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Columbus Clippers (11x Governors Cup Champion)

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Dispatch

CLIPPERS
Mets seem the best bet to replace Yankees here

Saturday, September 16, 2006

Craig Merz
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH




As word passed through the Yankees clubhouse Thursday afternoon that New York and Columbus were parting after 28 seasons, a look of shock enveloped many former Clippers.
"No way. Wow," pitcher Scott Proctor said. Relievers T.J. Beam and Jeff Karstens were equally stunned but quickly regained their senses to start the guessing game as to where the Yankees? triple-A affiliate will go and which team will fill the void in Columbus for the 2007 International League season.
Bringing them, and everyone else, up to speed: Columbus, New Orleans, Norfolk and Scranton are guaranteed teams. An official with the New York Mets who did not want to be identified said last night that the club is interested in Columbus.
The Yankees have left Columbus and are believed to be interested in Scranton, Pa. That location became available when the Philadelphia Phillies left for Ottawa, Ontario, but with plans to relocate the franchise to Allentown, Pa., in 2008. Ottawa was available because the Baltimore Orioles pulled out for parts unknown. Also, the New York Mets are pulling out of Norfolk, Va., and the Washington Nationals want out of New Orleans.
The process of officially courting a new affiliate begins today and runs through Sept. 30.
President and general manager Ken Schnacke said the Clippers would sign only a two-year agreement ? coinciding when agreements between the Reds and Indians and their triple-A cities expire in 2008 ? and if that limits their options, so be it.
"It could be a hindrance as to particular choices one, two, or three," he said. "We want to see how the partnership goes and not be tied down too far in the future. A two-year deal is more important than who we might get."
Longtime fan Don Martin said he is willing to live with what he called the "rent-ateam" approach as long as the Clippers are competitive.
"I became a Yankees fan because of the Clippers, but I?m a baseball fan first," he said.
The Yankees? decision has created the biggest buzz in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Pa., area. Although team officials knew before the season that the Phillies would pull out, the thought of the Yankees, who play some 120 miles to the east, as a replacement left many fans giddy. The Times-Leader of Scranton reported a deal is all but done.
"I?m very disappointed the Yankees are leaving, but I?ll still go to the (Clippers) games," said season ticket-holder Austin "Gene" Taylor, who has been attending games in Columbus since 1948. "I?ve seen them all ? the Red Birds, the Jets, the Clippers," he said of earlier affiliations with St. Louis and Pittsburgh.
Pete Stevens said he never imagined the Yankees leaving Columbus.
"It?s been so long. You get so used to Yankees-Clippers that you thought it would go on ad infinitum," he said. "I am excited, though, about the possibility of the Reds or Indians (farm team) here. I?d love to see the Tribe."
The Yankees likely desire a triple-A team closer to New York, but Ballpark Digest reported that the Yankees also like that Scranton might sign Mandalay Sports Entertainment to operate the team. Mandalay is already running the Yankees? club in Staten Island, N.Y.
The facilities can?t be discounted. Cooper Stadium is considered the worst in the International League, although a ballpark in the Arena District is planned to open in 2008 or ?09. The Red Barons? Lackawanna County Stadium is 17 years old, but a $3 million renovation was done to the home clubhouse this year and the team is willing to replace the artificial turf with grass if requested.
Taylor, who sits by the Clippers? dugout along first base, blames Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, a former Columbus resident who still has ties to the community.
"Steinbrenner pulled the rug out on us," he said.
[email protected]
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Dispatch

Contingent from Nationals tours Cooper Stadium
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Craig Merz
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH



The Columbus Clippers? courting of a new affiliate moved into high gear yesterday when a contingent from the Washington Nationals toured Cooper Stadium.
Nationals vice president-general manager Jim Bowden met with Clippers president Ken Schnacke and other members of the organization. Nationals president Stan Kasten and former Nationals president Tony Tavares were also reportedly present.
The Clippers are looking for a new partner following the severing of ties with the New York Yankees last week after 28 seasons. Scranton, Pa.; Norfolk, Va., and Columbus of the International League and New Orleans in the Pacific Coast League are the four eastern cities without affiliations but guaranteed teams next season.
The Times-Tribune in Scranton reported that New York Mets officials would visit Lackawanna County Stadium in Moosic, Pa., today. The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons are the front-runners to align with the Yankees, but apparently no club is conceding anything in the competitive affiliation shuffle. A Mets official said Friday his club is also interested in Columbus.
The Nationals have been in a fierce battle with Baltimore to get into the Norfolk market since the minor-league franchises were allowed to woo the major-league clubs starting at 12:01 a.m. Saturday.
"Within moments I was on the phone with one ? and then the other called," Norfolk Tides president Ken Young told The Virginian-Pilot.
Washington is interested in the Clippers in case the Orioles sign with Norfolk. If that happens, Columbus becomes even more attractive to the Nationals and Mets. Washington doesn?t want to return to New Orleans after just ending a two-year player-development contract there, and having an affiliate in the Pacific Coast League would be a hardship for any East Coast major-league team.
The Clippers appear to be in a good position to work a strong deal even though Schnacke has made it clear the club would only sign a two-year deal, knowing the affiliation agreements with the Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Indians expire after the 2008 season.
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Clippers to become affiliate of Nationals
By Craig Merz
The Columbus Dispatch
Wednesday, September 20, 2006 1:23 PM

The board of directors of the Columbus Clippers will meet this afternoon in the Captain's Club of Cooper Stadium to approve a working agreement with the Washington Nationals baseball team.
Sources said the player development contract, as it is known, is for the next two seasons, per the wishes of the Clippers. The deal includes the Nationals playing a major-league preseason game in Columbus next year.
Clippers general manager Ken Schnacke has said the team wants to have options when the Cleveland Indians and Cincinnati Reds affiliation agreements with teams in Buffalo, N.Y., and Louisville, Ky., respectively, expire after the 2008 season.
Nationals president Stan Kasten and general manager Jim Bowden toured Cooper Stadium on Monday and met staff and officials from Franklin County, which owns the International League team and stadium.
The Clippers were looking for a new partner after a 28-year relationship with the New York Yankees ended last week. The Yankees and New York Mets are vying to move their top prospects to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Pa. A decision could come today.
The Nationals did not renew their agreement with New Orleans of the Pacific Coast League and were considering Norfolk, Va., after the Mets and the Norfolk Tides ended a 39-year partnership this month. It appears the Baltimore Orioles, who left Ottawa, will have their affiliate in Norfolk and the loser in the Scranton sweepstakes will get New Orleans.
A source close to the Clippers situation said partnering Ohio's capital to the nation's capital offsets losing the high-profile Yankees. There are several other interesting connections. Bowden is a former Reds GM and understands the pressures that face the Clippers organization to align with one of the Ohio teams. There are a couple of ex-Clippers with the Nationals.
"If I had a pick, I'd take Washington because Alfonso Soriano and Nick Johnson played here," Clippers fan Don Martin said last week.
The Nationals will become the Clippers' third affiliate since baseball returned to Columbus in 1977. The Pittsburgh Pirates had their farm team here for two sub-.500 seasons. The Yankees signed on to start a run of three straight IL titles beginning in 1979. The Clippers won seven championships in all, the most recent in 1996.
Columbus finished 69-73 this season, last in the West Division.
http://www.columbusdispatch.com/news-story.php?story=213811
 
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Dispatch

TWO-YEAR DEAL
Nationals take helm as Clippers? new pilot

Thursday, September 21, 2006

Craig Merz
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH




The future of the Clippers began with a phone call from a man whose family has close ties to baseball in Columbus.
John W. "Squire" Galbreath II, a partner with the Washington Nationals, was instrumental in pairing his club with the Clippers.
Galbreath called Clippers President and General Manager Ken Schnacke on Friday, shortly after Major League Baseball teams were allowed to seek new affiliates. Galbreath is the grandson of former Pittsburgh Pirates owner John Galbreath, who lived in Columbus, and the son of former Pirates President Dan Galbreath.
That led to a conference call Saturday and a visit to Cooper Stadium two days later by Nationals President Stan Kasten and General Manager Jim Bowden.
Yesterday, the clubs announced a two-year player-development contract beginning with the 2007 season. Washington, a member of the National League, will place many of its top prospects here and also will play a preseason exhibition in Cooper Stadium. No money changes hands in the deal.
"The Clippers were our first choice," said Michael Shapiro, the Nationals? senior vice president of business affairs.
The Nationals replace the New York Yankees, who announced last week that they will leave Columbus after 28 seasons. Before the Yankees, the Galbreath-owned Pirates were the major-league affiliate for the Columbus Jets from 1957-70 and for the Clippers from 1977, when baseball returned after a seven-year absence, to 1978.
"That was a contributing factor in my interest in coming to Columbus," Galbreath said. "I tend to brag a lot to the people in Washington how great Columbus is and how it has a lot to offer.
"They already knew what a great tradition baseball has here. I was not telling them something new."
Shapiro said the Nationals are not worried about the Clippers? demand of a shortterm deal. Schnacke said the Clippers will want to explore their options after the 2008 season, when the Cincinnati Reds? and Cleveland Indians? affiliation agreements expire with Louisville, Ky., and Buffalo, N.Y., respectively.
"It?s entirely reasonable and understandable. Do you want to dive into another long relationship after just ending one?" Shapiro said.
"I?d classify it as an engagement for two years then see if it becomes a marriage," Franklin County Commissioner Paula Brooks said. "Both sides were frank about that."
A new Arena District facility, Huntington Park, also will be available to lure major-league teams by then.
"We?re still hoping it will be ready in ?08 but we feel comfortable if it turns out to be ?09," Brooks said.
The Nationals plan to be among the suitors in two years.
"I feel confident in myself, the team and the organization that we can prove we can put a winner on the field and be a good fit," Galbreath said.
Washington had its top affiliate in New Orleans the past two seasons but chose not to renew its agreement, partly because the team was in the Pacific Coast League. The Clippers play in the International League.
"Travel was an issue," said Andy Dunn, the Nationals? director of minor-league operations. "A chance to play in Columbus is too good to believe. Everybody on the East Coast wants to be in the International League."
Although some in the Yankees organization grumbled about aging Cooper Stadium, rebuilt in 1977, Dunn has no problems.
"You can have a stadium that?s old and run-down or one that?s an older facility and kept up," he said. "Ken and his staff have it looking game-ready today."
He?ll have to wait until the preseason exhibition or the regular-season home opener April 13 against Buffalo.
The Clippers will not change their name, logo or colors next season, but the Nationals presence will be felt nonetheless.
Kasten was the architect of a strong farm system for the Atlanta Braves that provided players for 14 consecutive division titles, a string that ended this year.
"There is a lot commitment to producing players from within and bringing them up through the system," Shapiro said.
The Clippers won seven International League titles with the Yankees, the last in 1996. They finished 69-73 this season, last place in the West Division.
Galbreath said the agreement is a dream come true.
"It was a team effort to make it successful. It?s definitely a win-win," he said. "I hoped it would get done but I didn?t want to take anything for granted."
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Dispatch

CLIPPERS NOTEBOOK
Pitchers will have to hit in some games
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Craig Merz
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH



Changes are coming to Cooper Stadium after yesterday?s announcement that the Clippers and Washington Nationals have signed a two-year agreement.
Sure, there will be a whole new crop of prospects to learn and Frank Sinatra won?t be crooning New York, New York through the loudspeakers after games.
But an even bigger difference will be how the game is played.
For the past 28 seasons, the Clippers? pitchers did not bat because their parent club, the New York Yankees, play in the American League and use the designated hitter. So the Clippers also used the DH for all games.
With the Yankees out of the picture, the Nationals of the National League will make their pitchers swing, or flail away in some instances. International League rules allow National League-affiliated teams to use the DH if they desire (they did) against American League affiliates, but their pitchers must bat when two National League teams play.
There could be four or five National League farm clubs in the league next season.
What?s in a name

The Nationals, of course, are the former Montreal Expos. When they moved to D.C. before the 2005 season, there was sentiment to rename them the Senators after the American League club that left following the 1971 season to become the Texas Rangers.
Coincidentally, the Nationals? double-A Eastern League affiliate is the Harrisburg (Pa.) Senators. Also, the baseball team in Columbus from 1902 to 1930 was the Senators.
The star for the Washington Senators in their latter years was former South High School and Ohio State star Frank Howard.
Seeing red

Columbus fans will recognize several names in the Nationals organization beginning with general manager Jim Bowden, the former Reds GM.
Ex-Reds manager Bob Boone is the assistant general manager/senior director of player personnel. Former Reds shortstop Barry Larkin is a special adviser to Bowden and former Reds pitcher Jose Rijo is a special assistant to the GM.
Also, Nationals players Nick Johnson and Alfonso Soriano played for the Clippers while in the Yankees? organization.
Near and far

Columbus is a much easier locale to deal with on all levels than having their triple-A affiliate in New Orleans, Nationals senior vice president of business affairs Michael Shapiro said.
"There are 11 nonstops (flights) a day from Columbus to Washington," he said. "It?s also closer to Harrisburg and our other affiliates."
One to watch

Third baseman/outfielder Kory Casto of Harrisburg was the Eastern League Rookie of the Year after hitting .272 with 20 homers and 80 RBI. He should be in Columbus in 2007.
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Re: "The Clippers were our first choice," said Michael Shapiro, the Nationals' senior vice president of business affairs.

The Nationals yesterday announced a two-year working agreement with Class AAA Columbus (Ohio), which will replace New Orleans as their top minor league affiliate. Though club officials touted the move, two sources said the preferred site was Norfolk because of its proximity to the District, which would have been a boon both for trafficking players between the clubs and for marketing purposes.
-- Washington Post
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/scorecard/09/21/truth.rumors.mlb/index.html

It really doesn't make any difference now; but I wonder which city was really the Nationals' first choice.
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Dispatch


The clustering of minorleague affiliates near their major-league partner is a growing trend in baseball, one reason the Yankees liked the idea of moving their triple-A franchise from Columbus to Scranton, Pa.
It could eventually work to the benefit of Columbus. Although the Clippers? choic-
for major-league partner were limited this year ? hence the two-year agreement county officials signed with the Washington Nationals ? Cleveland and Cincinnati theoretically could use Columbus as part of clusters when their agreements expire after the 2008 season.
Jeff Luhnow, vice president of player procurement for the St. Louis Cardinals, told The Wall Street Journal this week that clustering is not only "a good way to build up the regional fan base" but allows major-league executives to spend more time with prospects.
Indians director of player development John Farrell said as much last week in The Plain Dealer when asked if the team would be interested in Columbus. "We couldn?t do anything until 2008, but we would certainly take a close look at further centralizing our farm clubs," Farrell said. "Logistically, it makes a lot of sense."
The Indians already have three farm clubs in Ohio: double-A Akron and Class A Lake County and Mahoning Valley. Their triple-A franchise is in Buffalo, N.Y. The Reds have a Class A franchise in Dayton. Their triple-A franchise is in Louisville and their double-A team is in Chattanooga, Tenn.
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Dispatch

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre elated to get Yankees

Sunday, September 24, 2006

Craig Merz
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH




The Times-Tribune in Scranton, Pa., calls it "Yankee-Mania."
"It?s like Notre Dame relocating to Scranton," the owner of a sports apparel store told the newspaper.
Yes, the news Thursday that the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons had signed a two-year affiliation agreement with New York set off a torrent of emotions innumerable times greater than the relative disinterest in Columbus when the Yankees decided last week to end their 28-year partnership with the Clippers.
How big a deal is it in northeast Pennsylvania?
The Red Barons sold more than 47,000 tickets on Thursday and the phones rang nonstop Friday. The staff?s e-mail boxes were stuffed, too, and the team suggested fans go to the stadium to get order forms.
A Red Barons official said it is conceivable they could sell out every game this season in 11,000-seat Lackawanna County Stadium in Moosic, Pa.
That?s despite a 52 percent increase in the cost of a season ticket to $648 from $425 (a Clippers season ticket cost $395 in 2006, but the Red Barons have free parking).
The Red Barons sold 2,075 season tickets this year when they averaged 5,533 as a Philadelphia farm team compared with 7,519 for the Clippers.
But the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area has always been Yankees territory, and the Clippers were a draw whenever they visited. Autograph hounds with Yankees magazines, guides and baseball cards would greet the team upon arrival at the ballpark and be there when they left.
And they weren?t just seeking anyone?s scribbling. They know the stats and profiles of everyone in a Clippers uniform, even those just called up from double-A. During the games, there was as much or more support for the Clippers.
Yet to be determined is whether the Red Barons take on the Yankees name.
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Dispatch

Clippers to face Barons on April 27

Wednesday, September 27, 2006




Mark April 27 on the calendar. That?s the first opportunity for Columbus fans to welcome back the players they rooted for over the years when the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons, newly affiliated with the New York Yankees, open a four-game series in Cooper Stadium. The Clippers, who have a two-year deal with the Washington Nationals, play at Scranton/ Wilkes-Barre on May 11-14.
Other notes from the schedule: The season starts April 5 with four games at Indianapolis and three at Louisville before the home opener April 13 against Buffalo.
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