The Official MLB Offseason Topic

[Guest Anglesault]

and no one suggested Miami couldn't host baseball.

They didn't?

 

I've heard that ALOT since about 98.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Well, in a sustained noise that the media couldn't stop blathering.

[Lightning Flik 0]

Just to comment on the Jays, I remember hearing on the Score that sometime in 2004 (I think it is April 1st), they will no longer be the Blue Jays, just like their jersey says, they'll be the Toronto Jays.

 

It was reported last year when the new colors and stuff hit. Hence why I hate how they changed their name. Oh well.

 

As for the Expos, it really is quite sad how a freaking decent team lost all respectablity because of what happened because of one owner.

 

This is why the Expos wish to get leave, not because of the actual team and what it can do but what one owner managed to do by making the fan base totally disbelieve in the organization itself.

 

That and I still contend the MLB could save the damn organization if they actually ... you know, tried to help them out.

[The Czech Republic 0]

and no one suggested Miami couldn't host baseball.

They didn't?

 

I've heard that ALOT since about 98.

Miami doesn't seem to want to host the Marlins, and my connections in South Florida tell me fan interest already died in the offseason. Marlins = Relocation candidates?

 

 

And I'd like to hear the random facts about the Yankees looking different than the pinstripes, just to be informed. I know the Cubs road uniforms change very often.

[Guest Anglesault]

And I'd like to hear the random facts about the Yankees looking different than the pinstripes, just to be informed.

Not since about 1915.

 

They ARE timeless, no sneering remarks needed.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Not quite.

 

They added numbers in the '20s.

[Guest Anglesault]

Ah, yes.

 

Pinstripes were the teens.

 

numbers started in 29 using the batting order.

Edited March 25, 2004 by Anglesault

[Bored 0]

Here's a story that should shock no one except maybe Bud Selig.

 

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews...rts/8266970.htm

Study: Aid for Baseball Stadiums Unneeded

 

JAMES HANNAH

 

Associated Press

 

 

DAYTON, Ohio - Play ball, tax free.

 

A study by researchers at the University of Dayton concludes that large public subsidies for the construction of major league baseball stadiums are unnecessary.

 

Economics professors Marc Poitras and Larry Hadley examined the 13 stadiums built between 1989 and 2001 and concluded teams would probably recover all or nearly all the cost of construction if the ballparks were built with private money instead of taxpayer money.

 

"The bottom line is that these new stadiums generate sufficient revenue to pay for themselves," Hadley said Wednesday. "If the stadium pays for itself internally, that should be sufficient motivation for the owners to build it."

 

"Amen," said Jerry Geisel of suburban Kettering, a Chicago Cubs' fan and season-ticket holder for the minor league Dayton Dragons. He opposes public financing of stadiums.

 

"It's a business," Geisel said.

 

He said taxpayers wouldn't give a private company money to construct a new building, but they are willing to pay for baseball stadiums.

 

"People are stupid enough to fall for it. I think it's absolutely terrible," he said.

 

The only recent stadium built entirely with private money is SBC Park in San Francisco, built in 2001. Before that, it was Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles in 1962.

 

In their study, the researchers took into account team performance, ticket prices, the honeymoon period of a new stadium, stadium capacity and player salaries.

 

With the first season in a typical $268 million stadium expected to produce about $33 million, half the cost of construction would be recovered in five years and all of the cost in 12 years, the study said.

 

After 20 years, revenues would exceed construction costs by more than $100 million and by $200 million after 30 years, the study said.

 

The study said that if teams were left to rely on their own funds, they would likely choose functional, no-frills stadiums that would make it even more likely to recover their costs.

 

Messages seeking comment were left for Major League Baseball and the Cincinnati Reds, who had their $280 million Great American Ball Park built mostly at taxpayer expense.

 

Andrew Zimbalist, a professor of economics at Smith College in Massachusetts and expert in sports economics, reviewed a draft of the study.

 

"It's done carefully," Zimbalist said. "But I'm not entirely persuaded that all of the assumptions they're using are accurate."

 

He said it might be possible in most instances for teams to privately finance stadiums if they are willing to live with declining rates of return as the stadiums age. But he questioned whether teams are able to do that in the current market.

 

Since 1990, he said, professional sports teams have gotten stadiums that are about 70 percent publicly financed, resulting in increased profits. Teams that need new stadiums could claim competitive disadvantage if they don't get public financing for their ballparks, he said.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Since 1990, he said, professional sports teams have gotten stadiums that are about 70 percent publicly financed, resulting in increased profits. Teams that need new stadiums could claim competitive disadvantage if they don't get public financing for their ballparks, he said.

 

Yes. Thank god Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, and Detroit got those new, publicly financed stadiums so they could compete.

 

I've stated before, taxpayers should not have their tax dollars spent on private enterprise. Would you tolerate your taxes going towards building a brand new K-Mart so it could compete with Wal-Mart?

[DerangedHermit 0]

To those in NYC/LI with Cablevision; hooray!!!!!!! (Not just for Yankee fans, also applies to Mets fans-see 2nd article and parts of 1st)

 

Cablevision to carry YES Network

Company takes a hit on what it sought to charge customers.

March 25, 2004

 

Following a painful arbitration loss that ends a bitter three-year fight, Cablevision announced Wednesday that it will start providing the Yankees cable network to all subscribers on its expanded-basic tier and will charge each of them an extra 95 cents per month.

 

Cablevision Systems Corp. said it is eliminating its separate sports tier, which for the past year offered the YES Network separately at $1.95 per month or along with the MSG Network and Fox Sports New York for $4.95. MSG and Fox Sports, which are owned by a Cablevision unit and which carry Mets games, also will shift to expanded basic, the company said.

 

"This is a disappointing ruling for customers who wanted to choose whether or not to pay for the Yankees on cable," said James Dolan, chief executive of Cablevision, which blacked out an entire Yankees season over the dispute. "The ruling is a significant step backward that ignores the consumer's desire for fairness and choice, core principles that were the basis of Cablevision's dispute with YES."

 

The three-member arbitration panel ruled unanimously that Cablevision could not provide YES only to customers who choose to pay extra, because most other regional sports channels, including MSG and regional Fox Sports channels, are carried on expanded basic by cable operators other than Cablevision.

 

Details of the ruling, which were not made public, were provided by executives who saw it. The arbitrators did not comment.

 

In a partial setback for YES, the panel also ruled it must lower the monthly fees it wanted to charge Cablevision for each subscriber who gets the Yankees network, retroactive to last April 1.

 

The new terms also apply to Time Warner Cable, Comcast and DirecTV under their deals with YES, meaning they will pay lower fees as well.

 

"We are delighted with the results of the arbitration," said Richard A. Friedman, managing director of Goldman Sachs, a major investor in YES. "It's a huge win for Yankees and Nets fans across the tristate area."

 

The new six-year contract replaces a one-year interim agreement, reached last year on Yankees Opening Day with the help of state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, that avoided a blackout of that baseball season.

 

About 1.5 million Cablevision customers who get expanded-basic service have not opted for YES. About 1.4 million Cablevision customers already get YES through iO digital tiers or by paying extra for the channel or for a sports tier that also includes MSG and Fox Sports.

 

"We are absorbing most of the cost of carrying YES in an attempt to keep prices reasonable despite this ruling," Dolan said.

 

The other cable operators that carry YES reach 5.3 million subscribers.

 

The ruling puts another nail in the coffin of the idea that sports channels should be put on optional tiers as a way to rein in the soaring monthly rates that cable customers pay.

 

"It appears that the decision strikes another blow to consumer choice," said Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), chairman of the Commerce Committee, which is holding a hearing Thursday on cable rate increases.

 

The ruling will increase the number of viewers able to see Yankees games by more than 1 million, increasing advertising revenue at a time when ratings were already expected to rise because the team signed superstar shortstop Alex Rodriguez as part of its record-breaking $190-million payroll.

 

Because the ruling runs through March 31, 2009, YES contracts that began in 2002 with the other providers will be cut to seven years from 10 years.

 

The arbitrators ruled that, retroactive for the past year, Cablevision and the other operators that opt for the same terms must pay YES $1.85 per subscriber each month, rather than the $2.12 they had agreed to, meaning they will get rebates. The fee will rise by 4 percent per year, or more if the cost of living exceeds that, rather than the 7 percent they had agreed to. That means the providers will be paying YES $1.92 per subscriber for the year that begins April 1, instead of $2.28.

 

The ruling is likely to affect thousands of Time Warner Cable customers as well.

 

After Cablevision reached its interim agreement a year ago, Time Warner Cable began giving subscribers the option of dropping YES and having their monthly rate cut by $1.

 

YES challenged that move in court. The arbitration ruling may end that dispute, especially because only 3 percent of Time Warner customers, 42,000 of them, dropped YES, sources close to the matter said.

 

Time Warner Cable spokesman Keith Cocozza said he could not speculate on how the ruling may affect that system's 1.4 million customers in the metro area until the company gets a letter from YES.

 

The decision to scale back the annual increases in fees YES charges operators apparently reflected in part the deal that YES has with the Yankees and Nets. That deal provides for 4 percent annual increases in fees YES pays for cable and broadcast rights, a source familiar with its details said.

 

"It's about time," said Mike Feldman, a longtime Cablevision subscriber who lives in Brooklyn. "Even though I have YES on the premium digital package, I felt for other Yankee fans who couldn't afford it."

 

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisla...inews-headlines

 

A three-person panel of arbitrators ruled that Cablevision must carry YES, the Yankees' network, as part of expanded basic service for the next five years. In response, Cablevision is changing the way it offers its sports programming lineup.

 

What does the arbitrators' ruling mean for Cablevision subscribers?

 

It depends. Customers who subscribe to expanded basic, also known as family cable, will pay 95 cents more a month, but receive YES, MSG Network and Fox Sports Net New York, which was not included in those packages before. There will be no immediate impact on customers who subscribe to premium packages that already contain those three channels.

 

What about customers who added YES or other regional sports networks to family cable?

 

Family cable customers who already paid $1.95 a month for one of the services or $4.95 for all three will pay far less per month -- 95 cents.

 

When will bills reflect the change?

 

Unclear. Cablevision still is working to implement the ruling.

 

When will the changes take effect?

 

Presumably the company will make these changes on March 30, when the Yankees open the season in Tokyo against the Devil Rays.

 

Which channels will the three networks be on?

 

Cablevision will notify customers as soon as possible

 

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisla...ories-headlines

[Guest OctoberBlood]

Juan Cruz traded to the Braves.

Mike Lamb traded to the Astros.

John Patterson traded to the Expos.

 

The Chicago Cubs traded pitchers Juan Cruz and Steve Smyth to the Atlanta Braves on Thursday for left-hander Andy Pratt and infielder Richard Lewis.

 

Cruz, considered a talented prospect when he came up, has spent time in the majors each of the past three seasons. The 25-year-old right-hander is 8-19 with a 4.43 ERA in 78 major league games, including 23 starts.

 

Smyth spent last year at Triple-A Iowa.

 

Pratt, the son of Cubs pitching coach Tom Pratt, led the International League in strikeouts last year at Triple-A Richmond. He's 1-0 with a 1.13 ERA in five games this spring.

 

Lewis was batting .417 with a home run and three RBIs.

The Houston Astros acquired third baseman Mike Lamb from the New York Yankees on Thursday for minor league right-hander Juan DeLeon.

 

Lamb competed for the Yankees' third base job until they traded for reigning American League MVP Alex Rodriguez, who shifted from shortstop.

 

Lamb, who arrived in a trade from Texas in February, hit .292 with one homer and two RBIs in 11 spring training games. He hit .132 in 28 games for the Rangers last season and spent most of the year with their Triple-A affiliate in Oklahoma, where he batted .288 with nine homers and 46 RBIs.

 

DeLeon, 22, went 2-0 with a 1.83 ERA in 39 1-3 innings over 26 games for the Astros' Class-A club in Lexington, Ky. He will be assigned to the Yankees' Class-A team in Tampa.

The Montreal Expos traded reliever Randy Choate to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday for reliever John Patterson.

 

It's the second time in three months Choate has been traded. The Expos acquired him in December from the New York Yankees along with first baseman Nick Johnson and outfielder Juan Rivera for pitcher Javier Vazquez.

 

Patterson returns to the team that drafted him in 1996. The Expos selected the right-hander in the first round, but lost him when he was declared a free agent due to a technicality. He then signed with Arizona.

 

Patterson, 26, split last season between Triple-A Tucson and Arizona, going 1-4 with a 6.05 ERA in 16 appearances for the Diamondbacks.

 

Choate, 28, pitched in just five games for the Yankees last season. The lefty went 3-5 with a 3.91 ERA and one save at Triple-A Columbus. He had a 2.25 ERA in seven appearances this spring.

- SFGate.com

[HarleyQuinn 0]

Anybody heard anything on whether Bill Hall(2B/SS Milwaukee Brewers) will get a bench spot or anything? He's been lighting it up during Spring Training and I picked him up in the NL only league so I was just curious if anybody's heard anything lately concerning him.

[Dr. Tom 0]

ESPN is reporting that Ugueth Urbina has signed with the Tigers. He says he should be ready to pitch 2-3 weeks into the season. This ensures that there will be more manly kissing between Urbina and Pudge this season.

[Bored 0]

A's second baseman Mark Ellis seperated his shoulder today and is out 6-8 weeks. He can't hit worth a lick but it will be hard to replace his defense. Regular back-up Frank Menechino is also hurt and his sorry ass will hopefully not make the team. 4-A players Esteban German and Marco Scutaro will be filling in for Ellis.

[sfaJack 0]

Juan Cruz traded to the Braves.

Huh. Seems kind of an odd move, what with Prior starting the year on the DL and all. I guess they really got tired of his control problems.

 

Anyone know anything about Andy Pratt and/or Richard Lewis? I've never heard of them.

[Guest Anglesault]

A's second baseman Mark Ellis seperated his shoulder today and is out 6-8 weeks. He can't hit worth a lick but it will be hard to replace his defense.

Doncha just love Spring Training?

[Vern Gagne 0]

Anybody heard anything on whether Bill Hall(2B/SS Milwaukee Brewers) will get a bench spot or anything? He's been lighting it up during Spring Training and I picked him up in the NL only league so I was just curious if anybody's heard anything lately concerning him.

Not sure. However it wouldn't suprise me if Hall doesn't earn a spot in the starting lineup, that he starts the year in the minors. So he has the opportunity to play every game.

[Guest Smell the ratings!!!]

Juan Cruz traded to the Braves.

Huh. Seems kind of an odd move, what with Prior starting the year on the DL and all. I guess they really got tired of his control problems.

 

Anyone know anything about Andy Pratt and/or Richard Lewis? I've never heard of them.

Pratt is a reliver prospect. He's supposedly the same as Cruz except a year younger.

 

Lewis is just filler.

[Guest OctoberBlood]

Well, Pratt is a lefty .. thats really the only advantage over Cruz he has. He gave up a shit load of hits in Triple A last year, and walked a bit of people. He's had some minor league success, but has been inconsistant over the years.

 

Lewis is bleh.

[Guest OctoberBlood]

AHH! Reitsma traded to the Braves!

 

I hope we get Cruz and McBride~!~!

 

Need details!

[Guest OctoberBlood]

OK!

 

Reds get Bubba Nelson and Jung Bong!!

 

Nice!

[Guest Smell the ratings!!!]

will Bong be in the rotation?

 

and does this trade mean the world is about to experience Wagnermania?

[Guest OctoberBlood]

will Bong be in the rotation?

 

and does this trade mean the world is about to experience Wagnermania?

I doubt Bong will be in the rotation THIS YEAR... since theres already Lidle, Wilson, Haynes, Acevedo, Harang, Claussen fighting for the 5 spots. Most likely, Claussen will start the year in Triple A until Haynes puts up his crappy numbers and gets released (hopefully). Acevedo was great last year before getting hurt. He has been real solid in ST too. Harang has come to ST lighter (lost weight) and well trained. He has put up GREAT numbers, including his start yesterday. So they'll be filling the rotation, with Lidle being the #1.

 

Bong will be in the pen, where the Reds lack lefties. Wagner will be the main setup man probally, with Todd Jones, Reidling, Brian Reith, and Luke Hudson battling over the the 2 remaining righty spots.

 

Baseball America on Bubba:

 

On Baseball America this was said about Nelson

 

 

Jason from Charlotte asks:

What is the Braves feeling on Bubba Nelson? He seems like a perfect candidate to fill the Braves #5 spot in the rotation. I realize that the Braves like to start their young pitchers in the pen to give them some experience, but he fairer pretty well in Double A this season.

 

A: Bill Ballew: Nelson is a stud. I think he has a much better shot at the fifth starter's role for 2004 than Wainwright. The Braves sent him to Richmond at the end of the 2003 season as a reliever in order to prepare him for a possible callup to Atlanta. He'll be back in the starting rotation in 2004, either in Richmond or, possibly, Atlanta.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Anybody heard anything on whether Bill Hall(2B/SS Milwaukee Brewers) will get a bench spot or anything? He's been lighting it up during Spring Training and I picked him up in the NL only league so I was just curious if anybody's heard anything lately concerning him.

 

I wouldn't be surprised to see him on the roster. He's played two years in AAA, and really has not distinguished himself. J.J. Hardy is a better shot for stardom at this point, so there's no point in keeping him in the minors to develop him as a star. I don't think he'll start though.

 

In other news, Miguel Ascencio is out for the season.

[Guest Anglesault]

al, what are the Yankees and Devil Rays gonna be doing for the week after Tokyo and before everyone else starts?

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

The Yankees have exhibition spring training games on Saturday and Sunday, against the Detroit Tigers and Yankees Future Stars, respectively. The Devil Rays meet the Toronto Blue Jays in exhibition that Saturday. The teams re-open regular season play on Tuesday the 6th, in Tampa Bay.

 

The first Japan game will be carried on ESPN2.

[The Czech Republic 0]

The Yankees have exhibition spring training games on Saturday and Sunday, against the Detroit Tigers and Yankees Future Stars, respectively. The Devil Rays meet the Toronto Blue Jays in exhibition that Saturday. The teams re-open regular season play on Tuesday the 6th, in Tampa Bay.

 

The first Japan game will be carried on ESPN2.

Yankees Future Stars...what do they do, round up the best players from the other 29 rosters?

 

 

 

Yeah I'm gonna try to wake up early to watch some of the Japan game, just because it's baseball and I want to see it again. Consider the last game I watched was Cubs losing to Marlins.

[DerangedHermit 0]

I just might watch the Yanks/Yomiuri Gaints and Yanks/Hanshin Tigers exhibition games this weekend on YES. I want to see the Japanese teams dismantle the Roid Warriors.

[Guest Anglesault]

The Yankees have exhibition spring training games on Saturday and Sunday, against the Detroit Tigers and Yankees Future Stars, respectively.

Oh, goodie.

[sfaJack 0]

Yankees Future Stars...what do they do, round up the best players from the other 29 rosters?

That's pretty funny.