The situation in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre has become an utter embarrassment for officials of the Triple-A Yankees and the International League. PNC Field is only 20 years old and it’s falling apart, with studies showing it needs $13 million in upgrades and really should be replaced. Now a month’s worth of rain has rendered the field a disaster area, and the Bisons are meeting the Yankees this weekend in Syracuse rather than Moosic, Pa.

You wonder how long the Scranton franchise can actually last without a new stadium, but who’s building one in this economy? Moreover, you wonder how long the parent Yankees will keep their Triple-A club in a subpar facility even though New York GM Brian Cashman reportedly coveted the close proximity Scranton offered when the deal was signed in 2006.

So far, the folks in the Bronx have kept mum. But what if they say no mas to Scranton when their deal is up after next year? What then for 2011?

Maybe the Yankees might go for an Atlanta-Gwinnett situation and upgrade the ballpark at Class A Staten Island to Triple-A standards. Move their top affiliate there and give fans a cheaper-priced alternative at Yankees baseball than those Legends seats in the Bronx.

That might make the most sense. The Scranton franchise is co-owned by Lackawanna and Luzerne Counties but it’s managed by Mandalay Sports Entertainment, which has an option to buy for anywhere from $13-16 million. Bet it could simply be bought and moved there.

But how about Buffalo?

Hope the folks at One James D. Griffin Plaza are thinking what life would be like with the other New York club. The Mets have been a very good off-the-field partner but a disaster putting together a team. The Yankees have a much deeper organization and are refocusing on prospects after years of neglect.

Of course, it’s not likely the Bisons would enter into an agreement with Mandalay Bay to run their franchise. Mandalay owns five minor league clubs and has management agreements with Scranton and Staten Island. The folks at Rich Products are understandably protective of their operation, even though it’s sliding precipitously this year.

(Just ask the fans who spend two or three innings waiting for a hot dog in Coca-Cola Field because concession workers are utter slowpokes or stands are simply closed during games).

The field in Scranton was changed over to real grass from turf when the Yankees came aboard but the drainage system was not improved because the politicos figured they’d be building a new stadium soon.

Big mistake. Now, major aeration work and sod replacement is being done to try to save the field for the rest of the season.

Scranton canceled two games last week—including a sold-out July 4 game—on bright, sunny days. And IL President Randy Mobley was not happy. He’s ordered the team to determine the field’s status at least 36 hours ahead of games and will move more games if needed.

“The goal is to avoid the situation we had [last] weekend where we have a nice day and just had to sit around,” Mobley told Scranton reporters. “If I’m told that we can play the day before and we get to game time and we can’t play, that’s when we will have an issue between this office and the ballclub.”

Mobley has been decisive on this topic in the past. In 2004, remember, he ordered all the games in the Governors’ Cup finals to be played in Buffalo when Richmond’s 50-year-old field was unplayable.

The folks in Virginia never built a new stadium and they lost their franchise to Gwinnett. Of course, the Richmond trouble was in September. This is with two months left. If it keeps raining in Northeast Pennsylvania, this problem is not going away anytime soon.

Freaky fall

I vote for Cubs pitcher Ryan Dempster to earn the nod for wackiest injury of the first half.

Seems Dempster was climbing over the dugout railing to celebrate Sunday’s victory over the Brewers when his back leg clipped the railing and he broke a big toe. He might miss a month.

“That’s what I get for making fun of guys who go on the DL for burning their faces in a suntan booth,” cracked Dempster.

Money matters

Fans of big-money teams usually expect their club to spend unless they’re club isn’t drawing fans. There’s the dilemma facing the White Sox as GM Ken Williams said last week it will be tough to pull off a big trade with revenues down from decreased attendance in U. S. Cellular Field.

The White Sox average attendance was down nearly 4,700 per game from last season (to around 26,000) and the average was just under 21,000 for a three-game set with the Dodgers, which Williams called “an eye-opener.”

The Sox thought they had a deal for Jake Peavy wrapped up in May before Peavy vetoed it. Don’t look for a similar move now that would add payroll.

“Well, if I’m being completely honest, money is more of the issue now. We expected a little more support than we’ve gotten,” Williams said. “I think it’s a reflection upon the economy of what’s kind of happened with regards to attendance and I don’t know if we’ve played consistent enough, or been exciting enough for people to get behind us. We’re still hopeful.”

Around the horn

Bizarre no-hit karma for the Giants this season: Jonathan Sanchez’s gem Friday night against the Padres came one day after Tim Lincecum’s bid was broken up by the first batter of the seventh inning.

Earlier this season, Barry Zito and Randy Johnson also had no-nos through six innings and also lost them to the first batter of the seventh.

With all the hype over a potential Roy Halladay trade, it got largely unnoticed that the Blue Jays dumped former closer B. J. Ryan on Wednesday. He’s owed $10 million next season. Ryan had 32 saves last year on the road back from elbow surgery and 38 in 2006. He was 1-1 with a 6.53 ERA this season in mostly mop-up roles.

Ex-Bison Andy Marte is back on folks’ radar after winning two straight IL Player of the Week awards for Columbus, the first time anyone has done that since Cole Hamels won two straight in 2006 with Scranton. Marte had a .458 batting average and .958 slugging percentage for the period that ended July 5. He entered the weekend third in the IL in batting (.317) and RBIs (49).

James McOwen, a 23- year-old outfielder for Seattle’s Class A team in High Desert, Calif., had a 45-game hitting streak end Friday night.