Baseball Musings
Baseball Musings
July 20, 2004
Expos-itory Writing

There are Montreal Expos fans, and what has happened to their team over the last ten years truly hurts them. Jean-Pierre Allard is chronicling the last days of the Montreal Expos at Traveling Expos. Today's piece, reminding us of the 35th anniversary of men landing on the moon, posits that August 12th would be a perfect day to announce the new location of the Expos, as it's the tenth anniversary of the strike that brought about the club's demise.


Posted by David Pinto at 08:52 AM | Blogs | TrackBack (1)
Comments

Actually, it's years of fan apathy that has brought about the demise. I find it funny that all MLB franchises have recovered except one, and yet folks refuse to blame the lack of attendance and outdated stadium on Montreal itself. Good riddance.

Posted by: Al at July 20, 2004 09:01 AM

Al, is perchance your last name "Selig?" Your lack-of-attendance argument followed up with the necessity of a new ballpark seems awfully familiar.

But there's hope for the truth, I would start here at the wonderful Travelling Expos (http://expos.mostvaluablenetwork.com/index.php?p=33) and continue reading all that you can.

Did "fan apathy" just show up one day and curse the Expos? Of course not.

The lack of attendance is due to the poor product on the field, which was precipitated by Bud Selig abandoning the Expos.

Start with the strike in 1994, move on to Jeffrey Loria and eventual ownership by the other 29 teams.

The Expos barely have media outlets this year, and I believe they didn't last year.

So please don't blame "fan apathy" as the end-all problem. Instead blame a poor management system that allowed the Expos, over the years, to be relegated to second class status.

Posted by: Matthew Carroll at July 20, 2004 12:57 PM

Matthew:

Although I don't think he's actually changed his last name, I heard a rumor Al has a picture of Bud tattooed right on his butt. As a Brewers fan, I must regularly suffer through his pro-Selig rants.

He's often saying no one has ever found one shred of evidence as to why Bud hasn't been good for the game, conveniently ignoring the piles provided on this good webiste and elsewhere. I guess its some Brewers inferiority complex that has resulted in his head in the sand mentality; I'm not sure why, all my Brew Crew friends wish the old car salesman would get back to that.

Posted by: adw at July 20, 2004 03:21 PM

Again, the point is missed. In 1994, the players went on strike. Damn shame, but life went on. EVERY SINGLE MLB team recovered, except the Expos, which have very few fans. What is so hard to understand here? MON has no media outlets because they have very few fans. I seem to recall the Expos having some decent teams in the past decade, with horrible attendance.

I guess the facts shouldn't matter, huh? As I said, good riddance to the worst team in baseball, the fact they still exist is the only embarrassment I see.

And notice how initial boy fails to mention any of that "proof". Yes, it's just all over, no need to show any of it. How transparent is that? And, darn gutsy not even writing your name, like the idiot letters to the editor folks who refuse to give their name.

Posted by: Al at July 20, 2004 10:17 PM

Al,

The following link is to a piece I wrote in May 2004 which will hopefully help change your unfair views on the Expos.

J.P.


http://expos.mostvaluablenetwork.com/index.php?m=20040521

Posted by: Jean-Pierre Allard at July 21, 2004 07:57 AM

It looks very much like it's going to be DC, according to ESPN. Analysis at OTB.

Posted by: James Joyner at July 22, 2004 08:12 PM