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May 22, 2006
Hartman: Twins were marked for death, I swear
The Minnesota Twins stadium deal is all but done, but Minneapolis Star Tribune columnist Sid Hartman remains stuck in threat mode. On Saturday, Hartman - who has been predicting the demise of the Twins every year since the late Pleistocene - wrote that owner Carl Pohlad "would have sold the Twins after this season" if a new stadium wasn't approved. Yesterday, he followed that up with a quote from MLB commissioner Bud Selig (who Hartman has previously described as his "close personal friend") to the effect that without a stadium deal, the Twins would have been relocated: "I was nervous and we were coming close to the end. And if anybody thinks that was an idle threat, they were kidding themselves." This from the commissioner who sent a letter to the Florida legislature warning that "this current [stadium] plan provides a final opportunity for the Marlins to remain in South Florida" ... in 2001.
Selig added, in Hartman's recounting: "This is the end of a long and painful journey. I know Carl [Pohlad] has taken some hits and the Pohlad family, but there's no family that wanted to stay there more in their hometown than they did. And Jerry Bell, who literally gave his life here and all the Twins people." Literally?
Sid (Grandpa Sports) knows everybody. He was pro Metrodome 25 years ago and I'm sure he will be pro roof when the games are called due to snow during season opener.
Posted by Mark on May 22, 2006 09:24 PM
Anything Mr. Hartman says should be summarily dismissed or simply looked at as amusing. With regards to homer sportswriters, he is second to none. If he isn't on the Twins payroll, he should at least receive a lobbying check from Mr. Pohlad. He took a nice cheap shot at local legislators who voted against the bill ("Most of them don't know the difference between a baseball and a hockey stick."). What they may know that Mr. Hartman doesn't (or chooses to ignore) is the volumes of research clearly showing that a downtown stadium is not an economic catalyst. Then again, when did Mr. Hartman care about facts when he has an agenda? I would hate for him to lose his friendship with Bud Selig.
Posted by George Ebertin on May 23, 2006 11:41 AM
The thing that gets me about Hartman is that he keeps repeating the mantra that downtown Minneapolis is "in trouble" etc. Mostly because there was a shooting a few months ago by Target Center. It's insane because if you look at all the development downtown, even around the METRODOME for cryin' out loud, there's no way you can come to the conclusion that Minneapolis is in dire straits and in need of rejuvenation.
The new Twins stadium probably won't hurt things, but it's hardly needed to rescue downtown (since it doesn't need rescuing).
Posted by spycake on May 24, 2006 09:13 PM