Open letter to Andy McPhail

[BaltimoreTerp]

I totally agree, and I think there is a lot to be hopeful about in the coming years.

I was thinking more along the lines of those who have commented on the Angelos family's spending patterns as a major reason for the team's overall lack of success. I really don't know the history on this, so I can't say I agree or disagree with the critics. I just wondered if those who have followed their ownership style over the years think that it will take something that threatens their livelihood before they take a different approach to acquiring quality players, if indeed their philosophy is a core problem that has held the team back.

I think most believe that even things like spending patterns fell into an overall issue with control. The ownership felt that they should have more control than they really had the baseball knowledge for, and that led to most of the issues the franchise has had.

Since the hiring of Andy MacPhail, that seems to be at worst less of an issue, and at best completely irrelevant to how the team is now being run.

Any complaints that continue to be made, especially ones about base wins and losses or base payroll or the like, tend to be issues of patience and lack of vision on the part of the complainer. The fans that are following the team with any kind of regularity seem to me to be more likely to see the forest through the trees.

[crawjo]

I don't agree with the decision to bring Trembley back but c'mon, the manager is not that big of a deal. Judging managers based on their record is, quite honestly, asinine. Good managers win games? Or is it good players who win games? Maybe this was a 59-win team without Trembley but now they are a 63-win team. Or maybe they could have been a 67-win team but instead are a 63-win team. Nobody knows, it's all counterfactual.

If you really think the Orioles are not headed in the right direction, well, I completely disagree with you. MacPhail has made very few mistakes since he came here. When he arrived, this organization was among the worst in baseball. I'm not just talking about the major league team, I'm talking about the farm system. There was little talent at the ML level and even less at the minor league level. In the span of less than three years he's turned that around, to the point where heading into this year the Orioles had one of the five or ten best farm systems in the game. He's doing a better job than most other GMs in the game. Cashman or Epstein can get away with making huge mistakes by just spending a couple hundred million to fix it. Most other teams can't. The margin for error is that small.

My point being that with the job he has done so far he is absolutely entitled to latitude when it comes to deciding who is best to manage the club in any particular year. I feel confident in saying that he knows a hell of a lot more about the situation than you do, despite your not-so-precious season tickets.

[McNulty]

Just for grins, I think I might pen a 'closed' letter to MacPhail today.

[Satyr3206]

I don't understand how anyone can grade a manager when over half the team is injured, shut down or traded. I also don't understand giving up season tickets based on the manager.

If some people can't see what's going on with this Franchise try taking up something less stressful..................like knitting.

[Mad Mark]

I dont blame you for being upset Section 18. I recommend you save your money & buy again when the product has value.

JohnnyK27, I hope you realize that when the "product has value" again, Section 18 isn't going to be able to waltz back into section 18 again. If I thought I could just plop back into section 22 any time I wanted to, maybe I'd take a year off here and there, too. It doesn't work that way, though.

[section18]

I did not say I was giving up my tickets....yet. It's not based strictly on the manager and his coaches if you read my previous comments. I mentioned my seats are in a better location than section18 and are not cheap. I 've been waiting patiently....I think? ...4,015 days since the 1st losing season...for the 12 losing seasons to end. Winning 81+ games is not that hard to do if you have the ingredients needed to win. We don't have those ingredients but we can afford them. The rebuilding is great to see and I have been a supporter of developing our farm system which is blooming nicely under AM.

We need a blend of veterans (hopefuly between 28 and 34 years of age)to go with the rookies as everyone knows. I hope we all agree with that last statement. We should be under $40 million in payroll to start 2010 with a number of contracts expiring after today. In fact we may be closer to $30 million. To compare that to the Alomar and Palmeiro days when we were playoff caliber and paying out upperwards of $90 for payroll it looks miniscule. AM should be like a kid in a candy store when the free agency signing period opens up. Who will he pursue? Who will he land? Who will be coming to Birdland in 2010 to play?

[SilentJames]

I did not say I was giving up my tickets....yet. It's not based strictly on the manager and his coaches if you read my previous comments. I mentioned my seats are in a better location than section18 and are not cheap. I 've been waiting patiently....I think? ...4,015 days since the 1st losing season...for the 12 losing seasons to end. Winning 81+ games is not that hard to do if you have the ingredients needed to win. We don't have those ingredients but we can afford them. The rebuilding is great to see and I have been a supporter of developing our farm system which is blooming nicely under AM.

We need a blend of veterans (hopefuly between 28 and 34 years of age)to go with the rookies as everyone knows. I hope we all agree with that last statement. We should be under $40 million in payroll to start 2010 with a number of contracts expiring after today. In fact we may be closer to $30 million. To compare that to the Alomar and Palmeiro days when we were playoff caliber and paying out upperwards of $90 for payroll it looks miniscule. AM should be like a kid in a candy store when the free agency signing period opens up. Who will he pursue? Who will he land? Who will be coming to Birdland in 2010 to play?

Sorry you are really wrong about that:

1996 payroll: $48,726,832

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/statistics/1996/4.shtml

1997 Payroll: $54,871,399

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/statistics/1997/4.shtml

1998 Payroll: $70,408,134

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/statistics/1998/4.shtml

1999 Payroll: $70,818,363

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/statistics/1999/4.shtml

Need I go on?

Now, the salary numbers of back then and today are vastly skewed, mostly because of New York, Boston and Chicago's spending. But to say we were throwing around 90+ million in payroll in the 90's is very ill informed.

[Roll Tide]

JohnnyK27, I hope you realize that when the "product has value" again, Section 18 isn't going to be able to waltz back into section 18 again. If I thought I could just plop back into section 22 any time I wanted to, maybe I'd take a year off here and there, too. It doesn't work that way, though.

I dont think you'll see any surge in sales before next season. Also dont think you'll see any after we lose 90-100 next season. If McPhail doesnt go get a #4 hitter (at 3B or 1B) & a veteran pitcher thats likely what we'll be looking at ...another season at or near the bottom.

[Satyr3206]

I dont think you'll see any surge in sales before next season. Also dont think you'll see any after we lose 90-100 next season. If McPhail doesnt go get a #4 hitter (at 3B or 1B) & a veteran pitcher thats likely what we'll be looking at ...another season at or near the bottom.

So you don't think there will be any improvement from the kids?

[Mackus]

So you don't think there will be any improvement from the kids?

Of course not. Young players never improve from their rookie years to 2nd years!

Obviously we're going to be a better team next year even without any additions through free agency. Thinking otherwise is just lunacy or pessimism for the sake of pessimism. How much better is certainly debatable, but there really is just about no chance we have a similarly terrible or worse year. 90 losses might happen if things go absolutely completely wrong in terms of development of the young guys and injuries.

[Frobby]

Sorry you are really wrong about that:

1996 payroll: $48,726,832

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/statistics/1996/4.shtml

1997 Payroll: $54,871,399

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/statistics/1997/4.shtml

1998 Payroll: $70,408,134

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/statistics/1998/4.shtml

1999 Payroll: $70,818,363

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/statistics/1999/4.shtml

Need I go on?

Now, the salary numbers of back then and today are vastly skewed, mostly because of New York, Boston and Chicago's spending. But to say we were throwing around 90+ million in payroll in the 90's is very ill informed.

You are right; however, the O's $70 mm in 1998 was the highest payroll in baseball, $7 mm more than the Yankees at the time. http://content.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/salaries/totalpayroll.aspx?year=1998 The O's were no. 2 in 1996 and 1997 ($3.4 to $5 mm below the Yankees), and no. 8 in 1999 ($17 mm behind the Yankees). So, their payroll is way down relative to the rest of the league. Part of the reason, IMO, is that Angelos has seen that having a relatively high payroll (as in '98-99)doesn't necessarily lead to having a winning team. You have to have your core in place to create a foundation before you spend for some complementary pieces.

[section18]

My mistake. I have read others on OH say we had a $90 million dollar payroll in the past and figured they knew what they were talking about. The point of it is we have lowered it quite a bit and it may not be a bad thing. If we can't make a deal or two to add some power then we will have to spend. The payroll is dropping substantially with a number of contracts coming off the books and we will be in better shape. Just fill in where necessary and we should see some improvement.

[Tony-OH]

You know what really, really bothers me since we did this "upgrade?" The fact that dumb, idiotic threads like this are voted five stars and cannot be voted down to it's normal one-star.

We have the ability to see who votes for threads and it's embarrassing how many of the OPs are voting their own threads five stars.

Thanks for reminding me to look into the fix for this...

[section18]

Should I ignore the dumb and idiotic comment? I have waited over an hour to respond so I didn't choose the wrong words. I didn't vote my thread 5 star. I don't even know how you rate a thread. I always thought you or one of the others that run this sight gave ratings. That would seem logical. Somebody who read this thread Friday night must have given it this rating. It looks like almost 2000 people have been on this post and quite a few have responded. Dumb and idiotic? I wish it didn't have a 5 star rating. I know some of the Oriole people like you do and some of them read the threads on OH and we need to stay in their good graces. They knew there were going to be season ticket holders upset with the Friday decision. I would say the same things to them if I was talking to them that were written on here. I don't think they were dumb and idiotic. Jim Carrey and I are not related.

[JTrea81]

I didn't vote my thread 5 star. I don't even know how you rate a thread. I always thought you or one of the others that run this sight gave ratings.

section18, I rated this thread because I agree with you 100%.

Season ticket holders need to be thought of, because those tickets aren't cheap especially in this down economy, and it doesn't seem that the Orioles care about their ticket holders with the lack of effort they've put into the ML product thus far. And you have every right to question the FO when they bring back a manager in a 98 loss season.

MacPhail needs to give Orioles fans a reason to buy tickets this offseason. The declining attendance needs to be addressed.