Monday night it was reported that Chiba Lotte Marines manager Bobby Valentine was interested in purchasing a team in the Shikoku Island League (SIL), an independent minor league organization.
A day after that bombshell was dropped, baseball has been buzzing with reactions to the announcement. While the Marines' opponents Tuesday night, the Yomiuri Giants, reportedly had a negative reaction, Valentine said he has otherwise heard positive things. He also responded to the idea of having a certain salary that could be paid to draft choices.
"Most all the responses I heard about were 100 percent in favor of the idea of having salaries set for the number one, two, three, four, five, six draft choices and so on," Valentine said. "And you know considering all the conservation and discussion this year about scandals and things that would be a good way to put those ideas to rest in the future.