Topic: Lakers
Oswego Lakers Owner/GM Sean O'Leary annouced on April 23 that the expansion franchise will be playing their home games in Petco Park in 2007, which will be modeled directly after the park of the same name in San Diego. O'Leary noted the spacious dimensions will benefit his rag-tag pitching staff, which had been patched together during the 2007 Expansion Draft one day before.
O'Leary also confirmed that the franchise's minor league affiliate will be known as the UCSB Banana Slugs, in honor of the athletic teams at California-Santa Barbara. These two announcements, coupled with the new team nickname that was announced the day of the expansion draft, has caused Oswego fans to winder if O'Leary has himself a serious case of California Love.
Originally slated to be named the Fat Bastards - the landslide winner of a Western New York fan poll conducted earlier this year - O'Leary surprised NYLISL observers when announing the name change at the expansion draft. Admitting only that it was "kind of inappropriate," O'Leary said the team would instead be named the Lakers to honor the Great Lakes region that Oswego inhabits. However, cynics have noted that the Lakers may also be an homage to the NBA franchise in Los Angeles and, when coupled with the stadium name and the new AAA affiliate, have caused concern that O'Leary may fixing to pull a Walter O'Malley as early as next season.
For his part, the new owner/GM refused additional comment, saying only that he was committed to building a championship ballclub for Oswego and its fans.
Posted by nylistratleague
at 11:43 AM EST
