N.L. East foes with much in common

Rounding the Bases

By: Andy Silva

Posted: 4/27/04

Two teams heading in different directions on the field may be converging off of it, as the Expos and Marlins struggle with where they will play their games now and in the future.

The Marlins have continued their outstanding play of last year, with a 12-6 record putting them atop the competitive N.L. East. Dontrelle Willis has been outstanding on the mound and at the plate and the Marlins have owned the team many thought would win this division, the Philadelphia Phillies. The Expos? Well they have crawled out of the gates to a 5-14 record, good for last place in the division. They lost superstar Vladimir Guerrerro in the offseason to the now wheeling and dealing Angels (kudos to their new owner by the way, he's done a fantastic job and I am glad to see he's not handing the Dodgers that market), pitcher Javier Vazquez to the Evil Empire and will surely lose second baseman Jose Vidro this offseason to the highest bidder. So what can these polar opposites on the field have in common? Neither has a definite future.

The Marlins, desite all their success, publicity and a growing fan base are close to being denied funding for a new stadium by the Florida legislature again. Now, most of the time I shed no tears for owners crying foul monetarily, but in this case Jeffrey Loria has a point. The Marlins have been treading water for years. Miami has been a less than responsive community to this team, although that appears to be changing with the success of the team's most recent incarnation. Even with their World Series championship last year, ESPN.com is reporting the team took an estimated $20 million loss.

Loria should be commended for not disbanding the team the way it was following their 1997 title and the voters and legislative leaders should reward him and the team. Pro Player Stadium was not built for baseball, thus it is a huge burden for the Marlins to overcome. They need better facilities in order to continue to be competitive, and in the end the state of Florida would benefit from a new stadium. Camden Yards revitalized the harbor area in Baltimore. Ditto for Jacobs Field in Cleveland. I'm not saying Miami needs to be revitalized, but I am saying that a new stadium would bring more fans, more tourists and more money to all parties involved. New stadiums bring a curiosity and intrigue which attracts local fans and tourists. It's like that "new car" smell that everyone loves, a new stadium boosts local morale and gets new customers to come out to the ballpark.

Even with all this going on the Marlins have put a competitive team out on the field in recent years. The same cannot be said for the Montreal Expos. One has to feel for this franchise which has been left to dangle in the wind since the other 29 teams purchased this franchise. General manager Omar Minaya and manager Frank Robinson have done an outstanding job with what little they have been given, even making the Expos competitive in 2002. However, it is not fair to the team or its management to continue to make them a lame duck in Montreal where the Canadiens rule year round. They have a shoestring budget and a non-existent fan base (the novelty of baseball in Puerto Rico has worn off by the way) and still no clue where or whom they will play for in 2005. Let's make a decision people, we've wasted enough of the careers of promising young players.

Connecticut has been mentioned (albeit scantily) as a possible home for the Expos. The state of Connecticut has seen professional sports teams come and go (how about those Whalers?) and are used to having their hopes crushed, but maybe the Expos, or the Colonials as they would be known should they move to Connecticut, could start to change that.

The Hartford Courant reported last month that a development firm based in Massachusetts and Florida led by John Alevizos has placed a bid to Major League Baseball to bring the maligned Expos to Connecticut. Alevizos told the Courant private funding will be in place for construction of a 34,000 seat stadium on one of four sites being considered in Central Connecticut. Even with all that said, many people consider Washington D.C. and Las Vegas as the front-runners for the team. One source told ESPN.com that Washington has taken the lead and there is "little to no chance Las Vegas would get the team."

Washington is a better fit - every other professional sports league has a franchise in our nation's capital and baseball is most popular on the East coast anyways, so why not move the Expos here. The district has also already put together a pretty comprehensive stadium plan, one which pretty much meets all of Buddy Boy Selig's demands. There is only one thing holding the move up: Orioles owner Peter Angelos. Angelos has said he would protest any attempt to move a team to nearby D.C., claiming it would hurt his team financially. While it is true the teams would be fairly close by, I find Angelos to be ignoring the fact that Orioles fans would not likely jump ship to a new franchise, much less one with the pool of talent currently comprising the Expos. Also, the Washington franchise would be a National League franchise - which would mean different teams for fans to see. I believe the Orioles would not be hurt because they would still be the only place to see teams like the Red Sox, Yankees and Angels consistently.

Both these franchises face important decisions, all while coupled with the continuing pressures of playing in a tight division. What will happen to these franchises? Who knows? But all I know is that something needs to happen and soon.