Montreal Spring Training Games

[G-Snarls]

Dad is a baseball nut. Every summer when I was a kid we'd drive to Montreal, Toronto or Boston for ball games. Loved it. And we still get to do it sometimes.

[AngryBird]

With those ticket sales, it'll almost guarantee MLB will consider Montreal in the future for a team, providing they get a new stadium on the way, considering the league will not continue to support the Tampa Bay Rays and Oakland A's stadium issues, especially Tampa Bay's.

 

BTW, another case for a team in Montreal.. Tampa Bays ranked in Forbes as the MLB's least valuable team. And if that's not bad enough, unlike the Jays, the Rays home opener isn't even sold out!

 

http://tbo.com/sports/rays/rays-triple-play-opener-not-sold-out-yet-20140325/

 

Time to move to Montreal.. I can imagine the owners are probably thinking about it.

 

Of course they aren't sold out, that building is a dump in the middle of an industrial zone. St. Petersburg is a deadzone.

[KingKat]

Friday 7 PM

 

Saturday 1 PM

 

And yes they're on Sportsnet

 

 

Aren't they both at 7?

[G-Snarls]

Aren't they both at 7?

 

No. Saturday is 1:00.

[G-Snarls]

Also note season opener on Monday is at 4:00

 

Weird

[Chappy]

Also note season opener on Monday is at 4:00

 

Weird

 

It sucks because I won't get home until 6, so gonna have to PVR it.

[Chappy]

Turn your phone off and don't talk ball with anyone, lol.

 

Yeah pretty much. Won't be checking into this forum and no radio on the way home, lol.

[jaysblue]

Yeah pretty much. Won't be checking into this forum and no radio on the way home, lol.

 

Oh mate, just close shop early lol.

[Chappy]

Oh mate, just close shop early lol.

 

Wish I could. Have a few appointments that day. No big deal, just won't talk or listen to anyone, lol.

[GNick]

Unless Bud Selig decides Tropicana Field is no longer suitable for baseball.. with grass coming to the Rogers Centre once the Argos move out, it's a possibility.

And the 29 other owners are going to cut off Tampa Bay if they don't see improvement in that team's attendance or progress in a new stadium.

 

Similar to Nordiques return to QC. Need stable political situation in Quebec before MLB owners would move to Quebec. Long as there is threat to divide province in 3, owners won't touch it with 10 foot pole. As it will decimate Quebec's economy. Go back in same hole was in during PQ Referendum years.

[jaysfan2014]

But MLB cannot ignore the money pits in Tampa and Oakland forever.. especially by the next CBA. Especially the situation in Tampa.. if attendance continues to worsen this year, rumors of Montreal will likely increase. 4 90 wins seasons and the attendance has gotten worse.. sooner or later, 29 other owners are going to demand the Rays be relocated, even if they have issues breaking the lease at Tropicana Field.

And even though Forbes says the Rays are making money.. in reality, without revenue sharing, the franchise would have folded by now.

 

Fans in Tampa better get to the Trop this year.. or you can pretty much say goodbye to Longoria, Zobrist, Price, etc, when they are traded in a fire sale because ownership won't want to put money into a franchise that won't get a new stadium. We saw this happen after the strike in Montreal in 1995.. it could happen in Tampa as well.

[G-Snarls]

Having well run teams like Oakland and Tampa in s***** ballparks and crappy finances aren't good for baseball. They have to fix it.

[jaysfan2014]

Oakland would be a bigger candidate to move first.. the O.co is ancient and falling apart! But there isn't anywhere in the West to move to.. San Antonio is blocked by Houston and Texas in territorial rights, Portland and Vegas are pipe dreams.

 

MLB is going to have to do something..

[jaysfan2014]

Yes, because BC Place could be adapted for baseball. Plus, it's the only place that could actually be suitable for an MLB team to move in in the West. Most of the US locations lack infrastructure to bring in an MLB team.

[jaysfan2014]

Forgot to mention San Jose won't happen due to it being Giants territory.

[Abomination]

Yes, because BC Place could be adapted for baseball. Plus, it's the only place that could actually be suitable for an MLB team to move in in the West. Most of the US locations lack infrastructure to bring in an MLB team.

 

I think the BC Place renovations make baseball impossible in it now without a massive amount of work (probably easier to build a new stadium). It really is an ideal type market though.

[jaysfan2014]

Right, forgot about the scoreboard. Oh well.. but hey, we can dream.

[xposbrad]

A's to Vancouver and Rays to MTL is the most enticing thought to a Canadian baseball fan.

 

Then to top it off, have a Montreal vs. Vancouver world series. All the toothless rednecks would flip their lids if that happened to 'america's pastime'.

[Dylan]

Looking forward to these games... 3 days till opening day!!!

[GeorgiaPeach]

Oakland would be a bigger candidate to move first.. the O.co is ancient and falling apart! But there isn't anywhere in the West to move to.. San Antonio is blocked by Houston and Texas in territorial rights, Portland and Vegas are pipe dreams.

 

MLB is going to have to do something..

 

I don't understand why a team can't be re-located within another team's territorial rights (eg. Brooklyn), and have MLB compensate the the teams who "may" be losing out on "lost revenue/profit" (Yankees and/or Mets).

Edited March 28, 2014 by GeorgiaPeach

[GeorgiaPeach]

Then to top it off, have a Montreal vs. Vancouver world series. All the toothless rednecks would flip their lids if that happened to 'america's pastime'.

 

It would be a longshot of that happening. But hey, in a hypothetical scenario, what's one year??? It's not like it took long for Canadian hockey fans to realize their teams aren't very good. Most Canadians seem to enjoy watching American teams in the later rounds now anyways.

[woods of ypres]

Then to top it off, have a Montreal vs. Vancouver world series. All the toothless rednecks would flip their lids if that happened to 'america's pastime'.

 

Toothless rednecks don't care about baseball, though. Its all NASCAR & football down there.

 

I think most Americans wouldn't be too upset if a team from Canada won the World Series. Although the twitter memes of faux outrage "OMG WHY ARE THOSE PINKO CANADIANS WINNING THE AMERICAN PAST TIME!!!1" would be entertaining.

[HERPDERP]

Looks like it snowed in Montreal? Are these games gonna get cancelled? ;(

[xposbrad]

Looks like it snowed in Montreal? Are these games gonna get cancelled? ;(

 

It's supposed to be like +4 later so they said it's still on for now. They are working on removing snow from the roof with blowers.

[flafson]

It's supposed to be like +4 later so they said it's still on for now. They are working on removing snow from the roof with blowers.

 

Don't they have a closed roof?

[G-Snarls]

Don't they have a closed roof?

 

 

They're just being silly. Note winky emoticon.

 

The big O was designed to have a removable roof but it never worked. So it's been a closed dome ever since it opened.

[G-Snarls]

It was a ridiculous design. The big crane was supposed to lift the roof off like taking the lid off a jar. Never worked.

[Stangstag]

It was a ridiculous design. The big crane was supposed to lift the roof off like taking the lid off a jar. Never worked.

 

Lol wtf

[GeorgiaPeach]

It was a ridiculous design. The big crane was supposed to lift the roof off like taking the lid off a jar. Never worked.

 

Just like the baseball team there.

[GNick]

Are the games on tv?