Affiliate shakeup!

Here is a delayed post on the various shakeups on affiliate changes that affect us locals on the autograph circuit from the Eastern League to the New York/Penn League.

The AA Eastern League was unaffected and stood pat as all the affiliates stayed with their parent teams as did the High A Carolina League.
So if you liked those leagues before,I am sure that you will love them now!

The Low A South Atlantic League had just one new team enter the league in the Kansas City Royals.
The Royals will be the new parent club of the Lexington Legends,who will make two stops in Hagerstown next season.
Lexington may draw some extra fans next season as it is possible that Hagerstown native Christian Binford could be assigned to the Legends.
The loss to the graphers though is the departure of the Houston Astros,as now there will be two opportunities for the Royals between Lexington and Wilmington of the Carolina League.
Unfortunately for locals,that means that we will miss the top overall pick of last years draft in the Astros Carlos Correa with the Astros no longer in any of the local leagues.

The New York/Penn League swapped three teams around from inside the league,but the effect was good and bad for the author.
The State College Spikes had been at odds with the Pittsburgh Pirates for months and it had been rumored that the relationship between the two teams was beyond repair.
The rumors proved to be correct as the St.Louis Cardinals swooped in and grabbed the Spikes from the Pirates,
The Cardinals had been in State College for the first season of the Spikes and had reportedly been reluctant to leave,so this made lots of sense to me.
The Pirates then hooked up with the Jamestown Jammers,who had already filed the paperwork to request a move for 2014 (likely to be Morgantown WV),so the Pirates will play in Jamestown for a year and then move to Morgantown,which is a town firmly in Pittsburgh territory.
In order for the Pirates to take over in Jamestown,the Jammers had to break their contract with the Miami Marlins,who had no choice,but to take the last team remaining in the former home for the Cardinals-the Batavia Muckdogs.
As much as I will miss having the Pirates in State College,I could not have picked a better replacement for them than the Cardinals.
The Cardinals New York/Penn entry is the only chance to get Cardinal autographs,so if this had to happen,I am happy with the Cardinals....

Back later or tomorrow with a look at my evening at the Muni as the city tries to sell that the Muni needs replaced.
If you have a thimble full of common sense,that would not be a tough sell,but some of the crowd was missing said thimble.......