TV deal is closer, but not the way we wanted it

Angelos Talks Continue – The Post
Looks like MLB is going to be spineless and let Peter Angelo$ control television for the Nationals. They want to avoid a lawsuit with him, but in reality, they just may be delaying one from the Nats owners.

Orioles ticket sales fall in 2005 – The Wash. Times
Oh, cry me a harbor. Maybe, instead of constantly whining about the Nats, the Baltimore braintrust should have been engaging their fanbase with things like alternate hats that had a “B” on them (rather than “O’s”). A Maryland flag on the sleeve and Baltimore on the road uniforms would have made a lot of sense too. Play up the Baltimore/Maryland pride Petey, people love that. You cannot go to anything in Maryland where you do not see the “Maryland With Pride” logo.

Just a crazy idea, but being positive might have been more appealing to people than constant negativity. Also, bad-faith dealings with Angelo$ have ensured that many people who would have made some trips from the D.C. area to Camden Yards no longer will, count me in. I have been boycotting the O’s for years because of Angelo$, but I would have gone back now that we have the Nationals. I just cannot spend any money on someone who has such contempt for me and people like me. I encourage all of you to boycott Camden Yards until Angelo$ is gone.

Five Questions: Washington Nationals – The Hardball Times
Expos fan Craig Bulley writes about the home team for a mass audience:

Is “Nationals” the lamest name ever in the history of baseball?
I will suggest that the answer is no, not by a long shot. He makes the obvious Devils Rays reference, along with some ancient names, like Bridegrooms. He ignores Diamondbacks and Marlins, though and they are far worse than even “Monunments,” which was thrown around by some in D.C. for a while, much less Nationals. If you are going to say the Nationals is bad, you might as well throw in any names that have Sox or a color in their name too.
OK, this is a new team, I’m in the area, I’m taking an interest now. Where can I go to read about this team?
Naturally he points out The Post, but also lists blogs. WWN was the second one listed and he had this to say:

William World News. With a fresh (if jangling) approach to design, William Yurasko’s site isn’t all about the Nationals, but it’s chock-full of Nationals content. William does an excellent job of collecting links, and I expect a lot of good stuff coming from him once the games begin.

I am still pondering what “a fresh (if jangling) approach to design” means. I am not offended, but curious. Like one of my bosses reminded me, I am not a designer. I certainly appreciate the link though.
What’s the status of the new ballpark?
Craig believes it will be built and offers praise for the location.

“For a long time, I was skeptical about the ability of D.C. to get a ballpark built. No longer. I’m convinced it’s happening, and D.C. fans may even end up with a gem. A gem of a park, anyway.”

I will admit that I am still skeptical of it being built; big surprise right?
Anyone worth watching on this team?
He singles out Jose Vidro and I agree with him, but ¡LIVAN! belongs there too.
Why are you so darned negative?
Craig was an Expos fan, so he is understandably disappointed to lose them. I for one would have liked to start out fresh with an expansion team, but MLB was not going to that for us. I would have also preferred to have gotten the Marlins if only to rid the sport of that awful name and terrible uniforms. We have so much baseball history too that we really do not need to get excited about what happened in Quebec. Montréal is a great city and hopefully someday, a new Expos franchise will be born.

All in all, an entertaining introduction for baseball fans outside of D.C., I enjoyed the perspective from ‘outside the Beltway.” Thanks for the link, HT. Now, back to the myopia…

Nats Take a Closer Look at Bullpen – The Post
There is a lot of competition for the last bullpen spot, which offers hope for a reversal of last year’s 1 – 14 start for relievers.

Group Fights Losing Stadium Financing – The Post
Cropp Wants Proposal Reconsidered
Every time I see Linda Cropp’s name in a headline or subhead, I get a little nervous — maybe more than a little. She wants D.C. to take a closer look at the BW Realty Advisers plan.

2 Outfielders Are Sent to Minors – The Post
Outfielders Tyrell Godwin and Jeffrey Hammonds were sent to New Orleans, the Nats AAA team. Godwin will be back someday, Hammonds probably will not, he is done. Tony Armas Jr. got hit hard yesterday in an 8 – 2 loss to Houston, though the Nats did get two off of Andy “what was I thinking leaving the Yankees” Pettitte.

Robinson wants to manage longer – The Wash. Times
Another profile on Frank Robinson, you can compare it with the official MLB article on nationals.com.

Ticket Brokers Having a Field Day – The Post
No surprise here, opening day in D.C. was always a big deal, no matter how bad the Senators were and this is the FIRST opening day in 34 years. There is only scant mention of ebay though, which is where a lot of tickets are being sold.