2019 Affiliate Dance

There are three new ballparks opening in the minor leagues next year - Amarillo TX, Las Vegas, and Fayetteville NC.  Normally new ballparks means parent clubs jockeying for new affiliations, and that will certainly be true in 2019:

• San Antonio Missions moving AA team to new Amarillo ballpark, name and affiliation TBD
• Colorado Springs Sky Sox moving AAA team to San Antonio, retaining the "Missions" name and its Brewers affiliation
• Helena Brewers moving Rookie League team to Colorado Springs, name TBD.  Expected to remain a Brewers affiliate but not confirmed.
• New York Mets purchase Syracuse Chiefs (AAA), moving from Las Vegas
• Oakland A's switch AAA affiliate to new Las Vegas ballpark, moving from Nashville; name TBD
• Houston Astros switch AAA affiliate to Round Rock Express, moving from Fresno
• Texas Rangers switch AAA affiliate to Nashville Sounds, moving from Round Rock
• Washington Nationals switch AAA affiliate to Fresno Grizzlies, moving from Syracuse
• Buies Creek Astros (high-A) moving into new Fayetteville NC ballpark, name TBD

This sort of thing happens every even-numbered year, as typical parent-affiliate contracts are signed in 2 and 4 year cycles.  What is notable to me and the reason I'm writing about this is the surprising signing of the Brewers with San Antonio.  The Round Rock Express are partially owned by Nolan Ryan's family, who is also a special assistant to the Astros.  So, when the Express announced they would not be renewing with the Rangers next season, it was all but a foregone conclusion that the Astros would sign with them and the Rangers would switch to San Antonio.  I don't think anybody including the Brewers were expecting to get into such a great situation in San Antonio.  It's not the best ballpark in the country - almost 25 years old and 8 miles from downtown - but it a fantastic market in one of the largest cities in the country.  It'll be easier for the team to travel, in the same time zone as Milwaukee, and certainly a better situation than the likely alternative of Fresno, which is one of the worst parks in the circuit.  Between the upgrades being made to Wolff Stadium and the talks of a new ballpark, it was enough to sway David Stearns.  It's only a 2-year deal, so if San Antonio has not broken ground on a new park in the next two years, look for the Brewers to push hard to move to the new Wichita stadium in 2020.  Either way it's great to get out of the 6000+ ft altitude of Colorado Springs, at least on the AAA-level.  I'm not too concerned about the results of our Rookie League team being affected by the move.  At that age you're looking more at raw ability than ERA and homeruns allowed.

Hopefully the Brewers can bring the same excitement to the Missions as they did the Sky Sox this year, who narrowly missed a division title by one game on the last day of the season.

STANDINGS AND UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 09.19:

Brewers 86-66, -3.5, +2.0 WC #1 (3 v. Reds, 3 @ Pirates, 3 @ Cardinals, 3 v. Tigers)

Reds 65-87, -24.5, eliminated (3 @ Brewers, 4 @ Marlins, 2 v. Royals, 3 v. Pirates)

Twins 70-81, -14.5, eliminated (3 @ Tigers, 3 @ Athletics, 3 v. Tigers, 4 v. White Sox)

2018 GAMES ATTENDED:

Erik - 15 (+17 worked)

Peter - 22

September Call-Ups

With all of the change around baseball since Commissioner Manfred took the reins, and with the looming CBA negotiations only a few years away, it is widely speculated that use of the "September Call-Up" will be changed dramatically, or may even go the way of the dodo.  Our own beloved mustachioed former GM Doug Melvin was one of its most vocal critics for years, arguing that changing the rules of the game in the most important month of the season made no sense.  Adding additional roster players also increases the chances of more in-game substitutions and pitching changes - and thus lengthening the game - something that MLB has tried to stifle at every turn.  Mainly for this reason, I would not be surprised to see MLB teams having to report a roster of a certain size for every game in the near future.  This compromise keeps the tradition of the call-up in tact while leveling the playing field a little bit.

The long standing tradition of calling up minor league players goes back to the implementation of the 40-man roster in 1921.  It serves many purposes, such as rewarding minor league players having a good season, helping to manage the workload of a 162-game schedule, or simply as a way to get a look at young players in high-leverage situations before the following spring.  It also allows teams to add veteran players to a roster for a playoff push, which is why you often see a flurry of waiver claims made on August 31st every year - including the Brewers picking up Curtis Granderson, Gio Gonzalez, and Xavier Cedeño.  All of these things validate the use of the September call-up in my mind.  I understand the counterargument, but if you have a deep farm system you should be allowed to use it, especially when players are dragging 5+ months into a season.  I can't even imagine how the Brewers bullpen would hold together over this month without this rule in place.  Certainly not to be overlooked is the in-game strategy and added excitement for even just the casual fan.  In fact, some of the most exciting players and biggest moments in baseball history were September call-ups.  Randy Johnson pitched only 26 innings as an Expo in September 1988, but it was all the Mariners needed to see to trade for him the following year en route to a Hall of Fame career.  K-Rod was called up in 2002 and went on to win 5 games out of the bullpen during the Angels World Series run.  David Price was called up with only 2 weeks left in the 2008 season and ended up closing out the Rays' Game 7 of the ALCS.  Among the notable call-ups this year, I would expect for Alex Verdugo to get a look for the Dodgers - their top overall prospect - and the Cardinals to call Carson Kelly back up to relieve the aging Yadier Molina down the stretch.  The Blue Jays may even call up Vlad Guerrero Jr., if for anything just to sell tickets.

The Brewers already have 36 of their 40 guys in the clubhouse as of Monday, and I would expect once the Biloxi minor league season is over that number might even expand to the full 40.  They're going to need every one of those players to contribute at some point this month to make it to the finish line.

STANDINGS AND UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 09.04:
Brewers 78-61, -4.0, +1.5 WC (3 v. Cubs, 3 v. Giants, 3 @ Cubs, 3 v. Pirates)
Reds 59-79, -22.5, -17.0 WC (3 @ Pirates, 4 v. Padres, 3 v. Dodgers, 3 @ Cubs)
Twins 63-74, -14.0, -19.0 WC (3 @ Astros, 3 v. Royals, 3 v. Yankees, 4 @ Royals)

2018 GAMES ATTENDED:
Erik - 14 (+16 worked)
Peter - 20