Baltimore Orioles: Are delays stopping progress?

The long and strung out process through which the Baltimore Orioles are going to find a new General Manager and eventual field manager is well documented. At this point it simply is what it is. Ownership is taking their sweet time. That’s their right in a sense.

But is this process perhaps hurting more than it’s helping? As an example, the MLB GM Meetings are this week. The Orioles are attending the meeting…without a GM. That somehow seems counterproductive. Mind you, the GM meetings are in essence a precursor to the MLB Winter Meetings next month. One hopes the Birds have a true front office at that point.

However the Orioles are a ship that needs a direction. The longer they go without leadership, the longer we wait for a manager. Whomever that manager is will have a huge task on his hands, as he’ll need to figure out which young players he wants to keep and which of those who are kept who he wants to play. Spring training will be the big factor in deciding that, however there has to be plan.

The longer we go without team leadership, the amount of time to make those decisions gets more truncated. And yes, that could affect the process. Or the length thereof.

Baltimore Orioles: Election Day

There’s never much going on with he Baltimore Orioles at this point. So here’s an annual column I write that has nothing to do with the Birds. In effect, it’s a Public Service Announcement. It’s a short column but it has a great message: GET OUT TODAY AND VOTE!

Not many things are guaranteed in life. The right to vote is one of them. For whom you vote and which way is irrelevant. Your positions and views are just as valid as people who see things inversely. And your voice deserves to be heard just as much.

The entire US House of Representatives, 1/3rd of the US Senate, and in Maryland the Governor’s Chair is up for Election this year. We the people owe it to ourselves to make our voices heard. So please folks, exercise your civic rights and vote today – regardless of how you see the world.

Baltimore Orioles: How do fans feel about a forced sale?

As owner of the Baltimore Orioles, Peter Angelos has been a polarizing figure. Have mistakes been made that were unforced? Absolutely. However I would also argue that there’s another side to Peter Angelos that goes unreported. Such as the act of him paying all stadium employees for the games that were lost due to the riots in 2015. He’s very civic-minded, regardless of what your view is of his stewardship of the team.

The past two days I’ve laid out what I believe could be going on within the franchise, and how it’s possible that MLB is intentionally cramping the Orioles. That could ultimately point to the team being sold at some point. Or more specifically, a forced sale. Forced by MLB.

Let’s say you’re ready to be done with Peter Angelos as the Orioles’ owners, and by extension the potential stewartship of his sons. Would you be willing to in essence be told by force that the Angelos family is out? In effect, whether people like it or not?

Baltimore has long been a city that’s marched to the tune of it’s own drum. This is a city that refused to stand down when it lost it’s beloved NFL team, that is until they got another one back. This is the city that banded together to heal the wounds of riots in both 1968 and 2015 – with little outside help from anyone. Anytime something happens in other communities the nation rallies behind them. It seems taht when it happens to Baltimore the attitude is “well it’s their own fault – they did this to themselves.”

Point being that this is a city that’s largely self-sufficient and very independent. Whether it’s for a good reason or bad, would Baltimore stand for basically being told that their team is going to be sold? Somehow that doesn’t seem like the Baltimore that I know and love.

That aside, folks who claim a forced sale wouldn’t be a bad thing should tread lightly. Look at what the Orioles did this past season in selling off most of their high-priced assets. When Robert Irsay came into ownership of the Colts he slowly started gutting the team. Then he started demanding a new stadium, and threatened to move. With declining attendance due to losing seasons (due to no star power on the field), the team became very easy to move.

Need I go on? The Angelos family has ALWAYS been committed to the city of Baltimore. Certainly there would be a chance that the new owners would be local and would be just as committed. But all I’m saying is tread lightly.

Baltimore Orioles: Is MLB holding up the Birds’ plans (continued)?

Yesterday I talked about how MLB would need to approve John and Lou Angelos as the new owners of the Baltimore Orioles if their father, Peter Angelos, died or transfered ownership. To me it stands to reason that Peter Angelos would just transfer ownership to his kids and allow the transition to occur immediately as opposed to waiting until his death. But the politics of the league regarding the MASN case also plays a role.

I suppose it’s understood that when a family owns an asset such as a company, children of the true owner will often step in and play the role of the parent in a pinch. In this case, John and Lou Angelos are in essence running the team on their father’s behalf. But is MLB perhaps interfering where it shouldn’t?

I’m not suggesting this based on any evidence. I’m throwing it out there as a theory. The league has no stake whatsoever in the Orioles’ continued success. Is that fact? Not really. But it is my opinion. By their actions, they’ve made it very clear that they want the MASN case resolved in the Washington Nationals’ favor. This is mainly because the league knows it signed a bad deal with Peter Angelos years ago. So they’re hoping to have it thrown out. And again, in my opinion it’s the Orioles and the Orioles’ fans who are suffering.

I wouldn’t put it past the league to throw money wrenches into John and Lou Angelos’ plans for those political reasons. Whereas the Steinbrenner brothers ran the New York Yankees for their father for years before ownership was transfered, and were allowed to do so with autonomy. But is it not possible that the league office is interfering with whatever the Orioles are trying to do – simply because it’s the Angelos’ and it’s the Orioles?

Again, I’m not giving you any evidence that suggests this. Because there is none. I’m putting it out there as a theory – please don’t take what I’m writing as fact. However the Angelos brothers did seem to show a fairly decisive side in making the tough choice to sell off assets during the season. So does the delay in hiring a front office and manager not seem somewhat out of character?

And with that said, again we know that the league seems to have the motive to make things tough for the O’s and the Angelos’. So that’s kind of where this is coming from. Is it appropriate to say? Maybe, maybe not. But again, it’s simply a theory. Not based in anything more than circumstantial evidence.

Does the league have the power to hold up a GM hiring? That I don’t know. However I suspect that they could put some sort of scrutiny on ownership so as to be overbearing – since “technically” John and Lou aren’t the owners on paper. Which brings up another point; at sometime in the future, Peter Angelos will pass away. Would his sons be able to get the necessary 2/3rds vote from the other owners to become the new owners of the team?

Point being, a sale could be forced if not. Those types of votes (with the children of the late owner inheriting the team) are often seen as ceremonial and in essence as a formality. But the possibility exists that the Orioles could be sold (by force) in the next few years. What happens then?

Baltimore Orioles: Is MLB holding up the Birds’ plans?

There’s angst amongst the Baltimore Orioles’ fan base, mainly because the team remains without a captain. I mean both in the front office and on the field. Ownership made it very clear that first they would hire a General Manager (or a GM-like position), and that person would hire a manager. So the horse has to come before the cart in a sense. But is it potentially ownership that’s the problem?

That last sentence is fairly deceiving. On paper, the owner of the Orioles is Peter Angelos. However we know that he’s been in failing health, and his sons (John and Lou) have been running the team in his stead. However officially Peter is the owner until he dies or until he transfers ownership to his sons directly. That last scenario actually happened this year with the team just down the road; Washington owner Ted Lerner wanted to transfer ownership to his son, Mark, and it was approved by his fellow owners.

And that’s a key point on two levels. 2/3rds of the other owners have to approve a new owner, whether it’s by sale, gift, or will. So if Peter Angelos dies and he leaves the team to his sons (or anyone else for that matter) in accordance with his will, 2/3rds of the other owners would still have to vote to approve them as the new owners. The same is true if he gifts the team to his sons. If 2/3rds of the owners don’t approve the transfer of ownership or sale, the league in essence could force the team to be sold.

The Orioles, MASN, the Angelos family, and the Washington Nationals are involved in a legal dispute over television rights fees. This much we all know. MLB’s made it very clear by their actions that they want the matter settled. They’ve also made it clear that they want it settled in Washington’s favor. Is that hurting the Orioles in their search for a new front office?

Basically, could the league be making it difficult for John and Lou Angelos to operate as the de facto owners? Chew on that for a day – I’ll get back to it tomorrow.

Baltimore Orioles: How does one market the team in 2019?

The Baltimore Orioles are a hot mess. Unfortunately they have been since April when the world seemingly stopped turning. However as I’ve written over time, Spring Training 2019 is going to be the most important camp in awhile. Not only to see who plays where, but also to see how everyone meshes under the new manager. And also to figure out who “everyone” is.

However the 2019 Orioles are going to have an identity problem from the outset. Who exactly are they? Or rather, who will they be? I suspect that Baltimoreans and Orioles fans will take the time to learn who these guys are as we go along. Your true die hards will know everyone out of Spring Training. But soon enough the new team will be guys that fans recognize by name.

But what do the Orioles do until that happens? How do you market things such as season ticket packages when you can’t even inform fans who they’ll be paying to see play? Similarly, how does the team draw fans to their annual FanFest celebration when they don’t have any star power (or even a manager) to hock?

The same is true in terms of merchandising. Cedric Mullins‘ jersey and shirsey will only sell so much. Needless to say I think that Birdland is excited to have Mullins here, but again he’s only one guy. And it’s still uncleaer as to how much people are going to be willing to buy in right now. Needless to say, the marketing department has it’s work cut out for it.

Baltimore Orioles: Branden Kline to the 40-man roster

Earlier this week the Baltimore Orioles instated pitcher Branden Kline onto the 40-man roster. In a sense, he’s officially a big leaguer. Of course the fact that it’s November means that he won’t be in games anytime soon. But nevertheless he’s on the roster.

The Birds considered giving Kline a September call-up this year. However with him coming off of Tommy John surgery, they opted to shut him down. And odds are that was smart. There probably wasn’t much for him to prove this September in any games.

For what it’s worth, Kline in essence took Adam Jones‘ spot on the 40-man roster. Jones because a free agent on Tuesday of this week, and is officially no longer employed by the club. And effective today, former manager Buck Showalter and former GM Dan Duquette can say the same. Their contracts expired at the end of October.

The Orioles were considering the option of protecting Kline during the Rule 5 draft, but putting him on the 40-man roster does that and then some. How he fits into whatever direction the team heads from here remains to be seen. Of course, once we know who the GM and manager will be, that might become a bit more clear.

Baltimore Orioles: Your enemies get fat on what you leave behind

Throughout the 2018 season I wrote about how the Baltimore Orioles left a lot of opportunities on the field, and how their opponents almost always made them pay. And in fact, the Orioles could never seem to do the same in return when other teams would slip up. They were the most giving and the most forgiving team in baseball in a sense.

But is the same also true on a grander scale? Steve Pearce now stands as the World Series MVP. Not only that, but he does so with one of the Orioles’ rivals (Boston). As I said earlier this week, my hope is that Orioles fans are happy for Pearce. He had some great moments with the Orioles, and odds are he’ll be remembered fondly here.

He also was allowed to walk at a certain point. Granted, Pearce is a career journeyman. He was used to coming and going, sometimes more than once a year, over time. The Orioles were just another stop along the way. There were no hard feelings, and both sides parted amicably.

But the fact remains that Pearce probably would have fit into the 2017 and 2018 Orioles’ payrolls very nicely. And he would have certainly fit into the lineup. Would the Orioles have been a better team with him the past two seasons? Not that it would have mattered too much at the end of the day, but yes they would have been.

Instead the O’s allowed him to leave, and his travels took him to Toronto this season. Toronto traded him to Boston before the trade deadline, and the rest is history. Again, Pearce is a guy who in these parts will be remembered as being a key member of some great Oriole teams. His name will always be somewhat synonymous with the Showalter era. But…

…history now says that he”ll be remembered as a member of the Boston Red Sox. Perhaps the Orioles can’t necessarily be blamed for allowing a career journeyman to walk per se, although he would have been welcomed with open arms by fans on a more long term basis. However the fact remains that a direct rival took what was once the Orioles’ and it worked out for them. BIG TIME.

Hindsight is always 20/20. The Orioles probably didn’t think twice about their decision. You can’t know how something’s going to turn out before you do it. That’s a fact. But perhaps moving forward they should check their lists two and three times before parting ways with a player. Because what was once the Orioles’ now belongs to someone else.

Baltimore Orioles are on the clock

The end of the World Series brings a finality to the 2018 season for the Baltimore Orioles and across the league. The Birds’ season has been over for awhile, however as long as baseball was still being played it almost existed onward in absentia. However now everyone’s done – for this year at least.

Fans have groused on and on about the Orioles’ lack of direction and so forth. And my message has been the same in that you have to wait to see what happens after the post season has been completed. One of the “unwritten codes” of team building is that the league prefers you to not make any big moves during the post season. Plenty of teams did, but the O’s did not.

So the time is now. With baseball activities officially being over and done with for this year, the Birds are officially on the clock. It’s very simple; the Angelos’ need to hire a General Manager. And that General Manager needs to hire a manager.

Whomever that GM is will take the position knowing that he’ll have to move quickly. There are only three full months (one of which is about to begin on Thursday of this week) between now and the beginning of Spring Training. Whomever the new manager is will need some time to get his coaching staff together, grow into the job a bit, and be ready to go on February 23rd when Grapefruit League play begins. So again, the O’s are on the clock…no pressure or anything.

Baltimore Orioles: Steve Pearce is the World Series MVP

Baltimore Orioles fans are probably not happy that a division rival won the World Series in the Boston Red Sox. However there is one aspect of that for which they’re hopefully happy. Former Oriole Steve Pearce, now a member of the Red Sox, is not only a World Series champion. But also the World Series MVP.

Pearce hit .333 in the Fall Classic, with four hits, eight RBI, and three homers. It has to be sweet redemption for a player like Pearce, who’s been a journeyman his entire career. He was always well-received in Baltimore during his numerous stints, and he quickly became a fan favorite.

Not only that, but he became a quick favorite of Buck Showalter. Pearce was in essence a “lunch pail,” blue collar-type player. Over the course of the season when facing Pearce while he played for Toronto and Boston, Buck was never anything less than complimentary of Pearce. He was a key member of the 2014 AL East Champion Orioles team, and I suspect that was experience that served him well.

So is it okay for Orioles fans to be bitter about a hated foe winning it all? Sure. However I hope that fans will be happy for Steve Pearce. He’s been a winner wherever he’s gone, and he’s played for several organizations. My hope is that he’ll always be a fan favorite in Baltimore.