http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/stor...mp;lid=tab4pos2

Good read here about the change in power and what it might mean to the future of baseball. It also discusses, albiet briefly, the idea of an MLB franchise in Monterrey. Havana and Monterrey having MLB teams, does that seem plausible? The Expos playing in Puerto Rico was pretty interesting, but could a full fledged MLB team thrive in a country that doesn't have our spending power (and therefore the ability to charge $20 for a bleacher seat)?

Dom Amore wrote an interesting story on this topic in Sunday's Courant.

Posted here

I was discussing this with some friends and my mother’s husband a few months ago. I think eventually it would be viable economically and in a relatively short time frame. My Mom’s husband was in the Navy and stationed in Cuba pre-Castro. He said that Havana made modern day Vegas look like a Baptist Sunday picnic. Now, I’m sure that’s a bit of hyperbole on his part, but his point was made. Before Castro Cuba was the place to be with its beautiful beaches, Casinos, and plush resorts. If Cuba ever moves away from the current regime, and moves to a free and open market, I think the economic transformation would occur very quickly and Cuba, Havana in particular, would become the hot spot it once was. If all of the above were to happen, Cuba’s location also makes it a viable option. It’s only 90 miles from the US and relatively close to the Bahamas. Granted this is a lot of ‘ifs’, bit if Cuba could ever become the tropical Vegas, it would make all the sense in the world to have a MLB team there.

Any discussion will obviously be based on the 'if', so I'm just going to pretend the ifs happened...

My hope is that they could relocate a struggling team there (Marlins?), because it is an ideal hotbed for baseball. It is to them what hockey is to Canada, what soccer is to Brazil. They would have no problem packing the stadium.

I also hope that the MLB doesn't just rape the talent pool of Cuba and leave it barren. I draft does make sense, but they need to give back to that island, so giving them minor league teams or an MLB club would allow actual baseball to thrive there. The academies will help, but this shouldn't just be baseball's way of raping and pillaging the island. Perhaps a posting system ala Japan would work better and the MLB could help further a professional baseball league within Cuba.

I'm not sure what the best idea is, but if it is economically viable I would love to see a Cuban MLB team come to fruition. The thought of the Havana Sugar Kings as an MLB team is very interesting. Your insight into pre-Castro Cuba gives some hope to this someday being a reality. Baseball and the MLB slowly becomnig more global is an exciting proposition.