As they enter their third season at Fairgrounds Field in Robstown, the Roadrunners already have developed into the Aviators' most intense Central Baseball League rival, due in part to Edinburg's dominance on the field thus far and the close geographic proximity of the two teams.

Meanwhile, the Aviator front office has narrowed the search for a new field manager to less than three and a formal announcement is expected within days. Coastal Bend is expected to hire a nuts and bolts manager and not go for someone with high name recognition.

Coastal Bend wants a "baseball" manager who knows the game and can relate to the fans and community. In their short life-span, the Aviators have developed a loyal fan base, but for the most part they have not been happy with Les Lancaster, the first field manager, or Glenn Wilson, who guided the team in 2004.

The Central Baseball League will operate in 2005 with a total of eight teams, The Coastal Bend Aviators will join the Edinburg Roadrunners, San Angelo Colts, Fort Worth Cats, Shreveport Sports, Jackson Senators, Pensacola Pelicans and the leagues newest franchise, the El Paso Diablos.

The Diablos, which had been a part of the Texas League since 1972, was officially welcomed last week as the eighth team to the CBL at the Independent Baseball League meetings in Atlantic City, N.J. They will replace the Amarillo Dillas in the upcoming season. This is the 12th season for the league. It was originally formed as the Texas-Louisiana League in 1994 and became the Central League in 2002.

The Aviators 2005 season will feature a 94 game split season format. There will be a total of 47 home games played right here at Fairgrounds Field in Robstown with an equal number of games to be played on the road. The 2005 Central Baseball League All-Star game is set for July 19 at Campanelli Stadium in Brockton, Mass. and will feature the Central League all-stars against the Can-Am League all-stars.