Nationals renew Harrisburg affiliation

This is actually disappointing. Richmond is a market the Nats need

...sigh...

1) You can't trade draft picks.
2) You must wait a year after the draft to trade a player
3) The minor league affiliates are NOT owned by the team (with a few rare exceptions). THEY play where THEIR owners want them to play NOT where YOU'D like them to play or the Nationals would like them to play. (IOW, you can just give up on Richmond now, it's NOT HAPPENING).

Actually Richmond's Double A agreement with the SF Giants expires after this year so the Nats could have come to an agreement with Richmond. Missed opportunity. Richmond makes a lot more sense marketing wise and growing the fan base wise than Harrisburg

I am fine with the Senators being our AA affiliate, I would have liked us to move to another AAA affiliate. But OldDude is right, that we can't just move a minor league franchise.

They shouldn't leave the new ballpark in Harrisburg until Richmond commits to a new one of their own. So now there's two more years to get it worked out.

I thought Richmond's AA team was one thats owned by the franchise, didn't the Giants relocate them there?

Alex35332: The Richmond Braves franchise was owned by Atlanta, and Atlanta moved the franchise to Gwinnett County, Georgia. The current Richmond franchise was previously in Norwich, Connecticut, and its owners moved it to Richmond when that market opened up last year. The Giants are its affiliate, not its owner.

Cosmo06,
Thanks for clearing that up, I thought that the Giants moved the team somehow.

I like Harrisburg myself. Takes two hours to get there and two hours to get to Richmond... and the drive up 15 is far nicer than the drive down 95... (It also has the nice side benefit of being on the way to and from the best amusement park in the US - Knoebels)

I amw ith you OldDude, Harrisburg is also a nice little town, and the Senators stadium in the middle of the river on an island. Very Cool.

Maybe we could trade some draft picks to San Franciso in return for us moving the AA team we own to Richmond.

Lovely ballpark in an interesting location, nice town, interesting state capitol, easy drive for a weekend of minor league ball. So, I'm for.

Harrisburg and Syracuse are renewed. Anything regarding Potomac? A move to Loudoun County?

Ladson reporting DL for SS

link

http://therocket.mlblogs.com/

@OldDude Knoebels will always hold a special place in my memories of growing up in PA, but I think you might be going a little overboard there. ;)

PD Contract expiration dates from Baseball America (The GCL Nationals aren't listed, I would guess - though I didn't confirm it - that they are team owned. Granted, none of the GCL teams were listed, so...).

Short Season - Vermont Lake Monsters - 2010
Low A - Hagerstown Suns - 2010
High A - Potomac Nationals - 2010
AA - Harrisburg Senators - 2012
AAA - Syracuse Chiefs - 2012

So, all the contracts were/are up this year.

sigh...

1) You can't trade draft picks.
2) You must wait a year after the draft to trade a player
3) The minor league affiliates are NOT owned by the team (with a few rare exceptions). THEY play where THEIR owners want them to play NOT where YOU'D like them to play or the Nationals would like them to play. (IOW, you can just give up on Richmond now, it's NOT HAPPENING).

Posted by: OldDude | August 23, 2010 2:47 PM | Report abuse "
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Thanks for the lecture and the caps. They really do emphasize your point. rolleyes

I'm quite versed in what minor league teams can and can't do. I was aware that the Giants contract ran out and that Richmond was possibly interested in the Nats. The fact is Harrisburg will never be Nats country, whereas Richmond is a golden Opportunity and those folks would become Nats fans. The folks in PA for the most part will not. I like harrisburg, but was thinking in line with the best interest of the parent club.

@LColors: Nope, I'm not. I've ridden 230+ coasters in parks all over the US, Canada and Europe, and it is my considered opinion that: 1) all the best coasters (with a very small handful of exceptions) are under 110' tall and made of wood and 2) Knoebels is the best damn park in the country (you find me better bumper cars someplace and I'll consider it, but...).

Why? Trees (lots of them, big ones - not those little puff ball things that get 8 feet tall that most "cut everything down and pave over it - oh, crud we should have some 'trees'" parks plant - with benches underneath them, lots of benches under lots of trees), actual edible food (no cardboard pizza and crappy frozen microwaved stuff - well, the new "food court" has some of that, but it's easy to avoid) and fantastic ice cream, The Phoenix (Great coaster!), it's in the middle of nowhere and it's FREE to get in and park - so you get families not roving packs of teenagers (which are only fun when you ARE a teenager), a spring fed pool (Brrrrr! But great in August when it's really hot) and finally those fantastic bumper cars.

I'll take a bunch of good rides with reasonable lines in a nice place with good food and shade over a bazillion rides slapped in a giant parking lot with huge lines and bad food ANY DAY.

Oh, and Disney is different, it's a Theme Park not an Amusement Park and they do THAT better than anyone.

Um. Go Nats! (is that enough baseball to keep this on topic?) :)

OldDude,

I agree with you, Knoebels is a fantastic family amusement park. Best amusement park I've ever been to. Beats the heck out of King's Dominion or Six Flags any day.

Okay, you guys have sold me. Road trip! :-)

I like harrisburg, but was thinking in line with the best interest of the parent club.

Harrisburg is much closer to Philadelphia.

Cap fans come up to Hershey, so why is Harrisburg so bad. I like it very much!