It's time for Andy to get "MacPhailed"

[Moose Milligan]

Funny stuff , all you Trea haters just cant stay out of his threads. Who's pathetic?

Honestly, I think he's kept around because he generates page hits. But if he can have his wingnut conspiracy theories, I can have mine.

[glenn__davis]

I thought Buck was in charge?

Only when the team is successful.

[JDubs]

Honestly, I think he's kept around because he generates page hits. But if he can have his wingnut conspiracy theories, I can have mine.

Now repeat it interminably until the weak-minded believe it. Combat crazy with crazy. It's the only way!

[brianod]

The biggest indictment of McPhail is a barren farm system after 4 years. I thought that was job #1? If so, he's failed and should be fired.

[Wilshade]

So . . . . who ya gonna get? Angelos does not trust anybody else. Period. The only reason that he has let AM alone is that the two of them were on the committee that worked on the collective bargaining agreement. That is the lawyer equivalent of sharing a foxhole with somebody.

Back in the early days of PA, they did have pretty good GMs. Remember Pat Gillick? Remember what PA did to him? No self-respecting GM types will take this job anymore because they know PA will kneecap'em.

[Dipper9]

The point that several have missed is that by removing MacPhail now, the new GM can look at the system and evaluate it before he takes full control in the offseason.

If MacPhail leaves at the end of September, that leaves the new GM only a month and a half before the offseason really starts with the GM meetings, assuming they find his replacement that quickly.

I stated this a few weeks ago and fully agree with this statement. If MacPhail does not plan to return, I'd rather see a replacement now rather than in October. Do like Buck did last summer. Come in and observe the team rather than being hired and immediately have to make decisions.

[TakebackOPACY]

4 years ago the Orioles were floundering, and rumors were spreading about Sam Perlozzo's status as manager.

Out of the blue though, Peter Angelos hired Andy MacPhail to be the President of Baseball Operations and made Mike Flanagan and Jim Duquette glorified coffee runners.

Perlozzo was fired, but it was the hiring of MacPhail that was to signify the "shakeup" of the front office. Flanagan remained employed by the Orioles for the duration of his contract in some unknown capacity while Jim Duquette quit at the end of the year.

Here we are now 4 years later under the magnificent plan to "grow the arms and buy the bats." and we are just about in the same place. Our farm system is just about the same and the bats have been bargain bin specials. There is no vision right now and the club just seems content to just continue to plug holes and hope for the best on a year-to-year basis.

It's time for PGA to once again dethrone our GM and relegate him to the background. Maybe he can sell sweater vests in the Orioles team store. John Hart could be a possiblity IMO as his contract was made with the previous ownership group and not this one, so they might be willing to let him out of it. In any case, it's time for a change at the top so that we have some coherent vision heading into this offseason instead of scrambling for a GM and then trying to implement their plan.

The point that several have missed is that by removing MacPhail now, the new GM can look at the system and evaluate it before he takes full control in the offseason.

If MacPhail leaves at the end of September, that leaves the new GM only a month and a half before the offseason really starts with the GM meetings, assuming they find his replacement that quickly.

If you're speculating that because Angelos hired MacPhail "out of the blue" during a season that there's precedent for him to make another "out of the blue" move like that, then I'm tired of saying this and being ignored. Foss retired in May 2007; MacPhail was hired in June 2007; so it wasn't "out of the blue". It appeared "out of the blue" to most people because they didn't pay attention to the Foss departure because he wasn't a 'baseball guy' first.

By Dan Connolly

Sun Reporter

Originally published May 2, 2007, 10:03 PM EDT

The man long considered the second most powerful executive in the Orioles organization behind owner Peter G. Angelos has resigned to accept a position with a Baltimore-based developer of retirement communities.

Joe Foss, Orioles vice chairman and chief operating officer since December 1993, tendered his resignation Friday and will leave May 11 to become chief administrative officer of Erickson Retirement Communities in Catonsville.

"I was feeling that I needed some new challenges, having been with the Orioles for 14 years, and this opportunity came my way," said Foss, 58, who oversaw the club's day-to-day operations while Angelos ran his successful downtown law firm...

http://talk.baltimoresun.com/showthread.php?t=99846

[UMDTerrapins]

Assuming we can find a quality replacement (what a huge "if"), I'm ready for a change. But to say that the organization is no better off 4 years later is ridiculous.

[Dipper9]

Assuming we can find a quality replacement (what a huge "if"), I'm ready for a change. But to say that the organization is no better off 4 years later is ridiculous.

Where are we better? The Major League team is still in last place. We still have very few positional prospects in the minors. We still can't get top talent to come here. The ONLY thing I'll give MacPhail is that we don't seem to have that STANK that we had when he took over, but results wise, nothing much has changed.

[DrungoHazewood]

Where are we better? The Major League team is still in last place. We still have very few positional prospects in the minors. We still can't get top talent to come here. The ONLY thing I'll give MacPhail is that we don't seem to have that STANK that we had when he took over, but results wise, nothing much has changed.

Look at the 2007 team. Most of the core players were old and on long-term deals. The ones on shorter contracts were bad players. Ramon Hernandez was 31, and an old catcher 31. Millar was the Derrek Lee of his day, but Lee was coming off a better year. Tejada was 33, in the midst of a multi-year decline. Mora, 35, in the middle of an ill-conceived extension through his late 30s. Jay Payton was a 34-year-old version of Felix Pie. Corey Patterson was another Pie clone. Aubrey Huff was 30 and hadn't been a positive asset since 2004. Bedard was a year from free agency, Cabrera was imploding, Trachsel was 36 and had some of the uglier peripherals in recent history, and the 5th starter was junkballer/swingman Brian Burress.

Now they have younger guys with production and plausible growth at catcher, short (if they can resign Hardy), third, maybe left if Reimold or Pie work out, center, right, and throughout the rotation.

I'll concede it's incremental growth. And it's not enough. And the pipeline hasn't even come close to self-sustainment. But they are better off.

[waroriole]

Where are we better? The Major League team is still in last place. We still have very few positional prospects in the minors. We still can't get top talent to come here. The ONLY thing I'll give MacPhail is that we don't seem to have that STANK that we had when he took over, but results wise, nothing much has changed.

Please. You know better than that.

[Gurgi]

Look at the 2007 team. Most of the core players were old and on long-term deals. The ones on shorter contracts were bad players. Ramon Hernandez was 31, and an old catcher 31. Millar was the Derrek Lee of his day, but Lee was coming off a better year. Tejada was 33, in the midst of a multi-year decline. Mora, 35, in the middle of an ill-conceived extension through his late 30s. Jay Payton was a 34-year-old version of Felix Pie. Corey Patterson was another Pie clone. Aubrey Huff was 30 and hadn't been a positive asset since 2004. Bedard was a year from free agency, Cabrera was imploding, Trachsel was 36 and had some of the uglier peripherals in recent history, and the 5th starter was junkballer/swingman Brian Burress.

Now they have younger guys with production and plausible growth at catcher, short (if they can resign Hardy), third, maybe left if Reimold or Pie work out, center, right, and throughout the rotation.

I'll concede it's incremental growth. And it's not enough. And the pipeline hasn't even come close to self-sustainment. But they are better off.

Gee, I feel better now. I guess I should be happy we now have a young last place team than an old last place team.

On the downside is that we have no more pitching prospects. Steve Johnson and Bobby Bundy dont seem too close do they?

[TiredofLosing20]

Look at the 2007 team. Most of the core players were old and on long-term deals. The ones on shorter contracts were bad players. Ramon Hernandez was 31, and an old catcher 31. Millar was the Derrek Lee of his day, but Lee was coming off a better year. Tejada was 33, in the midst of a multi-year decline. Mora, 35, in the middle of an ill-conceived extension through his late 30s. Jay Payton was a 34-year-old version of Felix Pie. Corey Patterson was another Pie clone. Aubrey Huff was 30 and hadn't been a positive asset since 2004. Bedard was a year from free agency, Cabrera was imploding, Trachsel was 36 and had some of the uglier peripherals in recent history, and the 5th starter was junkballer/swingman Brian Burress.

Now they have younger guys with production and plausible growth at catcher, short (if they can resign Hardy), third, maybe left if Reimold or Pie work out, center, right, and throughout the rotation.

I'll concede it's incremental growth. And it's not enough. And the pipeline hasn't even come close to self-sustainment. But they are better off.

This post has no business being in this thread. :laughlol:

[TiredofLosing20]

Gee, I feel better now. I guess I should be happy we now have a young last place team than an old last place team.

Um well you should probably. There are degrees of suckitude and the O's are in better shape today then they were when AM took over. I know folks don't want to hear or believe that but they simply are. Should we be further along, absofreakinlutely, but progress has been made.

At the very least they are in a better position to spend foolishly if they desire this offseason then they were in the offseason of 2007.

[DrungoHazewood]

Gee, I feel better now. I guess I should be happy we now have a young last place team than an old last place team.

On the downside is that we have no more pitching prospects. Steve Johnson and Bobby Bundy dont seem too close do they?

At least the young last place team has some semi-plausible paths out of last place.

In any case, last place ain't what it used to be. If you eliminated divisions, or just had one big 30-team league the O's wouldn't be anywhere near last place. I refuse to get in on this funeral procession for the franchise because Bud and his minions can't get over the idea that the current division/league structure was given to Moses on stone tablets in 1997.