Like Blood From A Stone

Havana Peter Angelos continues squeezing baseball for every last drop it can.

The deadline for an agreement is Monday and Angelos wants more, More, MORE! As if the billions and billions he's gotten from tobacco and asbestos weren't enough.

"Peter was led to believe by baseball officials that negotiations would be fruitful and complete by this time," Gov. Robert Ehrlich told WBAL radio on Tuesday. "This could -- could -- end up in court in the relatively short term."

Great, you greedy bastard.

The problem with the proposals baseball is working with is that they're guaranteeing revenue. By doing that, it eliminates any incentive that Angelos would have to put a winning team on the field. If he's guaranteed $100MM in revenue, why go the extra mile to put a good team on the field to draw fans and increase ratings?

The only thing stopping this is that Havana Pete has a ton of civic pride and is very competive. He wants to put a winning team on the field. He just doesn't know how to do it or how to put people in place to do it for him.

In an article in the Baltimore Sun, there's another juicy little nugget about how wonderful ol' Petey is.

The major sticking point in the negotiations has been how long the financial protections would last. MLB originally offered to make the deal good only for as long as Angelos is the owner. But Angelos, who has said this isn't about him but rather the long-term viability of the Orioles, has targeted an undisclosed term, perhaps 15 or 20 years.

How wonderfully generous of him! It's not just about him and the millions he'll make at the expense of Washington and MLB; it's about the future of the Orioles as a franchise! How noble.

If that's the case, then I'm sure that Peter will ask for a below-market sale price to a local team when he sells the team and not to the highest bidder who'll pay a premium price because of the guaranteed revenue stream MLB is providing? Right?

*crickets*