1. MLB owning them.
This all started with an e-mail a got from Bryan:
What was the biggest trade of of the 2004 baseball season? Obviously the Nomar trade to the Cubs, with the Sox getting Mientkiewicz and Cabrera. I asked myself how it was possible that both the Red Sox and the Cubs could get such a good trade. Then I thought about how great of a story, and how good of ratings the World Series would have gotten in 2003 if the Red Sox played the Cubs.
Obviously Major League Baseball had to know about that right? What if it were to happen again. Who got the best out of that trade? Well, in the beginning one would have said the Cubs got the better of the deal, with the Sox second, and who got the worst of that trade? The Montreal Expos. Who runs Montreal? Major League Baseball.
So what we have here, is Major League Baseball facilitating a trade in which two of the top money making teams would become better. Just something to think about.
I remember hearing the same suspicions a few years ago when the Sox traded for Cliff Floyd. The Expos gave the Marlins Graeme Lloyd, Mike Mordecai, Justin Wayne, Donald Levinski, and Carl Pavano for Floyd, Wilton Guerrero, Claudio Varagas, and some cash.
Less than a month later, the Expos traded away Floyd for Sun-Woo Kim and Seung Song. The Red Sox got Floyd for a song! Literally. Sorry, couldn't resist.
I don't think the people running baseball are competent enough to rig trades to make a better World Series. They've screwed up everything with the Expos, so it's not too much of jump to assume that they simply screw up the trades.
Whatever our opinion about how legitimate thesetrades were, MLB is moronic to put itself in this situation. A league owning one of it's teams is a severe conflict of interest, so baseball is asking for controversy, mockery, and questions of integrity of the game.
I don't remember the details of how MLB ended up owning the Expos/Nationals, but it should have never happened. They should have gave the previous owners a few months to sell the team, and if there were no buyers they should have closed the team down and send all the good players to the Red Sox.
2. Moving to D.C.
Washington DC does not deserve a team. They support the Redskins (a little too much), but they don't support the Capitals or the wizards. A team in Washington will also hurt the Orioles. I know Peter Angelos is saying this just to get some money out of MLB, but he does have a point. There's a lot of people who live in DC and Virginia who drive up to Baltimore for a game (I was one of them). Put a team in DC, less people will drive to Virginia. Baltimore games were also on local television in Virginia. Baltimore television money would probably be hurt by competition too.
A while ago I said they'd be better off moving to Portland. Portland supports the Blazers with passion, that area of the country is growing, there's good computer money in the area, and it would give the Mariners a natural rival.
3. Local governments paying for stadiums.
The National deal is in jeopardy because city council people don't want to pay to build a stadium. I hate the idea of taxpayers paying for building stadiums. I know this is a controversial subject, and maybe we'll get into this in more detail later. I just think we can make better investments with our tax money.
4. Bad signings
Last year there seemed to be a market correction and contracts seemed to make more sense. This offseason has been crazy, and most pundits are blaming two teams: the Mets and Nationals. The Mets gave too big of a contract to Kris Benson, and that made everyone else pay too much for pitching. The Nationals gave too much to Christian Guzman, and that made everyone pay too much for shortstops.
So those are some of my issues with the Nationals. To end on a positive notes; I'm looking forward to all the headlines comparing the struggles of DC's baseball team with our national government. More Incompetence in Washington!
I remember hearing the same suspicions a few years ago when the Sox traded for Cliff Floyd. The Expos gave the Marlins Graeme Lloyd, Mike Mordecai, Justin Wayne, Donald Levinski, and Carl Pavano for Floyd, Wilton Guerrero, Claudio Varagas, and some cash.
Less than a month later, the Expos traded away Floyd for Sun-Woo Kim and Seung Song. The Red Sox got Floyd for a song! Literally. Sorry, couldn't resist.
I don't think the people running baseball are competent enough to rig trades to make a better World Series. They've screwed up everything with the Expos, so it's not too much of jump to assume that they simply screw up the trades.
Whatever our opinion about how legitimate thesetrades were, MLB is moronic to put itself in this situation. A league owning one of it's teams is a severe conflict of interest, so baseball is asking for controversy, mockery, and questions of integrity of the game.
I don't remember the details of how MLB ended up owning the Expos/Nationals, but it should have never happened. They should have gave the previous owners a few months to sell the team, and if there were no buyers they should have closed the team down and send all the good players to the Red Sox.
2. Moving to D.C.
Washington DC does not deserve a team. They support the Redskins (a little too much), but they don't support the Capitals or the wizards. A team in Washington will also hurt the Orioles. I know Peter Angelos is saying this just to get some money out of MLB, but he does have a point. There's a lot of people who live in DC and Virginia who drive up to Baltimore for a game (I was one of them). Put a team in DC, less people will drive to Virginia. Baltimore games were also on local television in Virginia. Baltimore television money would probably be hurt by competition too.
A while ago I said they'd be better off moving to Portland. Portland supports the Blazers with passion, that area of the country is growing, there's good computer money in the area, and it would give the Mariners a natural rival.
3. Local governments paying for stadiums.
The National deal is in jeopardy because city council people don't want to pay to build a stadium. I hate the idea of taxpayers paying for building stadiums. I know this is a controversial subject, and maybe we'll get into this in more detail later. I just think we can make better investments with our tax money.
4. Bad signings
Last year there seemed to be a market correction and contracts seemed to make more sense. This offseason has been crazy, and most pundits are blaming two teams: the Mets and Nationals. The Mets gave too big of a contract to Kris Benson, and that made everyone else pay too much for pitching. The Nationals gave too much to Christian Guzman, and that made everyone pay too much for shortstops.
So those are some of my issues with the Nationals. To end on a positive notes; I'm looking forward to all the headlines comparing the struggles of DC's baseball team with our national government. More Incompetence in Washington!
No comments:
Post a Comment