After MLB's Blue Ribbon Panel on Baseball Economics
presented its report on the financial problems facing the
game, "now comes the hard part -- making the four-member
panel's efforts matter," according to Tracy Ringolsby of the
ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS, who wishes MLB Commissioner Bud Selig
"luck" in brokering an agreement. Ringolsby: "Selig is the
master of compromise. He knows how to build a consensus, at
least among the owners, and build support. Trouble is,
there is no room for compromise this time. The panel
devised a plan to cure the game's ills, but it's a
comprehensive proposal. This isn't a buffet line, where the
parties can pick and choose what they like. This is an all-
or-nothing plan." Ringolsby faults the panel and Selig for
not including the participation of the MLBPA, as the union
"didn't even get a sneak preview of the recommendations,
which isn't the smartest approach considering the distrust
that has developed between the players and owners" (ROCKY
MOUNTAIN NEWS, 7/18). In N.Y., Murray Chass writes that
while the panel said that the report "was wholly theirs,
including the recommendations that are the focus of the
report," three people with "close ties to management" said
that Selig "reviewed various drafts of the report and sent
it back for stiffer recommendations." Selig yesterday
called that, "Absolutely untrue." Chass: "What is clear from
the ... report is that no high-revenue, big-spending teams
had any input in its formulation" (N.Y. TIMES, 7/18).
DON'T COUNT ON DC/NORTHERN VA YET: USA TODAY's Hal
Bodley reports that Selig and team owners "are far from
approving" a relocation of the Expos to the DC/Northern VA
area. Bodley: "It might happen eventually, but 2001 is
unlikely for several reasons. First, there's not enough
time to pull off the relocation smoothly. Second, and maybe
most importantly, baseball's hierarchy seems unready to get
into a turf battle with the Orioles and Peter Angelos. This
isn't to say a team won't eventually land in the lucrative
market, but not anytime soon." The "only other destination
might be Charlotte, but there's no stadium there for 2001
and some owners aren't certain the area can support a major
league team" (USA TODAY, 7/18). FSN's Jim Rome noted that
it is "too bad" MLB owners decided against franchise
contraction for now: "Less is more, and there is still no
better remedy for what ails this sport than losing a few
franchises" ("Last Word," FSN, 7/17).
