Expos

Baseball in Washington, D.C., can apparently do everything and anything. The repackaged Expos can sell out stadiums, cure urban blight and create revenue out of thin air. But I'm not entirely sold on bringing the Expos to our nation's capital: We're betting a lot—well I'm not; I don't pay taxes—on something that's not quite a sure bet.

I'm not sure about the team we're bringing here. The Expos made an impressive run last season, but this year they're dead last in their division. I'm even less sure about what the Expos are going to bring to the table next year. They've got a rag-tag core basically centered around Tony Batista, who has 110 RBIs and 23 homers so far this season. This time next year, D.C. will be seriously missing the quality pitching and power hitting of recently departed Expos Vladimir Guerrero and Bartolo Colon.

I'm not sure if a stadium on the Anacostia is the magic potion we're looking for. And I'm seriously not sure why $400 million plus is being spent on a stadium in a neighborhood where schools are falling apart, in a city with an infrastructure that also needs money. I'm not sure if D.C. will see a return in its investment until several years from now (possibly not even until the new stadium is ready in 2008), or if the whole gamble is going to pay off immediately (which is when we need it to).

While there are a lot of uncertainties about bringing the Expos to D.C., I know one thing at least: I sure am glad to have baseball back in my hometown.