Apparently, Baltimore Orioles play-by-play broadcaster Kevin Brown is “freed” from the organization’s verbal shackles.
Brown made a statement Friday afternoon addressing the past few days — sort of — and is expected to call Friday night’s Orioles game from Seattle for the club’s regional sports network, MASN.
It’s Brown’s first TV game since July 23, when he read stats on-air about the team’s previous struggles at Tropicana Field and was subsequently temporarily removed by club CEO John Angelos for pointing out negative facts.
So, Orioles fans can now turn their attention to something more disturbing and out of their control: The team’s expiring lease at Camden Yards.
Wrapping up the Kevin Brown suspension
Let’s get to that in a moment. First, let’s wrap up the Brown debacle and the nearly three weeks he wasn’t on MASN, but also wasn’t suspended, according to the organization. Just an impromptu, unscheduled vacation, apparently, right after his on-air appearance in Tampa in which he used team-prepared stats to say the Orioles used to be terrible, which they were.
Brown’s four-Tweet statement Friday said he has a great relationship with Angelos and Senior vice president Greg Bader, that he loves the Orioles and that “recent media reports have mischaracterized my relationship with my adopted hometown Orioles.” No hint as to how he felt about what happened, or even his version of what happened.
The tweets weren’t read live and aired on state-run MASN, but I’m assuming after Brown made the statement, he took off his blindfold and told cameras that he was healthy and that everyone was treating him well. He likely was given a cigarette and then blew a kiss to his wife.
Look, Brown is 33, married, has a child on the way, recently bought a house in the area and has a promising career that should only continue to soar. He is a good guy that obviously felt he must do what he must do to keep his job. And that task Friday was to toe the company line after a non-suspension suspension and take an unnecessary shot at a media that includes him. I don’t blame Brown. Because I, for one, have no doubt those tweets were not of his doing but were agreed to as an olive branch to his bosses so he could get back on the air.
Just another brilliant day in Orioles’ history. Thankfully, John Angelos and his people just keep opening the circus tents and letting us all in for free.
Status of Camden Yards, entertainment district
While fans chanted “Free Kevin Brown” at the ballpark this week, multiple media outlets, including The Athletic, the Baltimore Sun and The Baltimore Banner, zeroed in on another developing story:
Angelos’ pursuit of an entertainment district around the Camden Yards’ stadiums complex, which would require hundreds of millions in additional state funding and appears to be the hold-up in a new stadium lease agreement.
Angelos’ vision of a destination location that includes restaurants, bars, shops and music venues surrounding Oriole Park and M&T Bank Stadium – for now, let’s call it Johnnywood — is not new. And it’s not a bad concept if it somehow could be brought to fruition. Who wouldn’t want to see people come into the city and spend their entertainment money even when there isn’t an Orioles or Ravens game?
It’s a Herculean project, however, with so many logistical details to be hashed out – including parking, land acquisition and who spends for what and how much – that it would be astonishing if the extra money and plans could be worked out before the stadium lease expires Dec. 31.
Angelos keeps promising a deal will get done, a lease will be signed. Those around Angelos keep stressing that negotiations with the Maryland Stadium Authority are about more than just the lease, and the fan base needs to be patient.
Well, there are two problems with this. One, this is a fan base that watched its football team leave in the middle of the night. Yes, it has been almost 40 years. But those who lived it – and likely their children and grandchildren – will always look over their shoulders when hearing bold ownership talk with no discernible action.
Secondly, John Angelos who likes to boast about his transparency, continues to lie straight-faced to the public and fails to follow through on promises.
There were several interesting nuggets that came out this week which provide insight on what Angelos is thinking. The Athletic reported that Angelos wants to develop on the parking lots adjacent to the stadiums, an area shared by the Baltimore Ravens. The Banner added that Angelos is asking for a whopping $300 million in state funding to build his vision, that on top of the $600 million already earmarked for stadium improvement if a lease is signed.
The Sun reported that Angelos sent a letter to incoming Maryland Governor Wes Moore at the end of January which said he had put lease negotiations on hold until Moore took over from outgoing Gov. Larry Hogan – roughly a 10-week period – and that Angelos asked for a two-year extension, which was not granted.
Although the first two revelations are certainly eye-opening and newsworthy, it’s what Angelos included in that letter that strikes me the most. Because, when you read in between the lines, it establishes the most important thread in this entire saga: How can you believe anything John Angelos says?
Case in point: At a news conference held on Martin Luther King Jr. Day to announce the Orioles commitment to an inner-city scholarship program, Angelos said this about lease negotiations: “The Orioles will continue to work with the Stadium Authority, and Tom Kelso and the next administration.”
According to the Sun, Angelos’ letter on January 31 confirmed he had had no active negotiations with the Stadium Authority since November when he uttered that line at the conference. In fact, two weeks later it was announced that Kelso, the authority chairman who had been appointed in 2015 by Hogan, a Republican, was being replaced by Gov. Moore, a Democrat. There’s no way Angelos, a hardline Democrat and financial supporter of Moore’s, didn’t know that was going to happen when he spoke to reporters Jan. 16.
Yes, that’s the same conference in which he said, unprompted, he was going to show the media the club’s financials, which he hasn’t and never will. It’s also the same conference in which he said, “I spent every day of my life living not only in Maryland, not only in Baltimore, but in Baltimore City.” I suppose that’s true except for the nine years he inexplicably disappeared from the Orioles and lived in New York state, Nashville, Florida, et cetera.
A month later, while talking to reporters in Sarasota. Fla., Angelos was again asked about the lease negotiations. His response: “I’d be very disappointed if I’m not able to work with the governor and his team … to make that happen in the next six months or sooner. I mean, I would love to have that as an All-Star Break gift for everybody, really, in the community.”
He uttered this less than three weeks after asking Moore for a two-year lease. That does not sound like a guy who was confident the lease would be getting done soon. The All-Star Break passed and so soon will “the next six months” from that statement. Incidentally, Angelos doubled down that day in February on his insistence that he’d share financial data with reporters, this time in Florida via a PowerPoint presentation before spring training ended. More crickets.
Is the stadium lease in danger?
Ultimately, the stadium lease will be signed, likely by the year-end deadline – or after another extension. I am sure of that. Because Angelos and the Orioles are not going to walk away from $600 million. And Major League Baseball won’t let them.
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred, like Angelos, has said repeatedly that the Orioles aren’t moving anywhere. Frankly, it would be an absolute PR disaster if one of the sport’s jewel venues, Camden Yards, was shuttered, especially with $600 million available for improvements.
So, the fear of losing another major-sports franchise is irrational, yet people around here have seen it before. That’s why the actual act of signing lease is so important.
Angelos, however, is focused on building his legacy through the entertainment complex that he believes will help resuscitate downtown while lining his pockets with money and investments that he made. Hell, maybe his vision will come true. And that would be great for Baltimore and Angelos.
Right now, though, Orioles fans simply want to know that his focus is on keeping the team in Baltimore and spending money on the field, via free agency or extensions, to help it sustain this newly discovered excellence for years to come.
Everything else – from canned Twitter statements to Johnnywood – is noise. And, as we’ve learned again this week through more missteps, noise that can’t be trusted.
Dan Connolly is an MLB Insider for Sportsnaut. Follow him on Twitter.