No way to the Jays
Someone named "Jays fan" posted a comment last week on our entry about Richmond leaving the International League in 2009 and wondered if the Bisons might hook up with Toronto in '09. The possibility exists if Cleveland leaves Buffalo for Columbus, a move I wrote about several times last season that I think is more and more likely to happen.
I say there's no way, no how, no chance the Bisons sign an agreement with Toronto. Here's why:
1). The Blue Jays have a long history of not caring if their Triple-A team is winning. Syracuse has not won a single playoff GAME, let alone a series, since 1994. Losing, mediocre baseball is not part of the Bisons' agenda.
2). I don't see a huge attendance bump for the Bisons from Southern Ontario Jays fans. Maybe a little, especially in the first year, but not enough to base an affiliation choice on.
3). Here's my big one -- I think the Bisons understand it would be PR suicide to hook up with Toronto at this time in the city's history. People in Buffalo don't want to be the minor-league underlings to Toronto in anything. We HATE the Maple Leafs and especially the way their drunkard fans try to take over our arena every time their team is in town. And we hate how Toronto keeps looming over us as a potential home for the Bills someday. Hey, they're getting one of our regular-season games next year. So now our baseball team is going to join into a partnership with them? To folks in Buffalo, Toronto is becoming our Evil Empire.
I'm going to explore the Bisons' affiliation issue plenty over the course of the season. If Cleveland leaves -- and that's still an if -- I would say the Bisons will be most interested in the Mets and Pirates. But plenty of other teams (notably the Nationals and Brewers) could be very interested in Buffalo. We'll see.
---Mike Harrington
