[外電] O's rebuilding plan slow but steady
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O's rebuilding plan slow but steady
Savvy trades and Wieters' arrival give MacPhail hope
Baseball Perspectives│Hal Bodley
06/01/09 7:00 PM ET
The Baltimore Orioles haven't had a winning season since 1997. They haven't
been to the World Series since 1983.
To say that times have been rough at Camden Yards for more than 10 summers is
putting it mildly. You can't even say they've been disappointing because
except for a few bright spots along the way, hopes haven't been that high.
Nearly two years ago, Orioles owner Peter Angelos hired Andy MacPhail to
steer this once-great franchise in a positive direction. In other words,
MacPhail was charged with working the magic he used during celebrated stops
with the Minnesota Twins and Chicago Cubs.
But as the Orioles began a six-game road trip to the West Coast on Monday
night in Seattle, they were in last place in the tough American League East.
My first question to MacPhail was a fastball down the middle.
"Is [turning the franchise around] taking a lot longer than you thought?"
There's no hesitation.
"No, not really," MacPhail said. "We haven't really been at this two full
seasons yet. I think we've made pretty good progress, considering. When I
started, a clear strategy was laid out, which is that we're principally going
to rely on player development and our scouting systems."
Referring to the departures of Erik Bedard, Miguel Tejada, et al via trade,
MacPhail added: "We traded off some assets we thought were going to leave us
in a couple of seasons anyway before we were prepared to contend. Those
trades have been helpful, and the farm system has started to produce."
MacPhail, a boy wonder of sorts when he was in his 30s in Minnesota, produced
World Series winners in 1987 and '91. Then in 1994, MacPhail moved to the
Cubs, who were in the postseason twice before he left after 2006. Prior to
that, the Cubs had been to the playoffs only twice in the previous 50 years.
Astute Baltimore fans who made a ticket to Camden Yards one of the most
difficult in sports when the Orioles were winning welcomed MacPhail with
renewed optimism.
MacPhail grew up in Baltimore when his father, Hall of Famer Lee MacPhail,
was the Orioles' general manager (1958-65). Andy MacPhail knows the tradition
of the O's and that the long-starved paying customers expect results. They've
been growing restless.
Orioles fans might still be disappointed at this stage, but MacPhail refuses
to sugar-coat the situation.
Dominated by the Yankees and Red Sox -- not to mention the Rays and Blue Jays
-- the AL East is arguably the best division in the Major Leagues. The
Yankees, for example, have a $201 million payroll. By comparison, the Orioles
rank 23rd among the 30 Major League teams at $67.1 million.
"There are no shortcuts," MacPhail said. "We know to win in the AL East,
we're going to have to be a very solid team. So far, we're pleased with the
progress."
The Orioles just completed a 5-2 homestand, having won seven of their past 10
games entering Monday night. They're 16-13 at Camden Yards, but 7-15 on the
road.
"One of the things that gets lost is that we were over .500 (46-43) outside
the division last year and over .500 (13-12) outside this year," MacPhail
said.
What MacPhail doesn't say is the Orioles were 22-50 against teams in the
East, a record that led to a last-place finish -- 28 1/2 games behind the
Rays, surprise AL champions a year ago.
The Rays reached the World Series last year -- before losing to the Phillies
-- because of their young, hungry nucleus of homegrown players. They filled
in the holes with veterans and created a storybook season.
MacPhail used that blueprint when his teams were winning in Minnesota and
Chicago.
The philosophy is solid when the young players perform up to their
credentials.
Plus, there's so much temptation to swerve off course.
Last December at the Winter Meetings, the Orioles made a $150 million offer
to free-agent All-Star first baseman Mark Teixeira. The Yankees nabbed him by
paying $30 million more.
Veteran baseball people tell me to pay close attention to the Orioles. In
just a few years, their Minor League system has been rebuilt and is already
producing. They've drafted well.
On Friday, catcher Matt Wieters, regarded by many as Baltimore's top
prospect, was promoted to the Major Leagues. Wieters was the Orioles' No. 1
pick in the 2007 First-Year Player Draft and rocketed through the Minor
Leagues.
"I've never been around a prospect with this much hype," said David
Stockstill, Baltimore's director of player development.
There are more prospects, especially pitchers with outstanding pedigrees, in
the pipeline -- ready to blossom.
"This isn't a secret formula," cautioned MacPhail. "We try to do the
fundamentals well and understand that player development and scouting has to
be very effective or the rest of it won't work. We cannot rely on trying to
patchwork it with free agents. Our principal avenue of talent must come
through the system.
"When Weiters arrived, it symbolized that reliance on our farm system more
than in years past. We've had a lot of young players who've come up and done
well. We've got a young dynamic center fielder in Adam Jones and a young
Orioles product next to him in right field in Nick Markakis.
"I'm convinced the fans can see there is a significant foundation of talent
that should be with the franchise for years to come. Plus, ownership made a
commitment to Brian Roberts and Markakis, paying over $100 million."
MacPhail added a theory I wish more teams would subscribe to.
"Clearly, our philosophy -- and we make no secret about this -- is that we've
got to grow the arms," MacPhail said. "We can buy the bats. You're not going
to be able to buy pitching. It's expensive, it's fragile and tends to shy
away from the American League East unless you really pay a huge premium.
We're going to have to grow our own arms.
"But we're not one player away from winning American League East."
Not yet.
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