Unfortunately, it looks the same way to me. I've been told that such a plan
couldn't possibly be in effect, but I think people who discount it forget
how stupid and venal MLB is.

They have always regarded our effort to bring baseball back here as a
nuisance at best, and Havana Pete, the Plague From Pratt Street, is never
going to accommodate himself to the reality of Washington's desire for its
own team, especially to that team actually existing.

Another thing that tends to confirm your friend's suspicion is that the Nats
have done and continue to do virtually NO promotion. None. And MLB keeps
that store in Farragut Square open.

I hope you and your friend are wrong. I hope my suspicion is wrong. But if
you set out to destroy the Washington baseball effort once and for all, you
would do EXACTLY what MLB is doing.

Unfortunately for them, the 2.7b million the Nats drew -- better than 19
other teams -- at old RFK with NO promotion tends to undermine the plan.
Something like that is hard to get around. And the supporters we have among
the owners -- such as Steinbrenner, for one (largely because he hates The
Plague From Pratt Street) -- are insisting on getting their money. So the
plan may backfire on Mud Selig, Boob Depraved, and the rest of the MLB gang.

Tim
----- Original Message -----
> I was told by a friend (former mlb player/person still associated with
> mlb) about 6 months before the decision was made to put the the Nationals
> in DC that Major League Baseball has a plan was to watch the team fail and
> to contract this francise...and shut up the DC people once and for all
> eliminating 2 problems at once. I was told I was wrong and that MLB would
> never do such a thing. My friend insists that his information was
> accurate. I didn't believe him then and as time goes by he reminds me
> that everything that has happened points to him being correct...the fact
> that key players were allowed to leave Montreal, the delays that put DC in
> a position of not being able to compete on an even playing field by going
> after free agents while players leave Washington.

> I now believe that everything that is happening is part of a master
> plan...I am not a person who believes that everything is a
> conspiracy...but it is becomming clearer that MLB has a plan and DC is not
> going to benefit from it.

> I hope my friend is wrong but he swears that he heard exactly what I just
> reported. He doesn't think Washington will has baseball much longer. I
> hope he is wrong.

> Has anyone else heard anything similar?

> Bill