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Schmuck: Angelos back in Warehouse and in Duquette's old office!


Tony-OH

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I find it funny that everyone is criticizing a phrase that is a perfectly accurate description of what every single GM in baseball is trying to do.

Dembrowski sure seems to take care if his business pretty quickly every year. Not to mention Beane. Not that they're done, but they got a lot done fast.

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I find it funny that everyone is criticizing a phrase that is a perfectly accurate description of what every single GM in baseball is trying to do.

I was not critical. It's just a catch phrase. Like "I love it when a plan comes together."

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Several cross-currents in play with MASN:

- one expects PA wants to maintain the status quo - low subscriber fees, small upward revisions to the TV rights fees and profitability from MASN

- the Nats belong in a market significantly larger than Bmore and want rights fees in line with their market

- the MASN agreement calls for the Os and Nats to receive the same TV rights fees

- the higher the rights fees, the more that must be shares with MLB (read: other teams)

- the BoSox and NYY are receiving exorbitant amounts of $ from TV rights fees from NESN and YES, but are sharing significantly below the actual amounts with the rest of baseball

- if MASN and the TV rights for the Orioles and Nats were ever separated, the Os future revenues would revert to being in line with their small market (for now, Os fans are lucky they are with the same owner and one that has defended his franchise appropriately)

This would be difficult to untangle - probably as intended by PA - until the next owner comes along or PA cashes in the whole thing for himself and then Bmore is relegated to small market stature.

IMO, the best solution for the Os to receive proper rights fees (since PA is pocketing the MASN $) and to silence some of the Nats noise about getting their fare share would be for MASN to actually charge and collect market value for two MLB franchises and get those rights fees into the $75M to $80M range for both teams. This gets the Nats about 75% of the way toward the $ they desire and lets the Os profit from the large market they ceded to the Nats.

Frankly, with teams like Seattle about to sign massive deals, after Texas and LAD have done the same, it is about time PA stopped worrying about the sharing of rights fees with the rest of MLB and gave more $ to the Os. At some point, hopefully, the BoSox and NYY and NYM do the same.

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Schmuck has changed the headline to "Duquette says Orioles' trade of Jim Johnson 'was a baseball decision,' not one from Angelos" and the article yet again, this time with a response from Duquette.

Duquette, reached via telephone late Thursday, said he made the decision after finding little interest from other clubs in absorbing Johnson's likely 2014 salary, and that he made the best deal he could make. He denied that he was ordered to make the decision, though other front-office sources have indicated that his hand was forced.

Angelos "is the chairman of the club," Duquette said. "He listens to his baseball people, and this was a baseball decision. We?re all committed to putting a competitive team on the field. When the club decides to reallocate resources, there's a good reason for that."

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And they would be even more profitable if MASN was managed properly.

How do you think they are mismanaged? 3 years ago the Orioles average viewership per game was 26,000 and the Nationals was 24,000. I think he is getting a ton of money for the amount of people who are actually watching the game.

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How do you think they are mismanaged? 3 years ago the Orioles average viewership per game was 26,000 and the Nationals was 24,000. I think he is getting a ton of money for the amount of people who are actually watching the game.

I think Tony is referring to the discussions on MASN's subscriber fees which are said to be substantially below market relative to some of the other RSN's. It great to quote viewership, which has some baring on advertising dollars but I don't think that is a direct link to the RSN revenue stream.

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Schmuck has changed the headline to "Duquette says Orioles' trade of Jim Johnson 'was a baseball decision,' not one from Angelos" and the article yet again, this time with a response from Duquette.

Interesting. When "The Club" decides. So now the whole club is deciding. Not Dan "The Hand" Duquette? If Angelos is meddling, Duquette will be outta here - fast - I would imagine. He doesn't seem like the kind of guy who likes to be continually second-guessed.

I think everyone agrees - this team will be LESS talented next year than either of the previous two, unless we significantly upgrade the roster. The Hammel miracle partial-year is history... Chen got somewhat figured out by MLB hitters... Tillman has now had one good year (in other words, no guarantees there)...

Unless Duquette is allowed to bring in some serious talent, I bet he leaves.

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Interesting. When "The Club" decides. So now the whole club is deciding. Not Dan "The Hand" Duquette? If Angelos is meddling, Duquette will be outta here - fast - I would imagine. He doesn't seem like the kind of guy who likes to be continually second-guessed.

I think everyone agrees - this team will be LESS talented next year than either of the previous two, unless we significantly upgrade the roster. The Hammel miracle partial-year is history... Chen got somewhat figured out by MLB hitters... Tillman has now had one good year (in other words, no guarantees there)...

Unless Duquette is allowed to bring in some serious talent, I bet he leaves.

Duquette was out of baseball for quite a while and has a six-year deal. He's staying.
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Schmuck has changed the headline to "Duquette says Orioles' trade of Jim Johnson 'was a baseball decision,' not one from Angelos" and the article yet again, this time with a response from Duquette.

I know people want conspiracies and Schmuck not backing down, but the original blog was incredibly unprofessional - what's the bfd with the who has what offices in the remodeled top floor of the warehouse - and accusatory.

I hope Schmuck's sources are good ones because the owner and the GM said that moving Johnson was a baseball decision.

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Dembrowski sure seems to take care if his business pretty quickly every year. Not to mention Beane. Not that they're done, but they got a lot done fast.

Sorry, I wasn't referring to "percolation" but "allocation of resources." Every single GM has to do that, no matter their budget.

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I know people want conspiracies and Schmuck not backing down, but the original blog was incredibly unprofessional - what's the bfd with the who has what offices in the remodeled top floor of the warehouse - and accusatory.

I hope Schmuck's sources are good ones because the owner and the GM said that moving Johnson was a baseball decision.

Schmuck has been around here for a long time, what makes you think he would suddenly make up anything or have bad sources? Angelos has every reason to BS, and Duquette is his employee that is going to toe the company line. Now saying all this, I hope Johnson was a baseball decision because I did not want him back as a closer and especially not back at $10 million. His blog was not unprofessional but it's clear, hes under pressure to adjust it.

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I know people want conspiracies and Schmuck not backing down, but the original blog was incredibly unprofessional - what's the bfd with the who has what offices in the remodeled top floor of the warehouse - and accusatory.

I hope Schmuck's sources are good ones because the owner and the GM said that moving Johnson was a baseball decision.

I am guessing the whole office issue is the symbolic nature of it. Schmuck seems pretty clear he thinks Angelos is is involving himself in the baseball operations again. Schmuck bringing up the issue of the Doug Duennes being fired indicates in his mind a more hands on approach from ownership

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