GaryMrMets
03-02-2002, 04:50 PM
http://montreal.expos.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mon/news/mon_news_story.jsp?article_id=mon_20020301_gamer_n ews&team_id=mon
NOTES
THE "ART" OF THE DEAL: The Expos made official Friday the long-running speculation they will swap Florida State League affiliates with the Marlins, now property of former Expos' CEO Jeffrey Loria. The Brevard County Manatees, based out of Melbourne, will now be home to the Montreal Class-A FSL club, while the Jupiter Hammerheads will become the affiliate of Loria's Florida franchise. The Manatees had been associated with the Marlins since the team's inception in 1994, while the Hammerheads, who play in arguably the finest minor league facility in the state, were run by the Expos since the inauguration of Roger Dean Stadium prior to the start of the 1998 season. The deal was rumored to have been initiated in part due to Loria's appreciation of the Jupiter complex and its proximity to the vibrant Palm Beach area, which is not far from one of his homes. Melbourne, on the other hand, is relatively isolated, and the Manatees' Space Coast stadium is decidedly short on some of the amenities featured at four-year-old Roger Dean.
Dan Lunetta, the Expos' special assistant to GM Omar Minaya, helped finalize the deal in part so he could simply help prepare for the FSL seaon that begins in just over a month. He admitted that though he had a hand in getting the agreement done, he wasn't entirely sure how or where it all began. "In the completion of the transfer of ownership [of the Expos to Major League Baseball and of the Marlins to Loria], I guess you could say it was a condition based on Mr. Loria's desire to bring the Marlins to Jupiter," he said. "That was an issue that was part of the deal." Asked whether the arrangements between concerned parties were as complex as some of those involved in the other negotiations between the clubs in the off-season, Lunetta could only shrug.
"Those were boardroom issues," he said. "Lawyers were involved in that, not baseball people."
Pitching ace and team player rep Javier Vazquez didn't mince words when asked for his opinion of the deal. Vazquez missed playing at Roger Dean as a minor leaguer by one year (he went 6-3 with a 2.16 ERA in 19 starts for Class-A West Palm Beach in 1997), but he's experienced and enjoyed the facilities during big-league camp for every year since.
"It (stinks) for the players," he said. "We've been here ... four, five years in this complex now, and all of a sudden, to take it away like that, I think it (stinks)."
But Vazquez was diplomatic when the suggestion was made that the team, overall, would be more motivated than usual to take on Florida come opening day to gain some measure of retribution for perceived injustices.
"For the Marlins players, it's not their fault," he explained. "I don't think we're here to prove [anything] to anybody. You have to perform no matter what team you're playing against; it's just the bottom line. You have to play hard whether you're playing the Marlins or whether you're playing another team."
NOTES
THE "ART" OF THE DEAL: The Expos made official Friday the long-running speculation they will swap Florida State League affiliates with the Marlins, now property of former Expos' CEO Jeffrey Loria. The Brevard County Manatees, based out of Melbourne, will now be home to the Montreal Class-A FSL club, while the Jupiter Hammerheads will become the affiliate of Loria's Florida franchise. The Manatees had been associated with the Marlins since the team's inception in 1994, while the Hammerheads, who play in arguably the finest minor league facility in the state, were run by the Expos since the inauguration of Roger Dean Stadium prior to the start of the 1998 season. The deal was rumored to have been initiated in part due to Loria's appreciation of the Jupiter complex and its proximity to the vibrant Palm Beach area, which is not far from one of his homes. Melbourne, on the other hand, is relatively isolated, and the Manatees' Space Coast stadium is decidedly short on some of the amenities featured at four-year-old Roger Dean.
Dan Lunetta, the Expos' special assistant to GM Omar Minaya, helped finalize the deal in part so he could simply help prepare for the FSL seaon that begins in just over a month. He admitted that though he had a hand in getting the agreement done, he wasn't entirely sure how or where it all began. "In the completion of the transfer of ownership [of the Expos to Major League Baseball and of the Marlins to Loria], I guess you could say it was a condition based on Mr. Loria's desire to bring the Marlins to Jupiter," he said. "That was an issue that was part of the deal." Asked whether the arrangements between concerned parties were as complex as some of those involved in the other negotiations between the clubs in the off-season, Lunetta could only shrug.
"Those were boardroom issues," he said. "Lawyers were involved in that, not baseball people."
Pitching ace and team player rep Javier Vazquez didn't mince words when asked for his opinion of the deal. Vazquez missed playing at Roger Dean as a minor leaguer by one year (he went 6-3 with a 2.16 ERA in 19 starts for Class-A West Palm Beach in 1997), but he's experienced and enjoyed the facilities during big-league camp for every year since.
"It (stinks) for the players," he said. "We've been here ... four, five years in this complex now, and all of a sudden, to take it away like that, I think it (stinks)."
But Vazquez was diplomatic when the suggestion was made that the team, overall, would be more motivated than usual to take on Florida come opening day to gain some measure of retribution for perceived injustices.
"For the Marlins players, it's not their fault," he explained. "I don't think we're here to prove [anything] to anybody. You have to perform no matter what team you're playing against; it's just the bottom line. You have to play hard whether you're playing the Marlins or whether you're playing another team."