The Offseason Baseball Thread

[Arrian]

If they made a deal and backed out, hey, it's on them. I just don't think they should have made such a deal in the first place.

-Arrian

[Imran Siddiqui]

But they did... and that's why MLB picked Washington over other sites. If you think about it, what Washington did right now was unfair to Northern Virginia, Portland, and the other sites.

[Arrian]

Like I said, they made the deal and backed up, and that's BS. Shouldn't have made it in the first place, but once done, stick to it or face the consecuences.

MLB can put the team somewhere else, sure. Not that the other markets are all that good...

-Arrian

[Imran Siddiqui]

Well other markets seem like they are more committed to baseball.

[GePap]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
Then they have to right to go somewhere else.

People buy teams. They shouldn't have to buy the package of a stadium in order to own a team.

Wait, "people buy teams" but the public needs to be responsible for building the infrastructure so that a private entity can use its purchase??

Well, I want to move to buy a theater company-the City better pay to build the new theater for me

[Arrian]

Meh. What a cluster****!

Well, the upside is that dirty bloodsucker over in Baltimore won't get all those concessions now.

-Arrian

[Imran Siddiqui]

"people buy teams" but the public needs to be responsible for building the infrastructure so that a private entity can use its purchase??

When other cities are willing to build an infrastructure that the team can use? Yeah, if they want to keep the team.

I want to move to buy a theater company-the City better pay to build the new theater for me

And are there other communities that will entirely finance your new theater that you can move to if the city says no?


There are plenty of cities out there that want a professional baseball team so bad that in order to entice one, you need to have the same level of committment. Keep up with the Joneses, so to speak.

[Kontiki]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
Well other markets seem like they are more committed to baseball.

That's a tough call. If basketball and hockey are analagous (and for these purposes, they seem to be), there are many instances of cities bending over backwards to get relocating franchises only to have little real support. Classic examples include Vancouver first getting the Grizzlies, then the move of that team to Memphis and the Hartford Whalers moving to Carolina.

[GePap]

Well, good for DC is no wasting their money on silly stadiums. Let some other city be a sucker.

I just hope said lesson is applied here in NYC. We have better things to spend 600 Million on.

[Imran Siddiqui]

NYC is most definitely going to build a new stadium, or two. They won't let Steinny go to New Jersey or Long Island with his park. It benefits the town too much.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Originally posted by Kontiki
That's a tough call. If basketball and hockey are analagous (and for these purposes, they seem to be), there are many instances of cities bending over backwards to get relocating franchises only to have little real support. Classic examples include Vancouver first getting the Grizzlies, then the move of that team to Memphis and the Hartford Whalers moving to Carolina.

I'd actually say the other sites may have had more fan support than Washington. Washington, for one, was a symphathetic choice, being the capital and a place where baseball was twice before. I would think Northern Virginia would have been a much better choice, personally. Same general metro area, but more support from the suburbanites in North Virginia.

[Kontiki]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui


I'd actually say the other sites may have had more fan support than Washington. Washington, for one, was a symphathetic choice, being the capital and a place where baseball was twice before. I would think Northern Virginia would have been a much better choice, personally. Same general metro area, but more support from the suburbanites in North Virginia.

I'd agree with you about Northern Virginia. I always had reservations about Portland, though. Never struck me as a baseball city.

[Arrian]

Despite Rob Neyer's campaigning, eh?

Not that I read his stuff anymore, now that it's not free

-Arrian

[Imran Siddiqui]

Does Portland has a minor league team?

[Kontiki]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
Does Portland has a minor league team?

I'm pretty sure they do. But so does Vancouver. The two cities are pretty similar when it comes to professional sports, from what I can tell. Very laid back, outdoorsy cities that are almost identical in size. Both do a good job supporting one major league team (Canucks and 'Blazers, respectively) but probably not alot of serious interest in another, especially one that looks at stadium-sized draws instead of arena-sized ones.

Just my opinion, anyway.