The owner of the Arizona Diamondbacks is pretending to be powerless. Baseball's realignment summit is proceeding just as you would have expected. You'd see less posturing at a peacock convention. After the second day of their quarterly ownership meetings, the High Priests of Hardball could agree only that they will reach no agreement this week. Attempts to consider geography in the drawing of baseball's map have been met with fierce resistance.
Common sense is no match for self-interest.
Peter Magowan owns the San Francisco Giants and, he claims, exclusive rights to National League baseball in the Bay Area. Because the Oakland A's operate only seven miles from 3Com Park, Magowan's recent days have been devoted to denouncing a plan that would place all teams in the Pacific and Mountain time zones in the National League. Magowan makes a strong case, but he is in danger of being steamrolled. Diamondbacks hold key Jerry Colangelo owns the expansion Diamondbacks and, already, a valuable veto. Promised a place in the National League, Colangelo can not be made to move for at least two seasons.