Baseball Musings
Baseball Musings
March 01, 2003
Kicked While Down:

I wasn't aware of this:


Residents of Florida's Space Coast were miffed when the Marlins swapped sites with Montreal. But Melbourne and the Expos make a good match, pairing a spurned town with a team long accustomed to being unwanted.

While major league baseball seeks an owner for the Expos, their status in Montreal is year-to-year. This season they'll play 22 "home" games 3,000 kilometres away in Puerto Rico. And now they must adjust to a new spring training address that may be temporary, depending on what happens to the franchise.

The Expos were forced from Jupiter when their owner, Jeffrey Loria, bought the Florida franchise a year ago and insisted that Montreal's spring complex be part of the deal. That sent the Expos up Interstate 95 to Melbourne.


Especially miffed is scrabble champion Javier Vazquez:

"I think MLB didn't handle it the right way," Vazquez says. "That complex was ours. I don't think it's called the 'Jeffrey Loria Complex.' But we didn't have an owner, so what choice did we have? Nobody was fighting for us. I guess that's why we came here."

There's a dramatic difference in the two complexes, which is why everyone at the Marlins camp is smiling these days.

The practice fields at Melbourne are windier, chillier and more sprawling. By comparison, the five-year-old Jupiter site seems cozy.

Many of the Marlins found accommodations within walking distance of Roger Dean Stadium. Also nearby are a 16-screen movie theatre, golf course, art galleries and cafes.


Someone must have a spare couple of thousand lieing around that they can use to buy the Expos! :-)


Posted by David Pinto at 09:17 AM | Baseball