It’s time to engage in the sports media’s new favorite pastime: speculation.
But first we bring you the news.
Butch Hobson is coming back to the Atlantic League, but he won’t identify his next team. Tom King of the Nashua Telegraph broke the story in this article. Since there are only two managerial openings in the league at this time, we can safely assume Hobson will be running either the Barnstormers or expansion Southern Maryland Blue Crabs.
The question is: Which one?
Hobson makes sense for both clubs. In Lancaster, he represents an impressive hire for one of the league’s premier franchises. He instantly restores any on-field credibility that was lost last season and could support Keith Lupton in the baseball operations process. Players universally endorse Hobson.
Southern Maryland also makes sense because it’s a first-year franchise that currently doesn’t have a baseball operations person. Hobson could help build that organization from the ground up and he’d certainly help sell that new team to its prospective fans.
It’s possible that Hobson didn’t name his destination because he hasn’t been assigned to one yet. Maybe Opening Day Partners will decide who fits where after the ownership group has completed the managerial search process and made its two hires.
Regardless, Hobson’s return is a boost for the Atlantic League. He won a championship with the Nashua Pride in 2000 and is extremely well-respected for both his strategy and his ability to motivate. Either Lancaster or Southern Maryland is going to have a top-notch skipper next season.
Is it not sketchy how the Hobson situation is playing out?
Sure it makes for blogging entetainment but doesn’t his declaration just re-inforce the problems with the Atlantic League and ODP. There is very little independence. You would never have a pro free agent announce he is leaving his team and say, I am going to a team in the NL East… and leave it at that. Am I the only one who thinks this is unprofessional?
I hope Hobson comes to Lancaster. His presence will get the Barnstormers back to the playoffs and bring the roster more up to levels of respectability.
Jason- Any word if the AL is raising its player’s salaries?
Fat chance on the salaries going up….they havent done it in 10 years . I dont see it now.
southernalfan… I agree with what you are saying. I thought each team was doing their own thing but when you have ODP/Basa (yes I still feel BASA is around even if they make it look like it is gone) finding managers for both teams and then will later make the decision which team gets which manager. That is not the way things should be run in baseball. Also, I bet right now that players will be traded back and forth between the ODP/BASA teams during the season.
I read somewhere that Joe Klein said that the salaries in this league are strong and that they don’t see it going up any time soon.
Even though other leagues have different setup, I think league are catching up to the AL. It seem like less players made it to affliliated last year in the league. All the other leagues (not counting the two new indy leagues last year) had record players signed to affiliated. I still thing this league is top of the Indy leagues but they don’t seem to want to change with the time and it will bit them down the road.
BASA isn’t around any longer. The reason Danos and Lupton are looking for a manager for both Lancaster and Southern Maryland is the Blue Crabs’ front office isn’t in place.
Glad you mentioned that Jason….too many people are using the terms ODP and BASA as interchangeable parts and that is clearly not the case.
Oh and yes you will most likely STILL see players being traded back and forth from teams. Thats called trading.
And PTW how would you propose that Southern Md and Lancaster pick their managers otherwise.? Both teams are owned by the same people and those people normally will take care of the hiring. Since as Jason says there is no front office in place yet…the hiring decisions will be made by Danos and Lupton at both places. Or is this non existant BASA fault as well? Geez.
I don’t think there was ever any confirmation (until now) that BASA was officially gone.
whether BASA is around or not – one ownership group owning an entire division is asking for trouble. And I don’t think we’ll see anything different on the operations side so long as this is the case. Meaning lots of trading within the ‘family’. It’s in ODP’s best interest to keep a strong team, strong.
That being said – we’re barely into the offseason. Now’s not the time to condemn the new set-up before thay’ve had a chance to do anything.
Amy.. I know what trading is. I played the game!!! I was saying that you will see players moving around from one ODP team to another ODP team. I know you like to get into it with people on here but I am not going to get into a war of words with you. It is a waste of my time. Lupton and Danos should be doing the hiring for the Barnstormers. The Southern Maryland team should first get their front office in place. That should have already been done. Then their people should find a manager. That is how other teams have done it in the past.
If Amy is going to get into it with everyone that does not agree with her or questions her then maybe I just won’t post on here anymore. We are all fans of the Barnstormers and we all have different opinions but if we are going to get smart a$$ remarks or attacks from Amy then I don’t see a point being on here. I don’t have to post here to be a fan of the team. We all have our own opinions but it is funny how when there has been problems in the past, Amy has been in the middle of it. Her act is getting old. I hope I don’t have to have a post like this every again and we all can get along even if we don’t agree or have different opinions I would rather be talking about the Barnstormers.
Jason… BASA was part of ODP. They say BASA is gone but those same people are still part of ODP and ODP has four teams in a same division. To me that means BASA is still around even if the set up is not the same. If everyone that had a say in BASA was no longer part of ODP and have no say with the teams then I say BASA is gone. All they did was change the setup and say there is no BASA. That is not getting rid of it.
I do think things will be better this year with this setup but I just feel there will still be questions and problems
I agree with you Scottie. Even if everything is legit and fair, when you have one owner that owns 4 teams in the same league and even the same division, question will be asked and you are just looking for trouble.
It still is a long ways away but I can’t wait to see what players we get this year and how many are players that played here befor and how many will be new.
Oh my god play to win you win…congrats!
Oh and what exactly did I say wrong? I am talking about the Barnstormers and I am stating my opinion..read post 7..Southern Md and Lancaster are owned by the same people..Danos and Lupton make the decisions for the hiring thats all that was said. If there’s no other front office in place yet…then that is what they have to go with at this time. I am not trying to start anything with anyone here…where’s the smart….comment from me? Just because I asked you who should do the hiring of their manager because they don’t have a front office? What exactly is my act? I know you think I do like to get into it with people on here but thats not the case….
Herr may not be the manager here even though I still think he will be. When this all started I thought it was a safe bet that he would be the manager here. Now we know Hobson is going to be a manager of a team. Even though it is just a guess, my guess is going to be that Hobson will be manager of the Blue Crabs. I may be wrong but I get this feeling that ODP really likes Backman a lot. So I can see it going to be Backman or Herr for the Barnstormers. If I had to bet then I still think Herr will be the manager here but he may not. ODP may want Backman and his name in this league so Herr may not get a chance here again. Again, this is just my opinion and most of this is just a guess. I know there are other guys that interviewed and some of them would do a good job, I just don’t see them getting a job in the AL this year. It will be fun to see how it all works out. I do hope they hire one very soon though.
My vote is for Hobson to be the manager here.
Off Topic:
I don’t know or think anyone cares much about College baseball on here but I been helping a friend out with his college baseball site and I have been putting together the top 15 college baseball players for each position (middle infielders are together as many of these players can bounce back and forth from 2B and short). I am working on the outfield right now and then have the pitchers to do. I have the rest done. We will update it each month of the regular season. If anyone does like college baseball or is interested in it then I can send it to them. Like I said, I don’t know if anyone here is interested in college baseball but I thought I offer.
This is my last post with Amy about this. It ruins this site and that is not what I want. I am moving on. Last year you got into it with people and made many smart a$$ comments when people had a different opinion than you. I did not feel like or have the time to go back and find all your comments. Tonight was not as bad but here are a couple of ones tonight. Most night this would not get too me but it just keeps happening. You did it all last season.
Every time there is a problem on here with people, you are in the middle of it.
Here are some examples:
I posted this in post 3: Also, I bet right now that players will be traded back and forth between the ODP/BASA teams during the season. (That was an opinion)
Post 6 (Amy Post): Oh and yes you will most likely STILL see players being traded back and forth from teams. Thats called trading. (This was a smart a$$ comment or you did not read my post)
Post 7 (Amy Post) Or is this non existant BASA fault as well? Geez
Post 11 (Amy Post): Oh my god play to win you win…congrats!
Those are minor to some you did during the year.
I am not the only person to have a problem with you and you just have to go back to older post to see.
I would like to stop this because it ruins this site and what this site was created for. I know people probably tired of us or you and others getting into it. It’s not fair to them and I really don’t want to ruin it for the others. You don’t have to like me but I am not going to post stuff like this anymore and I am going to keep it just on the Barnstormers. If it gets bad then I stop posting on her. It not fair to others. Lets talk about the Barnstormers.
PtW – I took it the same way.
Which is what drove me to post – if nothing else than to let you know you’ve got a friend.
Thanks
BASA, as a company, doesn’t exist any longer. It won’t be used to sign players and it doesn’t occupy office space at Clipper Magazine Stadium. So, in that sense, it’s over.
Will there still be some transactions between the teams? Probably. But I highly doubt it will be like last season because the baseball operations people will have a personal stake in the outcome. Their job evaluation depends on how their team performs. That’s a huge change — and a necessary one. When the Barnstormers need a player, I believe they’ll get one. That’s the way it worked in 2005.
Until that is proven to be the case, I think the stench created by BASA will remain around for a while.
According to the AL’s site, BASA still exists to hire the umpires…
At any rate, PTW, I’m interested in College Baseball… put a link to your site.
I doubt Backman ends-up in the AL. I think Lancaster gets Hobson and I thought Minor was the man in SoMd. Am I forgetting something? Did Minor get a job elsewhere? He’s been a loyal AL guy and it may be time to reward him with a head job.
How about the Crabs go to Etchebarren, with Minor coaching third? Having managed at Aberdeen gives him a leg up on local name recognition, still not sold that Minor has enough time in to run the club. A couple years seasoning, then heir apparent? That leaves Hobson in Lancaster, a good choice for a lot of reasons.
Sorry that leaves Backman the odd man out, he’d be lots of fun.
I can see the “Wally’s World” tee-shirts now.
I agree that I don’t see Minor be the head man just yet. I think we will see him coaching third for the Maryland team. I do think he will get a job as a manager soon but not this year. He seems to want to be a manager and I he will soon.
Southernalfan..email me at james.avol4life@gmail.com and I will send you the information for the college baseball.
I have an old Wally’s World t- shirt from my high school days. I cannot bear to give it up.
It’s difficult to say if Minor is ready to manage. Although he’s well-respected in clubhouses, he’s never done the job. But I think if you’re going to gamble on a first-year manager, it’s good to do it with a first-year team. Expectations are a little lower and the manager can grow into the role. Still, there are some big-time candidates, so it’s hard to see Minor beating them all out.
Considering his familiarity with Danos and Lupton and his background, Etchebarren sure looks like a good fit with the Blue Crabs. But is he a big enough name? Does that even matter? I don’t know.
I’m still on the Backman bandwagon. I’d like to see Backman in Lancaster and Hobson in SoMd. Those games would be great.
Jason.. you probably know him the best of all of us. How is Herr going to take it if he is left out in the cold and does not become a manager this year in the league?
Herr’s in a tough spot. Coming back to the Atlantic League doesn’t advance his career. He’d be exactly where he was in 2005, only three years older. There’s also nothing to prove here. He already had the perfect season and won the championship. So, if the Barnstormers go with someone else, I think Herr can accept it. That’s the vibe I got from him anyway.
WOW, looks like I’ve been missing all the fun! I love it when Amy gets feisty!
I’m with ya Jason, I’m still hoping for Wally. Probably for the same reasons too. Who cares how one giant team (ODP) that is spread out into 4 teams and given the name the Barnstormers does. I want to see some good baseball and crazy drama!!! I want to see Wally freak out and bite an umpire! I want to see fireworks being played to American music while chugging on beer and hotdogs. I want to see a fake rivalry turn into a bench clearing brawl. I want to see people like Amy on the side lines scratching at players that make 8 bucks an hour only to be given the cold shoulder. I want to see a show at this point.
Whos with me!!
Ow beautiful for spacious skies for ambers ………
Is Bob the Drunk back?
PTW
I feel your pain. It does get old doesn’t it. Count me in with Scottie as a friend.
Hey Syd,
How about an update on the booster club?
Hope it’s going well. Can’t wait to hear what you and your group have planned.
Hi PTBNL
The Booster Club is moving right along. Our next Steering committee meeting is Tuesday the 13th. Lots of things going on. you can visit our web site at
http://www.barnstormersboosters.org.
The site is under construction but you can see the Booster club Logo and in the future get updates, pay dues and sign up for any trips we have planned.
I’ll post any important updates here on the blogg
Thanks for asking.