About 1000 people showed up for a game a couple nights ago. Solid crowd for a Hopkins sporting event, no doubt - but this was for a professional baseball game. This was pretty much a typical Montreal Expos game, where players have trouble distinguishing between practice and game day. Paid attendance was 2,917, but the actual crowd was somewhere closer to 1,000. And this is the second night in a row with that kind of attendance. All season they have averaged a paltry 7,800 fans a game.
The Expos aren't the Yankees, that's for sure, but they do have some players worth watching. Vladimir Guerrero is one of the best hitters and all around athletes in the league. He has arguably the best arm in right field, and pounds pitches that are way out of the strike zone. One pitcher found out the hard way that Vladimir's strike zone even includes pitches heading right at him, as he turned on one of them and hit it out. Montreal has without a doubt the best pitcher of baseball's second half, little known ace Javier Vasquez. They have a rising star in second baseman Jose Vidro and several other top prospects.
So why don't these lazy Canadians go out and catch a game once in a while? Well, they have some good reasons. Any talent the Expos have had, has invariably bolted for greener pastures to the south. Pedro Martinez, John Wetteland and Larry Walker are a few former players who developed with the Expos only for some other team to enjoy the benefits.
In a sense, the Expos are a sort of minor league for the more free spending teams of the league. Prospects get extended playing time in Montreal, and if they turn out well, a team like the Yankees or Red Sox is ready to snatch them up with their ability to pay their high salaries. Ugueth Urbina developed into a solid closer for Montreal, thus inspiring fear in management of actually having to pay a substantial salary to someone. He was promptly traded in the middle of this season to Boston for some younger players who wouldn't put the Expos in the same situation for at least another few years.
Montreal has been in this situation for a while now, and its time for something to be done. It's a real waste for great players to have to play in front of so few fans. The team should either be moved somewhere where they'll be more appreciated, or perhaps disbanded all together. The latter option sounds drastic, but it would help with another problem with the league. Looking at the ridiculously-high offensive statistics today, several explanations have been offered for this trend, including stronger players, juiced baseballs and hitter-friendly ballparks. The one I tend to agree with is a dilution of talent due to the addition of several expansion teams. A lot of pitchers in the league now probably would still be in the minors in the past. Hitters like Bonds and Luis Gonzalez have been teeing off mostly against weak pitching.
All in all, the Expos are a disgrace, but it's not all their fault. They have a great farm system. The real problem is the huge gap between major market teams and small market teams. This winter's new labor contract has to address this to finally get some sort of parity in the league. If they can't do this, the Expos have got to go.
MJ: ouch, my back. I mean, I'm back!
What seemed unbelievable just a few months ago is now all but certain. Jordan is coming back. We would know for sure by now, but he cancelled his news conference because of last week's tragic events. But don't doubt it, he's coming back. Its almost too late now for him to change his mind. The Wizards even jumped the gun and added his name to the roster on their Website.
The question now is, how much does he have left. If you ask Jordan, he'll say he's an eight on a scale of 10, with 10 being the greatest basketball player who ever lived - himself, five years ago. Surprisingly, nearly everyone isn't giving the legend much of a chance this year.
Either way, the spotlight on Jordan is going to be tremendous. That's because no matter what happens, it's going to be a hell of a story. On one hand, Jordan could accomplish the improbable task of leading what was truly a horrible team last year to a playoff berth. On the other hand, Jordan could go the way of several fallen heroes before him like Muhammad Ali, Babe Ruth or Bob Cousy, who embarrassed themselves in their old age. There won't be any middle road for Jordan as far as the fans and critics are concerned, and he knows it.
"[The critics] are going to crucify me," he aptly notes. If he has an MVP season and leads the young Wizards to the playoffs, he is a hero of even greater proportions. If he does anything less, even if that's having an all-star season and getting the team to .500 ball, he is going to be deemed a failure. It seems harsh, but we expect great things from great players. Think of the respect Pippen has lost in just a few years after leaving the Bulls. So no matter what Jordan does, it's going to be quite intriguing for us fans.
But what is it going to be like for Jordan? It all depends on how he's looking at his comeback. If he really is driven by the "love of the game" as he has said, it's going to be great for him. He's going to enjoy playing with a bunch of young guys who will learn a great deal from him.
However, if Jordan expects to come back right where he left off - about the time he pushed off on Bryon Russell to hit the winning shot of game six - then I feel really sorry for him because there's no way that is going to happen.
His sidekick from his glory days, Scottie Pippen, who is even younger than he is, is a shadow of his former self now that he's in his late 30s. But I wish Mike the best of luck - except, of course, when he's getting dominated by his superior, Kobe Bryant.
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