O, to be an Oriole fan right now....

So, the Orioles have given national writers another reason to laugh at them lately...  They were apparently denied by Toronto Blue Jays' Assistant GM Tony LaCava when he was offered the O's GM job.  National writers jumped all over the story as yet another shining example of how poorly the organization is run.  Blame Peter Angelos for all things that go wrong in Charm City.  National reporters swear up and down that Angelos' meddling is the reason LaCava turned down the O's job offer.

Orioles fans know all too well that Peter Angelos is probably one of the worst owners in baseball (after Frank McCourt and Jeffrey Loria).  It seemed that Angelos smartened up when he seemingly gave Andy MacPhail full control when he took over President of Baseball Operations duties in 2007.  MacPhail did what he could to straighten up the O's barren farm system.  He made some really good trades.  He made some really questionable free agent signings.  I, personally, think MacPhail did a decent job and didn't want him to leave.  Now, it seems that the new GM will have a better focus on scouting and player development (which is sorely needed in this organization).

When the Orioles interviewed LaCava, I saw that he was over Toronto's scouting and player development.  Nice.  They are a good franchise that is coming back into prominence, so I didn't mind giving him a look.

MLBtraderumors posted quotes from LaCava himself last night about why he turned the Orioles down.  In a nutshell, he said that he decided that he loved his job in Toronto and was very close 'like brothers' to Toronto GM Alex Anthopolous.  Don't believe me?  Here's the link. 

So, what's wrong with a guy liking his job and not wanting to rock the boat.  He wants to see things through in Toronto, fair enough.  I don't blame him.  I think national reporters like to spread conflict (hell, it sells papers), so of course Baltimore is going to be painted as a center for dysfunction.  The problem, now, is that Peter Angelos needs to recognize the perception he has around baseball and make a conscious effort to improve his image.  The easiest way to do that is to let his baseball men make the baseball decisions and go sit in a corner and count his MASN money.  Buck Showalter is a solid baseball mind and I'm certain he wouldn't have signed on in Baltimore if he didn't believe that things could be corrected there.

My wish is that a solid GM is hired; one who can work well with Buck, because we all know that Buck will have more authority on personnel moves than other managers in the league.  Get a real scouting and player development staff in there (start by stealing a certain scout from the Padres) and start drafting better.

Ok, I'm climbing off the soapbox now.  Thanks for reading.