The Wranglers move to Springdale, AR is a done deal. I believe they will play next season in Wichita, but after that they are moving.

I am so glad you mentioned Billy Hall and Rex. I love watching Rex though as a SS. He just needs to invest in a batting cage at his place and work on his batting. But, as a SS he is great. Plus, hey.... it's Rex!

Billy Hall was someone you can not forget as a Mudcat. I actually kept up with him some in his independent league days after his stints with the Mudcats, with him breaking the stolen base record in the Atlantic League. Obvious problems with his fielding though.

In the same realm I am not sure whatever happened to Chris Bass, have a broken bat from him last year. I know he was released in spring training.

I would really like to see my buddy Michael Tucker back with the Mudcats. The ultimate utility player right there! OF, IF, P, C

Is there any possibility of the Yankees or Mets moving their AAA clubs? With Scranton/WB up for grabs, I could see both teams looking at the possibility of moving their AAA clubs to a location that's less than two hours away, sans traffic. I would prefer to see the O's or Nats come in myself. I could see the Marlins taking some interest since SWB is about the same distance from Miami as Albuquerque, the difference being that Lackawanna County Stadium is a MUCH better pitchers' environment.

I love watching Rex though as a SS. He just needs to invest in a batting cage at his place and work on his batting.

I was talking with someone who's in a position to know a little bit at the park the other night, and it's his feeling that Rex needs to spend some time with the weight machines. Rundgren's got a major-league quality glove and he'd have a career as a utility infielder if he could hit .250 with occasional pop.

Is there any possibility of the Yankees or Mets moving their AAA clubs? With Scranton/WB up for grabs, I could see both teams looking at the possibility of moving their AAA clubs to a location that's less than two hours away, sans traffic. I would prefer to see the O's or Nats come in myself.

The way that I understand it, it's a virtual certainty that the Orioles will be in S/WB next year. I have heard nothing about either the Yankees or the Mets being interested in a move. We'll know something in about a month, though; teams have to notify their affiliates by September 11 if they wish to renew.

-- MWE

Is there any possibility of the Yankees or Mets moving their AAA clubs?

I always thought the Yanks and Indians should trade AAA affiliates - Yanks get Buffalo, Indians get Columbus. Both are much closer. Plus, Columbus could probably use the affiliation with the Tribe to boost sagging attendance.

Do you think this has been a cause of the Braves' excellent minor league development in recent years? If so, how?

It might have helped in this respect: Except at Myrtle Beach, the Braves don't have to placate owners who may want the organization to pay more attention to the on-field W/L record. They can put all of their focus at each level into player development.

How much it helps? Not nearly as much as having people you trust in player development. The Braves have had a very stable organization - Snitker, Wheeler, Ingle, and the coaches have been there for years, and even though Jeff Blauser is a rookie manager, he's been in the player development side of the organization since retiring as a player and has long-time organizational coach and manager Philip Wellman as his top aide. But it can't hurt to have everyone on the same page, including the owners and business people.

-- MWE

I always thought the Yanks and Indians should trade AAA affiliates - Yanks get Buffalo, Indians get Columbus. Both are much closer. Plus, Columbus could probably use the affiliation with the Tribe to boost sagging attendance.

Buffalo's a pretty rabid Indians' market, though.

Columbus is getting a new ballpark in 2008, which should provide a shot in the arm.

-- MWE

Big Stein is originally from Columbus, before he relocated to Tampa, and insists on having a team there from what i've heard.

nice piece, btw, Mike

Off topic...

What's the Pete Incaviglia rule?

Even more off topic...

The pronunciation of Incaviglia's surname once sparked a fistfight between my older brother and me.

What's the Pete Incaviglia rule?

Incaviglia was drafted by Montreal in 1985, but refused to sign with the Expos - IIRC, because he wanted a major league contract. Montreal shopped around until it found a team (Texas) that was willing to accept Inky's terms. The Expos then signed him and immediately shipped him to the Rangers for P Bob Sebra and INF Jim Anderson. To prevent teams from acting as proxies for other teams, MLB then adopted a rule that prevents a major league team from trading a drafted player until one year has elasped from the date he signs his initial contract. Pelfrey signed with the Mets in January 2006, and is therefore ineligible to be traded under the Incaviglia rule.

-- MWE

Mike,

I see that site has Williamsport listed as signed with the Pirates through 2008. Is that correct? The last time I noticed any reference to it, they were only committed there through the end of this year, and expected to move to State College. I haven't seen any news of an extension, not that I necessarily would.

Thanks, Mike

I knew the rule but not its origins or nickname.

Why do you think MLB is very protective of the draft (as opposed to other sports which allow picks to be traded and so forth)?

The last time I noticed any reference to it, they were only committed there through the end of this year, and expected to move to State College.

I haven't seen an official announcement, so you may be right. I know that the Cardinals have been negotiating with Curve Baseball (which owns both the Spikes and Altoona, thus the speculation about Pittsburgh going to State College) to extend their agreement through '08.

-- MWE

BTW, parkwise State College is supposed to be amazing...even more amazing when you consider its a short-season park (and a big ten park in the spring)

Also its got to be killer, as a player, to be playing in a college town instead of, say, Ogden, UT especially come mid-late August.

when i first read that post, mm1f, i read it as "got to be a killer" rather than "got to be killer." And I was going to respond, "A killer? You mean a career killer?"

IOW, I agree with you 1000%

If I was Ted Lerner, I would get in touch with AD Deborah Yow at the University of Maryland, which is planning to build a new baseball stadium on the northeast part of campus (near the Comcast Center athletic complex) to replace bandbox Shipley Field. While it currently isn't the top priority in the university master plan, its construction could be accelerated if the Nats agreed to move their short-season Class A team there from Vermont. And since the college and NY-Penn League schedules don't clash, both the Terrapins and College Park minor-league team (I'd call them the Aviators, after the city's famed pioneering airport) could co-exist with minimal difficulty.

any chance montreal gets a team? that'd be cool.

While it currently isn't the top priority in the university master plan, its construction could be accelerated if the Nats agreed to move their short-season Class A team there from Vermont.

The Nats don't own the Vermont franchise, and there's no way the owners would move that team out of Vermont. The only NY-P team that might be interested in selling is Oneonta. The Tigers play in an old ballpark and don't draw very well.

The problem would be: Who would buy the team, and would they partner with UMd? Maryland Baseball, LLC would be a logical candidate, but they've got dibs on a brand-new facility being built in Charles County for an Atlantic League team, which would be a potentially attractive destination for the NY-P as well.

any chance montreal gets a team?

None.

-- MWE

Incaviglia is prounounced "een KA vee lee uh"

Very nice piece, Mike.

UMd and pro ball: Mike covered this nicely. More generally, affiliated pro teams are (by and large) unwilling to share with colleges.

Montreal: $5 says they join the Can-Am league - supposedly, there's private interest in building a stadium for just such a purpose.

I wrote to Mike McCann about Williamsport, and he responded with a nice note back indicating that he couldn't confirm the extension of the Crosscutters' PDC with Pittsburgh.

Modesto, on the other hand, has extended its PDC with Colorado through 2008.

-- MWE

Albuquerque has re-upped with the Marlins for two more years.

-- MWE

The Burlington, NC Indians of the Rookie Advanced Appalachina League, which according to that site, are owned by the Cleveland Indians are are affiliating with the Royals.

So now the Royals have both Burlington teams as affiliates. Yeesh.

There are going to be very few affiliation changes this offseason. There have been a lot of re-ups over the past couple of weeks.

-- MWE