RIP Gib Shanley
April 7, 2008Joe Borowski Will See Your Blown Save and Raise You One Better
April 8, 2008
When it comes to baseball, Cleveland and Cincinnati really aren’t rivals. Since inter-league play began, there has been the I-71 series, or the “Battle of Ohio” as the clubs have tried to market it. But honestly, there really isn’t much animosity or ‘battle’. Going back, there was the Ray Fosse/Pete Rose collision, which I’m sure earned Rose and the Big Red Machine a little grief north of Columbus. Truth be told, the Indians and Reds haven’t really played each other much, and many Northern Ohio baseball fans are fond of both teams.
In my community there are several big Cincinnati fans, and we get along fine. Thankfully, they are not Bengal fans, so we don’t have trouble there. We enjoy talking baseball together. Mostly they thank us for giving up on Brandon Phillips. For Ohio baseball fans, the connection is about to get stronger.
We know that Cleveland will be moving to Goodyear, Arizona next year for Spring Training. Well, now it seems they will have company. Starting in 2010, the Cincinnati Reds will also train in Goodyear.
The joint Reds-Indians construction project will cost an estimated $108 million. The two teams will share a 10,000-seat stadium, but will have separate offices, practice fields and clubhouses. The Reds’ clubhouse would be a minimum of 38,000 square feet.
Goodyear, which is located 20 miles west of Phoenix, plans to use the Reds-Indians facility as the centerpiece of a $1 billion mixed-use development featuring offices, shops, restaurants, housing, hotels and a conference center.
To me, this is a win-win. The Indians and Reds will have plenty of opportunity to play each other, and Ohio fans will be able to stay in one location and see plenty of baseball. What a great idea. I have never been able to make the pilgrimage to Florida for the spring, but I think this new complex and opportunity to see baseball everyday, in the same place could certainly tempt me to enjoy some nice weather in the middle of winter.
By the way, expect to see more Wahoo protests, especially considering this.
4 Comments
That’s pretty cool. I hadn’t heard that. A few Columbus-based people that I work with up in Cleveland are fans of the Browns, Buckeyes and Reds. Weird, I know – but I guess all-encompassing.
And regarding the protests, it’ll never stop and will only magnify as the Tribe’s exposure increases…
I think most Cleveland fans that like the Reds followed that Big Red Machine team because they were really good and the Indians, well, sucked. The Reds are sort of Ohio’s team for baseball, though with the recent successes (since the Jacob’s Field era) I think the Indians are begining to pull even.
So you’re calling them frontrunners! 🙂 Excellent.
I actually like the Reds as well. Sort of like my NL team. Great young pitching staff, some solid bats and their stadium is right across the river from the Hofbrauhaus!
Very Nice.
Maybe they will still be there in 2045, when I will have the funds and a wife that will alow this trip to happen. lol