A few items of note for Thursday evening. On this day in 2005, the Committee on Government Reform held its now-infamous 11-hour hearing, during which former and current players such as Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro and Sammy Sosa testified about steroid use in baseball.
- Brewers right-hander Shaun Marcum, acquired from the Blue Jays in an offseason trade, exited his Cactus League start due to shoulder tightness, tweets Buster Olney of ESPN.com. Milwaukee manager Ron Roenicke acknowledged feeling concerned about the righty, and Olney described the potential situation as "not good." The Brewers have already lost ace Zack Greinke for a few starts after he suffered broken ribs in a pickup basketball game, and a potential injury to Marcum, though only speculation now, would be a major blow for a team expected to be in the thick of the NL Central race. Marcum, 29, missed all of 2009 with Toronto following Tommy John surgery in late 2008.
- It's too soon to speculate about the severity of Marcum's injury or how much time he might miss, if any, but as our Free Agent Tracker shows, there wouldn't be much for Milwaukee to choose from in the event it should need a fill-in. Kevin Millwood and former Brewer Doug Davis are among the usual suspects, while Jeremy Bonderman is expected to sit out the season, and Jarrod Washburn hasn't pitched in the Majors since 2009. The Phillies' Joe Blanton is thought to be on the trade block.
- White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf said yesterday that Joe Crede and agent Scott Boras made a poor decision in turning down a multiyear extension offer when the third baseman was with the South Siders. Today, Boras responded, saying that Crede's camp is the side that proposed the extension, not the other way around, writes Brett Ballantini of CSNChicago.com. Crede's career has been derailed by injuries, and he hasn't played in the Majors since spending 2009 with the Twins. He signed a minor league deal with the Rockies this offseason but decided not to report to camp, becoming a free agent.
- A person "involved in baseball labor" confirmed to Joel Sherman of the New York Post that Major League Baseball has considered a streamlining proposal, wherein the A's and Rays would be contracted, and owners Lew Wolff of Oakland and Stu Sternberg of Tampa Bay would buy the Dodgers and Mets, respectively. However, it is unlikely to transpire, according to Sherman, because baseball has enjoyed relative labor peace at a time when other sports leagues haven't, and the idea of contracting two teams would not sit well with the MLB Players Association — even if the owners conceded to preserving the jobs by expanding MLB rosters to 27.
Contraction of those two teams would be good for baseball.
ULTIMATE DISLIKE.
The owners can always have an unofficial roster of 24 players again you know like they have done before. Don’t think there is anything in the contract forcing them to have 25 players on a roster? That would stick it to Weiner pretty good if the owners want to contract 2 (or more) teams and the hard headed union can’t see plain DOA teams in front of their faces.
Here is an idea.. Why not force the Union to buy them, then run, pay etc..? Lets see how long they want non functional teams in Bad sports places like Oakland and Tampa, or in Tampa’s case.. A horrendous stadium and lease in St. Petersburg.
originally a few years ago i was praying that the marlins be moved to the AL west and the pirates be considered part of the NL east and i always thought that it would be better than contraction. (yes, i know it has nothing to do with the rays and As) but too bad the marlins get a posh new stadium that should boost their attendance to around 15k a game
You wanted to move a team on the far east of America to the American League West? Huh?
The Braves were in the NL West not that long ago.
There’s a reason why they aren’t any more. It’s not logical.
i meant they move the team to the west coast
Atlanta has a pretty large fan base. They wouldn’t move them. The Rays and A’s fan base is not that large on the other hand.
The Rays have a pretty large fanbase (not as large as say the Braves), but the attendance at home games make people suspect that there are not many Rays fans.
The Dallas Cowboys are in the NFC East…somehow.
Whatever happened to both the A’s and Rays getting new ballparks / the A’s relocating? Anyone thinking a new Rays ballpark or A’s to San Jose or wherever helps at all?
Nobody would fund the move/new ballpark.
not true. people would fund the A’s move the giants are just a-holes
This is the one consistent explanation I’ve heard for why the A’s can’t move where they had wanted to (slightly different language but yeah). It’s not that I don’t understand the Giants’ concern for the A’s infringing on their fan base / taking away revenue, but why didn’t the Orioles object so strongly to the Expos’ move? I believe there was market research done to project revenues etc. in the DC / Maryland area and it must have come back as reasonable to expect both teams to profit. Have these studies been done in the SF / SJ area? Probably the wrong post to be asking all this.
The Orioles are paid handsomely for the Nationals infringing on their market…
To the tune of half a network, several million dollars a year and a guaranteed minimum of $355 million if Angelos sells the team
Tampa wanted to soak the Tax payers out of 400M for it and still stick it on the “wrong” side of the bay. Nothing solved getting many more people to attend games that way there.
Just because a team doesn’t have enough payroll to compete they should fold a franchise? You are ridiculous. The Pittsburgh Pirates have a rich baseball history. They don’t have anything to show in the past few years, but they have more World Series trophies than the Texas Rangers and most MLB teams. It’s almost like saying lets fold the Knicks because they haven’t won in a while.
I sort of agree. However, the Pirates management is the problem, not the fan base.No team should have 18 straight seasons of below .500 baseballl.
Especially in the NL Central.
Huh, I did not know that current Pirates management was responsible for all 18 years of the streak. After years of striving for mediocrity, I thought they were finally committed to a ground-up rebuilding plan, building from within.
I never said they were soley responsible for the 18 season drought, even though they have certainly extended it. What I DID say was that it wasn’t the FANS fault for them not drawing better attendance. When you’re a fan of a team that hasn’t had a .500 or above season in 18 years then what incentive do you haveto fork over $50 to $100 (for 2 or more ppl) to go to a game?
Contracting those two teams has nothing to do with their ability to compete (You may not have noticed, but the Rays made the playoffs last year) and everything to do with their inability to draw.
Now, the A’s I question, as they’ve drawn fans when they’re competetive. The Rays are a different story, though. Even competing the last three seasons, they’ve remained in the bottom third of attendance and would probably be much lower if they didn’t play eighteen games a year against the Red Sox and Yankees at the Trop.
Now, obviously you would have to contract a pair of teams if you’re going to contract one for the sake of schedule balancing, but I have to imagine that the next candidate for contraction after the Rays would be the Marlins rather than the A’s. The A’s franchise has history and have proven they can bring in fans. The Marlins, while they’ve shown flashes of competetiveness, have never been a big enough draw to really justify their existence and are less than two decades old and would cause less fan outcry should they be contracted. Additionally, you’re also contracting one in each league, simplifying the rebalancing a little rather than contracting two in one league and then having to shift a team from the NL to the AL on top of realigning the divisions.
Scott Boras…. *facepalm*
not to kick em while there down (ok, thats exactly what im doing) but i’d like to point out that Manny Parra will also miss the start of the season due to back problems and “top prospect” Mark Rogers has already been optioned to AAA for fear that his shoulder which has already required surgery would not hold up.
I am curious because it has never happened before, but hypothetically, if they were contracted: how would players on the A’s and Rays be redistributed throughout the rest of the league. I mean, teams would absolutely win the lottery getting Longoria and Price.
I’ve kinda been wondering that too. If they all became free agents then Price and Longoria would be instantly looking at potential 9 digit contracts. Large market teams would be happy, small market teams would be outraged. If they were thrown into a draft or lottery then the players association would pitch a fit even if the MLB forced the new teams to honor the contracts.
Honestly, I think this would be the major reason why there won’t be a contraction, the confusion about what to do with the players and their contracts.
Also there would be a huge number of jobs lost. I think the PA would be most upset about that fact.
Nevermind, I didn’t read all of the last point of the posting.
Again…more guys with reading comprehension issues…
Actually, there would be a lot of jobs lost, just not at the major league level… the teams of two entire farm systems would disappear.
When the Expos were being talked about as being contracted before moving to DC, I believe the idea would be everyone would MLB and MILB in the organization would go into a draft of sorts. It would sort of be like the initial draft to stock new teams. I would assume worst record to best record would be the picking order.
Contract the Rays? yes!
Conract the A’s? No way!!
no way contraction happens, though i could see relocation. Portland and the Carolinas seem like prime candidates IMO.
What Portland are you talking about? Just curious.
Portland, England.
Portland, Montana.
Population Count : 190.
You guys are hilarious
I think Las Vegas would be a great spot.
The Marlins were all set to go there after their fire sale a few years ago but Bud Selig did not approve for fear of gambling in the game. I don’t think he will have changed his mind.
Who do the Brewers have left to trade for Blanton? Boggs or Dickerson? Millwood makes sense if they do need to bring in someone from outside the organization. Not a heck of a lot to trade with (and unfortunately not much available inside the organization…)
They really don’t have much left to trade. Their only choice seems to be to open the wallet or pick through the scrap heap. The scrap heap might work out for them if the injuries aren’t serious-they’d only need someone who could be good for a short period of time.
Best to remain calm until they know more about Marcum’s shoulder. Dickerson could be a fit (except I think the Brewers need him) in Philly since they are looking for a low cost outfielder that could play center field. But would they really want a Blanton (expensive) or a Kendrick (erratic, to be kind) in their rotation?
Contraction will never be the answer. It’s the equivalent of driving your kids out to the woods, and leaving them there. Any team in a major metropolitan area can be profitable – if it’s not, it’s because you’re just bad at running a business. The Twins were up for contraction a few years ago, and now they’re doing great. All businesses have to weather rough spots, and become profitable. Even if, for some reason, Oakland absolutely fails at running a baseball team, move them to Tennessee, Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, New Orleans, or somewhere else.
Eh, The Rays have been one of the best teams the past 2 years and while in first place and close to clinching couldn’t even fill the park past 15k. It’s location and park issues over there.
Oakland has been pretty terrible lately but the city of Oakland isn’t exactly prosperous anymore and any attempt they make to get a new ballpark(which they desperately need) has been shot down.
The Rays averaged over 23,000 the last 2 years…
I would say the Rays issue is that Tampa is a Yankee town what with their spring training headquartered there.
I agree that the Rays attendance hasn’t great, but looking at their attendance before 2008 — it’s much better. I’m not sure why people think MLB would be better off contracting the Rays. There are many fans in the TAMPA BAY area though. Every where I go, I see at least 5 – 10 jerseys or hats that have the Rays logo on it.
What’s up with all of the contraction talk latley. I rarley ever heard it until about a month or so ago. Now it’s every where, at least it seems that way. There would need to be a team or two that would need to be moved to the American League (West for sure) if the A’s and Rays were contracted. The splits are already 16 NL teams and 14 AL teams. You cant have 16 NL teams and 12 AL teams. Not to mention without another team in the ALW, there would only be 3 teams in that division. The Rockies, Padres, or Diamondbacks would have to move to the American League. There is no way in hell that I would split up the Giants and Dodgers. As for the Rays, the ALE would be fine without them. There would have to be a draft so that the players that have contracts with their respective clubs would have somewhere. Could you imagine? Evan Longoria, David Price, Trevor Cahil, Gio Gonzalez, and Desmond Jennings all available in what I would assume to be a lottery style draft. The Tigers would have to get someone somehow. Let’s face it, Oakland and Tampa aren’t exactly large market venues. Oakland, for the most part, is the ghetto side of San Francisco and Tampa is nothing but heavens waiting room. Just watch who is sitting behind homeplate at any random spring training game. They are all very elderly. Most people in Florida already have a team that they have followed for 40+ years. This could be a lot of fun for baseball fans to follow and would really spice up the labor agreement. As long as they don’t screw up the season like the NFL, I’m happy. Mr. Selig. Mr. Weiner. Let’s make this happen.
I wonder if players/prospects would travel with the owner? Sturnberg would be better off if they contracted the Mets and he moved the Rays team to the NL East. Better team. Better farm system. No albatross contracts. Imagine the Rays team with $100 mil larger payroll…
The problem with taking players with you is that you can’t have 180 players in you franchise. Only 90. And I don’t see any chance of a team moving out of New York. You can make the Dodgers/Giants argument but there have been 4 teams in one city. Mets aren’t going anywhere.
90 Players? MLB the Show is lying.
No it’s not. You get 90 players on there too.
MLB = 25
AAA = 25
AA = 25
Advanced A = 25
A = 25
Low A = 25
DR clubs = 25+
Are you saying franchises arent allowed more than 90 players to play for over 6 clubs?
Good point.
AA and A can have up to 30. Just to reinforce your point
My point is basically if the idea is contract the Rays and have Sturnberg buy the Mets, he’d be better off if they contracted the Mets and he moved the Rays to NY.
He doesn’t have to keep all 180. Take the best 60 he has and the best 30 of the Mets and there is his team. The Rays have the 2nd best farm system and 12 draft picks before the 3rd rd in a very good draft. They’re too good an organization to fold.
Why no talk of contracting the Indians?? They may not draw 1,000,000 fans…
Not that easy. When you buy a team, you get the team. You don’t get to pick and choose who you want to bring and who you don’t. It doesn’t work that way. What about the 60 Met’s players that are under contract? Whats your plan with them? Release them? Now your out about $25MM for all of the guarenteed money you owe those guys.
The Indians have as rich a history of any team although it’s not based on WS titles. Their fans support a good product and attendance goes hand in hand with winning. Despite being a horrible team in 2010 they still drew 1.4mil during a recession. Pulling their team away AGAIN would be a horrible move.
Branding and fan loyalty. The Mets have been around since the sixties and the Rays have been around a little over a decade. Not to mention the name doesn’t really make as much sense in NY. New York Metropolitans vs. New York Rays?
As for the Indians, as YFS78 points out, the Indians are one heck of a draw when they’re winning. They were huge in the nineties and they held the consecutive sell out record until just a couple years ago.
A’s can easily get a new stadium, the only thing in the way is the Giants. If the Giants would stop being evil, I mean, stubborn, the A’s could move to SJ and start building almost immediately.
Move the SJ Giants to Oakland and the Oakland A’s to SJ. Problem solved.
San Francisco Giants of San Jose
I don’t think thats an option but thanks for playing.
Just to avoid more “you’re an idiot” comments on this it was sarcastic. As in Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. forget it.
murraychass.com/?p=3086
explains some of the A’s stadium issue
Does Frank McCourt not get a say in the matter?
A’s situation– The Giants’ argument is that their stadium bonds were sold on the basis that Santa Clara County (San Jose up to Palo Alto) was their territory, so MLB can be sued by the bondholders if they end those rights. What should happen is a negotiated deal forced by the owners once San Jose finishes acquiring the land.
Rays situation– Really, the Rays are stuck till the stadium lease ends in 2027, then they can leave St. Pete and Tampa can build them a stadium. I doubt the Yankees and Mets ever let them move to Northern New Jersey. At some point, contraction becomes an option, but probably not till 2027.
2027??? And I thought the Zito contract sucked!
They can actually buyout the remainder of the lease after 2017 so they could be contracted then. In reality MLB can buy everything out any time they want, but it boils down to it being financially sound i.e. cheaper to contract them than paying revenue sharing. I’m a Rays fan,and the sad reality is that given the location of the Trop, the local economy and the fact that Florida is a retiree state, the Rays will most likely NEVER draw more than 25,000 a game avg.even with a new stadium. This area just doesn’t care and won’t until it’s too late..then all the “fans” will whine when the team is gone through contraction or relocation.
Oh hey, a realist. Fancy seeing you here.
The Rays story is a tragic one in terms of baseball operations. Such a well oiled machine with such a terrible market territory. I mean, from a Sox fan perspective I’ve got to be pleased on SOME level. If that team got any money whatsoever, they’d be terrifying and would probably find a way to win 17 WS in the next decade.
Parts of this are intriguing.
Talent, particularly pitching talent, is too diluted these days. Contraction could ameliorate that.
At the same time, expanding rosters to 27 better allows for an expanded bullpen and specialist offensive players. The former could be particularly important.
And think how exciting the anticipation would be regarding an expansion draft!
On the other hand, the city of Oakland has some tradition which would be forfeited. And the potential of Tampa would be lost. The economy is not good in Tampa but it looms as an area which which may experience strong increases in population. Moreover, as a greater proportion of both baseball players and baseball fans are increasingly of hispanic heritage, baseball should be successful in Tampa eventually if properly managed and marketed. Perhaps the new stadium, if it is ever built, should be erected not at but somewhat closer to and thus more accessible to the Orlando tourist area.
Sounds horrible. Just think, 16-man pitching staffs! LOOGYs … and ROOGYs! Innings 6 through 9 would take longer than the last minute of an NCAA hoops tournament game.
Yeah, while I like the idea of contracting some teams, the idea of expanding rosters doesn’t sit well with me. Honestly, I think rosters are too large as is when teams can afford to have a guy whose sole reason for being on the roster is just to pitch to one guy every few games.
Any time you read a rumor about contracting specific franchises, your first assumption should be that owners of the would-be-contracted franchises and MLB officials are looking to extract/extort something from the local municipalities or from another municipality that might be recruiting that franchise to relocate within its confines. Your second assumption should be that MLB and the owners are seeking to establish a bargaining chip that they can utilize when it comes time for the collective bargaining agreement with the MLBPA to be revisited. In short, I wouldn’t put too much stock in such rumors.
The thought of the Oakland A’s no longer being a franchise makes me sick.
Exactly! Even talking about contracting the franchise with third-most WS wins is just spitting on the history of the game.
All the land in Oakland that you could build a Stadium on is already committed. If the A’s move to San Jose, it would be a breach of contract. The A’s could look into building a Stadium in the Oakland suburbs again. The A’s aren’t getting jack from the City of Oakland or Alameda County.
Oakland is dead. No sense in building anything on sand. San Jose is where the A’s must end up. Just give it time. MLB has the power and incentive to make this work.
Vegas, Orlando, Charlotte…all seem like easy targets.
A’s = Monterrey, Mexico. Rays = New Orleans (change name to Pelicans)