Quebec Capitales achieve the 3-peat.

[shawa666]

Won the final against the New Jersey Jackals with a 6-4 win.

[QuebecCapitalesFan]

Won the final against the New Jersey Jackals with a 6-4 win.

WAY TO GO CAPS!!!! I'm very proud of them!!!:grin:

[minorleaguebb]

Great Choice to moving the playoff games from Pittsfield... New Jersey fans never showed up either. I think Miles Wolf, Should WIN Idiot of the year award for the CANAM League. If he want's to control everything in the League, Why don't he buy and Own all the Teams. Thats why he's only an owner in an Independent League, He would have total control in a Real League... Good luck to all the Pittsfield Players & Fan's, Thanks Buddy... You had no Chance with Miles in Charge !

[BerkshireFan]

Good luck to all the Pittsfield Players & Fan's, Thanks Buddy... You had no Chance with Miles in Charge !

Huh? I don't get it. Miles Wolff is to blame for the 800+ average attendance? I guarantee you that Buddy Lewis was relieved to not have the added expense of playoff games that he was just going to lose money on. I heard him say as much in August of 2010 when the team was about to make the postseason.

Listen, I will defend Pittsfield to the hilt when it comes to why baseball is failing here. In other threads I have gone on ad nauseum about all of our disadvantages. And in spite of those disadvantages, I think Buddy Lewis made a herculian effort to turn the Colonials into a recognizable presence in the community. But the city is burnt out on the revolving door of teams.

If the owners of the NECBL team we're getting next season have any sense, they'll buy the rights to the Colonials name and uniforms and skip the bi-annual name the team contest. An illusion of continuity would be a halfway decent way to start.

Sorry that the Caps threepeat thread got hijacked. Congrats to QC.

[minorleaguebb]

BerkshireFan you should take sometime to get your facts straight... The NECBL isn't coming back to Pittsfield... It's a whole new league thats looking to coming in the Futures Collegiate Baseball League (FCBL), which is looking to expand. They should come in Fresh new look and name if they wanna make a go of it, which still doesn't look that good about making it. Also for the Canadian American League don't really see it lasting much longer if they try expanding and it fails, unless they merge with another league and get someone that is independent, and not an owner of a team. I was in no way putting down the Capitales players for winning the Championship.... Just the Owner Miles Wolff, buy a team in another league and you won't have total control of the league, or Buy all the Teams in the CANAM. It didn't help having a travel team this past season, look at the money that got wasted, even though it added extra Home Games... That shows Miles had no Business sense for the league, just his self.

[shawa666]

Actually, Miles Wolff sold the Caps to local ownership before the season.

[QuebecCapitalesFan]

I always knew Pittsfield wouldn't work in the Can-Am League. It took Miles 2 years to figure that out. Trois-Rivieres was staring right in his face with a refurbished stadium and all, but I still think putting teams in Pittsfield, Newark and Ramapo, NY was a bad idea. I have to admit I was wrong about Ramapo, as their attendance proved it. I commend Mr. Wolff on making attempts to put a team in the Ottawa-Gatineau region. I think putting a team in Gatineau would be a better idea once they have a stadium in place in a couple years. The Capitales' league-leading attendance figures proves that independent baseball will work in Canada just as much as in the US, if not more. The local ownership for the Caps definitely was key, for the Caps enjoyed their best season ever. They did a fantastic job marketing the team, and keeping it competitive on and off the field. I hope they continue to do so in the future, and I'm betting they will.

As for Pittsfield, they join the ranks of Atlantic City and Sussex as lost Can-Am ventures. Newark may soon join them.

[BerkshireFan]

BerkshireFan you should take sometime to get your facts straight... The NECBL isn't coming back to Pittsfield... It's a whole new league thats looking to coming in the Futures Collegiate Baseball League (FCBL), which is looking to expand.

I know what the FCBL is. I went to one of their games in Nashua this summer. Last I heard we were getting the NECBL team in Old Orchard beach. Regardless, it looks like we're getting a team from somewhere. Though I have to say I would much prefer the NECBL as it has a longer track record and the talent level is somewhere in the second tier of summer collegiate leagues.

Also for the Canadian American League don't really see it lasting much longer if they try expanding and it fails, unless they merge with another league and get someone that is independent, and not an owner of a team.

I also think the league is in trouble, but probably not for the same reasons you do. Indy baseball is a dicey business at the best of times. In this economy and in this part of the country where we have multiple major and minor league teams a few hours from pretty much anywhere, its even dicier. The league needs a bare minimum of four stable franchises and two fly-by-night operations. Pittsfield's gone, Newark isn't far behind, and Worcester isn't looking so healthy. Brockton and NJ look okay, but they're not drawing like they used to.

As far as a merger goes, who? The AtL is long season quadruple-A baseball that is shifting southward. The FL is too far away.

It didn't help having a travel team this past season, look at the money that got wasted, even though it added extra Home Games.

Home games had nothing to do with it. With an odd number of teams every weekend there is a team that doesn't play a series. It's cheaper to run a travel team than lose that kind of revenue.

... That shows Miles had no Business sense for the league, just his self.

You're kidding right? That man who brought independent baseball back from decades of extinction? Really? He founded the Northern League in '93 and 18 years later its still going strong as the American Association. The CanAm which dates back to '95, and he's run since '99, isn't doing near as well, but it's still standing which is a hell of a lot more than can be said for about three or four dozen other indy leagues that have come and gone in the past two decades. Or how about the Durham Bulls which were in Low-A when he bought them, and he moved them up to Triple-A. They were only the first Single-A team ever to top 300k in attendance.

But not having taken the time to get my facts straight, feel free to dismiss this post.

[BerkshireFan]

I always knew Pittsfield wouldn't work in the Can-Am League. It took Miles 2 years to figure that out. Trois-Rivieres was staring right in his face with a refurbished stadium and all, but I still think putting teams in Pittsfield, Newark and Ramapo, NY was a bad idea.

Do you read the the posts that people make in response to yours. For the umpteenth time, Miles Wolff did not put teams in Pittsfield, Newark, and Ramapo. Investors did. What is Wolff supposed to do? "No thanks guys, but I think I'll let the league dwindle down to five or even four teams while waiting for this non-existant ownership group in Three Rivers to materialize out of thin air and/or the imagination of some dude with the screen name QuebecCapitalesFan." You should thank the owners of the Colonials and Bears for fielding teams for your Capitales to play. Someday you'll get your much-wished for second Canadian team, but it'll only be because there were teams like the Bangor Lumberjacks, Allentown Ambassadors, Berkshire Black Bears, North Shore Spirit, etc. etc. etc. to bridge the gap between now and then. No teams to play, no league. No league, no potential owners. No potential owners, no team in Three Rivers.

Have you ever heard the expression "beggars can't be choosers"?

As for Pittsfield, they join the ranks of Atlantic City and Sussex as lost Can-Am ventures. Newark may soon join them.

Granted, I can't see or hear you, but I'm betting those last two sentences are dripping with schadenfreude. My response isn't fit to print.

[shawa666]

Do you read the the posts that people make in response to yours. For the umpteenth time, Miles Wolff did not put teams in Pittsfield, Newark, and Ramapo. Investors did. What is Wolff supposed to do? "No thanks guys, but I think I'll let the league dwindle down to five or even four teams while waiting for this non-existant ownership group in Three Rivers to materialize out of thin air and/or the imagination of some dude with the screen name QuebecCapitalesFan."

This ownership group didn't sprout off from QCF's imagination. It's been publicly known since at least this summer and reported on by the local media.

You should thank the owners of the Colonials and Bears for fielding teams for your Capitales to play. Someday you'll get your much-wished for second Canadian team, but it'll only be because there were teams like the Bangor Lumberjacks, Allentown Ambassadors, Berkshire Black Bears, North Shore Spirit, etc. etc. etc. to bridge the gap between now and then. No teams to play, no league. No league, no potential owners. No potential owners, no team in Three Rivers.

No one forced these investors to field teams in the league. Everyone knew what kind of league they were getting in. It's a bummer that those teams didn't work out, but frankly, some of these attempts were head scratchers to begin with. That includes Pittsfield. That market had been burnt out by the incessant franchise merry go round. That should have raised flags immediately for any investors. I'm sorry it didn't work out, but yeah, it was a risky venture from the get go.

Have you ever heard the expression "beggars can't be choosers"?
Yes, I have. But, seriously, I wouldn't mind a 4 team league until the american economy turns around. As it stands now, If the Bears stick around for another season the league will field 6 teams. And If it it really came to it, the Caps could always try to join the Atlantic League.

Granted, I can't see or hear you, but I'm betting those last two sentences are dripping with schadenfreude. My response isn't fit to print.
Probably not. He was just stating a fact.

[BerkshireFan]

This ownership group didn't sprout off from QCF's imagination. It's been publicly known since at least this summer and reported on by the local media.

My point still stands. Until those investors actually buy a franchise, Wolff has to take teams where he can get them.


No one forced these investors to field teams in the league. Everyone knew what kind of league they were getting in. It's a bummer that those teams didn't work out, but frankly, some of these attempts were head scratchers to begin with.

Strawman argument. I've never argued that putting a team in Pittsfield was a good idea. I sure as hell wouldn't. It's possible that Lewis was just doing time in Pittsfield until something better opened up. That's exactly what the owner of the Black Bears did. And as I've explained to QCF before, that is why cities like Pittsfield, Lynn, and Bangor get multiple chances in indy baseball. We've got usable facilities for teams that need to play somewhere while keeping their eyes open for other markets to be vacated.

The point remains; those teams make it possible for the league to continue operating regardless of whether or not they're good investments. From the league's perspective, and therefore the Caps perspective, they're all good investments.

[Bonhomme2010]

The title of this post being "Quebec Capitales achieve the 3-peat", as a regular to all the home games (and some road games) in the past 10 years, the three peat is not the result of having the best players (the Jackals were way ahead this year) but simply the best team.

The huge difference was simply Leadership. It takes years to implement a team concept and it comes at the cost of letting go any player who does not put the team before his own agenda. They released Steve Green (http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=green-002ste) (a AAA pitcher) just before the 2010 season for that very reason... he was playing for himself!

And did I mention that the manager, Pat Scalabrini, doesn't know the Book of baseball frontward and backward like Joe Calfapietra but... he's a leader of character... whose most important quality is "being absolutely trustworthy even in times of great stress and can be depended upon to put the needs of others above personal considerations, - not now and then, or when the spirit moves him, or when it will look good on his resume, - but in every instance!"
---Larry Donnithorne,The West Point Way of Leadership (http://www.amazon.com/West-Point-Way-Leadership/dp/0385417039/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1320781498&sr=8-1)

[QuebecCapitalesFan]

The title of this post being "Quebec Capitales achieve the 3-peat", as a regular to all the home games (and some road games) in the past 10 years, the three peat is not the result of having the best players (the Jackals were way ahead this year) but simply the best team.

The huge difference was simply Leadership. It takes years to implement a team concept and it comes at the cost of letting go any player who does not put the team before his own agenda. They released Steve Green (http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=green-002ste) (a AAA pitcher) just before the 2010 season for that very reason... he was playing for himself!

And did I mention that the manager, Pat Scalabrini, doesn't know the Book of baseball frontward and backward like Joe Calfapietra but... he's a leader of character... whose most important quality is "being absolutely trustworthy even in times of great stress and can be depended upon to put the needs of others above personal considerations, - not now and then, or when the spirit moves him, or when it will look good on his resume, - but in every instance!"
---Larry Donnithorne,The West Point Way of Leadership (http://www.amazon.com/West-Point-Way-Leadership/dp/0385417039/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1320781498&sr=8-1)

In addition to what you've just said, the Caps recorded their best season ever this previous season, in only their first year under new ownership. I think the local owners, Le Group Vertdure, did an excellent job running the team, put together terrific personnel in the front office and on the field. Believe me when I say this, but Can-Am or no Can-Am, the Capitales are here to stay. And win!

[Bonhomme2010]

Jean Tremblay, the new owner, has a lot of business acumen... enough to have kept the same staff as under Miles Wolff and not touch the rest of the operation! He did find new advertising revenue streams and work to make the experience of attending the game just a little bit more fun!

The leadership on the field comes mostly from the president, Michel Laplante, the former manager whose commitment was the most important condition of the sale.

Left to right in the picture (http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR_FhKnq-uyOb46YVeFUvCsZiGq8HZNwusLw9lPCzAVT0RKgABy): Jean Tremblay, Miles Wolff, Michel Laplante.

They simply have more people working hard...and smarter! And Miles Wolff is still a consultant for the team...attends most home games!