Somewhere, Bob Short is chortling

(Bob Short, left, the former owner of the expansion Washington Senators who delivered the Senators to Texas after the '71 season.. AP File photo, via Daylife.com.)

And so, for the second year in a row, the team formerly known as the Washington Senators is heading to the World Series. Wonder if Washington baseball fans who were around for the Bob Short Era in D.C. have forgiven the Texas Rangers yet?

Without further ado, let's just copy and paste our post on the subject last year. Short still stinks (originally posted October 23, 2010):

The Washington Post's Thomas Boswell asked the question just over a week ago, and here's the answer:

Yes.

The question: Is it time for Washington baseball fans to 'forgive' the Texas Rangers?

All is, or should be, forgiven, right? Especially for a new generation of baseball fans who quite possibly don't know Bob Short from Rick Short, or even care to know the difference?

Anyway, the Rangers are heading to the World Series for the first time in franchise history -- a history that includes some dark years as the sad sack Washington Senators -- and they took down the Yankees to get there. Good for them. And now the question is whether Bud Selig's World Series Ratings Nightmare comes to fruition this weekend by way of a Giants victory over the Phillies.

Meanwhile, it's still fun to take shots at Bob Short given the chance -- like at the final Nats game at RFK in 2007, when fans unfurled "Short Still Stinks" banners (photos by WFY). But it's time for Washington baseball fans to move on - if they haven't already. Has been since 2005. Maybe that's easy to say for those who weren't around during the years when D.C. went without a baseball team, and even lived for years under the Peter Angelos occupation.

So, let's have one more for the road: The late Shirley Povich's classic "The Senators' Final Game", published in the Washington Post October 1, 1971:

The Washington Senators, at the end of this game, would be no more after 71 years on earth. The deceased, actually, was a pretty good draw, pulling those who had come to give a last cheer for remembered heroes, or, perforce, to wipe away some tears in public.

But for every mourner who made it to the ball park, there were multiple empty seats to testify that 30,000 others had averted their eyes from the scene, shunning it either in indifference to the whole business or in reluctance to give chortling Bob Short one last handout at the highest admission prices in the league.
(via Washington Post.com)

But was that Bob Short chortling from beyond the grave when A-Rod struk out for the final out, sending the Senators/Rangers to the World Series? Or was it Shirley Povich weeping?

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Comments

[WFY]

SHORT STILL STINKS

I grew up here, without a home team because of Bob Short, thus I root for the Texas Rangers to fail. If the Brewers win the NL pennant, I'll root for a 1994 World Series situation on account of Nyjer.

[CALSGR8]

Who do you blame? The guy who SOLD the team or the buyer? If there was no buyer, then what would Short do? I blame Short for being a bad owner.

Who owns the Rangers now? NOLAN RYAN! Sorry guys, Im not rooting against a Hof owner who has stuck by his manager and team since taking over! GO RANGERS!

[BinM]

At this point, the Rangers are a complete disconnect from the Senators (v2.0) and should be applauded for their accomplisments.
Bob Short however occupies a special place in Hades for his ham-handed manipulation of the franchise during his ownership tenure. He'll have company at some point, once Jeffery Loria leaves this mortal coil.

Forgive the team, without question yes, and applaud them for their success; Forgive the owner who brought about the franchise loss, NEVER.

[Kurt Smith]

As a former Baltimore Colts fan who watched the owner move the team in the middle of the night, I have sympathy for Senators fans who would still wish for the Rangers to lose every game. But the other commenters have a point; you can hold it against the owner, but not necessarily the team or their fans. I am personally wishing the Rangers well and hope they win.

I'm glad that baseball is back in Washington. Even though the two or three Expos fans probably feel the same way Nats fans do right now, there's no way that city should have kept its team.