Swine Flu Cancels Tijuana Potros' Baseball Season

The swine flu has claimed another economic casuality, this time in the form of the Tijuana Potros, who were scheduled to begin their first season in the Golden Baseball League.

The Potros' games -- which apparently represented 10% of the GBL's total schedule -- will force the GBL to readjust their schedule, and the Potros have stated that they intend to play in another year, but don't believe the 2009 season to be economically viable.

"The H1N1 virus health risk and the necessary government response and actions have wreaked havoc with the economy and businesses small and large throughout the country," said Tijuana Potros President Jose Manuel Pena. "It is not possible to operate with this uncertainty that keeps sponsors from committing, fans from buying tickets, and the stadium unavailable to host public events."

Now, not to make light of swine flu (EVER!) but, really? Couldn't they just rent out a baseball park in Arizona to play the games? Or have the league schedule the first half of their season on the road while we wait for this thing to go all SARS-y on us? I mean, that would guarantee at least some revenue without dogging the rest of the league over. And the people of Tijuana would get their baseball. Of course, people might not be so gung-ho to play road games, but worst case: the Potros could parlay multiple forfeits into postseason home-field advantage and a championship in their first year.

Via Rovell's Twitter