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Contraction delay could imperil Rays
© St. Petersburg Times, The news in Montreal, at the very least, is a shade brighter. In Minnesota, compared to a month ago, it is positively radiant. The talk of immediate contraction is waning, labor rhetoric is softening and baseball fans can finally look ahead without fear of what they might see. The Twins may yet get a new stadium and the Expos may move to a new home with a new owner. Even labor negotiators have returned to the table, providing at least minimal hope that a work stoppage can be avoided. So why is it a good idea to arch your eyebrows? Because the Rays are a step closer to the firing line. It has been six weeks since commissioner Bud Selig announced the imminent contraction of two teams and, amid all the bluster and outrage, baseball owners have enjoyed some relative success. For the first time in, oh, forever, they have the players' union on the run concerning a major issue. They have Twins Cities fans and officials beating on the governor's door with proposals for a new stadium. They have congressional leaders essentially demanding the relocation of a team. And all it took was the threat of contraction. So do you think, just possibly, they might use the threat again? Picture yourself six months from now. The season is a few weeks old and you are sitting in a nearly empty row of seats at Tropicana Field. In front of you and behind you are thousands and thousands of seats with similar vacancies. Are you worried Selig is watching us? Picture yourself 12 months from now. Either the Twins have a new stadium, or they have been eliminated. Either the Expos have moved to Washington or they have been eliminated. The talk of contraction is again heating up and the Rays seem to be the first team everyone mentions. Are you worried Selig has grown weary of watching us? Whether you believe contraction is a bluff or a solution matters not. The reality is that the concept of contraction is not likely to go away, barring a negotiated armistice with players. And, eventually, the Rays are going to figure more prominently in contraction discussions. This is what happens when you have a fractured ownership group and a meager fan base. This is what happens when you have no history and little identity. This is what happens when you are considered your league's weakest link. If Selig was willing to dangle the executioner's ax over the Twins -- a team with 40 years of history, two World Series titles and past success at the gate -- he wouldn't think twice about eliminating the Rays. So where, exactly, does Tampa Bay fit in this saga? Probably halfway between the tragic plot twist and the happy ending. Let's face it, as a franchise, the Rays have hardly attained that distinguished look. The ownership group has not shown itself to be an asset to Major League Baseball and, frankly, neither has the community. Ask fans from any other city which team should follow Montreal out the door and they are more than likely to say Tampa Bay. The one thing that favors the Rays in the second phase of contraction talk is the same thing that spared them in the first: the team's long-term lease at Tropicana Field. But do not be surprised, when attendance continues to dwindle, if the Rays do not start attacking loopholes in that lease. By Selig's decree, Rays officials are forbidden to talk about the specifics of contraction. But they fully understand their position in baseball's pecking order and they recognize the team is a candidate, if not one of the leading contenders, to hear the ringing of cell phones from the legal lynch mob. This does not mean panic is in order. Baseball has yet to prove it can, or will, contract the first two teams on its agenda. But contraction has gained too much momentum, and the Rays are too vulnerable, to believe that someday the two might not collide. Maybe it will fade away as a mere rumor. Maybe Selig and Rays owners will use the threat of contraction to finagle promises from the Tampa Bay community. Maybe baseball will come after the Rays in earnest. They used to say that when you are on the bottom, the only way to go is up. Now there is also the possibility of going out.
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