Manager rumblings; More on MacPhail's potential role

[ThomasTomasz]

As Dave Trembley prepares for his first game as interim manager of the Baltimore Orioles, top level executives are meeting in Chicago to discuss the managerial position with Joe Girardi, according to the Baltimore Sun.

Girardi remains the uncontested top choice to succeed Perlozzo as manager of the club. MacPhail, Mike Flanagan and general counsel Russell Smouse, will meet with him today to discuss the job. With Smouse along for the visit, speculation is that an initial contract offer will be tendered to Girardi.

Following Girardi on the pecking order is Davey Johnson, a former manager of the Orioles during 1996 and 1997 and built a winner out of the club during his short time here. He was quoted in a story by the Sun about three weeks ago saying he would not mind coming back.

In addition to Johnson, another high-profile manager has come to light as a possibility, former Cubs manager Dusty Baker, who MacPhail hired.

Dave Trembley also has an outside chance. "At this stage, Dave is the interim manager, and there's no sort of time frame on that," Flanagan said. "We think Dave deserves a chance, and we're going to play it like that." Depending on how well the team responds to Trembley would determine if the club acts now or waits until the end of the season. He does have a small shot at remaining as the leader for the rest of the season (depending on the Girardi discussions.)

The manager position has turned into a source of turmoil for Baltimore, with the new person becoming the eighth in the past 10 seasons. The biggest news, however, was the hiring of MacPhail as Chief Operating Officer.

MacPhail's father, Lee, presided over building the Orioles for their 1960's dynasty, someone who helped develop the old 'Oriole Way.' The pedigree is there for Andy.

Second, the rumor is that MacPhail will have the final say in who is hired as manager of this club. This is a departure from previous years, where Angelos had the final say. MacPhail also outranks Duquette and Flanagan, allowing him more control as president.

He also has experience in combating meddling owners like Angelos from his time in Chicago and with Tribune Co, the ownership group of the Cubs. The extent of Tribune Co. was with setting the budget. MacPhail had control of everything else outside of that.

Finally, it seems that Angelos trusts MacPhail. They worked close with each other in labor negotiations during the 2002 and 2006 seasons. His father's past with the Orioles also played a part into Angelos developing a friendship and mutual respect with MacPhail.

Despite losing a manager in Sam Perlozzo, a nice guy and a local guy, O's fans can look toward a brighter future now that it appears that MacPhail will have complete control of the baseball side of things. More news to come on the managerial developments and any concrete information on MacPhail's role.

[CrimsonTribe]

Dusty Baker would be a disaster. We might as well just shoot Bedard, Cabrera, Loewen and any other youngish starter we have.