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Post by pedrofanforever45 on Jun 20, 2019 18:35:28 GMT -5
I went to Montreal recently and asked a few people at random about baseball and they didn't seem to want it. Is there a market for the Expos to return or is it just moving an empty stadium to Canada? To me, the rivalry between Toronto and Montreal feels like it'd be akin to Marlins and Rays. There is probably more than 1 reason to want to do it, but i don't see how MLB can let this Tampa thing go on like this. It is bad for the club and baseball to have such a good team that nobody goes to see live or on TV. Yeah, any place is better than Tampa at this point. Plus, would love to start hating on Montreal from a baseball perspective. That Rays franchise would add extra motive to it. I've hated the Rays ever since they were expanded.
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Post by kingofthetrill on Jun 20, 2019 19:59:47 GMT -5
I'd love to have the Rays move to Montreal. Not only the Montreal/Toronto rivalry, but the convenience relative to Boston and NY, and we can eliminate that damn cowbell. That and we can either call the team the Expos, or the lesser popular "Eh's" or "Ex-Rays" I went to Montreal recently and asked a few people at random about baseball and they didn't seem to want it. Is there a market for the Expos to return or is it just moving an empty stadium to Canada? To me, the rivalry between Toronto and Montreal feels like it'd be akin to Marlins and Rays. Honestly I get "Whalers" vibes from Montreal. I don't know how strong the local vibe is to bring back a team (let alone THAT team) but I know that Expos merchandise has a cult following (ie like the Whalers). I'm sure there will be some Canada pride at first but I'm not sure how sustainable a team will be there. Then again a lot of the other cities without a baseball team would likely require a division re-alignment. At least for those that have a map.
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Post by redsoxfan2 on Jun 20, 2019 20:18:16 GMT -5
I went to Montreal recently and asked a few people at random about baseball and they didn't seem to want it. Is there a market for the Expos to return or is it just moving an empty stadium to Canada? To me, the rivalry between Toronto and Montreal feels like it'd be akin to Marlins and Rays. Honestly I get "Whalers" vibes from Montreal. I don't know how strong the local vibe is to bring back a team (let alone THAT team) but I know that Expos merchandise has a cult following (ie like the Whalers). I'm sure there will be some Canada pride at first but I'm not sure how sustainable a team will be there. Then again a lot of the other cities without a baseball team would likely require a division re-alignment. At least for those that have a map. Well, to me, the only way you have a chance is if they're good. Optimally, you'd have Toronto also be a beast of a team.
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Post by jimed14 on Jun 21, 2019 9:07:53 GMT -5
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Post by fenwaythehardway on Jun 21, 2019 9:29:58 GMT -5
I mean, yeah. It's a fascinating proposal on it's face, but if you really think about it, there's a 99.9% chance this is ultimately just the same old same old about leaving Tampa and/or extracting some kind of concession from them on a new stadium.
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Post by Guidas on Jun 21, 2019 10:56:05 GMT -5
I mean, yeah. It's a fascinating proposal on it's face, but if you really think about it, there's a 99.9% chance this is ultimately just the same old same old about leaving Tampa and/or extracting some kind of concession from them on a new stadium. And will penny pinching Tampa supplement the housing for players in two cities? This is mad. They want to move they should buy out the lease and go to Charlotte, Vegas or Raleigh. They will fill the stadiums in those locations and potentially triple their money. Montreal wasn't even a good baseball town when the Expos were there. The glow there is pure nostalgia for something that never was.
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Post by James Dunne on Jun 21, 2019 11:12:39 GMT -5
Montreal was a perfectly good baseball town until the 1994 strike and Jeff Loria burned it down. Also, Olympic Stadium is a dump, and playing indoors in a city that has summer weather like Montreal is nuts. They were consistently above average in attendance into the 1980's, peaking at 2nd in the National League in 1983. And it's not like that was some dominant team - they faded badly and went 82-80.
I'd probably brand them something other than the Expos, though. There's been a lot of success in marketing Expos nostalgia, I agree with that.
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Post by jimed14 on Jun 21, 2019 12:39:40 GMT -5
I mean, yeah. It's a fascinating proposal on it's face, but if you really think about it, there's a 99.9% chance this is ultimately just the same old same old about leaving Tampa and/or extracting some kind of concession from them on a new stadium. And will penny pinching Tampa supplement the housing for players in two cities? This is mad. They want to move they should buy out the lease and go to Charlotte, Vegas or Raleigh. They will fill the stadiums in those locations and potentially triple their money. Montreal wasn't even a good baseball town when the Expos were there. The glow there is pure nostalgia for something that never was. Raleigh won't support a team. The population of Raleigh isn't high enough and the metro Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill population is way too spread out to go to many games. And then you also have the same problem of a lot of southern cities. There are about half natives, and half people moving here from the NE, who will continue liking the Red Sox/Yankees/whatever other team over the local one. It's all about college sports here.
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Post by Guidas on Jun 21, 2019 13:08:33 GMT -5
Has anyone else read the MVP Machine by Lindbergh and Sawchik (yet)? Very good, and in it Trevor Bauer claims he will go to free agency in 2020 and only accept 1 year deals. He’s an interesting Cat Also, Cleve has taken him to arb the last two years, and Bauer’s won both times.
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Post by Guidas on Jun 21, 2019 13:32:10 GMT -5
And will penny pinching Tampa supplement the housing for players in two cities? This is mad. They want to move they should buy out the lease and go to Charlotte, Vegas or Raleigh. They will fill the stadiums in those locations and potentially triple their money. Montreal wasn't even a good baseball town when the Expos were there. The glow there is pure nostalgia for something that never was. Raleigh won't support a team. The population of Raleigh isn't high enough and the metro Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill population is way too spread out to go to many games. And then you also have the same problem of a lot of southern cities. There are about half natives, and half people moving here from the NE, who will continue liking the Red Sox/Yankees/whatever other team over the local one. It's all about college sports here. Well, I'll defer to you on the Raleigh market - though with all those Sox and NYY fans, that's 40% of the games sold out already. Beef up the "rivalry" with not-so-far-away Baltimore and you've got potential. Then again the Angelos family would probably never cede the TV market. I was apparently wrong about Montreal, but part-time anywhere seems like a bad move. Why don't they just try playing full time IN Tampa, rather than over the bridge in St. Pete? Just bizarre.
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Post by James Dunne on Jun 21, 2019 14:02:14 GMT -5
Raleigh won't support a team. The population of Raleigh isn't high enough and the metro Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill population is way too spread out to go to many games. And then you also have the same problem of a lot of southern cities. There are about half natives, and half people moving here from the NE, who will continue liking the Red Sox/Yankees/whatever other team over the local one. It's all about college sports here. Well, I'll defer to you on the Raleigh market - though with all those Sox and NYY fans, that's 40% of the games sold out already. Beef up the "rivalry" with not-so-far-away Baltimore and you've got potential. Then again the Angelos family would probably never cede the TV market. I was apparently wrong about Montreal, but part-time anywhere seems like a bad move. Why don't they just try playing full time IN Tampa, rather than over the bridge in St. Pete? Just bizarre. Because they're trying to extort the city/county for a new stadium. They're not actually going to play in two cities at once.
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Post by redsoxfan2 on Jun 21, 2019 15:39:25 GMT -5
I would love to see this debacle if they ended up actually splitting home games between TB and Montreal. I can't imagine the players union being thrilled about the idea.
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Post by Guidas on Jun 21, 2019 17:23:19 GMT -5
Well, I'll defer to you on the Raleigh market - though with all those Sox and NYY fans, that's 40% of the games sold out already. Beef up the "rivalry" with not-so-far-away Baltimore and you've got potential. Then again the Angelos family would probably never cede the TV market. I was apparently wrong about Montreal, but part-time anywhere seems like a bad move. Why don't they just try playing full time IN Tampa, rather than over the bridge in St. Pete? Just bizarre. Because they're trying to extort the city/county for a new stadium. They're not actually going to play in two cities at once. This is my biggest hit on all of this. I am against cities/counties creating stadiums for billionaires. I can see some infrastructure improvements and tax breaks, but billionaires should build their own stadiums.
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Post by fenwaythehardway on Jun 21, 2019 18:28:46 GMT -5
I would love to see this debacle if they ended up actually splitting home games between TB and Montreal. I can't imagine the players union being thrilled about the idea. Good luck ever signing a free agent again.
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Post by redsoxfan2 on Jun 21, 2019 18:52:29 GMT -5
I would love to see this debacle if they ended up actually splitting home games between TB and Montreal. I can't imagine the players union being thrilled about the idea. Good luck ever signing a free agent again. Oh yeah, it'd be a complete dumpster show. I wouldn't expect anyone to sign unless they were blown away.
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Post by jimed14 on Jun 21, 2019 19:33:22 GMT -5
That the league "gave the Rays permission" to explore this makes the league look like a complete joke. Manfred is a completely awful commissioner.
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Post by redsoxfan2 on Jun 21, 2019 19:41:13 GMT -5
That the league "gave the Rays permission" to explore this makes the league look like a complete joke. Manfred is a completely awful commissioner. Idk, baseball reporters had an interesting comment. This feels like the whole iHob thing. It's not real and people are talking.
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radiohix
Veteran
'At the end of the day, we bang. We bang. We're going to swing.' Alex Verdugo
Posts: 6,410
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Post by radiohix on Jun 22, 2019 8:00:11 GMT -5
Murdered that thing!
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Post by pedrofanforever45 on Jun 25, 2019 5:04:51 GMT -5
The hardest throwing pitcher in MLB just went down for Tommy John.
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Post by James Dunne on Jun 26, 2019 13:29:02 GMT -5
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Post by kingstephanos on Jun 26, 2019 13:48:22 GMT -5
Because they're trying to extort the city/county for a new stadium. They're not actually going to play in two cities at once. This is my biggest hit on all of this. I am against cities/counties creating stadiums for billionaires. I can see some infrastructure improvements and tax breaks, but billionaires should build their own stadiums. Welfare is for the greater good when you're in a certain tax bracket. /s
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Post by pedrofanforever45 on Jun 27, 2019 3:28:51 GMT -5
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Post by redsoxfan2 on Jun 27, 2019 18:20:08 GMT -5
Rays and Twins going into the top of the 18th.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Jun 27, 2019 21:36:02 GMT -5
Maybe the Sox can trade Tyler Thornburg back to Milwaukee for Travis Shaw and make him the 1b for 2020 (with Chavis at 2b).
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Post by pedrofanforever45 on Jun 27, 2019 23:05:55 GMT -5
Two way star player Brendan McKay is being promoted to the majors. Rays are going for it this year after struggling recently.
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