It’s a topic that’s been discussed ad nauseum for the better part of the last couple of weeks, and now that it’s been resolved (or at least decided) I’m going to take one last lick at this dead horse before we put it to bed…until the beginning of September that is, when we’re sure to dig it back up and beat it to death all over again.

For now, it’s time for Ravens fans to let go of the “woe is us” and realize that this couldn’t have worked out any better for the team.

In the Harbaugh era, and to some degree before it, there are two giant hammers that the Ravens have wielded consistently. The Ravens have been near impossible to beat at home, and are undefeated when they’ve had extra rest or opportunity to prepare for an opponent. There’s no need to swing both of those hammers at the same time, and all Schedule-Gate has done is prevented the Ravens from having to.

I get that fans want to celebrate the team’s Super Bowl win with the whole world watching; but what’s best for the team? It’s kind of laughable that those who consider themselves fans of the Ravens suddenly seem to be more interested in having center stage for themselves for one night in September, than they are in giving the Ravens their best opportunity at winning enough games to possibly make another Super Bowl run.

The Harbaugh era Ravens are 5-0 in opening games and 14-0 when having 10 or more days to prepare for an opponent (including openers). It’s probably also worth mentioning that 4 of those 5 opening game wins have been at home (so much for the “NFL is out to get us” angle). Now that it’s decided that the Ravens will open on the road, there are only 3 games that should be up for consideration for the NFL’s showcase. Not coincidentally, those games happen to be the Ravens 3 toughest looking road games as well (Pittsburgh, Cincinnati or Denver). Since there’s no avoiding having to play those games anyway, doing it in the first week of the season is ideal.

It’s better to get Peyton Manning and Wes Welker in the first game of the year, when they’re still trying to figure one another out, and probably more ideal to get in and out of Denver before the frost settles in. While it by no means insures the Ravens will win; it seems to give them their best chance to win. In fact, if we can get over our hurt feelings for long enough to think about the good of the team, ideally the Ravens would open in Denver, and then on the back of 10 days rest head to either Pittsburgh or Cincinnati, and then return to Baltimore for the home opener.

It’s also worth mentioning that opening on Thursday night has not always precluded teams from having to play another Thursday game in the same season. Given that the Ravens are defending Super Bowl champions, it would seem likely that they’ll get their maximum 5 prime time games, and that there’s a real possibility that they’ll have another Thursday game. Opening on Thursday, on the road would not only prevent the Ravens from having to be ready for Thursday night on 3 days rest, but would also virtually insure that if they did get a 2^nd Thursday game it would be in Baltimore, with another (likely tough) opponent having to prepare and travel on short rest.

So if we’re keeping score at home, the NFL played the role of bully on behalf of NBC, and tried to impose themselves on the Orioles. The Orioles held their ground and as a result are stuck with a September 5^th game that is sure to be a dog attendance-wise because it’s going up against the Ravens opener. The Ravens by opening on the road against a tough opponent will have a likely better chance to win a tough road game than they would otherwise, and may still get a Thursday home game with significant, inherent advantages built in. Someone remind me again why everyone is so mad at the Orioles over this. Oh yeah…it’s because we miss out on the chance to scream “look at us” to the football world while pounding our chests, right?

Sign me up, 10 times out of 10, for the schedule formula that gives the Ravens the best shot at being a playoff team, or a division winner, or a home playoff game host, or a bye week possessor. Frankly I’m shocked that Ravens fans are having such trouble grasping this one. I thought better of most of you.

Lastly, if the locker room somehow sees this as a slight, as fans clearly have, then it facilitates the mentality that has seemed to serve them so well lately. It’s Baltimore against the world as usual. If that works, so be it. But the Ravens are the winners in this mess; it’s just that some folks’ sensitivity won’t allow them to see it.

The post Schedule-Gate 2013: Ravens Win…Fans Whine appeared first on We Never Stop Talking Baltimore Sports.

Fact: The Baltimore Orioles have full rights and use of Camden Yards and the entire downtown sports marketplace on Thursday, September 5, 2013

Opinion: If the Baltimore Orioles were owned be me – or anyone like me who actually puts Baltimore FIRST – I’d be doing anything in my power to make sure the city doesn’t suffer the loss of this kind of event.

Fact: Peter Angelos hasn’t said anything regarding moving his baseball team’s game on that night.

Opinion: If Peter Angelos wanted to move the 7:05 p.m. start to earlier in the day or onto Saturday for a day/night doubleheader, it would be getting done.

Fact: The NFL has played on Rosh Hashana (and other Jewish & religious holidays) before and has played on Thanksgiving and Christmas regularly.

Opinion: If the Ravens were serious about opening at home, Steve Bisciotti would raise hell with Roger Goodell and NBC about moving the game to Tuesday or Wednesday – TV ratings be damned! And he should punch his 31 partners in the kidneys if this game winds up in Denver or Pittsburgh.

Fact: It takes agreement from Major League Baseball, the Baltimore Orioles, the Chicago White Sox and the Major League Baseball Players’ Assoication to move a game.

Opinion: MLB is not going to do anything to help the NFL at this point when they’re being dominated across the board. The entire notion that a Ravens opening game is more significant than a Thursday night baseball game for Baltimore in September is highly offensive to anyone involved in baseball.

Fact: The NFL decided to start playing games and programming on Sunday nights directly against the World Series two years ago.

Opinion: Bud Selig has a long memory.

Fact: The NFL is the biggest sports league in the United States of America.

Opinion: Major League Baseball still thinks it’s the biggest sports league in the USA.

Fact: The 2013 NFL schedule is coming soon.

Opinion: The Baltimore Ravens will be opening the 2013 season in Denver on Thursday, Sept. 5.

Fact: Baltimore will lose a LOT of money, prestige and a “world’s stage night” if the NFL season doesn’t open here on Thursday, Sept. 5.

Opinion (and the only one on this issue I share with Drew Forrester): I’d be shocked if Peter Angelos doesn’t move the game to a 3:05 p.m. start just to be the a**hole he’s always been. If ANYONE else on EARTH owned the Orioles, the Ravens would be cordially invited to the facility so that Baltimore could win.

Once again, when given a chance to show his “class” or his “ass” the owner of the Baltimore Orioles has gone Pontius Pilate in giving his “hometown” a chance to have a civic celebration of mammoth proportions over ego, money, petty greed and just saying “It was MINE first!”

Typical. Predicable. If you’ve been paying attention to the way the Baltimore Orioles operate, you knew it was never going to happen. But, somehow, the optimist in Steve Bisciotti believed Angelos would be generous and Selig would be reasonable. That somehow, the Ravens could find a way to appease or compensate the Orioles and make the switch or turn it into a doubleheader that benefits the entire community and maybe even sells the Orioles more tickets if the Ravens encouraged fans to attend the baseball game first.

And the NFL and MLB have moved dates for half a century, even more so when they shared more than half of the stadiums in the league during the 1960′s through the 1990′s.

But the “peace” offerings didn’t happen this week in New York or Baltimore at any level. Nobody in Baltimore got what they wanted. The Ravens are on the road. The fans got screwed. Denver gets a kickoff night.

Oh, that’s right. Peter Angelos and the Orioles got what they wanted — the stadium on Thursday, Sept. 5th. And, again, it was theirs all along so they were under no obligation to do anything.

And now the Ravens and everyone else are blaming everyone BUT the Orioles and MLB for not being a little more generous and sensible.

There’s culpability all around — for NBC, for the Ravens, Goodell, the NFL and obviously for the Orioles, whose bull roast is more important than the Ravens prom at the event space called Camden Yards and downtown Baltimore.

But there is no sense here – only dollars.

And egos.

This is the beginning — or the continuation — of two sports teams and two owners who are not spiritually aligned here in the Charm City.

I always told you and Steve Bisciotti and Dick Cass the same thing: you try to get along with the old man but it’s impossible.

Hope everyone enjoys that Orioles game on Sept. 5. And this is only the beginning. We’ll be hearing and talking about this one all summer as we pack our bags for Denver on Labor Day.

The post How “charming”? A continuing war between the Orioles and Ravens for Sept. 5th appeared first on We Never Stop Talking Baltimore Sports.

I have made it my life’s work via owning WNST.net to study these sports owners and how these local teams operate, function, thrive and compete.

And oft-times, checking their sobriety level and true intentions, goals and desires for their ownership becomes a guiding force for their popularity, success and profit. Somewhere deep inside of every Bob Irsay, Abe Pollin or Edward Bennett Williams, there’s a hunger for something intangible that their millions of dollars of U.S. currency can’t really buy – not that feeding their egos and wallets simultaneously would be turned down by any of these men.

But they want to be heroes. They want to be winners in a way that no court case or big sale or transaction can be felt in the traditional business world. They’re sportsmen. They want to save the city. They want to have that “one moment in time” feeling of watching the confetti drop while they toast a championship and host a ticker tape parade. Billy Joel once sang about them in a song called “Big Shot.”

No one associated with big-league sports ever lost money owning a team in Baltimore, with or without championships or competitive teams. The Colts, Orioles, Ravens all sold for more than their original purchase price. So, making money comes with the territory, even if you wreck the franchise for the fanbase, as has been witnessed here with Peter Angelos since 1993.

But I’ll also say this much: I also personally know some very good, civic-minded people who lost hundreds of thousands – if not MILLIONS of dollars – trying to run minor-leagues sports franchises in Baltimore since 1968, when I entered the planet and the local sports scene. The losses of Skipjacks, Clippers, Bandits, Lightning, Spirit, Claws, Blades, et. al. means there were some nice guys like Bill Stealey, Tom Ebright or Mike Caggiano losing a helluva lotta money on a hobby and sports dream gone wrong.

These are businesses. And as a business owner who has taken on immense risk buying and operating WNST over the years, I respect and honor the amount of work it takes to make a profit and keep customers and the community at-large happy.

I respect that Peter Angelos once bought the Baltimore Orioles to win championships and be the local hero owner. I also have watched him humiliate and degrade a whole generation of passionate Orioles fans and piss on the brand for better part of two decades with equal parts wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy, and gluttony.

This week, Steve Bisciotti, the owner of the Baltimore Ravens maneuvered quite heavy-handedly behind the scenes to oust offensive coordinator Cam Cameron, while head coach John Harbaugh took the podium to make an announcement that it was pretty clear he was uncomfortable with in just about every way.

As a fan, all I’ve ever asked for is accountability and knowing what the intentions of the owner are so I can tell Baltimore sports fans what’s really happening.

It really speaks volumes when you watch the way the two franchises in Baltimore weave through a sports calendar with incredibly expensive, risky and “no turning back” decisions.

And let’s make this really clear: Steve Bisciotti and Peter Angelos run their franchises and make the last call on virtually every decision. They’ve earned that right because they took the

The post Bisciotti vs. Angelos — Oh, those meddling owners of Baltimore sports teams… appeared first on We Never Stop Talking Baltimore Sports.

We learned through the labor discords that every league has had to deal with over the last decade or so that the greatest leverage that one side can have over another is the ability or potential to make one of these organizations “open their books”. The suggestion has been made that Peter Angelos’ inherent understanding of this leverage was the very tool that he used in negotiating the settlement that allowed the Montreal Expos to land in DC and become the Nationals; thereby creating the MASN network and the lopsided deal at the heart of it.

Orioles fans were given cause to celebrate the creation of MASN as it was supposed to level the financial playing field for the Orioles with the top financial echelon of the AL East. As yet, those promises have gone unfulfilled and the lesson that Orioles fans have slowly been made to accept is that the creation of MASN ultimately benefits no one but Mr. Angelos himself.

It’s funny how baseball will allow the mismanagement of certain, even most, teams to go unchecked. Actually you could probably make a viable case that MLB and the commissioner’s office has been an enabler of franchise mismanagement on far more occasions than they’ve ever acted as a deterrent. Except when it came to the Los Angeles Dodgers that is.

When Frank McCourt found himself in financial straits and seemed to as a result look to quickly negotiate the Dodgers local television deal, MLB and commissioner Bud Selig wouldn’t have it. Now as the Dodgers stand on the precipice of closing a long-term TV rights deal that will pay them in the ballpark of $6 billion or more over the next 25 years it’s clear why Selig was so interested.

The Dodgers deal is a game changer. Yahoo sports Jeff Passan reports that not only will the Dodgers make upwards of $1.5 million per game under the terms of the new deal but also that it would make the Dodgers TV revenue alone exceed the total revenues of 26 of baseball’s other 29 teams.

Meanwhile the MASN finds itself entrenched in a battle to keep the TV rights for the Washington Nationals at a paltry by comparison $35 million per season, up from $29 million in 2012. The interesting part of the battle that Peter Angelos is set to stage against the Washington franchise is that by the terms of the original agreement between baseball and the Orioles’ owner, the Orioles would take that same $35 million in TV revenues. So essentially Angelos finds himself set to go to court and fight it out in an effort to keep down the TV revenues that his baseball team draws from his network.

Angelos’ motivation is an easy one to figure out. Any money that MASN pays out to the Orioles directly has to be paid out equally to the Nationals, however as a result of the aforementioned lopsided agreement any money kept under the MASN “umbrella” is currently divided with 87% going to Angelos and 13% to Nationals ownership. Some have made educated suggestions that total MASN revenues are likely upward of $200 million.

So let’s look at it in these terms. If (and I repeat if) total MASN revenues are $200 million, and the Orioles and Nationals each receive $35 million, that leaves $130 million as MASN profits. Of that $130 million the Orioles ownership would walk away with $113.1 million and Nationals ownership just $16.9 million. That’s $148.1 million to Angelos and company and $51.9 million to the Nationals ownership group. If television rights fees were increased to $75 million per side it would leave “only” $50 million in MASN money. Under the 87/13 split, that $50 million would send $43.5 million to the Orioles and $6.5 to the Nats. In total that’d be $118.5 million to Angelos and company and $81.5 to Nats ownership, a financial swing of about $30 million from the Orioles to the Nationals.

The post Peter Angelos vs The Orioles appeared first on We Never Stop Talking Baltimore Sports.

My father’s name is Ezra Buchdahl. He was born on November 10, 1965, and is currently 46 years old. He has attended thousands of Orioles games throughout the years. He sat rows behind Wild Bill Hagy in the heyday of “Orioles Magic.” He watched as Tippy Martinez picked off three runners in the same inning.  He was at Memorial Stadium for Game 1 of the 1983 World Series just months later. He cried from the upper deck while watching the final innings played in that same stadium. He was at Oriole Park at Camden Yards to watch Cal Ripken, Jr., tie and the next day break, Lou Gehrig’s consecutive games streak. In his lifetime, my dad has seen the Orioles win 8 American League East titles, 6 American League pennants, and 3 World Series championships. He has witnessed 3 different Orioles win the AL MVP Award. He has seen 4 Orioles win the AL Cy Young Award and 4 different Rookie of the Year Award winners. He has also seen 10 different Gold Glove winners, many of whom did so multiple times. Undoubtedly, my dad has seen some of the greatest moments in the history of this ball club.

My name is Max Buchdahl. I was born on March 20, 1996, and I am currently 16 years old. My family raised me to be the die-hard Orioles fan that I currently am. Over these past 16 years, I have attended hundreds of Orioles games, both at home and on the road. My dad took me to my first game when I was just three months old. At age five, I could name every player on the team and their number. I could name the numbers of past players, as well as their positions. I cried in my living room as my early childhood hero, Cal Ripken Jr., retired from the game he loved. I watched as young players like Luis Matos, Larry Bigbie, David Newhan, and Sidney Ponson failed to stay healthy and consistent.

I threw my hands in the air when I heard we had signed veterans such as Sammy Sosa and Javy Lopez, only to see them throw away the final years of their careers in the Charm City. My dad let me stay up past my bed-time to watch my other hero, Rafael Palmeiro, record his 3,000^th hit. Just weeks later, I listened to the radio as he failed a drug test. I scratched my head as Miguel Tejada refused to run to first on a ground ball. My dad told me to never even think about doing that. I cried while watching my favorite group of 25 men lose to the Texas Rangers, 30-3. I have cheered while watching my team draw within two games of the AL East division lead at the All-Star break, only to fall apart during the second half of the season. I have been forced to endure endless chants of “Let’s Go Red Sox” in OUR ballpark because people don’t want to watch a losing team. The last time the Orioles had a winning season, I was only a year and a half old. As far as I am concerned, I have given way too much for this team considering what I’ve received in return; heartbreak, sorrow, and shame.

My concern, however, is far more universal. I often wear Orioles gear to school. Words cannot describe what I feel when my friends say, “Oh, the Orioles suck. They’re a waste of space. Go Yankees!” I would much rather be an Orioles fan than stoop to the level of the millions of bandwagon Yankees fans. But with a ballpark as beautiful as Camden Yards, and in a city where we’ve seen “Orioles Magic” sweep through like wildfire, this team should be a source of pride, not shame. Baltimore natives should feel proud of their hometown team, not forced to follow another.
After all that I have said, you may be wondering what I am really getting at. Before we get a competitive team back on the field, the city of Baltimore deserves an answer for the past 14 years. An explanation for why we have had to go through these years of heartbreak. Don’t worry, I am not saying that you have all of these sacred answers. But, as the owner of the team, I am interested to hear your insight into the situation. Why, for the past 14 years, have we not experienced October baseball? And more importantly, what can we do to turn things around? What is happening within the organization right now that will provide us with a winning baseball team?
Thank you for your time, patience, and understanding while reading this letter. I would like to stress again that I mean no harm or insult by writing this, all I want is an answer. All I want is a winning baseball team.
Thank you again,
Max Buchdahl

The post Dear Mr. Angelos: appeared first on We Never Stop Talking Baltimore Sports.

It’s absolutely astonishing that we’re going to the Ravens’ fourth game of the season tonight and the Baltimore Orioles are playing meaningful baseball games every night. It’s almost awkward and overwhelming, the energy we’re all feeling for sports in our community.

So as 70,000 gather downtown and bring the purple love for the 2-1 Baltimore Ravens on national television, has all been forgiven and “fixed” according to the customers of the Baltimore Orioles?

If you’re counting the tens of thousands of empty seats this “Orioles Magic” show has played for over the last month you’ll see that the franchise and the 2012 Orioles still have a long way to go to undo the untold damage to the psyche of its own fan base. Even worse, there are many potential baseball fans who are unaware – or uninterested – in coming back to the ballpark and soaking in the love of Birdland, which right now is just about the happiest place on earth.

Fill in any reason you’d like: price, distance, inconvenience, HDTV, love of Jim Hunter, blah, blah, blah.

Bottom line: it ain’t a tough ticket.

I’ve never stopped going to Orioles games. I’ve been to eight games a year every year since 2003 when they proved to be awful business partners and 2006 when they took away my press pass (I’m the only person in history of Baltimore media to be “banned” from Orioles games). People give me free tickets and I use them.

I’ve flown to Sarasota twice to see them play in spring training. I’ve seen the Orioles play in New York three times a year every year for 8 years. I’ve seen them play in Boston, New York, Cleveland, Tampa, Philadelphia.

I’ve been going back to the ballpark this month and I’ve reached into my wallet to do it.

I purchased two tickets for the Cal Ripken Statue Thursday night extravaganza. I bought four tickets for this Monday’s DH for $4 each. I checked the credit card receipts. I spent $18.80. Because of the scarcity of the Ripken tickets, it cost us $47.80 for a pair of standing rooms that we turned into sitting rooms in the back row of Sec. 380.

My total investment in the Orioles so far in 2012? That’s right: $66.60.

If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter or @WNST on Twitter, you know that I’m at the ballpark because I’m sending up pictures, observations, analysis and some dark humor.

I turned down offers for free tickets the past two nights because I had other obligations for work.

I woke up early on Saturday morning and chased down a pair of tickets to every postseason game the Orioles could play this October. And then I realized that I’ll be in Kansas City for the Ravens’ game next weekend.

And I have to ask myself the same question many Baltimore sports fans are asking themselves – am I a bigger fan of the Orioles or the Ravens? And if I had to pick just one…???? Hmmm…

I’m asking Baltimore sports fans these questions all month here in our GREAT BALTIMORE MEDIA SURVEY. Take it for a chance to win a trip to Cleveland in November!

For me choosing between the Orioles and the Ravens is like picking between whether you love your

The post Orioles Magic and 666: The Number of The East appeared first on We Never Stop Talking Baltimore Sports.

It’s very apparent that Adam Jones cares more about whether the good people of Baltimore come to Orioles games than his bosses and owner do but still not enough to vest himself in our community enough to recruit people to come and pay to see the team play.

It must be a bummer for any Orioles player to endure the emptiness of the home ballpark while finally playing meaningful games and quality baseball.

In 2012, the price to pay for 15 years of losing and the worst owner in the history of professional sports is what Adam Jones now sees with a fantastic view from centerfield every night: an empty stadium in downtown Baltimore and plenty of green seats to backdrop every fly ball.

It’s been very clear that the prescient message I sent with “Free The Birds” in 2006 – “if you’re not careful, Mr. Angelos, we might leave and never come back” – has now become a prophecy. The 2012 Baltimore Orioles are everything you’d want in a local sports team to follow – interesting, fun, lively and relevant – and a grand total of 48K came to Camden Yards over four days to watch the best baseball this city has seen in 15 years.

The empty seats are a glaring reminder of what’s gone wrong with the franchise and the city’s passion for the Baltimore Orioles since Peter Angelos bought — and then wrecked — the franchise.

Once Adam Jones stops talking out of the side of his mouth and at the end of this run of success in 2012 – and I’m not betting it won’t end in a parade just yet because I’ve seen stranger things happen — it’ll then be time to invest himself in our community the way he likes to on his Twitter account.

He got the $85.5 million deal back in May and it’ll be his turn to become a Baltimore resident or not. If he’s really interested in people coming to the ballpark then I hope he’ll spend the offseason with the fans here and be Mr. Oriole all winter.

Where will he be in November…and December…or January?

Will he be shaking hands, kissing babies and attempting to become a guy who eventually gets one of those shiny statues out on the patio that no one is visiting these days?

Will Adam Jones be in the community trying to win back the fans of Baltimore?

I’m not talking sitting at a table in a card shop or swag store charging $50 for an autograph. I’m talking about being a true ambassador for the community.

This isn’t about the marketing department. This isn’t about buying more billboards or state-run MASN ads. This isn’t about popping off on Twitter or mandating “sitdowns” with people like me who are still pissed about the entire tenor and arrogance of the Baltimore Orioles and Peter Angelos over two decades.

If the players on the field are embarrassed by an empty stadium, it’s my belief is that THEY – directly – are the only ones who can do something about it. We have to care about them and want to invest our money

The post An open letter to Adam Jones (and anyone else who doesn’t like Orioles attendance) appeared first on We Never Stop Talking Baltimore Sports.

We’ve been talking for months, as the team continues to exceed any reasonable expectations, about when the fans could and would begin to truly “buy in” and when they’d back up that faith with their attendance at the ballpark. Yet here we sit, in the latter stages of a legitimate playoff chase, and still the ballpark sits empty.

Maybe it’s time we looked a little deeper at how we arrived here in order to understand how we can all begin to move forward.

In his Masterpiece “The Prince” Niccolo Machiavelli lays out some political ideals that have not only stood the test of time and that remain viable in modern political theory, but also may have given Orioles ownership the blueprint by which they’ve been operating throughout the Peter Angelos regime.

One of the most popular and debated Machiavellian questions arising from “The Price” is the question of whether it’s better to be loved or feared. Machiavelli suggests that while being loved is nice (I paraphrase), it is fear that stirs the hearts of men and keeps them in line. People will turn on those that they love when the going gets tough, but with fear comes the expectation of hardship, and that more than anything compelled by love will cause men to think twice before crossing their benevolent leaders.

During the early Angelos years, the owner operated the club like a fan would, bringing in high caliber baseball architects to build his club, giving them the authority and financial means to do their work and although at times still overbearing (rulers still have to remain the boss) Angelos, in comparison to previous regimes, was easy for fans to endorse and (dare I say?) love.

As the 1997 season wound down however and fans became disenchanted with the team, they weren’t shy about voicing their displeasure over everything from the crowds that now filled the stadium (wine and cheese) to the talent brought in to do the job (mercenaries). Fans complained about everything from the aging talent, to the misguided leadership of the club, to the seemingly preferential treatment given to Cal Ripken Jr. to the length of the speech that the owner gave on the night Ripken broke Lou Gehrig’s consecutive games record. Love indeed didn’t keep the fans from turning (at least in word) on the team and its owner.

That love didn’t compel the fans either to consider the plight of the Orioles when the city gave a far cushier deal to the Browns to relocate to Baltimore and become the Ravens, it didn’t compel fans to stand together with Angelos in his battle against the teams cable outlet or against Major League Baseball to keep the Expos out of DC. The goodwill built by the owner, with the fans, didn’t seem to serve him at all once the going got tough for the Orioles. Nor did the goodwill built by the owner toward his players (in taking care of them financially and in standing by them during baseball’s strike/lockout or in siding with a star player during a battle with his manager) serve him well when other teams came waving bigger checks, better chances to win or opportunities to play with their family members.

Maybe the 1993-2000 chapters of Orioles baseball did prove to Angelos that it was better to be feared than to be loved. It also seems that it’s cheaper, easier and more profitable too.

At that time it also likely became apparent to Angelos that he’d have some dirty work to do, and that no matter how he elected to run the franchise from that point forward, there was little the fans, the city, the league or anyone else could do about it. Angelos could (and arguably did) tear down the magnificent franchise he had helped to build and polish and in the process remind fans that not only was he the boss, but also that whatever he decided to do, he could do, and that everyone would simply have to accept it. Angelos laid the groundwork for fear. The fear that he could and would run this franchise in any way that he saw fit, from a competitive standpoint that he could and would be willing to run them into the ground, and that those who didn’t like it had no recourse.

The post The Orioles Peter Angelos and the Machiavellian Theorem appeared first on We Never Stop Talking Baltimore Sports.

Well, in case you haven’t noticed while you were dusting off your purple gear this week for tomorrow night’s meaningless and mostly unentertaining Ravens game in Atlanta, the 2012 Baltimore Orioles are just about everything you’d want in a MLB team in a “small market” where the owner is pocketing over $100 million in profit every year.

They have young stars. They are exciting every night – including last night’s 14-inning marathon victory over the Seattle Mariners that unfolded like The Ilyiad. They seem to play sudden death baseball a lot. It’s almost like they WANT you to fall asleep on them.

And these days, it appears, that most Baltimore sports fans have in fact “gone to sleep on the Orioles.”

By and large, most of you are not coming to Orioles games right now. The Orioles haven’t inspired you to buy a ticket, despite their good fortunes and entertainment value on the field.

This is a perfect day for me to write about going to Orioles games because I’m going to the game tonight.

Why?

Well, I got free tickets.

My complaints and reasons for not giving Peter Angelos my money are legendary and well-documented. The incident when the team stiffed me on a $30,000 sponsorship, then attacked me at a game in 2004 and sent an apology note signed, “The Bird.” Then, after 21 years of covering the Baltimore Orioles through three ownership groups, they took my press pass in 2007 and have summarily lied about why, which is standard operating procedure from the Angelos family.

Hell, four months ago at a charity cocktail function, Brady Anderson told me I “should leave Baltimore if I don’t like the way the team is being run.”

But I still watch them every night – which either makes me a sucker, a fool or an eternal optimist. Or maybe just someone who loves Baltimore and the Orioles and remembers how much fun baseball was for the entire community before Angelos wrecked the franchise for anyone who takes the time to examine all of the facts.

Oh, here’s one more warm and fuzzy — this Friday will mark the one-year anniversary that one of their legendary players, broadcaster and caring front office man Mike Flanagan put a gun to his temple and pulled the trigger.

The Orioles have played 110 games this year. I’ve watched about 95 of them in their entirety. The other 15 I’ve either fallen asleep (like last night) or kept track via my mobile device on WNST’s live box score feature.

If you follow me on Twitter, you might find five games where I haven’t been live tweeting most of the evening from my couch. So, I’m qualified to bitch in many ways because I’m the biggest Baltimore Orioles fan you’ll ever find.

And, again, I’m not giving Angelos my money – not tonight or any night.

In Dundalk, we would simply call him a scumbag and leave it at that.

But he doesn’t care about whether you or I come to the ballpark. He’s sucking that $3.00 per month from my cable bill and yours, 

The post Orioles are finally in pennant race — but where are Baltimore baseball fans? appeared first on We Never Stop Talking Baltimore Sports.

The Orioles are currently 53-48 and within a few games of one of the American League wild card spots.  But this isn’t good enough.  They continue to play with a lot of heart, despite the injuries and the lack of success of their starting pitching and middle infielders.  But this isn’t good enough. They have been able to replace busts like Michael Gonzalez with successes such as Pedro Strop.   Jeremy Guthrie (not necessarily a bust but not the best either), with Jason Hammel.  But THIS isn’t good enough. Now, with the trading deadline looming, the vultures that are the O’s “fans” are circling the carcass, just waiting to take a  few pecks at it.

It’s always the same argument” “Angelos is a blah blah blah”, “they don’t want to pay the money, blah blah blah”.  It’s not about Angelos, it’s about the STATE of the GAME. Would I rather have a different owner? Sure. But that’s not a reason to make Angelos the most hated person in Baltimore since the “I” word.  Angelos has not single-handedly ruined this team, as many seem to believe.  The game itself is where the problem is.

There are only a few teams that can give the money, and or the chance to be a winner. Those are the Yankees, Angels, Braves, Phillies, and Rangers, and maybe a few others willing to pay beaucoups bucks to players who may not even return to them at the end of the year. Many of these teams have been able to replenish their farm teams, and have made good judgments of players. The Orioles, on the other hand, although many say Angelos has the money (unsure since the information has never been given out publicly), still can not match the offers of some of these other teams, financially or with quality prospects.  But yet, there are many “Fans” who feel that we should be ready to trade the few that we have been able to obtain (Bundy, Machado, Schoop) to get players who are superstars, but have no desire to return to the team after this season. This is not good business. Seattle traded 5 prospects, including Adam Jones, to get Eric Bedard. We all know how that worked out.  I would rather keep Bundy and Machado, and attempt to fill holes before giving them away for veterans who may or may not be successful not stay with the team.  Yes, I would have liked to have had Greinke as much as any other team. But to give up one of the only two blue-chippers we  have in the system would be a mistake.

Let’s look at some of the other trades that have taken place recently.  Francisco Liriano? million dollar arm, 10-cent head.  Wandy Rodriguez? Nice numbers for a poor team, but can he meet the challenge of a pennant race.  Hanley Ramirez?  not worth losing Bundy or Machado, and obviously had a problem with playing third, despite the millions the Marlins are/were paying him.

Anything the Orioles can do to shore up this team, give them better depth, and a positive outlook in the clubhouse should be appreciated, not bashed, ridiculed or constantly criticized.  Let’s look at the bright side.  When was the last time the Orioles were five games above .500 on July 31? Or in a wild card race? Despite the poor defense, untimely hitting and inconsistent pitching, this team is STILL in the wild card hunt. Is major league baseball promoting mediocrity in order to have another wild card team? Possibly, but it’s OUR mediocre team. And we need to support it no matter what.

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