WASHINGTON NATIONALS/MONTREAL EXPOS
華盛頓國民隊/蒙特婁博覽會隊
Length of streak:
The longest playoff drought of any club in the
four major pro team sports, 26 years
26年沒有進過季後賽，在四種職業運動裡最長的紀錄
Last winning season:
83-79, 2003
最近一次勝率超過五成的球季
83勝79敗，2003年
General managers:
GMs
Kevin Malone 1995
Jim Beattie 1996-2001
Omar Minaya 2002-2004
Jim Bowden 2005-
Five bad moves
五個不對的決策
1. The post-strike fire sale.
Greed and stubbornness by the owners and players wiped
out the end of the 1994 season, the playoffs and the
best-in-baseball Expos' chances for a World Series run.
Rather than push forward with the best young core of talent
in the game, ownership ordered GM Kevin Malone to dump as
many star players as possible in a week's time. The end result
was a disastrous series of moves that ripped apart a loaded
team while also failing to replenish the farm system. Marquis
Grissom, Ken Hill and John Wetteland were jettisoned for
pennies on the dollar. The Expos let hugely popular Canadian
star Larry Walker walk without even offering him arbitration,
ensuring that the team received nothing in return.
1. 達成協議後的火速拍賣
老闆和球的貪心及頑固徹底的消除了1994年球季的尾聲，這個尾聲是
進入季後賽以及博覽會隊在棒球界裡最佳贏得世界大賽冠軍的機會。
老闆要求GM Kevin Malone 儘可以在一週的時間內將許多的明星球員交易出去，
而非將最棒及有天分的球員們在比賽去安排出來。 最終的結果就是一連串將
滿載的球隊撕裂開的災難，同時也在補足農場系統的部分也失敗了。 為了獲得
些許的錢Marquis Grissom, Ken Hill和John Wetteland被像貨物般的丟下船。
博覽會隊讓廣受歡迎的加拿大球星Larry Walker連提供他仲裁都沒有就離開球隊，
確保了球隊什麼都拿不到！
2. Trading Pedro Martinez for Carl Pavano and Tony Armas Jr.
Of all the cheapskate moves engineered by Montreal's owners,
the trade of Martinez to the Red Sox ripped out the hearts
of Expos fans. Just 26 years old and coming off his first Cy
Young Award, Pedro still had the best years of his Hall of
Fame career in front of him. Instead, the team settled for
Pavano and Armas, two talented young pitchers whose careers
were derailed by constant injuries.
2. 將Pedro Martinez交易出去以得到Carl Pavano和Tony Armas Jr.
在博覽會隊老闆所有吝嗇決策中，將Pedro Martinez交易至紅襪這件事
最傷博覽會球迷的心了。 才26歲及剛得到他第一座賽揚獎，Pedro
Martinez仍然有著最棒的道路往著名人堂前去。 取而代之的是，球隊
選擇了Pavano和Armas，兩個天分豐富但是投球生涯都被經常性傷痛所阻
礙的投手。
3. Jeffrey Loria engineering a blackout.
Early in the Expos' history, owner Charles Bronfman relinquished
broadcast rights in southern Ontario to the fledgling Toronto Blue
Jays, as a favor to Canada's newest team. The move would prove
disastrous, giving the Jays the platform they'd need to become a
large-market power while forever condemning the Expos to small-market
purgatory.
Heading into the 2000 season, owner Jeffrey Loria dealt a similarly
cruel blow to the franchise's fortunes, though with far less
honorable intentions. Loria supposedly shopped the team's TV
and English radio rights around that year, but found no takers
at his asking price. Rather than chalk up broadcasting rights
as marketing costs, the Expos went dark in every medium except
French radio that season, dealing a devastating blow to the
team's already teetering fortunes. Given how conveniently Loria
managed to bail on the Expos and reap huge rewards from the franchise
sale, then extort the taxpayers of Florida into a lucrative
taxpayer-funded stadium deal years later, it's easy to speculate
that Loria sabotaged the Expos' final days in Montreal, with tacit
approval from his accomplice Bud Selig.
3. Jeffrey Loria engineering a blackout
在博覽會隊早期的歷史中，老闆Charles Bronfman將在Ontario南部
轉播權讓給了才剛發展的多倫多藍鳥隊，當做是幫在加拿大新建立球隊的一
個忙。 這個決策證明了它多糟糕，給與了藍鳥隊一個可以變成大市場球隊
的平台，同時是一個永遠責難著博覽會隊變成小市場球隊的煉獄。
進入了兩千年球季，老闆Jeffrey Loria對於轉播權做了一些不完善的處理，
雖是有著令人不尊敬的目的。 Jeffrey Loria推測能在那一年左右將電視和
英語廣播轉播權利買出去，但是發現沒有願意接受他開出的價錢。 在那個
球季除了法語廣播之外，在其他媒體上都變黑了(就是沒有轉播啦)，對於球
隊搖搖欲墜的財務狀況更是一個災難性的決策。 Loria所在的職位給予了他
許多的方便，Loria試著在博覽會會隊上汲取一些東西和從轉播權利金中收集
一些金錢，在幾年後，又在佛羅里達納稅人的身上及有獲利的球場中取得利
益。 對於要從他的共犯來看出Loria是在破壞博覽會隊在蒙特婁最後的日子
是很簡單的。
4. Trading Grady Sizemore, Brandon Phillips and Cliff
Lee for Bartolo Colon.
Before the 2002 season, the Expos were identified as a prime
candidate for franchise contraction. When the team surprisingly
stayed in contention for a few months, GM Omar Minaya made a
what-the-heck trade, acquiring Colon from the Indians. The go-
for-it deal was a rare, pleasant surprise for Montreal fans, used
to seeing their team trade away established stars. But the bounty
sent to Cleveland in return was considered a king's ransom at the
time, a short-sighted trade made under duress, even for an ace
like Colon. Six years later, Nationals fans can only fantasize
about Sizemore and Phillips playing alongside Ryan Zimmerman,
with Lee fronting the starting rotation.
4. 將Grady Sizemore, Brandon Phillips和Cliff Lee交易出去以獲得Bartolo Colon
在2002年球季之前，博覽會隊被為是在轉播權利金合約上最佳的候選人。
在球隊停留在爭論期間的這幾個月內，GM Omar Minaya做了一個如地獄般
的交易，從笑臉人那邊得到Colon。 這個呆呆向前衝的交易並未嚇到博覽會
的球迷，他們經常看到球隊將已經形成的明星交易出去。 但是從送到笑臉人
那邊所回饋回來的是一次一筆大量的贖金，一個短視近利的交易在強迫下形
成了，雖然是得到了像Colon這種Ace級的投手。 六年過後，國民隊的球迷
只能幻想Sizemore及Phillips和Zimmerman一起在場上打球，有著Lee在先發
投手輪值中。
5. Failing to re-sign Vladimir Guerrero.
Another future Hall of Famer, another unceremonious departure.
The Expos supposedly offered Vlad a contract extension before
he hit free agency, though the offer came in well below market
value. The Angels snapped him up, getting a new franchise player
in the process. OK, Nats fans,now imagine an outfield of Sizemore,
Vlad and Lastings Milledge, with an infield anchored by Zimmerman
and Phillips.
5. 無法再簽下Vladimir Guerrero
另外一位未來名人堂的球員，另一個突然的分離。 博覽會隊應該要在他去
FA試水溫前就提出延長合約，雖然他們提出的合約應該比Vlad市價低很多。
天使隊突然抓緊了他，得到了一個特別的球員。 是的，國民隊的球迷正想
像著外野有Sizemore, Vlad 和Lastings Milledge，內野有Zimmerman和
Phillips的陣容。
Lowest moment:
Maybe you can trace the franchise's downfall to 1991,
when a 55-ton concrete beam crumbled off the façade of
Olympic Stadium and crashed onto a walkway. The Expos
played their last 13 home games on the road, failed to
reach .500 for the first time in five years, failed to
reach 1 million in attendance for the first time since
the Big O opened and added another chapter to their ill-
fated history.
球隊最低潮的時候：
或許你可以回溯到轉播權賣不出去的1991年，當55噸的水泥橫樑
從Olympic Stadium這棟建築物的正面崩潰並且跌落到人行道上的
時候。 博覽會隊最後十三場在別人家主場的比賽，在近五年內第
一次沒法達五成的勝率，也在Olympic Stadium開幕後第一次不能
達成百萬觀眾到場的紀錄，同時他們在病痛般的球隊歷史上又新
添了一章。
Favorite whipping boys:
Bud Selig, Claude Brochu, Jeffrey Loria,
Tom Runnells, Hideki Irabu, Brad Fullmer.
最該打的小孩們：
Bud Selig, Claude Brochu, Jeffrey Loria,
Tom Runnells, Hideki Irabu, Brad Fullmer.
Notable quotable:
"This was a team that had to be moved. We knew it had to
relocate. Baseball didn't want to own it anymore. This was
a team owned by baseball that we were anxious to get rid of."