TT: Orioles Games of Thrones and the Way Forward

[Tony-OH]

A lot of this you will know if you have been following along here at the Hangout and in other places, but hopefully this can put it out there for all to be able to reference.

http://www.orioleshangout.com/2018/05/09/orioles-game-of-thrones-and-the-way-forward/

Hope you enjoy the piece.

[Yardball85]

Tony, thanks for doing all that digging and putting together this piece.  I think most of us on here, myself included, trust you more than the actual journalists paid by MASN to report on this team.  Thank you for peeling the curtain back.  Not the rosiest of articles, but good to know what's happening.

[Finisher]

"The first was the decision to give a qualifying offer to Matt Wieters. Reportedly Buck was instrumental in the Orioles offering Wieters that $15.8 million offer as Buck wanted his catcher back full-time in 2016. The assumption by others was that Wieters wouldn’t take the offer anyways, but Buck was happy to have his catcher back.

Next, after losing Cruz the year before, Buck wanted Chris Davis back badly. Duquette was reportedly less interested in retaining Davis for the money he was requesting, but Buck reportedly went directly to Angelos requesting his first baseman be signed. 

However, one source reported that Duquette was not the one behind the Trumbo re-signing and suggested that was more of a Brady/Buck decision."

..

CliffsNotes: Buck and Brady in favor/responsible for pretty much all of our horrific contracts.

[Aristotelian]

I am just digging into this and can't wait to get through it. In the meantime, would you mind posting the pieces on the Thrift and Flanagan-Macphail eras? Could you put them in a public Google Doc or Dropbox folder?

[weams]

30 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

A lot of this you will know if you have been following along here at the Hangout and in other places, but hopefully this can put it out there for all to be able to reference.

http://www.orioleshangout.com/2018/05/09/orioles-game-of-thrones-and-the-way-forward/

Hope you enjoy the piece.

Thank you Tony. Good effort. 

[Can_of_corn]

2 minutes ago, Finisher said:

"The first was the decision to give a qualifying offer to Matt Wieters. Reportedly Buck was instrumental in the Orioles offering Wieters that $15.8 million offer as Buck wanted his catcher back full-time in 2016. The assumption by others was that Wieters wouldn’t take the offer anyways, but Buck was happy to have his catcher back.

Next, after losing Cruz the year before, Buck wanted Chris Davis back badly. Duquette was reportedly less interested in retaining Davis for the money he was requesting, but Buck reportedly went directly to Angelos requesting his first baseman be signed. 

However, one source reported that Duquette was not the one behind the Trumbo re-signing and suggested that was more of a Brady/Buck decision."

..

CliffsNotes: Buck and Brady in favor/responsible for pretty much all of our horrific contracts.

Guessing he advocated for Hardy and O'Day as well.

[wildbillhiccup]

Great read Tony. And to answer your question, no Brady Anderson is not the right man for the job. Buck needs to go too. They both have gotten way too comfortable because they think they're "in" with Angelos. They need a reality check in the form of pink slips. 

[Deadwood Fan]

Tony , The Os went 96-66 not 94-68 in 2014. Great article. 

[Legend_Of_Joey]

2 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

Guessing he advocated for Hardy and O'Day as well.

Not sure about Hardy, but Tony did mention O'Day staying as influenced by Buck and Brady.

[JohnD]

Soooo things are pretty much hopeless for the next buncha years.

[Deadwood Fan]

Tony, the sources you talked to for this story, what is the general consensus of John and Lou Angelos? 

[Tony-OH]

11 minutes ago, Deadwood Fan said:

Tony , The Os went 96-66 not 94-68 in 2014. Great article. 

Thanks, looked at the Pythagorean W-L:.

[LC_O's_87]

10 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

Guessing he advocated for Hardy and O'Day as well.

I think they all wanted Hardy...he was a team leader at SS and Machado was just coming off a second knee surgery.  

 

[Can_of_corn]

5 minutes ago, JohnD said:

Soooo things are pretty much hopeless for the next buncha years.

Didn't we all already know that?

[AnythingO's]

In your Tony's Take on the last page you get into how to setup an organization and it reminded me of something I printed out years ago and have taped to my workstation. It is titled "The Orioles Way" and I have alluded to it over the years. Most people think pitching, defense, and strong fundamentals and Buck alludes to it occasionally. But it was much more than that, so forgive me but I'm going to type it out.

"Surround yourself with good, talented, committed people. Lay out the vision clearly. Map out goals precisely. Provide a road map, so that every individual knows what they have to do and how they must do it to get to the organization's goals -- and their goals individually for their career path. Empower them. Honor them. Trust them. Motivate them -- and stand back."

I can't remember who they quoted in the piece, or when or where I found it, it has been many years. This is NOT how the Orioles organization has been operating during the Peter Angelos era; you have captured the dysfunction in your piece. Thank you Tony, that can't have been an easy undertaking and I hope you don't suffer blow back, but I fear you will.