Angelos Pacification Continues

Bob DuPuy and Havana Peter Angelos met yesterday, in their continuining negotiations to make Angelos richer and richer.

Neither side had any comment, but it's a pretty good sign that they're meeting face-to-face.

In the Post, Tom Boswell, in a seemingly continuing series, shows his disgust for Angelos. He compares him unfavorably to George Steinbrenner.

Boswell is making an argument I've made before--that the terms of the pacification deal that have floated around are so generous, that there's no real incentive to work hard to put a winning team on the field.

The Orioles know the unwritten rules of how to acquire, or "just miss" the available winter talent. And now they are missing it all, just when they appear to be a couple of pitchers shy of a winning team.

Why?

A better question might be, "Why not?"

As part of its mend-the-fences efforts, baseball has offered Angelos a guaranteed minimum sale price for his franchise far into the future....

The final terms of a cease-fire between baseball and Angelos have not been reached. But, at the least, Angelos knows that a "floor" has been put under the value of his team. No matter how bad it is, he knows he can sell it for a fancy price.

If you were guaranteed a fixed price for your house for the next 10 years, would you paint it? Would you spend money on new shutters? Or add a porch?

Is Angelos going to run the Orioles as a modest-payroll team that's a cash cow? Then sell when the profits are exhausted?

Read the whole thing. He makes some excellent points. And besides, it's always fun to read something written in anger!