Several industry sources "believe the Expos are playing
their final season in Montreal," as leaders from two DC-area
groups "say they're poised to bid" on the team if MLB
Commissioner Bud Selig allows the franchise to be sold and
relocated for the 2001 season, according to Richard Justice
of the WASHINGTON POST. One MLB owner said of the Expos
last week, "That franchise has become a black hole. It's
time to stop throwing our money away. There's no interest
in baseball there." But with Expos Managing General Partner
Jeffrey Loria involved in a feud with the team's Canadian
investors, other sources "believe that Loria and his
partners are headed for litigation that could keep the team
off the market `for two years or more.'" Both VA business
exec William Collins, who wants to bring a team to Northern
VA, and DC financier Fred Malek, who wants a team in DC,
said that "they would be ready to move quickly" if a team
becomes available (WASHINGTON POST, 6/10). In Baltimore,
Ken Rosenthal writes that while the Orioles are opposed to
any team in the DC/VA area, "a little competition might
force [Orioles Owner Peter] Angelos to fight for his
customers. A little competition might force him to adjust
his heavy-handed management style." Angelos "certainly
would file suit against MLB [if DC/VA gets a team],
presumably on the grounds that he bought the Orioles with
the understanding that he would control the D.C. area"
(Baltimore SUN, 6/12).
PARTNERS FOR LIFE? In Montreal, David Johnston examined
the dispute between Loria and his partners and wrote that
the Expos' local owners want "nothing less" than to "oust"
Loria. One team source said, "At meetings, Jeffrey Loria
sits and listens attentively, but doesn't make much comment.
... He must be soaking it all up, although he never gives
you any indication whether he's soaking it up. So you never
know if you're getting to first base with him." Johnston:
"There has been some doubt expressed privately about Loria's
commitment to baseball in Montreal. Did he come here in
good faith?" Meanwhile, Johnston noted the team's average
attendance is up 60% this season, which "could play a
critical role in the internal politicking between Loria and
the local shareholders. For if attendance is up, then
revenues are up. And if revenues are up, is the supposedly
cash crisis real or apprehended?" (Montreal GAZETTE, 6/10).
