Tom Bridge at Metroblogging Washington picked up some information at the Washington Nationals opening day. It seems the ushers were fired from their DC jobs and hired directly by the Nationals:

This says a few things to me. It says that Selig and his cabal have settled on an owner, first of all. Secondly, that they're down to the brass tacks in terms of negotiations if they're talking about stadium personnel and not payroll, prices, and other large ticket items. Lastly, it means they're getting to the stage where they're involving people not typically into honoring non disclosure agreements. We're close to a deal here, folks, and we could see one possibly before the homestand is over, but I'm betting it will be closer to the All-Star Break before anyone in Major League Baseball shows DC any love.

It's my opinion that the owner was picked a long time ago. Baseball has to go through the process of making it look like there's bidding, but as the Boston transaction showed us, the people Bud likes the most are going to get the team.