Tuesday, January 04, 2005

Welcome Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

Baseball, like some other sports, poses as a sacred institution dedicated to the public good, but it is actually a big, selfish business with a ruthlessness that many big businesses would never think of displaying.
Jackie Robinson (1919 - 1972), baseball player

We need a good ball club in Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Dodgers are just a sideshow for an executive who will ultimately turn Dodger Stadium into condominiums.

The Angels have more former Dodgers on the frontline than do the current Dodgers team. The Dodgers today are more like the Los Angeles Clippers. The Los Angeles Dodgers now are really just another incarnation of the Oakland Athletics; a team that rotates players as soon as their salary demands grow beyond their small market capability to pay them.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the Dodgers issued an unattributed statement: "Regardless of any attempt at a public relations or marketing spin, true Angelenos know there is only one baseball team in Los Angeles, and that is the Dodgers."

It used to be the Dodgers. The Dodgers under Peter O’Malley would never have allowed the Seattle Mariners to outbid them for a player of the caliber of Adrian Beltre, who was their 25-year-old All-Star third baseman. The Dodgers of old would have built the team around a solid core. Just today, it was announced the Dodgers are trading Shawn Green to the Arizona Diamondbacks. We’ll be very surprised if the Dodgers have nearly the season they had last year. But regardless, the team will generate more revenue, since the ticket prices were increased, food prices have been increased, parking has been increased, and good players traded.

Welcome the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

1 comment:

B2 said...

Dodgers? Point taken. But have you ever heard such a mouthful as "The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim"? Bleah. They were able to win the pennant with their old name; this just makes them seem as though they think Anaheim's not good enough for them now -- and I think the local fans may react accordingly.