Would someone please defend Andy MacPhail

[JTrea81]

The thing about many of the AM bashers that is so funny to me is how completely wrong they are in how the team should be built.

There's a way to build the team the way Angelos will allow it to be built that MacPhail refuses to take. The problem with the way you want to build the team is that Angelos will never let it be built that way.

So you are correct that PGA is a roadblock to the way you want to build a team. However there is more than one way to build a winning team in the AL East.

[SrMeowMeow]

There are definitely valid criticisms of MacPhail. Personally, I think he's an average GM with a knack for trading but limited imagination and perspective. But that doesn't make criticizing him for stupid reasons smart. Crying about marquee free agents is not only idiotic, it's become incredibly tiresome. Market value contracts are not what make dynasties - it's a core of talented, cost-controlled players, and good development (which includes a decent helping of luck). And MacPhail at the very least seems to understand that.

[waroriole]

It's not reactionary when this team has been stuck in reverse for the past 2146 games. Yeah, I am 50, and for the past 13 plus years or 26% of my life the Orioles have been an utter embarrassment. It cannot be defended. I don't need playoffs every year, I don't need Championships or WS. How about 83 wins, how about a sniff of a legit professional team. We are a bunch of lambs being led to slaughter for yet another year, and then being asked to tolerate it by diehard, disconnected fools.

That's a little hard to believe. From your posts, I assumed you were 12 or something.

[Tony-OH]

AM isn't the right GM for us...but PA will always be the bigger issue.

Most accurate post in the thread in my opinion.

[sector7g]

I believe that when we do eventually become a winning team again we'll look back and say that AM was the start of the transition but I think someone else finishes the job.

[Singleton]

There are definitely valid criticisms of MacPhail. Personally, I think he's an average GM with a knack for trading but limited imagination and perspective. But that doesn't make criticizing him for stupid reasons smart. Crying about marquee free agents is not only idiotic, it's become incredibly tiresome. Market value contracts are not what make dynasties - it's a core of talented, cost-controlled players, and good development (which includes a decent helping of luck). And MacPhail at the very least seems to understand that.

Bingo!

[Phantom]

I think the defense of AM would be that he has put us in a place to potentially contend for a playoff spot for the next three or so years, assuming we get a few breaks. Most of the complaining about him is in regards to the FA busts he signed during years in which we were never going to contend. Getting Jones, Reynolds, Hardy (hopefully), and all those starters (via trades/draft) locked up for a good chunk of time is pretty impressive. Going forward, we'll see if he can add the pieces we need to complement that core.

[ShaneDawg85]

The man sure does have a knack for completely misjudging the FA market and making poor signings. The good FA signings he's made have been few and far between.

Funny how you only bother to show up when:

A. The Orioles lose, so you can bash MacPhail.

B. Someone else bashes MacPhail.

C. To defend one of your pets (Moore, Britton) in the context to bash MacPhail.

[ShaneDawg85]

I think Klentak would actually be next in line. His nephew will never be a GM and has just ridden his uncle's coattails IMO. Our professional scouting stinks and Lee MacPhail is directly in charge of that.

Care to provide any proof of this outlandish statement? Spare me circumstantial evidence of the Orioles approach game in and game out. Have YOU actually seen the work that Lee does?

[wildcard]

This pen will change a lot in the next 15 days. Bergy, Duch and Simon will be added.

I agree the MacPhail went bargain basement on Rapada and Accardo. It was the way he laid out the budget. He knew it was going to cost him to get new players for the infield.

Greg is a healthy back of the pen pitcher that is going to blow 4-9 saves. MacPhail probably couldn't attract better to a last place team from FA. Trading would have cost him a piece of the future. Durability was important with Koji, Berken, and Johnson's health problems.

Gonzo is simply a mistake. MacPhail should have signed Valverde when he had the chance.

Berken looks right now like a guy with arm strength problems. The possibility was always there.

Johnson and Koji are keepers.

I think we have to realize that MacPhail has taken a last place team from a 73M budget to over 90M with Lee and Koji's incentives. He did with projected attendance (revenue) problems in a bad economy. The place he went cheap was Accardo and Rapada.

I have said for months that the pen is the weakest part of the O's team. It is showing itself now. Hopefully Bergy, Duch and Simon will help.

[LookitsPuck]

The bottom line is MacPhail is good for the bottom line. He is yet to sign an impact free agent and his Calvary arrived. He developed the arms, but buys his bats and bullpen arms at Walmart.

Some would say he only buys his bats at Walmart. His bullpen arms have been pricey acquisitions.

[NewMarketSean]

He's done the same exact thing the previous GM's have done, and failed at: Signed expensive bullpen guys that were risky signings at the time. Shocker, none of them have paid off. It's time he learned from those mistakes, but there is a lot MacPhail could learn from throughout his career but he keeps doing the same crap.

[wildcard]

Meanwhile the O's are 2 1/2 games out of the wild card 1/4 of the way through the season.

[21xxxv]

I think what is more distrubing is the Gonzo/Gregg signings were not cheap. Further, both had a definitive history of blowing multiple saves at an alarming rate. That's my beef!

[utvolzac]

The biggest problem I have with this organization is it's mis-use of resources. We continue to overpay for average talent instead of investing that money where it should go, into scouting and development. IMO, our drafting and amateur evaluation have been heinous under Angelos. And forget about international scouting where we are atrocious.

SEASON PLAYER POS SCHOOL/HOMETOWN PICK

2010 Manny Machado SS Brito Private, Miami, Fla. 3

2009 Matthew Hobgood RHP Norco (Calif.) HS 5

2008 Brian Matusz LHP Univ. of San Diego 4

2007 Matt Wieters C Georgia Tech 5

2006 William Rowell 3B Bishop Eustace Prep (Sewell, N.J.) 9

2005 Brandon Snyder C Westfield HS (VA) 13

2004 Wade Townsend RHP Rice 8

2003 Nick Markakis LHP Young Harris (Ga.) JC 7

2002 Adam Loewen LHP Surrey, BC 4

2001 Chris Smith LHP Cumberland (Tenn.) U 7

2001 Mike Fontenot 2B Louisiana State U 19

2000 Beau Hale RHP Mauriceville, TX 14

1999 Richard Stahl LHP Covington, GA 18

1999 Larry Bigbie OF Ball State U. 21

1999 Mike Paradis RHP Clemson U. 13

1999 Keith Reed OF Providence College 23

1998 Rick Elder OF Marietta, GA 26

1997 Darnell McDonald OF Englewood, CO 26

1997 Jayson Werth C Chatham, IL 22

1995 Alvie Shepherd RHP U of Nebraska 21

1993 Jay Powell RHP Mississippi State U 19

That's almost two decades worth of drafting and we've hit on 3 players (Markakis, Wieters and Matusz) that have been building blocks for the team. Machado looks like a good pick, but giving this teams history of developing players, you have to be somewhat skeptical. You just cannot have this many busts when you've been consistently been picking high in the draft.

The Hobgood pick alone in 2009 should have been enough to shake up the scouting department.

5 Matt Hobgood Baltimore Orioles RHP Norco High School (CA)

6 Zachary Wheeler San Francisco Giants RHP East Paulding High School (GA)

7 Mike Minor Atlanta Braves LHP Vanderbilt University

8 Mike Leake Cincinnati Reds RHP Arizona State University

9 Jacob Turner Detroit Tigers RHP Westminster Christian Academy (MO)

10 Drew Storen Washington Nationals[Compensation 1] RHP Stanford University

11 Tyler Matzek Colorado Rockies LHP B.M.C Durfee High School (MA)

12 Aaron Crow Kansas City Royals RHP Fort Worth Cats/University of Missouri

15 Alex White Cleveland Indians RHP University of North Carolina

19 Shelby Miller St. Louis Cardinals RHP Brownwood High School (TX)

22 Kyle Gibson Minnesota Twins RHP University of Missouri

If they wanted a pitcher, there were at least 10 other pitchers who are either contributing to their major league team right now, or are in the top 100 list of prospects.

I'm not going to hold it against MacPhail for not trading every prospect we have for AGon or breaking the bank on guys like Beltre or Crawford. But his inability to fix the scouting and developmental parts of the organization is reason enough for me to get rid of him after his contract expires.