Montreal "deserves" a baseball team, but there's simply not enough political will for that to happen. Not enough will within Major League Baseball, and not enough political will in Washington, D.C. Where nobody could give even the tiniest flip about what happens north of the border. Nevertheless, there's still this:
MONTREAL -- Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre says he plans to meet baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred in New York on May 28 as part of the city's quest for a return of the sport.
In an interview Thursday with the Canadian Press that was released Sunday, Coderre said "we will show Mr. Manfred our love for the sport. I don't want to negotiate openly, but we'll clearly talk about Montreal."
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"We need a plan. We need a step-by-step approach," Coderre said. "You don't pull the flower to make it grow faster."
There’s nothing really wrong with the mayor of Montreal – of for that matter Vancouver, Portland, or Sacramento – meeting with the Commissioner.
If I lived in one of those cities, though, I would want my mayor to go into his meeting with eyes wide open, utterly aware that he’s being used as a tool, a hammer in the service of Major League Baseball’s efforts to get a publicly financed stadium for every franchise that wants one.
Ask yourself: Where would a new Expos franchise come from?
There are only two existing franchises not firmly ensconced: the A’s and the Rays. It’s highly unlikely that either of those franchises will be relocated, and everyone knows it’s highly unlikely. But to the degree that ownership can gain any sort of leverage in their efforts and negotiations for new stadiums, that leverage comes from the possibility, however remote, of relocation. Nobody wants to be the president who loses a war or the mayor who loses a sports team. So it only helps the A’s and Rays if Montreal’s a viable stalking horse.
Of course, there’s one other possibility: Expansion.
Well, I’ll believe it when one, just one commissioner or deputy commissioner or majority owner or minority owner even mentions expansion in some meaningful way. Which hasn’t happened in a long, long time.
I do believe Major League Baseball will place another franchise in Montreal before I’m dead. Then again, I’m planning on living for another 40 or 50 years.
