Can you hear it?

That low heavy-bass thump?

That sonic pounding, deep beneath the surface?

It keeps repeating the same three letters…. "AAA… AAA… AAA…"

But why? Where does this triple-A drumbeat come from? 

Maybe today’s Province:

Speculation has been rampant about Kerr and Mooney bringing Triple A baseball back to Vancouver ever since they bought the Single A Canadians and brought in Andy Dunn, a former executive with the Florida Marlins and Washington Nationals, to run the club. […] "We’ve got an agreement in principle that if they’re going to look at baseball, they’re going to look at it with us," said Kerr of B.C. Place. "It’s something we’re both going to look at over the next five years.

"There’s a long way to go. There’s a bunch of issues with baseball at B.C. Place, including whether people will want to go to a downtown stadium and pay $15 to park. I don’t know."

Trust me, he knows. In fact, even if there was any doubt that folks would pay BC Place parking fees, it’s not like it’s an issue, since the stadium is right in the middle of Vancouver’s Skytrain line.

Oh yes, people will come, Ray. People will most definitely come.

The talk of Vancouver heading back to Triple-A has assuredly been getting louder and louder over the past few years. Kerr and Mooney have deep pockets, and they know the right people with far deeper pockets still. They have a guy working for them who has run operations at the Washington Nationals’ RFK Stadium before, and run scouting for the Florida Marlins, so it’s not like they’re not equipped for nearly-major league ball.

So what’s stopping it from happening?

Well, a lot of talk has pointed to the 25-year lease at Nat Bailey Stadium as being an impediment. That said, Kerr and Mooney came into the team ASKING for that lease, so clearly they didn’t do that for kicks. There’s a larger plan in place.

And that plan is, two teams in Vancouver. One in short-season rookie ball, and one in full-fledged Triple-A ball, under a roof.

At first, this seemed insane. Two teams in the one city? Craziness!

But then, when you think about it, it makes perfect sense. For starters, you could ensure there was baseball in Vancouver every. single. night. of the baseball season. How’s that for ‘building a baseball culture’?

Second, you’d save a heck of a lot of cash. Think about the possibilities for having staff float between venues, rather than working for one week and having the following week off. Or the savings in advertising costs. Or the possibilities in selling multi-team season tickets, or doing bulk deals with suppliers, or travel agents, or hotel chains.

Imagine the press coverage - how could Sportsnet ignore the sport when there’s two local teams playing each night?

Staff would stick around longer, as there’d be an obvious career path within the organization, and more work to be had in the off-season. Advertisers could get deals to sponsor both teams. And with UBC baseball added to the mix, this could really become the baseball town it once was, all over again.

But two teams in one town? Could it work?

Yes. Observe the Canucks and Giants. Strike hits the NHL, the Giants prosper. NHL comes back, Giants do well when the Canucks aren’t playing. The sporting press? Hockey all the freaking time.

And it’s not like there haven’t been multiple teams in this region before. Remember the teams that have played in New West, Abbotsford, Surrey, Bellingham, Victoria, Kelowna… Sure, they all died, but none of them were tied to a corporation with serious assets and ultra-qualified personnel.

So that just leaves one more hurdle - where to get a Triple-A team?

Oh, I dunno. Tacoma was an early candidate, but the city fathers have suddenly got baseball fever and have decided to pump some cash into the stadium there, rather than see it leave town. Portland is an option, especially if the city gets a Major League franchise (which is always threatening to happen).

But if the C’s are thinking post-Olympics (and they are, since they know nothing can be done at BC Place until that time), there’s a strong likelihood that a Triple-A team will go belly-up in the next three years and fall right into their laps. 

Mark it - the Vancouver Canadians organization will announce a Triple-A franchise in this city by 2013.

But for now, enjoy the rookies!