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September 29, 2004
All About The Expos
As I first flashed last night, it looks like the Montreal Expos will be moving to Washington, D.C. in time for the start of the 2005 baseball season. A press conference, complete with former members of the Washington Senators, will be held sometime this afternoon at the City Museum. Montreal manager Frank Robinson says he wants to be part of the ownership group, but nobody has bothered to ask him as of yet. One member of the Expos front office who won't be making the trip to D.C. is General Manager Omar Minaya, who will become head of baseball operations for the New York Mets in a major reshuffling of the front office there. In general, the press has been kind to both Minaya and Robinson during their tenures in Montreal, but when I visited the city earlier this month Off Wing reader Jay Sokoloff was hardly complimentary of the performance of either man, pointing out that Robinson seemed to be distracted and disinterested during game situations that demanded his attention, and that Minaya's skills as a talent evaluator left much to be desired (Jay made sure to point out it was Minaya who made sure catcher Einar Diaz was in an Expos uniform). In any case, it ought to be acknowledged that hard core Expos fans like Jay still exist, and I'm sorry that they're losing their team. Again, here's team president Tavares: "They basically crowned Toronto the business capital of Canada," said Tavares, who has also worked in the hockey business. "It hurt not only this business, but all business. We're a different market today. The fan base is very loyal. There's just not enough of them." Funny, sounds like Taveres would be at home as a team president in the NHL, perhaps in Carolina or Anaheim? Tavares also says that a new ownership group probably won't be in place in time to make personnel decisions in time for next season, meaning there's hardly any hope that the team's Triple A-quality roster will improve at all in time for 2005. For more Expos links than you know what to do with, check out Bill Yurasko's site. Pay especially close attention to the aspects of this deal that are being used to buy off Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos. One of the next questions to deal with is what to name the team, as the Expos took theirs from Montreal's Expo '67. Christopher Rehling at Remember The Grays is looking for help to convince everyone involved that he has a solution: I need you to join me and other supporters of Remember The Grays at this press conference to hold signs, pass out our brochures and just be there in support of the Grays! We need a big turnout! While I'll be at the office, I'm happy to throw my support behind this effort. The Washington Grays is the name for me. UPDATE: Outside The Beltway weighs in with some analysis: The proposed site in Dulles not only would be easier from a parking and commuting perspective, but is actually closer to more people who would likely go to games. Sounds like somebody hasn't sat on the Beltway between Rockville and Loudoun during rush hour. Click here for my own take on the proposed Virginia site.
Eric
07:15 AM
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» A CAPITAL MOVE from Population Statistic Tracked on September 29, 2004 08:15 PM CommentsThere are no more Grays in DC as everything in Washington is now black and white. Name them the Presidents! Senators is a jinxed nickname and besides power now resides in presidents. If they have to be named after an edifice in the tradition of the Expos then by all means call them the Washington Watergates. Posted by: at September 29, 2004 11:05 AM The Washington Greys would be a great name. Although the Washington Senators is a close second. What kind of attendance does Baltimore have? Posted by: at September 29, 2004 01:00 PM Thanks for the sympathy Eric. It really is a surreal day. It's a great fall day for baseball with the sun shining brightly and the mercury edging into the low seventies. As Ernie Banks would say, let's play two! While the Expos could barely give away tickets to this homestand, the lower bowl is sold out for tonight's game which leads me to estimate tonight's attendance will surpass the 30,000 mark. Where do all these people live? I suppose it's trendy to attend a funeral. Posted by: at September 29, 2004 01:45 PM The Grays. Perfect. Posted by: at September 29, 2004 03:34 PM I really hate the way the Montreal fans were treated the last several years, and think that most of the blame lies with the owners and Selig. As a Nashville Predators fan, I'm scared that we are next. A sport in a non-traditional market facing a possibly devastating strike, like the Expos faced in 1994? It sounds too much like our own situation. And, if they don't put a winner on the ice, and we fans don't show up, they'll blame it on us and move the team. It's forgotten how passionate the Montreal fans were, and few know how passionate we can be. It's truly sickening. Posted by: at September 30, 2004 12:54 AM Post a commentThanks for signing in, . (If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.) |