Thursday, October 24, 2002

In a town like Boston, you can never have too much baseball, though it sounds like next year's season might put that axiom to the test. According to a source at the New York Daily News, Major League Baseball is considering bringing the Montreal Expos to Fenway Park for 2003 as an intermediate moneymaking move, while the cash-strapped and attendance-poor franchise looks for a new permanent home. "This could be a win-win-win for all the parties involved except the 200 season ticket-holders in Montreal," the Daily News reports. Ouch! But it's true - the average attendance in Montreal for the 2002 Expos was a pitiful 10,025, the absolute bottom of the barrel (the runner-up was the Florida Marlins, with 10,038), and with Bud Selig's plan for contracting the League shelved indefinitely as a result of this season's owner-player labor agreement, the Baseball Powers That Be need to be a little creative to shore up its failing and flailing clubs. This can only be a good thing for Boston, since the demand for Sox tickets only climbs higher with every additional season of frustration. Right now it's gotten to the point that you need to order your tickets six months before the games you want to see, and even then, it might be too late for the decent seats. Having an extra team in town playing at Fenway - apparently the home/away schedules for both teams are compatible enough for them to share the stadium - could offer baseball fans twice as many games to choose from. Granted, one of those teams won't be the Red Sox, but a steady stream of the Expos' high-profile opponents from the National League East would go a long way towards making up for that loss. When Interleague Play featured the Braves, the Phillies, the Mets, and the Marlins, it was a real thrill. It would be great to see them all again on a regular basis. I'll be watching to see how this one shapes up!