What The Heck Is A Zephyr?

The Mets have named Ken Oberkfell the new manager of their new AAA franchise, the New Orleans Zephyrs. What is a zephyr? A zephyr is kind of an obscure word meaning "a light breeze," and coincidentally my dad used to be on a softball team that named their team "The Zephyrs" as a joke. Why would a team name themselves that without irony?

Prior to 1985, and while the franchise operated out of Denver, the Zephyrs called themselves the Bears. Their current logo features a rodent, a coypu, representing their mascot who's named Boudreaux D. Nutria. Doesn't quite roll off the tongue like "Mr. Met," now does it? But back to the question at hand: Why did a baseball team named the Bears change it's name to Zephyrs, move to New Orleans, and adopt a muskrat-like animal for a mascot?

Wordnet says a Zephyr is the Greek God of the West Wind. Boy, nothing screams Creole heritage like Greek mythology.

This franchise is screwed up. I hope the Mets affiliation with the Zephyrs is short-lived.

By the way, Ken Oberkfell played 16 seasons as a major league player, mostly with the Cardinals, where he won a World Series in 1982. A lifetime .278 hitter, he was best known for his glovework. He asks that you please not confuse him with Ken Ober, former host of MTV's Remote Control.