Organization also announces promotions for three front-office staff members

ALTOONA -- Curve Baseball LP, which owns and operates the Altoona Curve (Double-A/Eastern League) and State College Spikes (Class A Short-Season/New York-Penn League) in Central Pennsylvania, today announced the addition of a new Chief Financial Officer, as well as promotions for three members of the franchise's front office staff.

John Donley has joined Curve Baseball LP as the new Chief Financial Officer, while Derek Martin has been promoted to Director of Altoona Ticket Sales and Chris Phillips to Director of State College Ticket Sales. Matt Hoover has been promoted to the position of Director of Promotions. The announcements were made by Curve Baseball LP President and Managing Partner Chuck Greenberg.

"We are very pleased to welcome Central Pennsylvania native John Donley to the Curve Baseball Family and to add his 16 years of experience in the area of finance to our hard-working front office staff, which continues to grow and set higher goals and expectations for the future," said Greenberg. "We are also grateful to Derek, Chris and Matt for the dedication and leadership which they have shown in previous seasons and we're looking forward to seeing their careers continue to blossom in their expanded roles with our two franchises."

Donley will direct the daily financial operations for the Curve and Spikes, including financial reporting, banking relationships, budgeting and accounting. He will oversee each of those areas in support of Altoona Curve General Manager Todd Parnell and State College Spikes General Manager Rick Janac.

Previously the team's Senior Director of Marketing, Johnson will take on additional administrative responsibilities.

Johnson has worked with the Suns the past four seasons, beginning as an intern and earning a promotion to Director, Marketing and then Senior Director, Marketing. The LaVale, Md. native is a graduate of West Virginia University.

"I'm looking forward to building on the successful foundation we have laid over the past five years," said Johnson. "We don't draw 150,000 baseball fans, we draw 150,000 Suns fans, and that really sets us apart from other teams."

"Through our four years of working together, C.J. has proved to be invaluable. I look forward to working more closely with him as we begin our affiliation with the Washington Nationals and truly congratulate him on his promotion," said Suns General Manager Will Smith.

Smith was recently promoted to General Manager when Kurt Landes left the team for another opportunity. On Wednesday, it was announced that Landes was named the General Manager of the Triple-A baseball team headed for the Lehigh Valley.

Landes left the Suns in September after completing his fifth season. The Lehigh Valley team will open a new ballpark in Allentown, Pa. in 2008.

The Hagerstown Suns of the South Atlantic League are the new Class A affiliate of the Washington Nationals and are owned by Los Angeles based Mandalay Baseball Properties. Ticket packages, group information, and sponsorships are available by calling 301.791.6266 or by visiting the Suns at www.hagerstownsuns.com.

A group of supporters hopes to bring baseball back to Lorain, OH, either in the form of an Independent League club, or Minor League club, possibly associated with the Indians.

Bambi Dillon, a resident who supports bringing a professional team to the city, said a group is organizing a meeting to try and find out how much interest there is in Lorain and the surrounding area for a team.

'It's a quality of life issue,'' said Randy Renick, another member of the group. Renick is the former coach of the Lorain Internationals, a semi-pro baseball team which no longer exists.

Renick said he thinks Lorain is big enough to support a minor league professional team, and many people are looking for a low-cost alternative to Cleveland Indians games.

The Mayor of Lorain, Craig Foltin supports the idea.

'These are people acting on their own, who are certainly no political allies of mine, by any stretch of the imagination,'' Foltin said. ''I'm glad to see some prominent sporting individuals taking a leadership role in this cause.''

(The Morning Journal ) 

"We have had a great working relationship with Idaho Falls over the last three years," Picollo said. "We are certainly happy to continue this relationship for the next two years. Of the three short season teams now in our system, Idaho Falls will certainly be considered the most advanced. The Pioneer League has proven to be a very competitive league, and we feel it's a great place for our college draft picks to come and play."

Next season will mark Idaho Falls fourth season as Kansas City's short-season Class A advanced affiliate. Over the past three seasons, Idaho Falls has made the playoffs twice, including this season's championship series.

"After talking with J.J. about where we stood in relationship to the other short-season teams affiliated with Kansas City, I am confident that we will continue to see top-rated prospects and a competitive team in Idaho Falls," Chukars General Manager Kevin Greene said. "I am very excited to have the Royals as our Major League affiliate for another two years. There is no better way to open a brand new ballpark."

The Dodgers will continue to maintain minor league affiliations with the Las Vegas 51s (Triple-A), Jacksonville Suns (Double-A), Ogden Raptors (Rookie) and Gulf Coast Dodgers (Rookie).

"San Bernardino and Midland are ideal partners for strong minor league developmental organizations and we look forward to long-term relationships with these communities," said Colletti. "This also will be a nice opportunity for Dodger fans to see some of our younger players in action."

NATIONALS ANNOUNCE TWO-YEAR EXTENSION OF WORKING AGREEMENT WITH VERMONT LAKE MONSTERS OF THE NY-P LEAGUE

The Washington Nationals today announced that they have signed a two-year extension to their Player Development Contract with the Vermont Lake Monsters of the short-season Single-A New York-Penn League.  Nationals President Stan Kasten made the announcement.

“We are excited to extend our working relationship with the Vermont Lake Monsters for two more years,” said Kasten. “Our franchise has enjoyed its affiliation with not only the Lake Monsters , but the City of Burlington and the New York-Penn League.  With our stated commitment to player development, the future for Vermont, and for our entire minor league system, is bright.”

The Nationals franchise’s 13-year relationship with the town of Burlington—which began in 1994 (with its entry into the NY-P League) and will now extend at least through the 2008 season—is highlighted by Vermont’s 1996 NY-P League championship.

Among the Nationals’ recent crop of prospects to don the Vermont uniform are first baseman Larry Broadway (2002), outfielder Kory Casto (2003), right-handed pitcher Clint Everts (2003), left-handed pitcher Mike O’Connor (2002) and right-handed pitcher Chris Schroder (2001).

The deal marks the end of the Cutters affiliation with the Pittsburgh Pirates that started in 1999 and lasted for eight seasons. The Pirates announced Monday that they had signed a Player Development contract with the State College Spikes. The Phillies had spent the past 19 seasons in Batavia, N.Y.

"This is a great day for the Williamsport Crosscutters," stated club President Paul Velte. "We had a great relationship with the Pittsburgh Pirates and we wish them great success in State College. They gave us four playoff teams in eight years and two New York-Penn League titles, we couldn't ask for much more than that. But at the same time, the opportunity to partner with the Philadelphia Phillies was something we could not pass up. We have always said, internally, that the only thing better than being with the Pirates is if we could somehow get the Phillies here and today is the day."