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YOU'LL PARDON the baseball owner wannabes in D.C. and Northern Virginia if they didn't throw a big party upon hearing last week's relocation news.
First, they need every penny for their bids to buy the Montreal Expos and build them a shiny new ballpark.
Second, they've gotten their hopes up before, only to see Major League Baseball officials dawdle and flirt with less-promising venues.
Third--and most importantly--Bud Selig and his minions are still speaking out of both sides of their mouths, fearful of the power of Orioles owner Peter Angelos.
On the same day that one baseball source told The Associated Press that Washington and Northern Virginia were the most-mentioned relocation candidates, another told The Washington Post that Selig still has serious concerns about putting a team in Angelos' backyard. Angelos claims that such a team would cost him lots of fans and money, an assertion that remains unproven.
One day later, with a chance to shed some light on the subject, Selig did what he normally does: speak a lot of words and say nothing. He didn't even confirm a mid-July deadline for relocation. Asked if the Expos would have a new home by the All-Star break, Selig said: "I do feel comfortable. absolutely."
What exactly does that mean? While that type of non-committal political-speak is routine in Washington, it doesn't instill confidence in anyone. Which is exactly how baseball wants it.
The ironic part is that every day baseball drags its feet, the Expos lose value. Selig and his friends hoped to start a bidding war and drive up the price among several suitors. They even recruited a group from the Tidewater area, who have less chance of landing the Expos than I have of getting a hit off Randy Johnson.
But a couple of unexpected things happened. First, the most affluent groups, in D.C. and Northern Virginia, stopped playing the game. Washington mayor Anthony Williams delivered a put-up-or-shut-up ultimatum last month with a complete financial plan. And Northern Virginia Baseball announced that it would not seek a team beyond this year.
Meanwhile, the Expos continue to become less and less attractive. The financially strapped franchise couldn't afford to keep star outfielder Vladimir Guerrero. (How's this for irony, though: Guerrero used Angelos' Baltimore Orioles as negotiating leverage to get a better deal from Anaheim.)
The Expos somehow managed to re-sign All-Star second baseman Jose Vidro. But the nomadic team drew fewer than 9,000 fans for all three of its games against Milwaukee in their summer home in San Juan. More than 14,000 showed up Friday night, but that was to see Barry Bonds.
Every day, the Expos are costing their 29 owners money. Maybe that's why there's finally some urgency to have some deep-pocketed group take the team off their hands.
From the start, Washington has been the only sensible choice. Northern Virginia doesn't fit the downtown template of 21st-century pro sports teams, and Metro doesn't reach the proposed stadium site near Dulles Airport.
Las Vegas is unacceptable because of the gambling issue. Portland doesn't have D.C.'s population. Hampton Roads does have the people, but not the infrastructure or the big-league reputation. San Juan has showed it can't afford to support a team. And baseball still isn't ready to have a team in Mexico.
But as long as Angelos (a powerful attorney) wields his power, baseball will drag its feet, desperately hoping that some Prince Charming city will come along. Guess what? If it hasn't happened by now, it's not going to.
A lot of people--many of them Orioles fans--blame Angelos for taking a proud franchise and running it into a hole that has taken six years to escape.
If baseball doesn't stand up to Angelos soon, he may end up wrecking two teams.
To reach STEVE DeSHAZO: 540/374-5443 sdeshazo@freelancestar.com