Archives, 2004

December 31, 2004 [LINK]

2004: A truly amazing year!

So what was the biggest baseball story in 2004? As if there is any doubt: The Curse was Reversed! (Or "eclipsed," that is, if you recall the lunar phenomenon that night.) The steroid scandal and the relocation of the Montreal Expos to Washington probably rank a close second and third behind the Red Sox long-awaited World Series triumph. Among individual player accomplishments, Randy Johnson's perfect game against Atlanta in May stands out, as well as Ken Griffey Jr.'s 500th home run and Barry Bonds' 700th.* Other milestones that may soon be forgotten include the publication of Pete Rose's autobiography and the passing away of former Reds owner Marge Schott. As for stadiums, the opening of Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia and PETCO Park in San Diego turned out to be great successes, certainly more so than Cincinnati's Great American Ballpark debut in 2003. Don't forget about the upper-deck truncation and re-roofing of U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago, a commendable effort to make up for poor original design work. Construction of the new ballpark in St. Louis (Busch Stadium III) got into full swing, while politicians in Miami and Minneapolis kept haggling over financing of new stadiums in their downtowns. On the grim side, the Yankees announced plans to replace Yankee Stadium with a smaller, luxury-oriented venue next door. Boooo!!!

Done deals in D.C. & N.Y.?

On Wednesday D.C. Mayor Tony Williams signed the bill authorizing $535 million in bonds for the construction of the new baseball stadium in Washington. This supposedly marks an end to the long and perilous process of laying the groundwork for the relocation of the Montreal Expos to Washington, but you never know what surprises some of the key players may have in store.

Arizona has tentatively agreed to terms with the Yankees by which Randy Johnson will finish his career pitching in The Bronx. Just like Roger Clemens -- or so we thought! Their front office is still studying the terms to make sure they get their money's worth, and Commissioner Selig must approve the deal, since it involves so much money.

Play ball?

Has anyone noticed there were games being in two baseball stadiums in the last few days? Navy beat New Mexico in the Emerald Bowl at SBC Park in San Francisco (formerly Pac Bell Park), and Oregon State defeated Notre Dame in the Insight.com Bowl at Bank One Ballpark in Phoenix.

December 24, 2004 [LINK]

Merry Christmas in D.C.!

Thanks to common sense and perhaps just a bit of goodwill shown by D.C. political leaders toward each other, baseball fans in Washington and Virginia will enjoy glad tidings this Yuletide for the first time in a generation. But what about the New Year? Well, that's another matter. You may notice that the "current likelihood" of baseball in D.C. (displayed in the upper left of the Baseball page is only 98 percent. Why isn't it 100 percent? Just ask Peter Angelos, who is still haggling over distribution of revenues from broadcasts and would not hesitate to file an injunction to get his way, and Marion Barry, who is about to take a seat on the D.C. Council and no doubt relishes the prospect of throwing his weight around once again. The passage of the stadium funding bill supposedly contained ironclad procedural safeguards to prevent it being reversed, but anything is possible in Our Nation's Capital, especially with a crafty politician like Barry. Indeed, according to Thursday's Washington Post,

[Councilman Vincent] Orange said that the maneuver effectively tabled a reconsideration of the legislation forever because no date was attached to the motion.

But, according to Phyllis Jones, the council's secretary, such a maneuver is meaningless. Jones said that a simple majority of the 13-member council could vote to undo the tabling.

Even though chances that the Nationals won't play in D.C. are negligible, there are sure to be all sorts of polemical fireworks, scary showdowns, work stoppages, and assorted mayhem as this l-o-n-g overdue relocation and construction of the new stadium go forward.

December 24, 2004 [LINK]

Turf battle

The D.C. United soccer team will play its first game in RFK Stadium next year on April 9, five days before the Washington Nationals do. The plan is to cover the baseball infield with a layer of grass with a special clay backing that enables it to be rolled up and stored for a few days. According to the Washington Post, "It will take two days to transform the playing surface from baseball to soccer and three days from soccer to baseball." This should be interesting... Stay tuned for a soccer version of the diagram on the RFK Stadium page.

Web site updates...

The Baseball in D.C. page has been partly updated (the chronology is still lacking) and now includes the table listing the D.C. Council members and their votes on the stadium bill, with a "racial profile." Contrary to the presumption that baseball boosters are white folks, five of the six African-American council members voted "yes" on the stadium bill, while only two of the seven white members did. On the Baseball page, the list of stadiums in the left hand column is now arranged in alphabetical order of the city in which they are located, rather than by franchise, in the respective leagues and divisions.

December 22, 2004 [LINK]

The "Nats" become a reality

The Washington Nationals' team jerseys went on sale this morning, one week after they were supposed to be put on display for the first time. I have to say, I really admire the artwork. Regular visitor Steven Poppe suggests that the new owners go back to using the "Senators" name after the franchise is sold, but I think that would be a bit awkward. Besides, as he mentions, the Texas Rangers apparently retain residual rights to that name since they used to be the Senators! Weird.

In the Washington Post, Thomas Boswell interprets the strange way the relocation deal has come about:

Washington and baseball are now locked in a bizarre marriage of inconvenience. The sport finds itself in the novel position of bestowing a team on a town that has responded with a distrustful, lukewarm embrace and a demand for prenuptial agreements.

While the District wonders whether baseball is worth all the expense, baseball wonders if Washington is worth such a headache.

Looking ahead, he casts doubt on the three-year construction timetable that is generally assumed for the new stadium:

... according to one of the people most involved in researching the timeline for building the District's new ballpark, "Getting the stadium done for '08 is already out of the question. It can't be done and it won't be close. I'd put a ballpark opening in '09 at 50-50." If that pessimistic view proves true, Cropp may save the District $15 to $30 million.

Trades and near-trades

Back in the real world of baseball, the Yankees welcomed ex-Marlins pitcher Carl Pavano to their roster but failed to acquire Randy Johnson from the Diamondbacks. This was part of a three-way deal in which Dodger Shawn Green would have gone to Phoenix, but it apparently fell through because Yankee Javier Vazquez refused to go play for Los Angeles. Meanwhile, the Red Sox have picked up David Wells, Matt Clement, and Edgar Renteria, gaining an advantage on the Yanks during the winter trades, according to mlb.com. Finally, Orlando Hernandez -- who I saw pitch a shutout in the Bronx last July -- is about to sign with with White Sox.

December 21, 2004 [LINK]

Stadium Deal Approved!

After two critical amendments were added by Chairman Linda Cropp, the D.C. Council just voted 7-6 in favor of the revised stadium funding bill. The first amendment

calls for the city and Major League Baseball to share the cost for insurance, which would limit the city's liability on cost overruns or completion delays.

It also waives compensatory damages for the first year if the stadium is finished late. Instead, the Washington Nationals would not have to pay rent for RFK Stadium if the new ballpark is not ready for the 2008 season.

The second amendment, approved 10-3, deletes the sunset provision that cancels the deal if there is no private financing. [SOURCE: WTOP News]

Since MLB President Bob DuPuy was involved in telephone negotiations last night, these provisions presumably meet with MLB approval. Resumed sales of Nationals tickets and merchandise should begin right away. There are a couple of stipulations, such as certification of the proposed private financing schemes, and some unforeseeable $nag$ may yet emerge, but we can now call the Ex-Expos / Nationals move to D.C. a virtual certainty: 98 percent. (Hence the image of RFK Stadium in the baseball page banner is now clear once again.) PLAY BALL!

A poll by the Washington Post indicated that most D.C. residents favored Mrs. Cropp's insistence on private funding for the new stadium, even if it means losing the team altogether. It's hard to gauge the meaning or intensity of such sentiments, however. In any case, people would do well to read Steven Pearlstein's column in the Post Business section today, in which he laments the "screwball logic" used by many in this debate. As he explained,

Council Chairman Linda Cropp and other critics often confuse "financing" with "pay for."

Should we care who finances the stadium? Well, if our interest is in holding down the total cost of the project, it's pretty clear we should be pushing for as much public financing as possible. The reason is simple: Cities can borrow money more cheaply.

He concludes by admitting some unease over the bargain (which I share), but makes it clear that

[U]ntil Congress repeals baseball's antitrust exemption, or until all major cities are willing to sign a pact that none of them will buy into baseball's Ponzi scheme, our choices are either to play by the rules laid down by Major League Baseball or not play at all. Another round of "tough negotiating" won't change that basic reality.

Or, as Don Rumsfeld might put it, you go into negotiations with the Major League you have, not the one you wish you had.

That is an appropriately realistic assessment. Predictably, in contrast, the folks at Field of Schemes complained,

In short, everybody blinked, resulting in a deal that dissident councilmember Adrian Fenty accurately summed up as "materially the exact same thing the mayor sent over. It's a publicly financed stadium with less risk, but still a publicly financed stadium."

Well, of course. Was there any other plausible outcome, besides no stadium at all? They should at least credit Mrs. Cropp for her daring (if not duplicitous) last-minute maneuver that -- she claims -- will end up saving the city $193 million or more. I suppose that much money is worth causing a few thousand cases of heartburn, plus a heart attack or two. As for Fenty, his opposition is starting to seem more like politically motivated deadset rejection than principled reason.

Details on how Mayor Williams and Chairman Cropp reached the compromise last night are in the Washington Post. Mrs. Cropp seems to have come out slightly on top in this monumental showdown, though perhaps not quite to the extent Tony Kornheiser suggested yesterday. This is not the time to pick winners and losers, however. Let's make sure this stadium project serves its proper purpose of restoring a sense of community in our nation's capital, bridging the gap between the city and its wealthy suburbs.

December 20, 2004 [LINK]

Down to the wire talks

Chances that the D.C. Council will approve the stadium package increased substantially this evening. The FOX television station in Washington, Channel 5, reported at 11:10 PM EST that negotiations among Linda Cropp, Mayor Williams, and MLB officials had resolved all the differences. Channel 9 reported likewise a little later, via a telephone interview with Council member Harold Brazil. It is so obvious that all parties stand to gain significantly from this transaction that success would seem very likely. But since some of the key actors in this drama have different time frames and agendas, a total collapse is still very much possible. I've raised my estimation of the chances of success from 55 percent to 75 percent.

Hundreds of baseball fans turned out for a rally this evening, a much more upbeat amd polite expression of public sentiment than has been waged by most stadium opponents. Some anti-baseball activists screamed during the last Council meeting and had to be removed, and of course we all remember Adam Eidinger's disruptive stunt on November 22. Yesterday MLB President Bob DuPuy had said, "We have no intention of extending the deadline. We have a few options [referring to putting the Ex-Expos in some other city, apparently], but we're not even going to look at that until the deadline comes and goes." See mlb.com

Whatever the outcome, years from now people will look back on this strange episode and marvel that one woman had an entire professional sports league tied up in knots. The indignity! One can only imagine the heartburn that Bud Selig must be suffering right now, after years of dragging his heels over the D.C. question, fearing exactly this kind of mess. Who knows, maybe the Lords of Baseball deserve it... In today's Washington Post, sports columnist Tony Kornheiser expressed this situation in very graphic terms, for mature audiences only:

... I hold her primarily responsible for this fiasco. I'd like to see her head on a stick. But let me give Cropp this: She has made herself The Key Player in this game. All baseball roads go through Linda Cropp now, and not the mayor. When you see the mayor squirming, it's because she's got his, um, onions, in her hand, and she is squeezing the Charmin right now. It's hard to believe a smart big-city mayor like Tony Williams could have been punked like this. Marion Barry wouldn't have been.

Mrs. Cropp may not grasp all the tangible and intangible benefits that baseball would bring to her city, but she seems smart enough and politically astute enough to reach a reasonable compromise. The alternative would be a total disaster for which thousands would hate her for years to come, and it would be very hard for her to govern as mayor, if that indeed is her plan. If she can deliver a deal that includes substantial revisions from what Mayor Williams and the MLB agreed to in September, on the other hand, her prestige and electability will soar. The D.C. Council will meet tomorrow, presumably for the last time this year, unless an emergency session is called.

Just came across a new Web site: www.dcbaseballpac.com

December 19, 2004 [LINK]

Pre-Armageddon maneuverings

Sunday's Washington Post provided a detailed review of each of the 13 D.C. council members' positions on the stadium funding issue. Some members, notably Carol Schwartz and Jim Graham, were previously open to the idea but disliked a provision in the letter from MLB officials, which was supposed to address council members' concerns about the project's financing, but which might actually put D.C. in a money trap. Specifically,

Item 7: If the city failed to build a ballpark for the former Montreal Expos by March 2008, it would have to pay the team as much as $19 million a year to cover lost profits.

From Major League Baseball's perspective, that was a big concession to the city. The stadium agreement places no limit on the city's liability if the ballpark isn't ready by 2008.

To certain council members, however, Item 7 looked like a hoax -- a big, fat thumb in the eye of an unsuspecting city.

A reasonable person might well agree that this provision puts an unfair burden on the city for eventualities that are largely beyond its control, but if you read the entire paragraph in that document, it is clear that the terms are markedly better than before. Nevertheless, Mrs. Cropp did not give any indiation that Item 7 in the letter bothered her in the least until the fateful meeting last Tuesday was well underway; indeed, she had said the letter was very positive. Did she actually read the whole document before making that earlier statement?

December 19, 2004 [LINK]

A modest proposal

In a letter to D.C. Council Chairman Linda Cropp, I proposed an unorthodox solution to the problem of cost overruns and delays: Have the city commit to a fixed amount of funding at the low end of the range of cost estimates ($440 million), and build as much of the stadium as can be done until the money runs out. If some of the outfield seating sections or fancy adornments have to left out when the Nationals are supposed to begin play in the new stadium in 2008, don't worry about it! Let private investors into the action, with naming rights for seating sections, or whatever it takes. If the new ballpark looks a little funky for the first couple years, so much the better! That's where unique character comes from. If MLB officials are wise enough accept this awkward compromise, meeting Mrs. Cropp's demand half-way, it would actually accomplish two goals. It would make sure the stadium gets built, with a real incentive on the contractors to stay within budget (since they won't get any money for parts of the stadium that don't get built), and it creates a sort of nostalgic throwback to the days when major league ballparks were built in incremental stages over the years, especially in the 1920s. Indeed, only one stadium built between 1909 and 1923 was not significantly expanded several years after the initial construction: League Park in Cleveland. Some were expanded more than once. See Baseball Stadiums by Class for more.

December 19, 2004 [LINK]

The race card vs. civic unity

Two columnists in the Post illustrated the ultrasensitive, seldom-mentioned racial undercurrent behind this controversy. Colbert King played the "race card" with unabashed zest, reprinting a viciously racist e-mail message sent to Linda Cropp. Does King mean to imply that such views are typical of stadium backers, or is he just throwing a rhetorical bomb without considering the damage to racial relations it might cause? The way he compares the D.C. Council's belated and Quixotic challenge to MLB to the way Frederick Douglass bravely defied plantation owners suggests the latter. King ridiculed Mayor Williams ("when it comes to the D.C. Council, he can't deliver diddly squat") and the "yahoos" who want the new stadium, while giving heaping praise to Mrs. Cropp. He blithely ignores the essential point: that Mrs. Cropp's last-minute change was a cheap, underhanded bait-and-switch tactic that did grave damage to the city's credibility.

In contrast, Marc Fisher recalled the old days when the Senators served as a bridge between whites and blacks in Washington.

[B]lack Washington repeatedly rose above the racism of baseball's owners to embrace the team as a point of civic pride.

That's the choice Linda Cropp, the D.C. Council chairman who stands between Washington and baseball, faces right now: Ride to higher office on a wave of spite or bring us together. History teaches the right answer.

Call me crazy, call me deluded, but I'm cautiously inclined to think that such uplifting voices of reason and reconciliation as Fisher exemplifies will prevail over the fear and demagoguery expounded by Colbert King in this debate. As for the deal Mayor Williams offered to MLB last June, call it a giveaway, call it extortion, call it whatever you want, but it was almost certainly the only way the other 28 baseball owners would ever override Peter Angelos's objections to putting baseball back where in belongs in Washington. In an imperfect world, sometimes you have to swallow a better pill or two. I know the deal with MLB makes a mockery of the principles of private enterprise, but that wrong will be more than offset, I believe, by the huge amounts of money that are likely to pour into Washington as a result of the new stadium.

Town Hall Meeting

The Washington Baseball Club (a prospective franchise ownership group) wants all area baseball fans to attend a Town Hall Meeting, on Monday at 6pm, featuring Mayor Williams, members of the D.C. City Council, and others. Brand new Web site: www.dropcropp.com. (link via Josh Marshall's Talking Points Memo) blog.

December 17, 2004 [LINK]

Utter disgrace: aftershocks in D.C.

The ugly repercussions of the D.C. Council's vote on Tuesday continue. (I would have posted baseball updates yesterday had I not been busy with War of the Worlds.) Since unleashing her little cataclysm three days ago, Linda Cropp has alternated between posturing as a tough negotiator and a meek conciliator. At a news conference, she asked MLB officials to

"give us a few months." ...

"I want baseball here, but not at any cost," Cropp said, and not by giving "a blank check" to Major League Baseball.

Cropp said she would not put the stadium deal on the agenda for next Tuesday's D.C. Council meeting "if there is no resolution" of the current impasse, and she called the Dec. 31 deadline "artificial." Three new council members opposed to Williams's stadium financing deal are scheduled to take office Jan. 3. (SOURCE: washingtonpost.com)

Such chilling words are not what one would expect to hear from a political leader who is tuned into reality, and it raises the awful possibility of doom. (Steven Poppe, you may be right after all.) If Mrs. Cropp does not believe that it really is now or never for baseball in D.C., she is either deceiving herself, her constituents, or both. Seldom has my standard of maintaining a respectful, dignified tone in Web discourse been tested as sorely as now. I would like to think she is just mistaken in judgment on this matter, but I fear she has deliberately taken a crowd-pleasing position that puts herself in a hole from which she cannot crawl out without ruining her political reputation, thereby forfeiting her probable mayoral aspirations. On WTOP Radio's morning call-in show today, she admitted that Washington Wizards owner Abe Pollin gets huge (implicit) public subsidies from the District via the special tax breaks on the MCI Center. So why not the same treatment for baseball, Linda?? Let her know how you feel by calling (202) 724-8032, or sending e-mail at lcropp@dccouncil.us. As Washington Post columnist Thomas Boswell wrote, it is perfectly acceptable to vote yes or no on a given issue, as I myself have said. But

What is utterly and absolutely not acceptable is the current behavior of Council Chairman Linda Cropp and nine of her colleagues who want to bait-and-switch baseball into a radically altered deal than the one which Williams negotiated exhaustively -- as his city's official representative -- over a two-year period.

In business, a deal is a deal, something Cropp refuses to understand. For her any deals, those made by others or even ones she has agreed to herself in recent days, are not deals at all. They are just a starting point for her next demand.

Note that I have redone the "countdown" at the top left of the Baseball page to reflect the increased uncertainty, which will fluctuate from day to day. Likewise, I have also changed the title of the RFK Stadium page, but have left the Anomalous stadiums page untouched for the time being, since it includes the caveat phrase "barring some unforeseeable catastrophe," which would seem to be a fitting description of Mrs. Cropp.

December 15, 2004 [LINK]

Chaos: Cropp throws a spitball

Well, she's done it again! Five weeks ago, D.C. Council Chairman Linda W. Cropp "threw a curveball" that threatened to derail the process of relocating the Expos to Washington. Then last night,

Chairman Linda W. Cropp (D) shocked her colleagues after 11 hours of debate on a stadium package by offering the private financing amendment about 10 p.m., saying she was disappointed by recent talks with Major League Baseball.

(SOURCE: Washington Post) According to MLB officials, this vote "might leave baseball with little choice but to reopen the search for a long-term home for the franchise." (See mlb.com.) This second stunning about-face by Cropp came only one day after she responded favorably to a letter in which baseball officials offered concessions aimed at benefiting the community such as more free tickets for kids and more days of usage by D.C. According to the Washington Post,

Cropp (D) said the letter means she probably will support the legislation today. "I am very positive," she said. "We have things in writing from Major League Baseball."

Is Mrs. Cropp suffering from schizophrenia, or does her inability to maintain a consistent position reflect an affliction of a moral nature? Or was she just misquoted by the Post, perhaps? As far as I'm concerned, there is nothing inherently wrong with taking a principled stand against public subsidies, as Adrian Fenty has done. I myself have urged political leaders to resist the tide of "stadium socialism," or corporate welfare, if you wish. (See Nov. 10 and July 10 postings in the Baseball 2004 archives, and March 20 and June 25 in the Baseball 2003 archives.). I think there is little doubt that a new stadium in southeast D.C. would yield vast net benefits to the city, but in the end, it is leaders in D.C. who must make that decision. Given contemporary realities (baseball's legal status as a monopoly), opposing subsidies while pretending to support baseball in Washington is nothing more than two-faced political "grandstanding." Repeatedly playing both sides of the issue in a way that causes doubts about the city's credibility, as Mrs. Cropp has done, is not only amateurish, but highly destructive. I would call such a classless posture "bleachering."

As a result of the vote by the council last night, MLB has postponed the unveiling of the Nationals' uniform that had been scheduled for this afternoon. Likewise, we may expect the sale of the franchise to be suspended indefinitely, making it difficult if not impossible for the team to acquire top-notch talent prior to spring training. Fenty wants to play "chicken" and call MLB's bluff, thinking they have no serious alternative. I doubt MLB officials would want to reopen the agonizing relocation process once again, as they have threatened, but it can't be ruled out. Here is regular visitor T. J. Zmina's take on the fiasco:

It would appear as though too many cooks still spoil the dorm food, as Linda Cropp may have just cost Washington it's franchise. Then again, all may still work itself out. On the other hand (how many hands is that now, five?) the Expos situation has not been resolved, but simply picked up, repainted, and put back down in a different location. It's as if they took a rusted out K car on blocks, spray painted it, duct taped some inner tubes on the rims, and put it on display as a state of the art vehicle. If you want to call the current Nationals situtation state of the art, it must make Rhode Island look like a continent.

December 15, 2004 [LINK]

EVENING UPDATE:

There was a photo of Adam Eidinger (the hot-headed stadium opponent who disrupted the unveiling of the Nationals logo last month) in the Post article cited above, along with his young daughter Arundhati. Where did that name come from, you wonder? It almost certainly refers to Arundhati Roy, a young, highly articulate Marxist writer from Kerala, India, who has bitterly denounced the Bush administration over its policies in the war against terrorism. Could such people even fathom what Our National Pastime really means?

MLB has suspended all promotional activities connected to the Nationals team: no tickets, no logo merchandise. That's what we would expect. Nevertheless, Councilman Jack Evans remains confident that a compromise will yet save the day, but Mayor Williams disgustedly warned the whole thing is in jeopardy. Will he and Linda Cropp ever again speak to one another in cordial terms? Another article in Washington Post called attention to "a delicate, chicken-and-the-egg balance that may have reappeared last night. Which should come first? A new owner, who might not provide a new stadium, or a new city, with no committed buyer?" That aptly illustrates the strange, wary "courtship" between D.C. and MLB, which is hard for outsiders to understand. The article also quoted an unnamed MLB official as saying, "I think they just killed baseball in Washington." That could be negotiating rhetoric, however. An online survey included in that article asked, "Does this latest amendment on stadium financing kill the chances of the Expos relocating to Washington?" Of the 4902 responses, 72 percent said "yes." I put "no." Meanwhile, Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, who just attended baseball's winter meetings, was quick to declare that his city could arrange for a quick relocation if need be. Norfolk, Virginia and Portland, Oregon officials are also busily dusting off their contingency plans. (Further details are found in yahoo.com; thanks to Steven Poppe for the link.)

It's a dirty rotten shame that the ballpark alternative near Dulles Airport is so pathetically lame; if leaders in Arlington or Alexandria were at all amenable right now, Northern Virginia would be in a prime position to snatch the team away. Aware of the clashing interests at stake, I've prepared myself for such last-minute $nag$. Risking death-defying head-on collisions as negotiating deadlines approach is how businessmen, politicians, and even some diplomats advance their careers. (Remember Clinton vs. Gingrich in November 1995?) That is why, in my estimation, the situation is not as bleak as some people think. Generally speaking, rational self-interest prevails over stupidity and short-sightedness. Nevertheless, with the egos and reputations of the key players in this anguishing saga on the line, absolutely anything is possible now. Stay tuned...

December 13, 2004 [LINK]

Winter meetings: Few trades

The annual winter meeting of baseball owners, being held in Anaheim, yielded little big news in the way of trades. Perhaps the steroid controversy took all their time. The Orioles signed up veteran nice guy B. J. Surhoff for another year, but are otherwise frustrated. The Yankees signed Carl Pavano and Jaret Wright, both ace pitchers eagerly sought by the Washington Nationals. (Isn't it amazing how easily that name rolls off your tongue after only a few weeks?) The Yankees' deal with Wright mentioned in the last posting had been temporarily put on hold because medical exams showed his arm has not fully healed. After he passed a second exam, the contract was signed.

The Nationals just signed utility player Wil Cordero, who played with the Marlins this year (though he was injured most of the summer), and used to play with the Expos. Interim General Manager Jim Bowden is negotiating with the Cubs over Sammy Sosa, a hopelessly unrealistic prospect given the D.C. team's limited budget for this year. Bowden has done well to pick up Cristian Guzman, Vinny Castilla, and Jose Guillen, but what the Nats really need is more pitching! (Just like the Yankees do.) Other players seem wary of signing with the Nationals until the team's status becomes more clear.

Speaking of which, the D.C. City Council will vote for a second time on the stadium funding bill tomorrow. If it passes, serious negotiating on selling the franchise to one of the bidders will commence, enabling the team to acquire a full roster of top-notch talent at last. If it fails, sheer chaos will descend upon Our Nation's Capital...

Commissioner Bud Selig had a cancerous skin lesion removed from his forehead last week, and the prognosis is good. We wish him all the best.

December 11, 2004 [LINK]

Steroid update

Was the threat by Senator John McCain the deciding factor in motivating the baseball player's association to cooperate with owners in renegotiating terms of drug testing? Perhaps. It is a sad thing whenever the iron fist of government authority is needed to straighten things out in our National Pastime. Bud Selig has made appropriate stern declarations about getting serious on this problem, but what will come of it? It's too bad that Bud's credibility suffered during the excruciatingly long process to decide on the relocation of the Montreal Expos. Speaking of which, the Yankees nabbed the reliable young pitcher Jaret Wright (a Brave this year), foiling the cash-poor Washington Nationals. Wait till next year! Note the counter at the top left of the Baseball page, indicating how many days remain until the Nats "Play Ball!" in good ol' RFK Stadium, on April 14. I will be there or die trying! If my plans work out, I'll also be present at the first official game the Nationals play, up at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, on April 3.

Web site transitions

The baseball home page is now integrated into this Web site's "home-made" automatic blogging system; note the ".shtml" suffix in the URL, and please adjust your bookmarks accordingly. The "[LINK]" links next to the date take you to the permanent file archive for each blog entry; in other words, they are "permalinks." Putting interactive comments links on this page and others is just around the corner... Also, I've added to the Memorial Stadium page an old photo that I found while digging through my photo albums today. A dynamic diagram will be added to that page, and many other stadiums used for football, in the near future.

December 3, 2004 [LINK]

Bonds feigns innocence

The steroid scandal turned into a full-blown storm today, as the San Francisco Chroncicle (www.sfgate.com) reported that Bonds "told a federal grand jury that he used a clear substance and a cream supplied by the Burlingame laboratory now enmeshed in a sports doping scandal, but he said he never thought they were steroids." This revelation came one day short of a year after his testimony, and the circumstances by which the information was released remains cloudy. His lawyer Michael Rains complained about this, and tried to portray Bonds as a guileless victim, stretching credulity to the maximum. See sportsillustrated.cnn.com. Hardly anyone expects baseball players to be paragons of virtue, but fans have every reason to expect that they will at least accept responsibilities for their actions in an adult way. Whether baseball's reputation is deeply damaged for years to come, or only lightly scratched for a while, now depends on how the probable dope users respond. Bonds' statements remind me of a certain former president who half-admitted to past drug use by saying, "I didn't inhale." Really.

December 3, 2004 [LINK]

MLB approves Expos relocation

All but one of the 29 Major League franchise owners voted to approve the relocation of the Montreal Expos to Washington next year, but this is "subject to all conditions set forth in the Baseball Stadium Agreement" which was signed on September 29. In other words, the D.C. City Council can forget about having Mayor Tony Williams renegotiate the deal. No dice. Who was the lone dissenter in today's vote? Why, none other than Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos. All those lengthy, patient negotiations in which Bob DuPuy tried to placate his fears of a financial loss came to nothing. What is disturbing is that Maryland Gov. Robert Ehrlich (a Republican) recently hinted that legal action on behalf of the Orioles may be necessary. (Since when did the Democrat Angelos start making friends across party lines, I wonder?) See sportsillustrated.cnn.com. Personally, I thought it was a waste of time for MLB officials to bend over backward so far just to get Angelos to go along with the relocation for the sake of unanimity. He proved long ago beyond any shadow of a doubt how unreasonable he is. In the vicious world of corporate lawyering, however, such a nasty reputation can be used to very good effect, bringing in millions of extra dollars from adversaries who would rather not endure an ugly, drawn-out fight. It looks like that's what the Nationals have in store as they prepare to settle in to Our Nation's Capital. The dead-end rejectionist attitude of Angelos reminds one of George Wallace, Lester Maddux, and other leaders of "massive resistance" to racial desegregation in the South during the 1960s. Contrast that with the friendly welcome mat laid out for the Orioles when they moved from St. Louis to Baltimore in 1954:

Senators owner Clark ... Griffith relented and in some ways even supported Baltimore's bid. When the team finally arrived in Baltimore, Griffith attended a citywide parade, welcoming a new baseball team to the area. All he received was a small monetary payment that came through television sponsorship. [SOURCE: Washington Post, Sept. 30, 2004]

Meanwhile, there is a flurry of negotiations with free agent pitchers such as Carl Pavano and Pedro Martinez, who used to pitch for the Expos. Thanks to the delays caused by Linda Cropp, however, the Nationals franchise is not likely to be sold until next year, which means the team's "interim" general manager, Jim Bowden, is still on a shoestring budget and therefore won't be able to acquire as much pitching talent as he would like. Booo!

December 3, 2004 [LINK]

D.C. stadium vote aftermath

In Thursday's washingtonpost.com, columnist Marc Fisher really ripped into some of the D.C. City Council members, especially Chairperson Linda Cropp, for cowardly abstaining in the big vote on Tuesday. He also showed a sense of balance, however, in discussing the stadium bill's leading opponents:

Adrian Fenty (Ward 4) and David Catania (At Large), deserve credit for their principled agitation on behalf of the view that the stadium deal is fiscally irresponsible. ...

Then he patiently explained the obvious economic benefits from drawing in all the suburbanite cash into the District, as well as the more nebulous psychological benefits:

So even if you don't believe that the Capitol Street corridor will blossom as a result of the stadium development, this deal is sweet. That a majority of the D.C. Council lacked the courage to say so is shameful. That three members were so derelict as to take no position is unforgivable.

Exactly! Fisher has been a consistently avid booster of D.C. baseball on the Post staff, and I agree wholeheartedly with his honest and forthright conclusions. Meanwhile, hot-headed anti-stadium activist Adam Eidinger has apparently taken a vacation in France, one week after disrupting the announcement of the Nationals name and logo. Finally, the Anomalous stadiums and RFK stadium pages have been updated to reflect the virtual certainty that the Washington Nationals will play in RFK Stadium next year. Revisions to other pages are still pending...

December 3, 2004 [LINK]

Jason Giambi confesses

So Jason Giambi has admitted to using steroids in testimony to a grand jury. Was there ever any doubt, really? Those enormous biceps (until this year, that is, when "going clean" apparently came back into fashion) looked like something from a comic book superhero. Dittos for ... well, you know. The records books in the future may have a lot of asterisks for sluggers in the late 1990s and early 2000s. I try to avoid being too judgmental, but I've certainly never believed in the ethical relativism of "so what, everybody does it." I just hope Giambi hasn't caused permanent damage to his body, and I pray that this doping scandal doesn't end up ruining all the public goodwill that baseball has managed to recover since the 1994 strike. In sportsillustrated.cnn.com, Tom Verducci says the Yankees will "definitely look into the possibility of voiding the contract," which has four years to go. Poor Mr. Steinbrenner.

December 1, 2004 [LINK]

D.C. Council approves stadium

By a 6-to-4 vote, with three abstentions, the D.C. City Council approved a bill that will provide city funding for construction of a baseball stadium for the Washington Nationals. It provides for the possibility of some private financing and obliges Mayor Anthony Williams to renegotiate terms with Major League Baseball, for whatever that's worth. It was a closer call than it had to be, as some believe that Williams got complacent and neglected to persuade key council members on the merits of his grand plan. A second vote to finalize the bill's passage will be taken in two or three weeks. See washingtonpost.com for details. Some are still denouncing the package as a case of "corporate welfare," and there's some truth to that, but no one can deny that the new stadium will provide an uplifting impact on a wretched, forlorn part of the city that's only a mile from the Capitol. The only question is whether the stadium design and the construction contracts will be handled in a way that integrates the ballpark into the local community. Councilmember Adrian Fenty's proposal to force the Nationals to play at RFK Stadium indefinitely is hopelessly unrealistic, as is Chairwoman Linda Cropp's proposal to use land near RFK as a backup site if cost overruns get out of hand. I'm more convinced all the time that the timing of the announcement that the team will be named the "Nationals" was aimed at providing political ammunition for Mayor Williams, who opposed reuse of the "Senators" name because the District lacks any voting representatives in Congress.

November 22, 2004 [LINK]

The "Nationals" It Is!

Mayor Anthony Williams just led a ceremony announcing that the Washington baseball team will be named the "Nationals." It had been understood that the new owners of the franchise would have discretion to choose the team name, but the fact that someone has invested a lot of design work into the new team logo suggests that MLB may be appeasing or giving political support to Mayor Williams, who has rejected reusing the "Senators" name because D.C. lacks any representation in Congress. Score one for Tony. Another possible name occurred to me recently, but I guess it's too late now: the Washington Warblers! Three other baseball teams already have bird names, including our friendly neighbors up in Baltimore. Another crucial landmark is that there is now an official MLB Washington Nationals Web site, which has replaced that of the defunct Montreal Expos.

Sadly, the auspicious occasion was marred when a protester took over the podium, held up a sign, and started yelling about the pending stadium financing deal. Opposition to public funding for sports stadiums is certainly a legitimate point of view, but expressing it in such a rude and obnoxious fashion detracts from the cause. (Where was good old dull-but-earnest Ralph Nader?) The culprit was identified as Adam Eidinger, who recently ran for D.C. "shadow representative" on the D.C. Statehood Party ticket, and indeed the photos on his Web site match the guy I saw on TV. It was a reminder of one reason why MLB has long been leery of Washington: It's a hotbed of disruptive fringe political activists, rather like Greenwich Village or Berkeley. Getting things done in Our Nation's Capital often means pandering to zealous fools.

November 19, 2004 [LINK]

Baseball frenzy in Washington

In the first two days since sales began, over 10,000 people have put down a $300 deposit to get season tickets for baseball games in D.C. next year. Prices at RFK Stadium will range from $7 for the outfield upper deck to $90 for elite box seats between the dugouts, with eleven (!) different price brackets. By comparison, in the stadium's inaugrual year, 1962, there were only five price brackets, ranging from 75 cents to $3.50. Single-game ticket prices will be higher yet, but it is not yet known whether multi-game ticket packages will be sold. Another good sign for D.C. is that the "Ex-Expos" just obtained outfielder Jose Guillen from the Anaheim Angels in exchange for outfielder Juan Rivera and shortstop Maicer Izturis. Meanwhile, the D.C. city council has agreed to vote on funding for the new stadium on November 30, and it appears likely that there will be a compromise provision allowing for some private funding. MLB franchise owners postponed their vote to approve the relocation of the Expos to D.C., but Bud Selig denied it had anything to do with the delays in getting the stadium funding approved. According to the Washington Post, the main hitch is good ol' Peter Angelos, who is still haggling over revenue-sharing terms.

It is interesting to contrast the D.C. situation with that in South Florida. The Miami Herald reports that the Florida Marlins have offered to contribute $35 million more to build a new stadium in Miami, estimated to cost $420 million, for a $192 million total commitment. City officials have insisted that the Marlins say how much they would pay for any cost overruns.

November 16, 2004 [LINK]

Field(s) of Dreams

UPDATE: The front office of the amorphous entity formerly known as the Expos, currently in transit from Montreal to Washington, has agreed to a four-year contract with 26-year old shortstop Cristian Guzman (who played a big part in the Twins' pennant chase this year) and a two-year contract with Vinny Castilla (the veteran Rockies third baseman). It is not certain whether this means the "Ex-Expos" are not interested in former Reds shortstop Barry Larkin, though he might become a first baseman. You put those three top-notch infielders together with Jose Vidro at second, and you've got a team in serious contention for the pennant! Also, Frank Robinson made a verbal agreement to serve as manager for another year. This was also reassuring news for a team in flux that is vulnerable to an identity crisis. I wonder if this flurry of activity is an indication of MLB's confidence that the D.C. City Council will approve the stadium package as originally agreed to by the Mayor? Obviously, whoever puts in the winning bid to buy the Expos must have deep enough pockets to follow through on those commitments.

Field of Dreams, imaginary home of the Chicago Black Sox. "If you build it, he will come." -- (Yeah, but who's gonna pay for it???) Note the special effects on the cornfield photo on that page.

Meanwhile, the dream of bringing baseball back to Washington is coming ever closer to becoming a reality. D.C. City Council Chairperson Linda Cropp has agreed to fully fund a new stadium at the South Capitol Street site if it's the only way to consummate the Expos relocation deal. Nearly everyone agrees that her alternative plan was just a shady tax-dodging scheme. It is rumored that 40-something veteran player Barry Larkin, who was let go by the Reds, is very interested in finishing his career in Washington. Orlando Cabrera, who was traded to the Red Sox in July, might even be induced to rejoin his Expos teammates under the right conditions. Finally, the former minority partners of the Montreal Expos just lost their racketeering lawsuit against former principal owner Jeffrey Loria and MLB officials, thus removing one of the last potential obstacles in the way of that franchise being relocated to Washington Next year. It's hard to know what the plaintiffs were hoping to gain from that suit, aside from getting a small cash payoff, and perhaps the fact that their claim that they wanted to keep the Expos in Montreal was so far-fetched was what undermined their legal case. (See Yahoo Sports; Thanks to Steven Poppe for the tip.)

November 10, 2004 [LINK]

Cropp blocks stadium vote

Once again, D.C. City Council Chairperson Linda Cropp shocked her cohorts by postponing a vote on funding a new baseball stadium for two weeks, even though Mayor Williams had a majority of votes lined up for his proposal. Unbeknownst to the Mayor, she has been discussing with real estate brokers (including Michael Sununu, son of John Sununu, a top official in the first Bush administration) a plan under which private investors would fund up to $350 million of the $440-$530 million total construction cost. The good news is that she says she is committed to building the stadium, and now accepts the South Capitol Street site on the Anacostia waterfront. According to the Washington Post, an aide to the Mayor "described the proposal as a tax shelter that relies on a loophole in the federal tax code..." Mrs. Cropp appeared on WUSA-TV9 this morning and tried to explain her alternative plan, denying that her actions are aimed at laying the groundwork to run for mayor. Will Mayor Williams be forced to renegotiate his agreement with MLB? I'm rather sympathetic to those who fault such "stadium socialism," but D.C. has a reputation for being unfriendly to business, and the city's credibility has been undermined by Mrs. Cropp's last-minute switcheroo. Fortunately, none of this seriously threatens the planned relocation of the Expos to D.C. MLB plans to name the team the "Nationals" on a provisional basis, and ticket sales are supposed to begin any day now, according to General Manager Tony Tavares.

November 8, 2004 [LINK]

Late-inning $tadium $ite $nag

D.C. City Council Chairwoman Linda Cropp admits that her plan to build the new baseball stadium near RFK Stadium doesn't have enough votes to win passage, according to the Washington Post. As things stand, however, Mayor Williams' plan doesn't have enough votes either, and tomorrow evening's Council meeting will decide whether a compromise is possible. The Saturday edition of the Post was full of news and comments that cast extremely negative light on Mrs. Cropp's alternative. I had initially hypothesized that her ploy was aimed at getting better terms from MLB, but I may have overestimated her political astuteness...

Winston Lord, of the propsective D.C. baseball franchise ownership group, just sent out an e-mail message to folks like me who are signed up for ticket info on the new Washington baseball team. Their site has link for sending an e-mail message to the D.C. City Council: www.baseballindc.com/non_dc_resident with a pre-written message, which I rewrote almost from scratch; see below. That link didn't work for me, so you might want to just click on the following link to send a message to
ALL MEMBERS OF THE D.C. CITY COUNCIL.

Dear Members of the D.C. City Council:

I am a resident of Virginia and a former resident of the District who has long been a serious fan of baseball. I am writing to express to you my strong support for the Anacostia Waterfront as the right location for a new ballpark in Washington DC. Anything else would be an unmitigated disaster.

I once lived within a block of the proposed site on South Capitol Street, and I can testify how deep is the need for a renewed urban development effort in that part of the city. It is the gateway to D.C. from the south, and a new stadium / entertainment complex there would be a tremendous enhancement to Washington's image. Giving up on the Anacostia Waterfront will mean missing a historic opportunity to revitalize an entire section of the City. A new ballpark could do for the Waterfront what the MCI Center did for the 7th Street area. What's more, by drawing in many millions of dollars from Virginia every year, it would serve as the "commuter tax" on suburbanites that the D.C. government has always wanted.

Building a new ballpark near RFK Stadium as Chairwoman Linda Cropp has proposed, in contrast, would NOT generate any significant development, and it would attract far fewer fans from Virginia. (I would probably attend at least ten additional games per year at a South Capitol Street ballpark compared to a ballpark built next to RFK.) Even worse, it would be more likely to encroach upon the Baltimore Orioles' fan base in Maryland, and their owner Peter Angelos would almost certainly require additional monetary compensation. In short, the RFK site would be a colossal mistake: penny wise but pound foolish.

The deal that Mayor Washington made with Major League Baseball specified the site on South Capitol Street. The radical change of plan this late in the game will jeopardize the return of baseball entirely. After waiting so long for baseball to our area, we can't afford such a risk. Please do not break the signed agreement with Major League Baseball.

Thank you very much for your attention.

Sincerely,

Andrew G. Clem

November 5, 2004 [LINK]

Cropp throws curveball

D.C. Council member Linda Cropp, who has previously spoken in favor of a new baseball stadium, just proposed to build it near RFK Stadium, prompting Mayor Williams to warn that such a change would put the whole relocation deal in jeopardy. She claims it would save 20 percent of the construction costs, a perfect example of "penny wise, pound foolish." A location that far from downtown and Northern Virginia would reduce average attendance at games by at least 15 percent, I'd bet. See Washington Post. Again, I interpret such actions as part of a negotiating strategy aimed at getting slightly better terms from MLB and the new owners, but we'll see... Earlier this week, two committees of the D.C. Council gave approval to particular aspects of the stadium plan, after including additional funds for community development. Hot-headed D.C. Council member Jack Evans, perhaps the biggest stadium booster, used profanity during one of the heated public hearings. He then apologized.

I plan to stay much more on top of baseball events this winter season than in past years, for obvious self-interested reasons. Aside from much new material pertaining to the new Washington team, there will be dozens of revisions, corrections, and enhancements guaranteed to appeal to true baseball fans. Any old photos of stadiums -- especially Griffith Stadium or RFK Stadium -- would be greatly appreciated, and all such photos will be properly credited.

October 30, 2004 [LINK]

The Curse Is Eclipsed!

Once more, superstition and astrology intersect with the world of baseball. Was it just a coincidence that the Red Sox triumph on Wednesday night took place during a lunar eclipse? Within the span of one full lunar cycle, two unthinkable historic passages in the baseball world have transpired: first, official confirmation of the relocation of the Montreal Expos to Washington ("when the moons and the suns and the stars and the dollars are aligned correctly," as Bob DuPuy said), and now, the Red Sox have become World Champions, and have done so in spectacularly decisive fashion. Both miracles followed decades of maddening frustration suffered by fans in their respective cities, and in both cases a central part of the story was rising above old demons, either internal or external. (Just in time for Halloween!) Just as Washingtonians were momentarily stunned by news that they were about to become a real baseball city once again, Bostonians are temporarily dazed by the new reality of being on top of the proverbial heap, now freed of their past crippling self-doubt and bitter grudges. It was a Cinderella story that only a total grouch could fail to appreciate, though a World Series without pinstripes still seems a little empty to spoiled Yankee fans like me. Four years without a world title?

Johnny Damon's first-inning homer was all the Red Sox needed in Game Four, putting the Cardinals in an effective psychological "pin" position from which they could not escape. Pitching performances by Schilling, Martinez, Lowe, and Foulke far surpassed expectations; apparently not many experts gave the Red Sox as much credit for pitching before the postseason as I did. Many have remarked that Boston not only set a record for consecutive postseason wins, they also sustained a perfect inning-by-inning lead in runs. Another odd facet of this World Series was that both teams' scores in each successive game declined in steady fashion. And what are we to make of the enormous ironies involving the actual or possible trades of Manny Ramirez, Alex Rodriguez, and Nomar Garciaparra this year?

I was amused to find out that Boston's pitching hero Curt Schilling endorsed Bush at the end of his brief appearance on ABC's Good Morning America on Thursday. After Charles Gibson offered congratulations to him and the Red Sox, he replied: "And make sure you tell everybody to vote, and vote Bush next week." (via www.georgewbush.com)

In Washington, the city council held a marathon public hearing on the baseball stadium issue, and more than 300 folks showed up. The opposition seems split between total rejectionists and those who would like to get a better bargain, so Mayor Williams' plan is likely to be approved. (See Washington Post.) There is a remote possibility, however, that all this is part of a negotiating ploy aimed at setting up a more reasonable deal, mobilizing public sentiment in D.C. to demonstrate than the city government can't bend any further and will have to get more private money to fund the construction. In other words, give the extortionary deal demanded by Peter Angelos a fair shot, and then force him to settle for something less. I wonder if the terms Angelos is getting include an upper cap on D.C.-Baltimore revenue sharing, in case the Washington team earns a higher profit than expected?

October 27, 2004 [LINK]

Thanks to Pedro and Manny both living up to their high expectations at just the right moment (and Jeff Suppan making a colossal base-running goof), the Red Sox edged closer to what will be regarded the history-making triumph of our time. The fat lady is not yet singing, but the ghost of Babe Ruth seems to be sleeping. (Good SNL skit on that, but I missed Ashlee Simpson's lip-sync gaffe.) The Red Sox must have set some kind of record in errors in the first two games, but their batting made up for it. A 4-0 sweep would cut into FOX's ad revenues [Fans! It's game time, time to grab a cold, fresh Budweiser!] so let's see if they can contrive some way to stretch this series out another game or two. As we all know, coming back from an 0-3 deficit is almost unheard of...

Four letters to the editor in the Washington Post on Tuesday made some good points about the developmental effects of the proposed new ballpark, and some bad ones. To succeed, stadiums must be close to downtown, which is why the option of keeping the team in RFK indefinitely is simply not plausible. That's also why FedEx Field is such a sterile, unhappy home for the Redskins. As for the complaint that a homeless shelter near the new site may get shut down, that needs to be compensated in some way. Insisting on private funding for the new stadium is a nice thought, and the Giants' SBC Park is a noble example, but MLB's terms for relocating the Expos were very explicit on that point. They're a monopoly, and -- as long as Congress lets them run free -- they make the rules.

October 24, 2004 [LINK]

Hey, a win's a win.

Johnny Damon sparked the Red Sox into taking an early lead last night, but the Cardinals clawed their way back into the game in the latter innings. Two errors by Manny Ramirez almost blew the game wide open, but Mark Bellhorn's home run in the bottom of the eighth saved the day. The way I figure it, Manny owes him a BIG favor; a loss in Game 1 would have been a crushing blow to the Red Sox. The idea of a World Series in Boston is still almost too unreal to absorb; the Red Sox have made it to the October Classic about once every two decades since the 1940s. It's interesting that their recent success coincides with the transfer of ownership from the Yawkey family, the owners since 1933, to John Henry, the former owner of the Marlins.

October 22, 2004 [LINK]

Red birds vs. Red Sox

Thanks in large part to that amazing diving catch by Jim Edmunds in the 2nd inning, which saved (at least) two runs, the Cards managed to beat Roger Clemens and the Astros last night. So this year's World Series will be a rematch of the 1967 and 1946 contests between two of the "reddest" teams in baseball. Had Houston won (they led until the 6th inning), it would have been the second all-wild-card World Series in three years. If Boston had held onto their 5-run lead in last year's ALCS Game 7, both teams in last year's World Series would have been wild card teams as well. Rewarding grit and spunk is all well and good, but the emerging pattern suggests that there ought to more of an advantage for teams that do better during the regular season. (Am I beating a dead horse here?) The problem is that playing at home doesn't yield as much of an advantage as one might think. Excepting this series, 12 out of the 23 other postseason games this year were won by the visiting team. This was only the fourth seven-game postseason series in MLB history in which the home team won all of the games. (The previous times were the 1987, 1991, and 2001 World Series.)

(revised, that is) Baseball in D.C., with a photo and map of the new stadium site, a chronology (not yet complete), Web links, etc.

October 21, 2004 [LINK]

"The World Turned Upside Down"

That was the name of the song played by the British Army band when General Cornwallis surrendered to General Washington at the Battle of Yorktown on October 19, 1781 -- only one calendar date earlier than the stupendous victory by the underdog Red Sox in the Bronx last night. How can such a thing have happened?? In my view, there were three main factors: reliable batting through the entire Boston lineup, solid pitching (when it really counted, at least), and gritty team spirit. I had wondered how the Yankees would manage to win in the championships without a first-rate pitching staff this year, and the consequences of that gap are now obvious. David Ortiz obviously earned the ALCS MVP award, but it was the down-on-his-luck "caveman" Johnny Damon who provided the necessary power (six RBIs) last night, with TWO homers, including a squeaker of a grand slam and a huge blast into the upper deck. What a well-timed rally on his part! Last year I felt a certain charitable sympathy for that perpetually frustrated team from Boston, but this year was different. During September they clearly established themselves as worthy contenders to the American League pennant. Even after their early losses in the ALCS, I thought they would end up with a respectable showing, but even I couldn't imagine the record-smashing comeback they pulled off in the last four games. Will this triumph help Boston fans to get over their hatred and resentment of the Bronx Bombers, at long last? Will it lead to national reconciliation and promote world peace?? Well, at least now I may be able to wear my Yankees cap without fear when I finally get a chance to see a game in Fenway Park. In the mean time, I will be cheering the Red Sox on in the World Series, confidently and whole-heartedly. That being said, I feel the need to repeat what I wrote about the Florida Marlins victory in last year's World Series: "I hate spunk!"

I've redone the panoramic (spliced-together) photo of the back side of Wrigley Field, and have added large versions of the two other photos on that page. Stil pending are diagram revisions to show how that historic stadium evolved over the early decades of its existence.

October 20, 2004 [LINK]

ALCS, NLCS

EVENING UPDATE: Jim Edmonds just forced Game 7 in the NLCS with a home run in the bottom of the 12th inning. Just in time for this evening's Main Event to begin!!! Julian Tavares got so mad at himself for blowing Game 5 in Houston that he pulled a Kevin Brown masochism stunt, and I was amazed he was able to pitch with two broken fingers tonight. Interestingly, the Astros-Cardinals series is the first postseason series in at least a couple years in which all games have been won by the home team -- so far. The Red Sox jumped out to an early 6-run lead thanks to yet another homer by Ortiz, and a grand slam by Johnny Damon, who has been ice cold lately. In Game 7 of the ALCS last year, the Yanks came back from five runs down to win; can they somehow recover from a six-run deficit this year???

When I first saw Bronson Arroyo's failed tag on Alex Rodriguez in the 8th inning I had chilling memories of the similar game-ruining gaffe by Bill Buckner in 1986. But then the replays showed clearly that A-Rod had swatted the ball away from Arroyo's glove with his left hand, and the conferring umpires quickly made things right, after which the outraged fans started throwing balls onto the field. Things soon calmed down after riot police took up positions, averting a possible forfeit but spoiling the atmosphere nonetheless. Thanks for leaving a sour taste in our mouths, A-Rod! Let's not forget the incredibly brave pitching performance by Curt Schilling, who somehow lasted SEVEN full innings, in spite of his fragile ankle. The deciding game this evening will be extremely tense, which raises the ugly possibility of another brawl.

FOR SALE

The Montreal Expos franchise is officially on the auction block. Do I hear $300 million? The ultimate price will be greatly inflated by virtue of the publicly-subsidized future stadium in D.C., the "extortionary" price of admission made necessary by the obstructionism of Peter Angelos. Interested parties should contact mlb.com. In Washington, opponents of city funding for a new stadium seem resigned to defeat, as no one has any better ideas on how to revitalize the South Capitol Street neighborhood. See the Washington Post.

I've just read a book that provides a lot of insight into the recent (and yet-unfinished) struggle over the relocation of the Montreal Expos to Washington, D.C. It's Playing Hardball: The High Stakes Battle for Baseball's New Franchises (1993), by Donald Whitford. It focuses mainly on the long campaign by Denver (and Colorado) to land a big league franchise, either via relocation or expansion. Their long sojourn in the "wilderness" is similar to what Washington has been through, except that Denver never had big league ball, and the nearest alternative big league team for them was several hundred miles away. The other case was the Florida Marlins, whose original owner Wayne Huizenga emerged from the pack of franchise contenders quite suddenly, in contrast to Denver. This illustrates how modern baseball has increasingly come under control of flamboyant risk-taking tycoons whose ties to their local communities are often weak. Two other themes in the book are fascinating to me: the persistent role of politicians who get carried away trumpeting economic development spinoffs (such as then-Denver mayor Federico Peña, who later served as U.S. Secretary of Transportation), and the unique personal styles of the successive MLB commissioners who struggle to balance heavy pressure from owners while justifying baseball's special monopoly status as a matter of public interest. How would baseball have evolved in the 1990s if Bart Giamatti had lived a full life?

The 2002 Archives and 2003 Archives pages have been cleaned up, and there are now links enabling you to jump from one postseason "scoreboard" to another. (Pretty handy, huh?) Games won by the visiting team are now shaded olive, which reveals some interesting patterns. Another bit of odd trivia I've discovered: there were NO extra-inning games in the 2002 postseason.

October 19, 2004 [LINK]

Back to The Bronx

The Red Sox came out swinging in Yankee Stadium tonight, but so far (end of 3rd inning) there is no score. Win or lose, the Red Sox deserve huge respect for what they accomplished in their do-or-die home stand this past weekend. Anyway, it will be better for the Yankees if they win at home. Now the big question is, How many innings can Curt Schilling last?

October 18, 2004 [LINK]

HOLY COW!

UPDATE: David Ortiz just drove in the winning run for the second night in a row, keeping the Red Sox's impossible dream alive. This year's "Boston marathon" has been simply unbelievable! And the Astros' 2B Jeff Kent of all people gets to be the hero for the folks in Houston. (Oh, that home field advantage.) So it's back to New York and St. Louis; could this year's postseason top last year's???

I still can hardly believe what I saw transpire after midnight up at Fenway Park. My hunch that Boston would refuse to quit, in spite of having dropped the first three games to the Yankees, was proven correct. Who cares that no team has ever come back from a 0-3 deficit in a postseason series? Anything is possible! Those scrappy wild card teams have certainly added lots of spark to the postseason, and we should give credit where credit is due for that innovation: Thanks, Mr. Selig! Nevertheless, I still think the highest-percentage team in each league should get a bigger advantage than at present, with only three games in the first round, and all at home. That's a little different from what I had suggested before; after rethinking the matter, I decided that a 3 home game / 2 away game series format would put too much pressure on the team with the home field advantage.

Interestingly, both games yesterday were decided by a home run to the right field bullpen. It was also coincidental that "Houston" and "Boston" rhyme, and both are in states that are home to a presidential candidate. What's more, both stadiums bear strong similarities in layout, with a short left field with a high wall and grandstands that are squeezed in along the foul line. (That's not really a coincidence, however, since it reflects the conscious imitation of Fenway Park by the designers of MinuteMaid Park.) The two games in Boston lasted well over nine hours altogether. The 19-8 blowout by the Yankees on Saturday set a number of records, too many to mention here. The Astros have proven themselves worthy competitors to the Cardinals. Carlos Beltran and Albert Pujols are just amazing.

I've received a lot of news tips and corrections on baseball stadium news over the last several days, and I'm sorry that I can't always respond right away. Steven Poppe laid out a list of stadium diagrams in need of revision and/or updating, including some of the "neutral" venues such as the TokyoDome. T.J. Zmina (whose photos are on the PNC Park page) told me that the scrolling stadium menus overlap with each other; I hope that's fixed now. Marc Gilbert tells me that the dugouts at Dodger Stadium will be moved forward next year, as part of the recent grandstand renovations there. I ran across some great photos of it and many other stadiums at walteromalley.com. As always, I greatly appreciate fan feedback, and I keep track of such input on my "to do" list, near the top of which is revising the grievously outdated Baseball in D.C. page.

October 13, 2004 [LINK]

Yikes!

Once again, the Red Sox couldn't quite mount enough of a comeback against the Yankees tonight, losing 3-1. They've still got plenty of fight left in them, though no league championship has ever been won by a team that lost the first two games. Whatever happens, 2004 will mark another great chapter in one of the biggest rivalries in sporting history. We've learned that Curt Schilling's rocky outing last night was the result of his tendon snapping across his ankle bone every time his foot pivoted. He is listed as "hopeful" for Game 5 (if there is one), but Boston's pitching staff has plenty of depth, so even if he can't make it, they'll still be competitive. The Cards beat the Astros by the same score as the Yanks did to the Bosox last night, 10-7. There seem to be a lot of repeated scores this postseason (8-3, especially).

The Red Sox certainly showed they've got spunk last night, coming within one run of the Yanks after falling eight runs behind. If David Ortiz's drive to left center field in the eighth inning had gone about two feet further, it would have set a postseason comeback record. The way things turned out, the 10-7 loss probably qualified as a moral victory for Boston, whose batting lineup and pitching staff are simply awe inspiring. The Bosox don't need anybody's sympathy this year; indeed, they could ... go ... all ... the ... WAY! Arghhh! The FOX channel on our TV is all screwed up at the moment; where is "the cable guy" when you need him?

October 11, 2004 [LINK]

Killer bees!

So the Astros have won their first-ever postseason series after 43 years of trying. Meanwhile, the Braves' championship dreams have once again been thwarted, as if it's expected. Those may be the two most frustrated teams in baseball today, but either of them would be hard pressed to beat the Cardinals. Is Houston due? It was nice for a long-suffering lower-ranked team like the Angels to finally get a moment of glory a couple years ago, but other teams have waited even longer. At least Turner Field was (over-) filled to capacity this time; the empty seats in the first two games were an embarrassment. Houston's remarkable success since mid-August is all the more amazing considering that Andy Pettite has been on the DL for so long. What if Roger Clemens faces Curt Schilling in the World Series, with both pitchers having switched leagues since their last joint appearance in 2001!?

October 10, 2004 [LINK]

Here we go again!

The Red Sox will face the Yankees in the AL Championship Series, just like last year. These being the two highest percentage teams in the AL, this is as it should be. Don Zimmer isn't coaching for the Yanks anymore, so who will Pedro Martinez throw to the ground when the next fight breaks out? Seriously, the Red Sox have shown they are true AL pennant contenders, combining skill, determination, and (so far) self-discipline. (Too bad the Cubs couldn't do likewise.) The Braves eked out another come-from-behind win over the Astros today and will now get a chance to advance to the NLCS at home tomorrow night. The Dodgers are struggling to survive another day against the Cardinals right now, but it doesn't look good. UPDATE: Game over, Cards win 6-2.

Parting is such bitter sorrow:

Who can blame Canadians for scorning the $weetheart deal that brought the Expos to D.C.? Here's a headline from www.canada.com: "Washington name? Call 'em the Suckers -- The deal that brought major-league baseball back to Washington is so one-sided there's no need to hold a contest to come up with a name for the franchise" The Washington Post's political columnist David Broder suggested the team be called "The Reagans" because everything else in Washington has been named after The Gipper lately. Or maybe "The Gippers"?

As for us Washingtonians and Virginians, after waiting for baseball for so many years, the recent turn of events is still almost too unreal to believe. (Thomas Boswell eloquently explored this theme last week in the Washington Post.) But it makes me think, if such outrageously improbable things are possible, then who knows, maybe the Red Sox can win the World Series! I said "maybe." Meanwhile, former rogue mayor Marion Barry says he will fight any public funding for the new ballpark in Washington, echoing the flat-out rejectionist position of council member Adrian Fenty. (Do they have any better ideas for bringing in private money to clean up and redevelop the South Capitol Street neighborhood?) Tomorrow's Post has an article on the political opposition to Mayor Williams' baseball deal. Let there be no doubt: This was a sweetheart deal and deserves serious scrutiny in terms of public policy. But beyond the strict developmental aspects of building a new ballpark there lies the deeper socio-psychological purpose of healing the racial animosities that exploded in the 1960s. That was a big reason for baseball's departure in 1971, and Mayor Williams is well aware of the unique role baseball can play in making things right again in Our Nation's Capital.

October 6, 2004 [LINK]

Playoffs begin!

What home field advantage? Three of the first four playoff games were won by the lower-seeded visiting teams, yet more proof that anything can happen in the wide-open baseball postseason. Har-rumph! See the Postseason scores table below. UPDATE: The Twins scored a run in the top of the 12th inning, but A-Rod's clutch double and Matsui's sac fly saved the day for the Bronx Bombers, who won 7-6. Whew!

Activists in Our Nation's Capital are already organizing to try to block any public funding of a new ballpark, under the false assumption that there is a fixed "pie" of goodies to be divided upon among various factions. ("Education, Homelessness Are More Pressing Priorities, D.C. Group Says" -- Washington Post.) In a capitalist system such as ours, the pursuit of investment opportunities creates a positive-sum gain for society as a whole, though sometimes at a cost to certain groups. True, the economic development spinoffs from sports stadium construction are often exaggerated, but anyone with any familiarity with the South Capitol Street neighborhood should know how desperately new capital investment is needed there. Such blighted areas are a main reason for despair, which is what leads to so many other social ills. The real question is whether to spend D.C. government money from the existing tight budget, or to spend money drawn from new revenue sources in a way that attracts a steady and increasing flow of private money. The amount of money that would be spent in that area by suburban fans would probably cover the entire cost of the stadium well before the expected 30-year bond term expires. Such an injection of outside wealth will have a huge multiplier effect, stimulating new business and residential construction. (See last Sunday's Washington Post.) For anyone who genuinely wants to expand economic opportunities in the inner cities, this should be a no-brainer. The protesters seem more interested in thwarting the private sector elites and blocking investment than in looking out for poor people's best interests. The only question is whether the dislocated residents of the area will be adequately compensated and treated with respect.

Speaking of compensation, negotiations with Peter Angelos are dragging on and on and on. No surprise there. I think some kind of cushion is entirely appropriate, much like the adjustment subsidies given to workers in industries impacted by foreign imports. The point of such programs, however, is to ease the transition, not create a permanent entitlement. Angelos wants not only a 60 percent share of the Baltimore-Washington broadcasting profits, but a guaranteed $360 million resale value for his franchise and an automatic payment to make up for any revenue decline after the team begins playing in D.C. Any one or two of those would be reasonable, but all three? The word chutzpah does not begin to describe Mr. Angelos CORRECTION: The Expos lost to the Mets in their last game, not the Marlins. Thanks for that to "TopGear" who also writes, "By the way, it's interesting to note that the Expos' first game ever was at Shea Stadium as well as their last (as the Expos, at least)."

October 4, 2004 [LINK]

Postseason 2004

UPDATE: In a more perfect world, the winningest team in each league would have a bigger advantage in the playoffs*, and frankly I would love to see a rematch of the 1964 Yanks vs. Cards contest. As we've seen in recent years, however, it's anybody's guess as to who will advance to the World Series. The Astros seemed to come from out of nowhere in in the final week, while the Cubs choked, to my distress. The Dodgers and the Angels both made it: isn't it funny how rival franchises in big markets are often so competitive! Will the team in Washington next year give the Orioles the motivation they've been lacking? Nearly all the teams in the playoffs are stronger in batting than in pitching -- except for the Astros, and possibly the Red Sox. (Wild card teams: hmmm...) Also, thanks to James Mauro for reminding me which division the K.C. Royals now play in. (D'oh!) The list of stadiums by league and division on the left side of the Baseball page has been duly corrected.
* I.e., the first round would be in a 3 home game -- 2 away game format (rather than 2 -- 2 -- 1), and there would only be a wild card slot if a team had a winning percentage higher than one of the divisional champions; otherwise, "bye" for the number one team!

D.C.!!

I've been "on the road" quite a bit for the past several days. While in our historic state capital last week, I stopped at the home of Richmond Braves and took some photos of The Diamond. (That's the first minor league stadium page I've done, though there is yet no diagram.) Over the weekend I paid a visit to Washington, D.C., where I stopped at the former site of Griffith Stadium and RFK Stadium (which by weird coincidence had to be evacuated later that day due to a bomb threat). Two new photos are found on the respective stadium pages. Finally, I ventured into my (brief) old neighborhood on South Capitol Street, where the future ballpark will be built. (See photo.)

Au Revoir!

While Washingtonians danced in the streets and uncorked champaign bottles, 31,395 melancholy Montreal fans showed up at Olympic Stadium to say goodbye to their beloved Expos last Wednesday night. They've known this was coming for several years, which is no doubt why the fans were much better behaved than the ones who stormed the field at the last game in RFK Stadium 33 years ago, causing a forfeit. Or maybe Canadians are just nicer folks. Anyway, the Expos lost to the [[Marlins]] in their last [home]* game, 9 to 1. I know from experience what a beautiful city Montreal is, and it would behoove joyful Washington-area fans not to forget the sadness felt by those true-blue fans up north.

Next April 15, the Ex-Expos, or whatever they will be called, will play their first home game in 43-year old RFK Stadium, where no official baseball games have been played for the last 33 years. The longest such vacant lapse among the four previous "hand-me-down" stadiums was four years. When the A's moved into Kansas City's Municipal Stadium in 1955, that structure (or its first deck, rather) was already 32 years old. The Washington Post has a full report on the momentous occasion, and MLB.com has already launched a new D.C. Baseball Web site, for ticket and merchandise information.

---

* CORRECTION: I had it right the first time, but someone misinformed me, thinking I was referring to the Expos' final game of the season, which was against the Mets.

September 29, 2004 [LINK]

Let us play

FURTHER UPDATE (6:20 PM): Mayor Anthony Williams announced at 5:00 this afternoon that Major League Baseball will be coming to Washington, D.C. next year. Two hours before, he had received a telephone call from the Commissioner's office confirming that the transfer will be approved. (A 3/4 vote of the 29 franchise owners is required, but that is a 100% certainty. If the broadcasting package is as generous as is rumored, Peter Angelos himself may vote "yes.") The 15-minute ceremony featured seven city council members who have [either] agreed to vote for the necessary funding [or are leaning that way]. Mayor Williams made it clear that D.C. residents would not bear any tax burden for the new stadium, that a large number of free or low-cost tickets would be set aside for underprivileged youth, and that one dollar for each ticket sold after 2.5 million attendance is reached each year would be allocated to community recreation projects. In short, the Mayor gets it. Baseball is about building communities and restoring hope. For details, see WTOP Web site. Much more to come.

Mayor Williams was particularly gracious in paying respects to Virginia Governor Mark Warner and Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley, whose welcoming attitude so angered Mr. Angelos back in July. So what's next? I'll be buying myself a Senators (or Nationals or Grays) cap as soon as the franchise is sold and the team's new name is announced. Come next spring, George W. Bush or John W. Kerry will revive the long-forgotten spring ritual by which the President used to throw out the first pitch at the season opening game in The Nation's Capital. PLAY BALL!!! I really look forward to finally seeing a game at Camden Yards, now that my boycott is over.

As in previous years, I've added a table at the bottom of the Baseball page showing the scores of postseason games. A few the championship series slots are still unfilled, so I may have to alter the teams listed. Cincinnati just beat the Cubs 4-3 in 12 innings, meaning the Cubs are in grave danger of losing the wild card race.

FURTHER UPDATE (noon): Steven Poppe referred me to a Canadian blogger Colby Cosh, who insists that the lawsuit by former minority partners in the Expos franchise will stop this deal dead in its tracks. It is, of course, remotely possible that lawyers could still sabotage this deal, even though no serious person on Earth believes that there is sufficient support for the Expos in Montreal to keep the franchise alive. True, MLB may just going through the motions with this relocation process, but the economic reasons for moving the team to the D.C. area are simply overwhelming. The lawsuit, and the threat of an injunction, is nothing more than a ploy to cash in -- one of the "$nag$" I referred to yesterday.

UPDATE: Here's the Post story from the Wednesday edition, and here's the latest press release from MLB.com. No official confirmation just yet. My take on this is that Mayor Williams is jumping the gun just a bit to make sure that the necessary funding legislation gets introduced at the City Council this week. Friday is the deadline.

September 28, 2004 [LINK]

Allelujah!

Yes, sports fans, it's true. According to both WTTG FOX-5 TV and WUSA TV-9 in Washington, it's a done deal! MLB negotiators have narrowed the differences with Peter Angelos, and the D.C. Mayor's Office tacitly confirmed that an announcement will be made tomorrow afternoon that the Expos will move to Washington next spring. Ironically, a press release from MLB.com earlier today cast a bit of doubt, as Bob DuPuy stated, "No schedule has been set for any announcement" about relocating the Expos. So what was the precipitating factor that brought forth this sublime revelation today, as opposed to later in the week? Were the honchos motivated by sympathy for Expos fans? Those few but passionate long-suffering true blue devotees now will know with certainty that their team's final home game of this season tomorrow will in fact be the last one ever played in "The Big O." Merci beaucoup, Mr. Selig. Was it the alignment of "the sun and the moon" that Bob DuPuy cited last year? (The moon is just about at full phase, it so happens.) Was it the passage of yet another hurricane through the D.C. area today? Or perhaps the rumblings at Mount Saint Helens or the earthquake in California today? Details about the sale of the franchise are still up in the air, and it's entirely possible that the Zients-Malek investor group (Washington Baseball Club, www.baseballindc.com) may get outbid by an out-of-towner. Some visitors to this site have expressed understandable skepticism about this long-delayed transaction actually being consummated, and there will probably be a few last-minute $nag$, but there's really no turning back now. O ye of little faith! It was just about 33 years ago -- a third of a century -- that the final Senators game was played at RFK Stadium, and it was exactly two years ago that I opined that the Southeast D.C. prospective stadium site was my favorite.

September 26, 2004 [LINK]

Pennant fever!

The Red Sox kept the heat on the Yankees at Fenway, trouncing them decisively in both weekend games after losing a close one on Friday. It was a virtual mirror image of what happened in the Bronx the week before. Obviously, Kevin Brown wasn't ready to return as a starting pitcher; I hope he's not too mad at himself... Yankee Andy Phillips became (according to my records) the 14th player ever to hit a home run on his very first pitch in the major leagues; Marcus Thames (also of the Yankees) was the last to do so, on June 10, 2002.

Following up on the issue of ballpark compass orientation which was brought up in the Washington Post article on the planned new stadium in D.C. yesterday, I have determined such orientations for all stadiums covered on this Web site. (!) The data are now included in a new column on the Stadium statistics page. To my surprise, in only three of the 65 stadiums is center field situated northwest from home plate. (Oddly enough, all three of those stadiums are/were in Canada!) So, it would appear that my proposal of building the new stadium in such a way as to have both the Washington Monument and the Capitol as an outfield backdrop is not very likely. I've come up with a suggested name for the new stadium, by the way: "Senators Park at Navy Yards." (It's just west of the Washington Navy Yards, on the Anacostia River.)

The new CBS drama The Clubhouse may be just the "shot in the arm"* CBS needs to recover from the 60 Minutes - Rathergate scandal. It seems like a well-conceived and directed series, and the fact that Mel Gibson and Aaron Spelling are behind the project says a lot. Dean Cain, formerly of "Lois and Clark" and "Ripley's Believe It Or Not!",** is well cast as the handsome, good-natured veteran star, à la Derek Jeter or Cal Ripken Jr. Tonight's premier episode explored the moral dilemma of team loyalty versus upholding the law, the kind of charcter-building issue you don't often see on television these days. I was puzzled by the source of the imaginary New York team name "Emperors" until I put "Yankee" and "imperialist" together. I was also impressed by the special effects by which Dodger Stadium (which plays the role of "Empires Stadium") and Camden Yards were transformed into an alternate reality by replacing their bleachers with the bleachers from some other stadiums.

* Cheap, gratuitous pun on the steroid issue.
** Gratuitous bragging.

September 25, 2004 [LINK]

Spoilers!

Three runs down and with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, the Mets came back to tie the Cubs and then beat them in the eleventh inning, ruining what had seemed to be smooth sailing toward a second consecutive postseason appearance. Arghhh! Sammy Sosa struck out four times and then grounded into a double play. He and the rest of the Cubs desperately need to get their stuff together fast. I'm really looking forward to seeing Sosa, Bonds, and the Jones "brothers" playing in Washington next summer...

"A Perfect Setting For a Diamond"

Saturday's Washington Post looked into the likely uplifting effect a new stadium would have on the South Capitol Street neighborhood, which is a rough urban frontier consisting of warehouses, industrial junkyards, and rowhouses of various classes. (I ought to know, I once lived there.) Andrew Zimbalist and other experts have questioned the touted economic benefits from new stadium construction, but there is little doubt that this project would yield a huge positive impact. It is one of the most compelling cases one could make these days for a public subsidy. Let's hope Ralph Nader takes an open-minded view of this... The Post article discusses alternate stadium orientations, but the author believes that the northwest orientation I favor would put afternoon sun glare in the batters' eyes. Perhaps; I need to finish a comparison of the orientation of other stadiums.

September 24, 2004 [LINK]

Braves do it again!

Yes, those underrated tribesmen from Atlanta grabbed yet another NL East championship, which makes 13 such titles in a row, a feat unmatched by any other team in any other sport. Marcus Giles's eighth-inning 2-RBI double put the Braves ahead in dramatic fashion. Johnny Estrada, Charles Thomas, Jaret Wright, and Eli Marrero are among the many pleasant surprises on the Braves' roster this year, and senior citizen Julio Franco just keeps on truckin'. I officially take back what I wrote on February 21 about "their ownership just giving up." Up in Beantown, meanwhile, the Yanks pulled further ahead of the Red Sox in the race for the AL East title.

Tick, tick, tick

Despite the lack of a formal announcement from the MLB Executive Committee meeting in Milwaukee, Friday's Washington Post is just as upbeat as before about landing the Expos, as all parties realize the proverbial gilded carriage is about to turn into a pumpkin.

"I think we're all running out of time and we realize that," said MLB President Robert A. DuPuy, speaking generally about the relocation process at a news conference in which he revealed few specifics but indicated that years of negotiations will conclude soon.

[UPDATE: The text in red is on the Post Web site but did not appear in my copy of the paper this morning, suggesting careful editorial treatment of this extremely sensitive matter. You know how skittish "unnamed sources" can get.] If MLB officials sign the necessary letter of intent to relocate the Expos as expected, D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams expects to make a formal announcement at RFK Stadium next week. By the way, I wonder what the astrologers are saying about all this. In July 2003, Mr. DuPuy said a decision on the Expos would come "when the moons and the suns and the stars and the dollars are aligned correctly. We'll get there." Is this the dawning of the Age of Aquarius?

September 23, 2004 [LINK]

Angelos: "Hell no!"

The Major League Baseball Executive Committee met in Milwaukee today, but did not make any decision on what to do with the Expos. As expected, Orioles' owner Peter Angelos remains 100% intransigent. [UPDATE: USA Today headline says: "Expos remain in limbo," though their columnist Hal Bodley opines that they have to move to D.C. "I believe Selig has come to the conclusion there's no other place to locate the Expos."] Thursday's Washington Post quotes MLB sources as saying negotiations with Peter Angelos about compensation for the expected relocation of the Expos to Washington "are going nowhere." His no-compromise position may alienate the other 28 franchise owners, who are starting to look like the biggest chumps on the planet for coddling him. As the Post notes, the tentative stadium deal worked out with the District of Columbia should raise the market value of the Expos franchise by nearly $300 million, which means an extra $10 million in the pocket of each of the 29 franchise owners, who currently share ownership of the Expos. Does Angelos really have enough clout to persuade 28 other men to forego $10 million each??? As a successful trial lawyer, Angelos may well be contemplating filing a motion for an injunction against a franchise move to D.C. However, the Major League Constitution defines the Orioles' "operating territory" as consisting exclusively of areas in Maryland, so "a team could be chartered in the District with no infringement upon that geographic territory." The front pages of Sections A (National), B (Metro), and D (Sports) of today's Post were filled with prominent headline stories on various aspects of the seemingly-imminent relocation, an indication that most insiders conclude it is virtually -- virtually, mind you -- a done deal.

NOTE: I have moved the Stadium chronology table from the bottom of this page to a separate page, to save time in loading and make navigation more efficient. You got a problem with that? Just let me know. The link to that new page is in the Comparisons section.

September 22, 2004 [LINK]

Down to the wire!

According to the Washington Post, officials in D.C. and MLB have tentatively agreed on a new stadium site on South Capitol Street near the Anacostia River. (See map below.) The L'Enfant Plaza site would have been better, but Virginians could get to this location fairly easily, so it's OK by me. Thomas Boswell echoes my gleefully expectant yet slightly wary sentiments:

Nevertheless, the Expos are so close to coming to the District right now that, if you were Charlie Brown, you'd be absolutely, positively certain that, this time, you were going to kick that miserable football before Lucy could pull it away.

Well put. Let's just hope MLB pays due respect to the feelings of Montreal fans, and makes a decision by this weekend. Only eight more games are scheduled in Olympic Stadium, and the Expos deserve to bow out and begin the transformation of their identity with class.

This map shows the location of the proposed stadium site, but I have turned the field around 180 degrees to bring the "Washington skyline" into view. To see a larger image, just click on it. The existing stadium design is basically just a clone of Ameriquest Field in Arlington (Texas), and I have made preliminary modififications in it to provide for open views toward the U.S. Capitol (down the right field line) and the Washington Monument (in center field). How inspiring would that be? The rectangular notch in center field draws on a similar feature of Griffith Stadium, which would be a nice tribute to Washington's ancient baseball heritage. I may work on a more detailed suggested design in coming weeks... [UPDATE: In the mean time, I just updated the RFK Stadium page, moving five of the eight photos to a separate page so it will load more quickly.]

The Red Sox became the third team in the majors to reach the 90-win mark, edging Baltimore last night. Many people have offered suggestions for a revised postseason format, and my basic feeling is they should avoid tinkering with divisional alignments or divisional series, but should give a bigger advantage to teams with a higher overall winning percentage. In this case, for example, [even though Boston is "only" the (probable) Wild Card team,] they really ought to get a home field advantage over the AL Central champion Twins and whoever wins the AL West.

As the moment of truth approaches for the titans of Major League Baseball finally making their fateful megabucks decision on relocating the Expos to Washington, it's a good idea to take a grass-roots small-town perspective to help remember what our national pastime is all about: fitness, community, tradition, intergenerational bonding, and never-ending faith and hope in "better luck next year." With that shamelessly corny thought, here's a snapshot of a Valley League game in Staunton on August 2. Final score: Staunton Braves 7, Woodstock River Bandits 3. Attendance: about 300.

September 19, 2004 [LINK]

Mission Accomplished!?

The PETCO Park page is finally done, the last of the 65 major league stadiums I set out to cover when I began this Web project two-plus years ago. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!? Not yet, there are plenty of corrections and enhancements to do in existing stadium pages, and I also plan to do pages for stadiums where major league games were held even though they were not the home field of any major league team. A visitor to this site asked about compass orientation of stadiums, which reminded me that I had been thinking about adding a symbol to indicate "North" in each diagram. So I added one to the PETCO Park and Turner Field diagrams, the latter of which is slightly revised.

Payoff.

MLB is negotiating how much money to give to Peter Angelos to overcome his objections to putting a team in the Washington area. According to the Washington Post, an "indemnity payment in the tens of millions of dollars" is expected. (I wonder what he did with all those millions he got from the tobacco settlement?) Then there are the former Expos minority owners who are suing former chief owner Jeffrey Loria and Major League Baseball. Just when the deal is on the verge of being closed, D.C. Councilman Jack Evans unleashed another volley of spiteful bile, as reported by the Washington Times:

Major League Baseball is so screwed up, they probably won't give us the team anyway. ... I have nothing but disrespect for the owners of Major League Baseball, to be honest with you. And if they drag this thing out any longer, they can take the team and put it in Northern Virginia, and I hope it fails. Good for them.

Sheesh. Is he trying to alienate prospective fans from this side of the Potomac? With sick attitudes like that, this whole thing might just fall apart. Or maybe it's just meant as another motivational kick in Mr. Selig's rear.

The Yankees proved they've still got spunk, trouncing the Red Sox by double-digit margins both Saturday and Sunday. It's amazing they can hold the other team to so few runs, given their weak pitching staff. The Red Sox can draw a bit of satisfaction from eking out one win in The Bronx, but they'll need to do better than that in these last two weeks. #701! Barry Bonds did it again, and is single-handed propelling the Giants in the Wild Card race with the Cubs, who have the advantage of facing weak opponents for the rest of the season.

September 17, 2004