If you owned the Orioles, what decisions would require your approval?

[crawjo]

I would not overrule my GM on any player personnel issues. I would expect him to be able to defend his decisions, but he would have final say. I assume we would go into each offseason with a budget, and if he wanted to go over budget, he would need approval for that. Otherwise, it would be his show. He would be able to fail or succeed on his own merits.

[weams]

Quote

“To not have any depth in the organization, even if you were to win, you would have to build again at some point. Throwing money at a problem is not the answer."

“It’s easy to say, ‘Go get more pitching and you’re going to win.’ There are no guarantees by grabbing pitching you are going to win. The only way to be sustainable over time is to build up the minor-league system. That is our focus. … I don’t expect you to be happy.”

 

https://tinyurl.com/yafclvqk

[Roll Tide]

17 hours ago, Frobby said:

I often read opinions that the owner should just hire the GM and let him run the team unfettered, subject maybe to setting an overall budget.    But do any teams really operate quite that way?    If it was your team and your money at risk, would you run it that way?

I think if I were the owner, I’d want some say in the bigger-ticket decisions.   Say, contractual commitments of more than $10 mm, or trades of players who are in the team’s core 10-15 guys or top 5 prospects.   And I’d probably rubber-stamp most of those decisions, but I’d still want the GM to explain the reasoning and be able to ask questions.     Is that unreasonable?

If I owned the Os I'd be the GM 

[Roll Tide]

2 minutes ago, Roll Tide said:

If I owned the Os I'd be the GM 

Also I'd be in total rebuild mode

[mdbdotcom]

If I owned the O's, the GM would be responsible for running every aspect of baseball operations, from the minors to the majors. They would set up a thoroughly modern and professional operation and be responsible for the hiring and firing of the manager and all other personnel. They would choose their own advisers. 

I would track operation of all business and on-field aspects of the team via computer dashboard and would meet with the GM to review progress and strategy every week until we were totally in sync, at which time those meetings would occur with less frequency.  There would be no hard and fast rules about what I would need to approve. There wouldn't need to be, as the GM and I would be pushing in the same direction and always in agreement on strategy. When something was being considered that the GM knew required my approval, he would seek it. If I saw something come up in the dashboard that I thought needed my attention, I would ask the GM about it.

There would be no other voices speaking to me in the background about the team. Only the GM would have my ear. 

[Bahama O's Fan]

36 minutes ago, Roll Tide said:

If I owned the Os I'd be the GM 

This is what I said. As a fan, I would love to make the decisions. Of course, I would have to hire some experienced people to work with me to help with the areas that I am unfamiliar with, but I want the power!

[Ohfan67]

I would be the de facto GM, manager, director of minor league personnel, etc. I would have personnel in place with those titles, but the Orioles would be my 150% professional passion and a huge chunk of my personal life. And that’s why I visit OH and don’t own a baseball team. Fan is short for Fanatic. 

[Frobby]

1 minute ago, Ohfan67 said:

I would be the de facto GM, manager, director of minor league personnel, etc. 

Would you consider putting yourself in CF?  

[Redskins Rick]

12 hours ago, Hank Scorpio said:

If they’re not intelligent enough to trade Manny Machado now, I won’t be flipping anywhere near MASN for a long, long time.

In spite of all the evidence that the sellers almost never work out for them, they are not intelligent enough????????

[Ohfan67]

6 minutes ago, Frobby said:

Would you consider putting yourself in CF?  

Maybe as a pinch hitter. I always thought I could master the Brady Anderson hit in the back move and get on base by HBP a few times a year in critical situations.   I would, however, take BP with the team and one game a year everybody would bunt every at bat. The slowest players would be forced to attemp stolen bases in blow outs just to make me smile. 

[Redskins Rick]

8 hours ago, crawjo said:

I would not overrule my GM on any player personnel issues. I would expect him to be able to defend his decisions, but he would have final say. I assume we would go into each offseason with a budget, and if he wanted to go over budget, he would need approval for that. Otherwise, it would be his show. He would be able to fail or succeed on his own merits.

I doubt there is a single owner in any sport that doesn't have final say on the major acquisition/decisions.

[Nite]

I would set aside $5m for myself and literally spend every last dollar the team earns on the team. I don't need a lavish life and I can see myself even taking 0 profits over time once my life was set and comfortable without needed anymore income. My team would be run like any other functioning team. The COO would handle the business side of the team (promotional stuff, ticket prices, staffing and salaries of the staff ect ect) and my GM would handle the on field products (MLB, MiL rosters, coaches, staff, the draft, ect ect). 

I wouldn't want any say on any decision because I'm to much of a fan and would let that interfere with what is right. I would however like to KNOW what's going on with everything major. This Manny trade for instance, I want to know what all of the offers are. Who are my people leaning towards going with. If and only IF there is indecisiveness then I would step in and make the decision. 

I would only step in again if I see that the decisions being made aren't working, in which case people get fired and I have to hire someone else until I find someone who can get it right. I'm not a big believer in change for the sake of change. My GM would get a good sized rope and would basically have to hang themselves to get fired. I believe most GMs if given the right resources and 100% control and put a contender out there year after year. It's the constant hamstringing of their abilities that create losing teams.

I'm confident that the Orioles can have a $190m payroll with the various incomes coming into the team. Just the "profit" margin that the ownership is requesting hampers that ability. If not a full 190 then that extra 40 better be in getting international talent and developing minors. My demand would be a Red Sox type team that has a pipe line coming up from the minors. I would also be a gambler and try to extend my young players well before free agency to avoid having to face a $30mil a year request. But my system would be strong so I can trade a potential $30 mil a year player for more young prospects and reallocate that money into 2-3 good players that keep my team competitive because I have that pipeline to replace him.

[bobmc]

9 hours ago, Satyr3206 said:

As an Owner first you have to define where you are in the market. The Orioles are a mid market team, therefore you have to operate that way. That means you don't have the luxury of making big FA mistakes and covering them with more money. Second you have to do everything you can to bring in talent in a cost controlled way. Draft, International market, etc. Third, you need a great scouts and development people. And pay the people that run the Minor League teams, and Scouts a little more so you get the best people you can. That would pay off big time.

Then you hire people that are familiar with this way of operating. Set a budget. And let them do their jobs. The best trait of a Leader is to hire good people and let them do their jobs. They might make mistakes but as the Owner you can step in from time to time to limit them.

Do not micromanage. Professionals need to know their judgement is trusted. If I hire someone I'm letting them have freedom to do the job I hired them for.

As Owner you would have to be involved with any large financial transactions. Other than that let the Baseball people run the ship. It takes time to build a Baseball Organization. Continuity is a must.

Set goals and evaluate everyone. Simple to me.

Nice! Now how would you handle the situation we have now with lame ducks as GM and manager?  Is that a good thing to let them prove themselves a final time or settle it before the off season gets fully into gear?

[Satyr3206]

1 hour ago, bobmc said:

Nice! Now how would you handle the situation we have now with lame ducks as GM and manager?  Is that a good thing to let them prove themselves a final time or settle it before the off season gets fully into gear?

I would never let it get that far. Not only with the GM and Manager but the Coaches and Minor League staffs, Scouts, etc. The Orioles have always drug this out far too long. You assess whether you want them back and extend them or have a succession plan in place. Nothing worse than lame duck leadership.

[LookitsPuck]

In any business, a C level has to justify high priority/high cost/hirings/etc. items to ownership and the board.

In any business, a Director has to justify high priority/high cost/hirings/etc. items to C levels

Etc.

I don't buy for one second anybody's opinion that GMs (see: Duquette) should have carte blanche over all major trades or free agent signings. Those people *have* to make their case as it ultimately affects the bottom line. Which can affect marketing. Which can affect ticket sales. Etc. etc.

Here's my thing. If a GM comes to me as an owner and says, "Well, trading Player A for X, Y and Z is in the best interest for the organization, but players X, Y and Z aren't really going to have an impact now or in the future on the club...it's largely a salary dump." As an owner, would I really want to trade a star which would impact the rest of the season all to save a few bucks if it doesn't mean it'll have a sizable impact in the future? Hell no.

You. Have. To. Make. Compelling. Arguments.

And I doubt Duquette does a good job of that. MacPhail clearly did. He was able to trade a blue chipper in Erik Bedard. He was able to trade a blue chipper in Miguel Tejada. He was able to get buyin multiple times from ownership when the club needed it most. Now, MacPhail *wasn't* good in the free agent market. But he was a fantastic trader.

Anyways, I just hate this argument that ownership shouldn't have a say in baseball operations. It's *his* club. It's *his* money. He damn well should have a say in those things. Now, if ownership feels he knows baseball decisions better than his GM? Than that's a problem. Either with Angelos or with the quality of the people Angelos hired.

Just my $0.02.