The Orioles Put the 'Dis' Back in Dysfunction Bob's Backstop for July 15, 2004

It didn't take much for the second half to start with a bang.

I arose on a sleepy, humid Thursday morning, feeling good about the heart of summer finally being upon us after teaching senior and middle highs at Vacation Bible School last night. Listening to the kids talk about their summers, and plans remaining unfulfilled, eating watermelon, and sitting in church in shorts and t-shirts, really took me back for a little while. I found myself looking forward to the shimmering promise of hot tar blacktop days, and late nights on the deck with beaded glasses of lemonade.

Then, I opened the Washington Post, and noticed Dave Sheinin's article on the front page of the sports section.

Then, I read the article.

Then, the birds stopped singing, the lemonade turned sour, and the watermelon was soft and mealy in the middle.

I recall laughing at reports that Peter Angelos made a last-second change in the draft pick for this year.

I recall thinking at times that Beattie and Flanagan were doing a good job.

I recall thinking that Mazzilli had a solid chance to turn around the attitude in the Oriole's clubhouse.

Wrong, wrong, and wrong yet again.

I've never been wholly in Peter Angelos' camp, though I have thought him unfairly demonized by fans and media alike. I thought that Davy Johnson and Pat Gilllick were disloyal employees who made Peter look bad, and that his feud with the Baltimore Sun only fueled the fan's fire of discontent. With the hiring of Beattie and Flanagan, I thought that he had finally learned the lessons that he needed to learn; to hire solid professionals, and let them do their jobs.

It doesn't appear he's learned anything at all, if Sheinin's story is at all true.

Sure, as the owner, you might take a look at the hiring of Mazzilli, and think to yourself, "This guy is all mustard, with no burger," but can't you let your baseball people figure it out, too, and take action?

Sure, as the owner, you might say to yourself (as did many of us), "How can you sign that fat cow Ponson without a weight clause in his contract, or some means to assure ourselves that this is a genuine turnaround in behavior?" But can't employees make any bone-headed mistakes at all? After all, if a club signs four free agents, and gets two solid performances to date, one so-so one, and one flop, isn't that about par for the course? After all, the Angels have been heralded as one of the brainiest organizations around...ask them if they are looking forward to more Bartolo Colon.

And Peter, how could you possibly look at this club and see a contender? How have you ever looked at this club and saw a contender? Yes, the team signed four "high-end" free agents. Guess what...to be "competitive", the club would have had to sign at least three more! Three more! (Two starters, and a slugging outfielder. No one could have seen a .500 record without at least three more star performances.)

I've always been of the mindset that I'd support you as owner, because (a) you want to win; (b) you've been willing to put money into the ballclub; (c) you've gotten shafted by employees a few times; and (d) I had no way of knowing that an alternative would be better, as there are lots more bad owners out there than good ones.

Not any more. When you won't let the front office do their jobs (even when they do them badly), when you interfere with the organization draft (not that the organization has shown any particular skill in this area), and you see a potentially contending club in a paper-thin, pitching-poor, lousy defensive group rife with some bad attitudes, it's time for me to stop saying "on the other hand..."

I'm not going to start writing foaming-at-the-mouth articles, or advocate readers joining the "Angelos Must Go" club. I've always believed it's better to light a candle than to waste time and energy ranting at the darkness.

But my patience with the whole lot of you...Angelos, Beattie, Flanagan, Mazzilli...is worn quite thin. Isn't that a sad state of affairs for a game that's supposed to be fun?

I stopped watching soap operas a long time ago. I can see all the drama and intrigue I want in a crime movie. Baseball is my release for the cares and woes of the day.

All of you guys are ruining it for everybody. Especially you, Peter.