Now the DRays appear to be at the top of the list along with Les Expos for contraction... or relocation? Keep yourself tunes in to see what may be happening here. - TBGR

Who's next?

Devil Rays may replace Twins on contraction list

Posted: Thursday May 30, 2002 3:24 PM
Updated: Thursday May 30, 2002 10:15 PM


CHICAGO (AP) -- If Tampa Bay is next on commissioner Bud Selig's hit list, then no one has told Devil Rays owner Vince Naimoli.

"We have never been a candidate for contraction," Naimoli said Thursday night. "We're not on the list right now. We will not be on the list in the future."

During Wednesday's meeting of baseball owners in Chicago, some owners wondered where the sport's contraction plan was headed following Selig's decision to attempt to settle a lawsuit by guaranteeing the Minnesota Twins' existence through the 2003 season.

Minnesota and Montreal were the two teams Selig attempted to eliminate last winter, only to be blocked by a court order that forced the Twins to honor their lease at the Metrodome.

Several owners, among them Jerry Reinsdorf of the Chicago White Sox, John Moores of the San Diego Padres and Stan Kasten of the Atlanta Braves, spoke during the meeting and asked what was next, according to two high-ranking officials in baseball who attended the session and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

"We're going to have to find a new partner," one of the officials quoted Selig as saying.

During his April 9 testimony in the grievance against contraction by the players' association, Selig was asked what team would replace the Twins on his contraction list if Minnesota was not on it, one of the officials said. Selig responded that the Devil Rays were next, as first reported Thursday by The New York Times.

Bob DuPuy, Selig's chief lawyer, later said that Tampa Bay merely was one of several teams under consideration, the official said.

At least one team interpreted Selig's statement as meaning he might consider seeking a new owner to buy the Expos and move the team. But Selig's staff said his intent was to press ahead with contraction.

Selig did not return a telephone call seeking comment.

Naimoli vehemently denied the Devil Rays were on the elimination list. He said his team, in its fifth season, do not meet any of the criteria set for contraction.

"First ... the ownership has to volunteer to be contracted. I and my partners have worked hard to get baseball to Tampa Bay. We have never had any thoughts of volunteering for contraction. Our only hope is to make this a very successful franchise for many years to come," he said.

Naimoli said the second criteria is a candidate for contraction must have a long history of struggling financially. The third is a lengthy track record of poor play on the field.

"Our revenues are No. 20 of 30 in baseball. So that means if there was a contraction list, there would be teams 21 through 30 who would be on the list and we would not," Naimoli said.

"Teams must have a long history of not producing. Well, we've been here four years. Baseball believes that this is a very fertile area, a very fine area."

While the Twins have been in or near first place in the American league Central all season and the Expos have been surprisingly competitive, the Devil Rays have foundered. They are tied with Toronto for the worst record in the AL and averaged just 13,584 fans for home games through Wednesday, also the lowest in the league.

If the Expos were to move, Washington would be the most likely place. Selig said in January that the nation's capital was the "prime candidate" to get a team through relocation, but said the sport must first overhaul its economic structure, the subject of the current labor talks with the union.

Bobby Goldwater, president and executive director of the D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission, said Washington would welcome the Expos.

"There is no better market to relocate a team to," he said. "We are prepared to host a team by 2003. There is no good reason for baseball not to be here and every good reason for it to be here. Baseball knows D.C. can be part of the solution it is looking for."

Players claim the Nov. 6 vote to eliminate teams violated their labor contract, which expired the following day. An arbitrator is to hear closing arguments on June 6 and has told both sides he will try to have a decision by July 15.

A man has to have goals- for a day, for a lifetime- that was mine, to have people say, "There goes Ted Williams, the greatest hitter who ever lived."
- Ted Williams

Until Das makes a final ruling about contraction, one can take all of his comments with a grain of salt.

Numbers don't lie. People do.
Beware of the Silver & Black attack