It was perfectly clear that the last place Mike Flanagan wanted to be Monday was at a podium in the warehouse announcing that Sam Perlozzo had been relieved of his job as Orioles’ manager.
He seemed almost melancholy in making the announcement. Watching on MASN, I didn’t see a quivering lower lip, but the club’s executive vice president for baseball operations was obviously uncomfortable.
Part of Flanagan’s discomfort may have been related to the graphic crawl at the bottom of the MASN screen reporting that Andy MacPhail was coming aboard as chief operating officer, in effect replacing the recently departed Joe Foss. Foss’ baseball-related decisions were largely limited to how many belt-loops the uniform pants would feature.
MacPhail, on the other hand, is the guy who built the Minnesota Twins into a small market success as general manager in the 1980’s, and then spent 12 years as president of the Chicago Cubs, going tothe playoffs twice and guiding the expansion of Wrigley Field. McPhail is a real baseball guy with strong local roots. His dad, Lee, was one of the architects of the “Oriole Way,” in the 1960’s as GM, and later served as president of the American League. His grandfather, Larry, was a high profile baseball executive in the 1930’s and 40’s with Cincinnati, Brooklyn and the Yankees. Larry was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1978.
The arrival of Andy MacPhail adds an executive between ownership and vice presidents Flanagan and Jim Duquette. MacPhail has a track record in the American League. He’s been out of baseball since resigning his position with the Cubs at the end of the 2006 season, and has been mentioned as a potential successor to Commissioner Bud Selig. At 54, he’s likely too young to be thinking about retirement, and with relatives still living in the area, should settle back into the Baltimore scene pretty quickly.
MacPhail crossed Joe Girardi’s path in Chicago when Girardi was a Cubs’ catcher and later coach. Girardi’s brief tenure in Florida in 2006 earned him a Manager-of-the-Year Award – and a quick dismissal. Girardi, who is mentioned as a potential replacement for Perlozzo, was unable to make nice with his owner and GM, and had some disagreements with members of his own coaching staff.
Girardi’s reputation is game-wide, and despite reports that he was offered the Nationals’ job last winter, Washington executives assure me that was never the case. Girardi is now doing broadcast commentary for the Yankees amid rumors that he covets Joe Torre’s job, though Yankee insiders say the Don Mattingly is the likely heir.
Flanagan has had two opportunities to hire a field manager for the Orioles. The two men he hired – Lee Mazzilli and Sam Perlozzo – had similar styles, though Mazzilli was far more aloof than Sam ever was. If Perlozzo had a fault, it may have been that he wanted the players to like him, and was reluctant to get tough with the players who were mailing it in on any given day.
Indeed, the Orioles may be about to blow this thing up and start over again. If that’s the direction they’re headed in, it may not be the worst thing in the world. The Orioles’ credibility has been somewhat strained in recent years; adding an executive of MacPhail’s caliber can only help.
Contact Phil Wood at [email protected]
