Posted on 07/15/2003 6:24:09 PM PDT by Petronski
BY RONALD BLUM Associated Press Jul. 15, 2003 8:33 p.m.
CHICAGO (AP)—
The Montreal Expos could play their entire home schedule in Puerto Rico next season under a plan being considered by major league baseball.
To raise revenue, the commissioner's office moved 22 of the team's 81 home games this season to Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan. Baseball still hasn't come up with a permanent solution for the Expos, who were bought by the other 29 teams before the 2002 season.
While baseball's goal is to have a decision by September, the sport's top officials say they don't feel bound by any deadline.
"Puerto Rico has made a proposal to play all 81 home games in Puerto Rico, and it has not been rejected," Bob DuPuy, baseball's chief operating officer, said before the All-Star game Tuesday night.
Northern Virginia; Portland, Ore.; and Washington, D.C., are all trying to land the Expos on a permanent basis, but baseball owners want to have a complete financing plan for a new ballpark in place before making a decision.
DuPuy said no particular plan was a front-runner at this point, either for a long-term solution or for 2004.
"They could play 81 games in any one of a number of locations," he said.
Montreal players have complained of their constant travel this season. They were 32-18 on May 25, then went 8-14 on a trip that ended June 19. They entered the All-Star break 49-45, four games behind Florida, the NL wild-card leader.
"It's been very hard," said second baseman Jose Vidro, the NL starter in the All-Star game. "Me being Puerto Rican, I would love it to be in Puerto Rico, but to tell you the truth, I don't care where we play next season as long as we play 81 games in the same place"
Approval of the players was necessary for baseball to move the 22 home games, and it may be more difficult for management to gain consent for two different home sites next year. Gene Orza, the No. 2 official of the players' association, declined comment.
The Expos are averaging 12,206 for home games, the lowest in the major leagues. They are averaging 11,133 in Montreal and 14,216 in Puerto Rico, where they have played 16 games.
You berate Canadian Socialism, but when was the last time the U.S. Taxpayers had to give the Canadians $20 BILLION dollars each year?
When was the last time a Republican President gave away 1,000's of acres and infrastructure worth BILLIONS of dollars, paid for by the U.S. Taxpayers, to ingrates in Canada.
When was the last time a Republican President ignored the FIRE-BOMBING of a U.S. Naval Convoy and the destruction of millions of dollars of U.S. Taxpayer's property by Canadian rioters led by the president of the Marxist, Canadian, Teachers Union?
The answer is never, but Bush has done all of this and more in respect to Puerto Rico!
The only mistake bigger than allowing the North Koreans to have a nuclear reactor would be giving one to Puerto Rico.
Imagine a nuclear cloud being pushed towards the East Coast of the United States by a hurricane.
Imagine that cloud being as big as the one that Willie walks around with his head in all day.
LOL!
Do you have any idea how hopelessly Liberal and thoroughly Socialist Puerto Rico is?
Puerto Rican statehood would put 2 additional Liberal, Democrat Senators and 4 to 6 Liberal, Democrat Representatives in the U.S. Congress.
That would pretty much put our country permanently in the hands of corrupt, Liberal Democrats.
Is that what you want?
There would be 2 more Liberal/Democrat Senators out of a total of 102. The Democrats would own a permanent majority in the Senate, for all time.
It would be a disaster for the Conservative movement in the United States.
Just think about it.
Yeah, but when you're a Jet, you're a Jet all the way,
From your first cigarette to your last dying day.
How can letting in an entire state populated with 4 million Socialists, that are presently leeching $20 Billion dollars from the rest of us each year, be anything but insane?
You believe that adding 2 more Liberal/Democrat Senators and 4 to 6 more Leftist Representatives to a Congress that's already governing Left of Center will somehow miraculously deliver a Republican victory? LOL!
Why would we want Puerto Rico as a state, anyway? They bring nothing to the table. They have not a damn thing to offer the rest of us. They never will. They have no natural resources. Nada!
Puerto Rico is a breeding ground for terrorists. Look at their recent actions on Vieques. A Navy convoy was fire-bombed by 4 Puerto Ricans in ski masks and the Puerto Rican authorities just let them go.
4 Protesters Held For Allegedly Throwing Molotov Cocktails at Navy on Vieques
Puerto Rico will immediately begin to receive a net $3 Billion dollars more in HAND-OUTS than they pay in taxes, from the rest of US, under statehood.
The only kind of Republican victory we can look forward to, by allowing millions and millions more Liberal/Socialist/Leftist/Marxist Democrats into our country, is a victory for RINOs not Conservative Republicans.
Yeah, that'll be happening in our lifetime. There's all kinds of historical precedent for that. Not.
Yeah, maybe the Marxist Senators and Representatives from Puerto Rico will vote to let their new-found political power be diluted.
I'll bet they'll vote to let all of the Liberal states split into 4, first. ;^)
I am slightly biased because my wife is from San Juan, but I can guarantee you that if Puerto Rico becomes a state, you will see two more Democratic Senators and several more Democrats in congress. $20 Billion is alot of money, but honestly it is better than having the Democratic party control the agenda (more than they are already trying to control it
That is an interesting point that I had not been aware of before. I thought that the Clinton's had bought and paid for their continued support for the democraps and the Clintons. I seem to recall that the Clintons facilitated some type of amnesty program for some PR cons in time to get the PR vote for Hitlery in NY. The PRs seem to have no loyalty at all.
We don't owe Puerto Rico a damned thing.
We can and should just, unilaterally, give them their independence and cut them off. Yank their statutory citizenship. Period. End of this sad Socialist experiment.
What in the world was the point of dumping $100's of billions of the U.S. Taxpayer's hard-earned dollars into Puerto Rico in the first place? I mean besides delivering the stateside Puerto Rican vote to the Democratic Party?
Never mind. I answered my own question. ;^)
I understand that sombody asked the members of the team where they wanted to play. Some of the responses were:
"I like to be in America!"
"Okay by me in America!"
"Everything free in America"
"For a small fee in America"
"Automobile in America,"
"Chromium steel in America,"
"Wire-spoke wheel in America,"
"Very big deal in America!"
We give them $20 billion dollars each year and they grease our politicians palms, from both Parties, with it.
The Democrats receive the lion's share of those campaign contributions. The largest single donation to Clinton's '96 re-election campaign, $250,000, came from a Puerto Rican that owned a single, Medicare patient dependent hospital in Puerto Rico.
Medicare payments to the island were subsequently increased.
The Bush family has been collecting campaign contributions on the island for the past 20 years.
Jeb Bush picked up a cool $150,000 on his last trip down there. The Bush brothers just happened to support the Navy's withdrawal from the U.S. Taxpayer owned base on Vieques after that. Just a coincidence. ;^)
You're right. Clinton pardoned Puerto Rican terrorists as one of his last Presidential acts.
Bush one-upped Clinton there. Bush fails to prosecute Puerto Rican terrorists at all.
Wouldn't want to jeopardize Patacki's chances by a Puerto Rican voter backlash in New York over something silly like that.
Wouldn't be prudent.
What the heck, the Puerto Ricans didn't try to murder anyone important on Vieques, just some U.S. servicemen and women.
It's not like U.S. military personnel will vote Democrat over it. So what's the point of prosecuting Puerto Rican terrorists when it could cost the Republican Party votes and campaign contributions?
Thousands and thousands of federal jobs have been sent to Puerto Rico and we receive not a damn thing in return from that island of ingrates.
Thousands and thousands of private sector jobs have been lost to communities stateside from companies that save 90% of the taxes on their profits, because they moved those jobs to Puerto Rico. Again, the U.S. Taxpayers receive not a damn thing of any value from Puerto Rico in return.
On the contrary, they riot and fire-bomb our military personnel and destroy millions of dollars of U.S. Taxpayers property.
That's gratitude? That's loyalty?
"They will never vote for statehood anyway."
Who gives a damn what these blood-sucking leeches vote for? Let them get out there and stand on their own two feet and see what it's like to work for a living.
One million families in Puerto Rico receiving $20 BILLION dollars each year is $20,000 in cash handouts and services per family.
Wake up America! This is insanity! This is financial, economic suicide!
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