The New Haven Ravens are heading to Manchester, N.H.
PORTLAND –With the ink on the marriage certificate barely dry, do the Portland Sea Dogs already have competition for the affections of the Boston Red Sox?
Not according to Sea Dogs general manager Charlie Eshbach.
“We’re not concerned at all,” said Eshbach.
The Red Sox waived their territorial rights on Thursday, paving the way for the Eastern League’s New Haven Ravens to move to Manchester, N.H., to start next season.
The announcement, which came on the same day the Sea Dogs were to make their debut as a Red Sox affiliate, was made in a press conference at Manchester City Hall that included Red Sox President Larry Lucchino.
The Red Sox reportedly will have marketing and promotional rights as part of the agreement.
“I know they’ve worked out a deal,” said Eshbach. “I don’t know the details of it.”
The Ravens are owned by Drew Weber, who also owns the Red Sox short-season Class A affiliate, the Lowell (Mass.) Spinners.
Initial plans call for the team to play in a renovated Gill Stadium next season before moving to a 6,500 seat riverfront stadium in 2005.
The Ravens’ affiliation agreement with the Toronto Blue Jays runs through next season. The Sea Dogs contract with the Red Sox also expires at the end of the 2004 season.
Could the lure of a new stadium even closer to Boston be enough for the Red Sox to leave Portland after next season?
“We entered into a relationship with the Red Sox with the intentions of making it a long-lasting one,” said Eshbach. “I don’t think this changes that.”
Weber purchased the New Haven franchise back in January with intentions of moving it to Manchester after failing to lure the Red Sox to New Hampshire.
Major League Baseball rules required Manchester to get approval from Boston because the city fell within a buffer zone that each club holds around its protected territory. The Pawtucket Red Sox, Boston’s Triple-A affiliate, also must give approval because Hillsborough County, where Manchester lies, is within the PawSox zone.
The move would also need the approval of the Eastern League, which has yet to go through the formality of voting on Weber’s purchase of the Ravens.
“With the proposals I’ve seen for the site in Manchester and with a strong management group, I think it would be a good fit,” said new Eastern League president Joe McEacharn.
Manchester last had a minor-league team back in 1971 when the Manchester Yankees competed in the Eastern League.
According to the Manchester Union-Leader, the Red Sox have never given a team that didn’t have ties to the club permission to operate in their territory.
No matter what the affiliation situation is, the Ravens’ move to Manchester will give Portland a natural geographical rival for the first time.
“I think it’s a good thing,” said Eshbach. “It nice that we won’t have to travel as far. It also will give our fans a chance to go down there and see us play, and their fans can come up here.”
Sea Dogs notes: For the second straight night, the Sea Dogs home-opener against the Trenton Thunder was postponed Friday because of bad weather conditions. The teams will try again today at 1 p.m., with tickets for Thursday night’s original opener honored. Fans with tickets for Friday’s and today’s regularly scheduled games can exchange them for comparable seats for any game throughout the season … McEacharn also adressed the issue of having the Sea Dogs open the season in Maine, which Eshbach called “ludicrous” and “short-sighted” on Thursday. “Our policy is you open up at home every other year,” said McEacharn. “Sure, there are some teams that would be receptive to changing that. But predicting the weather is an inexact science. If they had opened up (in Maine) last week, everything would have been fine.”
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