At the same time, I was surprised yet not surprised to hear that both Ted Lerner and Peter Angelos made the list of
Sports Illustrated's Top Five Worst Team Owners, and least for baseball. Ted Lerner, the owner of the Washington Nationals, clocked in at #5. Hardly surprising, since the Lerner family has been terribly reluctant to spend a dime on quality talent, never mind the fact that a good team would pay off big time in the long run.
And Peter Angelos? He takes the #1 spot for the worst baseball owner in
SI's eyes.
When the Baltimore lawyer took control of the team in 1993, it was a year removed from its Camden Yards debut with a stacked roster Angelos allowed former GM Pat Gillick to build. The O's went on to make the first of two consecutive ALCS appearances just three years later. Then Angelos began his notorious meddling, firing popular manager Davey Johnson, burning through another five managers, killing trades proposed by his GMs and stripping down one of baseball's proudest franchises. The O's haven't finished above .500 in 11 seasons since their last playoff appearance.
You know, it really amazes me how much vitriol there is in Baltimore against Angelos. In Washington, the anti-Angelos sentiment goes without saying, since he tried to move heaven and earth to keep baseball out of Washington. But it's oddly refreshing to know that Orioles fans dislike him, too.
By the same token, Redskins owner Dan Snyder didn't fare much better in
SI's poll. He came in at the #3 worst owner for NFL teams.
Snyder is a good businessman and spares no expense with one of the most profitable franchises in sports. But maybe that's the problem: The young billionaire runs the team more like a first-time fantasy-football manager. Among the most expensive outlays: nearly $225 million committed to LaVar Arrington, Bruce Smith, Deion Sanders, Laveranues Coles and Adam Archuleta. Though those mistakes were at beginning of Snyder's tenure, Washington still hasn't come anywhere near the Super Bowl and has had five head coaches during his decade of ownership. Think Snyder learned his lesson? This past offseason, he locked up three players -- Albert Haynesworth, DeAngelo Hall and Derrick Dockery -- for a combined $162M.
Almost makes you wonder if Washington fans yearn for the days of Jack Kent Cooke again.
Labels: football, Nats 2009
