By KEN LIPSHEZ
Staff Writer, New Britian Herald

01/21/2004

More wood chips for the smoldering central Connecticut
hot stove .. Rock Cats owner/general manager Bill
Dowling made the kind of profound statement Friday
morning that should resonate in the hearts of those
who find Eastern League baseball at Willow Brook an
integral part of their lives.

"Coleman (Levy) and I regard the team as a public
trust and we intend to continue giving back to the
community," Dowling told the Middlesex County Chamber
of Commerce.

If anybody thinks the statement is just rhetoric,
consider that Rock Cats employees spent part of their
holiday spooning out food at local soup kitchens.
Consider that any funds realized at Friday’s luncheon
went directly to the Rock Cats Foundation, an arm of
Dowling’s empire that pumps money into local
charities.

This is why New Britain won the Bob Freitas Award at
the December Winter Meetings. The award is symbolic of
a team’s commitment to the communities it serves.

Dowling had the 350 or so at the breakfast in
stitches. In making a point of how many Eastern
Leaguers have gone on to major league futures, he
said, "I’m a lawyer. That means I lie a lot and my
lips move but you can see a lot of future stars in New
Britain." ..

One reason Dowling and Levy are so upbeat is reflected
by what EL president Joe McEachern said to the
gathering. McEachern noted that franchises like the
one the Rock Cats investment team forked over $6.5
million for are now going for $10 million to $15
million.

He noted that cable TV conglomerate Comcast paid $14
million in a recent transaction. He also said that
stadium naming rights in Harrisburg, Pa., have been
granted to Commerce Bank to the tune of $3.5 million
over 15 years. The deal, announced Jan. 7, had both
the city’s mayor and bank’s CEO praising the virtues
of the pact. Are you listening, New Britain? ..

CONTRACTION DISTRACTION: Twins G.M. Terry Ryan was
asked twice about whether the contraction issue that
threatened his club two years ago remains a sore
subject.

"If you start putting Minnesota in that sentence it
will make me cringe," Ryan said. "I hope the Twins
would be out of that thing. Number one, I think we
proved we can do our job and do it with a reasonable
payroll. Number two, we’re on our way to getting a new
stadium and if we can get that done, I don’t think
you’ll have to worry about the Twins being a
contraction possibility anymore."

Ryan said the teams that are struggling through red
ink which haven’t had new stadiums erected could be
targets for trimming the major league baseball roster
by at least two clubs in the near future.

"It’s safe to say that any of the cities or states
that are building ballparks will not be part of it.
That’s why building a new ballpark is high on our
agenda," he said. "I don’t think there’s any question
Montreal’s an issue.

The Expos are owned by Major League Baseball. There
were home games in the last two seasons where they
were outdrawn by the Rock Cats on a given night. Ryan
feels that the situation must be corrected.

"It’s a conflict," he said. "Here they’re going to
play 25 games in Puerto Rico. It’s an issue with the
players because of the amount of time they play on the
road."

When the contraction issue came up two years ago, some
concern shrouded the Rock Cats. If the Twins were
contracted, the franchise possibly could have been in
limbo without an affiliate. Contraction cuts much
deeper than simply shortening the standings.

"I don’t ever like to see anybody lose their job and
when you start talking about contraction, you’re
talking about major league players, major league
staff, major league front office, about 125-150 minor
league players and six minor league cities," Ryan
said. "It wouldn’t just entail Montreal. It entails
Ottawa (Triple-A), Harrisburg (Double-A) and their
Florida State League team. There are contracts to be
dealt with there so it’s a huge issue and I don’t even
like to hear the word."

He noted that the players’ union wouldn’t react kindly
to the dissolution of 40 jobs per contracted team.

"You can’t contract just one club," he said. "You
almost have to do it in twos or fours. I think it
would be a horrible thing for the industry myself."

Ken Lipshez can be reached at
klipshez@....



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