MTLskyline
November 25th, 2005, 02:10 AM
Well it looks like Loria and Samson are at it again, they're planning on sabotaging the Marlins and relocating them to Vegas or something... Sounds familiar. :bash:
Although this makes me recall how much I miss the Expos, they were the team I rooted for in the summer, I went to see countless games at the Big O. I'm not really a fan of any team at the moment, I don't cheer for any non-Montreal teams in any sport. Although I definatley sympathize with Marlins fans.
Here Loria goes again
Dayn Perry / FOXSports.com
Posted: 17 hours ago
The Florida Marlins have traded away right-hander Josh Beckett, who at times possesses ace stuff and at times purveys ace results, and it appears his is merely the first exodus out of Miami.
Laying aside for the moment whether the Beckett deal makes sense on a baseball level, the whole affair has the whiff of malice aforethought about it. As you're probably aware, the Marlins are currently at loggerheads with local leaders over the matter of building a new stadium. In fact, team president David Samson said Tuesday that a stadium deal with the city of Miami is now impossible. It's little surprise that he followed up that pronouncement with an explicit threat to move the team by 2008. Major League Baseball, holding up its end of the bargain, has granted the Marlins permission to begin exploring relocation options. Those "relocation options" will consist, part and parcel, of cities willing to lead MLB to the public trough.
As for the matter of conducting the organization's second major fire sale in the past eight years, it allows the organization to wail to the heavens about how impoverished it is. The message is that the Marlins, without a taxpayer-funded stadium, can't afford to keep its marquee players in the fold. Nonsense. MLB is utterly without credibility on matters of internal finance. It's a wildly profitable industry no matter how many times Selig and the owners say otherwise. At this stage of things, consider the present affair to be a punitive measure toward the fans of South Florida. Then again, it's S.O.P. for baseball these days. Under commissioner Bud Selig's "leadership" MLB has cultivated a galling sense of entitlement when it comes to public subsidies. "Buy us a stadium, or the team gets it" is the sickening mantra. Call it what it is: extortion.
To justify such layouts, some city leaders and MLB apparatchiks will trot out laughable claims of the local economic development that will follow. Those claims, of course, have been roundly debunked by economists near and far. Essentially, new ballparks do nothing but provide a handful of part-time, seasonal, low-wage jobs and reshuffle revenues within the municipality in question. The economic growth they provide is either negligible or negative.
On another level, liberals, conservatives and moderates should be in accord on this point: it's not the government's responsibility to buy places of business for private industry. In essence, when baseball raids the public coffers for construction costs, infrastructure costs and charitable lease arrangements, that's what happens — the team gets a new revenue source courtesy of the taxpayers. It's corporate welfare in its most odious form, and because Miami city leaders won't indulge the owners, they're poised to lose their team.
It should come as no surprise that the Marlins' owner — the Smithers to Bud Selig's Montgomery Burns — is none other than the contemptible Jeffrey Loria. Loria, you'll recall, played the saboteur as owner of the Montreal Expos. Under Loria's corrupt hand, the Expos did things like allow a lease to expire on downtown Montreal land, fail to negotiate a television contract, fail to provide English-language radio broadcasts and systematically alienate its fan base in countless other ways. Loria's efforts snuffed out baseball in Montreal and allowed MLB to move the team to D.C., a city whose leaders were more willing to cough up public subsidies. Selig then rewarded Loria's misdeeds by not only granting him ownership of the Marlins, but also floating him a loan to that end.
Now the cycle repeats itself. Loria and the team spurn the community, and fans — justifiably feeling betrayed — stop showing up at the ballpark. Presto: The team must be relocated. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy on the part of ownership, and it's no surprise that Loria is once again the point man.
As for the ongoing fire sale, A.J. Burnett won't be re-signed, and rumors suggest that Carlos Delgado, Paul Lo Duca, Juan Pierre and or Luis Castillo could soon be following Beckett out of town. Again, the prevailing focus shouldn't be on whether these deals are sound baseball decisions (for instance, getting something of value for Lo Duca and Pierre would be a wise play). Just keep in mind that the Marlins are proving they have inadequate fan support by driving fans away. Well played, Mr. Loria.
It's a credit to Miami city leaders that they didn't capitulate, and baseball fans in the region should take a "good riddance" approach with the team. Unfortunately, such resolve is all too uncommon. If more local leaders don't summon the, ahem, testicular fortitude (not likely) or if MLB doesn't end its bloodlust for corporate entitlements (all but impossible), then perhaps it's time to explore legislation. Banning public subsidies for sports facilities is something voters and elected officials need to consider. Otherwise, malfeasances such as the one going on in South Florida will continue. It's time for wards of the state like Selig and Loria to begin paying their own way, and it's time for MLB to stop treating fans of the game with such brazen contempt.
Although this makes me recall how much I miss the Expos, they were the team I rooted for in the summer, I went to see countless games at the Big O. I'm not really a fan of any team at the moment, I don't cheer for any non-Montreal teams in any sport. Although I definatley sympathize with Marlins fans.
Here Loria goes again
Dayn Perry / FOXSports.com
Posted: 17 hours ago
The Florida Marlins have traded away right-hander Josh Beckett, who at times possesses ace stuff and at times purveys ace results, and it appears his is merely the first exodus out of Miami.
Laying aside for the moment whether the Beckett deal makes sense on a baseball level, the whole affair has the whiff of malice aforethought about it. As you're probably aware, the Marlins are currently at loggerheads with local leaders over the matter of building a new stadium. In fact, team president David Samson said Tuesday that a stadium deal with the city of Miami is now impossible. It's little surprise that he followed up that pronouncement with an explicit threat to move the team by 2008. Major League Baseball, holding up its end of the bargain, has granted the Marlins permission to begin exploring relocation options. Those "relocation options" will consist, part and parcel, of cities willing to lead MLB to the public trough.
As for the matter of conducting the organization's second major fire sale in the past eight years, it allows the organization to wail to the heavens about how impoverished it is. The message is that the Marlins, without a taxpayer-funded stadium, can't afford to keep its marquee players in the fold. Nonsense. MLB is utterly without credibility on matters of internal finance. It's a wildly profitable industry no matter how many times Selig and the owners say otherwise. At this stage of things, consider the present affair to be a punitive measure toward the fans of South Florida. Then again, it's S.O.P. for baseball these days. Under commissioner Bud Selig's "leadership" MLB has cultivated a galling sense of entitlement when it comes to public subsidies. "Buy us a stadium, or the team gets it" is the sickening mantra. Call it what it is: extortion.
To justify such layouts, some city leaders and MLB apparatchiks will trot out laughable claims of the local economic development that will follow. Those claims, of course, have been roundly debunked by economists near and far. Essentially, new ballparks do nothing but provide a handful of part-time, seasonal, low-wage jobs and reshuffle revenues within the municipality in question. The economic growth they provide is either negligible or negative.
On another level, liberals, conservatives and moderates should be in accord on this point: it's not the government's responsibility to buy places of business for private industry. In essence, when baseball raids the public coffers for construction costs, infrastructure costs and charitable lease arrangements, that's what happens — the team gets a new revenue source courtesy of the taxpayers. It's corporate welfare in its most odious form, and because Miami city leaders won't indulge the owners, they're poised to lose their team.
It should come as no surprise that the Marlins' owner — the Smithers to Bud Selig's Montgomery Burns — is none other than the contemptible Jeffrey Loria. Loria, you'll recall, played the saboteur as owner of the Montreal Expos. Under Loria's corrupt hand, the Expos did things like allow a lease to expire on downtown Montreal land, fail to negotiate a television contract, fail to provide English-language radio broadcasts and systematically alienate its fan base in countless other ways. Loria's efforts snuffed out baseball in Montreal and allowed MLB to move the team to D.C., a city whose leaders were more willing to cough up public subsidies. Selig then rewarded Loria's misdeeds by not only granting him ownership of the Marlins, but also floating him a loan to that end.
Now the cycle repeats itself. Loria and the team spurn the community, and fans — justifiably feeling betrayed — stop showing up at the ballpark. Presto: The team must be relocated. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy on the part of ownership, and it's no surprise that Loria is once again the point man.
As for the ongoing fire sale, A.J. Burnett won't be re-signed, and rumors suggest that Carlos Delgado, Paul Lo Duca, Juan Pierre and or Luis Castillo could soon be following Beckett out of town. Again, the prevailing focus shouldn't be on whether these deals are sound baseball decisions (for instance, getting something of value for Lo Duca and Pierre would be a wise play). Just keep in mind that the Marlins are proving they have inadequate fan support by driving fans away. Well played, Mr. Loria.
It's a credit to Miami city leaders that they didn't capitulate, and baseball fans in the region should take a "good riddance" approach with the team. Unfortunately, such resolve is all too uncommon. If more local leaders don't summon the, ahem, testicular fortitude (not likely) or if MLB doesn't end its bloodlust for corporate entitlements (all but impossible), then perhaps it's time to explore legislation. Banning public subsidies for sports facilities is something voters and elected officials need to consider. Otherwise, malfeasances such as the one going on in South Florida will continue. It's time for wards of the state like Selig and Loria to begin paying their own way, and it's time for MLB to stop treating fans of the game with such brazen contempt.