The 100-loss benchmark really *is* an important one. Teams rarely get better by more than 15 games from one season to the next. A 15 game improvement, which is significant, would still only put the O's at 77 wins next year, assuming 100 losses this year.

Seeing Tampa go from worst-to-World Series was good in that it gives O's fans hope, but also very bad. People don't realize what a huge fluke their season was last year, and they think the O's can duplicate that. The odds say they can't.

I thought the team would win between 78 and 82 games this year and still held out hope until just before the AS break. Now I believe this team will end up 63-99. Ugly...

Zero: that's how much difference it makes. As long as Reimold, Wieters and Pie play everyday; as long as Tillman, Matusz, Hernandez and soon-to-be Bergesen pitch every five (or six) days; as long as Bell keeps hitting in Bowie, nothing else matters. Keep giving the kids at-bats and innings and they have the talent to get there. It really makes no difference whether or not they approach 70 wins, though.

Here we have Smuck again explaining Angelos his company line.

We avoid 100 by winning 2/3 in the final series against Toronto. Tillman throws 8 innings of shutout ball to win the last game of the season.....

Whether we lose 100 or not has nothing to to with how the young guys will perform as this is the learning year. We have a great nucleus that will only get better with time ... and a decent 3rd baseman and slugger. The SP's will be awesome in time.... next year competetive and winning it in 2011. So, dont be fooled by our record this year instead look at what we are accomplishing.....winning ways are just around the corner, dont give up now...

The Rays were not a fluke last year, instead, they are not getting the pitching this year that they did last year. So is it...

I predicted 69 wins in April, based mainly on the 39 man pitching tryour camp the Orioles held this Spring, and what they ended up coming North with. The last time any team had that many pitchers in Camp was the expansion Mets coached by Casey Stengel, and his observation was"Can't anybody here play this game?"

Yes, this season is lost and as fans we need to detach ourselvees from the final scores and use other units of measurement to track progress.

That being said, Macphail does not deserve a complete pass if next year is another disaster approaching 100 losses. Next year the team needs to also show progress in the win column.

Let's consider the obvious. It's unimportant whether the O's win 60, 65, or 70 games this year. What's important is that the tolerance for losing by O's management has added one more year to the losing culture that surrounds this team. The O's young talent is probably as good as you'll find in the majors. However thanks to management, the O's will enter 2010 looking for a closer, a clean-up hitter, and a third baseman. In other words, our brilliant management have planted the seeds for another major losing season in 2010.

You know Peter, in a twisted way, maybe losing 100 games (or more) is a good thing. Sometimes you have to hit rock bottom before you can progress-much like an alcoholic finding himself sleeping in a ditch.
I have followed the O's for over 40 years and of course, the past 11 years have been pretty ugly. Many of us were hoping for quick turnarounds but that isn't likely to happen. We were fooled by the quick fix signings, countless mgrs/GM's etc and that another division title or even a winning record was right around the corner.
With the current situation, even the biggest optimist isn't going to expect a contender until at least '11 so personally, I am going to TRY and keep the negativity and complaining to a bare minimum, at least for a year.
Sure I'll throw my 2 cents in once in awhile but there's no point ranting and raving endlessly at this stage. I've become numb to my sports teams losing anyway and can now look forward to the opening of local Junior Hockey team's training camp soon.
These guys at least give a solid effort. They aren't yet jaded like many of today's pro athletes, not to mention that tickets are cheap and hockey is fun. Pretty sad for me when Orioles baseball takes a back seat to Jr. hockey by the 3rd week of August but I guess it's my sick way of 'coping'!

Don't care how many games they win or lose this year, the only thing that counts is the improvement of the young players.

Hey Pete,
Congrats on your article the other day calling out the Oriole veterans. Good job.
Like many here I am a long time fan(since 1957 or so)
Grew up near the old stadium and watched us grow, stumble,straighten ourselves to finally collapse. We have collapsed to be sure and will not only lose 100 but may very well end up with the worst record in the game.
we have a few nice pieces, Jones, Markakis, Roberts, Izturis. Positions we don,t need to screw with at the moment.
After that it is all "iff's. All iff's.
I am caustiously optimistic about our kids but see as many flaws in them as hope.
The pitchers...crap shoot. No way of knowing. None of them knock me out. NONE.
Weiters. Scary stuff. Very soft dude at the plate. Poor knowledge of strike zone. Seems more like a contact hitter. Until he learns to look for his pitch and drive it while learning the zone we will remain unimpressed. So disappointing this kid didn't come up and show abit more.
Reimold. Decent but no star here. Can't lay off the low pitch or stay off the low curve. Drives way too many balls in the dirt and hits more grounders to shortstop than anyone on the team including Wiggs.
Brandon Synder, Hughes, Rowell, the new Aubrey?
Geesh. No Baylors, Grich,s,
Robinsons or Longoria,s, Jeters or STARS!
We need to pray for the kid pitchers and just watch and wait. Hopefully they will grow. Hopefully we will draft a true impact player with next years first draft pick.
And last but not least.
Move the freakin fences back to help these kids gain confidence. The dimensions clearly work against developing young pitching. Name one we have developed other than Mussina and he is borderline HOF player.
Its sad but patience is all we have.

The scary thing is that all these young guys could work out and we still find ourselves competing for third or fourth every year. We need a lot of things to go just right just to get out of last place. Remember the other teams in the division are working to get better too.

Here's a novel idea.Maybe the O's should ask Joe Jordan who he would like to draft next yr then proceed to win or lose enough games to insure they get to pick in whatever spot would benefit them the most. Because it doesn't matter if your not near .500 we are going to improve only so much. Getting a great player in the draft will help if your able to pick a good one if available. So make sure your in the right spot. Stay away from highschoolers too much work for such a high risk.

People just don't get do they. Andy's plan was duplicated from the one he used to make the twins a very good team. Unfortunately that plan was laid out for play in the central divison and that plan had a great manager in charge in tom kelly.We don't have the luxury of having either. Once again everybody wants to keep ignoring the wins and losses,but regardless of how they wind up this team wasn't suppose to be this bad. Since they are this bad and could finish with the worse record in all of baseball this plan was dealt a severe set back and it will have repercussions into next year and the year after. Like one of the earlier poster stated there are only so many games that you can make up something i have been preaching all along. Also i will still stand by my earlier predicition that andy will never be around to finish this gigantic process.Next year's team only has 3 position players that could play on most teams in this league and one pitcher in jim johnson and that leaves the team still clinging to that famous word great potential which is not going to make up finishing 35 to 40 games back

Statistically whether looking at absolute numbers of wins or losses or just the trends between last year's stats and now the news is all bad. It's painful to watch! However the input of youth into the lineup and the experience gained have to be considered as a plus. The struggle to win will continue but the outlook for improvement in 2010 and future is better.
However if the wins don't reach 65, I'll bet that changes in management will happen: attendance drop-offs and the bottom line always get attention!

I think 100 losses is a done deal. The bullpen is spent... the rookie pitchers are inconsistant and we need 10 or 11 runs each game to have a chance at a win. My goal for the O's was to lose less than 90. 74-88 feels better than 58-104.
58 wins is my updated prediction. I am not sure how they can win 58 but the laws of averages would say that it is possible.

On the bright side, better draft pick! And at the end of the day unless you are in the playoffs it doesn't matter that much.

As far a next year, it will depend on how much progress the rookies on the roster make and how much help Andy brings in. If they lay some cash on the table they can improve a lot by getting a couple bats at 1st and 3rd along with some legit help in the bullpen along with a front line starter.

Still right direction even after a 104 loss season.

Ferg, Blancione: The win-loss record doesn't matter.

The Orioles could have won a few more games this year by seeking better pitchers to open the season with than Eaton, Simon, Hendrickson, etc.- but that would have been pointless. As MacPhail and everyone else associated with the team freely admitted all along- the purpose of those pick-ups were simply to fill the spots in the rotation until better options became feasible (either a few arms from our minor league stable, or a free agent acquisition when the team was looking more competitive). The club could have signed Pedro or someone else for more money, which would have resulted in a few more wins but cost more money and possibly blocked the way for our top prospects.

The Orioles could have won a few more games this year by holding up some of their younger players, not giving extended looks to Pie, Reimold, Berken and others, and relying on veterans like Huff or a possible free agent acquisition. Again, this would have won a few more games, but it would have hindered player development and evaluation, and cost more money needlessly.

I appreciate the fact that MacPhail and company have been committed to whatever it takes to make this organization a winner, and not selling out to get 10-15 more wins- which would have still left us in the AL East cellar this year and hurt the team's development for next year and beyond.

So using the number of wins and losses as a benchmark in any way is complete nonsense. The team has consciously avoided maximizing the number of wins this year, making decisions that make things a little tougher in 2009 but improve the team's prospects for the future.

Yes, this year the Orioles were not expecting the team to perform well. That allows them to take the sensible route of trading older good/adequate players in the hopes of finding useful players for next year and beyond. But getting rid of the ones they did killed the teams spirit no matter what the manager says. The O's can not do this next year. Eventually it has to look like we think we are trying to win. Oh well we might get the 3rd best player in the June 2010 draft. We get to tussle with Scott Boras over a million dollar player.

One year turn arounds are a fluke.None of these players are a sure thing,especialy the pitchers. The O's will not be a threat to win untill 2011.That was the goal when Mcfail came aboard. Our track record speeks for it self.We stink it up every year. All this talk about the great young players is just that,talk. It's not about what you say, its about what you do,and tht remains to be seen. O it is fun to be a fan, but it's tough being an O's fan.

Pete, are you surprised (or shocked) about the Tillman bashing? I can't believe some of these posts that have declared Chris and Brian, as overhyped prospects. I know the easy answer, is to say that tensions are high because of how bad things have been, but it seems like almost every year, it's the same thing, as first it was Nick and then it was Adam, is overrated. People talk about P.A., as a bad owner, but if some of the posters on here, ran the team, Markakis would be traded after an 0-5 game.

I give Jason Berken, a lot of credit. Is he overmatched? Yes, but he takes a beating and keeps coming back. A lot of vets, would have folded. He looks like he would be a very good reliever, but it's still too early to say what he will or wont do.

Obviously, Markakis will be the Most Valuable Oriole, but if he doesn't get a Gold Glove, it's a joke. He's a weapon in the OF.

blancione, quick question(s).

How can getting a better draft pick than we were going to by a few picks be a bad thing? How can having the young highly touted prospects getting their feet wet preparing for next year and evaluating the others hurt us. That is was and will be the plan so stick a fork in it, you're done.

You deal in absolutes (never, impossible, always) which dictates that you fail in any of your logic.

well id hate to be a rookie pitching for this sorry team

Pie should be hitting second. Blazing speed and ability to bunt / handle the bat. The pressure they put on opposing pitcher if both he and Roberts get on base. It seems obvious to me.

Oh well i should be happy he's at least in the lineup.

blancione

Well you please get off of the potential thing. You are being a little over the top. Instead of looking at the wins losses, take a look at what the Orioles have in the system now, compared to 3. 5 and 7 even 12 years ago. I am not saying the Orioles do not have holes to fill but they are getting stronger. Look at the possibilities, the team can build from this. Or would you rather go back to the late 80's to 2006 approach of bringing in aging veterans to play? Not everything is doom and gloom. I think a lot of players in the system have potential potential potential potential potential potential potential potential potential potential potential potential potential potential potential potential potential potential potential potential potential potential potential potential potential potential potential potential

It is painful to watch umpires consistently call Tillman's pitches between the waist and the letters balls. The first thing I was taught when umpiring is to establish your eye level in accordance to the individual hitters stance at his letters so you know anything above your eye level is a ball. This is umpiring 101 but these guys are too lazy to vary their stance?

Hitters like Youklis and Teixera are making hall of fame careers based on taking strikes that are called balls then berating umpires when they dare to call a letter high strike or give pitchers borderline calls. MLB - force these whiners to swing the bat and stop ruining the game with this microscopic (knees to waist) strike zone!

I would hate to we are what we are, whether we lose 100 or 95 or 90, in the AL East we have a very long way to go. The number of losses will only multiplied without Huff in the middle of the line-up, but if memory serves me correctly when everyone was preaching about the "Plan" I was saying in April that with Hendrickson and Eaton as AM's big starting pitching acqsuitions it would be a very long season. What weve seen of the young guys, Bergesen, Hernandez and Tillman look promising and Matusz needs some refinement. Guthrie may be the biggest question mark of the bunch. Our OF, catcher and middle INF look fine, but getting a 4-5-6 hitters that play 1b-3B-DH will be the offseason challenge or expect another year much like this one!

It's time for AM to do his BEST work and PA to get his checkbook out.

YES IT DOES MATTER IF THE O's LOSE 100 GAMES. At some point "the Plan" must translate into tangible progress - and that means win. Yes, our younger players are getting experience but one can only hope that the experience eventually translates into wins. I really cannot tell what we have in terms of our best young talent. Only Bergensen demonstrated a consistently high level of performance. The others have had moments but most have struggled to adapt to the Major League game. Our young pitchers have largely been fodder to fatten the opposing players HR totals. Our position players would probably rate a "C" and that includes the highly touted Matt Wieters. Hopefully some will pan out and we can supplement with free agents. However, for every 1 step we take forward, the Bosox and Yanks take 10. How on earth are we going to become competitive in the AL East at this rate? In the larger scheme of things 100 loses does matter. It means that we are even further from being competitive. It means that premium free agents will not want to waste their career here. Finally, it means that O's fans have suffer through another terrible 162 game season, and that we are even further from finding the answers. So yes - 100 losses really does matter.

There's a beautiful BRob example of why he's overrated - swings at a pitchers pitch ahead in the count 1-0...what a joke. The loser mentality has to change on this team - you'd never see a Yankee rally end so pathetically as the O's did in the 5th. And some of this does fall on Trembley's shoulders - I have defended him - but the mentality of this team must change and it has to start with him...Best of luck to you in your next job Dave.

bases loaded no outs, no runs
that has to be a new low
can't even hit a fly ball?
To say the situational approach sucks would be an understatement.

f for f-in head cases.

Pete....2 coaches we should consider for manager or coaches....Mike Maddux.......Mickey Hatcher........check out their results.

Why is the number 100 so important? Because it's a round number? Because it has three digits? I don't really see why a .383 winning percentage is really all that different from a .401, or a .358? Choosing the number 100 as some kind of arbitrary doomsday threshold is a meaningless distraction- does any other sport do this? ("well they were 7-9 and missed the playoffs, but at least they weren't 6-10. 10 losses would mean they are the worst team ever! Why? Because it's a round number, of course!")

Every informed prediction out there had the Orioles losing this year and losing big; it was expected and everyone knew 2009 wasn't about the win-loss record. In fact, most reasonable people would agree that in this context losing a few more games would be entirely worthwhile if it allows for meaningful player development and evaluation, or is the result of avoiding player acquisitions that would be untimely and imprudent.

If you're going to complain go ahead. Just find something that has the slightest bit of rationality to base your argument on...

The Angelos bashing is warranted but getting old peeps.

He finally hired a baseball guy in Mcphail. Give him 5 years and judge. It took him 2 years to get rid of the mess from previous management. Give the man some time!

Well, the youth movement is in FULL swing (no pun intended) and guess what? The O's SUCK!! Anyone still talking 2010? I think NOT! The bottom line to all this is that so long as you have an owner that doesn't give a fart in fairyland about W's and L's and a manager that doesn't remove pitchers until they've given up 12 runs then the 100 loss seasons will continue indefinitely. Next year? Give me a break. It's another 100 loss season. You don't see the Skanks or Red Sux do anything but go out and get what they need. Do they have tons more money? I sincerely doubt it. Do they have good managers and owners that want to win? BINGO!!

Thanks "Bill" for you comment regarding Schmuck toeing the Angelos line. Stuff I said in recent posts. Around All-Star break, Schmuck was still singing the praises that the O's were one beer away from respectability. Then, as AM tried to keep the loyalists at bay by bringing up the youth; only to see them fall flat on their face...remember, this year the O's were to show improvement. Yeah, right!
Schmuck... smell the roses...PA is the problem...stop saying stuff that doesn't make sense with PA running the team. Show some nads and tell it like it is. (I mean back then; do not jump on the band wagon now).

..............................................................................................
Pete's reply: I don't know why I didn't see it before. You're....so....brilliant. Lots of people haven't noticed that the Orioles are losing, but you did. You're the most perceptive guy on the blog. Please keep educating us. I have never heard that about Peter Angelos before either. Gosh, if I had known Peter Angelos was the problem 11 years ago, I could have done something about it, but I didn't know you then. Please, keep up the good work.

Can MASN please take that commercial off with that fat old nomo talking about the O’s have his heart??

You guys expecting a quick turnaround are lame, especially with all the young guys coming up from the minors.

We're not the Yankees. We don't have the payroll to do it. Got to do it the right way - build from the minors, which is what we're doing.

Andrew...you're an idiot. "Suddenly" PA has a revelation and decides to hire a "baseball" man in AM. Come out of the clouds. Why didn't he do this ten years ago? The O's will be respectable when PA turns the team over to ownership that wants to win.

Who honestly thought the O's would be competitive in 2010? HAHAHA. Moron....

I expect them to compete 2012 (assuming these young guys blossom into above avg. players).

I wish we had a 200 million budget but we don't. Build from the bottom, get a little luck and purchase some smart free agents and get a little more luck. That's the best chance we have!

Holy moses: Sorry, PA is the owner , work with what you have and look forward. I like your negativity - it does show you care. muahaha...dumb ass

I think we will squeak by with 99 losses.

As far as FA, it makes little sense to spend a lot of money/give up draft choices when we have 3b and 1b prospects about a year away. Let Wigginton & Scott bat 4th and 5th as the veterans on the club for the first half of next year. Then if they put up some decent numbers trade them by the deadline. The 2011 class is much stronger and includes #1 starters Roy Halladay & Cliff Lee.

Tonights game could have gone either way if Izturis' line drive had gotten through.

Let's hope our young pitchers turn out decent in 2010.

To Jesus of God:
FYI, I've been a loyal O's fan since "66". Loyalty is my middle name. But it's been hard in the PA era. Born and bred in Red Sox Country...was at the Sox weekend series recently...hoping for a spark. It sucked. My loyalty is wearing thin. PA can hire all the yes men available; well, we see the results.
(P.S.: Schmuck, what's your latest spin on on things...PA's bringing back the '83 O's to keep fan interest...and you're OK with it?)

.............................................................................................
Pete's reply: You sound like a guy who needs a new hobby. If I felt like you do, I'd go back to collecting stamps.

Whoops...
My recent comments were supposed to be in reply to Chesty (Chesty????). The teeny, fine line between posts was blurred.

Holy Moses,
Does anyone remember Eli Jacobs? At very least, I would think that anyone who refers to himself as a "loyalist" in the same breath as criticizing every player, manager, GM, owner, fan and sportswriter who cares about the O's might remember him.

Angelos has made his mistakes. Namely, putting too much faith for too long in Syd Thrift, and getting a little too involved in personnel decisions in years past. (Although to tell the truth, if I spent several hundred million dollars to own a sports team I would probably want to have a say in how it's run too.) However, in my mind he's made amends in recruiting and hiring MacPhail, and giving him free rein to turn the entire organization around (which includes a willingness to opening the pocketbook at the appropriate time).

I also respect that Angelos wants to put a winner out there. Does anyone remember Eli Jacobs? To quote Ted Patterson in his great book about Orioles history (which I'm sure you've read), to Jacobs "winning and losing seemed inconsequential. He used the Orioles as a vehicle to entertain and impress high rollers in government, business, and entertainment."

Since you are such an informed and intelligent fan, Holy Moses, you surely also remember Edward Bennett Williams. It was under Williams that the organization's decline actually started, beginning with allowing the farm system and scouting departments to fall into disrepair. What MacPhail has accomplished in two years- given the condition of the organization when he came in- has been stunning, as any baseball expert will attest.

Listen, I'm sorry that MacPhail hasn't delivered a World Series title in two years. And I'm sorry that the rookie pitchers didn't each begin their career with a no-hitter and the rookie hitters aren't all batting .330 with 25 home runs. Johnny Bench batted .275 his rookie season and Cy Young finished his with a mediocre 9-7 record and decidedly average ERA, so I guess by your standards they were failures too. It's a fortunate thing we have such an enlightened person as yourself to tell us how things are.

Finally, your ripping on Schmuck has been entirely over the line. His writing has been accurate and he's proven more than willing to cast a critical eye on the team when appropriate. More than once I've learned something by reading his observations, and more than once he's given me a good laugh (much appreciated with the O's travails this season)- and for my money he's the best sportswriter we've got. Don't carelessly throw around accusations about someone's integrity just because everyone isn't signing up to join your midnight march to the warehouse with pitchforks and torches.

Get some perspective.

Well pittsburg has now passed us in the number of wins.8 and 24 since the break, dave t still has his job and everybody in this town is satisfied. Now people are telling me on here that it's acceptable to lose over 100 games because we will get a higher draft pick. What has happened to this town when did we find it acceptable to lose and still be satisfied. We are turning into the detroit lions of the NFL. How did this all happened to this once proud organization. Please people wake up .

I said before they broke camp that they would lose 100.

This team has adopted a loser's mentality.

If these prospects have so much potential, they would at least be a 500 team. And the notion that they will pan out is fantasy/

Ben McDonald, Hayden Penn, Adam Loewen, Chris Ray, Larry Bigbe-----Need I go on?

..............................................................................................
Pete's reply: Yeah, if these rookies, some of whom have been in the majors for a month, were any good, the Orioles would be .500 in the AL East. Please, try to control yourself.

It really is hard to stay positive. Admittedly we do have a number of very good prospects and a couple of pretty good players on the team. The problem with the fact that they're so young is that they don't have the proper mix of veterans to show the young guys how to win. So this losing atmosphere pervades this team. I do think that sometimes the Os look positively inept. They don't seem to have the most basic fundamentals of the game. The coaching staff obviously needs to go. Its going to be very interesting to see what the Os do in the offseason...whether they go out and get a couple of players or not make much of a ripple at all

oldetoys.... If you think the Yankees and Redsox dont have more money than we do, than you need to get your head out of your a$$, cause your gonna get all kind of stinky stuff all over your face.... it'll be gross! Come on man, seriously.

First off every blogger needs to lay off Pete. I really don't see anything in his blogs that is a problem.
Secondly I like Andy M.. He has made some good trades. But recently I haven't been too thrilled with his moves. I think he could have gotten more for Sherrill. And what was the problem with keeping Sherrill? Maybe I'll be proven wrong on that one, I hope so. Ditto with Huff. Furthermore, where was Andy when the Yankees picked up their new starting pitcher Gaudin, I believe that's his name. That guy has got some good stuff, is young, piles up strikeouts and he could have nicely filled Berkin's place giving the Os a chance to see if he could possibly help in the future. And the Yankees got him from a ham sandwich to boot.
Trembley's got to go so Anonmyous keep up your posts. And let's hope that the young guys will do alot better next year and perhaps Andy will sign a few free agents as well.

blancione,

While I'm not for throwing games to get a draft pick, I'm not distraught about flirting with100 games either. Last is last, you can't get extra last place. The record next spring starts 0-0 just the same as everyone else next year and that's the important thing to me.

Jay S,

Ben McDonald was overworked early in his career (actually the example of why every team except Texas uses a pitch count on rookies), Hayden Penn was injury prone and either pitching through pain or through recovery, Loewen and Ray both got hurt (Ray is recovering nicely now though) and Bigbie....OK I'll give you Bigbie.

I never knew potential won ballgames for anyone though. Randy Johnson and his potential went 7-17 in his first full season in 1989. 10 games under .500 with his potential. He ended up OK right?

Latter Man your post does not make a whole lot of sense bro
---
You guys expecting a quick turnaround are lame, especially with all the young guys coming up from the minors.
We're not the Yankees. We don't have the payroll to do it. Got to do it the right way - build from the minors, which is what we're doing.
____
Don’t go that route. Look at the teams in the running right now. Any team can turn it around that tries profit sharing is a great system and anyone that doubts it is looking to make excuses. Tampa Bay just made the World Series with a payroll the size of the Orioles! When was the last time the Yankees won a WS? Nobody expects a quick turnaround here in Baltimore but we do expect slight improvement and the very thought of 100 loss season makes any fan sick.

Peter Angelos and Andy McFail seem like the second coming of Robert Irsay and Joe Thomas.

There was a midnight march on the warehouse involving pitchforks and torches???

Oh man, maybe if I hurry down there I can still make it. Or at least get a commemrative T-shirt!

I think the Orioles need to send Peter Angelos down to the minors

Okay guys. You ready for this one?

CONSPIRACY THEORY

All season long the umpires have been switching out balls between innings. Oriole pitches get the infamous 1987 juice ball, while opposing pitchers hurl a whiffle ball with a thin leather and stich exterior glued over it.

Tillman tonight:
3er, 3hr. How else do you explain it????

2009 Orioles Payroll 61,885,566

W48 L72 GB27

Pittsburgh Payroll 25,197,000

W49 L70 GB18

Holy Moses,

I remember Eli Jacobs much more fondly than I think of Peter Angelos. Eli Jacobs is a Yale man, an intelligent baseball man, who helped the O's by encouraging the development of Camden Yards. If his real estate empire had not gone south, the O's would be a good team today.

Or alternatively, they would have been a good team if Dan Callahan had won the franchise over Angelos. He would have wanted to win.

Angelos has never been a businessman. But he did have a business model from his law firm that has had decidedly negative implications for the quality of Orioles baseball.

I think Angelos probably did intend to win at first. But he discovered that it is quite expensive to field a competitive team, and even having done so, that does not guarantee going to the World Series. Even more to the point, an expensive, competitive team is perhaps less likely to be profitable than a team full of scrubs that can be passed off as "rebuilding."

Combine that with the fact that Angelos is a control freak, with a decided miserly turn, and you have a recipe for 12 to 15 losing seasons in a row.

Notice that Angelos owns one of the only important law firms in the United States without junior partners. Angelos won't bring in partners, just junior associates. Unlike any other important law firm, no other lawyers in Angelos's firm have a future earning a partner's share of the profits.

He takes the same attitude towards baseball. He doesn't believe in paying people what they worth if they can be traded in for others who can arguably do similar work at a lower salary.

That's why we have a low budget team in what could be a high budget market. Angelos doesn't believe in stars.

Look at our current pitching staff.

Guthrie, our supposed ace, is a junk yard reclamation project. All the others are low-rent rookies or junior pitchers without enough service time to command a full salary by MLB standards.

Macphail's efforts, although more coherent than a similar exercise undertaken by Syd Thrift, still amount to salary dump accompanied by an PR program.

Unfortunately, Major League Baseball has the wrong formula for revenue sharing. They tax clubs based upon their payroll outlays rather than profitability. According to Forbes, the Orioles are among the top four MLB teams in profitability, precisely because they don't spend to acquire talent.

If baseball based revenue sharing on profitability, Angelos would have to send checks the Yankees, and that might induce him to pay for good talent instead.

...............................................................................................
Pete's reply: You're history is a little screwed up. The stadium deal pre-dated Jacobs and was carried through by Larry Lucchino during the Jacobs ownership. Jacobs was so savvy he lost the team in bankruptcy. He's the reason Peter A ended up being the owner.

Andrew-
"However, in my mind....". That statement tells it all.

Dequincey,

You should work for the Sun!

Sad times when baseball needs to make rules to force bad owners to spend money to field good teams. Pittsburgh and Baltimore are the most poorly ran teams in the bigs. Don’t get mad at the Yankees or Sox those teams want to win. Don’t get mad they pack our stadium this is what Angelos wanted. Get pissed at Angelos for 12 years of not trying, making bad moves and profiting off our misery.

http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u101/zmenchini/angelosclose.jpg

If we're going to look down the road a piece, do you see the O's giving the IF prospect acquired from the Reds, Justin Turner. a September call up. I see where the kid is like the fourth leading hitter for BA in the International League. With Turner sitting in the wings, is there a chance of the O's putting together an off season trade package for a much needed power bat.

.............................................................................................
Pete's reply: Yes, I think Turner is headed here in September.

Pete,the firesale has begun,and if you think McPhail is going to give away the players it would take to get an Adrian Gonzalez,I have some oceanfront property in Arizona cheap.100+ losses and the Nationals might end up with a better record than us.But on the bright side(hint of sarcasm here)Dave Trembley's job is safe for the rest of the season.Too anybody who thinks we will compete before 2011 or 2012 ,guess again.There's no pressure for Peter the Great to win,he's guaranteed a certain amount of money by MLB,whether he draws the fans or not,and with the MASN contract,he has the money,so regardless of what anybody says we are not a small market team,just a poorly run,mismanaged,from the top to the bottom on the major league level at least,and I don't see that changing with the current guard in order.I haven't liked a single trade since the Bedard deal,and then not sure about that after the George Sherrill deal.Sure they are raving about Bell now,but he's horrible in the field and let's see what he can do against Triple A and ML hitting before annointing him as the next Brooks Robinson.Thankfully football season is around the corner and we don't have to think about 13 straight losing seasons just yet.Aubrey Huff is already missed and will be missed even more next year,and that's coming from someone who thinks Brandon Snyder has a bright future,if he ever makes it here.So does Waring,but Andy will play the boys he just traded for just to make a point.So sad.

Dequincey: revenue sharing in Major League Baseball actually operates in two parts. First, all teams contribute 31% of their "local revenue" to a revenue-sharing pool that levels the playing field between so-called big-market and small-market teams. This has had a dramatic effect, roughly halving the disparity in revenue between the 7 richest and 14 poorest teams between 1999 and 2007.

The second aspect is the "competitive balance tax," which I believe you are referring to in your post. However, it is important to note that this is a luxury tax that typically only hits the Yankees and Red Sox- it does not operate as any kind of disincentive to the Orioles spending money on payroll.

I agree that the current system is broken, but your idea of scrapping the current system and taxing profitability could have some seriously scary outcomes. Forbes says the Yankees made $375 million in revenue last year, more than $100 million over the second place Red Sox, and more than $200 million over the Orioles. With $175 million in revenue last year, the O's could pay out 110% of their revenues in player salaries and still have a lower payroll than the Yankees. And do we really want to scrap revenue-sharing and the luxury tax in favor of a system that would encourage the Yankees to spend all of their revenue (to decrease "profitability tax" liability)?!?

No, the right answer seems to be following one or both of the following options (which are unfortunately nearly impossible to adopt, due to entrenched interests):
-like the NFL, make the majority of revenue accrue at the national level, not the local level (thus avoiding the need for revenue sharing)
-like the NFL and NBA, adopt a salary cap (thus avoiding the need for the "competitive imbalance tax")

Yes, the Orioles are a profitable business (6th in profitability according to the most recent Forbes data). But didn't we consciously decide to avoid the huge free agent signings over the past few years that would have quickly absorbed that $27 million operating income? Now we have very low salary overhang (Roberts and Markakis the only large, long-term deals), we've spent the money where it made sense to lock up draft picks and younger players, AND we're positioned to wade into free agency in a bigger way over the next two years now that it makes more sense. Wasn't this the plan? I don't see the problem here. Would you have preferred that we spent the $27m to give big deals to a couple aging vets, a la Syd Thrift, when we knew we weren't going to be competitive this year anyway?

Quickly, a few other points to address:
-exactly how do you think MacPhail's approach has been "a similar exercise" to Thrift's. One focused on building a healthy organization with a strong farm system and scouting department, and the other neglected all that in favor of past-their-prime free agents, poorly evaluated. Seems like night and day to me.
-how exactly do you consider Angelos' law firm to be one of the most "important law firms in the United States?" I just checked the ILRG top 250 firms and didn't see him there. They're just personal injury attorneys- albeit with a few large settlements from asbestos and tobacco class actions- but still just personal injury attorneys.
-Angelos has definitely shown a willingness to spend the money- remember Tejada, Belle, the record Weiters bonus? He's gone overboard in negotiating games sometimes (see: Mussina) and doesn't like paying big money for pitchers, but I have no doubt that if MacPhail goes to him with a marquis free agent that makes sense for us he'll write the check. More than I could say for Jacobs.

Larry would have you work for the Sun and no doubt some of the readers posting here would like to have a constantly critical voice unimpeded by the truth when drum-beating against O's management. I, for one, would prefer that you check your facts.

Andrew,

Your post smell surreptitiously like something that Peter Angelos himself might write under a pen name.

Or perhaps you currently work for the Orioles public relations department ;)

I like the post about sending Angelos to the minors. The problem is that I think Orioles fans have run out of options on him. He'd clear waivers because no other city would want him. Yes, let's designate him for assignment ;)