New Jonah Keri book on Expos

[G-Snarls]

Cool

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307361357/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0307361357&linkCode=as2&tag=jonahkericom-20

 

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Vb4gcMWuL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg

[G-Snarls]

[Olerud363]

Cool

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307361357/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0307361357&linkCode=as2&tag=jonahkericom-20

 

Very cool. My routes as a baseball message board member go back to the fanhome expos board. Crazy times from 2002-2004. Best board ever. Far, far better then this one (and this one is very good according to 2014 standards). Loria, Selig, Contraction, Bartolo Colon, Peurto Rico games, it all led to the crazy moment in 2003, early September. Expos/Marlins tied for the wild card. Rock Biddle in to save the critical first game of the series...

 

Was it rigged?? If Biddle had saved that game I'm convinced there would still be baseball in Montreal. One bad strike call here changes the outcome. If Expos followed Marlins 2003 path it would of been difficult to move them to Washington.

 

The main thing was that times were so crazy, the stakes were so high, that the fans never flamed each other. It was before smart phones, so you didn't have the "short message corporate bro" culture. Great stuff.

 

We all knew who the common enemy was (Loria + Selig) and banded together for the common good. But alas it didn't have a happy ending.

 

And don't worry coorporate bros... just rambling a bit in honor of old times, the forgotten age of early 2000s.

[jaysfan2014]

If only Loria hadn't bought the team and wrecked it, ruined their TV deal, and failed to get a new stadium.. baseball may still be in Montreal. And don't forget Selig rigging things so Montreal couldn't call anyone up in September due to it being too expensive.

 

This will be Oakland and Tampa Bay in the next few years.. both need new stadiums and MLB isn't going to continue to wait around.

There was a piece recently that Portland, Oregon wants to get an MLB team, along with Montreal. And both of those teams would be favorites to relocate to those two markets. Tampa's could accelerate further if the Toronto game in Montreal is a big hit..

[Olerud363]

And if you guys thought Cito was bad you would of loved Frank Robinson as a manager. Appointed by Selig. Asleep in the dug out. Only woke up when they got to close to a playoff spot.

 

Weird stuff. They made some amazing moves to try and get in it (traded for Colon and Cliff Floyd in 2002). But it always seemed as soon as they got close Selig would push a button and something would go wrong.

 

Rocky Biddle?? In 2002 they acquired Colon and Floyd (but then traded Floyd 1 month later) but in 2003 they couldn't get a better closer then Rocky Biddle?

 

Oh yeah... I remember that as the Expos got close everyone had dancing gifs of Loria, Samson, Selig... It was like major league.. without the happy ending.

[kgm1]

 

Thx for posting that . I was a huge Expos fan . Alas the City just didn't support the team enough and when Loria got his hands on it we were doomed .

 

I will definitely read this .

[Olerud363]

If only Loria hadn't bought the team and wrecked it, ruined their TV deal, and failed to get a new stadium.. baseball may still be in Montreal. And don't forget Selig rigging things so Montreal couldn't call anyone up in September due to it being too expensive.

 

Yes. And this all led to Rocky Biddle closing critical games in late 2003. They really needed another reilever last week of August... and couldn't get it.

 

Robinson probably could of done something creative. Luis Alya for multiple innings?? Scott Downs?? He didn't. Happy to let Biddle blow the games.

[xposbrad]

If only Loria hadn't bought the team and wrecked it, ruined their TV deal, and failed to get a new stadium.. baseball may still be in Montreal. And don't forget Selig rigging things so Montreal couldn't call anyone up in September due to it being too expensive.

 

This will be Oakland and Tampa Bay in the next few years.. both need new stadiums and MLB isn't going to continue to wait around.

There was a piece recently that Portland, Oregon wants to get an MLB team, along with Montreal. And both of those teams would be favorites to relocate to those two markets. Tampa's could accelerate further if the Toronto game in Montreal is a big hit..

 

Honestly, I'd love for the Expos to come back, ESPECIALLY with a beane or friedman at the helm. But, not sure if the city can support it. This city requires a winning team, and a below average payroll or something like a 70-75m payroll, wouldn't cut it. After the hooplah fades, it will come down to putting quality on the field. If they stay in the NL east, they need to compete with the phils/braves and they would need a 100m payroll. Not sure which kind of rich owner would do that.

 

However, I think the Expos are selling more jerseys now that they don't exist versus before, lol

[Olerud363]

Thx for posting that . I was a huge Expos fan . Alas the City just didn't support the team enough and when Loria got his hands on it we were doomed .

 

I will definitely read this .

 

It is interesting to compare the numbers to Tampa Bay. When they were in it 92/9394/96 attendance was hovering around 1.6. 10-th-12th/14 teams. Bear in mind they never actually made a playoff appearance and the most promising season was cut short because of the strike.

 

Tampa Bay is making regular playoff appearances and getting about 1.5 the last couple of years.

 

They aren't the greatest market... but comparable to the other low end markets. I don't think any of the small markets (Tampa, Oakland, Florida, even Pittsburgh) could survive the kind of fiasco Montreal went through. Strike/Bad Stadium/good teams torn apart leading to horrible team/owner with incentive to move.

[jaysfan2014]

Miami and Pittsburgh are safe since they have new stadiums. Tampa and Oakland are the ones most likely to move, as neither city is budging on building a new stadium.

[G-Snarls]

And if you guys thought Cito was bad you would of loved Frank Robinson as a manager. Appointed by Selig. Asleep in the dug out. Only woke up when they got to close to a playoff spot.

 

He kept that up after they moved to Washington too:

 

http://dcbb.blogspot.ca/2006/04/frank-napping.html

[KingKat]

Miami and Pittsburgh are safe since they have new stadiums. Tampa and Oakland are the ones most likely to move, as neither city is budging on building a new stadium.

 

I don't think either Oakland or TB are likely to move very far. They have poorly located out of date stadia in what could still be lucrative markets.

 

There's a massive accessiblity issue with the TB stadium that makes you wonder what the original builders were thinking. A new stadium practically anywhere else in that market would be much better positioned to draw in fans. There's a reason why the other TB franchises are not where the Rays are.

 

With Oakland it's more a question of the economic activity of the region having shifted south to San Jose (so-called Giants territory). I would say they are the least likely of the two teams to move to another market altogether. Even if they don't move to San Jose proper, Oakland should work its way south and get as close as possible. They would be fools to let SF have the entire San Francisco Bay area to themselves.

[Abomination]

Honestly, I'd love for the Expos to come back, ESPECIALLY with a beane or friedman at the helm. But, not sure if the city can support it. This city requires a winning team, and a below average payroll or something like a 70-75m payroll, wouldn't cut it. After the hooplah fades, it will come down to putting quality on the field. If they stay in the NL east, they need to compete with the phils/braves and they would need a 100m payroll. Not sure which kind of rich owner would do that.

 

However, I think the Expos are selling more jerseys now that they don't exist versus before, lol

 

The problem is, they'd need some ownership behind them like Rogers to make it work I think. The only ones that might fit that bill would be Bell (TSN) who could be desperate for new sports content as they are being completely shoved out that market atm. Any other group would be taking a huge risk since if Bell ended up deciding to get rid of their sports programming, there'd be no competition for viewing rights to the games. The Jays would also have to receive a compensation package since Mtl is now part of our territory.

[Olerud363]

He kept that up after they moved to Washington too:

 

http://dcbb.blogspot.ca/2006/04/frank-napping.html

 

And when he woke up that was actually a bad thing.

 

Luis Alya doing a good job in the 8th... Expos tied for the wild card. Frank wakes up "OK Boys, it's Biddle time!"

[Olerud363]

The problem is, they'd need some ownership behind them like Rogers to make it work I think. The only ones that might fit that bill would be Bell (TSN) who could be desperate for new sports content as they are being completely shoved out that market atm. Any other group would be taking a huge risk since if Bell ended up deciding to get rid of their sports programming, there'd be no competition for viewing rights to the games. The Jays would also have to receive a compensation package since Mtl is now part of our territory.

 

I thought I heard that TSN was so desparate for programming that they were atleast running the numbers on Montreal Baseball. All it is right now is some suit, lower level suit hires a consultant to examine programming, consulting firm pockets the money and gets some interns to run some numbers. Numbers on what?? Doesn't matter, just come up with something... the intern left to his/her own devices runs numbers on Montreal baseball....

 

All complete ********... like any prediction, but the pie chart is nice. Consultant throws pie chart into a presentation. Fonts are great, colors are flashy. Catches the eye of some other suit... Lets look into this Montreal baseball again. Those numbers are very colorful.

[Olerud363]

Miami and Pittsburgh are safe since they have new stadiums. Tampa and Oakland are the ones most likely to move, as neither city is budging on building a new stadium.

 

Miami and Pittsburgh are now safe. But without a new stadium I bet there attendance would of crashed to Montreal levels.

[FireAlexAnthopoulos]

Expos/Marlins tied for the wild card. Rock Biddle in to save the critical first game of the series...

 

Was it rigged??

 

Bud Selig was doing everything he could to make the Expos fail at the time. Remember the rumors about moving to Boston? Then they started playing "home" games in San Juan. And don't forget about how he wouldn't let us have minor league call-ups that year. With all that in mind, I certainly wouldn't put it past the league to have rigged that game. Selig is absolutely one of the biggest pieces of crap in the history of baseball - which is ironic, considering how hard he feigns outrage at PED users.

 

What sucks the most is that Strasburg and Harper should be wearing Expos uniforms. Attendance problems would have been a thing of the past by now and I'm sure Labatt Park would have been built already. This bitter Expos fan will never forgive Selig.

[43211234]

Added to my Goodreads list. I still need to read The Extra 2%.

[G-Snarls]

Mega interview with Keri on PTS now about the book

[GeorgiaPeach]

Was it rigged?? If Biddle had saved that game I'm convinced there would still be baseball in Montreal. One bad strike call here changes the outcome. If Expos followed Marlins 2003 path it would of been difficult to move them to Washington.

 

Success didn't stop MLB from moving the Dodgers from Brooklyn to LA.

[jaysblue]

I'll definitely have to pick up this book on Amazon.

[G-Snarls]

I'll definitely have to pick up this book on Amazon.

 

He said on radio it's shipping now and has showed up in some stores

[ElNik2013]

Enjoyed reading this interview:

 

 

http://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/mlb/qa-keri-on-new-expos-book-hopes-for-return/