FanHouse Montrealexpos

The Dugout would like to issue an apology. We made the somewhat ambitious attempt last month to offer previews of each and every Major League team. As some of you have pointed out, there were two teams we didn't preview.

We hope to make it up to you, starting this evening. The Montreal Expos didn't generate much hype this Spring, but last year's Rays serve as proof that anything is possible.

Sorry to slight you, Montreal fans. Your Dugout is after the jump.

When the Mets fired Willie Randolph, they also fired something much more important: first base coach Tom Nieto. A week and a half ago Jon authored Remember Tom Nieto, a pulitzer prize-quality Dugout about his exit from the big city and the ridiculousness of firing a guy when his last name is "Nieto." I'm with Jon, I wouldn't fire a guy named "Nieto" if he were in my employ, be he my stock broker, gynecologist, or street sweeper.

But to really remember Tom Nieto we have to explore who Tom Nieto is, so today, with the help of instant messenger logs from the mid-eighties and a heapin' helpin' of CGI, we explore a flashpoint in Tom Nieto's storied career: the day, the one and only single day he shared on the Montreal Expos with Terry Francona.

Remember Tom Nieto as we do, after the jump.

Remember the fun when the Montreal Expos played home games in Puerto Rico? Yeah, those San Juan to Seattle trips must have been fun. Those games were merely the writing on the wall for the end of the Expos in Montreal.

In a stroke of pure coincidence, another franchise which has had relocation issues swirling around them might soon be playing some regular season baseball in Hiram Bithorn Stadium. Is it a bad omen for the Florida Marlins?

El Nuevo Dia reported discussions were underway to have the Marlins and Mets play a three-game series at Hiram Bithorn Stadium sometime next season. With Puerto Rican stars Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado, the Mets would be an attractive opponent for the Marlins, who would be the home team.

Yet the Marlins could end up playing another opponent on the Caribbean island if the numbers aren't right. The Marlins are prepared to give up three home games only if it's financially worthwhile. Mets-Marlins games generally are among the best attended Dolphin Stadium.

I expect the Marlins to put up a small fight on this. While they wouldn't mind playing in San Juan, I'm not sure they want to give up three home dates with the Mets to play in a stadium that seats 19,000. The Expos, as a point of reference, averaged 14,222 per game in 22 San Juan dates in 2003 (they averaged 12,081 during their Montreal dates.) The Marlins however, averaged 16,919 for their 2007 home season, and just over 22,000 for nine home games against the Mets. A team needing all the revenue it can get is sure to protect itself by taking another team there with them.

Like the Expos Nationals (if for no other purpose other than irony.)

Minor League Spotlight is MLB FanHouse's look into baseball's minor leagues. But you probably figured that out already.

Between Ichiro's seventh straight season of 200 hits or more and Pedro Martinez's 3,000th strikeout in his first major league appearance in close to a full year comes a baseball story you might have missed. Don't blame yourself ... it looks like the better part of an entire country missed this baseball story that has ended right in their backyard.

The Ottawa Lynx, the triple A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies, played their final game north of the border today ... an 8-5 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays' AAA team, the Syracuse Chiefs. Next season, the Phillies are moving the Lynx closer to their backyard in Allentown, PA. This means that the Blue Jays themselves are the only team above single A ball to be based in Canada.

Minor League Spotlight is the MLB FanHouse's look into baseball's minor leagues. But you probably figured that out already.

Let's face it, the Expos had some sweet uniforms. Just look at that picture. But alas, they were not meant to be, relocated to Washington D.C. and changed over to the Nationals. But that doesn't mean we still can't reminisce about the team that was. Enter their former minor league affiliate the Ottawa Lynx. The squad set up a tribute game this weekend in honor of the Expos.

The team set up nine auctions on eBay for spots on an all-fan team that would take on a celebrity squad made up of local personalities and five former Expos, including Warren Cromartie, Claude Raymond, Rodney Scott and Dennis (Oil Can) Boyd.

Make that four. Delino DeShields decided not to catch his flight - at least according to Boyd, who called DeShields during a layover on his way here Friday, and passed along the bad news to the organizers.

The cost of a winning bid: close to $500.

The value of the ear-to-ear grins plastered on the winners' faces: priceless.

Four of them were from the Montreal area.

All and all, $500 isn't too bad an entrance fee to participate -- if you were a diehard fan of the squad, more power to ya. Now, if only they'd set up a similar venture for the Machine, a Montreal fan's life would really be complete.

{Via BBTF.}

Banzai, baby! Former Expo Warren Cromartie is now 1-0 in the squared circle, as his now famous "home run chop" helped defeat Tiger Jeet Singh, the man with the sword in his mouth, at Hustle Aid in Japan on Sunday night.

The former Montreal Expos outfielder took Tiger Jeet Singh down with a home run chop, pinned him to the mat and celebrated with his trademark cheer of "Banzai!" (...) "It was more difficult than I thought," Cromartie said. "It was a good challenge and it was great to see all those Giants fans in the crowd."

Wearing a baseball uniform that had "Samurai Man" written on the front and his old No. 49 on the back, Cromartie strode into the ring carrying a baseball bat. The 63-year-old Singh was brandishing his trademark sword but Cromartie wasn't intimidated.

"I wasn't afraid," the 53-year-old Cromartie said. "I've stood at the plate in front of 50,000 people so I know how to handle pressure."

He said he was representing all baseball players, and he did them proud on Sunday night ... I guess. Can a match between the Samurai Man and Hulk Hogan be far behind? Or will wrestling's newest superstar retire undefeated? Take a lesson from the great ones and go out on top ... I say.

Yesterday, we brought you Pete Rose sliding into second base and teaching Joe Morgan that a man wants to smell like a man in a classic Aqua Velva commercial. Today, more of Rose selling stuff ... this time, the future hit king and hall of famer gambler is hawking Grecian Formula, which keeps the gray out of your hair.

After the jump, see one of Rose's great moments which didn't involve selling anything: his 4,000th career hit while wearing the uniform of the Montreal Expos (and also see what happens when one stops using Grecian Formula.)