Angelos interview in PressBox

[davearm]

Imagine I'm out at some social function with my wife, and an acquaintence of ours comes up and says to her, "wow, look at that blonde hottie over there! She's the most attractive woman in this room! YOWSA!"

My wife would consider those comments objectively, and respond rationally. Certainly no offense would be taken.

Now if *I* looked her in the eye and said that to her, um, well...

Your "husband" Mr. Angelos just called the Red Sox the most attractive woman in the room.

[bgfield]

Somebody show that man the spell-check button, for Godsakes.

No kidding. I didn't catch anything other than "competative" but I'm sure there were a few more

[MP]

A few months ago he said he was a bad owner because he didn't raise ticket prices.

I think you missed the point, but that's to be expected.

Kidding!

One thing I thought hilarious was how Angelos trumpeted about our low ticket prices, and explained how $14 million contracts for pitchers are insane and lead to $45 dollar tickets. However, $12-13 million for a pitcher is fine with him.

So basically a payroll of $110 million next year will keep ticket prices in the $20's, but $111 million will somehow force them to double.

[RichMGH]

My take on the interview was this:

- We'll never get a free agent top of the rotation pitcher. Ever. Only hope is to grow one (then of course lose himonce his contract is up...because market value for a top pitcher is lunacy.)

- We'll never get Baltimore on a road jersey (or any reference to the word Baltimore in ANY aspect of the team) because we're not Baltimore's team, we belong to all of Maryland. Honestly...how many people in Salisbury would get pissed?

- The fact that fans have abandoned the team, to him, means we don't care. (This man owns no mirrors.)

- To him, Boston has better baseball fans. (It's called winning, Pete. Tends to bring the fans out.)

- We'll NEVER win with him in charge.

I feel like being an O's fan is like being a battered spouse. I'm sick of excuses. I'm going next Thursday, than I'm not going back until he shows me he cares about this team as much as I do.

[MCO'sFan]

I am not taking anything out of context. He specifically said:

"They are doing this day in and day out. And they are selling out and have a rabid fan base. [The] strongest baseball fans are, I think, the Boston fans. And they went 80 years and didn't win a damned thing but they were supported and they are fortunate to have that kind of fan base. Our problem has been [an inability] to generate the kind of revenue that is needed to compete in the AL East. "

He is calling Red Sox fans better than Oriole fans. He says that they have gone longer without winning and are "fortunate to have that kind of fanbase." He then says he can't generate enough revenue because of this.

If you don't see this as a slap in the face to Oriole fans, then I don't know what to say.

Why even post about anything on a message board than if "it is what it is" and "ranting on this board will not fix anything." I am just hoping to show the last Oriole fans in the planet who care about the direction of this team what Peter Angelos is saying about them.

Oriole fans over time have been GREAT fans, every bit as good as Boston's. No fanbase can put up with an extended period of losing like the Orioles have gone through. We are finally starting to see a backlash from the fans now.

The owner of our favorite team is saying otherwise and you choose to be apathetic about it. That is fine. To be an Oriole fan these days is to be apathetic. I blame your apathy on Pete as well.

I am not apathetic about the O's. I have been a O's fan since I was 6 years old when they lost in the 69 WS to the Mets. I cried like a baby the last game at MS and I was nearly thirty years old. I die with every bad pitch and weak swing. I get just as frustrated with managers as anyone else. Just because we can read the same thing and come to different conclusions doesn't mean that I wrong. It means that we disagree. I also didn't suggest that we should blindly sit back and take whatever comes our way. When I said it is what it is I meant regarding PA's attitude. If that's not how it read then I didn't write it very well. I don't think that ranting on this board gets us anywhere. But, I do think that there are things we can do to voice our displeasure.

[Sports Guy]

Did he admit any faults of his own?

I think by saying the GM' have failed is him saying he hired the wrong guys.

Some may want to hear him say the words, "i was wrong" but that is basically what he said.

He said the same thing about Thrift.

He ackowledges that he doesn't go to his office at OPACY, which i know he doesn't, and that he isn't really invovled with the team as many think he is(i think that could be true as well), so why doesn't he sell it, especially if he is "losing money"?

He wants to make himself a hero in Baltimore.

[bgfield]

He wants to make himself a hero in Baltimore.

In that case, someone needs to let him know that selling his team to a more competent person (Cal?) would make him a hero

[TonySoprano]

No kidding. I didn't catch anything other than "competative" but I'm sure there were a few more

I'm still trying to find the $112 million figure from his Forbes article link.

[GlennGulliver11]

No he didn't. He said the Red Sox have the most die-hard, rabid fanbase of any baseball team. And if you were to poll everyone across the country, I'm sure the general public would agree.

But he qualified that statement by saying "and [the Red Sox] haven't won a damn thing in 80 years". This is just isn't true. The Sox have been the AL wild card 5 out of the possible 11 times and have had a total of 6 losing seasons in the past 36 years. He's unequivocably calling us, the Orioles fans, out.

[TonySoprano]

He ackowledges that he doesn't go to his office at OPACY, which i know he doesn't,

We know he has had numerous meetings with his baseball front office. Just because they didn't take place at Camden Yards, he believes that is credible evidence of his lack of involvement?

[bgfield]

I'm still trying to find the $112 million figure from his Forbes article link.

You okay, Tony? I noticed this post didn't begin with the icon!

[frankpembleton]

I am not apathetic about the O's. I have been a O's fan since I was 6 years old when they lost in the 69 WS to the Mets. I cried like a baby the last game at MS and I was nearly thirty years old. I die with every bad pitch and weak swing. I get just as frustrated with managers as anyone else. Just because we can read the same thing and come to different conclusions doesn't mean that I wrong. It means that we disagree. I also didn't suggest that we should blindly sit back and take whatever comes our way. When I said it is what it is I meant regarding PA's attitude. If that's not how it read then I didn't write it very well. I don't think that ranting on this board gets us anywhere. But' date=' I do think that there are things we can do to voice our displeasure.[/quote']

Honestly - I am not calling you out. You are obviously a great fan, like everyone on this board is a great fan. You wouldn't be posting if you weren't. I am really trying to defend you and every other Oriole fan out there who is so accustomed to the losing ways of this team that a certain type of apathy has set in even among the hardcore fans. It is unacceptable the way this owner has treated you and the Oriole fanbase after years of support. The apathy I refer to is a lack of outrage for a guy who blames everyone but himself for the problems of the organization.

I didn't mean to offend you at all as a fan of the team, if that makes sense. I don't doubt your passion at all.

[TonySoprano]

You okay, Tony? I noticed this post didn't begin with the icon!

Now, I'm hurt;) You missed so many of my posts in this topic alone.

Such as this one, and this one and this one, and finally, this one.

But, just for you, let me make amends

[Dipper9]

I don't understand why he has to talk in absolutes so much.

Just say we plan on spending money this offseason and hope to accomplish things and get us where we need to be.

Don't talk like it willd efinitely happen and if and when it doesn't, you look foolish AGAIN!

Maybe Wild Bill is PA??

Only a Sith talks in absolutes! Perhaps PA is actually "The Empiror!"

[Eddie_Ripken]

I don't know how you equate "strongest" with "best." The objective evidence for "strongest" is in the daily sellouts. We might resent Boston fans for outnumbering Oriole fans even in Baltimore, but that's just more evidence that they're "stronger." Not "better," whatever that means. But stronger in their support of their team. The subjective part that can be debated perhaps is the "rabid" part, though again you have to respect the incredible patience of fans going 80 years between World Series titles.

There's nothing wrong with recognizing the strength of another team's fan base, and it has nothing to do with the quality of our own smaller fan base. There's really no basis at all for saying which fan base is "best," and that's not what PA said.

I don't defend Angeles for his record over the last decade, but I believe it doesn't help the discussion to put words in his mouth or say there's only one interpretation of his remarks.

correction: You didn't say "only one"...you said, "very little if any." : )

Question. If he would have said "Boston fans are great fans but I feel the fans here in Baltimore support the team just as strongly if not more" how would you feel?

I know I would feel a heck of a lot better than him saying the fans in Boston are stronger than the Baltimore fans...and yes, that's what he meant....there is nothing stronger than strongest right? So by him saying they are strongest he means they support their team stronger/more/better than we do.

I take nothing away from Boston fans, it's great they sell out. It means baseball is better for it. What I do resent is an owner who wants to be a hero to a city then says things like this to the media about the fan base he wants to fatten his wallet.