In early April, the Blue Jays will play exhibition games at Olympic Stadium in Montreal for the third straight year, as Ainsley Doty of SportsNet writes. The Jays and Red Sox will play there April 1 and 2, just before the start of the regular season. The exhibitions will likely warm the hearts of fans longing for baseball to return to Montreal on a more permanent basis. “It is clearly a strong message that major teams from Major League Baseball want to come to Montreal,” says Montreal mayor Denis Coderre. “Of course, we keep the flame on. Montreal is a serious contender to get back the Expos one day.” Here are more quick notes from around the game.
- There are plenty of teams with at least a mathematical chance of winning (or “winning”) the first pick in the 2016 draft, but right now the Phillies hold a two-game “lead” over the Braves, as Vince Lara-Cinosomo of Baseball America notes. Both teams already have solid farm systems thanks in part to their recent rebuilding efforts. The next top Phillies draft signing will join a system topped by J.P. Crawford and recent trade acquisitions Jake Thompson, Nick Williams and Jorge Alfaro. The Braves’ system is topped by Curacaoan infielder Ozhaino Albies, along with top 2015 pick Kolby Allard and a host of players acquired in recent trades.
- After righty Peter Moylan had his second Tommy John surgery last year, the Braves signed him to a two-year minor-league deal with the idea that he would spend at least part of this season coaching pitchers at the Braves’ Appalachian League affiliate in Danville. Instead, he never went to Danville and pitched in the big leagues instead, as David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal Constitution writes. Moylan made his season minor-league debut with Triple-A Gwinnett in late May, got promoted to the big leagues in August and has now been in the Majors for more than a month. Now the 36-year-old is looking forward to continuing his progress in 2016. “I got a cup of coffee with L.A. in 2013, but I wasn’t ever really comfortable with how I was throwing,” says Moylan. “Coming back here, it’s sort of given me a chance to look at video of what I was doing back in the day, and go back to that. Now hopefully I can continue that, maintain that and then roll through next year.”
Montreal needs a new stadium that the city will never pay for. There’s no doubt there’s interest in a team there, that’s just a roadblock that is quite difficult to overcome.
Will never understand this buzz about Montreal getting a team again. They couldn’t draw a million fans their last several years with some pretty exciting young talent coming up through the system. Why does anyone think it will be different this time around? Even for a team in as lowly a situation as the Rays, it’s no better than a lateral move.
Attendance was low because fans knew the team was leaving. This is the city where Jackie Robinson made his pro debut. They love baseball there and have a richer history than many realize. With a new ballpark and solid ownership, baseball in Montreal would be in good hands.
Didn’t they draw really good up until the strike year. The strike really seemed to hurt their attendance. Having Jeffrey Loria as an owner didn’t help either.
Baseball can and would prosper in Montreal with Proper Ownership ( Spending Money ) and a good Marketing program .Bud and Jeffrey “where” the problem with Baseball in Montreal . Both are Greedy members of the Tribe.
At that time, the owner of the team was the MLB. Jeffrey Lorai sold the team to win the WS with the Marlins!! It was clear that the MLB didn’t want to invest into this team. We knew since the 2001 season that the Expos was about to be moved, we just didn’t know when. They put more energy to find a new home than putting a great product on the field. Oscar Minaya did a good job with what the money he had. Plus, they played around 20 homes games in Puerto Rico!! It’s really the keep a strong fanbase with this environment around the team!
It is not a lateral move at all; the Rays have been contenders for years and can’t draw fans. When the Expos had good teams in the 80’s, they were around league average or slightly above attendance. You’re comparing the attendance of a team that was a perennial contender for years and made a World Series appearance, to one that was screwed over by MLB and the team’s ownership. Of course attendance tanked after the strike in ’94, and I wouldn’t blame any fanbase for that.
Having a fresh start with a new franchise and new ownership will erase a lot of those bad feelings. City needs a new stadium though, they will not get a franchise without one being built.
I think of all cities, a team in New Orleans would be good. Just think about it, it’s a major city, and the only baseball they have there is AAA for the Marlins. There are no major teams in that whole area either. (Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama).