By delaying its entry into the bj-league by a year, the Aomori expansion franchise will have more time to get its financial house in order. At least that's the basic assumption one has after last Friday's announcement made official what had been expected for several months.
One wonders, however, if the Aomori group's lack of sponsors now is a warning sign that the league selected a bad market to add another team.
Time will tell if the northern Tohoku city will be a thriving market or one of many in the league with struggling franchises, including Takamatsu, Oita, Miyazaki and Fukuoka.