Editorials

It never should have come to this

You couldn’t draw up a finer area for baseball. The buzz would begin near the end of February. The boys of summer were preparing to shake out the cobwebs and get back in action.

The D-backs, Rockies and White Sox made Tucson home during the month of March. As a result, we had the priviledge of enjoying the sweet sounds of baseball season — the crack of the bat, the “thwack” of the leather mitt, the roar of the crowd.

Those lazy spring afternoons were among the highlights of living in Southern Arizona. Call up a couple friends, head to Tucson Electric Park or Hi Corbett Field, put on some sun block, grab a few hot dogs, wash them down with the drinks of your choice and enjoy America’s pastime in a wonderfully intimate setting.

Sadly, these days appear to be numbered.

As we all know by now, the Chicago White Sox franchise paid $5 million so it’d no longer have to spend their springs at TEP. The Sox will head north on Interstate 10 and play spring ball at the high-profile $80 million complex in Glendale — a facility the Los Angeles Dodgers will occupy, also.

If the city of Tucson can’t find a third team that wants to join the party, the Diamondbacks and Rockies will likely follow suit — sooner rather than later. According to MLB.com, “Language in the leases of the Rockies and the D-backs allows each team to leave if there are fewer than three teams in Tucson.”

A report in Thursday’s edition of the Rocky Mountain News states that “Rockies officals have indicated if they stay in the Tucson area they will need a revamped facility, and talks have centered on a possible two-team facility in Marana, which is north of Tucson, on the way to Phoenix.”

Meanwhile, Tucson’s Triple-A affiliate — the Sidewinders — already has its bags packed for Reno, Nev.

Seriously, how does a city like Tucson (excellent weather, a metro population of more than one million, a Major League team located 100 miles to the north) struggle this mightily to keep baseball — and all the tourism money that comes along with it?

In this unpredictable financial era, can this area’s infastructure feasibly handle a situation where the Sidewinders and Spring Training both vanish?

It didn’t help matters that TEP is among the most inconveniently located ballparks in America. Who dumps millions into a ballpark and doesn’t surround it with restaurants or other attractions?

It never should’ve gotten to this point. On paper, Tucson is an ideal baseball community.

However, as every baseball fan knows, these types of games aren’t won or lost on paper.

Big Three bailout alone won’t save U.S. car industry

Congress should be highly skeptical of yet another federal bailout—this time for the U.S. auto industry.

The Senate this week is debating a $25 billion emergency loan package to pull Chrysler, Ford and General Motors off the road to bankruptcy.

The U.S. automakers are bleeding billions of dollars each quarter because of weak sales and high overhead.

Without federal aid, analysts say, the companies are in danger of running out of cash next year.

The industry is without doubt critical to the nation’s economic health.

Millions of workers and hundreds of communities rely on the Detroit automakers to keep their fiscal engines in tune.

Yet the Big Three already have been promised one $25 billion handout this fall—to help meet fuel efficiency requirements.

Now they want another.

There’s also serious question about whether the money would be enough to save the companies from eventually having to reorganize through bankruptcy filings.

The national recession could get worse in the months ahead, dragging down sales even further and driving up the automakers’ losses.

The companies also have structural problems that make their longtime viability suspect, including high legacy costs (pension and health-care benefits), inept management and out-of-favor product lines.

Federal handouts won’t resolve those issues.

Although painful, bankruptcy would force the companies to shake up senior management and confront out-of-line expenses. Industry analysts, however, warn that, unlike with other industries, the bankruptcy route could prove fatal to automakers because consumers would shy away from buying vehicles out of concern about coverage of warranties and repairs.

But at some point Congress must say no to additional handouts.

The current federal deficit and the long-term national debt are soaring.

The consequences of those trends could cripple the nation if not brought under control.

After the federal rescue of the banks, can Washington realistically turn away another vital industry?

The key difference is that the goal of the financial services bailout was to thaw out the credit markets, a move designed to help other industries, including automakers.

In contrast, the bailout for carmakers would be little more than an expensive patch, one that does nothing to resolve deeper problems within the industry.

Any money that does flow from Washington to Detroit must have tight and strong strings attached.

The U.S. automakers need an extensive overhaul, one that a simple infusion of cash won’t complete.

Reprinted from the Indianapolis Star. Distributed by Creators Syndicate, Inc.