Orioles hire Mike Elias as Executive Vice President and GM

[Malike]

Just now, Satyr3206 said:

I think of an Executive as a person near the top of the tree. A GM isn't an Executive. They are a day to day management. We'll have to agree to disagree.

You don't know his title yet, or do you know something the rest of us don't? 

[Going Underground]

5 minutes ago, Dark Helmet said:

I don't understand how a president of one of your rivals (Mark Shapiro) is allowed to be on the panel hearing the case. This is something that could financially hurt the Orioles, and one of your division rivals is expected to make a non-biased decision.  Seems fishy to me.

Orioles can appeal  and then this can go on for another year or more.

[foxfield]

5 hours ago, ShaneDawg85 said:

It's pretty astounding the difference 7 years make if this hire is official.  Before Duquette was hired, I commented that the O's had officially hit rock bottom, in my opinion, because they'd been turned down young guys like LaCava and others who'd rather stay in their respective organizations or accept other jobs instead of starting their career with the opportunity to turn around a terrible franchise and leave their mark.  Even after one of the worst seasons in baseball history, the fact we're in a position where somebody now wants to do that is nothing short of a revelation.  I'm not going to proclaim it has to do with the fact that the Angelos sons are in charge or that Peter Angelos isn't in charge, but at some point there has to be even a small possibility of a connection, and the fact remains no young candidate would have realistically taken on the job short of a pay raise if they didn't have a large degree of authority and latitude.  Will this be a good hire, check back in 3-5 years, but for now, on paper, it's a very significant moment for the franchise even if just on a philosophical standpoint.

If the news is confirmed, one would have to think that Elias was given the assurance he would have full control. This would be wildly good news for the Baltimore Orioles.  I can[t wait for the press conference.

[NCRaven]

9 minutes ago, Satyr3206 said:

I think of an Executive as a person near the top of the tree. A GM isn't an Executive. They are a day to day management. We'll have to agree to disagree.

I'm only pointing out what you said - "The Owners said they were going to hire a President/ VP and they would hire a GM, Manager etc."  That is not what the owners said.  And, I doubt that any General Manager in any sport, or other business for that matter, would agree with you that they were not executives.

[foxfield]

3 minutes ago, NCRaven said:

I'm only pointing out what you said - "The Owners said they were going to hire a President/ VP and they would hire a GM, Manager etc."  That is not what the owners said.  And, I doubt that any General Manager in any sport, or other business for that matter, would agree with you that they were not executives.

Executive of the year award frequently goes to a GM....

[Dark Helmet]

35 minutes ago, Going Underground said:

Orioles can appeal  and then this can go on for another year or more.

Which I'm sure this won't be resolved anytime soon.

[Frobby]

23 minutes ago, Satyr3206 said:

I think of an Executive as a person near the top of the tree. A GM isn't an Executive. They are a day to day management. We'll have to agree to disagree.

So if his title is Executive Vice President, he’s not an executive?

To me, this is a bunch of semantics.    I don’t care what they call Elias.   What I do care about is that there be a very clear chain of command with him at the top, with no exceptions for Brady or the manager, and that the owners don’t micromanage him.

[Aristotelian]

39 minutes ago, Bradysburns said:

The Gausman trade was only complicated in that it will take years to calculate how bad it was. 

Nobody is disputing that Gausman is not worth the prospects we got back. But we got rid of his salary as well as O'Day. Maybe that $20M+ off the payroll gets PA a little bit closer to being OK with releasing Davis. If we could release Davis, Gausman is a small price to pay.

[Tony-OH]

4 minutes ago, Frobby said:

So if his title is Executive Vice President, he’s not an executive?

To me, this is a bunch of semantics.    I don’t care what they call Elias.   What I do care about is that there be a very clear chain of command with him at the top, with no exceptions for Brady or the manager, and that the owners don’t micromanage him.

Exactly, as long as Elias is the guy that gets to make the final baseball decisions and is allowed to hire and fire who he wants I'm good with it. One guy to be held accountable is all I want at this point.

[SteveA]

4 hours ago, Palmoripken said:

The situation with the Angelos brothers sort of reminds me of what happened with the Yankees when George Steinbrenner died and got older. The Yankees since Hal and Hank started running the show seem more practical than their old man was. And yeah I know Peter Angelos isn't on the level of George Steinbrenner with past success as an owner but it's an interesting parallel with two sons taking over from their father .

I'm cautiously happy with what I've seen so far from them. 

-- They allowed a July teardown.   It might not have been executed the best, but at least they allowed it.

-- They at least made gestures towards the international market, although no fruit has been produced yet.

-- They appear to have made a good hire.

Have to give them the benefit of the doubt until they prove otherwise.   I for one vow to stop referring to them as Uday and Qusay as I have occasionally over the years.

[wildbillhiccup]

13 minutes ago, Aristotelian said:

Nobody is disputing that Gausman is not worth the prospects we got back. But we got rid of his salary as well as O'Day. Maybe that $20M+ off the payroll gets PA a little bit closer to being OK with releasing Davis. If we could release Davis, Gausman is a small price to pay.

So now we're judging trades by how much money the owner's save? That seems pretty ridiculous to me for a team that typically isn't in the top tier of spending. If they were reinvesting the money saved back in the team that would be one thing, but I'm certainly not going to count making them more comfortable in releasing Davis as a investment. Signing him was there decision and it was a bad one. There's no way to turn that into a positive. 

[weams]

42 minutes ago, Going Underground said:

Orioles can appeal  and then this can go on for another year or more.

Mark Shapiro's dad was Cal Ripken’s agent. 

[TonySoprano]

1 minute ago, weams said:

Mark Shapiro's dad was Cal Ripken’s agent. 

True.  However, Shapiro is a competitor in the same division, so on that basis I don't think he'll play favorites with the Orioles.

[SteveA]

Just now, weams said:

Mark Shapiro's dad was Cal Ripken’s agent. 

Nice article in today's Sun about Ron Shapiro.   He was a corporate lawyer, 35 years old, in 1975, when O's ownerJerry Hoffberger asked him as a favor to help an aging Oriole player who was having financial troubles.   That player was Brooks Robinson, and he became Shapiro's first client and encouraged Shapiro to continue as an agent for other players.   He represented Eddie, Cal, Kirby Puckett, and many other greats.

His career as a player agent came to an end 43 years later, just a few days ago when his last active client, Joe Mauer, announced his retirement.

[ISU94]