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CNN Live At Daybreak
Baseball Owners Looking to Chop Two of the 30 Teams
Aired November 07, 2001 - 07:49 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Let's pause and enter the anthrax free zone, if you will, this morning's look at how life goes on. The Major League Baseball season is over, but Phoenix will have one last party today, celebrating the Diamondbacks World Series triumph.
Baseball owners are already looking to next season and they are voting to cut the number of teams. Two of the 30 teams will be chopped. Now the question is which will the two be? Five teams are being mentioned. Let's go to the experts, Scott Ferrall, ESPN Radio.
SCOTT FERRALL, ESPN RADIO: Hey Miles, I - you know, it's ...
(CROSSTALK)
O'BRIEN: We'll take a pause there on who the expert is because people obviously ...
(CROSSTALK)
FERRALL: I know very little.
O'BRIEN: All right, let's talk about - let's name the five teams real quick and go through why ...
(CROSSTALK)
FERRALL: Well I think it comes down to - the bottom line is everybody knows that Montreal is you know finished and you know, you can look at the situation up there ...
(CROSSTALK)
O'BRIEN: Put a fork in Montreal.
(CROSSTALK)
FERRALL: It's just completely bleak. I mean going to a game in Olympic Stadium is like asking to get the flu. No one goes. It's horrific to see, but they have some of the great young players like Blottie Garero (ph). He's just a star that everybody's going to be after.
(CROSSTALK)
O'BRIEN: All right, we're showing the Twins when we're talking about the Astros.
(CROSSTALK)
FERRALL: Well, the Twins ...
O'BRIEN: That was a bit of a surprise here. I mean you know this is the winners of the '91 series.
(CROSSTALK)
O'BRIEN: (INAUDIBLE) this is a great story franchise.
FERRALL: Yes, that was the first thing I thought of was Hanna (ph) and Kilibrue (ph) and their great history and then the two championships. Their lease is up -- I believe that Bud Selig and his friend Mr. Paulette (ph) eventually it's going to come down to - he'll make more money from major league baseball if they are one of the two that are contracted. And I believe they will be - the Twins, there's a year-lease on their dump that they play in, in Minneapolis.
Let's face it, that is not a baseball park. That is a mall - I don't even know if it's the echoes, balls hit off the roof and end up being ...
(CROSSTALK)
FERRALL: The players are running around. I think they'll lose it. But they have the most talent pitching. Milton, a lot of guys on that team - Joe Maze (ph), Radkee (ph), in the end I think Paulette (ph) is going to get the money from baseball and that's what it's about - cash flow business, money -- nice after that great World Series.
Hey we had a terrific time. It's the greatest thing in the world - great series (INAUDIBLE) wonderful for New York. Phoenix gets a chilling, oh the unit and everything else. Now we're going to eliminate two teams because we're running low in the chill - unbelievable.
O'BRIEN: All right and we should point out for those who don't follow baseball so closely, (INAUDIBLE) Milwaukee and ...
FERRALL: Right.
(CROSSTALK)
FERRALL: When you go back into baseball over the years, it's been decades of growth. You know through the '60s and '70s all of these teams kept popping up. It's the same thing in other sports. Look at the national hockey league. They got 30 teams, about five of which know how to win games and make money and in the NFL, they know how to do it. Most of these leagues like the MBA and the NFL put caps on it. In baseball it's the most ridiculous ...
O'BRIEN: Yes. FERRALL: Absurd amounts of cash that these guys get. (INAUDIBLE) what happened last year with the kid A-Rod. They gave him so much cash and then he went out and his team lost like 110 games - it was like yes, nice season slick. He had a great season, but now you're going to see Blottie Garero get that money and big stars. I think baseball is finally tightening their strings.
O'BRIEN: All right let's run through the other teams very quickly. Tampa Bay and Florida - both Florida teams in jeopardy here and the Marlins won the World Series in '97.
FERRALL: I think a lot of rhetoric, but politically the ramifications in Florida will keep at least one of those teams there. I think both teams stay. They built that trop field, Tropicana Field. It's an amazing ballpark - too bad, two people go every night to watch the two teams that are playing and that's it.
On the other side in Miami, it's just - it's insulting that South Florida has treated this baseball team that way. They won a championship or should I say bought a championship. We don't know anything about that in New York, though, spending a lot for team.
(CROSSTALK)
FERRALL: I think eventually Miami, you know, you'd think they'd go, but it'll be Minnesota and Montreal.
O'BRIEN: Looks a lot like a video rental, they return the team after ...
(CROSSTALK)
O'BRIEN: And finally, Oakland on the list. That's a bit of a surprise. There's a - there's a team with some history.
FERRALL: I think it'd be bad for baseball to lose the As. If you go back to Charlie Finley (ph) and everything about the - when they were in Kansas City moving to Oakland - I think it's bad for baseball. Keep both teams in the bag. Get rid of Minnesota and Jesse Ventura can talk about bad politics ...
(CROSSTALK)
O'BRIEN: All right so, bottom line, your prediction - Minnesota and Tampa Bay?
FERRALL: I think those two go Miles.
O'BRIEN: All right, there you have it. You're on the record. After all ESPN Radio.
FERRALL: You're beautiful.
O'BRIEN: The experts.
FERRALL: All right (INAUDIBLE) Paula, I'm big in that. PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: You are and you know what, we're going to hold you to all your predictions.
FERRALL: I think it's incredible.
ZAHN: Well thank you very much.
FERRALL: I think they're sailing on that thing.
ZAHN: Well I'm not going to let you.
(CROSSTALK)
ZAHN: Come back - will you make some more predictions ...
(CROSSTALK)
FERRALL: All right, I'll try. I always make ...
(CROSSTALK)
FERRALL: Outside of here - I like it here though. They have the sticky buns in the back.
(CROSSTALK)
O'BRIEN: Friends, is that what this is?
(CROSSTALK)
ZAHN: Those are - those are two days old, those sticky buns.
(CROSSTALK)
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