Kernels, Angels continue love affair (PDC) thru 2012

In a manner of speaking you could call it a going-away present for Jack Roeder.

As expected, the Cedar Rapids Kernels and Los Angeles Angels met at baseball's Winter Meetings in Indianapolis this week and hammered out a Player Development Contract extension. This one's for another two years, through 2012.

"From the Kernels' standpoint, we think the Angels are a very special organization," said Roeder, the longtime Kernels general manager, who will retire after the 2010 season. "The fact that we've been together so long I think maybe shows what the Angels think about us, too."

It's been a mutual admiration society between the pair since they first became wed, so to speak, in 1993. The current PDC between the Kernels and Angels expires at the end of this coming season, but Roeder always said he expected the sides to discuss another extension at the Winter Meetings.

The Kernels have advanced to the MWL semifinals the past two seasons but have not won a Midwest League championship since 1994.

“We continue to be pleased with the quality of players the Angels have provided," Kernels President Tom Barbee said. “We've reached the Western Division Finals the past two seasons, and look to improve on that in 2010 and beyond. The Angels provide great young men that enjoy being involved in our community while they're here in Cedar Rapids.”

“We value our relationship with the Kernels' ownership and front office, and we appreciate that our players are playing in a first-class facility where they receive tremendous fan support," Angels player development director

Abe Flores said.