Cal Speaks

[osfan83]

Lots of thoughts on this after reading Cal’s statement:

It seems to me that Cal is looking to move back into MLB sooner than later. It also appears to me that he’s going to entertain other options with other MLB clubs. Maybe the Orioles are his first choice but I’m getting the feeling that he might not end up here.

Secondly, I really don’t know what Cal Ripken brings to the table to a MLB club. I really don’t. He was a fantastic baseball player and an even better ambassador for the sport. Maybe you bring the guy along slowly for a front office position but I don’t know that he would be any more qualified than guys who are currently filling those positions. Maybe he’s someone on the player development side. I don’t know. There’s no void that the Orioles have that says to me “go get Cal.” I felt differently when MacPhail was brought on board, I really felt he was what this organization needed.

I never bought into the “not getting credit “ thing. That sounds more like an upset source who was just spewing information. I don’t doubt that Cal may have been turned down but I don’t think that’s the end of the world. If we were able to sit in on these meetings, I think this situation would look better than it has over the last couple of days.

Maybe Cal’s the guy the Orioles can parade around and draw fans back in. Go ahead and do it. It won’t help the team on the field but it certainly can’t hurt.

I agree. I love Cal as much as the next O's fan, but I have no idea how he would be as a GM/Owner. How do we know Cal wouldn't be like Flanny..ex player loved by the fan base, but no real GM experience. From a PR standpoint I get it..but from an improving the team perspective, I'm not so sure.

[The Wedge]

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/MLB-latest-news-from-April-040310

Well, this should be fun.

At this point, it seems that at least one of these four parties must be lying: the unidentified "sources", Ken Rosenthal, Peter Angelos, or Cal Ripken. I think that is pretty much the order of their credibilities, lowest to highest.

No, they don't have to be lying. Skirting the issue, maybe. Embellishing what was said? Maybe? A bit of the "telephone game" problem? Possibly. The problem here is that you now have 3 VERY stubborn individuals who aren't going to back down off their statements so it's just going to get messy with Rosenthal standing by what he said.

[TGO]

I'm getting the feeling that he's ready to move into a position now and there might not be one with the Orioles at the moment. Terms like "all opportunities" and "finding the right situation" say that to me.

Just my impression. I'm not carving it in stone.

Actually, what I think is more likely is he doesn't want to start now. I take him at his word that he's waiting for his kid to finish high school. But I think if he wants to come in at a relatively high level, he would need a year or two working with MacPhail. But MacPhail may not be here in a few years. He may be the commissioner, he may retire, he may leave, whatever. So the O's probably wanted him to start now and he's not ready yet.

So, I think he said why don't I serve as a sort of unofficial mentor, just get to know the guys and help them figure out how to adjust. And when Angelos didn't accept immediately, trying to figure out if maybe this would hurt anyone's feelings (Trembley, coaching staff, player development guys, etc), someone jumped on it and went to Rosenthal, thinking "how do you not immediately accept an offer from Cal to help you? What a jerk!"

[RShack]

I cannot believe some people here. First off, Cal has said for years that he's taking family time and that he'd think about coming back when his kids were grown. As he said in this response, he's got a kid who's almost out of high school, and thus will be open to returning once that happens. Second off, both he and PA clearly denied the story. Yet people will find some goofy way of claiming that they didn't really deny it. It was worded too carefully, unless it was worded too uncarefully. Jeez, people, what the hell do you want? You think both Cal and PA should put *you* in charge of how they phrase their statements? Half the people here can't even spell, much less use proper grammar, yet the statements of both Cal and PA are not up to the standards of what people here expect? Does anybody really think they're gonna announce the actual content of their private and ongoing conversations? If so, you're naive. They're not gonna tell us that, nor should they. Plus, even if they did, some people here would turn into a disaster anyway by twisting their words this way and that way.

No matter what anybody says, there will be some idiot here who claims that (a) Cal has a timetable different than what he says his timetable is, even though he has no reason to lie, (b) PA really did reject him, even though he and Cal have gotten along fine for years © PA really did say he didn't want Cal getting credit, even though there is zero reason to think that PA would say such a thing, and (d) something evil is afoot. Frankly, some people here are just flat-out nuts and will ignore any and all evidence, just to keep their wacko theories alive...

[Sports Guy]

Maybe Cal can be MLB's Jerry West.

[Miller192]

Actually, what I think is more likely is he doesn't want to start now. I take him at his word that he's waiting for his kid to finish high school. But I think if he wants to come in at a relatively high level, he would need a year or two working with MacPhail. But MacPhail may not be here in a few years. He may be the commissioner, he may retire, he may leave, whatever. So the O's probably wanted him to start now and he's not ready yet.

So, I think he said why don't I serve as a sort of unofficial mentor, just get to know the guys and help them figure out how to adjust. And when Angelos didn't accept immediately, trying to figure out if maybe this would hurt anyone's feelings (Trembley, coaching staff, player development guys, etc), someone jumped on it and went to Rosenthal, thinking "how do you not immediately accept an offer from Cal to help you? What a jerk!"

That certainly sounds plausible, TGO.

Not knowing enough about Cal's thoughts on much of this, maybe he would accept a positon to his liking with another organization. If I'm not mistaken, he's got a minor league affiliate with the Rays.

All I'm really getting at here is that he might find another opportunity that is the right situation for him.

Just to be clear, I'm not advocating that those are his intentions. Just a possiblity.

[tvz1997]

No, they don't have to be lying. Skirting the issue, maybe. Embellishing what was said? Maybe? A bit of the "telephone game" problem? Possibly. The problem here is that you now have 3 VERY stubborn individuals who aren't going to back down off their statements so it's just going to get messy with Rosenthal standing by what he said.

Either the crack about Cal getting credit was said or it wasn't. That was the real venom in the Rosenthal article and it has been denied by Cal and Angelos. Rosenthal and the sources knew that that qoute put live ammunition in what he wrote and I don't think it can be easily dismissed as an embellishment or something that three sources and Rosenthal just happened to all get wrong or right.

Three people anonomousty call and tell the local church gossip queen/king that your neighbor had sex with your daughter in a movie theater. Your daughter, who has never given you cause to mistrust her, and her best friend say that the two of them and your neighboor saw the movie together, but that there is no way that something like that could have possibly happened.

Is it possible that somebody saw your daughter and neighbor both fall asleep during the movie - hence they slept together - and the story got passed around? Sure. Do you think that such a dramatic game of telepohone did not involve malice at some point in the chain? I HIGHLY doubt it.

[Orioles18]

That certainly sounds plausible, TGO.

Not knowing enough about Cal's thoughts on much of this, maybe he would accept a positon to his liking with another organization. If I'm not mistaken, he's got a minor league affiliate with the Rays.

All I'm really getting at here is that he might find another opportunity that is the right situation for him.

Just to be clear, I'm not advocating that those are his intentions. Just a possiblity.

He owns the Ironbirds, the Augusta Greenjackets (SF Giants), and the Charlotte Stone Crabs (TB Rays).

[TonySoprano]

Ken Rosenthal says...

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[justcompete]

Here is my PGA vs Cal Conspiracy Theory

It starts with Andy MacPhail. His underlying motivator is restoring the franchise his family once helped build and secondly the overall health of MLB. He agrees to work with Angelos until he gets his shot at being the Commish.

After working with Angelos he realizes the biggest problem with a Mid-Market team who owns its own sports network and a cherished stadium is the Owner. Stories flare-up about PGA medaling but AM plays the role of defender and denies all stories.

Now AM realizes the best thing he can do for his MacPhail-family loved franchise is to get rid of the owner. AM runs a tight ship with almost no inside leaks. He has blown-up the roster and yet the inside info is nearly impossible to scoop. AM is controlling all the leaks and quickly moves to deny them only after the damage is done. Except in this case he doesn’t deny this story. I expect to hear from him now that both Cal and PGA have carefully worded their stories but AM can not lie, it wouldn’t bode well in his next role.

He talks to Cal who goes to his widely known PR team and come up with a strategy to create an uproar. What better to drop this leak when the team is losing big early enough to convince the fans the season is lost already and attendance records are hitting an all time low. It is also convenient that the team, AM and Cal are all out of town.

Cal only wants back in one way and that is owner, ala Jordan. He can assemble the investors and sell his assets if need be but he will have the backers. He would win Governor if he wanted.

Now PGA comes out and denies Cal wanted a ‘secondary position’. What Cal really wanted is a FO job to work with AM before he moves on. Cal know baseball but not from the FO perspective.

AM knows if Cal doesn’t get the team now if will go to PGA’s family who are really good at designing uniforms.

Cal’s PR team calls KR and tells him to push forward with the story. AM promises to stay the course with the team until its crystal clear another losing season has arrived. If the team gets hot he will trade away anyone of value to ensure a second half nose dive.

The overall plan, Angelos gets run out of town and agrees to sell before the team losses too much value. Cal get the team, AM becomes Commish and installs a competitive schedule/realignment plan. Orioles win Championship in 2015.

[cindyluvsbrady]

Cal's statement:

Source: WNST

I love CAL!:clap3:

[maudibjr]

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/MLB-latest-news-from-April-040310

Well, this should be fun.

At this point, it seems that at least one of these four parties must be lying: the unidentified "sources", Ken Rosenthal, Peter Angelos, or Cal Ripken. I think that is pretty much the order of their credibilities, lowest to highest.

It should be interesting. PA and Cal flatly denying Rosenthal's 'sources' of the most explosive part of the story. There is very little wiggle room there for Ken.

Maybe the old overzealous staffer line.

[TonySoprano]

Here is my PGA vs Cal Conspiracy Theory

It starts with Andy MacPhail. His underlying motivator is restoring the franchise his family once helped build and secondly the overall health of MLB. He agrees to work with Angelos until he gets his shot at being the Commish.

After working with Angelos he realizes the biggest problem with a Mid-Market team who owns its own sports network and a cherished stadium is the Owner. Stories flare-up about PGA medaling but AM plays the role of defender and denies all stories.

Now AM realizes the best thing he can do for his MacPhail-family loved franchise is to get rid of the owner. AM runs a tight ship with almost no inside leaks. He has blown-up the roster and yet the inside info is nearly impossible to scoop. AM is controlling all the leaks and quickly moves to deny them only after the damage is done. Except in this case he doesn’t deny this story. I expect to hear from him now that both Cal and PGA have carefully worded their stories but AM can not lie, it wouldn’t bode well in his next role.

He talks to Cal who goes to his widely known PR team and come up with a strategy to create an uproar. What better to drop this leak when the team is losing big early enough to convince the fans the season is lost already and attendance records are hitting an all time low. It is also convenient that the team, AM and Cal are all out of town.

Cal only wants back in one way and that is owner, ala Jordan. He can assemble the investors and sell his assets if need be but he will have the backers. He would win Governor if he wanted.

Now PGA comes out and denies Cal wanted a ‘secondary position’. What Cal really wanted is a FO job to work with AM before he moves on. Cal know baseball but not from the FO perspective.

AM knows if Cal doesn’t get the team now if will go to PGA’s family who are really good at designing uniforms.

Cal’s PR team calls KR and tells him to push forward with the story. AM promises to stay the course with the team until its crystal clear another losing season has arrived. If the team gets hot he will trade away anyone of value to ensure a second half nose dive.

The overall plan, Angelos gets run out of town and agrees to sell before the team losses too much value. Cal get the team, AM becomes Commish and installs a competitive schedule/realignment plan. Orioles win Championship in 2015.

Interesting.

Now here's mine - Rosenthal screwed up.

[RShack]

Interesting.

Now here's mine - Rosenthal screwed up.

And got lots of attention doing it.

I can't believe that Rosenthal believed the part about PA telling Cal he didn't want Cal getting credit for future team success. I figure that even he knew that was BS...

[TonySoprano]

And got lots of attention doing it.

I can't believe that Rosenthal believed the part about PA telling Cal he didn't want Cal getting credit for future team success. I figure that even he knew that was BS...

Today's poll question

Who has more credibility as a journalist, Ken Rosenthal or Dan Rather?