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True, as sports columnist Rick Telander points out, there are arguments to be made not to move. The Cubs would surrender a key downstate battleground to the Saint Louis Cardinals. And, while championing Peoria as a nice place to visit, he doesn't even mention the Hofbrau Restaurant or Davis Bros. Pizza.
Even so, this decision is really a no-brainer. If the Cubs can move their Class A Midwest League affiliate closer to home in Kane County, they should.
Forget downstate. Chicago-area fans would get the chance to bond right away with future prospects—which after all is what the Theo Epstein regime is all about these days.
Not only did I see future stars Josh Beckett and Adrian Gonzalez in Kane County when they were farmhands for the Florida (now Miami) Marlins, I also made the trip to see Corey Patterson there.
I turned out to be a little bit wrong about how much of the future he'd prove to be.
Still, Cubs prospects playing in Chicago's suburban backyard in Geneva at Elfstrom Stadium would be a joy. It bolsters the team's fan base here and now, not downstate.
I still think it was a mistake for the White Sox to surrender the South Bend Silver Hawks, given their natural affinity to South Bend, Indiana, with all the Notre Dame fans they share. I saw Scott Radinsky there, for what remains a fondly remembered 1989 Reader cover piece I did with Neil Tesser.
So make the move, Cubs. And if the Sox can ever get back into South Bend, they should.
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