Following MLB's Expansion Draft on Tuesday, Jayson
Stark of the PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER wrote, "[W]hen the desert
dust had settled after this one, something far more
significant had happened than the exhausting spectacle of 17
teams trading, signing or drafting a staggering 90 different
players. Beneath the surface of all that real-life
Rotisserie pandemonium, it was clear the game is still in a
very bizarre state." More Stark: "[W]ith very few
exceptions, stadiums are the only way to survive now"
(PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 11/20). In Atlanta, Tim Tucker
noted comparisons of Tuesday to the old days of winter
meetings with heavy trade action: "Sorry. There's no
comparison between old-fashioned trades of comparable
players and these new-fangled deals in which one side gets
vastly superior talent and the other gets payroll relief"
(ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 11/19). In Detroit, Jerry Green:
"[T]he sport that once considered itself the national
pastime has become a bazaar" (DETROIT NEWS, 11/20).
STRIPED-DOWN DEALS: In N.Y., Dave Anderson: "If the
industry known as Major League Baseball continues to wonder
why it continues to disenchant more and more fans, it has
only to watch the butchering of the Florida Marlins by their
bottom-line owner" (N.Y. TIMES, 11/21). In Toronto, Richard
Griffin: "This live-for-today mentality can only lead to
diminishing fan loyalty and interest. It's already begun in
Florida. Baseball is playing a dangerous game" (TORONTO
STAR, 11/20). In Philadelphia, Bill Conlin: "I hope [Acting
Commissioner] Bud Selig ... felt as embarrassed as he looked
on camera Tuesday night while his sport scaled the heights
of institutional madness" (DAILY NEWS, 11/20). In Seattle,
Steve Kelly noted that Selig called Tuesday a "great day"
for MLB, and wrote under the header, "What's So 'Great'
About Gutting Franchises?" (SEATTLE TIMES, 11/19). In San
Diego, Nick Canepa: "[I]f you're a baseball fan, [Tuesday]
had to be depressing, because we got a real good taste of
all that's wrong with the game. ... It was a dreadful
microcosm of what baseball has become" (UNION-TRIBUNE,
11/20). In Dallas, Ken Daley noted the "optimism" of the
expansion teams, and wrote, "And why not? In baseball's
caste system of haves and haves not, the newcomers at least
have cause for optimism. That's something more and more
teams are finding in short supply" (MORNING NEWS, 11/20).
PITY LES EXPOS: In Montreal, Jack Todd, on the Expos
trading Pedro Martinez, adding to a long list of talented
Montreal players who the team couldn't afford: "Just don't
say [the Expos] did the wrong thing, because they had no
choice. ... [I]t's about the long-term survival of baseball
in Montreal. No stadium, no baseball. ... You care about
baseball in this town? Good, buy a seat license or two.
You don't? Say goodbye. You know how. You've had lots of
practice" (Montreal GAZETTE, 11/20). In Montreal, Jeff
Blair: "There is a peculiar kind of hurt known all too well
by Expos fans, a sense of opportunity lost combined with
frustration at the skewed economics of major-league
baseball. There's an understanding that getting close to a
favourite player means accepting the fact he'll be in
another uniform when he reaches the pinnacle of his career,
and even though the risk is accepted each year by a hearty
(albeit diminishing) few, each parting still carries its own
hurt" (GAZETTE, 11/20). In Boston, after the trade for
Martinez, Bob Ryan wrote, "We don't deserve Pedro Martinez
... No one does. He should belong to Montreal until his
contract expires." Noting the game's economics, Ryan added,
"The Red Sox can afford what Montreal cannot afford. But
the Red Sox cannot afford what Arizona can afford, and the
Diamondbacks haven't played so much as one exhibition game
yet. What kind of madness is this?" (BOSTON GLOBE, 11/20).
