MLB Commissioner Bud Selig said that for MLB to
succeed, "it needs to succeed in Middle America," according
to John Lowe of the DETROIT FREE PRESS. Selig called the
success of MLB in Detroit, Cleveland, Milwaukee, K.C., St.
Louis, Chicago, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh the "focus" of his
job. Selig: "[MLB] needs to succeed in those places. It
needs to have the chance it deserves ... Fans have two
things: hope and faith. It's my job to create as much hope
and faith in as many places as possible" (DETROIT FREE
PRESS, 2/20). But in K.C., Jason Whitlock asked if
"anything is more unfair" than watching the Royals
"helplessly try to compete on baseball's uneven playing
field." Whitlock: "It appears as if no one is trying to
stop it. It's as if no one outside of Kansas City knows
that baseball is sick" (K.C. STAR, 2/20). A Minneapolis
STAR TRIBUNE editorial: "Already spring training seems
bittersweet. Perhaps the worst prospect is that Minnesotans
come to see the Twins as props, patsies for the real
attractions coming through town" (STAR TRIBUNE, 2/21).
