Marlins Relocation?

Yesterday Marlins President David Samson announced that Bud Selig had given his ballclub the OK to begin the relocation process. Immediately, Las Vegas and Portland became front-runners for the future home of the Marlins because of their status as finalists in the Expos-to-DC sweepstakes in 2003-2004.

This is bad all around. It's bad for the city of Miami because it never looks good to lose a sports franchise. It's bad for the handful of people that still call themselves Marlins fans because they're likely turned off from baseball for good (wouldn't you be if your team had three owners, two major fire sales and a cruddy stadium all in less than 12 years?). It's bad for baseball because it a) clearly shows that Miami was a poor choice for expansion, b) turns off fans that liked the Marlins in Miami, c) forces baseball to re-visit contraction talks which are always ugly, and d) means that Tampa Bay will be going down this road soon too. With respect to the latter point, it is questionable if there are enough cities left in the country that can sustain a major league club. Las Vegas is definitely one, Portland may be one (although I doubt it) and Charlotte might be another. After that, I don't see where else teams can relocate to and expect to be better off. San Antonio? Maybe but they've never expressed an interest. New York is the only other market in the country that already has baseball and still has the demand for more. Steinbrenner and Wilpon would never allow it without a guaranteed cut of the profits, however. So baseball is left with a quagmire that will make them focus on issues "c" and "d" from above. One Florida team might get to move but the other might not because there might not be anyplace to move to which means that team would get the executioner's kiss.

The only party that might get something good out of this is Jeffrey Loria, the Marlins owner. He might get an offer to be bought out or he might get to relocate his franchise to a city that is willing to foot the bill on a new stadium, guaranteeing him millions. The Devil Rays' owner, Stuart Sternberg, has just re-shuffled his front office and made Wall Street investment bankers the top executives in his ballclub. To me that means one thing -- he's read the writing on the wall and is preparing himself for contraction. Why else would he hire a team from Goldman Sachs to run his club besides to value his assets, get his financial house in order and then sacrifice himself at baseball's chopping block.

Baseball's collective bargaining agreement states that contraction is off the table until 2007. Count on the D-Rays, and potentially the Marlins, to be the top teams on Death Row.