Last season for the R-Braves?

Who to blame for the sad news that the ownership of the Richmond Braves has called the moving vans will be much discussed in the weeks ahead. No doubt, Mayor Doug Wilder will be under some scrutiny. But don’t jump on the Blame Doug bandwagon too fast, there were other players who contributed to where we find ourselves today, and they should be given their due, as well.

The R-Braves played their first home games on at Parker Field in 1966. It appears now that 2008 will be their last season at The Diamond; maybe it will shake out some other way.

The telling paragraph below is part of a brief story on the Atlanta Braves web site, “Braves looking to move Triple-A team.”

"While the Braves have a long history with Richmond that dates back to 1966, they too [sic] have had many recent problems with the city's reluctance to provide upgrades to the stadium that is known as The Diamond."

Click here to read the whole piece. More news is expected on this story later today.

If the upcoming season is played here that will make it 43 years, through at least three ownership changes, depending on how you want to define terms. That’s a long time for a minor league franchise, blame or no blame.