Distinguished Senators, the Washington Nationals Blog That Is Great

Sunday, June 27, 2004

Time for News

We had a good time at the O's game. The contest itself was pretty uneventful - the Braves scored two in the first and three in the ninth, and that's all they needed. The Orioles have been getting better performances from their starters lately, but it hasn't translated into many wins. They wasted a really impressive game from Matt Riley today.

The most memorable part of the excursion came on the way back to the car. Apparently there was karaoke going on at Max's after the game, and a probably-drunk guy was singing "House of the Rising Sun." And he was singing the HELL out it. His voice kept us company all the way back to the garage.

Meanwhile, things are afoot in the DC baseball world. Primer has a roundup of columns arguing against Loudoun and for downtown. The Washington Post today ran the first in a three-part series about the whole situation. I'm still not linking to the Post, but it's worth checking out. Today's installment went in depth into Milwaulkee's new stadium fiasco, and discussed at some length what a crook Bud Selig is. Check this out:
. . . Baseball had entered its second year of ownership of the Montral Expos, having taken over the team in February 2002 after a failed effort to "contract" Montreal and another franchise.

The strategy had grown out of desire to lop off baseball's weakest teams.

The process had started with a long list of potential victims.

None of them was the Milwaukee Brewres.
Bud Selig just got served.

The article includes a list of of the new parks since Camden, including a breakdown of the costs. Turner Field is the only park since 1992 to be built without public funds, though only 3% of SBC Park in San Francisco was paid for by the people.

Tomorrow's article will focus on the plight of the Expos and the infamous antitrust exemption, and Wednesday's will cover the relationship of Bud and evil rat-creature Peter Angelos.

In really astounding news, MLB announced the relocation announcement will not be made at the All-Star break. I'm angry but not surprised. There's a brief but interesting discussion at the Primer - are they trying to up the ante on bids for the Expos? Are they trying to hold out until the Spos can be contracted? Or are they just that disorganized? I think the first possibility is most likely, but the third is sound as well. If David Stern ran baseball, I think the Expos (at least) would be a lot better off.

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