Twins Will Play

[>TC<]

Looks like the Twins are going to have to play in 2002.

Today the Minnesota Court of Appeals voted unanimously to uphold a lower court ruling that says the Twins have to play their games in 2002, in the Metrodome, and cannot be contracted by MLB.

The Twins and MLB have already announced that they will appeal to the Supreme Court but the odds of the case being heard before ST are very slim.

Details at http://www.kare11.com
That's a link to a local TV station here in MPLS.


Good news for Twins fans!

TC

[RockieBill]

That's good news for Twins fans and all baseball fans. Every since Selig ruined one of the best World Series by making that contraction announcement, I've been doing a slow burn. Him and Pohlad ought to tarred and feathered and run out of town on a rail. I hope the Twins show up to play, though. I also hope the fans go put some butts in the seats for them, just to show the rest of the baseball world what a great baseball town Minneapolis is!

[>TC<]

I don't think you'll have to worry about the team's effort. They are young and hungry and want to show the world, and Pohlad, that they are a good team.

As far as the fans go, we drew 1.8 mil in 2001 for a team that was just getting a taste of winning. I would expect that to push 2 million plus for 2002. The only way I see that falling apart is if Pohlad starts trading off assets(players) just to get some revenge on the people of MN for throwing a wrench into his and Selig's plans.

One thing to take note of though, I really believe that Pohlad will never sell the team to Watkins or anybody else. It would kill hiim to have a new owner come in and get the new stadium instead of him. He is so bitter that he would rather take the team down than let someone else look like the hero.

Rush

[Nanner]

HEY! TC!! Good to see ya here!!!! I think I posted a couple of times on your Twins' Forum on Hyperbaseball (or was it Sleeperpicks?.... too many boards, too little time.) Hope you stick around!

I was born and raised in Minnesota, and moved to NYC 30 years ago, so I really call NY home, but I just hated what Selig and the owners (Pohlad especially) did at the end of the season, and their evil plans for the Twins. I remember Met Stadium, and seeing games there, and it just made me sick that they could actually think of doing this.... so I'm glad they'll have this season and I'm thinking you're right about the fans getting their butts in the seats.

Pohlad just seems like such a bitter old man, and the whole thing of not wanting to be shown up by a new owner who'll actually build a stadium sucks.... but I think you're right there, too. It's all so political now.

Time will tell.

[RockieBill]

I'm sure you're right about the team wanting to show up Pohlad, TC. This will definitely be their chance to do it, and in a big way.

I know you're right about Pohlad - he will never willingly capitulate. I hope I never become that bitter or greedy. One thing, though, is that the rest of us have the actuarial tables on our side.

Nanner (Hi, Nanner!) and myself discussed this at some length (OK, a few posts) in the MLB forum. There's not a lot of easy answers, but I think we all agree that if Selig was out of the way, the game would breathe a lot easier.

[Nanner]

Originally posted by RockieBill
I'm sure you're right about the team wanting to show up Pohlad, TC. This will definitely be their chance to do it, and in a big way.

I know you're right about Pohlad - he will never willingly capitulate. I hope I never become that bitter or greedy. One thing, though, is that the rest of us have the actuarial tables on our side.

Nanner (Hi, Nanner!) and myself discussed this at some length (OK, a few posts) in the MLB forum. There's not a lot of easy answers, but I think we all agree that if Selig was out of the way, the game would breathe a lot easier.

Hi, Bill!:biggrin:

Yup. I remember those discussions.

I just think it's such a shame that here's a guy (Watkins) who is all excited about owning a baseball team, and doing this really good, cool thing, and has ideas for a stadium, and he's just met with this grouchy old man who doesn't want to lose face. SORRY, CARL!!! YOU ALREADY HAVE LOST FACE!!!:angry:

Grrrrrrrrr. Don't get me started.:angry:

[>TC<]

Hi Bill ... Hi Nanner

Pohlad just doesn't get it. He has no clue that the reason no one up here wants to build him a stadium is his own fault.

case #1 He lied to the legislature and the public during the first stadium proposal when he said the Twins would give $80 mil towards a new stadium, then when the actual cotract was given to the legisaltive committee, the fine print said that it was only a loan. Strike 1

case #2 The infamous North Carolina deal. Carl said that he had signed a deal with someone from NC (Don Beaver?) to sell the team and move it, if the state didn't build him a stadium by such and such a date. The state called his bluff and it turned out the prospective buyer didn't have the funds, nor the stadium deal, to purchase and move the Twins. It turns out the whole deal was fabricated to blackmail the state into building a stadium. Strike 2

case #3 Letting the team totally go to the dogs from 1993 through 2000. We had a AAA team with a $11 mil payroll by 2000.
Attendance dives and Pohlad say that we won't support the team in the dome and he needs a new stadium to spur interest.

case #4 Contraction, Carl asks MLB to contract the Twins for a fat check, rather than try and sell the team. To this day he has never said that the team is for sale and has never talked about what kind of offer it would take.

What's amazing is that Carl thinks that he is being unfairly vilified by the media and the fans. Apparently he thinks he's done nothig wrong because he's never apologized to the people of the state or even taken responsibility for his actions.

Even though the 2002 season is going to go on, I am very concerned about the future of this team.

TC