I was working from our Washington DC office the last two days, and it overlooks Farragut Square just a few blocks from the White House. In yesterday's stifling August haze in the capital, the Baltimore Orioles took over the park for an hours-long rally. O's announcer Jon Miller introduced players and ran a trivia contest, a band played covers of Rick James and Lynrd Skynrd (yeah, wacky), and the Orioles themselves sat in the sun and signed thousands of autographs at tables throughout the park, over the course of a couple hours. Orange reigned. All in all, a terrific rally for the Orioles - and also a blatant political ploy by their owner, Peter Angelos.
Angelos, of course, is trying to keep Major League Baseball from moving the ragamuffin Montreal Expos to Washington next season. That's why Nothern Virginia is a possibility, along with cities like Las Vegas (remember when Mays and Mantle were disciplined for taking casino money as greeters?) and, of all places, Monterrey, Mexico. But DC is, of course, the logical place. It already has a stadium downtown in RFK for the new Senators to play for a couple of years until a fancy new park is constructed. It's got history and a big tourist trade. As the Washington Post put it: "none of the other contending cities is even close, in terms of population, income or interest in the game."
Frankly, a DC team in the National League East would be very cool - imagine the Mets and Phillies taking Amtrak to the new stadium near Union Station. Think of the natural rivarly, an extension of the vicious Giants-Redskins mutual hatred fest. It just makes obvious sense. The Orioles would be fine. So move over Angelos - and make a damned decision Bud Selig. Bring back the Senators!
