Once A Thug, Always A Thug
Jerry Reinsdorf met the Council yesterday. There was sound. There was fury. And in the end, it all, as the kids say, signified nothing.
The initial reporting out of the meeting was confused, probably because those reports were relying on demagogic soundbites from the self-interested council members.
During the meeting, Reinsdorf ripped the RFK site and explained that the Nationals weren't as successful as other first-year teams, in part, because of an inferior stadium in an inferior location. Certain council members spat those lines back to the press, trying to paint Reinsdorf like the thug he probably is, and trying to make MLB look even more like the enemy than it already is. The mouthbreathers keyed in on that angle (as anyone who's read BPG tonight or heard 980 on the radio yesterday), completely ignoring the substance of his statements. Hell hath no fury like a persecuted fan! (Why do all fans need affirmation that they're good fans? a question for another day, I suppose!)
Reinsdorf was ripping the RFK site because the drumbeats are growing louder among MLB's opponents on the council to move the stadium there. Reinsdorf was trying to toe a difficult line. On one hand, he wanted to appear open to the idea of relocation to keep their support (and to avoid being tarred and feathered), but on the other hand, he had to foment the idea that the RFK site would be unacceptable.
Meanwhile, the AP reports that Reinsdorf clarified his remarks to mean that MLB won't consider a switch unless it's called for by the mayor. Williams, on cue, says that he won't ask for a change. The Council might have something to say about it, but Reinsdorf rubbed some salt in the wound: [The only people supporting an RFK site are] "a couple of the council members, who really have no standing."
The man's got some chutzpah, huh?
The initial reporting out of the meeting was confused, probably because those reports were relying on demagogic soundbites from the self-interested council members.
During the meeting, Reinsdorf ripped the RFK site and explained that the Nationals weren't as successful as other first-year teams, in part, because of an inferior stadium in an inferior location. Certain council members spat those lines back to the press, trying to paint Reinsdorf like the thug he probably is, and trying to make MLB look even more like the enemy than it already is. The mouthbreathers keyed in on that angle (as anyone who's read BPG tonight or heard 980 on the radio yesterday), completely ignoring the substance of his statements. Hell hath no fury like a persecuted fan! (Why do all fans need affirmation that they're good fans? a question for another day, I suppose!)
Reinsdorf was ripping the RFK site because the drumbeats are growing louder among MLB's opponents on the council to move the stadium there. Reinsdorf was trying to toe a difficult line. On one hand, he wanted to appear open to the idea of relocation to keep their support (and to avoid being tarred and feathered), but on the other hand, he had to foment the idea that the RFK site would be unacceptable.
Meanwhile, the AP reports that Reinsdorf clarified his remarks to mean that MLB won't consider a switch unless it's called for by the mayor. Williams, on cue, says that he won't ask for a change. The Council might have something to say about it, but Reinsdorf rubbed some salt in the wound: [The only people supporting an RFK site are] "a couple of the council members, who really have no standing."
The man's got some chutzpah, huh?
posted by Chris Needham at
11:58 PM
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