With two seasons of Butler BlueSox baseball under its belt and the team's majority owner having put his share of the Prospect League franchise up for sale, it's a good time to reflect on what the team has meant to the city and surroundong areas, and the support it has received.

Commendably, majority owner Leo Trich says he would be hesitant to sell if someone from outside the area were interested in buying his 60 percent share of the team. Trich obviously is concerned that an out-of-area buyer might have thoughts of moving the team, and he wants the team to remain here because "people in Butler have a tremendous love for baseball."

But the question for the community is whether the level of support for the BlueSox during 2009 and this year is enough to ensure the team's continued presence long after 2011, the final year of the team's three-year agreement with the league.

If the just-completed season is a good barometer, the possibility of the team being here five or 10 years from now is a tossup at best.

During the team's just-completed second season, the BlueSox drew only 14,090 fans during the 27-game home schedule at Pullman Park. That means that, on average, the ballpark was only about one-third full.

By comparison, total home attendance for 2009 was 16,687 — not a number to feel euphoric about, but still higher than the team's fan support this year.

Sure, the rainy weather this year might have been a factor in the lower attendance figure, but the team cannot continue suffering lower, lackluster attendance if the community wants to keep the BlueSox — even though the league regards attendance of 300 or 400 fans per game a break-even point.

Although the team posted just a 24-30 record this year, plenty of good baseball was played — a quality of play that merited more fan support than what the team received.

Another opportunity for stronger attendance exists next year, but a good question is whether the team will have better or worse promotion without Trich as the majority owner — assuming that he sells his share of the team. Trich said the Butler Recreation and Stadium Authority, which owns the other 40 percent of the team, will have the first crack at buying his shares.

If that happens, the chief concern among many people will be whether the authority has the promotional savvy to better the team's local fortunes or whether there will be anemic promotion that will hasten the team's demise or departure.

"Butler people have rallied around the BlueSox and Pullman Park," Trich said.

That seemed to be the case as people were filing into and out of the ballpark on game days. But the congested Pillow Street area provides a less-than-accurate picture of the attendance inside the ballpark, and that attendance during the past season was less than what the team hoped for — and deserved.

Trich described the past two seasons as "two very successful seasons" but he was right in expressing the opinion that "much more can be accomplished."

The city could do more than it has done to promote the Bluesox' presence; so could local businesses, by calling attention to the team as part of window displays or inside the stores.

The team could be honored with a welcoming parade prior to the season's start and with another event at season's end.

Instead, BlueSox promotion has been anemic, and it is safe to say that thousands of people here are totally out of touch with the team's presence and the actual and potential economic benefit of having the team calling Butler its home.

Trich hopes to participate in the transition, if a new majority owner is found.

"The problem is you literally have to start preparing for next season in October," he said.

Many people here, including community leaders, don't seem to understand that — based on some of the things that could have happened but didn't happen between the team's first and second seasons here.

The community as a whole should weigh its commitment to the BlueSox if it doesn't want the marriage between the city and team exposed to an early divorce.