--by @Josh_Suchon
The move of the Tucson Padres to the city of El Paso prompted the Pacific Coast League to realign its four divisions for the 2014 season. The divisions will now look like this:
Pacific Northern: Fresno, Reno, Sacramento, Tacoma.
Pacific Southern: Albuquerque, El Paso, Las Vegas, Salt Lake.
American Northern: Colorado Springs, Iowa, Oklahoma City, Omaha.
American Southern: Memphis, Nashville, New Orleans, Round Rock.
The biggest impact involves the Albuquerque Isotopes and Colorado Springs switching sides of the league. The Topes moved from the "American" side to the "Pacific" side of the 16-team league.
For those not familiar with the league's format, teams play the seven teams in its conference 16 times (eight home, eight away). The eight teams on the other side of the league are played just four times (going to their city every other year).
Here's a breakdown of how the change impacts the Isotopes.
* Overall easier travel with a geographic rival in El Paso
Travel in the PCL can be brutal. It's definitely the most difficult league for traveling. Teams don't fly charter. They fly commercial, almost always the first flight in the morning, and it's rare to get a direct flight because the cities have small airports.
It's roughly 265 miles, or a three hour and 45-minute bus ride, from Isotopes Park to the new ballpark in El Paso. This affords the Topes an opportunity for a bus trip to an opponent's ballpark. Previously, the Topes would fly to all cities to begin a road trip. (Once on a trip, there were a few bus trips between cities, such as Iowa and Omaha, or Memphis and Nashville.)
While the full schedule hasn't been released, it's likely that opponents will usually take an eight-game road trip to Albuquerque and El Paso. The ability to bus between cities is dramatically cheaper, easier and greatly preferred by players/staff. This will help out everyone.
For the Topes, there will be a few more direct flights -- such as Vegas. Even for the connecting flights, the total distance will be shorter and more manageable.