird stuff happens. Sure enough, in the past week, weird stuff has happened. Stuff that is not good news for a potential Twins/Kernels relationship. First, you need to understand a little bit about the baseball loyalties in the greater Cedar Rapids area. We sit less than a 5 hour drive from six MLB ballparks. The Twins, Brewers, Cubs, White Sox, Cardinals and Royals are all about the same distance from CR, but the local loyalties are not at all equal. First, among the group, are the Cubs and it’s really not all that close. Behind the Cubs, come the Cardinals, White Sox and Twins. Which order they fall in would be open to debate, but there’s a pretty strong base of fans for each organization in this area. Next, would easily be the Brewers and an argument could be made that they should be considered near-equals with the three teams above them. Finally, far at the bottom, would be the Royals. To find Royals caps and jerseys around town, you really have to be looking for them. The Kernels clearly seem to have decided to look in to the possibility of aligning with one of the six MLB teams that are nearby geographically and, if so, have likely already informed the Angels of such. That would be the honorable thing to do, allowing a partner you’ve had a good relationship with to begin thinking about what their options might be on September 16, when teams can start negotiating with potential new affiliates. A month ago, in looking at the six geographic fits for a new CR affiliate, you would immediately eliminate the White Sox, whose current affiliation with Kannapolis in the South Atlantic League is not up for renewal until 2014 and there’s no indication they won’t remain there in the future. Likewise, the Brewers are signed with with the Wisconsin (Appleton) Timber Rattlers through 2016. The Cardinals and Quad Cities were believed to be happy with one another and an extension was expected. Similarly, Kane County (Geneva IL) was believed to have a solid relationship with the Royals. There were some who weren’t sure the Cubs and Peoria were all that solid, but most people seemed to think they would end up renewing for two more years anyway. That left the Twins, among the six closest MLB teams, for Cedar Rapids to partner with. It’s a natural fit, beyond just geography. The Kernels are very big on community involvement by their players, with programs in place with local schools, etc. The Twins are also well known for emphasizing community work among their players. It seemed like a match that could last a very long time, which is what the Kernels certainly should be looking for. Then last week, it all blew up. On Wednesday, August 22, Chicago Sun-Times reporter Gordon Wittenmyer reported that the Cubs were, “in the process of working out a player development agreement with the Kane County Cougars.” http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/PeoriaLogo.jpg That little ditty certainly must have set off alarm bells in a number of Midwest League offices and MLB team offices, not to mention the office of the Commissioner of Baseball. First of all, under MLB Rule 56, teams aren’t allowed to even hint at a new affiliation with any team except the one they are currently working with until September 16. No negotiating, no public comments, nothing. If, indeed the Cubs and Cougars have been “negotiating,” that could cost the Cubs $500,000 and the Cougars $100,000 in fines. In any event, that article apparently caught the Cubs' current affiliate, the Peoria Chiefs, by surprise, as well as Kane County’s current affiliate, the Royals. Both of whom supposedly were expecting to renew their agreements with their current partners. (Here, I must add, however, that if you’ve had all year to renew an agreement that you want to renew, but your business partner hasn’t done so… I think you probably shouldn’t be too surprised to find out he’s exploring other options.) Here in Cedar Rapids, where a significant number of the BOD are rumored to be Cubs fans, the news signaled that, whether or not they end up in Kane County, the Cubs may very well be in play. If so, you'd think a large faction of the Board may be likely to want to explore a Cubs/Kernels affiliation. Personally, I don’t think the Cubs would consider moving their MWL affiliate further away from Chicago. But even if we assume the Cubs do eventually move to the Chicago suburbs of Kane County, that would leave the Royals as another potential geographic fit for the Kernels, in addition to the Twins. Still, the Board would be foolish to sign on with the Royals over the Twins, given the significantly larger local Twins fan base, right? Yes, except… Did you happen to catch the news that St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman dropped during a radio appearance a few days ago? He indicated that he expected news of approval of a new minor league stadium in St. Paul within the next two weeks. But he didn’t stop there. In addition to being the home of the independent (no MLB affiliations) American Association’s St. Paul Saints, Coleman announced the stadium, which could be ready in 2 years, would meet MLB standards for Class A affiliates and he believed it could be used for both the Saints AND a potential Class A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. St. Paul would fall a ways outside the existing MWL footprint and since existing MWL teams are guaranteed affiliations for as long as they maintain appropriate facilities and can stay financially viable, there are any number of reasons why a St. Paul MWL team might never happen. But it’s not impossible, so you’d better believe Mayor Coleman’s comments must have gotten the attention of people involved with the Kernels. As demonstrated by their 20 year history with the Angels, Cedar Rapids is not likely to be interested in being any kind of two, or even four, year “stopgap” for the Twins before seeing them bolt for St. Paul. They should want another long-term relationship with an affiliate and, if so, you can be certain the Twins will be asked about their views on a potential move to St. Paul during their presentation in Cedar Rapids. So how is this shaping up? I still see the Cubs as a longshot in Cedar Rapids. They seem intent on moving closer to Chicago, not further away. Might they make a presentation to CR to deflect attention from their premature negotiations with Kane County? Sure. But if you’re a CR Board member I think you have to ask yourself if it’s a good fit. First, can you trust the Cubs not to go behind your back in a couple of years like they did with Peoria? Second, there are rumors that the Cubs require the local affiliate to pay their prospects for “community appearances.” That won’t fly in Cedar Rapids. Still… there may be people who would (foolishly, in my opinion) take the Cubs on any terms, even for just a couple of years. I see the Twins as back to being a 50-50 proposition and maybe not that high. They are by far the best fit for Cedar Rapids, but if the Twins really are thinking that they would eventually like to place their MWL affiliate in St. Paul (and that may not be a bad decision on their part), I believe they are the kind of organization that would at least be honest with the Kernels in their presentation and admit that’s a reasonable possibility. If that is the case, I think that could chill interest on the part of the Kernels. If the Cubs do move to Kane County, as it seems they’re intent on doing, and the Twins are not looking for a long-term partner, the Royals become the best bet for Cedar Rapids. But if the Twins don’t land in Cedar Rapids, then where WOULD they set up shop in 2013? http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/BeloitSnappersLogo.jpg If they think they’ve figured out a way to clear all the hurdles to get their team to St. Paul in two years, their best decision might be to stay in Beloit for a two-year extension. Otherwise, it sounds like Peoria might be the Twins only option, assuming they want to stay in the MWL’s Western Division. (I should note the Quad Cities and the Cardinals have not yet renewed, so QC could be in the mix, but the Twins relationship there did not end well eight years ago and new QC ownership may not be enough to interest the Twins in going back down that path.) For months, any time officials of any minor league or Major League team have been asked about possible new affiliates, they’ve refused to go on the record with any predictions (except the Cubs and/or Cougars, apparently). After all the speculation, it looks like we’re all just going to have to wait another month to see where all the chips fall. However, I’m REALLY bad at waiting, so you shouldn’t be surprised if this is not the last time I post on this topic. - JC

Originally posted at Knuckleballsblog.com. These days, it’s not often that I go more than a couple of days without getting asked whether I think the Twins will be the Major League affiliate of my home town Cedar Rapids Kernels in 2013. When I’m not answering that question, I’m the one asking it of pretty much anyone I can think of who might have some insight. http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/KernelsLogo.jpg At the beginning of August, I was telling people I thought it was about a 50-50 proposition. The Twins and Cedar Rapids make a lot of sense for a number of reasons on both sides. Then again, The Kernels have been affiliated with the Angels for 20 years and that’s a long relationship to walk away from. The Angels have been reported as having indicated a desire to keep the relationship going. Between early August and a week ago, my hopes for a watching Twins prospects playing for my home town team kept going upward. In fact, just a week or so ago, I was 90% certain that the Twins would be sending their prospects through Cedar Rapids for the next several years. I kept hearing that it was all but a lock. But I was remaining just cautiously optimistic because you just never know about these things. Weird stuff happens. Sure enough, in the past week, weird stuff has happened. Stuff that is not good news for a potential Twins/Kernels relationship. First, you need to understand a little bit about the baseball loyalties in the greater Cedar Rapids area. We sit less than a 5 hour drive from six MLB ballparks. The Twins, Brewers, Cubs, White Sox, Cardinals and Royals are all about the same distance from CR, but the local loyalties are not at all equal. First, among the group, are the Cubs and it’s really not all that close. Behind the Cubs, come the Cardinals, White Sox and Twins. Which order they fall in would be open to debate, but there’s a pretty strong base of fans for each organization in this area. Next, would easily be the Brewers and an argument could be made that they should be considered near-equals with the three teams above them. Finally, far at the bottom, would be the Royals. To find Royals caps and jerseys around town, you really have to be looking for them. The Kernels clearly seem to have decided to look in to the possibility of aligning with one of the six MLB teams that are nearby geographically and, if so, have likely already informed the Angels of such. That would be the honorable thing to do, allowing a partner you’ve had a good relationship with to begin thinking about what their options might be on September 16, when teams can start negotiating with potential new affiliates. A month ago, in looking at the six geographic fits for a new CR affiliate, you would immediately eliminate the White Sox, whose current affiliation with Kannapolis in the South Atlantic League is not up for renewal until 2014 and there’s no indication they won’t remain there in the future. Likewise, the Brewers are signed with with the Wisconsin (Appleton) Timber Rattlers through 2016. The Cardinals and Quad Cities were believed to be happy with one another and an extension was expected. Similarly, Kane County (Geneva IL) was believed to have a solid relationship with the Royals. There were some who weren’t sure the Cubs and Peoria were all that solid, but most people seemed to think they would end up renewing for two more years anyway. That left the Twins, among the six closest MLB teams, for Cedar Rapids to partner with. It’s a natural fit, beyond just geography. The Kernels are very big on community involvement by their players, with programs in place with local schools, etc. The Twins are also well known for emphasizing community work among their players. It seemed like a match that could last a very long time, which is what the Kernels certainly should be looking for. Then last week, it all blew up. On Wednesday, August 22, Chicago Sun-Times reporter Gordon Wittenmyer reported that the Cubs were, “in the process of working out a player development agreement with the Kane County Cougars.” http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/PeoriaLogo.jpg That little ditty certainly must have set off alarm bells in a number of Midwest League offices and MLB team offices, not to mention the office of the Commissioner of Baseball. First of all, under MLB Rule 56, teams aren’t allowed to even hint at a new affiliation with any team except the one they are currently working with until September 16. No negotiating, no public comments, nothing. If, indeed the Cubs and Cougars have been “negotiating,” that could cost the Cubs $500,000 and the Cougars $100,000 in fines. In any event, that article apparently caught the Cubs' current affiliate, the Peoria Chiefs, by surprise, as well as Kane County’s current affiliate, the Royals. Both of whom supposedly were expecting to renew their agreements with their current partners. (Here, I must add, however, that if you’ve had all year to renew an agreement that you want to renew, but your business partner hasn’t done so… I think you probably shouldn’t be too surprised to find out he’s exploring other options.) Here in Cedar Rapids, where a significant number of the BOD are rumored to be Cubs fans, the news signaled that, whether or not they end up in Kane County, the Cubs may very well be in play. If so, you'd think a large faction of the Board may be likely to want to explore a Cubs/Kernels affiliation. Personally, I don’t think the Cubs would consider moving their MWL affiliate further away from Chicago. But even if we assume the Cubs do eventually move to the Chicago suburbs of Kane County, that would leave the Royals as another potential geographic fit for the Kernels, in addition to the Twins. Still, the Board would be foolish to sign on with the Royals over the Twins, given the significantly larger local Twins fan base, right? Yes, except… Did you happen to catch the news that St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman dropped during a radio appearance a few days ago? He indicated that he expected news of approval of a new minor league stadium in St. Paul within the next two weeks. But he didn’t stop there. In addition to being the home of the independent (no MLB affiliations) American Association’s St. Paul Saints, Coleman announced the stadium, which could be ready in 2 years, would meet MLB standards for Class A affiliates and he believed it could be used for both the Saints AND a potential Class A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. St. Paul would fall a ways outside the existing MWL footprint and since existing MWL teams are guaranteed affiliations for as long as they maintain appropriate facilities and can stay financially viable, there are any number of reasons why a St. Paul MWL team might never happen. But it’s not impossible, so you’d better believe Mayor Coleman’s comments must have gotten the attention of people involved with the Kernels. As demonstrated by their 20 year history with the Angels, Cedar Rapids is not likely to be interested in being any kind of two, or even four, year “stopgap” for the Twins before seeing them bolt for St. Paul. They should want another long-term relationship with an affiliate and, if so, you can be certain the Twins will be asked about their views on a potential move to St. Paul during their presentation in Cedar Rapids. So how is this shaping up? I still see the Cubs as a longshot in Cedar Rapids. They seem intent on moving closer to Chicago, not further away. Might they make a presentation to CR to deflect attention from their premature negotiations with Kane County? Sure. But if you’re a CR Board member I think you have to ask yourself if it’s a good fit. First, can you trust the Cubs not to go behind your back in a couple of years like they did with Peoria? Second, there are rumors that the Cubs require the local affiliate to pay their prospects for “community appearances.” That won’t fly in Cedar Rapids. Still… there may be people who would (foolishly, in my opinion) take the Cubs on any terms, even for just a couple of years. I see the Twins as back to being a 50-50 proposition and maybe not that high. They are by far the best fit for Cedar Rapids, but if the Twins really are thinking that they would eventually like to place their MWL affiliate in St. Paul (and that may not be a bad decision on their part), I believe they are the kind of organization that would at least be honest with the Kernels in their presentation and admit that’s a reasonable possibility. If that is the case, I think that could chill interest on the part of the Kernels. If the Cubs do move to Kane County, as it seems they’re intent on doing, and the Twins are not looking for a long-term partner, the Royals become the best bet for Cedar Rapids. But if the Twins don’t land in Cedar Rapids, then where WOULD they set up shop in 2013? http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/BeloitSnappersLogo.jpg If they think they’ve figured out a way to clear all the hurdles to get their team to St. Paul in two years, their best decision might be to stay in Beloit for a two-year extension. Otherwise, it sounds like Peoria might be the Twins only option, assuming they want to stay in the MWL’s Western Division. (I should note the Quad Cities and the Cardinals have not yet renewed, so QC could be in the mix, but the Twins relationship there did not end well eight years ago and new QC ownership may not be enough to interest the Twins in going back down that path.) For months, any time officials of any minor league or Major League team have been asked about possible new affiliates, they’ve refused to go on the record with any predictions (except the Cubs and/or Cougars, apparently). After all the speculation, it looks like we’re all just going to have to wait another month to see where all the chips fall. However, I’m REALLY bad at waiting, so you shouldn’t be surprised if this is not the last time I post on this topic. - JC

Good point... let me clarify in case Bud Selig and his storm troopers are reading this. When I wrote "people with the Kernels," that should not be taken to mean anyone in an ownership or other decision-making role with the organization. Of course, when I say "any discussions" that would be any POSSIBLE discussions, which would only occur in the event that both the Twins and Kernels find themselves without a PDC in place on September 16 and if the Twins then contact the Kernels and request to make a presentation. Hope that makes everything perfectly clear.

I didn't stick around for his Mr Shucks jokes. When I ran out of beer, I politely excused myself to return to the picnic area where my beer (and food) was free! Then again, maybe the free beer is what made the game seem long.