Issues with Brady?

[TradeAngelos]

Camden Depot‏ @CamdenDepot  1h1 hour ago

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One thing that is easy to miss in the Brady Anderson article written by Rosenthal is that it has nothing to do with Brady Anderson.

 

Camden Depot‏ @CamdenDepot  4m4 minutes ago

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If your takeaway from the Brady Anderson article is that Brady is a knight in shing armor, then you missed a few things in that article.

 

Camden Depot‏ @CamdenDepot  4m4 minutes ago

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The article is basically saying the Orioles permit Anderson to disrupt and he has had some success and failure.

 

Camden Depot‏ @CamdenDepot  3m3 minutes ago

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A shrewd reading would suggest that Brady is a renaissance man who may not know his limitation on some things.

 

Camden Depot‏ @CamdenDepot  3m3 minutes ago

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If you take the side of a failing player every time, you will get to point at a couple amazing successes.

[waroriole]

Interesting comments from Brady about Arrieta

[Dark Helmet]

It was just said that Brady has the second most "juice" behind Buck with PA. And Brady will be the next Orioles GM. 

[jabba72]

1 minute ago, Dark Helmet said:

It was just said that Brady has the second most "juice" behind Buck with PA. And Brady will be the next Orioles GM. 

We've seen this before with Flanagan... another Angelos favorite. He ended up having little influence on Angelos from what i remember. 

[foxfield]

Yes.  This is an interesting article.  Ken Rosnethal does not mind taking shots at the O's, and while this is a pretty even article, there is more than enough smoke more here to worry about.  I like the part of Brady wanting to "save" everyone and I like the part about Brady being ahead of his time on exercise and nutrition...I like Brady.  I always have.  

But for all of it's many good points, this relationship has always had a feel to me, similar to that of Rick Dempsey's.  Dempsey always seemed/s close enough to management that he can involve himself in ways that may or may not be positive, but is not in a position to be held accountable.

I'll say this, I know there are many here that believe in and hope that Brady will replace Dan Duquette.  That he is a large part of what has gone well for the O's since his hire.  I am not one of those folks.  I do believe that Brady has had an impact on the O's and a positive one....but without being critical...there just isn't much to point to that he is GM material. 

I admire that he is all in for the O's.  But so am I...and so are many of you...(sorry for hyperbole)

These quotes if accurate, regardless of context, concern me.

The first is ok...i guess...but Brady is sitting down with Rosenthal...Brady has been around...he should be able to cliche the questions to death a la "Bull Durham."  He KNOWS Rosenthal has an angle.

“I made up my mind early on that I’m not going to stop doing what I’m good at,” Anderson said. “There are things I can learn from somebody like Dan and do better, but I’m not going to stop doing what I can do to help the team.”

The second one makes me cringe.  I appreciate the passion.  But Brady has a chance to take a high road and he fails.  In doing so, he also throws darts back at Rosenthal's sources, Wallace and Chiti,  seemingly equating the two, not only for failing to produce with Arrieta, but for causing the Orioles to lose...the best pitcher in the entire world. (Even though the article clearly states as quoted below that Arrietta dealt with Wallace and Chili's predecessors).

But at one point, Anderson said, “There’s one thing I won’t tolerate, and that’s a coach who is being dismissive of a younger player. If there is any conflict that has ever happened, that would have been the cause.”

He grew animated taking about Wright.

“When you change movement patterns in an elite athlete – an elite athlete, not a 12- or 13-year-old . . . certainly Mike Wright is an elite athlete. Suggestions are good, but the athlete has to believe what he’s doing is right,” Anderson said.

“When you change a person, you’ve got to make sure you do it without creating any doubt. It’s imperative. Jake (Arrieta) is the perfect example. We let the best pitcher in the entire world get out of our hands because they (Wallace’s and Chiti’s predecessors) created doubt in his head, or somehow it was created. I’m not saying they did it, that anyone said intentionally, ‘I’m going to put doubt in you.’ But that crept in. I’m super-sensitive to that.”

 

No, it just doesn't seem to be too much to have hoped for one of these instead:

(NOT REAL QUOTES FOLLOW)

"Look, I love the game and I love the Orioles.  I feel I learned a tremendous amount about people and the game as a player and I enjoy staying involved helping these athletes keep their bodies in the best shape possible.  The Orioles value my knowledge and my experience and I do everything I can to have a positive impact in any area that they want input."  

or

"We are talking about working with some of the best athletes in the world and we all have the same goal, to get the most successful outcome for our players and of course our team.  We do not always agree on particular players or even on specific plans for players nor do we want everyone to be the same.  I work for the Baltimore Orioles and my job is to support Dan Duquette, Buck Showalter and do everything I can to support their success and as long as I am here I will continue to try to work harder than anyone to do just that."  

 

Edit to add that the upshot is that perhaps, with proper adjustments, Mike Wright has Arrieta, upside....

[TradeAngelos]

5 minutes ago, Dark Helmet said:

It was just said that Brady has the second most "juice" behind Buck with PA. And Brady will be the next Orioles GM. 

A  completely unqualified former player running the entire organization? What could go wrong?  Enjoy the winning run while it lasts. Duquette will be pushed out so the owner can have his little pet project running the show before we know it. The writing is spray painted in big giant letters all over the warehouse walls.

[atomic]

2 hours ago, eddie83 said:

Also we always heard how much Brady liked Reimold. 

Maybe that is why Reimold was on the team year after year even though he was terrible every season.  I remember doing FanFeast stadium tour 4 years ago and seeing Brady's huge locker with the wooden hangers and was kind of perplexed as why he had that set-up.  

The season Brady and Buck seemed to be running the show seemed to turn out pretty badly. 

[FlipTheBird]

1 hour ago, CP0861 said:

I can understand a player being skeptical of a front office guy with a locker in the clubhouse.  I can also understand another playing not minding it.

Different people react to things differently....I don't think that necessarily makes anyone right or wrong. 

I guess my concern is that environment being created in the first place.  If it may be an issue.....then why allow it?  Why give Brady that extra benefit?  For crying out loud, they don't have room somewhere to get Brady an office? 

I guess I just can't wrap my head around him having a locker.....makes zero sense to me.

 

Showalter notes in the story that they've been looking into putting an office together for Brady near the weight room.

That said, I don't know if I understand how a player can be that wigged out by his presence... Jones himself says they hardly ever see him in the locker room, because he's so busy. And you're dreaming if you think the front office personnel don't pop up down there, anyway. So what if there's a couple pieces of aluminum with Brady's stuff in there?

[El Gordo]

31 minutes ago, FlipTheBird said:

Showalter notes in the story that they've been looking into putting an office together for Brady near the weight room.

That said, I don't know if I understand how a player can be that wigged out by his presence... Jones himself says they hardly ever see him in the locker room, because he's so busy. And you're dreaming if you think the front office personnel don't pop up down there, anyway. So what if there's a couple pieces of aluminum with Brady's stuff in there?

Yeah the reason he has a locker thereunlike other FO people is they don't use the weight room or coach players there. Seems pretty practical to me.

[waroriole]

1 hour ago, dan-O said:

I don't really think anyone is coming away from that article thinking Brady is a knight in shining armor. As usual, Camden Depot swings and comes up empty. 

They are constantly trying to make something exist that just isn't there. 

[scOtt]

Duquette also cited Anderson’s overall impact as one reason the Orioles have won the most games of any American League club in the past five years, reaching the postseason three times.

 

 

“Brady is probably one of the most blatantly honest guys you’ll ever be around. That’s what I like about him. He doesn’t play any political (games). He’s got no agenda. He loves the Orioles, and he works his butt off.”  - Buck

 

 

“He’s brought over a work ethic that I’d say we had, but now it’s magnified,” said Jones, a five-time All-Star. “Our nutrition side in the clubhouse has changed tremendously due to his influence. He got us a team chef that sometimes I steal her from him – she’s that good.

“That’s what he brought – the work ethic and nutrition, understanding that to play this game at a high level you just can’t sit there and eat McDonald’s and get away with it. He’s been a great source in that regard.”

 

 

 

 

That's good enough for me. The rest can go pound sand.

[Ohfan67]

Interesting, but really weird/awkward read. I think Dan-O's take that as long as Angelos is the owner then you're going to have stuff like this is true. Angelos never seems to like clear lines of authority/responsibility and likes having his "guy" or "guys". That said, I take criticism from Wallace and Chiti with a grain of salt. They were clearly unhappy campers and Chiti has "lashed out" in the media more than once this offseason. That said, I don't get Brady's Arrieta based criticism of Wallace and Chiti. I think Wallace was hired AFTER Arrieta was traded to the Cubs. Anyway, very odd that so many people would go on the record for this article. Not a very flattering portrait of Brady, Wallace, or Chiti IMO. Not damning, but not pretty. I think Brady and DD would have been better served by not discussing the situation other than providing generic, "working hard for the Orioles success" blather. 

[Machado13]

4 hours ago, esmd said:

Rosenthal loves to throw shade on the O's whenever he can.  Seems like some sour grapes from Wallace and Chiti, and Rosenthal is trying to trump it up into organizational dysfunction.  Anderson didn't get along all that well with Wallace and Chiti.  They disagreed on some aspects of player development.  Wieters didn't like that he had a locker in the clubhouse.  Okay, great.  Moving right along.  But since it's the Orioles, Rosenthal goes all Woodward and Bernstein.

I see Anderson's involvement as a positive.  Buck and Jones seem to be okay with it, so I'll take them at their word.

This is how I see it too. It's well documented how Peter Angelos operated over the years and he made a ton of mistakes. No one in their right mind would dispute that. However, since Buck and DD, the Orioles have actually been praised for being a stable organization and results have shown themselves.

So while yes the Orioles used to be dysfunctional and could very well become again, this reeks of rosenthal trying to portray the Orioles as that same dysfunctional organization. If that's the case, I'm sure most organizations around MLB would love to be "dysfunctional" if it means that many wins and playoff appearances in a 5 year span.

[Frobby]

Very interesting read and a great job by Rosenthal shining light on an issue that the beat writers either have never uncovered or were too timid to write about, as they often seem to be.

That said, the two people at the top of the organization, Dan and Buck, seem pretty supportive of Brady.   They seem to see him as a big net positive even if his role does sometimes interfere with the chain of command.    I liked Wallace and Chiti, and if they felt Brady was interfering in their province, I'm sure there's some truth to that.    But I don't think Buck would put up with it if he didn't feel Brady was doing a lot more good than harm, and that's good enough for me.    

I didn't read any of the remarks as sour grapes.   Different people can have different perspectives.    And I really didn't take Wieters' remarks as being critical of Brady, he was just being factual about some of the downsides of having a guy in a cross-over role.   

[Rene88]

I agree that the Orioles management directorate is dysfunctional, we all know it.

I also find it concerning he doesn't report directly to DD. I have had my criticisms of DD, but a good org hires a GM and let's him (or her maybe one day) fail or succeed on their own merits.

I also do wonder what message it sends to have Brady as strength guy when he was linked to steroids. I think many who did steroids should be in the HOF, so I am not one of those types, but hoisting him on a pedestal is not a good idea either IMO.