Set aside all the economic and competitive reasons a salary cap is stupid. There’s another reason you, as a baseball fan, should be against any kind of cap: it’s boring. If you love your sport, you’ll oppose salary caps for it. Why should any fan care about whether their team has a "veteran exception" that…
MARLINS LET BLOOD, GET NEW BLOOD "We haven’t laid off anybody. In this transaction, all we’re guilty of is being loyal to our employees that we have." —David Samson, new Marlins president, after the entire player-development staff was laid off so that the Expos player-development staff could take over "I don’t see any reason why…
In the National League, now that it appears the Cardinals are on their way to having a privately-constructed stadium, only the Marlins and Mets remain in older stadiums that beg to be torn down. The Marlins are in the same boat as the Devil Rays, in that they stink and have bad relationships with local political powers. And the Mets? Sure, the Yankees and Mets would both like new stadiums, but the sheer cost and difficulties associated with getting that kind of project underway makes it unlikely.
After the two parks open in 2004, there’s one new stadium coming in St. Louis and then it would seem we’re not going to see anything else for a long while. A more interesting question: Will these new, baseball-only stadiums have the lifespan that their multi-use parents did, or will they last as long as the old parks like Fenway and Wrigley Field, the models these new kids looked to for inspiration?
BACKING AWAY "There’s no doubt in my mind that relocation is coming. It’s just a question of when. I’ve always said that we need to solve the basic problems, and when we solve the basic problems we can then turn our attention to relocation." —Bud Selig, Commissioner of Baseball "I’d have to say that given…
DIGGING A HOLE "There was no need to. It was paid." —Bob DuPuy, MLB executive vice president of administration, to the Minnesota Star-Tribune on why a $3 million loan by a company owned by Twins owner Carl Pohlad to then-acting commissioner and Brewers owner Bud Selig wasn’t subject to baseball’s Rule 20(c), which requires owner…
BOTTOM OF THE NINTH "When you’re a little kid, you think about the seventh game of the World Series. It didn’t matter how the hit came." —Luis Gonzalez, Diamondbacks outfielder, on his Series-winning hit in Game Seven BEST SEASON EVER "To talk about it on May 21 is ridiculous. I could be hit by a…
In the spirit of holiday cheer, Bud Selig has suggested that MLB may operate the Expos for the 2002 season while the franchise awaits contraction. His comments ran in the Chicago Tribune on December 23rd. Now, this whole problem has come about because Jeff Loria–the New Yorker who bought the Expos after the last ownership…
Many people think that the owners came up with contraction as a bargaining chip, a way to force the players to negotiate the next Collective Bargaining Agreement at a marked disadvantage. Commissioner Bud Selig has been adamant that this is not the case, going so far as to vow that baseball "will contract." Selig was…
THE WORST IDEA EVER GOES TO WASHINGTON "The summary information they have turned over to us is meaningless in the absence of learning details concerning related-party transactions’ salaries and fees received by the owners and their families; and the impact of stadium-acquisition loans by stadiums. In essence, what they have told us is, ‘We lose…
THE WORST IDEA EVER MARCHES ONWARD "Did we miscalculate? No. Do I think we should have started this earlier? No. After Sept. 11, I wouldn’t have had the unmitigated gall to interrupt the playoffs and the World Series with this." —Bud Selig, commissioner of baseball "It’s the system. It’s a very easy answer. I have…
THE WORST IDEA EVER, CONTINUED "St. Louis is closer to Minneapolis than Milwaukee is. Are the [Boston] Red Sox going to benefit if Montreal is contracted? No. I don’t think the Brewers would gain, either. It’s so outrageous and not worthy of comment." —Bud Selig, commissioner of baseball, on the potential conflict of interest between…
WORLD SERIES "When you’re a little kid, you think about the seventh game of the World Series. It didn’t matter how the hit came." —Luis Gonzalez, Diamondbacks outfielder, on his Series-winning hit in Game Seven "I wouldn’t move on the bench. I wanted to get up and watch for the whole inning, but I was…
WORLD SERIES "I feel real good I didn’t throw a lot of pitches tonight. If I have to come back on three days’ rest, I’ll be ready." —Curt Schilling, Diamondbacks pitcher, on his seven-inning start in Game One "A lot of my moves worked–for the other team." —Joe Torre, Yankees manager, on Game One "My…
ALCS "We’re going to be back here for Game 6. You don’t have to ask any questions. We’re going to be back. Print it." —Lou Piniella, Mariners manager, to reporters at Safeco Field after the ALCS Game 2 loss "Boonie’s hit, on a scale of 1 to 10, was huge." —Mark McLemore, Mariners infielder, on…
ALDS "Warming up, I kind of heard guys yelling at me, calling me cuss words and all that. But I was just in a mode where I wasn’t even thinking about it. It’s not like I was going to turn around and say, ‘Oh, really?’ anyway. And every now and then, sitting in the dugout,…
MR. BONDS "You know, it’s tough being this patient." –to coach Robby Thompson, who was frustrated with the Astros pitching around Bonds "I can’t even express my feelings. I think some of them got some cheap shots in on my rib cage. So many years of frustration, I guess. That kind of got to me."…