Why would anyone buy Peter Angelos’ Nationals?

Washington Nationals president Tony Tavares bristled at the notion that his team needed to get permission from Major League Baseball to sign outfielder Jose Guillen to a $4 million club option yesterday.

“There is this huge misconception about how this team is operated,” Tavares said. “[General manager] Jim [Bowden] never goes to anybody in baseball asking if a trade should be made. [Manager] Frank [Robinson] doesn’t have to ask anybody who is playing on the field. We run our business like a normal business.”

A normal business that just happens to be paying its competitor $75 million for the right to be controlled by that competitor.

“There is the misconception that the 29 other major league owners are calling [commissioner] Bud [Selig]” to discuss Nationals business, Tavares said.

Well, maybe one is — the owner of the Washington Nationals, Peter Angelos.

If Angelos doesn’t own the Nationals, he sure is their “daddy.” If you need any more proof, just look at the latest revelation of the television deal Angelos has made with MLB to partner with whatever sap winds up thinking he actually owns this team.

As first reported in The Washington Times yesterday, Angelos will be due a $37.5 million payment come June 30, and another $37.5 million by June 30, 2006. Baseball will be picking up the first payment only because the team isn’t likely to be sold by June 30, but you can be sure it will be tacked on to the sales price.

For this, the prospective marks who will wind up pretending to own this baseball team will have a 10 percent piece of the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN).

What does that mean?

Angelos will get $75 million and also own 90 percent of a network that baseball believes will be worth $750 million.

The fools who will be the winning bidders for the Nationals will be the ones paying Angelos that $75 million for a mouse’s portion of this projected lucrative television network.

Just like a normal business, all right — if it were on a Sunday night HBO show where such business practices make great scripts.

Now, you will hear howls from the B&O; Warehouse and from MASN (Mr. Angelos’ Sports Network) people that the money is not going to Angelos — that it is simply a business transaction involving a network, as they try to hide behind the corporate name. They are turning themselves inside out trying to keep Angelos from being the villain in this dysfunctional deal.

Can anyone say RICO now?

Saying MASN (My Arrogant Scam Network) is not Peter Angelos is like saying the Orioles are not Peter Angelos. And, unfortunately for Orioles fans, they know very well that he is the Orioles. And now, unfortunately for Nationals fans, they are realizing that he is the Nationals, too.

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