Do you find the Orioles embarrassing? If not, why not?

the O’s dealings except maybe Angelos is so used to the secrecy and deceptiveness involved in his profession that he lets it bleed all over everything else he does. I’ve been taking shit for being an Orioles and a Rams fan since the 60’s so it doesn’t faze me although it does make me sick to my stomach that a proud and accomplished organization like the Orioles have fallen so far.

They’re absolutely embarrassing.

But Angelos really deserves a good brunt of the blame for this constant…is abomination a strong enough word? I hate having to feel any sort of shame in being an Orioles fan. Hell, I honestly don’t feel it until stupid crap like this. Why is is that the owner can’t just get out of the way? You want to win, stop trying to be Jerry Jones. Stop trying to be George Steinbrenner. He’s not, he never will be. The Orioles are not going to be able to be that team where the owner gets to say “that’s my great team” until the GM, whomever that turns out to be, is given the ability to run the team without having to go “will somebody change what I do?”.

Basically, Angelos’s crap drives me insane, and I don’t want to have been born in 1988 and never see the Orioles do something other than get Maiered.

No. But that’s because it’s not something that embarrasses me. If the Orioles were a pretty girl and I was trying to talk to her, then I’d be embarrassed.

But the Orioles are the ugliest girl in the room. So they’re just making me exasperated now.

But as I continued to scour the posts from the last two days that I’ve missed, I really can’t say that any of the news that I was reading for the first time surprised me at all, sad and depressing as the news was. I really just have no more shits to give concerning this organization. I love baseball: playing it, watching it, and discussing it. I love the Orioles. But at this point, with the completely failed “rebuild” that took four years to put in place and the lack of not just a GM but any urgency to find one, I’m enough of a realist to accept the Baltimore Orioles organization for what it is and will be for the foreseeable future. It is an organization completely devoid of any hope of contending. It is one that is so screwed up that in my mind there is nothing to really do but laugh and accept it. It is a fun and relatively cheap night out in downtown Baltimore centered around a sport that has interested me all of my life.

Angelos clearly hasn’t learned his lesson and never will. It took him a decade to realize that he should not be directly involving himself in trade or free agent decisions. In his mind, he must think that equates to “not involving himself in baseball operations.” The fact that we now know he won’t let the new GM pick his own staff shows that he has no concept of what it means to actually stay out of it. While I admire his loyalty to long-term employees, he is most likely not even cognizant of how this is hurting the team, and how this is no different than any of the other bullshit he has been pulling throughout his entire tenure as owner.

They’re historically a great organization and are still (well, in theory) a flagship franchise of baseball’s modern era. Thanks, Earl.

I would say that the organization should be embarrassed … what has been happening to this team for over a decade is an embarrassment. But not to me. To the team and to its history.

He was probably the one who was behind picking up O’Day. Let’s just make sure we don’t do any worse.

how come we don’t bring in Paul DePodesta for an interview? Can he really be worse then most the people on our list now?

This has taken my mind off the embarrassing Redskins.

Ken Rosenthal got where he is by being a good reporter, but getting regularly scooped by him should be an embarrassment to the local sports writers.

Or local media are getting the scoops but are either reluctant to report it or told not to. I should mention Ken Rosenthal used to work for the Sun and Peter Angelos hates precisely because he was willing to report negative news about the O’s back then and now.

Sign this man. Extend this man. City key this man. DO. IT.

I do think a few years ago I would have been. I was watching an Orioles-Mariners game a few summers back when both teams were in the midst of another miserable season. I was telling my friend who is in her 70s now how frustrated it must to be a fan since day 1 only to see them fall short of winning much of anything. But she told me that the point is not winning, it’s about enjoying watching your team. Through all the bullshit we’ve witnessed, there are a few moments where the beer really is cold.

2011 was so much more difficult than the last few seasons because they could have been better. Matusz didn’t have to suck, Arrieta could’ve been healthy, 3E1N could have been closer to 2009. Reynolds didn’t seem such a bad fielder before. Derrek Lee could have been better. Felix Pie didn’t have to be a disaster. But the best the Orioles could do was not lose 100. Yeah!

The years before have all been marked by more acts in the theater of the absurd. Jack Cust falling down. 30-3. Miguel Cabrera getting a base hit while the Orioles were attempting to walk him intentionally. Huff daddy calling Baltimore a horseshit town. Confederate money. The Rays pulling their players off the field in Sarasota. Having a team in Ottawa. The problems with the infield in Frederick. And never mind the actual tragedies of Steve Belcher and Mike Flanagan.

But in the end, the Orioles are a part of my childhood. 1989 was probably one of the best memories I had growing up. A great season that ultimately ended in disappointment, but great memories. I hate to finish on a somewhat cliche note, but it is the journey, not the destination.

PGA is a joke. His stewardship is unbelievably frustrating. But one day we’ll have our day, and maybe the pain of watching this team won’t be as rough.

I dare anyone to try to say Peter Angelos is not the root of the problem now…. I feel this really clears things up.

All we know for sure is that LaCava declined the offer. LaCava himself had nothing negative to say about the Orioles.

The only other “news”, if we want to call it that, are two very vague tweets by Buster Olney. One is a “rumor” that Dipoto withdrew while he was the O’s top choice. Where did Olney hear that? Did Dipoto allegedly say that before or after it was clear that things were going to work out with the Angels? Also, several “highly regarded” baseball people are telling their friends that they wouldn’t work for the Orioles either. Okay, then. Who did Olney hear this from? The baseball people themselves? Their friends? Are these really GM candidates, or bravado from people who wouldn’t be asked anyone? Heck, I’ll tell anyone I’ll never work for the Yankees. At least tell us how many people you talked to, or what franchises they work for. Olney used to write for the New York Times. Would he ever be able to file a story saying that “rumor has it” that Steinbrenner is a bit overbearing?

Look, I’m not saying the Orioles are a great franchise these days. Fourteen losing seasons in a row is hard to overlook. But let’s not let vague rumors from people jumping on the Orioles-bashing bandwagon make us feel even worse about ourselves. They can shove it, as far as I’m concerned.

Also, for me, the lowest point was when the Rochester Red Wings fired the O’s.

If anyone should be embarrassed, it’s the Red Sox. They lost five games to our embarrassing team while fighting for their playoff lives.

Stacey,
Any concern that writing this will keep you out of the press box this year? I hope it doesn’t because your voice in their is a benefit to all of us.
Also, giving all the bad news about the difficulties in hiring a new GM, does anyone else wonder if the Flanny and Brooks situation is having a negative effect. And when I say situation I mean the reasons reported about why Flanny took his own life and the fact the the Orioles had zero participation in the Brooks memorial. (Forget the rumors that may be true about how the Orioles fought this). I just can’t help but think that to an outsider, this entire situation is one that you just say no thank you too.

Depressing, very. Embarrassing to me? Not really. Embarrassing to themselves? I hope so.

I haven’t done anything wrong over my lifetime as an Orioles fan. I have attended games, even in losing seasons. I have purchased Orioles merchandise. I have watched hundreds of Orioles games on television. What else is a fan supposed to do?

On the other hand, I feel like the current owner should feel embarrassed for allowing the organization, once a model for the entire league, to descend to such a state.

I will always be a fan of the Orioles. I grew up with Brady, BJ, and Cal. That being said, I did not attend any Orioles games this year for the first time since 2007, when I was living in another country. I did attend 8 Nationals games, purchase a Nationals hat, and pretty evenly split my television between the two. Maybe that should be a hint to the Orioles organization. I doubt I’m the only one.

I guess calling it a “perception” problem is partly accurate, trouble is it’s a perception based entirely on reality. This franchise will not approach respectability again until after Peter Angelos is not longer owner.

I’m not embarrassed by being an Orioles fan, but the Orioles are an embarrassing franchise at this point. And I agree this year has felt something like rock bottom to me. The horrible start after the promising finish last year…the complete implosion of our young pitchers…the backsliding of most of our young position players…Flanny’s suicide..Andy skipping town…no one else wanting the GM job (and who can blame them?).

I guess I could cheer myself up by saying “it couldn’t possibly get worse,” but I don’t even believe that. I fully expect it to get worse, and it is very hard to foresee a day when it gets any better.

makes me wish I was born in NY. Thats embarrassing.

What am instead is worse: I think I can honestly say for the first time in my life that I do not believe this team is ever going to stand back up on its own two feet, at least not with the current ownership. You would think that after every other horrifyingly embarrassing thing they’ve been through, something would change for the better, but if it has then I don’t see it. And I have an impossible time seeing it turning around.

But I still love them, because I’m deranged. Anyway, it’s been a few years now since any particular baseball game really hurt me, so I am sure it’ll continue to be fun to root for them and keep pointing out all their obvious flaws.

I’m not embarrassed by the Orioles, even though they are an embarrassment to what they used to be.

I would say I’m getting dangerously close to losing interest, though. I still watched or followed online almost every Orioles game, but this year they fell below the “I’m willing to spend money on them” line. I didn’t go to any Orioles games at all for the first time the 80s, I suspect.

It wasn’t that I didn’t want to go because they were bad, precisely, they just weren’t worth cramming into busy weekend schedules and spending the money on.

But the next steps are why keep tuning in every night? Why bother caring at all if there’s no hope whatsoever for the foreseeable future?

Just the fact that we make jokes about rooting for contraction or that we’re all really just rooting for PGA to die really says it all.

I find them inept sometimes, sure. But I was more embarrased years ago.

This last two weeks, particularly LaCava, is a serious misstep. But over the past two years, there have been far, far more steps in the right direction (the drafts as I said above, the ST improvement, the hiring of Buck) than missteps.

You can call me crazy, but I’m still fairly confident the Orioles are going to hire a GM that we are psyched about. Maybe not as psyched as we’d have been about LaCava, but someone we will like more than AM. I don’t think there is any chance we will hire Stockstill. I’d be fine with us hiring Watson (although I think it’s unlikely).

Embarrassing was having Beatagan. Embarrassing was 30-3. Embarrassing would have been if RIck Dempsey was hired as a manager.

This month is a setback for an organization that has had a history of them. But overall, we are far better off than we were even 3 years ago.

They’re not a team I have to worry about because I know it just doesn’t matter. That saves me the stress I feel when I root for other teams.

Is that embarrassment? Possibly. I do feel despondent at times about this team. But the fact that I know they probably won’t be good for the forseeable future makes me know that they’ll just be what they are now – a team that I’ve always loved but that I don’t have a very strong emotional connection to anymore, because why bother?

I’m embarrassed, and furious, and saddened, and sick of the jokes, and hopeless. Every loss still hurts in its own unique way, and every front office move that is plainly stupid just churns my stomach. It’s like beng rejected by the same girl 100+ times a year. It’s awful. I hate this team.

My two favorite teams are pretty shitty (O’s and the Redskins). I don’t really follow any other sports, so for now I’m stuck with wishful thinking. One minute, the Redskins are 3-1 and the next minute they have a losing record. Da fuck? In hindsight I shouldn’t have expected anything. And the same goes for the Orioles. It seemed like LaCava was in the bag. How could I be so foolish? This is the Orioles. Things haven’t worked out in fourteen years. At this point, I really should stop hoping. Now it looks like we won’t have a GM for who knows how long. And you know what? I’m not ashamed. I’m not surprised.

… that we have Angelos as an owner.

Angelos is and always has been the problem. I think the rest of baseball knows that. And until Angelos (or anyone related to him) is no longer making the decisions, we should accept the fact that the Orioles are destined to continue along the current path.

This point is irrelevant if what we all believe is true. It doesn’t matter who Angelos hires, he won’t have full control, and as such he can’t get rid of the roots of the problem within the organization.
Oh and JOHN STOCKSTILL??? I know everyone has already said it, but our worst quality has been player development… he should be fired, not promoted.

Peter Angelos is the one who should be embarrassed. He’s not, of course. Nobody with a sense of shame would run a franchise as he does. And the sad part is that it will not – it cannot – change until he dies, which does not appear to be anytime soon.

What really riles me is that it did not have to be that way. Not once has PA ever threatened to move the team, no matter how much we trash him. Indeed, he bought the team, just to stop any Bob Irsay / EB Williams- style scavenger shenanigans.

He could – and should – have run this franchise as well as any owner in sports. He had the right money at the perfect time in the perfect market at the perfect place with the perfect fans to pull it off. They could – and would – have been building statues of him when he goes.

Instead, although nobody is crass enough to come out and say it, everyone is thinking it, so let’s be honest – Peter Angelos’ death would – and will – trigger a vast (albeit mute) celebration of the highest order. It will be looked upon as a new dawn in Baltimore; a path out of the wilderness much like the one we endured for twelve years before the Ravens came to town. Adding to the weirdness is that this wilderness is happening with the Orioles still here!

Mr. A. is in his eighties. Were he going to change, he would have done so by now. But those of that age – as are many much younger – are set in their ways. So we will continue to endure last place and sycophantic GMs until Mr. Angelos has breathed his last.

Until then, however, I’ll be damned if I’m going to feel embarrassed for Angelos’ sad and pathetic ownership of this team.

I will always be happy to wear my Cartoon Bird hat. Sure, I’ll take my fair share of shit (and then some), but I’ll do my best to give it right back. Every team has some warts, our’s just has more than most.

we actually interviewed worthy candidates like Dipoto and Lacava, something I did not actually expect to occur.

On the down side, they declined the Orioles embarrassingly.

Am I embarrassed? Not really. I mean, maybe if some baseball fan asks me what team I root for, I won’t gush with pride when I say the Orioles, but I’m not ashamed either. I didn’t make them what they are.

I would say I’m embarrassed for them. And I’m disappointed. And I’m disgusted.

Aside from that, I try not to think about it too much.

I mean, to the extent that there is any good reason to root for a professional sports franchise (and I’m not really sure there is), rooting for the one you grew up rooting for is as good as there is.

But one thing I know for damn sure: the Orioles don’t deserve me. I’m too good a fan for them. And if sports fandom was rational, they would have lost me a long time ago. But it isn’t, so they get me. Fucking ingrates, the lot of them.

although they haven’t lost 105, 110, 115 games yet. But nobody in his right mind is taking this GM’s job. Between Angelos and Buck, how much authority could our GM possibly have? And, if you want to be a GM and have control, why would you take this job where you have no control, unless you thought it was the only possible chance you will ever have to call yourself the general manager of a major league baseball team.
It’s gonna be Dempsey, right?

Peter Angelos being TOO FRICKIN’ STUPID AND ARROGANT TO BE EMBARRASSED is embarrassing.