Thursday Bird Droppings: Where nobody’s quite sure of the Orioles’ plan

Good morning, Camden Chatters.

If you’re checking in on the Orioles’ progress in hiring a new front office, well, there’s nothing new to report. John and Lou Angelos are still working behind the scenes, but exactly what they’re doing is being kept very hush-hush. We know they’re interviewing people, but for what position(s)? There are some conflicting reports on that, as evidenced in the links below. We also don’t know when the O’s are planning to actually make a hire.

With nobody permanently in charge, don’t expect the Orioles to make much noise at the GM meetings in California this week. Not that they’re ever particularly active in the early months of the offseason, no matter who’s in charge.

Still, it’d be nice to see the Orioles hire someone sooner rather than later. Their new decision maker is already getting off to a late start in trying to rebuild this franchise. That person is going to need all the time they can get to try to improve the O’s from their current sorry state.

Links

Providing president reminders in Orioles' front office interviews - School of Roch
Roch Kubatko reiterates that the Orioles are planning to hire a team president first, who will then hire a GM and manager...

Names are trickling in, but there is still plenty of murkiness surrounding Orioles’ top exec search – The Athletic
...but Dan Connolly surmises that the Orioles are interviewing both president candidates and GM candidates simultaneously. In which case, it doesn’t seem like the president is hiring the GM. Who knows what’s going on with this team?

Brian Graham representing O's at GM Meetings - MLB.com
Meanwhile, while the Orioles sort all that out, Brian Graham is representing the club at the GM meetings this week. Graham says the O’s are keeping busy and he “feel[s] good with where we’re at.”

Orioles shouldn't rush into trades for Cashner and Cobb - BaltimoreBaseball.com
Eh, I get why you might not want to create two more holes in the rotation. But if a team is willing to take those salaries off your hands, the Orioles should jump at the chance.

With the big dollars about to roll in, some fans are not pleased - Steve Melewski
I completely agree with Melewski when he says people shouldn't begrudge professional athletes for making huge amounts of money. That’s what the market supports, so why shouldn’t players cash in?

Orioles birthdays and history

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! Let’s wish a very special 98th birthday to 1955 outfielder Wally Westlake. He’s the fifth-oldest living MLB player and the oldest ex-Oriole.

Your other birthday buddies are Carlos Casimiro (42), who debuted with two games in a row in the year 2000 and then never played again; and outfielder Dwight Smith (55), one of four teammates named Smith on the ‘94 Orioles.

This was a big day in history for Orioles MVPs. In 1966, Frank Robinson was unanimously voted the AL MVP after winning the Triple Crown for the world champion Orioles, making him the first player to win the award in both the AL and the NL. And in 1991, Cal Ripken Jr. won his second MVP award after batting .323 with a .940 OPS, 34 homers, and 114 RBIs.