the max 0 Report post Posted October 23, 2003 Expos moving closer to agreement Associated Press 10/22/2003 MIAMI (AP) - Baseball and its union are moving closer to an agreement that would shift 22 Montreal Expos' games to San Juan for the second straight season. Expos players, who previously said they were against returning to Puerto Rico, participated in a telephone conference call Wednesday with Gene Orza, the No. 2 official of the players' association, and he said an agreement was ``within reach.'' ``I'm fairly confident that with some reasonability and good faith by major league baseball that we could conclude an agreement,'' Orza said. ``There is a window of opportunity, but we're still not there, yet.'' Orza said players have two primary remaining issues, including an assurance on the Expos' payroll and how it is administered. Players also want to make sure that 2004 is the final year of temporary solutions for the Expos, who were bought by the other 29 teams before the 2002 season. To increase revenue, the commissioner's office moved 22 Montreal home games to San Juan in 2003, a shift that required the union's approval. With the hope of finding a permanent solution in time for 2004, the commissioner's office interviewed potential bidders from Northern Virginia; Portland, Ore.; and Washington, D.C. However, all three areas were unable to put complete financing in place for a new ball park. San Juan and Monterrey, Mexico, then asked to host some games next season. Orza said Monterrey had been eliminated from consideration. ``If the Expos don't play 81 home games in Montreal, they'll play the remaining games in San Juan, not Monterrey,'' he said. ``San Juan deserves a second chance. They did a great job, they worked hard. It doesn't seem right to leave them and move someplace else.'' Orza said if the union approves games in San Juan next year, all 22 would be played at Hiram Bithorn Stadium during the first half of the season. He has been discussing the situation on a regular basis with Rob Manfred, executive vice-president of labor relations in the commissioner's office. I can't help but feel bad for the players in this situation. It's not their fault that Montreal has had piss poor management, but it's taken out on them with horrible road trips, not having a real home stadium, not being able to make trades at the deadline to get them to the playoffs, etc. This makes MLB look bad, and is terrible for Expos morale. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
treble 0 Report post Posted October 23, 2003 Well, if they do have to do this this year, hopefully they schedule it a little better. No more Montreal -> Miami -> Philadelphia ->San Juan or San Juan to Seattle trips, please. Oh, and re-sign Vlad. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest FrigidSoul Report post Posted October 23, 2003 Expos need to get the hell out of Montreal and also gain a confident management team Though they will do their damndest to resign Vlad they probably aren't going to keep both Vasquez and Livian Hernandez Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
EVIL~! alkeiper 0 Report post Posted October 23, 2003 Montreal isn't the problem. ANY team run the way the Expos have been run the last five years would have piss poor fan support. Even the Yankees wouldn't draw if they didn't have a basic tv contract. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest FrigidSoul Report post Posted October 23, 2003 People in Montreal don't care about baseball, give them more Hockey Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Czech Republic 0 Report post Posted October 23, 2003 People in Montreal don't care about baseball, give them more Hockey Give them a good team Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest jpclemmons Report post Posted October 24, 2003 the expos should move to the nation's capital(and I don't mean Ottawa) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
treble 0 Report post Posted October 24, 2003 People in Montreal don't care about baseball, give them more Hockey I hate this whole 'hockey is all Montreal cares about' viewpoint in this situation, when hockey isn't even the biggest sport in Montreal right now. If the baseball fans in Montreal hadn't been dicked around like they have been since the '94 strike, the Expos wouldn't be in this situation. Like has been said, even the most hardcore baseball city would get frustrated when every year there are noises about the team leaving, the best players are either not re-signed or traded away, ownership tells you that the stadium is a piece of shit in order to build their case to build a new one, and you can't watch most of their games on TV. Yup, it's all Montreal's fault, those hockey loving bastards. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Czech Republic 0 Report post Posted October 25, 2003 Stay Expos, stay...I need to make it to that Olympic Stadium up there. Come on. It does look cool in a kitschy sort of way. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Richard 0 Report post Posted October 25, 2003 I hate this whole 'hockey is all Montreal cares about' viewpoint in this situation, when hockey isn't even the biggest sport in Montreal right now. Just out of curiousity, what is the biggest sport in Montreal? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Czech Republic 0 Report post Posted October 26, 2003 I hate this whole 'hockey is all Montreal cares about' viewpoint in this situation, when hockey isn't even the biggest sport in Montreal right now. Just out of curiousity, what is the biggest sport in Montreal? I guess the CFL team is big there? I don't know. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lightning Flik 0 Report post Posted October 26, 2003 I hate this whole 'hockey is all Montreal cares about' viewpoint in this situation, when hockey isn't even the biggest sport in Montreal right now. Just out of curiousity, what is the biggest sport in Montreal? I guess the CFL team is big there? I don't know. Probably the Alouettes (CFL). As they keep winning, and winning and winning. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Czech Republic 0 Report post Posted October 26, 2003 Whatever. I don't follow CFL. I hardly follow the NFL and I'm smack-dab on the battle lines between Bear fans and Packer fans. I guess I can understand them supporting the (heh heh) "Larks" because they keep winning and winning, while the Expos are winning and losing, and the Habs are losing and losing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
treble 0 Report post Posted October 26, 2003 The Als are huge in Montreal right now. They've sold out every game for the past 4 or 5 years (granted, the stadium is rather small [>20,000]) and even though they didn't make the Grey Cup that year, the game was at Olympic Stadium in 2001 and it drew over 65,000 (the 2nd biggest Grey Cup crowd ever), plus they drew over 50,000 for the East Division final at the Big O last year and will probably draw that again this year. The Habs are still big in Montreal, but the city loves football right now, which is surprising, given that they lost their team in the late 80s and were drawing flies after they came back in '96 before moving to Molson Stadium at McGill. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
the max 0 Report post Posted October 26, 2003 That's odd too, considering that the Habs are off to a good start, despite getting smacked down by Ottawa tonight Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lightning Flik 0 Report post Posted October 26, 2003 That's odd too, considering that the Habs are off to a good start, despite getting smacked down by Ottawa tonight Not really. The Habs probably would be just as big in the CFL if Jose didn't have that "blow up" after winning the MVP award (Ross, right? I forget), the Habs would be number 1 probably. Although, the Als are just the team to beat, year in, year out. Probably the only other team I'd consider near the Als is their divisional counterparts, the Eskimos. And the Eskies are winning the Grey Cup this year. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Czech Republic 0 Report post Posted October 26, 2003 I want Montreal to do well, I really do. I'm a big fan of the city and I'd like to see the Canadiens move back in front of the Yankees for most championships won. (NYY at 26, MTL at 24) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
