Brian Graham Out

[Tony-OH]

15 minutes ago, interloper said:

I agree that this is unnecessarily harsh choice of words from Ken. Fired? Really? He's just not being renewed. 

Semantics really. A definition for fired: dismiss (an employee) from a job.

[baltfan]

I cannot imagine that Elias is getting rid of people without having in mind others to replace them.   He is in a strong position in terms of his authority.  He could keep Graham around and make him do what he wants for that is what he desired. 

[TonySoprano]

Just now, Tony-OH said:

Sounds like, "Let me feel him out and then I'll let you know." Regardless of if Brady stays or not, the way he operated will change. I'd bet my house on it.

Brady is getting the opportunity to stay whereas others are being swept out so Elias can make his mark.  If I was Mike E., it would send up a red flag that the media keep asking about Brady's role.  My assumption is ownership told him to leave Brady for now and try to work it out.

[interloper]

I dunno that you can read these Graham quotes as anything other than a slight at Dan. It would appear Brian is a Buck guy.

[Tony-OH]

4 minutes ago, Obando said:

I have a feeling that if Brady stays, he will be named as a Special Assistant to the EVP/GM.  Most organizations have these, and in Houston, Jeff Luhnow had 3 special assistants, all of whom were former Astros, in Craig Biggio, Roger Clemens & Enos Cabell.  Unless Elias truly feels that Brady offers no value to him or that he would go behind his back to sabotage his efforts, I think the best role for Brady would be as a special assistant that Elias has full control over.  Brady would basically be “on call” and be given various special assignments as Elias sees fit.  This would also allow Brady to keep his home base in California and fly to wherever he is needed, rather than have a main office at the warehouse.  I have a feeling Brady would be comfortable with this, not to mention it would still be a fairly prominent title/role in the organization.  We should probably find out what his role will be moving forward, if any, in the coming weeks.

I could see this happening no doubt. Brady is not the devil that some think.

[Tony-OH]

Just now, interloper said:

I dunno that you can read these Graham quotes as anything other than a slight at Dan. It would appear Brian is a Buck guy.

He was absolutely a Buck guy.

[Tony-OH]

2 minutes ago, TonySoprano said:

Brady is getting the opportunity to stay whereas others are being swept out so Elias can make his mark.  If I was Mike E., it would send up a red flag that the media keep asking about Brady's role.  My assumption is ownership told him to leave Brady for now and try to work it out.

Not outside the realm of possibility.

[LookitsPuck]

10 minutes ago, Redskins Rick said:

But, on the other hand, the comments about starting fresh and with their own people, conflicts with keeping Brady.

Look, I dont blame Brady for half the stuff, some posters do, but I do question, why retain him, when you want a fresh slate.

Because...maybe, just maybe...like other people still in the organization...he could bring value in a different role?

[LookitsPuck]

11 minutes ago, Obando said:

I have a feeling that if Brady stays, he will be named as a Special Assistant to the EVP/GM.  Most organizations have these, and in Houston, Jeff Luhnow had 3 special assistants, all of whom were former Astros, in Craig Biggio, Roger Clemens & Enos Cabell.  Unless Elias truly feels that Brady offers no value to him or that he would go behind his back to sabotage his efforts, I think the best role for Brady would be as a special assistant that Elias has full control over.  Brady would basically be “on call” and be given various special assignments as Elias sees fit.  This would also allow Brady to keep his home base in California and fly to wherever he is needed, rather than have a main office at the warehouse.  I have a feeling Brady would be comfortable with this, not to mention it would still be a fairly prominent title/role in the organization.  We should probably find out what his role will be moving forward, if any, in the coming weeks.

This all makes perfect sense to me. And in a way is even representative of his current (former?) role with the club. Kind of a roaming executive, so to speak. The difference here is he'd report to Elias from the get-go and (hopefully) have a defined set of roles/responsibilities without the ability to step on toes.

[foxfield]

For the most part I do agree with Frobby  that the Brady issue is overrated.  Does anyone still doubt that Elias is in full control?  

On the other hand a total clearing of the warehouse leaves two very large issues unresolved. One of course is Chris Davis. Has Elias been given the authority to cut ties?  I think he has, but exercising that authority simply because it exists would be a show of strength more so than a demonstration of competence. I think Elias will make every effort to find a way to get value out of Davis, and if he cannot I think he will be gone. 

The second issue regarding Brady is in some ways more complex. Brady symbolizes the dysfunction of the Organization and is the poster child literally of its lack of accountability. Again, I have no doubt that Elias is empowered to keep or let Brady go. But neither choice will remove his ability to chat with the Angelos family. 

I am very much looking forward to seeing how Elias handles these two questions. They are probably no where near as important as say the tender deadline today, but I fully expect both of these issues to be hot topics going forward simply because they are so relevant to the most recent failures that brought Elias here. 

I still think Brady goes, for the very accountability issues noted above.  And I think Davis will not improve and will not be an Oriole in 2020. But I am open to being wrong on both counts. And again, I look forward to seeing how this moves forward. 

[Can_of_corn]

1 minute ago, foxfield said:

For the most part I do agree with Crobby that the Brady issue is overrated.  Does anyone still doubt that Elias is in full control?  

On the other hand a total clearing of the warehouse leaves two very large issues unresolved. One of course is Chris Davis. Has Elias been given the authority to cut ties?  I think he has, but exercising that authority simply because it exists would be a show of strength more so than a demonstration of competence. I think Elias will make every effort to find a way to get value out of Davis, and if he cannot I think he will be gone. 

The second issue regarding Brady is in some ways more complex. Brady symbolizes the dysfunction of the Organization and is the poster child literally of its lack of accountability. Again, I have no doubt that Elias is empowered to keep or let Brady go. But neither choice will remove his ability to chat with the Angelos family. 

I am very much looking forward to seeing how eElias handles these two questions. They are probably no where near as important as say the tender deadline today, but I fully expect both of these issues to be hot topics going forward simply because they are so relevant to the most recent failures that brought Elias here. 

I still think Brady goes, for the very accountability issues noted above.  And I think Davis will not improve and will not be an Oriole in 2020. But I am open to being wrong on both counts. And again, I look forward to seeing how this moves forward. 

I'll believe Elias is in complete control when:

Davis is cut

They don't package the comp pick to dump salary.

Spend 90% of the allotment on the draft and international market.

[foxfield]

Just now, Can_of_corn said:

I'll believe Elias is in complete control when:

Davis is cut

They don't package the comp pick to dump salary.

Spend 90% of the allotment on the draft and international market.

Fair...But if you were Elias, would you have taken the job without being told you could do those things?  

 

I would not. 

[Hallas]

14 minutes ago, TonySoprano said:

Brady is getting the opportunity to stay whereas others are being swept out so Elias can make his mark.  If I was Mike E., it would send up a red flag that the media keep asking about Brady's role.  My assumption is ownership told him to leave Brady for now and try to work it out.

Teams tend to also be a little nicer to former high-profile players that transition to coaching/FO.  Though, there's been a fair amount of negative publicity regarding Brady's role with the team, so I'm not sure how much further this goodwill extends.  Plus, since Brady wouldn't get that kind of autonomy/reporting structure anywhere else (unless he snagged a GM role somewhere) it would behoove him to make the most of his opportunity with Elias, especially since I believe he has GM aspirations.  That said, we're also only 5 weeks into the offseason and 2 out of 3 are gone.  It's a long way to February and Spring Training.

[Redskins Rick]

3 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

I'll believe Elias is in complete control when:

Davis is cut

They don't package the comp pick to dump salary.

Spend 90% of the allotment on the draft and international market.

I know you like to think other teams would cut his salary, but at this point, too much is left on the table to cut.

[baltfan]

12 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

I could see this happening no doubt. Brady is not the devil that some think.

Yeah, Brady is definitely not anti-analytics.  If you have heard him interviewed he is more pro that way.   Also he has always been on the cutting edge for workouts.