Part 2: How can the Orioles comeback?

In Part 1, I reviewed the history of the Baltimore Orioles, who have fallen on hard times after being the most envied franchise in the game for many. In Part 2, I will examine the Angelos ownership and question if the team will ever improve.

How does Angelos operate? Can the Orioles comeback?

1. Invest in the Farm System and scouting.

The Orioles farm system still hasn’t developed many players. Outside of Nick Markakis, none of the players picked in the 1st round from 1995 to 2006 have had positive impact for the Orioles. Not many of them have had any impact at all in the majors, except for Jayson Werth, picked by Pat Gillick in 1997, but traded almost as soon as Gillick left town. Recent top picks like Matt Wieters and Brian Matusz are in the majors, but major questions still surround them. But, it’s about more than just picking good players. You need coaches and managers committed to 1 way of doing things throughout the system, so that players have the ability to learn their individual skills, without wasting time learning each individual manager’s bunt and outfield relay plays. And the scouts need to be out in the field, beating the bushes, looking for hidden gems. In fact, it recently was revealed that the Orioles have the fewest scouts by far of any team in the AL East. They also have no international presence at all. It’s hard to compete with the Yankees, Red Sox, and now Rays if you can’t churn out a comparable number of prospects that those teams can.

2. Free Agents and Trades
The free agent signings that went so well in the mid 90’s had already began to backfire by the late 90’s. Examples of guys who flamed out in orange and black were Joe Carter, Mike Timlin, Pat Hentgen, and most famously, Albert Belle. The team also had verbal agreements with pitchers Aaron Sele and Xavier Hernandez, but the team backed out of them, citing injury history. Eventually, the ineptitude of the team caused players and their agents either ignored the Orioles or used their interest to drive up their price for other teams, leading then GM Syd Thrift to complain that he felt like he was offering “Confederate Money” to them. The fact is the team isn’t very attractive to players anymore. Not only do they see the stands 40% full on most nights, but they don’t want to compete with the Yankees and Red Sox, knowing that the chances of making it to the postseason on any other team in the division is rare. The classic example of this is Mark Teixeira, who grew up in Baltimore going to Orioles games and seeing the stands full every night. He wanted no part of the shit show going on here, ignoring Andy MacPhail’s initial offer and promise that he was willing to go higher, in order to sign with the Yankees. Why compete against the best, when you can join ‘em?

So, this probably leaves trades as the best option for the Orioles to improve. But, here too, they face self imposed difficulties. Namely, because Angelos insists on approving every deal, and he brings a lawyer's win at all costs approach with him. He looks to screw over potential trading partners, questioning why they would give up this piece or that piece and often taking weeks to make a decision, before the other team gets frustrated and moves on. Potential players the Orioles could have had in trades over the last decade include: Roy Oswalt, Joe Nathan, AJ Burnett, Mike Lowell, Erick Aybar, John Danks, and Jose Arredondo. GM’s have tried to improve the team, but instead have run into the brick wall of Angelos and his unwillingness to trust the ability of his baseball employees to improve the team. It will be interesting to see how the Orioles approach this year's trade deadline, and to see who will actually have the final authority in approving any potential deals.

3. Stop treating the team as simply a cash cow
Angelos bought the team for $173 million in 1993. As part of his threatened lawsuit against the move of the Expos to Washington DC in 2004, he not only gets a guaranteed price of $375 million if he chooses to sell, he also got baseball to give $75 million to him in order to set up his own regional sports network. So, Angelos had to put almost none of his own money into creating his own television channel. But, despite the performance of the team on the field, the ratings keep going up, enabling Angelos to charge higher ad rates, for both the Orioles, and the Nationals; who with their new star Steven Strasburg, only figure to get more popular as the years go by. Angelos has decided to try to maximize his revenue, by having as his GM Andy MacPhail, who was well known in Chicago, for trying to skimp on players and the baseball side of his operation, in order to produce a maximum profit for his ownership. He has brought the same skills and mentality to Baltimore, signing bargain basement free agents, and working the waiver wire to bring players here. By reducing his overhead, MacPhail makes money for the team, just by getting people to come to the park. We have also seen the advent of ‘premium pricing,’ enabling the Orioles to make more money off the hordes of Yankees and Red Sox fan who invade Camden Yards every time those teams come to town. As long as Angelos decides he would rather make money than even make a competitive effort at winning, than the team has no shot at competing in the AL East. The TV network Angelos got as 1/2 of his bribe from MLB, MASN, reportedly had its first profitable year in 2009. He has a lot of money to spend. He operates in a division that virtually requires teams have to spend a lot to be competitive. It will be interesting to see if that money is used to improve the team on the field, as has been promised by the ownership, or merely goes into another useless ad campaign that only serves to make the fans MORE skeptical of ownership's promises.

 

4. Do the honorable thing and sell the team

Peter Angelos is the definition of a self made man. He was born poor in a very working class area of Baltimore and built his law practice to the point that he's the richest man in town. No man has done more trying to save local institutions in a town that is dying. He does not admit to failure, ever. However, he has failed as owner of the Orioles. Every instinct that has served him as a lawyer has not translated to the field of baseball. He listens to the wrong people and uses that advice to take down the people who have the team's best interests at heart, rather than his. The latest example of this maneuvering has been the dissension over the new choice of Orioles manager. According to rumors, after Dave Trembley was fired in June, Angelos wanted to replace him with ex Orioles catcher and now broadcaster Rick Dempsey, while Andy MacPhail wanted AA manager Brad Komminsk. Instead of accepting the wisdom of the man he hired to run his baseball team, Angelos sought to impose his own choice. Instead, they compromised on Orioles 3^rd base coach Juan Samuel. After a noticeable improvement to start his tenure, the Orioles have now allowed 10+ runs 9 times, compared to 1 under Trembley. The team continues to drift along, with no coherent plan for using their minor leaguers. Recently, 3^rd base prospect Josh Bell was sent back to the minors, according to Samuel it was because Miguel Tejada “likes to play.” These kinds of short term decisions are hurting the franchise. A new manager is needed now. Buck Showalter has been rumored for a month as the new skipper. He was supposed to be hired at or right after the All Star break. Why hasn’t it happened? Has Showalter gotten a case of cold feet (and who can blame him?) or are we seeing a repeat of the same old shenanigans and delays coming from Angelos’ law office? I guess we’ll soon find out.

As a fan of this team since birth, I beg you Mr. Angelos, please do the honorable thing and admit that you have tried and failed as an owner, and sell the team to people with a fresh vision, and the know-how to implement that vision. Because I and most Orioles fans can pretty much guess where the direction this team is going under your continued ownership. And it’s a shame, because these players and fans deserve a better fate. We're sick of being laughed at, having to put up with the Michael Wilbon's of the world joking "Why do the Orioles still exist?” We're sick of going to games more or less knowing that your team is going to find some way to blow it, either through poor play on the field, bad managing, or just being overwhelmed. The team, the fan, and even baseball deserve better.

Do the right thing. Now.