Latest in Sky Sox affiliation saga - Latest: Upgrades confirmed in San Antonio's Stadium

[LouisEly]

I have never heard anyone say the words "Fresno....its not that bad." There's nothing they could have done that I wouldn't forgive if it meant not moving to Fresno.

They don't call it Fresyes.

[brewmann04]

I will be ok with Fresno people make good point about nashville . I still want Vegas

[DHonks]

Fresno is pretty bad. The good news is our players would be so bored that they'd have nothing to do but practice and think baseball

[trwi7]

Nashville is definitely the best option for 2019 with option #2 being Wichita in 2021 with a placeholder for the next two years. The rookie league affiliate is also going to be very interesting as the only person who will like the Colorado Springs affiliation would be a bus driver getting paid by the hour. Returning to Ogden would be ideal if they plan on staying in the Pioneer League and maybe there is a chance as the LAD just announced four affiliation extensions, but not one with Ogden. Great Falls and Orem would also be Pioneer options likely better than Colorado Springs.

You would think the Rockies would have a keen interest in the sky Sox at the rookie level, lose to home easy to use for rehab etc .

 

I'm not sure why Colorado would care that Colorado Springs is close. It's not like they're going to use a Rookie League team for call-ups and their current Rookie League team is in Grand Junction, which isn't really close to Denver but still in Colorado.

[LincolnDD]

And the Rockies own the team in Grand Junction, so they won't be moving to Colorado Springs (unless something weird and drastic happens...).

[patrickgpe]

Isn't Vegas considered to be pretty hitter friendly. I personally would rather have an affiliate that is in a fair park closer to Milwaukee the better, rather than somewhere that is cool to visit. I would rather have an affiliate in Fresno that is a fair ballpark in a boring city than one that is hitter friendly in a cool city. Im still hoping for Nashville but Fresno is a nice constellation prize.

[patrickgpe]

here is why i would like fresno; reviewing the ball park factors (admiringly from 2016) Fresno is as much as a neutral ball park as one can be, Las Vegas is 4th in the PCL in offense (still way better than CS I admit), while Nashville appears to be quite the pitchers park.

 

https://www.milb.com/milb/news/toolshed-stats-triple-a-ballpark-factors/c-208823408

[LincolnDD]

So THIS is pretty interesting...

 

Whispers have been flying around that Houston’s move to Round Rock is everything but a done deal, with the Ryan family holding ownership stakes in both the Astros and the Express. That opens up Fresno, but leaves the Texas Rangers, Round Rock’s current tenant, looking for a new home. While the team relocating from Colorado Springs to San Antonio may seem the obvious choice for Texas, it would put them in a small, 25 year-old ballpark older than all but one other PCL stadium (counting Cheney Stadium’s recent renovation). And despite the state of Texas’s history of throwing money at new stadiums, don’t expect anything public financing for a ballpark San Antonio, at least as long as Mayor Ron Nirenberg is in charge.

 

So perhaps it’s not as big a surprise that a rumor out of Nashville says Texas already has a handshake deal in place in the Music City. Both Nashville and Dallas are Southwest hubs, with plenty of daily nonstop flights, making shuttling players a breeze (the flight between the cities is half as long as the drive from Arlington to San Antonio). The Rangers also have a sterling reputation among minor league affiliates, making them an attractive option for the Sounds.

 

https://wtop.com/washington-nationals/2018/09/where-will-the-nats-triple-a-team-end-up-in-2019/

 

So pick your poison. The article also assumes the A's take Vegas, which leaves San Antonio and Fresno for the Brewers and Nationals. I wonder if the relationship with the CS/SA ownership group would come into play.

[patrickgpe]

And the Rockies own the team in Grand Junction, so they won't be moving to Colorado Springs (unless something weird and drastic happens...).

 

Does it really matter where rookie ball is? Yes CS is not ideal, but its a nice ballpark with better facilities than anywhere in rookie ball by a mile. Wisconsin and Carolina would give the brewers a good indication of the players ability, and they can still get accumulated to pro ball in a pretty nice park. I wouldn't mind staying in CS.

[walleye]

And the Rockies own the team in Grand Junction, so they won't be moving to Colorado Springs (unless something weird and drastic happens...).

 

Does it really matter where rookie ball is? Yes CS is not ideal, but its a nice ballpark with better facilities than anywhere in rookie ball by a mile. Wisconsin and Carolina would give the brewers a good indication of the players ability, and they can still get accumulated to pro ball in a pretty nice park. I wouldn't mind staying in CS.

Your probably right on does it matter points ,maybe more in the mind type problem then actual issue. It has such a reputation of being a beast to pitch in and hitters have more power then they should or would any where else that there’s probably more fear factor of picking up bad habits then anything else.

[young guns]

Heck, correct me if im wrong, but helena is already a hitters haven(though Im guessing for different reasons). I think the onky real difference between the two would be pitchers having a harder time trying to develop breaking stuff in cs.

[DHonks]

Isn't Vegas considered to be pretty hitter friendly. I personally would rather have an affiliate that is in a fair park closer to Milwaukee the better, rather than somewhere that is cool to visit. I would rather have an affiliate in Fresno that is a fair ballpark in a boring city than one that is hitter friendly in a cool city. Im still hoping for Nashville but Fresno is a nice constellation prize.

 

 

How many direct flights daily are there from Fresno to MLB cities? How many direct flights from Vegas? Besides my love of Vegas, I think it's a far superior location. Plus Vegas has a brand new ballpark in a nice area.

[patrickgpe]

Isn't Vegas considered to be pretty hitter friendly. I personally would rather have an affiliate that is in a fair park closer to Milwaukee the better, rather than somewhere that is cool to visit. I would rather have an affiliate in Fresno that is a fair ballpark in a boring city than one that is hitter friendly in a cool city. Im still hoping for Nashville but Fresno is a nice constellation prize.

 

 

How many direct flights daily are there from Fresno to MLB cities? How many direct flights from Vegas? Besides my love of Vegas, I think it's a far superior location. Plus Vegas has a brand new ballpark in a nice area.

Yes Vegas is a better city, but isn’t the goal to train players for the bigs not have a cool city for fans to visit and the players to play in. I’ll take a boring city in a neutral park over Vegas all of the time.

[DHonks]

Isn't Vegas considered to be pretty hitter friendly. I personally would rather have an affiliate that is in a fair park closer to Milwaukee the better, rather than somewhere that is cool to visit. I would rather have an affiliate in Fresno that is a fair ballpark in a boring city than one that is hitter friendly in a cool city. Im still hoping for Nashville but Fresno is a nice constellation prize.

 

 

How many direct flights daily are there from Fresno to MLB cities? How many direct flights from Vegas? Besides my love of Vegas, I think it's a far superior location. Plus Vegas has a brand new ballpark in a nice area.

Yes Vegas is a better city, but isn’t the goal to train players for the bigs not have a cool city for fans to visit and the players to play in. I’ll take a boring city in a neutral park over Vegas all of the time.

 

Given how the Brewers shuttle their players in options-years, do you really want them playing planes, trains, and automobiles to get anywhere? I’ll take direct flights everywhere for $1000 please

[And That]

The Brewers' players will only be in their AAA home city about half of the time, and there's often not a need to get a player to Milwaukee within 12-18 hours. In fact, they'll often fly guys in to be with the Brewers as a just in case. The emergency "need to get a guy to Milwaukee NOW" thing almost never happens. The direct flight thing is almost a complete non-issue.

[KeithStone53151]

Yes Vegas is a better city, but isn’t the goal to train players for the bigs not have a cool city for fans to visit and the players to play in. I’ll take a boring city in a neutral park over Vegas all of the time.

 

Given how the Brewers shuttle their players in options-years, do you really want them playing planes, trains, and automobiles to get anywhere? I’ll take direct flights everywhere for $1000 please

 

I was going to make this point as well. Vegas is almost an ideal location because of the travel/flights situation...especially considering it's AAA and how often we shuttle between the two. Vegas would be my first choice of the 4 options. Both Nashville and San Antonio would be decent though unlikely alternatives. Fresno is clearly the worst option. I feel like Texas and Washington will end up with Nashville and San Antonio one way or another, i think it's down to us vs Oakland for Vegas.

[balsamlaker]

If the Texas to Nashville rumor has any truth to it, it is likely to come down to Washington and Milwaukee for Fresno and San Antonio. Is there any reason that Milwaukee would favor Fresno, other than ballpark factors? Is there any reason San Antonio would favor Washington? At the rookie ball level, if the Brewers leave the Pioneer League, I would think Hillsboro or State College would be the most likely options.

[patrickgpe]

The Brewers' players will only be in their AAA home city about half of the time, and there's often not a need to get a player to Milwaukee within 12-18 hours. In fact, they'll often fly guys in to be with the Brewers as a just in case. The emergency "need to get a guy to Milwaukee NOW" thing almost never happens. The direct flight thing is almost a complete non-issue.

Good points, also Colorado Springs is hardly a national hub for flights and the brewers did OK. Some are making way too much into the travel thing.

Also never heard of an occasion where the astros couldn’t get a player to Houston in time.

[FVBrewerFan]

The Brewers' players will only be in their AAA home city about half of the time, and there's often not a need to get a player to Milwaukee within 12-18 hours. In fact, they'll often fly guys in to be with the Brewers as a just in case. The emergency "need to get a guy to Milwaukee NOW" thing almost never happens. The direct flight thing is almost a complete non-issue.

 

Truth. The whole direct flight issue means nothing. Worst case, if they really need to get Ziawski to Milwaukee that quickly, there are charter flights.

[LincolnDD]

The travel does get overblown a bit, and the Brewers wouldn't be the first to experience that sort of inconvenience (the very eastern Marlins have been in the PCL most of their existence, including two separate stops in Alberta, Canada). It is very rough on the players, especially in an era that's really upped the emphasis on player development, though.

 

But it is what it is. The best way to look at it is any current option is an improvement over Colorado Springs. If it ends up being Fresno or San Antonio, it'll be nice to get the AAA arms back into a neutral playing environment. If it's Vegas, the players will end up in some of the nicest digs in AAA.

[homer]

The absolute best thing about Fresno is the airport code: FAT

[LincolnDD]

Nashville has informed the A's that they're not welcome back in 2019. Those Sounds owners are a finicky bunch, aren't they?

 

https://www.sfchronicle.com/athletics/article/Sources-A-s-told-they-won-t-be-back-at-13232600.php?utm_campaign=twitter-premium&utm_source=CMS%20Sharing%20Button&utm_medium=social

 

The Nashville Sounds have informed the A’s that the affiliation agreement with the A’s is over, two sources told The Chronicle. One possibility to ink a deal with Nashville are the Rangers, who are expected to lose their Triple-A affiliate in Round Rock, Texas, to the Astros in the latest round of Pacific Coast League musical chairs. The Nationals potentially could be in the mix for Nashville, too, should Texas head to San Antonio instead.

 

Second mention of the Rangers in Nashville, for whatever that's worth.

[patrickgpe]

at this point, why would any mlb team sign up for the sounds? Whoever lines up for the brewers, I really hope we can finally have some stability at the triple a level.

 

If it is the Rangers in Nashville, I'd love to know why they wouldn't go to San Antonio. Seems like it would make a lot of sense, especially if they are getting a new ball park.

[Eye Black]

If it is the Rangers in Nashville, I'd love to know why they wouldn't go to San Antonio. Seems like it would make a lot of sense, especially if they are getting a new ball park.

One of the issues with San Antonio seems to be political hurdles that need to be navigated before a new stadium will be built. The mayor has vocally opposed using public funding for a new stadium while it is believed the Elmore group isn’t interested in privately funding a ballpark. The mayor recently insinuated that the Elmore Group has failed to bring forward proposals for funding a stadium. Another issue is the current stadium is located in southwest San Antonio which isn’t as desirable of a location as something closer to downtown. The Double-A Missions have gone several seasons in which they had the lowest attendance in the Texas League.

 

It seems like for San Antonio to move ahead with a successful Triple-A baseball venture they may need the Rangers more than the Rangers need them.

[LincolnDD]

Yeah, for the Rangers, it's weighing geography versus facilities. Same for the A's, too.