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Young Drachma · 09-21-2007, 01:51 PM

MLB OWNERS MEET AT WORLD SERIES, HAMMER OUT NEXT SEASON'S SETUP

PHILADELPHIA -- MLB owners met and officially voted 27-5 to contract the Jacksonville Braves from MLB. The Braves owners received a settlement payment and all of the players on the team will become free agents as of the official filing date. The Braves will be folded officially and the owners of the old club will sell their interest to a new club, an expansion CL club called the Richmond Braves, that will begin play next season.

They welcome the Salt Lake City Bees to the MLB fold after their win in the MLB Challenge Series against the Chicago White Sox and formally seated the White Sox with the Continental League teams for 2001.

"We're not going to take this sitting lightly. We're going to work and we'll be back next year," said White Sox GM Gene Lamont. The White Sox, the 1982 and 1991 World Series champs, will have a challenging task getting back. First, they'll need to navigate the Continental League's salary structure, where there is a salary cap of $32.5 million for 2001. The league has strict revenue sharing requirements and ticket prices are mandated to be no higher than at a certain level.

Needless to say, this could kill a franchise if it stays down too long.

"We're not going to let it kill our proud franchise or its proud history," said owner Jerry Reinsdorf, who was one of the owners who opposed the Challenge Series plan in the first place. "We'll be back at the big table soon."

The Hartford Red Sox of the Continental League folded. But will return in the form of an expansion club based in Riverside, California, near Los Angeles, called the Riverside Red Sox. The team will be owned by internet mogul Mark Cuban, who said he grew up a huge baseball fan and "can't wait to get his hands on the new team and this exciting new city."

Baseball's old boy network weren't necessarily thrilled at the sight of the young mogul at first, but money talks more than anything and he was allowed to purchase the right to the new ballclub.

Other changes:

Southern Division renamed the National Division
Central Division renamed the American Division
Washington Nationals (MLB) formally became the Washington Diplomats
Orlando Manatees (CL) moved to St. Petersburg, Florida to play at Red Lobster Park. To become the Tampa Bay Rays.
Rolled back active rosters back to 25 and secondary roster size to 40-man. Ended the September call-up period.

Salt Lake City and Chicago swapped minor league affiliates (because the leagues are different), while Riverside will acquire Jacksonville's prospects.

09-21-2007, 01:51 PM	#23
Young Drachma Dark Cloud Join Date: Apr 2001	MLB OWNERS MEET AT WORLD SERIES, HAMMER OUT NEXT SEASON'S SETUP PHILADELPHIA -- MLB owners met and officially voted 27-5 to contract the Jacksonville Braves from MLB. The Braves owners received a settlement payment and all of the players on the team will become free agents as of the official filing date. The Braves will be folded officially and the owners of the old club will sell their interest to a new club, an expansion CL club called the Richmond Braves, that will begin play next season. They welcome the Salt Lake City Bees to the MLB fold after their win in the MLB Challenge Series against the Chicago White Sox and formally seated the White Sox with the Continental League teams for 2001. "We're not going to take this sitting lightly. We're going to work and we'll be back next year," said White Sox GM Gene Lamont. The White Sox, the 1982 and 1991 World Series champs, will have a challenging task getting back. First, they'll need to navigate the Continental League's salary structure, where there is a salary cap of $32.5 million for 2001. The league has strict revenue sharing requirements and ticket prices are mandated to be no higher than at a certain level. Needless to say, this could kill a franchise if it stays down too long. "We're not going to let it kill our proud franchise or its proud history," said owner Jerry Reinsdorf, who was one of the owners who opposed the Challenge Series plan in the first place. "We'll be back at the big table soon." The Hartford Red Sox of the Continental League folded. But will return in the form of an expansion club based in Riverside, California, near Los Angeles, called the Riverside Red Sox. The team will be owned by internet mogul Mark Cuban, who said he grew up a huge baseball fan and "can't wait to get his hands on the new team and this exciting new city." Baseball's old boy network weren't necessarily thrilled at the sight of the young mogul at first, but money talks more than anything and he was allowed to purchase the right to the new ballclub. Other changes: Southern Division renamed the National Division Central Division renamed the American Division Washington Nationals (MLB) formally became the Washington Diplomats Orlando Manatees (CL) moved to St. Petersburg, Florida to play at Red Lobster Park. To become the Tampa Bay Rays. Rolled back active rosters back to 25 and secondary roster size to 40-man. Ended the September call-up period. Salt Lake City and Chicago swapped minor league affiliates (because the leagues are different), while Riverside will acquire Jacksonville's prospects. Last edited by Young Drachma : 09-21-2007 at 06:05 PM.