That they are leaving Round Rock and moving to Corpus? And bringing a Expos AAA team in to replace them? I used to go to Express games all the time and being a huge Astros fan, I loved being able to see the young Astros talent before they made it to the bigs. I would personally be pissed about this

What exactly is the story as to why RR is going CC and being replace by an Expos team?

Reid Ryan purchased the Edmonton AAA team (Expos Affiliate). He is moving them to Round Rock and the Express are moving to Corpus

Not a Round Rock fan, but I agree with you that it adds a huge extra amount of intrigue to see your team's prospects before they hit the big leagues. As a Ranger fan it's great to have the double A team in Frisco.

I love the move, but then again I am from corpus

Being an Austinite I have mixed opinions about the move. I enjoyed the Express, but the thought of getting AAA talent in here is probably more exciting.

It won't be an expos farm team for long. It'll be interesting to see where they(expo's mlb team) end up.

the expos usually bring up some good talent through their farm system. they should be a fairly entertaining team to watch. but yes, if i were in round rock, i'd be pissed off that they were moving.

The Round Rock team will be the Astros AAA affiliate - not the Expos.

So what happens to New Orleans?

Minor League affilation to MLB teams change from time to time. I remember when the Tucson Toros were the AAA team of the 'Stros.

New Orleans will have to hook up with someone else - maybe the Expos are a possibility.

Prior to the 2003 season, Frisco had no team. Shreveport was the San Francisco AA affiliate. Their owners found a better deal with Frisco and moved their team there to become the Rangers AA affiliate. Now Shreveport has no team. Norwich is now San Francisco's AA affiliate. Prior to this change, Tulsa was the Rangers AA affiliate. Now Tulsa is the Colorado AA affiliate.

Change seems to be the order of the day in minor league baseball.

I may be wrong but I thought RR was going to be the Astros AAA affiliate and Corpus was going to be their AA team. I also believe that Biggio and Clemens have partnered with Nolan somewhat in the endeavor.

Wood

Wood, you are correct as far as I know.

I have had season tickets since their inception.

The Express cannot release any information about next years teams or plans until the current season ends.

The speculation is the AAA team will in fact be the Astros squad from New Orleans. That will be nice since they are almost all former Express players anyway.

It is no secret that even though they are in AAA ball, the majority of the guys would have preferred to stay in R.R. instead of being in N.O. It is a well run organization with huge attendance numbers as opposed to the Zephyrs.

As a member of the booster club, we have already discussed next year taking a few bus trips to Corpus to support the former R.R. players that will be making the move next year.

The only thing about the deal that makes me upset is that one of the people I work with out there is going to go with the team to Corpus next year. Other than that, I think it will be cool to have a AAA team in Round Rock

As mentioned, the agreement between the Expos and Edmonton ends at the end of the 2004 season, so the new AAA RRXpress could be Houston, and they will certainly be shooting for that. That being said, the agreement between the Astros and the current Express is also up at the end of 2004, so it's conceivable that the Ryans make a package deal with somebody else. It looks like Houston digs on Round Rock, so I would expect the former.

BTW, here's what the Express said in their release about the AAA team:
"Another major question fans have is who will be the Triple-A Express' parent club? The Trappers are currently under contract with the Montreal Expos through the 2004 season. After the club comes to Round Rock, the Express will be free to sign a contract with any franchise. The Express is dedicated to signing with a club that has regional appeal and that will continue to provide Round Rock with quality players."

The Corpus Christi team will be known as the "Hooks". Not a popular choice among those in CC.