When the New York Yankees pulled their AAA affiliation from Columbus two years ago, the Clippers scrambled to find a replacement. Only three teams were available, and the Clippers settled on the Washington Nationals.

The lack of enthusiasm over the pairing was evident when the Clippers only signed a two-year deal with the Nats—the minimum possible arrangement, as teams can only negotiate their affiliations in September of even-numbered years.

People dreamed of having the Reds or Indians move into town, but at the time, there was no logical way for that to happen. Both Ohio big-league teams had binding contracts in place with their respective Triple-A cities that carried them through the 2008 season. Furthermore, both teams seemed perfectly happy where they were.

The Reds’ top farm team resides in Louisville, closer to Cincinnati than Columbus in both geography and culture. Don’t expect the Reds’ minor leaguers to leave anytime soon.

However, recent events indicate the Tribe’s Triple-A team will call Columbus home in 2009.

The Indians have had a good relationship with the Buffalo Bisons since 1995. But last month, Indians GM Mark Shapiro put the kibosh on further discussions of the team’s future in Buffalo.

In a statement in April, Shapiro stopped short of announcing any intent to move the team to Columbus, but did little to soothe the fears of nervous Buffaloans, saying the decision to halt affiliation talks was done to avoid ongoing distractions about it throughout the season.

He then used several past-tense verbs to describe the team’s relationship with Buffalo.

“Our primary feeling about Buffalo is that they’ve been an outstanding long-term partner,” he said, according to the Canton Repository. “We could not have asked for a more supportive, professional group to work with.”

The Clippers will also be moving into Huntington Park in the Arena District next season, marking an ample opportunity for a fresh start. And don’t think the Indians wouldn’t love to have its top farm team two hours down the road in a shiny new park in Ohio’s biggest city—not just for the ease of personnel movement, but also as fodder for the Indians’ SportsTime Ohio cable channel.

Mike Harrington, who covers the Bisons for the Buffalo News, said in a recent column that the team is “good as gone.”

Andy Call, sportswriter for The Repository, took his assessment one step further, predicting, “The Indians are likely to switch affiliations to the Clippers.

Clippers GM Ken Schnacke declined comment via e-mail on the situation, saying he is not allowed to talk about such matters until the offseason. But when the Clippers were wooing a franchise in 2006, Schnacke stated he would like to explore other options after the 2008 season.

A good indication of public interest for an Indians affiliate in Columbus will come on May 22. The Bisons will be visiting Cooper Stadium and the first 2,000 lucky fans will receive their choice of a Clippers, Nationals or Indians baseball. Wild guess: there will be a lot of leftover Nationals balls.

Skeptics of such a move have pointed out that Buffalo is a much better operation than Columbus, baseball-wise. But let’s be honest, people don’t go to minor league games for the same reasons they go to major league games. People in Columbus would much rather watch an inept Indians farm squad than a Chad Cordero rehab assignment.

And you needn’t feel bad for Buffalo. The Toronto Blue Jays plan to pull their farm team out of Syracuse after this season, and a move to a vacant Buffalo would make a lot of sense geographically.

League rules prohibit these kinds of talks until the end of the season. But unlike the situation two years ago, all the dominos seem to be in place for the arrival of the Indians.