The Nigh Seen Creeder

"A Nashville investment group has agreed to buy the Double-A West Tenn Diamond Jaxx, and the lead partner said they will keep the team in Jackson, Tenn., for at least one more season.

"Reese Smith III, a minority partner in the Triple-A Nashville Sounds, said Monday they hope to close the deal within 90 days. The Diamond Jaxx, which is the Chicago Cubs' Double-A affiliate, confirmed the sale agreement in a statement."

-- Memphis Daily News, October 3, 2007

I think it's safe to say that the city of Nashville has no intention of helping the Nashville Sounds build a new baseball stadium. Indeed, given the rancor that followed last year's failed attempt to build a downtown stadium for the Sounds, it would appear that Mayor Karl Dean will pursue a strategy of passive indifference to issues related to Nashville's minor league baseball team.

So, what's next for the Nashville Sounds? Unless the Sounds find a surrounding county that's willing to build - or help build - an amenity-filled ball park, it looks like the Sounds are stuck with Herschel Greer Stadium.

Minor League Baseball has stated repeatedly that Greer Stadium is not up to AAA standards: the clubhouses are too small, the lighting is bad, and there are not enough luxury suites. Compared to new stadiums that've been built in places like Louisville and Memphis, Greer Stadium is really - and I mean really - showing its age.

That said, a couple of years ago, I attended 2 baseball games at Keyspan Park in Brooklyn. During one of the games, I remember thinking, "If only the Sounds could build something as nice as this!" Keep in mind that Brooklyn's minor league team, the Cyclones, is a short-season A team ... three steps below the Nashville Sounds on the minor league ladder.

I find the sale of Jackson's minor league team to a group of Nashville investors to be quite interesting, indeed Jackson, TN, simply does not have enough baseball fans to support a AA team; and the Diamond Jaxx's new owners might be envisioning a future move to a larger market, i.e., Nashville, perhaps as soon as 2009.

Nashville has had past success as a market for AA baseball; and Greer Stadium, while far from perfect by AA standards, still has a lot of life in it for minor league games below the AAA level.

It will certainly suck if Nashville loses its AAA-affiliation with the Milwaukee Brewers (the Sounds have sent several future superstars to the majors in recent years); however, the Sounds might be doing themselves a favor by moving down to AA. For fans, such'll ensure that there will be minor league baseball in Nashville for many years to come.