11:00 am Press Conference

[TGO]

I don't get that impression. He's here to evaluate the organization top to bottom. See what works and what doesn't. Who needs to go and what he could get for them. If a couple weeks of meaningless baseball are going to make that decision for him, that's not a very good long-term plan.

Yeah, I think he's going to look a little deeper than just wins and losses over the next five weeks. Even if some miracle of miracle occurs and we get into contention, this team is practically built to decline. And you don't even have to have watched the games this year to know that.

[rolliefingers]

Great to see McPhail aboard. Before we send Duke and Flanny off into the sunset, however, let's give credit where credit is due.

The idea to stockpile young pitching was a good one.

Getting Jordan in here and giving him the draft was good.

Something approaching a base for future success has been built here. Let's hope McPhail is given the freedom of movement to expand upon that and return this team to being an admired, winning organization.

Very true, and they do deserve credit for the farm system's turnaround, particularly Flanagan.

But that doesn't excuse the awful management of the big club, and it doesn't give me much hope that they will do the right things once all those kids are big leaguers.

[neon2lsohc]

This guy actually seems like he has some people skills. I have met Flanny on several occasions and while he was always a nice guy he didn't have that ability to make you feel at ease. What I am saying is that Flanny seemed like he felt really uncomfortable talking to people who aren't as smart as him and the tension bled through. I had a friend from the Boston area years ago who was the same way. You could always tell he was trying to dumb it down for you. Also, I feel that Andy was less evasive when answering questions. He wasn't constantly looking off camera to see if he was allowed to answer a question or not. I was getting so sick of hearing "We're not going to comment on that at this time". And the jokes Andy made about sitting around not doing anything for the past eight months was great! It was like he was comfortable with himself and didn't feel the need to make up some bs just to make the media happy. I am hoping this will be as good of a fit as I think it will. I am a pretty good judge of people, most of the time. :002_sbiggrin:

Who knows, if the baseball world respects this guy as much as we are being told, then maybe we will actually have some all-star break trades. You know, the kind that we always sit around and envy other teams for pulling off.

Oh, and one last thing. Not sure how honest his answers were but it sounded like Angelos has finally realized that he is a good business man but not much of a baseball man. Lets hope.

Go O's!

[Mashed Potatoes]

Yea, he essentially called their plan worthless.(which is what many of us have been saying)

Now, the question becomes, what does MacPhail think needs to happen to make us a contender..Does he think we need to just add pieces to what we have or rebuild?

It would take quite a free agency splash to go the adding pieces route. Davearm's pointed out McPhail's reluctance to spend big for outsiders, so if I were a betting man I would say rebuild. This is obviously what we prefer.

[Tx Oriole]

I just hope that Girardi is the next piece of the puzzle to get inked.

[WEAVERMAN]

I posted earlier Flanny may well be the odd man out. Duquette is a very good relationship with most GMs and agents around baseball. Flanny is a square peg Angelos has been trying to fit into a round hold for years.

I bet you're right.

[rolliefingers]

I bet you're right.

We could do better than MacPhail/Duquette at the top of the organization, but we could also do a lot worse.

[bigbird]

It would take quite a free agency splash to go the adding pieces route. Davearm's pointed out McPhail's reluctance to spend big for outsiders, so if I were a betting man I would say rebuild. This is obviously what we prefer.

I don't recall him rebuilding with the Cubs.

[rolliefingers]

I don't recall him rebuilding with the Cubs.

So Bigbird, what do you think MacPhail will do? Add pieces or rebuild?

[Greg Pappas]

This guy actually seems like he has some people skills. I have met Flanny on several occasions and while he was always a nice guy he didn't have that ability to make you feel at ease. What I am saying is that Flanny seemed like he felt really uncomfortable talking to people who aren't as smart as him and the tension bled through. I had a friend from the Boston area years ago who was the same way. You could always tell he was trying to dumb it down for you. Also, I feel that Andy was less evasive when answering questions. He wasn't constantly looking off camera to see if he was allowed to answer a question or not. I was getting so sick of hearing "We're not going to comment on that at this time". And the jokes Andy made about sitting around not doing anything for the past eight months was great! It was like he was comfortable with himself and didn't feel the need to make up some bs just to make the media happy. I am hoping this will be as good of a fit as I think it will. I am a pretty good judge of people, most of the time. :002_sbiggrin:

Who knows, if the baseball world respects this guy as much as we are being told, then maybe we will actually have some all-star break trades. You know, the kind that we always sit around and envy other teams for pulling off.

Oh, and one last thing. Not sure how honest his answers were but it sounded like Angelos has finally realized that he is a good business man but not much of a baseball man. Lets hope.

Go O's!

Welcome to the Hangout!

Good post. Let's hope the Angelos honors his word to Andy. It's seems to be a new day in Oriole Land.

[Mashed Potatoes]

I don't recall him rebuilding with the Cubs.

True, but these are two completely different situations. You would think one would be versatile enough to employ various strategies depending on the circumstances.

I have a tough time imagining an add pieces route without spending gargantuan amounts of dinero, which appears to be something McPhail's opposed to.