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December 15, 2004
Dead Stop On Washington Baseball
It looks like MLB has put an interesting cap on the events of the last 24 hours with this statement: "The legislation approved by the District of Columbia City Council last night does not reflect the agreement we signed and relied upon after being invited by District leaders to consider Washington as a home for Major League Baseball," said Bob DuPuy, MLB's president and chief operating officer, in a statement issued Wednesday evening. "The legislation is inconsistent with our carefully negotiated agreement and is wholly unacceptable to Major League Baseball. This should make it pretty clear that MLB is pretty determined to gather its marbles and go home if it doesn't get the deal that it wants. So, if the District really wants the team, it's going to have to deep-six D.C. City Council Chairman Linda Cropp's private financing amendment at the City Council's next meeting on Tuesday night. In poker terms, Cropp decided to raise instead of folding, and now MLB has decided to call. Next, Cropp has to decide if she's going to flip her cards or fold. If she folds, she'll pretty much lose all credibility with the folks in town who could run her off of the City Council. If she stands fast, she'll be crucified in the local and national media, and be forever known as the person who scuttled Major League Baseball in the Nation's Capital. But something tells me that this is exactly what she wants. For months now, the spotlight has shined on Mayor Anthony Williams and City Councilman Jack Evans, the two local politicians most involved in bringing baseball back to Washington. But now that Cropp has the spotlight, I don't think there's any way that she'll ever fold. Then again, I didn't think anything was going to stop the MLB freight train once the city completed its agreement with MLB on the stadium. So don't be surprised if we see one more twist.
Eric
08:46 PM
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