The Orioles And The State Of Maryland Are Still Far Apart With Negotiations Over Camden Yards As The 12/31 Deadline Approaches And There Is 1 Person To Blame. John Angelos.
Get out of the way, John. Stop making this a "John Angelos" story and get the hell out of the way. Every single time he sees a spot to insert that size 5 foot into his mouth he does it, it's truly incredible. The newest news, or non-news, is that the Orioles and the state of Maryland are still far apart from a lease being finalized. The lease for Camden Yards is up on 12/31 and it appears that the deadline will come and go with 0 deal signed. Why is this being held up? Well the one snag holding things up is that the Orioles (Angelos) are pushing back on the idea of signing any long-term deal without including developmental rights of the area around Camden Yards. Basically it's John Angelos trying to get every single thing he can from the state and basically holding the Orioles as a hostage. The thing is, the team isn't going anywhere. They aren't going to Nashville, they aren't going to Montreal, they will always be in Baltimore. But this fucking guy loves to stir up any kind of drama he can and that is exactly what he is doing here.
The thing about is that the deal will get done. The deadline will pass, people will flip, they'll say the Orioles are homeless and the group will work on an extension to get the deal done on like January 8th and we will have a press conference with John Angelos and Maryland's Governor Wes Moore flirting and stroking eachother the whole time saying they knew it would get done and what an honor it is to have the Orioles in Camden Yards and Baltimore for another 30 years. It'll be handshakes and smiles and pictures and laughing, but these 2 bozos are the ones to blame for this carrying on and dragging their feet on this. This shit should have been done YEARS ago. What the fuck is taking so long? Oh, thats right. The owner being as selfish as they come and wanting more and more and more and more and more from the state.
Remember that Angelos and the Orioles get $600 MILLION the second he signs on the dotted line. He wants $300 more. Nothing is ever good enough for Johnny Boy. For years and years he's been doing a disservice to this team and city, and now with Dan Snyder out of DC he's showing the sports world that it wasn't just Danny boy mucking it up in the DMV. It's exhausting dealing with a guy like this as your teams owner, exhausting. They were one of the best teams in baseball last year and he won't let his GM make trades, sign players, he won't sign a lease extension until he gets every single ounce of what he wants. Sometimes I wish I fell into owning a team because I failed the bar exam and I could treat a professional team however I wanted.
You may remember the blog I wrote in the middle of Clinchmas about Angelos and Moore being shown on the big screen announcing the agreement between the state and the club for a 30-year extension. That was September 28th....we're still waiting for it to become official. Turns out it wasn't officially signed, it was just a "non-binding memorandum of understanding". I got something non-binding I'd like to give to Mr. Angleos. Means 0 in the long term and we are still waiting. What a clown show from those two.
This guy is the worst. The absolute worst. He's got a god damn goldmine sitting in front of his face and all he wants to do is ask for more. Fans have been fed up with him forever, he's just adding fuel to the fire now. But holding the team hostage over development rights with weeks to go before the deadline is a psycho move. I want to reiterate that I have 0 worry that the team will ever leave, and I understand others who think the opposite. This guy just seems to want to make himself the story every single time the team does something positive. It's uncanny.
It's a disgrace by both Moore and Angelos, they wanted the attention on Clinchmas night and they got it. Most fans gave a round of applause because we assumed when the fucking Governor and team owner announce they came to an agreement….that an actual agreement was met. Now it's 2 months later and both guys have their head in the sand. Dunces, both of them.
They'll have some small year to year leases to iron it over and will say "we're working on a long-term deal" and that is their way of kicking the can down the road. Meanwhile the Orioles will continue to be one of the best teams in baseball with an owner who is a joke and won't commit to them long-term. Great vibes all around baby, great vibes. I've said it for awhile but I really wish MLB would step in and put some pressure on Angelos to act like an owner instead of a guy who was born on fucking third base. Act like you like the team, act like you support the team in the city. Stop putting your fucking hand in pots it doesn't belong. Stop worrying about what stats an announcer is saying on TV and worry about keeping your baseball team in the best ballpark in baseball for the next 30-50 years. Sell the team or start acting like you actually want to own them and see them be successful. Stop using this ball club as leverage for developmental rights. Even if he were to get the developmental rights I can't wait to see how he screws that up. Guy wouldn't be able to put together a 3-piece puzzle. Get your shit figured out you clowns.