NEW ORLEANS ZEPHYRS

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David Gladow / NOLA.comBoudreaux is the best. The BEST, Jerry, the BEST.

My first thought upon hearing that the New Orleans Zephyrs were going to be affiliated with the Florida Marlins was, "Awesome!" After all, the Marlins have a great farm system, and the fans in New Orleans figure to benefit with some excellent baseball in the coming years.

My second thought was much more dark and disturbing: Could the team now make wholesale branding changes? In other words, will the team now change its logo, its name, its colors, its uniforms and even its mascot? Will my favorite local mascot, Boudreaux, be a casualty of change?

The mere possibility saddened me greatly.

The Florida Marlins have a fantastic farm system, and on the surface, the New Orleans Zephyrs definitely look like they ended up with a great Major League partner. Indeed, most of the early opinions on the matter seem to be favorable.

But what do YOU think? Offer your thoughts on the move in our Zephyrs forum and put your take down in the poll after the jump.

The New Orleans Zephyrs, Class AAA member of the Pacific Coast League, have agreed to a two-year player development contract with the Florida Marlins.

On Monday, the New Orleans and Florida Marlins will announce they've agreed on a two-year player development contract, Zephyrs General Manager Mike Schline said today.

The Zephyrs were looking for a major league team to replace the New York Mets as the parent club after the Mets announced they would be affiliated with Buffalo this week.

The Buffalo Bisons are expected to announce Monday that the New York Mets will be their new parent club next season. That would mean ending the associated with the New Orleans Zephyrs.

Neither Bisons spokesman Brad Brisbing nor Mets spokesman Jay Horwitz would confirm the affiliation Friday, but Sen. Charles Schumer praised it in comments to The Buffalo News. The Mets are leaving New Orleans to go Buffalo.

In business performance, the Zephyrs held their own this season despite having to cancel the last three games because Hurricane Gustav was taking aim on New Orleans.

In baseball performance, the team didn't come close to matching the performance of the 2007 playoff team.

"I thought the season went pretty good," Zephyrs General Manager Mike Schline said. "The team wasn't as exciting on the field, but that's out of our control."

The Zephyrs' home game against Nashville for Saturday, scheduled for 11 a.m., has been canceled because of the pending threat of Hurricane Gustav, meaning the Z's season ended Friday night.

Earlier on Friday, the team announced the cancelation of the final two games on the schedule, originally planned for Sunday and Monday.

The New Orleans Zephyrs today announced several changes to their upcoming schedule in anticipation of the upcoming storm.

Courtesy: Dave Sachs, Media Relations
New Orleans Zephyrs

Metairie, LA - Due to the ongoing threat from Tropical Storm Gustav, the New Orleans Zephyrs have moved up the start time of Saturday's game and cancelled Sunday and Monday's games.