Most people would agree that the Baltimore Orioles stepped in it with the contract they gave to Chris Davis. Let me say up front that I agreed with the Davis deal at the time. With the seasons he had been having, they had to bring him back. Sure there were a few muted voices who said it was a bad idea and that his numbers would taper off, but I thought it was something they had to do – at the time. And they were loudly applauded for keeping him.
That’s something that a lot of people conveniently forget about some of the contracts the Birds have given out – the Davis’ Jimenez’s, etc. of the world. These were deals that the national media lauded when they happened. But nobody’s about to say that now. Hindsight’s always 20/20.
Having said that, there can be no doubt that the Davis contract hasn’t exactly worked out as the Orioles wanted. But as we enter the off season with the World Series being over, does that contract hamper the Birds? And I say that from the sense that it makes me wonder if perhaps ownership might be wary of giving out big deals due to the Davis situation.
And I think that if Peter Angelos were still in charge of the team, that might be the case. While on paper he’s still the owner, Peter’s sons John and Lou appear to be running the show now. Will they be different in this sense than their father?
The answer really lies with GM Mike Elias. He’s the man that John and Lou Angelos have taxed with rebuilding the Orioles into a winner. While owenership obviously needs to sign off on big ticket items, we have to trust that the Angelos sons will defer to Elias. If a deal comes along, hopefully they trust that what Elias is doing is for the best interests of the team – as opposed to stepping in and meddling.
Birdland Crush 