Mediocre Fred's Mediocre Blog (Ret.)

Nationals to DC: Went Away For A Little While, But Now We're Back

Today's Musical Selection: "Hello Again" by the Cars

Well, how about that, sports fans?

Yes, you can believe it at last. This is really it. There really will be baseball in Washington next year. There really will. Really.

I know, I can't believe it either. I figured there had to be some trap door waiting for us between here and the Opening Day of my dreams, and last week Linda Cropp thoughtfully opened it. For a week, I couldn't sleep, barely felt like eating, couldn't sit still. It was like losing a great girlfriend, or having a death in the family. I've loved baseball as long as I can remember, and I've lived in the Fedroplex all my life. To come so close, and then to see it snatched away before the team could even take the field... well, in the words of B.B. King, how blue can you get?

In the depths of my depression, I left a gloomy comment over on Frinklin's blog to the effect that 2004 was my worst year ever. And at the time, it seemed that way. Pretty much anything I might have wanted was dangled before me just long enough to get my hopes up, then taken away just when I was starting to get used to it. Hell, for 6 hours, I thought John Kerry was going to be our next president, something I certainly couldn't have guessed when I signed the petition to get him on the Virginia ballot back in February. Back then, I figured he was headed for the dustbin of history, just like all my other favorite candidates. But no, somehow he won the primary, then he ran a competitive race, then the exit polls had him ahead... it was about as cruel a defeat as it's possible to have. I lost my job in the summer. The Smart Lady moved away. And then, for icing on the cake, a lifelong dream smashed like a Faberge egg under a steamroller. I'm sure some good things happened this year, but damned if I could think of any.

Then came word that yes, everyone involved realized it was in everyone's best interest to make the Nationals work. Chairwoman Cropp realized that, while her stand for fiscal sanity was admirable and all, being The Woman Who Lost Baseball wouldn't exactly burnish her reputation when it was time to run for mayor. Mayor Williams, after a brief cathartic spell of cursing like a sailor, regained his head and decided to roll up his sleeves and save his legacy, like he ought to have done from the beginning. And MLB, which was determined to bring on nuclear winter if it was necessary to teach that impudent Linda Cropp a lesson, realized that blowing its last shot at the DC market might be pennywise, but it was sure as hell pound foolish. So everyone sat down on Monday and ironed out their differences with the feverish speed of a college kid cramming for a final. Who says government is slow and inefficient? Not yesterday they weren't.

Last night, I attended a rally of DC baseball supporters downtown. Originally, it was designed as a town hall meeting, allowing us to question the mayor and the Council about the state of things and to plead our case. As I walked up to the building, I was handed a bumper sticker reading, "LINDA YOU IGNORANT SLUT!" I chuckled... and then I heard another member of the group admonish the sticker distributor: "Stop handing those out. We won." My eyebrows shot up. Then I got into the hall and discovered that the Mayor and Chairwoman Cropp weren't there. Seems they were working on something. And Mark Sterne and Charlie Brotman, the MCs for the evening, said a joint statement was in the works, scheduled for 6:30. They kept hinting that good news was on the way. Well, now...

As it turned out, the big announcement didn't come during the rally, and Sterne and Brotman did yeoman's work, vamping like crazy, taking questions, reminiscing about the old Senators days, inviting up anyone and everyone with connections to DC baseball to make a speech. Ex-Senators Fred Valentine and Chuck Hinton. Presidents of baseball-oriented youth groups. Documentary filmmaker Aviva Kempner (who got off a great line about DC suffering "The Curse of the Council"). Councilwoman Kathy Patterson. AFL-CIO president John Sweeney. I spotted Thomas Boswell over by the wall, wearing a navy Nats cap.

I sat next to Papa Shaft, and as we were leaving I said to him, "You know what makes me optimistic? Kathy Patterson was here. A good omen."

Papa was dubious. "But she was at the press conference announcing the team, too, and she still voted no."

"That's just the point, though. Whenever the winds are blowing in favor of baseball, she makes sure she's up on stage. If the deal was a no-go, she wouldn't have risked coming."

We took the Metro back home, and found ourselves stumbling around Vienna at 8:30, looking for a place to eat in 16-degree weather.

"They said there'd be an announcement, but it's been two hours and nothing so far," Papa said.

"I wonder if that's good or bad," I said.

"I think so. I'll bet they're trying to iron out every last detail so they can present it at the Council meeting tomorrow."

"Good idea. That way, if something goes wrong, they have a week to fix it if they need to."

You might think that this was unnecessarily pessimistic of me, but if you've paid attention to this whole thing, you understand why.

I got a "DC '05" pin at the rally, and I left it pinned to my overcoat today. I was hoping it was a good-luck charm. Finally, at 2:45 in the afternoon, by a 7-6 margin, the Council completed, at long last, the restoration. (Patterson voted no again, by the way. Nice straddle.)

In September, when we got word that the Expos were coming, a group of us fans repaired to a local watering hole to raise toasts in honor of our heroes (and there were plenty that day). We couldn't stage a repeat performance tonight, so I'll offer a few toasts of my own. Raise 'em high, everyone.

- To Linda Cropp, who managed today's session admirably and proved that, despite the nasty cracks about her intellect after last week's debacle, she's perfectly capable of being an effective leader when she wants to be. Thank you, Linda, for being amenable to discussions, rather than continuing the game of chicken with the sport.

- To Jack Evans, who was the pro-baseball bulldog on the Council throughout this process. Your fire and willingness to get down in the trenches and fight helped keep the deal alive long enough to reach resolution. You weren't as publicly involved in the finale, but believe me, the baseball fans of DC will never forget your role.

- To Anthony Williams, whose vision and boldness made this whole deal happen in the first day. It's Cropp's day today, and you're taking a beating in the press right now, some of it deserved. But when all is said and done, everyone will remember who got MLB to agree to come here in the first place. Personally, I'll always remember and admire you for last Wednesday, the day the deal looked stone dead. You stepped up in front of the cameras and accepted personal responsibility for the deal's failure. You were a profile in courage that day.

- To the parking company whose $100 million private financing offer helped Chairwoman Cropp feel comfortable removing the sunset provision that was a deal-breaker for MLB.

- To Major League Baseball (am I feeling generous or what?). You scared the daylights out of a lot of us when you threatened to pull the team out of DC, but you matched your hard-line rhetoric with a behind-the-scenes willingness to strike a deal, for which you deserve credit. So there it is. Now don't do that to us again, okay?

- To Adrian Fenty, who voiced his opposition to the deal honestly and eloqently. You were a dignified and savvy advocate for your position, and I tip my Nats cap to you. I think you've got a future in this game, kid.

- To Jim Bowden. It never felt so good to be able to grouse about the dumb moves your GM is making.

- To BallWonk, whose clever and witty commentary on the stadium situation helped keep me away from the ledge this week. Thanks, buddy. I owe you one.

- To Nationals fans everywhere. See you at RFK in April!

Egads, I'm exhausted. I'm going to go soak my head in a bucket of ice. See you tomorrow!

Posted by Fred at December 21, 2004 10:49 PM