'Tis the Season to be Moving - Chicago, New York, Burlington, Sioux Falls and Scottsdale are newest ML cities

Chicago, IL - In the first of a series of ML teams announcing relocation to open the next season, the south side of Chicago will once again have a team. The Columbus Flatlanders, following a change in ownership at the end of last season, have announced that they will play the season in Chicago, giving the city both an AL and NL team.

The Flatlanders, after several seasons as one of the top teams in the NL, had a sudden change in management, with an unexpected sale of their team in the middle of a pennant race. The new owners are moving to Chicago, where they will be known as the Chicago Shoeless Joes.

American League baseball returns to New York city, with the former Toronto Saints announcing that they are relocating to the big apple and the franchise will be known as the New York Fadeaways.

In Burlington, VT, the former team from Iowa City, the Bison, had a press release to declare them the new home for the roaming herd. The bison had been looking for an Eastern city to host them since the end of last season when IA City failed to renew the lease on their stadium. "Burlington welcomed us with open arms after the deal fell through in Iowa City", said team spokesperson Mike McGlinchy. The Bison are retaining their team name and logo.

The Pawtucket Sox announced a move to Sioux Falls, where they will be known as the Cougars under new ownership.

Finally, Scottsdale Arizona will have baseball beyond spring training. The former Colorado Springs Raiders will play the S14 season with Scottsdale as their home town. They will retain the name of Raiders.

In New Orleans, the team is undergoing a facelift and image remake. The former "Fifth Ward Reds" will now be known as the Ragin' Cajuns, a more uplifting name that has immediate appeal with the local, regional fanbase.

Bison Herd Migrating in Season 14

Iowa City, IA - The Iowa City Bison announced today that they will not play in Iowa City next season. The announcement came days after the team failed to reach an agreement with the city on the lease of Principal Stadium.

Iowa City spokesperson and former player Mike McGlinchy issued a statement: "We are very grateful to the fans who gave us a great home after jumping from Columbus to New York before landing here. It is unfortunate that the city's demands were not something we could work with, leaving us homeless and our loyal fans in a bit of limbo. We warned them that we would be forced to look elsewhere if a deal could not be reached, and I don't think they were listening. We have several prospective cities that are offering us mutually beneficial deals and we will explore those options, although we will not discuss those at this time. We need to make a decision quickly, preferably on a short term deal at a different city, while we explore the options of a long-term deal somewhere. The thing is, we could not move on to next season and have the league set the schedule without a stadium deal in place, and we ran out of time with the Iowa City negotiators for next season. They are still delusional in thinking that we are bluffing. Time's up. The league needs to know where we are playing, and it can not be in Iowa City for next season. They are unrealistic about timelines and expectations, and we can not keep postponing the inevitable."

A spokesperson for the mayor's office said: "These are tough economic times for the working people of our city. We have had to make some tough financial decisions across the board, making cuts left and right, and we can not give away the use of the stadium when it is a clear source of revenue for the city, and we know they could easily meet our demands if they wanted to. We think they are bluffing and they will not move. We just need a break from the negotiations and we will reconvene next week and invite them to the table to start all over the week after that."
The Bison have previously explored relocation. After their first two seasons in Iowa City, attendance was dismal and they explored relocation, but an improved team resulted in higher attendance, and the team chose to stay. Prospective suitors at that time were San Juan PR, Burlington VT, Richmond, VA and Washington, DC. Since then, Richmond has secured a ML franchise, but the other cities may still be interested. Burlington has shown the most interest in landing a ML franchise, since losing their franchise to Baltimore after S10.

PORTLAND WINS S13 WORLD SERIES

The Portland Rain won the S13 World Series by beating the New Britain Bombers in 7 games. Leadoff man and "Rain-maker" Alex Gonzalez was named the World Series MVP after hitting .306 in the postseason, including 4 HRs, 10 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. In presenting the award, the Comissioner of baseball said "Gonzalez showed why he is one of the best leadoff men in baseball - power, speed and clutch hitting. We are honored to present him with this award." Although multiple players played key roles in the Rain's win, including Bip Bartee, Vasco Picasso, Robb Gant and Adrian Beltre, Gonzalez steady and consistent performance throughout the series, with key moments of clutch hitting, made him a standout amongst the media voters.

In addition to the award, Gonzalez was presented with a brand new Chevy Corvette.