Peter Angelos’ Bad Day

Most everyone is envisioning Peter Angelos sitting in his mahogany study in his red paisley smoking jacket, with a snifter of brandy swirling in small circles in his hand and a large cigar (Cuban, of course!) lodged firmly in his mouth as his large cackles of delight fill the cavernous room. I don’t.

I think he’s sobbing.

If baseball dies in baseball, Angelos loses what would have been a guaranteed cash cow. The overly-generous relocation agreement he was negotiating would have given him an automatic revenue source. Even if DC did have a negative effect on the Orioles, Angelos could laugh all the way to his money vault, ala Scrooge McDuck. Further, when Angelos decides to sell, the agreement, reports indicate, would guarantee him a certain profit level. It’s a no-lose situation for him. Plus, proposals were to include him as the majority owner of a new regional sports network. Why would he not like that deal?

At this point, I really think that his negative attitude was more of a negotiations ploy. He’s clearly a hardass negotiator, so I can’t see him conceding so easily until the ink was dry on his agreement.

Angelos isn’t laughing today. He’s fuming at what could’ve been.