QuickJones81 Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 I had seen that the White Sox would have an AZL team and there was a question of what that meant to the current affiliates. Now there is news that seems to answer that question with the Pirates announcing they will have Bristol as their affiliate next year. Was there a similar Sox announcement prior to this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthSideSox72 Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 Nothing official from the Sox yet. Bristol is now definitely a Pirates affiliate. We talked offline with Merkin about the AZ team, all we know at this point is it is a short season rookie affiliate, for 2014, supposedly to be in the "Fire League". Merkin had said it was a NEW team, not a replacement. Maybe that changed? Or maybe these events are unrelated. Hard to tell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witesoxfan Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 It's definitely not going to just be an exchange, as this is the Pirates first American rookie league team that I can tell (though they do have a short season A ball team) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flavum Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 Less rain outs now. That's for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 http://www.southsidesox.com/minors/2013/10...on-with-bristol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boopa1219 Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 I thought that the purpose of gaining that AZL team was to have a place where the more raw prospects could develop and I remember Rick Hahn saying that the more affiliates an organization has the better the farm system because you can develop more prospects in your system. How does selling Bristol help us? And where those kids going to play? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witesoxfan Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 QUOTE (Joshua Strong @ Oct 16, 2013 -> 01:43 PM) I thought that the purpose of gaining that AZL team was to have a place where the more raw prospects could develop and I remember Rick Hahn saying that the more affiliates an organization has the better the farm system because you can develop more prospects in your system. How does selling Bristol help us? And where those kids going to play? Bristol has been an ad hoc raw prospect team. Moving them to an AZL league will probably improve their results and give the team a better feel for who is doing what. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caulfield12 Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 QUOTE (Joshua Strong @ Oct 16, 2013 -> 12:43 PM) I thought that the purpose of gaining that AZL team was to have a place where the more raw prospects could develop and I remember Rick Hahn saying that the more affiliates an organization has the better the farm system because you can develop more prospects in your system. How does selling Bristol help us? And where those kids going to play? Wait, the White Sox owned Bristol? What? I thought they were merely changing affiliations? That happens all the time, very rarely does any money change hands. MILB teams might be looking for a major league affiliate they think will boost attendance. MLB teams might change because of inferior field conditions/clubhouses/facilities compared to newer ones. It's also not uncommon for AA and AAA teams to try to pressure the major league affiliates to give them better talent/more top prospects to promote...and the major league teams will continue to stow away their best prospects in AA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boopa1219 Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Oct 16, 2013 -> 01:45 PM) Bristol has been an ad hoc raw prospect team. Moving them to an AZL league will probably improve their results and give the team a better feel for who is doing what. But was one of Bristol's biggest problem's was the log jam of players at certain positions (i.e Catcher), and those players were not able to receive ample playing time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChiliIrishHammock24 Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 That is such a weird concept to me, that minor league sports teams can essentially be traded to other organizations. Who do the people who live there then cheer for? Are they Pirates fans now? Are they fans of wherever these Bristol players move to? It's got to be a weird thing for a little kid whose favorite team is a minor league team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witesoxfan Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 QUOTE (Chilihead90 @ Oct 16, 2013 -> 03:33 PM) That is such a weird concept to me, that minor league sports teams can essentially be traded to other organizations. Who do the people who live there then cheer for? Are they Pirates fans now? Are they fans of wherever these Bristol players move to? It's got to be a weird thing for a little kid whose favorite team is a minor league team. If you live in Bristol, your favorite team is NASCAR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChiliIrishHammock24 Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Oct 16, 2013 -> 04:42 PM) If you live in Bristol, your favorite team is NASCAR What state is Bristol in? I've always assumed it was Bristol, CT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witesoxfan Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 QUOTE (Chilihead90 @ Oct 16, 2013 -> 03:45 PM) What state is Bristol in? I've always assumed it was Bristol, CT. Bristol, NC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balta1701 Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Oct 16, 2013 -> 04:54 PM) Bristol, NC Technically the city straddles the line between Virginia and Tennessee. The ballpark is actually in Virginia but it's about a mile from the state line; the line runs right through the city so there is a Bristol in both states. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witesoxfan Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Oct 16, 2013 -> 04:07 PM) Technically the city straddles the line between Virginia and Tennessee. The ballpark is actually in Virginia but it's about a mile from the state line; the line runs right through the city so there is a Bristol in both states. That's what I meant! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balta1701 Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Oct 16, 2013 -> 05:18 PM) That's what I meant! Got a really good italian sandwich and calzone about a hundred meters from the state line Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Oct 16, 2013 -> 04:07 PM) Technically the city straddles the line between Virginia and Tennessee. The ballpark is actually in Virginia but it's about a mile from the state line; the line runs right through the city so there is a Bristol in both states. Downtown Bristol is literally in two states. It is a beautiful town at the base of the mountains. Great golf there too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPN366 Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 QUOTE (Chilihead90 @ Oct 16, 2013 -> 03:33 PM) That is such a weird concept to me, that minor league sports teams can essentially be traded to other organizations. Who do the people who live there then cheer for? Are they Pirates fans now? Are they fans of wherever these Bristol players move to? It's got to be a weird thing for a little kid whose favorite team is a minor league team. The Birmingham Barons have been a White Sox affiliate the majority of my life. They are the reason I am a White Sox fan, as well as WGN. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted October 17, 2013 Share Posted October 17, 2013 Josh Feldman @BigTexJosh 3h (1/2) Bristol had 2nd-longest current affiliation w @WhiteSox behind @BhamBarons (since 1986). Then @WSDashBaseball (& Warthogs, 1997) ... Expand (2/2) @whitesox then affiliated w @KnightsBaseball (1999), @Intimidators (2001) & @gfvoyagers (2003), keeping same affiliates for 11 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caulfield12 Posted October 19, 2013 Share Posted October 19, 2013 (edited) http://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/whit...arizona-league/ I was definitely wrong about this one....forgot the Appy teams' relationships with their MLB affiliates. Beautiful part of the US. I remember seeing the Johnson City (Cardinals) stadium when I was going through there on a family vacation. Some pretty cool ballparks...I want to say that it had a hill/ledge in the outfield (RF), not unlike the Houston ballpark....or reminiscent of Chattanooga as well. Edited October 19, 2013 by caulfield12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harfman77 Posted November 6, 2013 Share Posted November 6, 2013 QUOTE (Chilihead90 @ Oct 16, 2013 -> 03:33 PM) That is such a weird concept to me, that minor league sports teams can essentially be traded to other organizations. Who do the people who live there then cheer for? Are they Pirates fans now? Are they fans of wherever these Bristol players move to? It's got to be a weird thing for a little kid whose favorite team is a minor league team. Its not as much that they are traded, as they are free agents. There was a big shakeup in the Midwest league at the end of last season and a lot of the teams are realigned now. When I was young our local team was a Reds affiliate, then in the mid-90's they became an Angels affiliate, this year was their first season as a Twins affiliate (great season for Buxton to be in A ball). The local team wanted to align with a more geographically aligned major league club to help boost attendance, and having some of the nicer facilities in the league were able to get one of their top choices. By the way the Twins prospects are good. I think they had 2/3 of an eventual major league OF here with Buxton and the underhyped Adam Brett Walker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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