But it would not surprise me to see Arte use Irvine for leverage to get the city of Anaheim to do what it takes to design and build a new, state-of-the-art stadium for the team.

It’s hard to believe, but Anaheim/Angel stadium is something like the fourth-oldest stadium in all of baseball, behind Fenway, Wrigley and Dodger Stadium. The revised park has some character, but none of the history of the first two nor the location charm of the latter which would dictate keeping the current facility.

If the team makes it to the WS in the next few years—they don’t have to win the championship—see if Arte doesn’t start lobbying for a new park then. If Anaheim gets a taste of the financial windfall which comes from extended post-season play and the media attention which comes from the World Series, then they’ll be obligated not to let the team move to another city. My bet is that he’ll want a grand opening of a new park by 2014 at the latest, which will provide him a new revenue stream.

I recall something about the deal with FSW, which would run through 2016, but has an out clause somewhere in the deal. Arte still has the option of building his own YES or NESN, assuming he can score a basketball team and hockey team to provide programming software for the the channel year-round. Disney blinked on the ESPN West idea, but Arte has a few years to get his ducks in a row (no pun intended). Even if he doesn’t make it happen, the very idea could make Fox offer him an even more lucrative deal than the one he has now—the third-richest (on a per-season basis) in all of MLB.

The guy is still building the Angel brand and still increasing the value of the franchise. All the while, he hasn’t become an asshole like the Steinbrenners, or an aloof owner like John Henry, or an undercapitalized clown like Frank McCourt. We’re really very fortunate to have him leading the team.