Thursday, March 8, 2012

Are You Kidding Me?

For an organization constantly denying it plans to move the team out of town permanently, it's a bizarre, and some say, insulting move.

The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees will be the "Empire State Yankees" for the 2012 season.  The team will play most of its games in Rochester while the stadium in Moosic is being renovated.

By the way, I dropped by the stadium yesterday to take a look around.  Other than boulders blocking the driveways, there is zero activity.  If this place is going to be ready for the 2013 season, they'd better get on their horse.

The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees have been struggling at the gate.  Attendance was awful, so now, insult is added to injury by changing the name of the team.  It's not the way to keep fans.  This is just another public relations blunder by Mandalay, the organization that manages the team.  This is the same bunch criticized by the past county commissioners for a lousy promotions schedule.

On top of that, there's the arrogance of this bunch.  Newswatch 16 reported that Mandalay never bothered to inform the Lackawanna County commissioners and the stadium authority of the "temporary" name change.

This is clearly an attempt to get the fine people of Rochester, NY to come to the games and buy merchandise.  I get that.

What about fans and taxpayers down here-- the ones who paid for the stadium, the ones who will pay for renovations, and the ones who supported the team?  That team is still ours.

I can't wait for that big "welcome home" party, if it ever happens.