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MLB Franchise Notes: Rangers' Proposed Retractable-Roof Ballpark Gains Key Endorser

In Ft. Worth, Robert Cadwallader notes the Rangers' proposed $1B retractable-roof stadium on Thursday "picked up its first endorsement" from a political action committee when “Vote Yes! Keep the Rangers PAC” announced its campaign. Vote Yes! "squares off against Citizens for a Better Arlington, the only PAC that has publicly challenged the joint city-Rangers plan to build a heat- and storm-resistant stadium that could be in use" by the '21 season. The ballpark "hinges on Arlington voters approving financing for the project in a Nov. 8 election that the City Council plans to call in August" (FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 7/8). In Dallas, Jeff Mosier notes the Vote Yes! group "is chaired by Arlington Mayor Jeff Williams and includes former mayors Robert Cluck, Elzie Odom and Richard Green" as honorary Chairs (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 7/8). 

SOILING REPUTATIONS? In Phoenix, Paola Boivin wrote the D-backs this season are "strikingly bad," and "more stunning than the 15-32 home record and 16 games behind is what this season is doing to the reputations of" the team's execs. Chief Baseball Officer Tony La Russa, Senior VP & GM Dave Stewart and President & CEO Derrick Hall have been welcomed "to the murky world of losing baseball," and it is "head-scratching how three sharp minds could oversee a team flailing so frantically." It "raises the question of who should be the sacrificial lamb," and the best answer is there is "blame to be shared, the executive trio of La Russa, Stewart and Hall notwithstanding" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 7/7). 

MAKE SOME NOISE: In DC, Dan Steinberg noted the Nationals are "averaging a touch more than 31,000 fans a night, good for 13th in" MLB, yet supporters "have taken it on the chin from some out-of-town broadcasters this season for not being loud enough, or energetic enough." Manager Dusty Baker said, "Some of the guys on the team wish our fans were a little more boisterous and crazy, a little bit, like we see at different stadiums on the road. But we also realize that a lot of our fans are new Nationals fans; that some of them -- or a whole bunch of them -- were Cubs and Mets (fans) and you know, wherever they come from. That’s the dynamics of DC" (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 7/6). 

WINNING SOLVES EVERYTHING: USA TODAY's Bob Nightengale noted the Indians "are now averaging the second-smallest home attendance in baseball, 17,204," but the team is slowly "gaining attention." The Indians "had their first sellout for a non-season opener on July 4, with nearly half the crowd of 34,163 waiting out a 2 ½ hour rain delay," and cars "were still piling out at 1:45 in the morning." The team is now "anticipating near-sellout crowds this weekend too," against the Yankees (USA TODAY, 7/7). 

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