Bud Selig is protecting his own – the owners – in declaring that there will be no immediate decision on a new owner for the Washington Nationals.

In doing this, Selig essentially knocks the Nats out of the running for the big-ticket free agents. Without an independent owner, the Nats will need to be content with mid-level free agents, or possibly engage in some really risky trades to get some power pitching and power hitting on the roster. Since the MLB owners control the Nats right now, and given that Selig is an owner, he’s simply trying to keep the Nats out of contention via starvation. It’s the same tactic he’s used for years with this organization, and it’s simply pathetic.

It only strengthens my argument that MLB needs to have its anti-trust exemption removed ASAP.

In other Nats news, GM Jim Bowden, who shares quite a bit of credit in building the Nats into a contender in 2005, interviewed with the Boston Red Sox for their vacant GM position. This puts me in a bit of a bind, as the Red Sox are my favorite MLB team. Since I also have quite a bit of loyalty to the Nats, this is a bit of a painful predicament: should Bowden stay through end his April, 2006, contract (and possibly beyond, with a new owner), or should he jump at the change to be GM for his hometown team, a job that he freely admits is a “dream position?”

And the flip-side of this is that Theo Epstein, the former GM of the Red Sox, is reportedly at the top of the list of potential candidates to become GM of the Nats – once the whole ownership thing is settled. Epstein worked wonders for the Sox, and would bring a lot of youth and energy to the Nats’ front office.

Either way, it’s going to be painful – and good.