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Two aging multi-purpose stadiums, two power struggles, two situations where neither team is going anywhere any time soon.

In today's Washington Post Thomas Boswell has an interesting column about the newly-minted Nationals and their fight to build a ballpark in Southeast DC. After the fights that brought the Nationals (nee Montreal Expos/San Juan Touristas) to the District, there's a new one being played out to give them a full-time home outside of RFK Stadium.

Basically, the team wants a space to call their own and compete with the Baltimore Orioles and their relatively new digs at Camden Yards, while DC's city council is trying to cover their bets and make sure they aren't left holding the bag for the cost of the construction.

Anyone familiar with DC knows the stigma of that part of town and questions why there would be any hesitation to try and add a viable economic engine to the area (both in direct benefits like jobs for concessions, but also for the souvenir stands, bars, restaurants, etc. that come with a major league ballpark. Anyone who knows about past stadium builds (see Milwaukee) can see why DC is so cautious.

"We have accommodated every single issue of every council member," fumed a disgusted [Robert DuPuy, president of Major League Baseball]. "This is shortsightedness in an election year by some politicians. They have no vision for the city. They can't see the forest for the trees.

"We will file arbitration tomorrow to have the original contract enforced and we will consider all other options."

Turns out those other options might be moving the Nationals from DC. It also turns out that the council then backed up and voted to approve a ratified version of the lease that MLB will be looking into soon.

Seeing as the first two incarnations of a DC team (Senators I and II) have bolted town - to Minneapolis and Texas, respectively - I can't see DC bailing on this too quickly. As DuPuy said, "We've worked our butt off to make this work in Washington."

This week, the Twins were told by a Hennepin County District Judge that their lease is up this year, which means they have been given more ammunition in their fight to pick up a new ballpark and get out of the Metrodome. Speaking as someone who walked out on the field last weekend at TwinsFest, the field is a parking lot painted green and it's beyond me why the players' union hasn't filed a grievance on behalf of the Twins players and any team unfortunate enough to have to play there.

It might be better if they were to upgrade the turf itself to something akin to the carpet at the University of Illinois and other stadiums, but it seems the Metrodome has kept the original carpet that came with the place. I hope that I'm wrong and that with thousands of fans kicking about, the Twins put out any old rug, but something tells me that's not the case.

'[The Judge] wrote in his decision that the Twins are playing on a season-by-season basis and can leave the Metrodome before they start advertising, distributing tickets, securing sponsors or otherwise indicating an intent to play an upcoming season in the Dome.

The issue isn't over yet, as the commission is mulling whether to appeal the decision. The commission's lawyer, Corey Ayling, told The Associated Press that he believes the Twins could still trigger a 2007 playing obligation by their actions.

"If the Twins do take steps to sell tickets and reserve dates, we will define that as a renewal of the current arrangement to play ball in the Metrodome under the current terms," Ayling said.'

The Twins have made no secret of their desire for a new, outdoor ballpark, launching this page off their web site, with matching tabs, front and center. Heck, even The Girl walked into the place for our first game in the Dome last season and said, 'This isn't right. Baseball shouldn't be played indoors.'

She's right and the facility is a little out of whack. With Minneapolis lacking viable public transportation, it's not like moving the venue is going to be too traumatic either. Drive 20 miles to the Dome, drive 20 miles to northwest Minneapolis, what's the difference? If anything, they can take a page from the Brewers' book and custom make a ballpark with easy parking and better traffic flow.

As it stands, they want to build near the Target Center, just north on what is largely industrial land. While it's going to be interesting (and the retractable roof hasn't been added to any price quotes yet) to see what allowances are made for the weather, etc. the general park overview looks great. Then again, anyone who has ever seen a game at the Dome knows anything is an improvement. Baseball shoehorned into a football stadium doesn't really work as baseball at some point.

Personally, I'll settle for a time in this town when the sun can shine on home plate in a major league ballpark.

(Larry Salzman/AP)