Bud Selig Speaks His Initials Again

Xanadu Dragon · 02-13-2002, 07:44 AM

The line in red below is so full of crap that it reeks.

Selig: This winter's baseball shifts only the beginning
By RONALD BLUM
.c The Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) - Baseball's failed attempt to fold two franchises, and ownership changes in Boston, Florida and Montreal were only a prelude, according to commissioner Bud Selig.

``This has been very painful, I know, for a lot of people,'' Selig said Tuesday. ``Now we can focus on the main event, and certainly the negotiation is the main event.''

Sounds like baseball owners expect major gains in collective bargaining, which means a long, drawn-out negotiation with the threat of another work stoppage in late 2002 or 2003.

For now, though, Montreal is assured of one more - and probably just one more, season of major league baseball.

In an unprecedented move, baseball owners unanimously approved the takeover of the Expos by the commissioner's office and the sale of the Florida Marlins to Montreal's current owner.

The votes, taken just three days before those teams start spring training, caused immediate management shifts. Montreal manager Jeff Torborg quit and became Florida's manager, and Hall of Famer Frank Robinson was hired as the Expos' manager.

Larry Beinfest, who had been the Expos' interim general manager, resigned to become Florida's general manager and was replaced by Omar Minaya, who had been senior assistant general manager of the New York Mets. Tony Tavares, who quit the Anaheim Angels last month, was appointed Montreal's team president.

``From this day forward, in terms of the decisions they make, they are on their own,'' Selig said.

Selig would not assure survival beyond this season for Montreal, which joined the major leagues in 1969. He promised the Expos would be run independently and that their top young players, such as Vladimir Guerrero, wouldn't be traded.

``There have been no conversations among us about fire sales or anything like that,'' Selig said, adding that ``this is part of a plan that, hopefully, will lead to an orderly contraction.''

The only previous time a major league team was owned by a league or the commissioner's office was briefly between the 1942 and 1943 seasons, according to research by the Hall of Fame and the Elias Sport Bureau.

The National League took over the Philadelphia Phillies on Feb. 9 from Gerald Nugent, who fell behind in his rent at Shibe Park and sold the team on March 15 to William D. Cox - who was banned for life by commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis that Nov. 23 for gambling on Phillies games.

Never before has a major league baseball team been ownerless during a season.

``This is historical in nature and obviously unique,'' Selig said.

Current Marlins owner John Henry, frustrated at the failure to get a new ballpark, set the musical chairs in motion when the group he heads was given approval Jan. 16 to buy the Boston Red Sox for $660 million from the Jean R. Yawkey Trust.

Jeffrey Loria is buying the Marlins from Henry for $158.5 million and selling the Montreal franchise for $120 million to Baseball Expos LP, a Delaware limited partnership owned by the other 29 teams. The commissioner's office is lending him the difference between the prices.

``This team is ready to rock and ready to roll this year. We've just got to stay healthy,'' said Loria, a New York art dealer who bought control of the Expos in December 1999.

Loria, who hopes the sales will be completed Friday, will become the third owner of the Marlins, who began play in 1993 and won the World Series in 1997. Founding owner H. Wayne Huizenga, convinced the government wouldn't help fund a ballpark, sold the team to Henry in January 1999.

``We're fully committed to the team and the Florida community,'' Loria said.

Montreal drew a major league low 619,451 last season to Olympic Stadium, an average of just 7,648 per game, and Florida was 29th at 1.26 million. The Expos were last among the 30 teams in revenue at $34.2 million, and Florida was 28th at $60.5 million, just ahead of Minnesota at $56.3 million.

Owners originally intended to fold the Expos and Twins, who also failed to gain government funding for a new ballpark, but a Minnesota judge issued an injunction that forced the Twins to honor their 2002 lease at the Metrodome.

In the fallout of the failure to contract, Minaya became the first Hispanic general manager in the major leagues and the second minority, joining Kenny Williams of the Chicago White Sox, who is black. Robinson became the seventh current minority manager.

A 66-year-old Hall of Famer who is fourth on the career home run list at 586, Robinson had been the vice president in the commissioner's office in charge of discipline for on-field misconduct. He spent parts of 11 seasons as manager of Cleveland, San Francisco and Baltimore, compiling a 680-751 record.

``This is one-year shot for me,'' Robinson said.

Notes:@ Minaya was told that if the Expos are eliminated after the season, he could work in the commissioner's office in 2003. ... Selig's top lawyer, Bob DuPuy, was to testify Wednesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee along with players' association head Donald Fehr.

AP-NY-02-13-02 0145EST

ChrisCary · 02-13-2002, 08:48 AM

I didn't thnik that load of crap was nearly as offensive as his contention that the apointment of Minaya was a "Historical day"

pathogan · 02-13-2002, 09:04 AM

I wish Minaya had stayed and Phillips had gone, frankly[as a met fan]...By the way, who taught Selig syntax, George Bush? Im telling you,these guys wont be happy until they destroy the game{remember the line we had to destory the village in order to save it?} I really think that is the "strategy" here...

Xanadu Dragon · 02-13-2002, 10:04 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by ChrisCary
I didn't thnik that load of crap was nearly as offensive as his contention that the apointment of Minaya was a "Historical day"

Dude - don't think he meant Omar - more so, that the team would be run by MLB.

Xanadu Dragon · 02-13-2002, 10:09 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by pathogan
By the way, who taught Selig syntax, George Bush?

I wish someone who collect a bunch of his quotes - - there are certain catch phrases that he uses over and over again - - -

like "from this day forward" in this piece.

It's been my experience that "leaders" who use phrases over and over again (to the point of making you want to puke) like "at the end of the day" are usually full of crap.

sweaver · 02-13-2002, 10:38 AM

Bad mood today, Steve?

"From this day forward," in my experience, is usually followed by "as long as you both shall live." Does that mean a long and storied future for the Expos franchise, or a messy divorce in a few months?

gyb13 · 02-13-2002, 10:42 AM

You mean do something kinda like they did for this guy:
The Quayle2K Problem
The wisdom of Dan Quayle

gyb13 · 02-13-2002, 10:42 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by sweaver
Bad mood today, Steve?

"From this day forward," in my experience, is usually followed by "as long as you both shall live." Does that mean a long and storied future for the Expos franchise, or a messy divorce in a few months?

I don't think there was a pre-nup, though...

ChrisCary · 02-13-2002, 10:52 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Xanadu Dragon

I wish someone who collect a bunch of his quotes - -

Here's one:

I remember the feeling I had inside when the Braves left Milwaukee for Atlanta. Franchise stability is very important to me and to the game. I'm happy we've been able to work out a plan so the Expos will remain in Montreal.

Speaking as the Commissioner of Baseball
November, 1999
Allan Huber "Bud" Selig
Milwaukee Brewers
Owner

KCBOOMER · 02-13-2002, 12:14 PM

I can see Selig's autobiography now: "The Man who would be Kenesaw".

Skip · 02-13-2002, 01:56 PM

"The Man Who Should Be Sawed in Half"?

Ok, its a stretch

LeGrandOrange · 02-13-2002, 06:40 PM

Even George W. Bush doesn't seem to be as quotable as Bud Selig.
If he were president, would they contract Minnesota and give it to Canada?

Considering how Minnesota got bypassed for the Olympic torch run, along with both Dakotas and a 4th state...I forget...Bud might just do something that rash.

Fuzzy Bear · 02-13-2002, 06:44 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by ChrisCary

Here's one:

I remember the feeling I had inside when the Braves left Milwaukee for Atlanta. Franchise stability is very important to me and to the game. I'm happy we've been able to work out a plan so the Expos will remain in Montreal.

Speaking as the Commissioner of Baseball
November, 1999
Allan Huber "Bud" Selig
Milwaukee Brewers
Owner

In today's FLORIDA TODAY (the daily newspaper serving the Kennedy Space Center area) there was the discussion of how Jeffrey Loria, the new "Mr. Marlin" will move the Marlins training site from Viera (built just for the Wayne Huizenga traveling circus, at taxpayer expense, of course) to Jupiter
(the home of Loria, of course). Included in this cheery discussion of how Brevard will lose the Marlins (of course, we'll get the Expos for at least a whole year!!!) is how Loria will fire Marlins' employees because he doesn't want to fire people HE hired!

I was a voter in Brevard County at the time the Marlins training complex was approved. At the time, I said NO!, NO!, NO! to anyone who would listen.

Who's paying for this now? The suckered taxpayers of Brevard County? The employees of the Marlins/Brevard County Manatees, who will be fired so Big Jeff's homeboys can have employment? What do you say to people who worked diligently for the Marlins, who will now be looking for a job? Are you going to tell them that people are portable? That's true, but their homes and mortgages aren't so easily moved.

Thanks, Bud! You're a jerk, and other innocent people have to pay for your stupidity in more than insufferable wild cards and interleague play. Your incompetance is hurting people who make a living out of baseball, but don't make megabucks.

It's time for Congress to regulate baseball from the Commish to the batboy!

BuzzBuzzard · 02-14-2002, 07:19 AM

1 thread and 11 responses that are grasping for something that just ain't there. Selig could j-walk in mid-toan Manhattan and you all would be looking at it as a capital crime.

Lord it is tiring.

Xanadu Dragon · 02-14-2002, 07:27 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by BuzzBuzzard
1 thread and 11 responses that are grasping for something that just ain't there.

Once again dude - we have a body of evidence that Bud is full of crap - - the lies and the stupid statements/actions are part of history.

If you think it's not there, you're entitled to that opinion - but, it's just an opinion, not a fact.

02-13-2002, 07:44 AM	#1
Xanadu Dragon NetShrine Creator & Curator Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: NetShrine WHQ Posts: 2,704	Bud Selig Speaks His Initials Again The line in red below is so full of crap that it reeks. Selig: This winter's baseball shifts only the beginning By RONALD BLUM .c The Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) - Baseball's failed attempt to fold two franchises, and ownership changes in Boston, Florida and Montreal were only a prelude, according to commissioner Bud Selig. ``This has been very painful, I know, for a lot of people,'' Selig said Tuesday. ``Now we can focus on the main event, and certainly the negotiation is the main event.'' Sounds like baseball owners expect major gains in collective bargaining, which means a long, drawn-out negotiation with the threat of another work stoppage in late 2002 or 2003. For now, though, Montreal is assured of one more - and probably just one more, season of major league baseball. In an unprecedented move, baseball owners unanimously approved the takeover of the Expos by the commissioner's office and the sale of the Florida Marlins to Montreal's current owner. The votes, taken just three days before those teams start spring training, caused immediate management shifts. Montreal manager Jeff Torborg quit and became Florida's manager, and Hall of Famer Frank Robinson was hired as the Expos' manager. Larry Beinfest, who had been the Expos' interim general manager, resigned to become Florida's general manager and was replaced by Omar Minaya, who had been senior assistant general manager of the New York Mets. Tony Tavares, who quit the Anaheim Angels last month, was appointed Montreal's team president. ``From this day forward, in terms of the decisions they make, they are on their own,'' Selig said. Selig would not assure survival beyond this season for Montreal, which joined the major leagues in 1969. He promised the Expos would be run independently and that their top young players, such as Vladimir Guerrero, wouldn't be traded. ``There have been no conversations among us about fire sales or anything like that,'' Selig said, adding that ``this is part of a plan that, hopefully, will lead to an orderly contraction.'' The only previous time a major league team was owned by a league or the commissioner's office was briefly between the 1942 and 1943 seasons, according to research by the Hall of Fame and the Elias Sport Bureau. The National League took over the Philadelphia Phillies on Feb. 9 from Gerald Nugent, who fell behind in his rent at Shibe Park and sold the team on March 15 to William D. Cox - who was banned for life by commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis that Nov. 23 for gambling on Phillies games. Never before has a major league baseball team been ownerless during a season. ``This is historical in nature and obviously unique,'' Selig said. Current Marlins owner John Henry, frustrated at the failure to get a new ballpark, set the musical chairs in motion when the group he heads was given approval Jan. 16 to buy the Boston Red Sox for $660 million from the Jean R. Yawkey Trust. Jeffrey Loria is buying the Marlins from Henry for $158.5 million and selling the Montreal franchise for $120 million to Baseball Expos LP, a Delaware limited partnership owned by the other 29 teams. The commissioner's office is lending him the difference between the prices. ``This team is ready to rock and ready to roll this year. We've just got to stay healthy,'' said Loria, a New York art dealer who bought control of the Expos in December 1999. Loria, who hopes the sales will be completed Friday, will become the third owner of the Marlins, who began play in 1993 and won the World Series in 1997. Founding owner H. Wayne Huizenga, convinced the government wouldn't help fund a ballpark, sold the team to Henry in January 1999. ``We're fully committed to the team and the Florida community,'' Loria said. Montreal drew a major league low 619,451 last season to Olympic Stadium, an average of just 7,648 per game, and Florida was 29th at 1.26 million. The Expos were last among the 30 teams in revenue at $34.2 million, and Florida was 28th at $60.5 million, just ahead of Minnesota at $56.3 million. Owners originally intended to fold the Expos and Twins, who also failed to gain government funding for a new ballpark, but a Minnesota judge issued an injunction that forced the Twins to honor their 2002 lease at the Metrodome. In the fallout of the failure to contract, Minaya became the first Hispanic general manager in the major leagues and the second minority, joining Kenny Williams of the Chicago White Sox, who is black. Robinson became the seventh current minority manager. A 66-year-old Hall of Famer who is fourth on the career home run list at 586, Robinson had been the vice president in the commissioner's office in charge of discipline for on-field misconduct. He spent parts of 11 seasons as manager of Cleveland, San Francisco and Baltimore, compiling a 680-751 record. ``This is one-year shot for me,'' Robinson said. Notes:@ Minaya was told that if the Expos are eliminated after the season, he could work in the commissioner's office in 2003. ... Selig's top lawyer, Bob DuPuy, was to testify Wednesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee along with players' association head Donald Fehr. AP-NY-02-13-02 0145EST __________________ Steve, Forum Administrator PLEASE READ: Community Standards . : ~ : PLEASE SHOP: Our Stuff! : ~ : HOW CAN YOU: Help? : ~ : BE NICE: To Your Fav Baseball Person.

02-13-2002, 09:04 AM	#3
pathogan william Blake's Innkeeper Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Brooklyn Posts: 2,828	BS I wish Minaya had stayed and Phillips had gone, frankly[as a met fan]...By the way, who taught Selig syntax, George Bush? Im telling you,these guys wont be happy until they destroy the game{remember the line we had to destory the village in order to save it?} I really think that is the "strategy" here...

02-13-2002, 10:42 AM	#7
gyb13 NS Omnipresent Brasilian Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Crazy George's playground Posts: 10,903	You mean do something kinda like they did for this guy: The Quayle2K Problem The wisdom of Dan Quayle __________________ Gustavo NDF Moderator Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. - Benjamin Franklin

02-13-2002, 12:14 PM	#10
KCBOOMER NetShrine All-Century Team Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Home of the T-Bones Posts: 11,116	I can see Selig's autobiography now: "The Man who would be Kenesaw". __________________ KCBOOMER *Buck O'Neil: The Monarch of Baseball*

02-14-2002, 07:19 AM	#14
BuzzBuzzard NetShrine's Conscience Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: The bowels of Shea Posts: 3,062	1 thread and 11 responses that are grasping for something that just ain't there. Selig could j-walk in mid-toan Manhattan and you all would be looking at it as a capital crime. Lord it is tiring. __________________ Buzzard You Gotta Believe

02-13-2002, 08:48 AM	#2
ChrisCary High and tight Join Date: Apr 2001 Posts: 1,281	I didn't thnik that load of crap was nearly as offensive as his contention that the apointment of Minaya was a "Historical day"

02-13-2002, 10:38 AM	#6
sweaver Netshrine Cleanup Hitter Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: The Mountain State Posts: 8,883	Bad mood today, Steve? "From this day forward," in my experience, is usually followed by "as long as you both shall live." Does that mean a long and storied future for the Expos franchise, or a messy divorce in a few months?

02-13-2002, 01:56 PM	#11
Skip NetShrine Vagabond Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Louisville Posts: 7,866	"The Man Who Should Be Sawed in Half"? Ok, its a stretch

02-13-2002, 06:40 PM	#12
LeGrandOrange Membership Suspended 4/11/04 Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Tacoma, WA Posts: 3,783	Even George W. Bush doesn't seem to be as quotable as Bud Selig. If he were president, would they contract Minnesota and give it to Canada? Considering how Minnesota got bypassed for the Olympic torch run, along with both Dakotas and a 4th state...I forget...Bud might just do something that rash.

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