The most dysfunctional organization in baseball should be one of the crown jewels of the sport. It resides in a strong baseball city that’s rich with tradition and has an iconic ballpark and is in a climate made for summertime baseball.
So why are the Baltimore Orioles such a mess?
You won’t get many varying responses when you ask people in high places around baseball. The Orioles’ problem is team ownership, and perhaps it always has been during the Angelos family’s run. Word is that Peter Angelos is not in the best of health and that his sons, John and Lou, have taken over running the team. They are said to be listening to vice president of baseball operationsBrady Anderson, as Anderson has long been friends with the sons.
There have been reports that general manager Dan Duquette has been “thrown out of the cockpit,’’ but no one has any idea who’s flying the plane. What other organization would allow the manager (Buck Showalter) to have more power than the GM?
“I think Dan has more respect among the general managers in baseball given what he’s had to contend with over there with the ownership,’’ said one National League team’s president of baseball operations. “He’s had successful winning programs in spite of his bosses. All of us in the game understand the challenges he’s faced and he’s handled it with dignity and grace.’’
Instead of giving Duquette the keys and giving him more authority to do his job, Orioles ownership has given him nothing. They even blocked him from becoming Blue Jays team president.
The Orioles’ play has been abysmal, leading to a 10-27 record entering Friday. There’s talent on the roster — Manny Machado, Jonathan Schoop, Trey Mancini, Chris Davis, and Adam Jones — and Andrew Cashner and Alex Cobb were added this past offseason to help the rotation, but the team has been second-rate on the field.
It was ownership, not Duquette, that ordered the $161 million re-signing of Davis in January 2016, when that money should have been invested in a front-line pitcher.
In most organizations, the GM would be questioning the effectiveness of his manager — whether he’s an iconic skipper like Showalter or not — when his team is off to a terrible start. There’s no doubt that Showalter has been one of the best in the game for many years. He’s always gotten the best from his players, and for that he earned his stripes. But since the 2016 playoffs — when he decided not to use Zach Britton in the wild-card loss to Toronto — Showalter has been in a downturn. Now he’s in the final year of his deal, same as Duquette, Machado, Jones, and Britton. The Orioles must transition into rebuilding mode with the likelihood of losing Machado to free agency if he isn’t traded beforehand.
As we sit here in May, there have not yet been serious trade talks involving Machado. Duquette opened talks last offseason and heard from a few interested parties, but decided not to pull the trigger. We’re taking a wild guess that ownership put the kibosh on it.
So how the Orioles handle Machado going forward is going to be interesting, because it will be telling as to how ownership wants Duquette to proceed.
Such is Duquette’s plight these days, but it wasn’t all that different than when Frank Wren, Jim Beattie, and Mike Flanagan ran the Orioles before him. The people in charge often face the word “no’’ when trying to accomplish anything resembling a baseball operation. The Orioles have small scouting staffs and, amazingly in this day and age, no international pool money to sign foreign players.
As one former employee said, “Angelos always listens to someone other than the GM. It can be a broadcaster, a writer, someone from another team. It’s always been a tough place to work for a GM.’’
Duquette doesn’t have the normal powers that a GM and head of the baseball division should have. If Duquette wanted to fire Showalter for the team’s poor start and poor season a year ago, he would have to ask the Angelos family and they would likely take forever to make the call.
Baltimore’s coaching staff has also come under fire as the pitchers haven’t improved under Roger McDowell and the hitters aren’t excelling under Scott Coolbaugh.
Duquette has declined comment on his job situation, but his colleagues understand what he’s facing. This is an organization — and we use that word loosely — that won’t delve into the international market, when some of the best players in baseball are coming from outside the United States. It has one the smallest scouting staffs and administrative staffs in baseball. It has a small analytics staff.
This is the Baltimore Orioles, for goodness sake. The team of Brooks Robinson, Frank Robinson, Jim Palmer, Eddie Murray, Boog Powell, Paul Blair, Mark Belanger, Dave Johnson, Earl Weaver, and Cal Ripken Jr.
Get your act together.
Apropos of nothing
1. With all the new analytical stats available today, I found it fascinating that among 70 players polled by MLB.com columnist Anthony Castrovince, the majority valued traditional statistics more. Castrovince polled 35 pitchers and 35 position players on which stat they gravitate toward the most. Among position players, 10 selected OPS, six OBP, five RBIs, four runs scored, three batting average, three games played, with four single votes for other stats. Among pitchers, 10 chose innings and/or appearances, seven ERA, seven WHIP, three strikeout-to-walk ratio, two inherited runners scored percentage, two holds, with four single votes for other stats. So despite the overload of analytics, players still value traditional numbers.
2. Who sold current Yankees consultant and former Orioles manager Lee Mazzilli his first house in Greenwich, Conn.? None other than Bobby Valentine, then a realtor.
3. Here’s a good first duty for former pitcher Chris Young, the Princeton grad who joined Major League Baseball as vice president of on-field operations, initiatives, and strategy: Take a look at the rule on batting out of order, and rewrite it. It’s so hard to follow. It needs some serious simplification.
4. Love how the Yankees play recorded, traditional national anthems and Kate Smith’s rendition of “God Bless America.’’ Wish all ballparks would do that. Or just have the organ player play the national anthem. In many parks, the anthem has become an audition for “The Voice.’’
5. Whoa, Johnny Damon got a quick hook on “Dancing with the Stars.’’
6. The National League was 30-17 in interleague play entering Friday.
7. Loved the reunion between 92-year-old Braves scout Tom Giordano and Tony La Russa in the press box at Yankee Stadium. “When I was 21 years old in the Kansas City A’s organization, Tom’s the one that told me I should start thinking about a managerial career,’’ La Russa said. Giordano was a front office exec at the time and Giordano didn’t think La Russa would hit enough to be a big leaguer. “I ignored his advice and played for 16 years [in minors and majors] described as a ‘weak-hitting infielder.’ ’’ But Giordano recognized La Russa’s sharp mind. “Years later he told me you were relentless and stubborn, which are good qualities for a manager,’’ La Russa said.
8. I’m amazed Jim Kaat is not in the Hall of Fame, and not only because of his 283 wins and 3.45 ERA. There isn’t much Kaat hasn’t done in baseball. There’s a contributor category for the Hall of Fame, as voted by the Veterans Committee, but it’s usually for non-uniformed personnel. But there should be a category for a guy such as Kaat, who not only played the game at a high level but also contributed to the game after retirement with a long broadcasting career.
9. Making out the lineup card isn’t as simple as it looks. Mets manager Mickey Callaway learned a valuable lesson last week: Check it twice or three times. If you make out more than one card, rip up the ones you’re not going to use and throw them away. Nowadays, the bench coach usually makes out the lineup card. They’re inputted on a laptop and printed out. One ex-AL manager told me, “The first thing I did was make sure the lineup that we brought out to home plate before the game matched with the one we hung in the dugout. It’s the first thing we did. You always had to make sure you have the DH in the right spot and then you took it from there.’’
10. If you missed it, Evan Longoria said what many of us have thought for years. The Giants third baseman, who spent his first 10 seasons with the Rays, told the Tampa Bay Times, “Honestly, and this is maybe not something I should say, but my gut tells me that the best decision might be to move the team. I say that only because I look at the example of the Miami Marlins, and [a new stadium] didn’t really solve their attendance issues. So from purely an attendance standpoint, somewhere else might be better.’’ People in Charlotte, N.C., Las Vegas, Portland, Ore., and Montreal immediately perked up.
Updates on nine
1. Addison Reed, RHP, Twins — Some Red Sox fans lamented that the team didn’t re-sign Reed in the offseason. The reliever has already allowed two walkoff homers this season. Careful what you wish for.
2. Nick Krall, general manager, Reds — Dick Williams will continue as president of baseball operations, but the well-respected Krall takes over as GM. Look for former GM Walt Jocketty, now an executive adviser with the team, to become more involved in baseball decisions. Jocketty was a mentor to Krall. The Reds are likely sticking with manager Jim Riggleman for the remainder of the season, but John Farrell and Barry Larkin are favorites for the job in the future.
3. Jerry Dipoto, general manager, Mariners — Seattle is off to a good start, and a playoff appearance would be good for Dipoto’s future with the team. Dipoto’s first full season with the Mariners was 2016 and they haven’t made the playoffs yet. Dipoto was hired late in the 2015 season after serving as a farm system evaluator for the Red Sox.
4. Adrian Gonzalez, 1B, Mets — Gonzalez has hit all five of his home runs this season on the road. During his career, he’s hit 59.18 percent of his home runs in road games, the second-highest percentage among the 146 players with at least 300 career homers, behind Joe Adcock (59.23 percent).
5. Juan Soto, OF, Nationals — The Nationals are very excited about the 19-year-old Soto, a lefthanded hitter who hits for power to all fields. In 16 games with Single A Hagerstown, he hit .373 with five homers and 24 RBIs. In 15 games with high Single A Potomac, he hit .371 with seven homers and 18 RBIs. Upon being promoted to Double A Harrisburg, he went 2 for 4 with four RBIs in his first game. It won’t be long before we see Soto in Washington.
6. Chris Tillman, RHP, Orioles — It’s been sad to watch Tillman’s downfall. After allowing five earned runs in 1⅓ innings Thursday against the Royals, Tillman’s ERA rose to 10.46. And on Friday he was placed on the 10-day disabled list with a lower-back strain.
7. Matt Kemp, OF, Dodgers — Kemp’s return is one of the few positive stories for the Dodgers this season. Among players who changed teams this offseason, Kemp (Atlanta to LA) has the second-highest batting average — an NL-best .343 entering Friday. The Red Sox’ J.D. Martinez was at .351, and the Mariners’ Dee Gordon was at .340.
8. Bobby Dalbec, 3B, Red Sox — The many scouts watching high Single A Salem are coming to the consensus that Dalbec might be better off returning to pitching. At the time he was drafted out of the University of Arizona, the righthanded Dalbec was a third baseman, first baseman, and relief pitcher with 94-96-mile-per-hour stuff. He suffered a wrist injury last season. This season, he’s hitting .189 with six homers, 20 RBIs, and 45 strikeouts in 111 at-bats.
9. Rafael Palmeiro, 1B/DH, Cleburne Railroaders — The author of 3,020 major league hits and 569 homers is playing again at age 53. Palmeiro, who was caught in a steroids scandal as his career ended in 2005, wants to hook on with a big league team. Palmeiro is one of six players in baseball history with more than 500 homers and 3,000 hits. He knocked in 1,835 runs (17th all time) and drove in more than 100 runs in nine straight seasons. He also won three Gold Gloves.
Extra innings
From the Bill Chuck files — “The Nationals have struck out six times this season on foul bunts.’’ . . . Also, “In 1993, the world champion Blue Jays struck out 10-plus times in a game 11 times. This season, the Blue Jays already have twelve games with 10-plus strikeouts. Then again, in 1993 there were 380 10-plus strikeout games, and this season there are already 424 games in which a team whiffed 10-plus times.’’ . . . Happy birthday, Bob Heise (71).
Nick Cafardo can be reached at cafardo@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @nickcafardo. Material from interviews, wire services, other beat writers, and league and team sources was used in this report.
