Just AAAsking

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Where would you prefer the mets AAA team to locate?

Please discuss the merits of these fine cities of the empire state, appearing to be the choices for the mets next year.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Syracuse, only because it's closer to Queens.

But as long as they're in the International League I'll be happy, because it will allow me to see them play in Allentown.

[smg58]

Syracuse, simply because it's closer.

(On a purely selfish note, I wouldn't mind seeing Citibank Park in Central Islip make a pitch for them. Watching future Mets would have much more appeal than watching past Mets. Last month I saw Fonzie, Everett, and the rest of the Ducks get beat by Jose Lima. How depressing.)

[metirish]

Never been to either City but I'm thinking Syracuse is more appealing , it's closer and everything I have read about Buffalo is depressing.

[MFS62]

Buffalo, because:
1) My mother's family is from Buffalo
2) I can get 1520 AM on my car radio at night. And that's the station that broadcasts the Buffalo sports teams (college and pro).
3) I root for UCONN, so I can't bring myself to root for a team with "Syracuse" across its chest.

Later

[soupcan]

Syracuse, because:
1) MFS62's mother's family is from Buffalo
2) It's a helluva lot closer than Buffalo
3) I'm a Syracuse alum, so it makes it easier to root for a team with "Syracuse" across its chest.

[Methead]

Syracuse is pretty depressing too, but yeah, it's closer to NYC and the ballpark is relatively new (10 years old).

Plus if we all take a roadtrip up there, we can totally crash at my folks' place.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Both Syracuse and Buffalo are former Mets AAA affiliates. They were in Syracuse in 1962 (sharing their affiliation with the Washington Senators) and the Buffalo Bisons were a Mets farm club from 1963 through 1965.

I just checked on MiLB's web site, and it seems that the Syracuse team is still called the Chiefs. I thought I had read that they changed the name to "SkyChiefs." Either I'm remembering wrong or they recently changed it back. (I much prefer Chiefs to SkyChiefs.)

[Farmer Ted]

There was buzz in Buffalo about an expansion team at one time. I think it was Florida and Colorado that won out that go-round. The stadium there, apparently, can expand to about 35,000 if need be.

[Benjamin Grimm]

This is from the website of a Syracuse TV station:

="WSYR, Channel 9"]Schumer: Syracuse, Buffalo battling over Mets AAA team Syracuse, New York (WSYR-TV) - It's very likely we will see the Mets� AAA team in upstate New York next season -- but there's no guarantee that means Syracuse. Senator Chuck Schumer spoke with Mets owner Jeff Wilpon Tuesday night about the team�s plans for its minor league team, and while Schumer says there�s a 90 percent chance the Mets will relocate upstate, Syracuse is in a close fight with Buffalo for the Mets. Come April 9 next year -- Opening Day -- the Chiefs would love to start the season with the Mets as their affiliate, but they can't officially do anything about that quite yet. "I got the feeling he thought both were very desirable, and that they hadn't come close to making up their minds yet -- hopefully something good can happen," Schumer says. For people in central New York, that would mean the Mets landing in Alliance Bank Stadium. On Tuesday, the Chiefs officially informed Major League Baseball it would be shopping for other affiliations, likely bringing an end to a three-decades long partnership with the Blue Jays. That relationship has produced very few winning teams on the field, which is why many people here are eager to latch on to the Mets. New York's senior senator says he's been making a pitch to the Mets to come to Syracuse since late spring. "I represent both [syracuse and Buffalo]; originally Syracuse was the first to contact me -- I made a strong pitch for Syracuse," Schumer says. According to Schumer, it's very close between Syracuse and Buffalo. Major League rules prevent the Chiefs, and any other minor league team, from officially talking to the Mets until September 18.

[Methead]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: I thought I had read that they changed the name to "SkyChiefs.")

Yes, they had changed it... I didn't even notice they changed it back.

[Fman99]

Methead wrote: ="Benjamin Grimm"]I thought I had read that they changed the name to "SkyChiefs.") Yes, they had changed it... I didn't even notice they changed it back.

That is a new change for 2008. Chiefs is much better.

I voted for Syracuse, as I live 10 minutes from the ballpark and would love to have the Mets' AAA squad here in town.

Buffalo is New York's armpit.

[Frayed Knot]

Is Buffalo even "in play"?
I guess technically they all are since most agreements are for two seasons and run out after the even years, but it seems to me that they've been the Cleveland affiliate since ... like forever and I don't know if there are any rumblings of a divorce (as there apparently is with Toronto/Syracuse).
And just the fact that pols (Schumer and others) have been touting Syracuse while never mentioning Buffalo makes me think no one is thinking of western NYS as a target.
On edit: Article above makes it seems like maybe they are

- Buffalo is certainly the bigger market although the AAA team will always be a smaller fish in a bigger pond on account of the two major league sports franchises in that town.
- Not sure how the stadium issues factor into things.
- Syracuse seems like it's got a better shot at being part of 'Mets country' based on being closer to NYC and further from other ML cities (Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Toronto) while Buffalo always seemed to me to be almost more part of the near mid-west than 'upstate'
- I knew someone who always used to refer to Buffalo as the "city of basements". Never quite sure what he meant by that.
- Felix Unger's brother Floyd lives in Buffalo where he runs a gum company. Felix's idea for including opera cards with the gum didn't go over too well.
#10 in the series: Mimi get Tuberculosis

[Benjamin Grimm]

I remember the episode when Felix and Oscar were in Buffalo and one of them looked out the window of the hotel and commented on how many bowling alleys there were.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

It's my understanding that Buffalo is a better organization historically, and certainly it draws better than Syracuse. It is also more historically Met-ly than Syracuse, as one of the org's first outposts although I would be shocked if anyone in the Mets org even knows that.

Their park is old, is the drawback with them, and the Mets' recent use of AAA as a dumping ground for 30something suspects probably means they are not the best tenant out there for AAA.

edit-- The seriously, I just used a racist word when I really meant "Guardians" officially told Buffalo to suck it yesterday, so its in play for sure. The Mts will go, I predict, where it makes them the most $$ and/or costs the least. Not sure which that is?

[Benjamin Grimm]

This was posted on Tuesday:

="WGRZ, Buffalo"] Indians Sever Ties With Buffalo Bisons In a move about as shocking as a sacrifice bunt with a runner at first and nobody out in the late innings of a tie game, the Cleveland Indians officially severed their ties with the Buffalo Bisons, which almost certainly means the Indians AAA operations will soon be located in nearby Columbus. No surprise at all here, as the Cleveland Indians officially notify Major League Baseball of their intention to sever ties with the Buffalo Bisons after 14 seasons, all but certainly to move their AAA affiliation to nearby Columbus, Ohio. Ironically, the Bisons stumbled through their worst season as Cleveland's Triple-A affiliate in 2008, finishing 11 games below .500 and over 20 games out of first place in their division. Although Cleveland must officially wait until September 15th, when MLB officially informs all parties of teams and locations available. Not only is Columbus moving into a new downtown ballpark in 2009, its also expected that SportsTime Ohio, the tv home of the Tribe, will broadcast Triple-A games from Columbus as well. Where does this leave Buffalo? Toronto and Syracuse are splitting, but that doesn't necessarily mean the Blue Jays are headed for Buffalo. A Bisons source tells me the team is concerned about some anti-Toronto sentiment regarding the Bills games there, which might actually result in the Bisons going with the NY Mets. We probably won't know until September 18th, when clubs can officially begin negotiating. Quiet negotiations, rest assured, are already underway.

[soupcan]

As a student at SU from '83-'87 there was always a very large portion of the student body that hailed from the NYC area - especially Long Island.

Having a ready-made base of transplanted Mets fans in Syracuse as a result would be a great thing for the team.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Of course they are out of school for the majority of the season.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I would think that the Blue Jays would rather be in Ottawa than in Buffalo, but the Ottawa franchise folded a year ago and was replaced in the International League by Lehigh Valley.

Could Ottawa be resurrected? And if it is, would that mean the end of Buffalo?

[seawolf17]

No, Utica is the armpit of New York. Buffalo's pretty bad, though.

I voted Syracuse selfishly also -- a lot easier for us when we're up visiting family.

[soupcan]

Most of them sure, but a lot of kids did stay through the summer.

I remember going to more than a few games a year.

[Centerfield]

Syracuse. Being from Oswego and all.

[Guest AG/DC]

Newburgh is the armpit of New York.

I'm going with Buffalo. There's more other tourism around there, with the Falls and Toronto within driving distance, a more accessible airport, and it's the gateway to the Midwest when driving cross country. Buffalo, next stop Erie, Cleveland, Toledo, South Bend, Gary...

Wait, who stops in Gary?

Can Rochester not be considered a candidate?

[Guest metsguyinmichigan]

I voted for Syracuse because "Buffalo Bisons" is a really, really dump name. (And I realize that there is a difference between a buffalo and a bison.)

Gary. Shudder. Of all the times I've made the trip between Grand Rapids and Chicago, I can tell you that I've never once stopped in Gary. The Skyway goes right through downtown, and there's a ballpark right there....but we always keep driving.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Farmer Ted wrote: There was buzz in Buffalo about an expansion team at one time. I think it was Florida and Colorado that won out that go-round. The stadium there, apparently, can expand to about 35,000 if need be.

I think there was also talk, many years ago, about the Expos relocating there.

[soupcan]

metsguyinmichigan wrote: (And I realize that there is a difference between a buffalo and a bison.)

There is?

What's the diff?

[Guest metsguyinmichigan]

Buffalo




Bison

What everybody calls a buffalo is actually a bison. I learned this the hard way.

[Benjamin Grimm]

In America, there's no difference. The animal that's native to North America is a bison, but we call them buffalo.

The true buffalo are the European variety, the animals we call water buffalo.

[Guest metsguyinmichigan]

The Chiefs changed the name, but went to a train motif to avoid any PC Indian issues.

[soupcan]

metsguyinmichigan wrote: What everybody calls a buffalo is actually a bison. I learned this the hard way.

My curiousity is peaked.