A man approached Charlie Diradour and shook his hand outside The Diamond yesterday. “Keep up the good work, Charlie,“ he said. Replied Diradour: “Thank you very much for coming out.“ Diradour, who arranged the appearance to announce the launching of his revamped Web site, looked as if a politician were the centerpiece. Diradour is not a politician—at least not yet.

The Eastern League still intends to relocate one of its 12 Class AA franchises to Richmond next season despite yesterday’s withdrawal of the Shockoe Center proposal and its $60 million ballpark. “Nothing changes,“ said Joe McEacharn, Eastern League president. “It’s more information that we continue to absorb. This does not affect our commitment to be there in 2010.“

The chairman of the Richmond Metropolitan Authority’s board of directors and the RMA’s general manager said yesterday that they find a $28 million transformation plan for The Diamond intriguing and worthy of evaluation. James L. Jenkins, the chairman, and Mike Berry, the GM, added that they also find the Opening Day Partners proposal somewhat familiar. The RMA, which owns and operates The Diamond, and the Atlanta Braves seemed set in 2004 to proceed with a major facility renovation that Berry now sees as comparable in some respects to the $28 million plan ODP released yesterday.

Opening Day Partners today will release a $28 million plan for a “transformation” of The Diamond. ODP, based in Annapolis, Md., last spring delivered a $40 million proposal to the city for a new ballpark.

Professional baseball is expected back at The Diamond next season. But many questions remain regarding the Class AA franchise, its ownership and the facility in which it will play long-term. As the process continues, the names of Lou DiBella and Peter Kirk may be more frequently mentioned. Why is Lou DiBella involved? He is the owner of the Connecticut Defenders, the Class AA franchise on which a potential Richmond ownership group has focused. In early April, DiBella called the sale “imminent.“ But he added: “I’ve got to be honest. In this economy, it’s hard to have confidence in anything.“ His concern was well-founded, it appears. Richmond Baseball Club LC continues to seek funds to meet the $15.4 million sale price, two sources said last week. The current sale proposal expires Sunday.