Happenings

Yes, I'm still here! I know it seems like it's been an eternity since I've updated the blog, but I've been a busy guy this past month getting the "house in order", as it were. I know I left all of you in a little bit of a limbo regarding Baseball Road Trips for the foreseeable future. However, I've been really working hard in keeping my focus on those things that are important, and as the calendar turns to April, I'm excited to get going to baseball games again. I can't tell you all just how antsy I've been watching the Twitter and Facebook feeds with all the pictures at the ballparks. I know my time will come, so please keep patient and bear with me these next couple weeks.

One of the things I said I would do in the interim is write about anything noteworthy in the baseball world that deserves commentary. Well, as it turns out, locally there has been some news regarding the High Desert Mavericks team up in Adelanto.

To make a long story short, the city of Adelanto owns the stadium and have entered in to a lease with the Mavs to use the facility. The terms of the lease were pretty typical of Minor League Baseball-Municipality contracts, but apparently the Adelanto City Council and Mayor have had a change of heart. They're asserting that the lease is an illegal public gift and they served the Mavs with eviction papers last week. While the matter appears to be heading to some sort of arbitration or stay to allow for the Mavs to finish out the season, I'd be willing to bet that this will be last season of Mavericks baseball up in the High Desert.

I, personally, think the City is in the wrong. But, the real question is where the Mavs would go for both this year, should the eviction stand, and for the near future. I think that no matter the disposition of the proceedings, the Mavs are going to be leaving the High Desert permanently, in one way or another. The organization is going to stay in California because of the terms of the league and the affiliation with the parent club, the Texas Rangers. I've posed this question on a couple message boards and gotten some interesting responses. I'll try and give pros and cons to both.

Riverside:

This was surprisingly a popular pick both as an interim home and a potential long-term solution. The Mavs could play at the Riverside Sports Complex, where UCR plays now. That ballpark did host professional baseball in the not-so-distant past as it was the home of the Lancaster Jethawks before they moved up to Lancaster. The stadium, however, is showing its age and is in no way capable of hosting a professional team in the long term. It could be a short-term stop gap until a new park is built. Riverside certainly has the population to support a Minor League team, and the placement of the team would create a nice rivalry with Inland Empire, Rancho Cucamonga, and Lake Elsinore.

Palm Springs:

There was talk a few years back of putting in an independent Golden League team into Palm Springs to play at Palm Springs Stadium. Like in Riverside, however, the stadium is not up to professional standards, so could only feasibly be used on an interim. There's also the issue of the summer collegiate league playing there during the summer that would be displaced. The biggest question would definitely be the weather as Palm Springs in June, July, and August in unbearably hot. The parent organizations may frown upon that from a standpoint of player development. 

Long Beach and Fullerton:

Both of these cities played host to professional Golden League clubs up until a few years ago. Their stadiums are certainly big enough and in decent enough shape to host Minor League Baseball for a couple years, at least. But, the big question here would be the Major League clubs in LA and Anaheim. Goodwin Field is only 7 miles away from the Big A and 32 miles from Dodger Stadium. Blair Field is 18 miles from the Big A and 28 miles from Dodger Stadium. While there are some Minor League teams that are in that close proximity to Major League parks, i.e. Staten Island and Brooklyn, the Dodgers and Angels, one would imagine, would raise hell about territorial rights and markets. This would be especially pronounced for a farm team that isn't even their affiliate. 

Bakersfield:

There's been formal discussion between the owner of the Bakersfield Blaze and the city of Salinas to build a new park for the Blaze there. They're hoping for a new 3,500-seat ballpark to open in time for the 2017 season. If that goes through, which is hoping for a lot, the Bakersfield market would be vacant and have a stadium that could be used. The problem is that the reason the Blaze are moving is because that stadium is horrible and they don't draw hardly anyone to their games. If the Mavs were to relocate there, the same problems would just manifest themselves.

Sharing is caring:

The idea of sharing a park with another California League team was brought up. I think that it would be a tough sell to any of the other Southern Division teams to use their facilities for a rival franchise, not even on an interim basis. 

The Intangible:

 Maybe there is a city somewhere out there that is willing to pony up land and/or money for a new ballpark. I haven't heard anything, but it wouldn't be the first time I would be surprised.

Personally, I think the most likely choice is in Riverside. It seems like the option that can satisfy both short- and long-term issues. Only time will tell, I guess...

This weekend I get back on the Baseball Road Trip horse. This has been a long month off, and I am really excited to get going again. I'm slated to go to my first Angels game on Sunday as the play host to the Cubs in an exhibition contest. It's, technically, a Spring Training contest, so I'll get my first stamp in my Spring Training Passport. I'll still do the whole train/bike ride/downtown Orange circuit. 

Always take on a 3-0 pitch ;)