Maybe Arte doesn’t care, either

Ah, there you have it. You might have wondered why the Los Angeles Angels have had10 consecutive losing seasons and been missing from the playoffs since Moses was in middle school.

It’s because – and here comes the revelation – that, as Angels owner and chief albatross Arte Moreno said this week, well, it’s the fans’ fault.

“Believe it or not, winning is not in their top five,” said Moreno. They care more about affordability and safety, he said.
Well, certainly, no one attending a game at State College Boulevard wants to get knifed in the parking lot. But no one considering buying a ticket or a hot dog in the crumbling edifice once called Anaheim Stadium believes that the Halos have cornered the market on low prices.

Dodger Stadium, by contrast, has had more than its share of ruffian action in the lots or even in the stands. One dare not wear a Giants cap in certain regions of the stadium.

One measure of how many Benjamins the two competing teams in the market – the Dodgers and Angels – spend is to go look at the Major League Baseball luxury tax limit of $244 million. The Blue Crew spends the most, paying the penalty when they (regularly) exceed it.

The Angels, by contrast, have never crossed that line, or even gotten close to it. It’s like Kryptonite to Arte, I guess.

Everybody but Mr. Moreno thinks that it’s time for new ownership. Someone with drive and lots of free cash. To continue the Superman metaphor, we could even use Lex Luthor. He doesn’t always win, but nobody can doubt how hard he tries.