Think of Baltimore, whose Orioles are the incumbent baseball team in our region, as a red state, and Washington, the challenger from the south, as a blue state. In between and all around are vast expanses of suburbia and rural lands, whose residents now have a choice in their baseball entertainment: Orioles or Expos-Senators-Nationals-Grays-Whatevers, American League or National, sitting in traffic for hours heading north or heading south.
You, the fans, are the swing states.
The Expos' mascot is Youppi, who will make the trip to D.C.
(Ryan Remiorz -- AP)
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Soon, no doubt, you will be bombarded with campaign propaganda, as both parties -- er, teams -- attempt to woo you to their side. Warning: The campaign could be vicious. (Rumor is, D.C. baseball operatives, as we speak, are quietly investigating whether Peter Angelos ducked service in the Vietnam War.)
In other two-team regions, the competing franchises have taken on their own distinct personalities. In southern California, for instance, the Los Angeles Dodgers are the darlings of the Hollywood set, while the Anaheim Angels play up their suburban, Disney-fied fun factor.
In Chicago, the Cubs have their cult-like following of long-suffering die-hards, while the White Sox attract a grittier type of fan, known sometimes to go on the field and attack first-base coaches and umpires.
What type of baseball fan you are might decide which team you support.
The Orioles in 2005 believe they will be finished with a seven-year rebuilding plan and will be ready, with the addition of a couple more critical pieces, to compete in the high-rent district of the AL East. Mismanagement has cost them more fans in the last few years than will be stolen away next season by a team in Washington.
The Expos-Senators-Nationals-Grays-Whatevers -- ESNGWs for short -- appear much further from contention; a proper goal for the franchise might be to shoot for contending when its new stadium is ready to open in Southeast Washington in 2008. This winter, when it will still be under MLB control, could be huge. Not only must the team hire a general manager to replace the departed Omar Minaya, but it must decide whether to spend freely on free agents -- in anticipation of a ten-fold increase in revenues over its Montreal days -- or wait until new ownership is in place.
The choice is yours, swing-state fans. First, here is a rundown of the issues as you ponder the two candidates:
The Players
Had Major League Baseball not run the team into the ground, the ESNGWs could have Vladimir Guerrero in right field, Orlando Cabrera at shortstop, Michael Barrett at catcher and Bartolo Colon, Carl Pavano and Javier Vazquez in the rotation. Instead, they have a solid young core built around second baseman Jose Vidro and outfielder Brad Wilkerson.
Had the Orioles not run themselves into the ground, they could have Steve Finley in center field, Armando Benitez closing, and Curt Schilling and Mike Mussina in the rotation. What the Orioles do have, however, is the best player in the AL this season, shortstop Miguel Tejada. (He'll be denied the most valuable player award by voters who deem it necessary that an MVP play for a winner.) They also have an all-star catcher in Javy Lopez, a potential future batting champion in Melvin Mora and may try to lure back future Hall-of-Fame first baseman Rafael Palmeiro.
And if things get really dicey, they could try to talk Cal Ripken out of retirement.
Edge: Orioles.
The Stadiums
Twelve years after it opened, Oriole Park at Camden Yards remains one of the crown jewels of baseball, as well as the model for all the other retro-chic stadiums that followed. The Warehouse beyond right field makes for a majestic backdrop, especially when grease fires from Boog's barbecue stand cloak it in wafts of thick, black smoke.
