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Peter Angelos' Baltimore Orioles are to baseball as asbestos is to lungs. They could suck the oxygen right out of Earl Weaver.
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| Joe Girardi appeared to be next in line to manage the O's until he withdrew on Thursday. (Getty Images) |
That's why the most important thing happening with the organization this week is thousands of miles away from the wretched baseball team, where Andy MacPhail, the new chief operating officer, promised in a warehouse news conference Wednesday in Baltimore that he has full authority to run the baseball operation.
As in, Angelos will not interfere.
As in, Angelos will not step in and kill trades.
As in, Angelos will not veto free-agent moves that the baseball people want to make.
As in ... this is the Last Best Chance for what once was a model organization to recapture even a small portion of the credibility that washed away years ago.
For one of the few times in a history of utter incompetence, there actually is reason to believe Angelos may back off: He and MacPhail worked together on the owners' negotiating team when negotiating the most recent Basic Agreement with the players, and apparently developed a reasonably close and trusting relationship.
Now, if Angelos does pull the football away when MacPhail tries to kick, it becomes official that the Orioles will have no hope until Angelos sells the team.
I put this to Orioles outfielder Jay Gibbons before Wednesday's game. Gibbons is in his seventh big league season, all with Baltimore. The Orioles are all Gibbons knows, which pretty much is like claiming you're an actor when all you've got on your resume is America's Funniest Home Videos.
"I think there are a lot of people to blame," Gibbons says. "You start with the guys in this room here in the clubhouse. Myself, and the guys around me. When you're not performing up to expectations, that's what happens.
"I've been here seven years, and this is my fourth manager. And we've had a few general managers.
