Bob DuPuy Quotations

No decision has been made to date. The commissioner and I continue to meet with representatives of the groups and there will be an official announcement when the decision is made.

We want to make sure that the kind of ballpark we agreed upon will be built, that it can be paid for as we have agreed, that the team be able to exercise adequate control over the ballpark site, that we understand the limits of the legislative power to further rewrite contracts we enter into and that the balance of burdens and benefits agreed to by us in mediation is readdressed, since it has been seriously disrupted by the legislation.

MLB is a special, but fairly priced, family fare.

There are still concerns at both the top and the bottom. The goal would be to get a tighter range that would ensure that even more than 20 clubs at Labor Day still have a chance to compete for playoff spots, that playoff spots are based on skill and talent and blossoming stars and not just on plugging holes with economics.

There are still some fundamental economic differences. We've said all along our goal is get a lease and we're going to continue to work on it. I don't think it'll be done Friday. We're probably looking at next week.

Given Sen. Mitchell?s integrity, given his background, he was absolutely considered to be the perfect choice for this job.

From the standpoint of family entertainment, baseball remains very affordable compared against comparable entertainment. MLB is a special, but fairly priced, family fare.

I expect them to play the whole season. I expect Bonds to play the whole season, his physical limitations not withstanding.

We're optimistic it will be voted in Turin, and baseball and softball will be reinstated, ... We were encouraged.

He is interested and he's a free agent.

plans to talk to people involved with various groups he does not know. After that, we should be in a better position to make a recommendation.

Overall the first round-robin was a success. The winners of Pool B will have their hands full next week facing rested Korea and Japan teams.

It doesn't matter if it's a playoff game or a regular-season game. The umpires have to keep control of the game. Tony was warned twice.... It's a shame, but those are the circumstances.

It is our contractual right to seek mediation as a tool to convince the parties to fulfill their obligations as set forth in the contract that was agreed to more than a year ago.

I think it is very important that we have Major League Baseball in Washington, D.C..

It clearly contains conditions, restrictions and new provisions which go well beyond our previous agreements and raises a number of questions. We want to make sure that the kind of ballpark we agreed upon will be built, that it can be paid for as we have agreed.

I think we're doing much better player-wise, but I think we need to reach out to African-American fans.

I think we're all running out of time.

Today's vote is a serious setback to all those in the Washington community who sought the return of a team to the nation's capital. I regret very much that D.C. officials have failed to honor the agreement they made when they successfully bid for the Expos to move to Washington. Baseball has no choice but to pursue arbitration so the terms of our original agreement can be honored and to begin to explore whatever options are available to us.

The presence of Cuba in the tournament ensures the highest level of competition for the tournament which, for the first time, will bring together the very best players throughout the world in a single event.

We haven't secured it in other stadium deals,

We need to find a way to get the (D.C. Council) to honor the commitment it made to get a stadium built. I am guardedly optimistic that we can find a way to get it done.

While we had other options, we didn't want to lose what's been a relationship since 1990, and we think they're doing an awfully good job.

We continue to have eight groups that are very active and desirous of owning the team,

We hope that the state department comes through. We would be disappointed if Cuba didn't play.

Why would that be better? ... Look, there are always circumstances.

There are those who felt the Latin player-base community had been overlooked by fans in that election.

The NFL has a hard cap, but if you ask 20 NFL experts who is going to win the Super Bowl this year, you might get 20 different answers. If you then asked 20 baseball experts who is going to represent the American League in the World Series, at least 90 percent of them would say the Yankees and the rest would say Seattle.

We have worked very hard to accommodate the requests from the Mayor and the Council that changed the terms of the agreement that brought the Montreal Expos to Washington. Because we believe in the future of Baseball in the nation's capital, we have signed a lease that honors the 2004 agreement, while conforming to the emergency legislation that the Council passed last month.

I'd like to have a vote on it at the November [owners'] meetings. There's no reason why we can't announce who we intend to sell the team to in conjunction with signing the lease. But it's very important that we sign a lease contemplated by the stadium agreement. We continue to negotiate and hope that this will quickly be resolved.

These are economic issues that should get resolved. There are creative solutions to every problem. Hopefully between the lending institutions and the city, we'll be able to find creative solutions.

We are growing increasingly concerned about the District's ability to meet the agreed-upon December 31, 2005 deadline, by which date a number of critical tasks in the Baseball Stadium Agreement must be completed,

We are not discussing alternatives because we are hopeful and confident we are going to get approval.

This will be a tremendous opportunity to showcase one of the great cities in America and one of the great ballparks in Major League Baseball. And what better place to have our first World Baseball Classic finals than in a city and with a team that has such strong international roots and international outreach.

We've continued to meet and talk, probably on a daily basis, with the commissioner and with members of the committee, ... Several of the candidates have come in over the last couple of weeks and have gone down to mlb.com and have spent some time down there continuing their due diligence. Again, I see no reason why we can't make an announcement by Labour Day.

We want to stay in Washington. We're very pleased with the reception that people in Washington gave to the team. We're continuing to work with the mayor, we're continuing to work with the council and we're hopeful that we can get it done.

We remain guardedly optimistic and are looking forward to receiving a positive response to our reapplication, hopefully within a matter of days.

We're meeting IBAF and IOC delegates into an attempt to regain baseball's Olympic status.

There have been discussions about beginning bargaining that were interrupted for the World Baseball Classic. I would expect the sides to meet to establish an initial timetable shortly.

commercial issues related to the land that's being delivered and the development of that land.

I urge the City to accept this compromise. We all have worked long and hard and it's time to give the Nationals a new stadium and a strong future by bringing this matter to a successful close.

We're important to ESPN. We fill up a lot of space for them in the summer. We're their programming in the summer. If you look at 'SportsCenter,' most nights in the summer, it's, what, 70 percent baseball.

is sort of cool. Our fans are becoming, well, I don't want to say 'obsessive.' That sounds negative. But they're avid.

They all have significant strengths, all have significant financial wherewithal. Every one has support within the industry and outside the industry. The strengths of the groups make this a very difficult decision.

We are studying the language in an effort to understand its impact on our existing agreements and consulting with experts for advice concerning its ultimate impact on the future of Major League Baseball in Washington. We are interested in reviewing the analysis of this legislation made by both the (District) Office of the Chief Financial Officer and that made by the Office of the Attorney General prior to reaching our conclusions.

We are very hopeful that ... Cuba will be allowed to participate on the terms that have been negotiated. It is critical that Cuba participates. Cuba is an important international program, the defending Olympic champion, and ought to be in the World Baseball Classic.

We are embarking upon the mediation process. By terms of the contract, those proceedings are confidential. Other than to say we are moving forward, I won't have any substantive comment.

November does not work at all. Not a single one of the 16 baseball federations involved expressed the view that November was a better time.

Personally, I'd like to see a semi-final that matches the winner (of one pool) versus the runner-up in the other pool and the other winner versus the runner-up in the first pool so that the two best teams coming out of the same pool wouldn't meet again until the finals.

There are a number of segments of the marketplace that I'd like to see us continue to reach out to and Latins is one of those. Kids from the ages of 12 until the time they get out of college are an area we need to focus on. They're great through Little League, and then through high school we tend to lose some of them.

This is an acknowledgment of an entire area of the world and a heritage and multiple countries. This is not a racial thing. The Latin American influence in baseball has been pervasive.

In arbitration, all prior concessions by MLB would be revisited.

The new owner will be involved at every stage. Of course, if changes are made at the new owner's request and they add to the costs, it would be the new owner's responsibility.

That's far too narrow. The Commissioner wants the panel to look at it and take it as far as they want to go.

I regret very much that D.C. officials have failed to honor the agreement they made when they successfully bid for the Expos to move to Washington. Baseball has no choice but to pursue arbitration so the terms of our original agreement can be honored and to begin to explore whatever options are available to us.

The Commissioner is going to interview the groups in the next week to 10 days that he hasn't spoken to yet. And then we hope to move forward on the decision-making process.

It's not their prerogative and it would depart from their practice during the year,

Tony Tavares is very competent. He's doing planning for next year. Jim Bowden has done a wonderful job, and so has Frank. We're very confident we're going to turn over a very healthy and vital franchise to a new owner.

We're very pleased they're coming to the table, and we hope we can achieve a program that works.

We will be prepared to select ownership as soon as the lease obligation is done.

It's like rain delays, ... That's in the province of the commissioner's office. It's to prevent someone from getting what they perceive is an advantage. The roof is designed for weather, not for competitive advantage. It's not like watering the baselines.

It's like rain delays. That's in the province of the commissioner's office. It's to prevent someone from getting what they perceive is an advantage. The roof is designed for weather, not for competitive advantage. It's not like watering the baselines.

I assume physical constraints notwithstanding, Bonds will play the whole year.

Amphetamines have been part of the game for a long, long time. To, after half a century, deal with this issue, get it as part of the agreement, is a major step forward.

The matter remains on the commissioner's desk. He has given no indication that he's prepared to issue a formal decision,

The difficulty with the lease remains a troublesome issue, ... I've been in touch with all eight of the ownership candidates, and we're trying to move the process forward as rapidly as possible so the eventual owner can plan for the coming season.