Baseball's plan to move the Montreal Expos to Washington might come apart after the District of Columbia Council voted Tuesday night to require private financing for at least half the cost of a new ballpark.
After an 11 1/2 -hour session filled with contentious debate, the council voted, 7-6, to approve legislation to finance construction of a ballpark. But the bill contained an amendment on private financing, a provision not contained in the September agreement between the Expos and Washington Mayor Anthony A. Williams.
"We will review the amendments and the legislation as passed and have a response tomorrow," said Bob DuPuy, baseball's chief operating officer.
If the law stands, baseball's probable response is to have the team play the 2005 season at Washington's RFK Stadium, where it would be known as the Nationals, while the commissioner's office reopens the search for a permanent home for the franchise.
The Expos were bought by the other 29 teams before the 2002 season.
Council Chairwoman Linda Cropp said she was not satisfied with concessions offered by baseball that would have made the deal more financially palatable for the city.
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Pedro Martinez confirmed during a television interview in the Dominican Republic that he had agreed to join the New York Mets.
Martinez's agent, Fernando Cuza, had told the Mets he would try to work out a deal with them after the team guaranteed a fourth year, a person involved in the talks said on condition of anonymity.
The deal for the 33-year-old pitcher who helped the Boston Red Sox win the World Series will be worth more than $50 million.
New York has not announced the deal, but General Manager Omar Minaya said he was confident about the negotiations with Martinez.
Martinez, a three-time Cy Young Award winner, spent the last seven seasons with the Red Sox.
Martinez helped Boston win its first World Series title since 1918, but General Manager Theo Epstein said he refused to increase the team's offer in the last two days.
Boston's final proposal was a $40.5-million, three-year deal that contained a club option for 2008, a baseball official said on condition of anonymity. The Red Sox believed the Mets' offer was for $56 million over four years, the official said, but a Met official said that figure was not correct.
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Representatives from the Major League Baseball Players' Assn. and the commissioner's office renewed negotiations in New York toward a stricter drug-enforcement policy.
