TT: Silence of Ownership is Deafening

[spiritof66]

22 minutes ago, tntoriole said:

Any candidate for new President of Operations worth anything at all would have to be a fool to agree to this arrangement.   We shall see. 

I was just speculating about Brady's possible future. Any candidate for the Oriole front office would have recognized the Brady problem before the search process started -- whenever that was -- or at the latest within ten minutes of research into the Orioles' front office problems. Yet he's still there, and candidates are being interviewed. At least I think they are. I don't really know what the hell is going on.  

Maybe the candidates are being told something along these lines: Brady, as Special Advisor to the Owner(s) or whatever, will have authority to get involved in things only with the approval of the President or GM, and if you find that he's getting in your way we'll take care of it. The problem, which an eager candidate may be willing to overlook, would be the difficulty of keeping Brady from expanding his authority and the possibility of slippage in the AngelBros' requirement and commitment over time.

If the AngelBros were acting in the best interests of the team by trying to make these positions attractive to strong candidates, Brady would have been fired long ago. But he remains after others have been dismissed. It's just one more reason that I wonder about the new regime. Maybe the AngelBros lack the good sense or the nerve (and maybe while Peter is alive they don't have the power) to get rid of Brady. If that's not the case, why is he still on the payroll, making the challenge of hiring quality people to run the show harder?  

[tntoriole]

6 minutes ago, spiritof66 said:

I was just speculating about Brady's possible future. Any candidate for the Oriole front office would have recognized the Brady problem before the search process started -- whenever that was -- or at the latest within ten minutes of research into the Orioles' front office problems. Yet he's still there, and candidates are being interviewed. At least I think they are. I don't really know what the hell is going on.  

Maybe the candidates are being told something along these lines: Brady, as Special Advisor to the Owner(s) or whatever, will have authority to get involved in things only with the approval of the President or GM, and if you find that he's getting in your way we'll take care of it. The problem, which an eager candidate may be willing to overlook, would be the difficulty of keeping Brady from expanding his authority and the possibility of slippage in the AngelBros' requirement and commitment over time.

If the AngelBros were acting in the best interests of the team by trying to make these positions attractive to strong candidates, Brady would have been fired long ago. But he remains after others have been dismissed. It's just one more reason that I wonder about the new regime. Maybe the AngelBros lack the good sense or the nerve (and maybe while Peter is alive they don't have the power) to get rid of Brady. If that's not the case, why is he still on the payroll, making the challenge of hiring quality people to run the show harder?  

Or it could just be that Brady is still under contract and they are too cheap to discharge him just yet as they are still working on getting the new President...Best case scenario is that Brady has already been advised by AngelBros that he will serve under and report directly to any new President and that if he stays under these conditions, his role and functioning will be completely up to the new President and that informal meetings with ownership are no longer going to happen.    And then, the new ownership can either have him be the conditioning consultant or fire him (my preference).  

[spiritof66]

3 minutes ago, tntoriole said:

Or it could just be that Brady is still under contract and they are too cheap to discharge him just yet as they are still working on getting the new President...Best case scenario is that Brady has already been advised by AngelBros that he will serve under and report directly to any new President and that if he stays under these conditions, his role and functioning will be completely up to the new President and that informal meetings with ownership are no longer going to happen.    And then, the new ownership can either have him be the conditioning consultant or fire him (my preference).  

Obviously, I don't know what's going on, but to me it's obvious that any candidate will find the job of Orioles President or GM more appealing if Brady's not around -- and Brady's still around. I'm having trouble believing that these guys know what they're doing or that the hiring of really good people is imminent.

[wildbillhiccup]

11 hours ago, tntoriole said:

So, on the Orioles MLB website, under Front Office...it has one category  Executive Management...this has the 3 Angelos...John is listed as Executive VP and Louis as Ownership Representative (whatever that means)

Then you have the Baseball Operations category listed...Brady is Vice President of Baseball Operations,  Lee Thomas is Special assistant to the Executive VP of Baseball Operations (I do not know who this is but the title reports to the previous Executive VP of baseball operations DD)  then you have Joe McIlvaine listed as Senior Adviser, Player Personnel (again I have no idea who this is or what they do) and Tripp Norton, Director of Baseball Operations (again, no clue who this is). 

It would seem there is no way, Brady can retain his current title under any rational formulation of new leadership...President of Baseball Operations, General Manager structure would eliminate a Vice President of Baseball Operations position.  So, unless Brady accepts a demotion in both role and authority, he must go, it would seem.  

[Jeff Goldblum voice] "Life finds a away"

PS) I REALLY hope you're right.

[TonySoprano]

I was going through the archives of Roch's blog, and other sources on the internet.  From October-November 2011, these were the known candidates, in order.

Jerry Dipoto (interviewed 10/17, took Angels job 10/29)
Tony LaCava (interviewed 10/19, turned down O's offer on 11/1, stayed w/Toronto)
DeJohn Watson (interviewed 10/25, withdrew his name, O's didn't plan for 2nd interview)
John Stockstill (interviewed 10/28 )
Scott Proefrock (interviewed 11/3)
Dan Duquette (hired November 6th)
Andrew Friedman (declined interview)
Dan Jennings (Marlins denied permission to interview 10/18)
Mike Radcliff (Twins denied permission to interview 11/4)
Ned Colletti (Only if he left the Dodgers)

Yes, the process was a lot more transparent 7 years ago.  On balance, was that transparency necessarily a good thing?  In the end, what some may remember is that one candidate turned them down, another refused an interview, and they hired a guy who had been out of baseball for 10 years.  At the time, that was ridiculed.  The process from start to finish took about 3 weeks.  Because the sons have done their interviews using the Cone of Silence, we don't have a timeline.  So we wait, and wait, and wait.  As long as they settle on a good candidate, I don't need the ins and outs of how the decision was made.

[24fps]

7 minutes ago, TonySoprano said:

I was going through the archives of Roch's blog, and other sources on the internet.  In October-November 2011, these were the known candidates, in order.

Jerry Dipoto (interviewed 10/17, took Angels job 10/29)
Tony LaCava (interviewed 10/19, turned down O's offer on 11/1, stayed w/Toronto)
DeJohn Watson (interviewed 10/25, withdrew his name, O's didn't plan for 2nd interview)
John Stockstill (interviewed 10/28 )
Scott Proefrock (interviewed 11/3)
Dan Duquette (hired November 6th)
Andrew Friedman (declined interview)
Mike Radcliff (Twins denied permission to interview)
Dan Jennings (Marlins denied permission to interview 10/18)
Ned Colletti (Only if he left the Dodgers)

Yes, the process was a lot more transparent 7 years ago.  On balance, was that transparency necessarily a good thing?  In the end, what some may remember is that one candidate turned them down, another refused an interview, and they hired a guy who had been out of baseball for 10 years.  At the time, that was ridiculed.  The process from start to finish took about 3 weeks.  Because the sons have done their interviews using the Cone of Silence, we don't have a timeline.  So we wait, and wait, and wait.  As long as they settle on a good candidate, I don't need the ins and outs of how the decision was made.

These are all excellent points.  If I were Orioles management, I would keep everything as quiet as I could for as long as I could and avoid a 2011-like public circus.  The fans are going to be unhappy for the next 2+ years anyway, I wouldn't much care if they were upset at being kept in the dark right now.

[weams]

On 10/28/2018 at 8:35 PM, tntoriole said:

 

It would seem there is no way, Brady can retain his current title under any rational formulation of new leadership...President of Baseball Operations, General Manager structure would eliminate a Vice President of Baseball Operations position. 

It wouldn't. But I'm uncertain that Brady returns. 

[weams]

On 10/29/2018 at 8:24 AM, wildbillhiccup said:

[Jeff Goldblum voice] "Life finds a away"

PS) I REALLY hope you're right.

Fantastic. 

[weams]

On 10/28/2018 at 10:33 PM, tntoriole said:

Or it could just be that Brady is still under contract and they are too cheap to discharge him just yet as they are still working on getting the new President...Best case scenario is that Brady has already been advised by AngelBros that he will serve under and report directly to any new President and that if he stays under these conditions, his role and functioning will be completely up to the new President and that informal meetings with ownership are no longer going to happen.    And then, the new ownership can either have him be the conditioning consultant or fire him (my preference).  

Brady is a friend of the Angelos family.  I suspect that he will always be. 

[Bradysburns]

20 minutes ago, TonySoprano said:

I was going through the archives of Roch's blog, and other sources on the internet.  From October-November 2011, these were the known candidates, in order.

Jerry Dipoto (interviewed 10/17, took Angels job 10/29)
Tony LaCava (interviewed 10/19, turned down O's offer on 11/1, stayed w/Toronto)
DeJohn Watson (interviewed 10/25, withdrew his name, O's didn't plan for 2nd interview)
John Stockstill (interviewed 10/28 )
Scott Proefrock (interviewed 11/3)
Dan Duquette (hired November 6th)
Andrew Friedman (declined interview)
Dan Jennings (Marlins denied permission to interview 10/18)
Mike Radcliff (Twins denied permission to interview 11/4)
Ned Colletti (Only if he left the Dodgers)

Yes, the process was a lot more transparent 7 years ago.  On balance, was that transparency necessarily a good thing?  In the end, what some may remember is that one candidate turned them down, another refused an interview, and they hired a guy who had been out of baseball for 10 years.  At the time, that was ridiculed.  The process from start to finish took about 3 weeks.  Because the sons have done their interviews using the Cone of Silence, we don't have a timeline.  So we wait, and wait, and wait.  As long as they settle on a good candidate, I don't need the ins and outs of how the decision was made.

For some reason, your post made me realize: This could be the single most important offseason in modern Orioles history. We're looking at a top-to-bottom regime change ahead of this decision, from ownership on down. The brothers are apparently in control of baseball decisions for the first time that I know of... And word is, they're looking to do this in the right order, which would be a marvelous victory by itself. We shall see... but...

Bad and stupid owners like to hire underlings first, then bring new brass in above "their guys"... i.e., their plants inside the organization. They do this because they are idiots and they are insecure. Dan Snyder is the master of this tactic. For example, he brought in Jim Zorn as a potential offensive coordinator, before he even hired a head coach. Look how that all worked out. 

I'm actually okay with no leaks, or no news. The most important thing is the end result. At least this doesn't feel like the normal Orioles "musical chairs" act where they wind up holding the bag at the end...

[weams]

5 minutes ago, Bradysburns said:

For some reason, your post made me realize: This could be the single most important offseason in modern Orioles history. We're looking at a top-to-bottom regime change ahead of this decision, from ownership on down. The brothers are apparently in control of baseball decisions for the first time that I know of... And word is, they're looking to do this in the right order, which would be a marvelous victory by itself. We shall see... but...

Bad and stupid owners like to hire underlings first, then bring new brass in above "their guys"... i.e., their plants inside the organization. They do this because they are idiots and they are insecure. Dan Snyder is the master of this tactic. For example, he brought in Jim Zorn as a potential offensive coordinator, before he even hired a head coach. Look how that all worked out. 

I'm actually okay with no leaks, or no news. The most important thing is the end result. At least this doesn't feel like the normal Orioles "musical chairs" act where they wind up holding the bag at the end...

Heck, they could even sell the team or it could move with new ownership. It is a complete mystery at this point. 

 

[TonySoprano]

26 minutes ago, weams said:

Heck, they could even sell the team or it could move with new ownership. It is a complete mystery at this point. 

C'mon.  With the situations in Tampa and Oakland why would Baltimore move first?  I guess I could go all Agent Mulder and say that Baltimore becomes the next stalking horse used by MLB to extort a new stadium from those two cities.  "Build a new stadium, or the Rays/A's are going to Baltimore."  Frankly, I'm not sure the greater TB area would care.   Oakland has seen the Raiders leave and return, and they'll leave again after 2019.  There is way too much history in this city, and in this ballpark, for me to even entertain the idea that it would be a possibility.  Sorry, friend, we agree on a lot, but not on this one.

[weams]

23 minutes ago, TonySoprano said:

C'mon.  With the situations in Tampa and Oakland why would Baltimore move first?  I guess I could go all Agent Mulder and say that Baltimore becomes the next stalking horse used by MLB to extort a new stadium from those two cities.  "Build a new stadium, or the Rays/A's are going to Baltimore."  Frankly, I'm not sure the greater TB area would care.   Oakland has seen the Raiders leave and return, and they'll leave again after 2019.  There is way too much history in this city, and in this ballpark, for me to even entertain the idea that it would be a possibility.  Sorry, friend, we agree on a lot, but not on this one.

If it is sold, And sold to someone that is a friend of MLB, all things are possible. 

I want to believe. 

 

[OsFanSinceThe80s]

30 minutes ago, TonySoprano said:

C'mon.  With the situations in Tampa and Oakland why would Baltimore move first?  I guess I could go all Agent Mulder and say that Baltimore becomes the next stalking horse used by MLB to extort a new stadium from those two cities.  "Build a new stadium, or the Rays/A's are going to Baltimore."  Frankly, I'm not sure the greater TB area would care.   Oakland has seen the Raiders leave and return, and they'll leave again after 2019.  There is way too much history in this city, and in this ballpark, for me to even entertain the idea that it would be a possibility.  Sorry, friend, we agree on a lot, but not on this one.

Oakland can't even move or get a new stadium and they literally play in a stadium where raw sewage leaks out of the pipes. 

[tntoriole]

1 hour ago, weams said:

It wouldn't. But I'm uncertain that Brady returns. 

It would in any intellectually coherent organizational structure.