It looks like the Toronto-Buffalo sports connection with start and end with the Bills. The Buffalo News reports that the Bisons will likely sign a player development contract with the New York Mets, instead of with the Jays. A blog at Syracuse.com linking a blog of the Mets beat writer at the New York Daily News also suggests it's pretty much a done deal with the Mets and the Herd.
A recent article from the Syracuse Post-Standard says the Chiefs chances of landing the Mets as their major league affiliate hinged on whether the Mets would be able to buy a piece of a team, which is owned by a bazillion stockholders (about 4,000 actually!) but as the Buffalo news article suggests, the stockholders weren't too keen on the idea. Meantime, the Post-Standard's editorial staff is criticizing the Chiefs for not doing everything in their power to convince the Metropolitans to sign an affilation deal with them.
It looks like there'll be a lot of pissed off folks in Syracuse if they do lose out on the Mets. Where does that leave the Jays? They could return to Syracuse but with the Chiefs stating their intention of looking for another affiliate, that seems unlikely. I was warming up to the idea of the Jays being less than two hours away from their AAA afilliate (even in downtown Buffalo!) but it appears the Jays miserable track record in Syracuse and the much-criticized ownership/management of the Chiefs have conspired to prevent a Buffalo-Toronto merger from happening. That would mean the Jays closest affiliates will now be Auburn and Lansing, four and five hours away respectively according to Mapquest.
If Syracuse hooks up with the Washington Nationals, could the Jays, according to a rotund man named Domino, be Walking to New Orleans or singing Viva Las Vegas? Those suggestions courtesy of a Buffalo News blog. The Dodgers are rumoured to be Leaving Las Vegas for Albuerquerque. It looks like next year's Jays Triple A players will be collecting some frequent flyer miles.
https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20080916011433330