The Rays last month reportedly had talks about relocating the team to Montreal, and such a move “makes a lot of sense,” according to Nick Cafardo of the BOSTON GLOBE. The Montreal business climate is “a lot different than it was when the Expos were there," and the Montreal Baseball Project will meet with MLB “soon to discuss a financial plan for a team and a new downtown stadium.” If Rays Owner Stu Sternberg “isn’t interested, he should be, though it appears in the next few weeks there might be optimism associated with the Rays at least being able to discuss a new stadium in Tampa, though who knows if even that would help” (BOSTON GLOBE, 11/2). Meanwhile, an MLB exec said, “In retrospect, it was a terrible mistake to expand again in 1998.” The exec added that “if anything ... the owners really needed to put a team in Charlotte, not Tampa Bay.” He said, “We really missed the boat with Charlotte. It’s the fastest growing area in the United States, and with educated people, in the high-tech and health care areas. Bank of America is headquartered there. And just look around at all three of the professional sports franchises [in the state] ... they all sell out.” In N.Y., Bill Madden noted the reason Sternberg “never entertained any ideas of trying to move his attendance-starved team to Charlotte is because of the stiff resistance” from the Braves and their “influential chairman emeritus” Bill Bartholomay, a longtime ally of Commissioner Bud Selig (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 11/2).
WORK TO DO: In L.A., Bill Plaschke wrote MLB fans are “off the hook for another year,” as they “no longer have to feel bad about not watching the World Series.” Baseball continues to be a "thriving sport,” and people "still love their hometown teams." Plaschke: "The problem is, they're increasingly falling out of love with the actual game. The national pastime has "sadly become a regional pastime.” Baseball “desperately needs help.” Plaschke offered suggestions to improve the game: Using a "pitch clock to shorten games"; increasing the LDS to seven games; making the DH mandatory or eliminate it; and giving home-field advantage "to the team with baseball's best record" (L.A. TIMES, 11/2). ESPN.com’s Tim Kurkjian wrote under the header, “Top 10 Offseason Storylines.” Do not “look for sweeping changes in the game,” but Commissioner-elect Rob Manfred “will look hard at the pace of the game.” Kurkjian: “We anticipate all sorts of ways to speed up the game without messing with the fabric of the game. A clock on pitchers is at least something that will be considered.” Expect “minor tweaks with instant replay, and another clarification of the rules regarding catcher collisions.” The game is in “pretty good shape, but refining some things will be important” (ESPN.com, 10/30).
