The Baltimoronica

Newhan Update

David Newhan is coming down the home stretch of his rehab assignment at Bowie. Only a few more days till the rosters expand and we can make a run at the pennant. NEWHAN.

B-Robs, Be Dialin

What the hell got into Brian Roberts?  Topping a career high in homeruns in the first month of the season?  Ridiculous.  5'9" and killing the ball.  I'm 6'2" and the best I could do is get hit by a pitch if I were lucky.

Brian Roberts demonstrates the pluck and determination that the Orioles are going to need to really be effective this year.  I really like B-Rob.  In all honesty, I wasn't much on him or Jerry Hairston when they were both competing for the second base slot.  I still think this is a Brady Anderson style fluke, since Roberts has been prone to streakiness, but I like the attitude and the spirit he's bringing to the team.  He reminds me of BJ Surhoff in his determination and hustle.  While team loyalty is largely shot to hell in the free agency era, it's good to see a player like B-rob embody the Oriole way and grind it out.

Speaking of BJ Surhoff, give him some ABs.  And David "Rags" Newhan, too.  I mean, I know you want your sluggers batting out of slumps and these guys have been relegated to role-players, but they need to be in the games.  BJ Surhoff is ultimately one of the best baseball men.  His intensity and hustle and reliable bat need to see the lineup more.  And Newhan Kenobi was one of the shining points of last years doldrums.  I love seeing them in the lineup.  They are intangibles that add a lot to the team.

Further, General Lee desperately needs to reasses his use of the Steves.  Coming into the season, I expected alot out of the Steves.  I wanted to see them really buttress a bullpen and puts us in a place to win games.  But Steve Reed looks old and Steve Kline is a raging idiot.  Regardless, I think they have to be used in more situational roles.  With Todd Williams demonstrating good stuff (continuing on last year's good effort) and with Bauer and Parrish in the pen, I think the Steves need to move into situational outings.  Granted, I think we expected more out of Kline, but he's a dick and hasn't shown anything brilliant. I may have to post a rant about Kline's idiocy.  Whatever the case, Lee needs to reasses what we can expect from those goofs.  Meanwhile BJ "The Switch" Ryan = pure excitement.

Be dialin'

The Orioles are Back!

Somebody call Webster’s Dictionary, cause “irony” has been redefined. 

In a response full of more shit than a Dundalk Port-o-John, Blogger Josh Kami...somethinganother has declared that “DC sucks ass.” Perhaps. But coming from somebody who lives in—or at least, fronts for—Baltimore, that’s like the pot calling the kettle a black hole. 

I wonder, if the Expos had moved to Norfolk or Memphis or Las Vegas, would you people be spitting as much venom as you’re spitting now? The fact that the Nationals are playing in RFK and that RFK is old is irrelevant. In three years, they’ll be playing in one of the most unique stadiums in the majors, and people will be going to see them. New stadiums bring fans—hell, people are going to see the fucking PIRATES right now. RFK is no different or no crappier than any other 60’s or 70’s era multi-purpose stadium, whether it be Busch in St. Louise or old Three Rivers in Pittsburgh or even that cathedral to modern sports…Memorial Stadium in Baltimore.

 You know, the one that’s a parking lot now? DC is such a crappy sports town that even though the Redskins left the stadium of their glory years ago, it’s still standing. Who needed it? A FUCKING SOCCER TEAM. (Hey, does Baltimore have a soccer team? I mean, San Jose does. I think Denver does. Huh…good question, right?)

I think it’s funny that even a transient, rather passive city as far as sports are concerned can support four teams whereas Baltimore only too recently got past their solo effort. The Caps may only have a few die-hard fans, but people do show up and they have packed in 20,000 fans at a time and been to a Stanley Cup Final. And passive fans from NOVA, DC, or MoCo can’t be blamed for the passivity of an entire stadium. 45,000 seats, and not all of them are occupied by people who drove up from the other Beltway. Orioles fans have been passive ever since they moved to Camden Yards, routinely getting out-shouted by visiting Yankees and Red Sox fans and clapping when they’re told to and using every other sound gimmick under the sun to make the stadium seem lively. Sure, the Caps have to do that too—but don’t blame 5,000 fans for the deficiency of the other 35.

The same goes for the Bullets/Wizards, who are again proving that if you put a good product on the floor, people will come. Just like people are going to see basketball in Memphis, TN right now. Which brings me back to my original point: if les Expos had gone anywhere but DC, would anybody in Baltimore care?

My guess is no. Instead of saying je t’aime  or even bon voyage to the former Expose, Baltimorons have launched a vendetta against DC sports in general that is just another manifestation of a limp-dicked inferiority complex. Yeah, you saved the Union when the redcoats sacked DC, but I thought it was funny fifty years later when you wanted to join the rest of us treasonous bastards down here in the southland in the revolt and Mr. Lincoln had to “imprison” your legislator to keep you from seceding. Hmmm, THAT would have been good for the ole Union, huh?

If DC’s mascot should be the crack rock, then Baltimore’s should be the crack whore. Actually, make that the DEAD crack whore. To be lectured by somebody from a city with one of the highest murder rates in the country, THE highest STD rate, and a metropolitan area disintegrating around a bunch of tacky theme restaurants in an “inner harbor” that had to be reclaimed from the ghetto it’s surrounded by, well…

Call Webster’s, cause the Oriole’s are back! And so is tragic irony.

Booing during the National Anthem

D.C. Baseball...

So, in the first weekend of D.C. baseball, RFK didn't burn down. I think we should applaud that fact.  Of course, we are applauding the over one hundred thousand attendance.  More than the Expos drew in Montreal and San Juan at home games all year long.  Hooray for les Expos.  Of course, what we are sorely overlooking is the fact that the Saturday and Sunday games only drew around 35,000 folks.  Far short of a sellout while the slugging Nationals stormed the mediocre Snakes.  How the hell can you not sell out your first weekend in the bigs?  I mean, I know Vinny Castilla is a goddamned bum who hits about.178 outside of the Rockies, but c'mon.  Show up for your crappy team and their crappy stadium.

Just wait til the Expos retreat to Olympic Stadium form.  They'll look just as bad as their new mascot.  Poor Youpi.  We hardly knew ye.   And what a stupid ass mascot they have ushered in.  An Eagle with an oversized head.  I think they should have made a crack rock their mascot.  They could have called it "Rocky" or "Cracky."  And they could have WWE superstar The Rock as the mascot.  We could all go around with our "Cracky" t-shirts.  In a few years we could see some homeless people on Constitution Avenue with a filthy "Cracky" t-shirt and we can all share a good chuckle about the irony.  Oh that "Cracky."

Following up on Blogger Frick's comments, I feel that D.C. is a horrible sports town due to the transient nature that he discussed in his post.  People come from all over the place to that shithole that is D.C. in order to labor under their favorite partisan banner.  But when it comes to sports, they can't rally around a common banner.  Should we be surprised?  I mean, if you come from Boston to promote your liberal agenda and get pork for Taxachussets, then you will probably hold pretty tight to your local loyalties.  And if you are a sports fan, you'll most likely cling to your Boston Red Sox or WNBA franchise.  As most political scientists who study the subject observe, most civic dedication mirrors or reflects on sports preferences and dedication to a region.  Why would a Pats fan start rooting for the Deadskins?

Further, D.C. sucks ass.  As the illustrious B.Y. Fischer commented to me the other day, the handling of the Nats mirrors just about every way D.C. goes about public policy. Step the first:  Bitch about a problem that doesn't exist.  Second:  Exacerbate the situation with shitass amateur politicians.  Third:  Bungle.  Fourth:  Put up a glossy front.  Fifth:  Fix a problem different than the intended problem with a mediocre to poor public policy solution.  Sixth: Abandon the policy.  Seventh:  Bitch for another handout.

D.C. sucks.  And yes, the asshole D.C. area fans have helped exacerbate the problem at Camden Yards.  Over sips of their chardonnay, quietly watching the game and complaining when they need to cheer, they've killed a once rowdy baseball town.  Granted, the Birds have sucked ass in recent years, but this trend has been in place since Memorial Stadium was given up on.  How the fuck can you tear down a memorial anyway?!  But you have your team, so fuck off now.  I don't want to see National hats at Orioles' games.  And I sure as shit don't want RFKer booing the Oh" during the national anthem.  Not fickle? They booed during the national anthem.  In our nation's capital.  Booing during the national anthem.  Just remember, chodes, that anthem was written AFTER your shitass town was burned and our city saved the Union.

Meanwhile up North, the Orioles kicked the living shit out of the Yankees.  The Boss is ready to kill every coach and player and I'm pretty sure Kevin Brown beat the crap out of an unexpecting water fountain.  Sure, some of the fans are still asses, but maybe those days of the Outside Insane Asylum aren't over just yet.

Where's My Nick Johnson Bobblehead?

Several black men were seen in and around the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial stadium wielding bats the other day, but unlike times before, they weren’t there to steal your car.

After more than thirty years baseball has returned to DC, and as somebody from the DC area that has always moonlighted as a Baltimoron from May until September—and even, a few times, till October—the occasion has left me feeling more than a little ambivalent. On the one hand, I have a very real connection to Washington, DC established and re-established during countless cherry blossom festivals, Metro rides, museum visits, and drinking binges. My connection to the city of Baltimore is tenuous at best and limited in geography to the Camden Yards/Inner Harbor area, save for a few trips to Memorial Stadium as a kid and a few trips to Fells Point as an adult. 

At the same time, there is absolutely nothing connecting me to the new Washington Nationals as a team, whereas I have shared countless afternoon and nights with the Baltimore Orioles. This leaves me in a bit of a quandary: do I support a team I care nothing for in a city I love, or a team I love in a city I know nothing about?

The story of my own connection to baseball is, like so many other aspects of my life, all over the map. As a military brat carted from base-to-base, country-to-country, I was perhaps more aware than most kids of what it is to be an American. My first memory of America’s national pastime was Kirk Gibson’s home run in the 1988 World Series—the image of Gibson at bat despite the fact that he could barely stand; the long fly ball to right field; his limping gate as he rounded the bases pumping his right arm while Chavez Ravine shook under the weight of delirious fans; all of this is seared into my memory. 

I became a Dodgers fan because of that, and after a trade from the New York Mets, Daryl Strawberry became my favorite player. In 1992, however, I moved from Northern Virginia to Holland for three years and spent what should have been my most formative little league years riding a bicycle and looking at tulips. I got into baseball cards though, and Frank Thomas became my favorite player before I had ever seen him swing a bat. The White Sox, by default, became my favorite team.

In 1995, I returned to Northern Virginia and DC. Frank Thomas was still my favorite player, but the O’s became my team. Going to the ballpark to see the O’s was different then it had been when I was kid, because they were playing in the much friendlier and less intimidating Camden Yards, a marked improvement over Memorial Stadium no matter how much history was attached to that park. My neighbor had season tickets and always invited my father and I, so every Sunday the O’s were at home I was usually in Baltimore to see the ballgame. 

This happened to be good years for the O’s. One less interference by some little shithead from New Jersey or one less error by Roberto Alomar, and the O’s would have advanced past the Yankees and the Indians in the ALCS and I would have seen them play in the World Series. Instead, I was at Camden Yards for both decisive, series-ending losses.

After that, the O’s front office made a series of horrendous moves that sent the team into a decline they’re only now coming out of. Cal retired. There were rumblings that either the Expos or an expansion team were going to come to DC, and that it would be the death knell for the Orioles. 

Bitter Orioles fans have taken an attitude of sorts that seems to say, Ok, you got your way—not shut the fuck up and leave us alone. Suddenly, people from Northern Virginia and Montgomery County, Maryland, are getting blamed for being passive, fair-weather fans who somehow turned Camden Yards into a suburban snoozefest. They were never Orioles fans, the Baltimore puritans say, they were just watching baseball because they figured they were supposed to.

Is Fairfax County, Virginia the end of civilization as we know it? Probably. But however big our SUVs may be, however many TGI Fridays we can fit into however many shopping malls as we throw our money around—none of it can be blamed for attendance dropping at Camden Yards or the passivity of the fans who do come to the park.

Some of the biggest Orioles fans I know are from Virginia. Some of the biggest Orioles fans I know—myself included—routinely battle two hours of traffic each way to get to a ballgame. Many of us still will; some of us won’t. But those who wanted to bring baseball the nation’s capital shouldn’t be met with howls of derision from Baltimorons.

It’ll never work¸ they say. DC fucked it up two times before, what’s to stop them from fucking it up again? Washington: First in war; First in peace; Last in the American League.

A lot’s changed since the 70’s. In baseball, and in DC.

American’s National Pastime, like so much else about America, is market-driven. The game is looking to expand even further beyond American borders than it already has, and is looking to stay financially viable. It can’t do that when there are teams based in cities that care little for them or don’t have the financial resources to support them. 

Washington, DC is one of the most affluent markets in America. Fueled by behemoth suburbs like Fairfax and Montgomery counties, the Washington area has the disposable income to support a baseball team. The simple fact is that Washington today is a far cry, economically speaking, from Washington 33 years ago. 

The Baltimore puritans like to use this very fact to suggest that Washingtonians are fickle; that they’ll switch their allegiances at the drop of a hat. That may be true, but it has to be remembered that Washington and Baltimore are two very different cities. Baltimore is a traditional blue-collar northeastern city along the lines of Boston, Philly, and New York with a very well defined sense of identity. It’s the city of the old Colts, of the Orioles, Natty Bo and going downy oooocean on Memorial Day.

Washington, by comparison, is about as far as you can get from a traditional northeastern city. It was designed by a Frenchman who never intended for it to be a place of residence, but rather just as place of governance. It wasn’t even founded till nearly 1800, which puts 150-odd years behind the other colonial cities. Washington’s identity can seem to change every four-to-eight years, and its “locals” aren’t anything of the sort, but are actually transplants from every other part of the country and the world.

The city’s one all-consuming sporting passion is the Redskins, but even that can get muddled. On Sunday afternoon bars that are usually run of the mill watering holes turn into sports bars that represent the origin of their owners. Rhino’s in Georgetown becomes an Eagles bar; Politici on the Hill becomes a Steelers bar; and Bridges in Fairfax puts on a display of humanity at its utter worst—or, it becomes a Cowboys bar. 

After the Redskins, Washington will always be fickle about its sports. The novelty of the Nationals may indeed be fleeting, but that isn’t to say that I don’t wish them the best. I’m still going to be an O’s fan, as will many other Washingtonians, and I predict that both teams and both cities will prosper.

Because it’s not all about market economics. Teams succeed and teams thrive when they make good personnel and management decisions. The O’s have recently built a team around exciting players like Melvin Mora, Miguel Tejada, and others, and because of it the seats are filled with boisterous fans just like they were back when we almost made it to the Series.

This weekend, they swept the New York Yankees in front of a full house. Just down the road, the Nationals—either because of the novelty of baseball in RFK again or because it was Nick Johnson bobblehead doll day—played before over 115,000 people in their opening home stand. Combined, over 220,000 people went to take in America’s Pastime in Washington and Baltimore. 

Will it work out for both teams? I don’t know. I just know that having fans in the seats is better for baseball than playing in an empty stadium in another country. If the Detroit Tigers play well, people will go see the Detroit Tigers. The same goes for Kansas City, Anaheim, Baltimore, and Washington. Put a good product on the field, and it doesn’t matter that there’s another team thirty miles down the road.

So let’s play ball and see what happens.

Go to war, Miss Agnes

No, I don't know what it means, either.  But baseball is back in Baltimore.  And from the bobbling of Earl Weaver and Jim Palmer bobble heads on my desk, it's time to bloggle.

Random Musings:

-  I recently went to a sporting good store in Greenbelt, Maryland.  For those you not familiar with this charming D.C. suburb, it has about the same appeal as Beruit except with less manners.  In any case, I was patroning the local Modell's or as I like to call it "My One Stop Shop for Throwback Jerseys and Fitted Caps that are Ten Sizes Too Big."  I guess Modell's has more charm.  Regardless, I was taken aback by all the crappy Washington National gear adorning the walls.  Aghast, I looked over the rows and rows of Brad Wilkerson jerseys.  Who in the name of Rex Barney's ghost is Brad Wilkerson?  And do they expect me to pay MONEY for a Cristian Guzman jersey?  I asked the store manager, just out of small talk, how the Nattys crap was selling.  He told me that they couldn't keep it on the shelves.  I laughed as I commented that I had a throwback Nationals hat they could peddle from the mid-90s...when they were called the EXPOS.  Amazing what moving from one dumpy stadium, a crappy uniform and fans more socialized for hockey and watching paint dry to another crappy stadium with a new crappy uniform and fans more socialized to riot on the banks of the mighty Anacostia will do for a team.  Lest we forget, these are still the Exposition de Montreal.

Further, I asked the manager how the Os gear was selling.  Not at all was the reply.  For shame.  The Melvin Mora jerseys sat dust covered under the shadow of Guzman for President shirts and pennants.  The manager asked me if I was a National fan.  I proudly told him I was born and raised in Baltimore.  He nodded pathetically.  I quickly added that I went to college in Philly and we don't put up with this fickle fan garbage and that if he trotted Santa Claus in the store right now, I would boo him when I was done checking my oil with a Nick Johnson away jersey.  The clerk told me that he would still support the Os because they were in a different league.  I collected my softball gear and obligatory Orioles cap (I have a problem) and retreated to Laurel, where the beer is cold, toothless women are chic, crackheads aren't elected mayor, and where the Bowie Baysox reign.  Yeah, two small market teams can co-exist.  I'll be at the Baysox-Erie game.

-  Having gone to opening day and almost falling asleep in the upper deck, I was reminded of something that is sorely missing from baseball.  Tacky.  What the hell happened to tacky?  I remember reading an article about this goof down in Texas who beats a drum.  He is so proud of his drum that he had the late Johnny Oates sign it when they had a fan fest years ago.  So, Texas has a drum and that's a big deal?  What happened to the cranberries from Major League who sat by their teepee in the reservation with their head-dresses and war paint?  Have we grown so P.C. we can't do tacky crap at baseball games?  Hell, we can't cheer without being prompted by the sign on jumbotron, and even then people are seldomly paying attention.  For the love of Ripken, people weren't even standing when the Os were going for their last out on Opening Day!

While I know the reading audience of this blog has about the same range as if I opened my window and shouted to my fellow Laurelians (Laurelites?) and I also feel blogs are a sad cry for help, I will take this opportunity to say, bring back the tacky!!  I know my fellow bloggette and I are planning a mighty campaign to mock and ridicule...er..support Sir Sidney Ponson.  So, bring it back.  Bring your floppy hats and homemade jerseys.  Bring your beatass old cooler and sign made on the back of a case of beer.  Cheer even when the signs don't tell you to!  Trust me, somewhere you will make a kid's day.  And that will go a long way.  Baseball is about tradition and somewhere there is a tradition of a guy without his shirt on, waxing philosophical about the finer communistic leanings of certain officials.  I certainly hope that spirit isn't completely gone.

- Speaking of Sir Sidney, I am using this space to officially launch my campaign to have Sidney's new nickname be "Aruban Justice."  There is a serious lack of good nicknames out there.  Miggie? B-Rob?  B.J.?  Those are all very cliche.  But "Aruban Justice" and its corollary, "Sir Sidney's Royal Chain Gang" that's just damned funny.  Get onboard with this.  I guarantee it will catch on.

- And another thing, we haven't done enough to celebrate Chuck Thompson.  The Orioles dropped the ball. Fix that.

Until next time, campers...

aint the beer cold

Chuck Thompson 1921-2005

Thanks for all the memories, Chuck. You will be missed.

A Declaration of Independance

"When in the Course of sporting events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the regional bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of MLB and of MLB's Commissioner entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all cities are created somewhat equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of A Pennant. That to secure these rights, teams are instituted among Men, deriving their revenue streams from the wallets of the entertained."

- The Declaration of Washington Baseball's Independance, 27 September in the Lord's Year of 2004

Fear not gentle citizens of Baltimore baseball! I come before you not to disparage my courteous webhost and kind soul Bryan Fischer, but he is terribly wrong. The coming of DC Baseball was a foregone conclusion, something bound to happen as the cyclical nature of sports continues on its way (cue "Circle of Life" music from Lion King).

In a time where baseball is regaining its status as America's pastime, and a time when America is more than ever focused on its capital city, the good District should very well have its team. And they will enjoy their baseball for several years even. Three years, the team will thrive off of the popularity and novelty of having a team so nearby. The fact that DC's executives will most certainly and shrewdly offer season tickets in their future ballpark only on the basis of having season tickets at terrible RFK Stadium will ensure great attendance even. Three more years the team will thrive off of the "We Have a New Stadium" boost that catapults even terrible teams in awful cities like Pittsburgh to the top of the attendance charts. But what then? A transient city with no lifetime baseball fans? It's going to be like Camden Yards only much, much worse.

Does DC remind you of a town that will graciously and lovingly support their losing team through struggling years of rebuilding? Do you think thousands will pack the stands each night as the Senators or Expos or whatever try to build their farm system and make the revenue to sign free agents? No. But what DC will do is flock to beautiful Camden Yards the first time they sniff a playoff run, which will be in the next two seasons.

And what then? Can all of DC get tickets? No, because Baltimore fans have purchased these hot commodities. Only 25% of Baltimore's ticket holders come from DC. And let me give a small lesson in Sports Marketing. There are two kinds of people who attend a sporting event. Fans and Spectators. Fans have a genuine interest in the team they are rooting for, the team you are rooting against, the game, etc. Spectators come because they like flashy lights and nachos and $6 beers and impressing clients. Fans won't change teams they are watching, regardless of proximity. You think Bostonites and Skankees fans move to Baltimore and become O's fans? Hell no, the come and wear their stupid jerseys to Camden Yards because it's so much nicer than their parks.

Spectators probably figure to be about half of the 25% estimate, so say Baltimore loses 13% of its attendees next season right off the bat, but then has acquired a starting ace, a slugging corner outfielder, and a quality bullpen arm. What happens when the Baltimore team is in the playoff hunt come early September when we finish up the season with 7 of our last 10 games coming against New York and Boston (I get an early peek at the schedule for next year, suckers...). I'll tell you exactly what happens. We sell more tickets than ever. And DC "Spectators" learn a valuable lesson. Buy your tickets early next year like Fans, or don't bother showing up, because we'll be just fine and you'll be at a sports bar watching the Orioles on our new regional TV network.

Oh, I forgot to tell you? MLB is working on setting up a regional sporting TV network that will give a very comfortable set-up to the O's. You think we won't sell the advertising if we are playing good baseball? Better think again. Baseball generates local revenue above all else, and I'm sure that Dick's Sporting Goods and Mars Supermarkets will be more than happy to advertise on our new network, especially when we kick them a couple of suites to hang out in as perks.

So let's sum this up. We have: Best Ballpark in Baseball, new regional television network with perks, assured sale price of Orioles to keep team from being sold at bargain basement pricing to an uninspired ownership group, and likely a cash payoff immediately to offset any temporary effects of having a new team next door, and the most important thing of all - a team on the rise.

They have: A Team That Isn't Any Good, lovely RFK Stadium, A New Stadium in ANACOSTIA.

Guys, the sky isn't falling, DC isn't going to put barbed wire fence along 95 North to keep Fans from coming up, and I could personally do without those Spectators who are just coming up because its the only thing around and just want to talk on cell phones and do business from the box seats. The Yankees can't keep this pace up with that salary and no World Championships (George is one losing postseason away from totally blowing the organization apart) and the Red Sox are an aging team. Everybody come buy some season tickets, and get front row seats to watch the AL East's slumbering giant awake for some great baseball in the coming years. And Bryan - John McGraw was a cheater and a thug.

You Can't Kill an Oriole... or maybe you can

So it would appear that it has been a great 50 Years for the Baltimore Orioles and that the best of the franchise is distinctly in the past. Why the pessimism? No, its not the Orioles 7th losing season. It's not the inexperienced manager pretending to be Joe Torre (without the winning or the sound decisions). No, its not even the 'closer of tomorrow' Jorge "Mr. Excitement" Julio. Its the Expos.

One little word short for Expositions. That beleaguered team captained by former Oriole great Frank Robinson. Baseball's experiment into the world of the Québequois. What was once a well attended team at Parc Jarry became less than popular thanks to the bizarre 'Stade Olympique'. Its really amazing from an architectural standpoint but it makes for one of the worst and strangest ballparks in all of the majors. That being said, it now appears more than likely that 'Nos Amours' , les Expositions de Montréal are moving in next door.

This is yet another brilliant move by MLB. Anyone who can't see how this is going to have a negative effect on the Orioles is blind. The Orioles have broadcast rights all the way down to the South Carolina border. They are the only team in the South East besides Atlanta. Putting another team in Baltimore's backyard is practically a death sentence. They are going to lose huge amounts of TV revenue, merchandising and ticket sales. I know what youre saying, "But Bryan, TV revenue can't have that big of an impact.." News flash, the Yankees make a HUGE portion of their money from TV. (YES network anyone?) By putting the Expos in DC, they are basically cutting off a HUGE portion of the Orioles market. All the people from VA that drive up to Baltimore to see the O's are gonna forgo the extra hour or two of drive time and go to DC, if not for convenience than for the novelty of a new DC team.

To all the DC baseball people, I cannot with good conscience condone giving DC a team at the expense of mine! To Mayor O'Malley, your support of DC baseball is a thinly veiled wet kiss to the Maryland DC suburbs of Howard and Montgomery County that you will need to curry favor with to run for governor,a race that you will lose to Doug Duncan in the primary. Your attempt to do this is pretty sickening considering YOU ARE THE MAYOR OF BALTIMORE. Note to Marty O'Mayor: you already have alot of problems and losing the constituency that elected you in the first place isnt how political futures are made.

See, my father is somewhat ambivalent in all of this and I'll tell you why. First, he was a hard core Colts fan, the real Colts, the Baltimore Colts, so he is somehwat jaded about pro sports in general. Second, he is spoiled. He has seen more Orioles World Championships than I have seen winning seasons. It's for this reason that I am particularly angry. The proud legacy of the Orioles has been squandered and mismanaged to the point where now that serious rebuilding appears to be occurring, it is probably too late since the revenue rug is about to yanked out from under the Warehouse.

Cash payments. This is a bad idea. First, it implies quite loudly that Peter Angelos is right that the O's will be hurt and MLB is paying him to keep quiet. For all of your stupid litigation Pete, you had better not take this one lying down. Second, so MLB pays the O's a huge lump of change. How does this help them in the long run? How does it make up for the fact the Orioles have LOST a huge section of their market, FOREVER?!? It doesn't. End of story. Stop whining DC fans. I'm not telling you to root for the Orioles like all you shitheads told me to just suck it up and root for the Redskins after the Colts left. If you dont like the Orioles, then you dont have to watch them or root for them.Besides, you had TWO Senators franchises, both were beyond bad and played to empty houses. Great track record guys. Giving you a team would make me happy , but again, not at the expense of MY team.

Let's face reality here folks, Baltimore without the rest of the Upper Southeast, VA and NC, is small market. There are 700,000 people in the city and about the same in the county. and about the same in the whole rest of the state. This isn't NY or Chicago. And to cite Chicago as an example, both of their teams have wallowed in mediocrity for YEARS. Curse or no curse, in this day and age of media dollars, the Cubs and White Sox hurt eachother with their split market. NY has about a ga-jillion people in and around it and can easily support two teams, even though the Mets have barely resembled a baseball team lately. The more I hear about the Expos the more I realize I will probably never see an Orioles World Championship in my lifetime. Crooks stole the The Old Baltimore Orioles of the 1890's that won 4 straight pennants with the likes of Willie Keeler, Hughie Jennings and John McGraw. The moved to NY after being bought by out of town investors :::coughEdgarBennetWilliamscough:::. It would be 50 years until we regained a little of our dignity. The Bard of Baltimore, Ogden Nash wrote one of the greatest baseball poems here who's title I have stolen and paraphrased for this marathon entry. Let's hope and pray that our Orioles that were so joyously welcomed back to Baltimore aren't run into the ground by crooks in Milwaukee and DC.

Yes, you're a dipshit.

Have any of you ever watched a Yankees game on YES? It's an odd experience, that. The post game analisysts are the most biased I've ever seen - and that includes the Baltimore hataz on ESPN. Fatty McGoo's shutout was merely tossed aside, "He wasn't that good," pontificated the fifty-ish Yenta looking clubhouse reporter, "Our guys helped him out tremendously."

And then they spend twenty minutes yapping about Mussina - who lost, mind you - and his excellent performance on the mound. Since when does a complete game shutout matter less than a seven inning, two run outing? If you're watching YES, it does.

But anyway, the VA/DC baseball movement is quickly turning political. According to a story in the Post this morning, one of the most powerful legislators in Congress, Northern Virginia's Tom Davis (R), is going to play hardball with the MLB and Angelos.

"Davis said one of his key messages to Major League Baseball -- that it would be unwise to bypass the Washington region as part of a deal with Angelos -- should help both the District and Northern Virginia, which is proposing a ballpark beside Dulles International Airport.

"There may be repercussions if you bypass the Washington region," Davis said, noting that baseball "understands everything involved," namely baseball's exemption from federal antitrust laws. It's that exemption that allows Commissioner Bud Selig and fellow owners to control where teams move, just the kind of clout that helped leave the region without a team since the Senators left in 1971."

Politics makes strange bedfellows. The two top state legislators in Virginia, both Republicans - President Pro Tempore Senator Chichester and Speaker Howell - both came out against any public funding for baseball. But the Governor - a Democrat - desperately wants the Expos. So we have Davis and Warner fighting for the team. So, will Angelos be able to count on Erlich, et al for support? Stranger things have happened...