Buster Olney: Orioles Hire Andy McPhail as COO! Girardi Appears Next!

[Guest rochester]

Trembly will be interim manager. Sammy is gone.

Flanigan and Duke out at end of the

season. My contact in Angelos office says this.

Blow it up is ok'ed by Pete if the new leadership makes its case.

I pray that this is all true.

I do not like doing this but....I find it really hard to believe that all of the above is even remotely true...

Tremblay - I could see

Flanaduq - there is no way that they know that they are out.

Blow it up - I am not sure what this means. In most instances PA has ok'd IF the case is made.

As far as leakage.... to say this is just another example of incompetence is just plain wrong....how many times do we see "insider" info here. Plus, the above pretty much cements this. Bomp, please do not take this the wrong way but I am sure many "contacts" may come from "the office". This happens everywhere.

Finally, do you really think that they called McPhail this weekend, put together his job description, negotiated his contract and offered the position in which he thought about it and accepted? Same with Girardi except up to the point of negotiation? C'mon....where has the leakage been before this. Last night I read a thread from "insider" info that stated that the new manager ISan ex-Oriole - not maybe but IS. Now, less than 24 hours later we hear that their in negotiations with Girardi?

Most of the time, I read how incompetent the FO is because they can NOTmake a decision. So...which one is it?

[Why Not?]

Are we doing this backwards again, hiring a new skipper then foisting that manager on a potential new front office? Can we assume Girardi (or whoever) would inherit all the current coaches just like Maz did? Or have we learned from past mistakes?

[Skywalker76]

At least it never gets boring with this team!

[Guest oriofan8]

Why? Perlozzo was Angelos guy...

Not because Flanny had anything to do with hiring Perlozzo...I know Sam's PA's guy. What I'm thinking has more to do with McPhail. You have McPhail, Flanagan, and Duquette. Do you need all 3 ?? I'm just speculating that Duquette would be more the GM type, and McPhail his boss, and Flanagan no longer needed.

[tywright]

Angelos and MacPhail have worked together since 2002 in baseball CBA meetings. Angelos made this hire so don't be surprised to see some heads rolling today **hint**hint**

[davearm]

I can tell you that most Cub fans were thrilled when Andy "McFail" resigned at the end of last year.

With the Cubs, McPhail mostly didn't meddle in roster decisions or trades, except when they involved significant financial ramifications; he was viewed as the primary decisionmaker in anything budget-related.

And he had a reputation for being tightfisted. Many feel he was the guy that put limitations on what Hendry could bid for free agents like Tejada, Guerrero, Furcal, and especially Carlos Beltran. And this approach dates back to his days in Minny, where he had a lot of success building rosters on a limited budget.

It was pretty telling that as soon as McPhail left, Hendry went on his much-publicized $300M shopping spree.

Let's just say that it would be uncharacteristic for McPhail to authorize a $100M+ contract for a guy like Mark Teixeira. Of course we know that PGA will have the final say on that issue.

[B-more]

I don't recall the specifics. Maybe. If so, then they should have treated negotiations with others the same way as he was the one good big name FA we landed. There is no benefit that I see to announcing interest in someone before you get the deal done. Only negative things come from that IMO.

I also mentioned this in an earlier post but Agents for players and managers also leak info. They have their reasons, especially if it means that they can drive a higher price tag.

In this case, IF Girardi's agent leaked the info, he could want it known that Girardi is the O's first choice since they are beginning to negotiate a deal. This forces the O's hand to try to get a deal done right now and if he the O's can't meet his demands, they will look bad for not getting their apparent top choice. It could put pressure on the O's to meet or come closer to Girardi's demands in salary and control.

[Guest rochester]

Could PA be taking a step back into the shadows...so to speak...and allow a "baseball mind" the opportunity to run the business ? I agree with those that think Flanny AND Duqette are ONE too many, and if Sam goes, so goes Flanny.

I like this theory....there is no doubt that PA is a control-freak but is also an exceptional business man. If the 3-5 year plan is to sell then they have to start conducting due dilligence now to maximize the value. Heck, he has put $90MM into the kitty and it is clearly not working....his advisors may be telling him to "let go." Also, remember that he does have many shareholders (both known and unknown) that, although not voting members, he consults with them on various levels.

[Delduck]

Okay so here's a dumb question...what does the COO of a major league baseball team actually do? In other words, what kind of changes could we expect from this?

No it is not a dumb question, because I want to know the same thing:)

[SilentJames]

I can tell you that most Cub fans were thrilled when Andy "McFail" resigned at the end of last year.

With the Cubs, McPhail mostly didn't meddle in roster decisions or trades, except when they involved significant financial ramifications; he was viewed as the primary decisionmaker in anything budget-related.

And he had a reputation for being tightfisted. Many feel he was the guy that put limitations on what Hendry could bid for free agents like Tejada, Guerrero, Furcal, and especially Carlos Beltran. And this approach dates back to his days in Minny, where he had a lot of success building rosters on a limited budget.

It was pretty telling that as soon as McPhail left, Hendry went on his much-publicized $300M shopping spree.

Let's just say that it would be uncharacteristic for McPhail to authorize a $100M+ contract for a guy like Mark Teixeira. Of course we know that PGA will have the final say on that issue.

That may well be but MacPhail has a long proven record. Bad years with the Cubs notwithstanding.

[davearm]

That's what I was thinking Mark. However, I think that's just wishful thinking.

I'd be careful what you wish for here. I'm pretty skeptical about McPhail's approach working in Baltimore/AL East, after what I saw of him in Chicago.

[Sports Guy]

I can tell you that most Cub fans were thrilled when Andy "McFail" resigned at the end of last year.

With the Cubs, McPhail mostly didn't meddle in roster decisions or trades, except when they involved significant financial ramifications; he was viewed as the primary decisionmaker in anything budget-related.

And he had a reputation for being tightfisted. Many feel he was the guy that put limitations on what Hendry could bid for free agents like Tejada, Guerrero, Furcal, and especially Carlos Beltran. And this approach dates back to his days in Minny, where he had a lot of success building rosters on a limited budget.

It was pretty telling that as soon as McPhail left, Hendry went on his much-publicized $300M shopping spree.

Let's just say that it would be uncharacteristic for McPhail to authorize a $100M+ contract for a guy like Mark Teixeira. Of course we know that PGA will have the final say on that issue.

Yea, i can't say i am excited by his hire.

He will have a much larger voice in player personnel decision than Foss did, that's for sure.

You don't bring in a guy with his pedigree to just be quiet and worry about ticket sales.

[davearm]

That may well be but MacPhail has a long proven record. Bad years with the Cubs notwithstanding.

He made the small market/low budget thing work splendidly in Minnesota.

Not sure how well that'll play with your club.

[bigbird]

McPhail is here for Foss's role. Nothing more.

[Dipper9]

Maybe Olney, who covered the Yankees for a few years you know, talks to Girardi, who is part of the media still right now, every once in a while. Just a thought.

That can't be John! It HAS to be a conspiracy where the Orioles messed up! That's the only way to make people happy around here is to bash the Orioles for messing up!