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Retro: Orioles hire a new GM


jsbearr

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https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1998-10-24-1998297081-story.html

Orioles hire a new GM with a great background in analytics who will put great focus on the international market. GM says that ownership will give him full autonomy over day to day operations, but, of course, any major changes will be run by ownership. GM has full authority to hire and run baseball operations as he sees fit. An assistant GM with great power who assisted in the GM search will be reassigned to another role in the organization. Ownership is making this hire which they believe will end the fracticious front office and all its back biting.

 

:)

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That's not very accurate. Wren was a terrible GM, the Angelos meddling notwithstanding.

That write up would have been more accurate for the Pat Gillick hiring a few years earlier. Gillick was a brilliant GM, and he insisted on no interference before signing with the O's. So, when Angelos interfered with him in 1996, Gillick turned over much of the GM function to Kevin Malone and traveled to watch the minor league teams instead.

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10 minutes ago, mdbdotcom said:

That's not very accurate. Wren was a terrible GM, the Angelos meddling notwithstanding.

That write up would have been more accurate for the Pat Gillick hiring a few years earlier. Gillick was a brilliant GM, and he insisted on no interference before signing with the O's. So, when Angelos interfered with him in 1996, Gillick turned over much of the GM function to Kevin Malone and traveled to watch the minor league teams instead.

Read the article. 

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5 minutes ago, mdbdotcom said:

I read the article. Doesn't change the fact that Wren was incompetent. Maybe Elias won't be, either. 

If your point is to say that we've done this before, the truth is we've done it every time.

I think you are taking this more seriously than i inintended. 

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2 hours ago, mdbdotcom said:

That's not very accurate. Wren was a terrible GM, the Angelos meddling notwithstanding.

That write up would have been more accurate for the Pat Gillick hiring a few years earlier. Gillick was a brilliant GM, and he insisted on no interference before signing with the O's. So, when Angelos interfered with him in 1996, Gillick turned over much of the GM function to Kevin Malone and traveled to watch the minor league teams instead.

Wren is a terrible dude all together. 

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Quote

"[Angelos] said he would leave the day-to-day running of the ballclub to me," Wren said. 

Quote

The Orioles will become much more aggressive in Latin American scouting and player development.

Quote

And Wren will be allowed to create a front office in his own image.

OUCH

It was Angelos that signed Albert Belle on his own, informing Wren  after the contract was signed.  My feeling is they used the Ripken airplane fiasco as an excuse to fire him Wren.   One of Wren's biggest offenses was telling John Angelos to get off the telephone line while he was conducting business with another GM.  It certainly didn't help that Syd Thrift went on a trip to Greece with Peter Angelos and told him how he could do the job better.   Say what you will about Wren, but he was far better than Thrift.

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11 minutes ago, TonySoprano said:

OUCH

It was Angelos that signed Albert Belle on his own, informing Wren  after the contract was signed.  My feeling is they used the Ripken airplane fiasco as an excuse to fire him Wren.   One of Wren's biggest offenses was telling John Angelos to get off the telephone line while he was conducting business with another GM.  It certainly didn't help that Syd Thrift went on a trip to Greece with Peter Angelos and told him how he could do the job better.   Say what you will about Wren, but he was far better than Thrift.

When is still in baseball. Syd was mentally gone before he left this earth. I do not care for Wren.

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Wren is a good baseball guy.  Probably would have been a decent to good GM.  The Angelo's family interfered, interrupted and never appropriately ceded control to Wren.  Not sure I understand the agenda of those criticizing him, but it us absolutely comical that PA fired Gillick and Wren to get to Thrift.

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2 minutes ago, hoosiers said:

  Not sure I understand the agenda of those criticizing him, but it us absolutely comical that PA fired Gillick and Wren to get to Thrift.

Atlanta did not care for him either. I believe that he is a lot like our friend Rick Dempsey. Steps over some bodies and "palace intrigues" it a bit.  Gillick is great, I think Wren stinks. My opinion. In no way related to "Angelos v. Wren."

I agree Thrift was a horrible sign. 

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