Blue Jays might move their Triple-A farm team to Buffalo, NY

[polo007]

http://www.canada.com/sports/baseball/S ... story.html

Oh, yes, the front-office types in Toronto have surely imagined this. They are careful not to admit it in public, of course. That would violate the sacred rules of baseball, and cost them a hefty fine to boot.

But you figure the Blue Jays would happily move their Triple-A team to a city situated just across the border, a two-hour drive from Toronto, with a first-class stadium and a Canadian fan base close at hand.

With the Buffalo Bisons as their top farm club, the Blue Jays and many of their fans would have easy access to the team's top prospects. A promoted player could take a cab to Toronto instead of staggering into town after a red-eye from Las Vegas. When Jays' scouts analyze a prospect's statistics, they would not have to run them through a patented Pacific Coast League algorithm to produce meaningful data.

Buffalo's proud minor league baseball tradition has drawn a lot of attention this week. The city hosted the Triple-A all-star game festivities for three days, drawing more than 17,000 fans to Coca-Cola Field for Monday's home-run derby and Wednesday's game between the International League and Pacific Coast League stars.

Marty Brown, who managed for three years in Buffalo and now manages the Jays' Las Vegas affiliate, was in town to skip the PCL all-stars. The rollicking atmosphere at the home-run derby reminded him of 2004, when he managed the Bisons to a championship.

"It hasn't changed," Brown said. "The Buffalo fans stand out more than anything. It's such a nice facility here."

For some observers, the event served to refocus attention upon the impending machinations that will determine whether a Toronto-Buffalo union is a matter of mutual desire, or whether the Blue Jays will spend another two years affiliated with Las Vegas in the hitters' paradise known as the PCL.

Buffalo is the top farm club of the New York Mets in the International League. Their player development contract expires with the final out of the minor-league season on Labour Day. The Toronto-Las Vegas agreement ends at the same time.

All teams with expiring PDCs then have two weeks to play a game of musical chairs that will settle affiliations for the next two seasons. Before those negotiations begin, the rules say, none of the partners may explore new affiliations nor speculate publicly about where they might wind up.

The Mets reportedly want to stay in Buffalo. The New York connection is significant. That was a factor in the fall of 2008, when the Bisons ended a 14-year affiliation with the Cleveland Indians and took up with the Mets.

[baulderdash77]

Buffalo is the best case scenario that you can imagine for our AAA club. Close proximity, better league, large fan base. I think it all comes down to what the Mets do. It's a low probability IMO.

[LBJSeizedMyID]

Guess it comes down to potential revenue for Buffalo too? Perhaps this would play a big factor in an agreement with Toronto. Would be perfect for us that love minor league ball.

[satyr9]

We all thought that's where we'd be going when Syracuse ran out the same year Buffalo was available, but they chose the Mets over us and the Jays were left holding the bag that is LV. I have no idea whether they can be lobbied to switch, but unless something's change, and I have no idea how we'd be able to tell, Buf already showed they prefer the Mets.

[polo007]

http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/colum ... 948768.ece

Jays can help

Fandom just isn't the same with Triple-A baseball as with the Sabres or Bills and that's the bottom line. But if you're looking for an underlying reason why this corner thinks the Bisons will dump the Mets for the Toronto Blue Jays next season, think of attendance. They're not here much in person anymore but don't think Bob and Mindy Rich don't know all about the empty seats in their yard.

While the Mets have provided some good marketing and broadcast opportunities, this is an American League town and folks don't think the Amazins tried hard enough to put a winner in here until this year, when it might have been too late.

Look for Welland Night and St. Catharines Night at the ballpark next season when the Baby Jays are on the field and you'll definitely see a spike in the stands.

Except for those ultra-rare events like last week, we'll never see the late 80s and early 90s here again. But we can see more excitement - and more bodies - in the stands if the Blue Jays get in here and work hard to put a winning team on the field.

Former Bisons manager Marty Brown, now the Jays' Triple-A skipper in Las Vegas, did plenty of reminiscing about his playing days here for Nashville in the late 80s when he was in town last week directing the Pacific Coast League.

"This was such an exciting place to be," Brown said. "When the fans come out, it's always electric. It was always tough to beat the Bisons as a player beacuse you knew something bad was going to happen. They started playing that music in the seventh inning, you get "Benny and the Jets" on there, and all of a sudden you're down by two [runs] when you were up by one.

"It's kind of a magical place for baseball. The fans are fortunate to have such a caring ownership. It really tells how passionate the fans are here by the way they've kept this place up. It's one of the oldest ballparks in the league and it's probably one of the best. That's a credit to how they do things here."

We'll never see the old days again at Coca-Cola Field. But surely we can see better days than what we have now.

[Skin Blues]

I find it odd to see a reporter discussfans being upset that an organization is failing to put a winning AAA team on the field. Does anybody run an MLB franchise with the purpose of winning games in AAA? Would they be happier if the roster was full of AAAA superstars rather than high upside 21 year olds?

[Hamyltowne]

Buffalo's stadium, which is 25 years old, was created by the same architects who designed Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City and would later design Camden Yards in Baltimore.

Designed by the folks that brought us Camden Yards? I'll be going to a game in August—bet it!

If the Jays get the affiliation rights, I would see half a dozen games a summer. Imagine how great it would be to see all our guys, most of whom are in A ball, on the come up in Buffalo.

[Hamyltowne]

I find it odd to see a reporter discussfans being upset that an organization is failing to put a winning AAA team on the field. Does anybody run an MLB franchise with the purpose of winning games in AAA? Would they be happier if the roster was full of AAAA superstars rather than high upside 21 year olds?

That's a true, it is a very weird gripe to have, especially for a reporter. All that nativism in American politics is polluting everything, including sports coverage.

If he's concerned that a losing team doesn't draw fans, lower attendance hurts the city and all that jazz, he should imagine the money Buffalo would receive from Canadians driving over the border to catch a game, eating and shopping 'fore and aft, in Buffalo.

[ItsDanger]

Long overdue. It makes so much sense, thats probably why its taken so long.

[dagger]

Buffalo's stadium, which is 25 years old, was created by the same architects who designed Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City and would later design Camden Yards in Baltimore.

Designed by the folks that brought us Camden Yards? I'll be going to a game in August—bet it!

If the Jays get the affiliation rights, I would see half a dozen games a summer. Imagine how great it would be to see all our guys, most of whom are in A ball, on the come up in Buffalo.

I'll be happy to have a more rational farm system where the AAA pitching staff isn't something of a joke because the entire league is considered a hitter's league. We're pushing some guys up to the Jays from New Hampshire because Vegas is considered a risk to their development. Hutch is probably a fair example of this. I know some guys can make the jump from AA to the majors, but I'd rather have a viable AAA option. It would also tend to normalize some of the hitting stats that get inflated out in that thin mountain air. And yes, it might be fun to be able to see some of our prospects live, in a nice stadium atmosphere, while doing some xborder shopping or stopping at winery in Niagara in one direction.

[dagger]

I find it odd to see a reporter discussfans being upset that an organization is failing to put a winning AAA team on the field. Does anybody run an MLB franchise with the purpose of winning games in AAA? Would they be happier if the roster was full of AAAA superstars rather than high upside 21 year olds?

That's a true, it is a very weird gripe to have, especially for a reporter. All that nativism in American politics is polluting everything, including sports coverage.

If he's concerned that a losing team doesn't draw fans, lower attendance hurts the city and all that jazz, he should imagine the money Buffalo would receive from Canadians driving over the border to catch a game, eating and shopping 'fore and aft, in Buffalo.

I'd be concerned about the Mets overall financial health and their commitment to at least filling their farm system with quality. The Mets, as we know, were caught up in the Madoff scandal and are not yet on stable enough financial ground. They let Jose Reyes walk, which might not have been a bad thing in the big picture, but for a New York team to let a young all star walk is unheard of. Under Anthopolous, the Jays have shown a commitment to keep the farm system well stocked if nothing else, and if AA sticks to his plan of sustainable success, even with some trades of prospects for proven ML talent, it's a good bet that there will be enough interesting arms and bats coming through the system to keep fans interested - wins or losses. Look at New Hampshire - the Fisher Cats suck this year, but the organization there is still doing well at the gate. The Jays keep bringing up interesting prospects to take the place of the guys who leave. Now it's Jake Marisnick. Supposedly, Marcus Stroman is going to NH after a couple of weeks at Vancouver. If you treat a minor league affiliate well even in years with a bad W/L record, they will want to keep you for the long term.

[SharoneWright]

Its true. Buffalo benefits nearly as much as Toronto by forming this kind of relationship.

Buffalo, the city, is dead. It gets all that it gets from the infusion of Canadian shoppers. Canadian dollars sustain whatever economy they have. Heck, even the Sabres play the Canadian National Anthem before any and all of their games out of respect for the fans in the seats - yes, that includes a game between the Sabres and the Lightning, for example. It's been said that the Sabres are just as much St. Catharines' team as they are Buffalo's.

A Triple-A affiliate of the Blue Jays right across the border will retain whatever native Buffalo fans exist, perhaps add more (as Dagger argues due to a better product), but is also sure to draw many Canadian Blue Jay fans who like to follow the farm system or who simply never thought about a closer option to go see a game as opposed to driving an hour and a half in the opposite direction.

AA should even tell Buffalo to provide the gaming license for free!! lol.

[Skin Blues]

Yeah I went to a Sabres/Bruins game this season and they played the Canadian anthem. I thought it was weird. And both the Bills' and Sabres' official team beer is Labatt Blue.

[distracted]

Yeah I went to a Sabres/Bruins game this season and they played the Canadian anthem. I thought it was weird. And both the Bills' and Sabres' official team beer is Labatt Blue.

Were they playing against a Canadian team?

[Skin Blues]

Sabres/Bruins... AKA Buffalo/Boston. Both US teams. Most of the players and fans were Canadian though.

[distracted]

Sabres/Bruins... AKA Buffalo/Boston. Both US teams. Most of the players and fans were Canadian though.

Oh sorry I read that as Bisons (as in you've seen both a hockey and baseball game in Buffalo before).

That is a little strange.

[Hamyltowne]

I'd be concerned about the Mets overall financial health and their commitment to at least filling their farm system with quality. The Mets, as we know, were caught up in the Madoff scandal and are not yet on stable enough financial ground.

They solved that problem a few months ago and are now financially stable. They received a very favourable decision in court.

[dagger]

I'd be concerned about the Mets overall financial health and their commitment to at least filling their farm system with quality. The Mets, as we know, were caught up in the Madoff scandal and are not yet on stable enough financial ground.

They solved that problem a few months ago and are now financially stable. They received a very favourable decision in court.

They still paid out $162 million and that's more than beer money. They may be stable, but the question is whether they have the financial wherewithal and commitment to invest in minor league development to the same extent as Toronto.

[Hamyltowne]

I'd be concerned about the Mets overall financial health and their commitment to at least filling their farm system with quality. The Mets, as we know, were caught up in the Madoff scandal and are not yet on stable enough financial ground.

They solved that problem a few months ago and are now financially stable. They received a very favourable decision in court.

They still paid out $162 million and that's more than beer money. They may be stable, but the question is whether they have the financial wherewithal and commitment to invest in minor league development to the same extent as Toronto.

There were some provisions in the decision that could have lowered it to $30m. I'm not sure what the end amount was, or perhaps your figure is the end amount—I don't know.

Still, $162m is much less than the one billion for which they were initially sued. It took away the uncertainty of the lawsuit and presents them a clear path forward. I'd say they are on stable ground, now, financially.

And I wouldn't rule out the Mets farm system. Paul DePodesta is in charge of it.

Of course, I want them gone from Buffalo so we can move in. To pretend, however, that the Mets can't afford to stay and invest in the farm is simply untrue.

I'm going down to Coca Cola Field, anyway. Minor-league parks are great—all seating is within foul territory.

[tecumseh18]

Via a post on battersbox.ca

Mets expect to be booted from Buffalo
Aug 19, 2012 6:32 PM

.....

Buffalo presumably would align with the Blue Jays.

http://m.espn.go.com/general/blogs/blog ... =1c282&wjb

That's nice.

Oh, and WTF happened to Hamyltowne?

[edit] Damn, already being discussed in the Minor League thread.