Jul 2 PORTLAND, Maine On re-upping

PORTLAND, Maine -- Had it not happened, you might have seen Portland Sea Dogs GM preparing to jump off the Million Dollar Bridge.

 But the only splash heard around Portland was this afternoon's joint announcement by the Sea Dogs and their parent Boston Red Sox that the two parties were extending their relationship through the 2012 campaign.

 "It's something we knew would get done," said Eshbach, who has been with the Sea Dogs from their 1994 inception, building them into one of the model minor league franchises. "It's nice, we're done, we're set. We don't have to worry about what other people think."

 Those "other people" would be the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, whose owner, Art Solomon, had made some not so subtle public statements about luring the Sox to Manchester's MerchantsAuto.com Stadium.

 But according the Sox VP Player Development Ben Cherington, the Crimson Hose had no intention of planting their Double-A prospects anywhere else. 

 "This is where we wanted to be," said Cherington. "The most important thing about our affiliate is the people running the team. You can talk about facilities, you can talk about location. Those things are nice.  But the most important thing is the people running the team. That's what affects our players and staff."

 The relationship between the Sox and Dogs has been a productive, and profitable one, and has paid off in Eastern League championship series appearances the last two years, and the franchise's first EL title, last year.

 "More than being close to Boston," Cherington said, "is that the players get to play in front of fans who really care. They have the opportunity to play meaningful games in front of Red Sox fans. It's not quite the same as playing Game 7 at Fenway Park. But it's about as close as we can get at the Double-A level."

 Oh, by the way, with the old pact not set to run out until after 2008, this home plate press conference to announce the extension could have been called at any time.

 It so happens that this presser came smack dab in the middle of a four-game visit by New Hampshire.

Coincidence? Eshbach says it is.

"Believe it or not, yes," he said. "It just happened that everyone is here."