Brady defending Angelos?

According to Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun as well as numerous other outlets, Brady Anderson has been coming to the defense of Orioles owner Peter Angelos. He wrote an op-ed piece in the Sun in response to Sports Illustrated's list of the worst owners in each of the major sports, and Angelos was named the worst in MLB. And Brady has not been happy with that.

A lot of SI's list was not based on the personality of the owner. It was mainly about economic issues and the current status of the team. With the Orioles, it was not hard to put Angelos low on the list, as the Orioles went from a competitor that often put 40,000 in the seats each game to a laughingstock that is lucky to get 25,000 in a contest. So on a pure economic and competitive standpoint, this conclusion is a provable one.

But Brady sees Angelos in a different light. Among the things mentioned in Peter Schmuck's blog was his willingness to spend money in the past, the nice treatment he gave some players, and him trying to get Palmeiro's brother out of Cuba.

It is certainly a different way to look at Angelos. And really, Brady is qualified to speak on the subject, as he so says in the article. However, it is hard to argue with what has been happening. The Orioles have had losing seasons for many years, and often it has seemed like Angelos would get rid of people that would be good for the organization. Pushing out Davey Johnson, not rehiring Pat Gillick, and seemingly just hiring free agents with no care to the farm system. The only constant throughout the years has been Angelos. Attendance and ratings are way down and the Orioles have lost a lot of popularity with their own city.

All that said, the current conditions of the Orioles are looking good, and the system may work the team into a winning one soon. If Angelos allows it to continue and does not hinder what MacPhail is doing, then opinions of him could change.

But I understand that Brady wishes to defend him. Angelos does have some good qualities, and Brady was here a long time, and is a good person.

(Photo credit: Baltimore Sun)

Orioles Won't Drop Ticket Prices

On the Baltimore Sun sports digest, Jeff Zrebiec reports that the Orioles will not drop their ticket prices for the next season.

Some of these prices that will at least remain the same include $9 for LF upper reserve and standing room for a normal game, $15/$23 for the bleachers, $55/$75 for a club box seat and$55/$80 for a field box seat, all according to the Orioles website.

More brilliance from Peter Angelos. First off, it is true, that lowering prices and getting more fans is not where the money is in athletics. It is in sponsors, TV deals, and MLB revenue. But if you are consistently losing attendance, this past season the lowest in Camden Yards history, sponsors will leave and your TV contract will lose value. Not to mention that the team has shown no reason for the average baseball to attend games. If it weren't for the Yankees and Red Sox games being near sellouts, then the Orioles would like have the worst attendance in baseball.

Remember when the standing room seats were three dollars each? Sure that was years ago and we are in a different time, but that was when the team competed. Andy MacPhail is doing a solid job trying to rebuild the farm system, but that will take years and the average fan isn't going to care about that. In the mean time, the ownership has to prove that the Orioles are trying to get back in touch with fans plus get people back in the stands. You'll be hard pressed to do that by keeping up high ticket prices. But Angelos doesn't care; he never has.

(Photo credit: MLB)

September Skies look Bleak for O's, but Season has Silver Lining

The August and September swoon is as reliable as the changing of the seasons. As sure as it seems as a losing season for the Baltimore Orioles. I know I sound defeatist, but in a season of surprises I hoped that this team would go down slowly, not with a thud. For the longest time we hovered above .500. Then we lingered just below it. Then 5 or 6 games back. Now the bottom may have dropped out on this team. The O’s have lost 11 of their last 13 games, and have fallen to 63-74 with no hope of reaching .500 by the end of the season.

We have predicted it for quite a while on this blog without ever really wanting to go out and say anything for certain. We have seen the bullpen tire and get hurt, the starters fail to go more than 5 innings. We have seen an offense that is spectacular some nights but not reliable enough to carry the team. Even an offense like the Rangers can’t overcome terrible pitching. Andy MacPhail is right- this is a game won by pitching. The fact is that at least this year, we don’t have it.

But before we go running for the hills, or drop our heads and sigh in disgust, or start our tailgate party for the Bengals game, let’s consider how far this team has come and whether this September swoon is something that is here to stay. While this team may finish with almost as bad a record as last year’s 69-93 mark, there is no denying that Orioles fans have a lot to be grateful for. The very fact that we are disappointed at this late season collapse should be a testament to how incredibly this team has exceeded all expectations this year.

Remember back to March 30th, if you can change your mindset so much. Your mind was on the NFL Draft, how you would fill the time during this waste of a season for the O’s faithful. We all signed up for a 4 or 5 year transition, a rebuilding from the ground up, from rookie league to the major league club, getting young players and bringing them slowly up through the minors. Oh how quickly we gave up on that patience when the team opened up on fire in April and part of May. How we patted ourselves on the back and some argued that we were “one or two players away from contending.” We forgot that it was an attitude like that that created the Angelos recipe for losing baseball.

Dave Trembley has gotten his players to buy in to his system, to his emphasis on fundamental baseball. He has a fun team, an energetic locker room, a proud squad that leaves everything on the field- that is more than the Orioles have had in a long time. The pieces from the Bedard and Tejada trades should be considered the tip of the iceberg of what should be a wave of trades and otherwise overlooked free agent signings that will usher in a new era of Orioles baseball in, yes, 3 or 4 more years.

We have been lucky this year, blessed in fact to have a team worth watching. This blog would not have half the positive material to write about without the impressive work that the Orioles team and front office have done this season. Who would read Windsor’s Prospect Reports if there wasn’t a light at the end of the tunnel (sorry, not me)? This tunnel is a lot longer than it looked in May, but the light is still there.

With the end of the Boston series coming up and series with the Rays, Yankees, Blue Jays, and Twins this month the late season free fall should get a bit of a push. But excuse me if I don’t shrug and say “So how about those Ravens?” Things aren’t much prettier over there…

Photo Credit: Baltimore Sun via Getty Images

Be sure to check out Around the Harbor on the radio streaming online at 10 PM to hear Falco and Windsor breaking down all the topics you read here and so much more in their radio show dedicated to Maryland sports.

Paying for the Future

Hope you enjoyed a large victory margin for the first time in a long time- all those runs we had scored in recent games were going to waste behind truly horrifying pitching performances. Luckily last night Radhames Liz hung on just long enough, and the bullpen played like it was April to give us the win. Tonight’s starter Garrett Olson has an ugly history in 2 starts against the Blue Jays. Let’s hope that’s an aberration. In the mean time, here is one issue that O's fans should keep an ear to...

The Sun is reporting that Nick Markakis and the Orioles were recently discussing a long-term deal but have for now cut off conversations on a new deal until after the season. Ownership needs to tangibly show a dedication not only to developing young players, but keeping them in Baltimore, even if it costs the $65-$70 million necessary to keep Markakis for another 5 years. As the Rays have done with Evan Longoria, the O’s should lock up their young players and save that payroll for the future. However, I am not too upset- I understand that the Orioles have years to resign Markakis and they need to be careful. What bothers me is that I still doubt whether Angelos will open up the purse in order to invest for the future.

He has allowed Andy MacPhail to make baseball decisions, but what about when it comes to his pocketbook? Angelos will very likely keep that "MASN money" we have been promised for years in his back pocket, and let the Orioles scuffle along trying to make due with his table scraps. The Twins and the Athletics are two teams that have a strong farm system and can make the playoffs most years but almost never win the World Series because they aren’t willing to pay their players when they need to. Teams can success on a miserly payroll- see Marlins and Rays. But when a player is as important on the field symbolicly important to the franchise as Nick Markakis is, you need to be able to "step up to the plate". Who is the face of the Rays? Evan Longoria, the young player they locked up for the future. Nick Markakis can be that face (and a more talented one) if the O's don't let him slip away.

It has yet to be seen whether Peter Angelos will sacrifice his own wealth to produce a winning product in the long run. So far, Angelos has been all about increasing his own wealth- he brought MacPhail on board only after fans stopped coming to the park and his own money was at risk. He hasn't cared about wins, only attendance and revenue. What reason do we have to think that when it comes time to pay all of these young players it will be any different? The players might be MacPhail's, but the money still belongs to the little man behind the curtain.

(Photo Credit: Doug Kapustin, Baltimore Sun)