O's blast out of rut

[Orioles Fan From New York]

P.S. I meant to say that The O's are a respectable 46-49, and not 28-67. My bad.

[Ghost Oriole]

And if you think you'll get an HONEST answer to any of those questions you're really dumb. Seriously.

McPhail knows the team is awful, but he's not going to announce that to you ducklings. Any Oriole fan showing up to that stroke-fest is truly amongst the enchanted.

Here, I'll answer your questions in GM-speak:

1) "I hope I'm never completely satisfied with the farm system since there's always room to improve."

2) "Of course I am thrilled with our draft results under my watch. My farts do not smell."

3) "We are only a few players away from being a serious contender. Keep spending your money as we keep moving the goalposts..."

And yet the team is in last place. How can things be so good?

[Joe]

Ghost: All I know is we were adrift for years and got way off course; I therefore understand it will take time to set us back to where we should be. Plus I an going to the park anyway might as well hear what they have to say. Dave gave me an answer at last years town meeting that helped me understand that the hitting coach was absolutely not the problem with our poor hitting approach at the time, so its not a useless experience. Andy will spin with the best of them though but I understand he can't tip his hand as to his true intentsions.

[Ghost Oriole]

Joe,

I'll tell you why you are a fool. Tomorrow's event is intended to sell season tickets to guys like you.

You cannot wait to tell all your buddies that you asked McPhail a question and he gave you a vanilla answer. Ooohhhh, I feel a little bit important!

Let me open my wallet and shell out huge bucks to watch a terrible team because you let me ask a question!

Want to ask some good questions? Ask these:

1) Andy, how has Mike Flanagan influenced your thinking? Where is Mike Flanagan?

2) Andy, where do you plan to spend the summer of 2010? At the beach or in the mountains?

3) How many times have you had dinner with the owner?

4) Does each GM get to order their own chair, or do you have to use the one left over from the last guy? If you get a new chair, what have they done with so many used chairs?

5) Can you find Asia on a map? Does the owner hate all Asians, or only the Japanese?

6) Since you said earlier in the year that the Orioles don't know where talent is located around the world, have you learned anything new?

7) Two words: Yu Darvish. Your answer?(Stunned silence).

8) Wouldn't it be easier to just cancel Spring Training since finding a home is so hard for the Orioles?

9) What's it like to do so little for so much of the season?

10) When's the last time one of your team actually won something?

BTW, Joe. Before Angelos was around, the O's GM was on the radio all the time answering call-in questions. Roland Hemond used to be very good about talking to the fans. He used to come up into the stands and visit us.

Now you're lucky to get one chance a year to be heard. Nice. And you're giddy about it.

[Orioles Fan From New York]

Joe wrote:

Ghost: All I know is we were adrift for years and got way off course; I therefore understand it will take time to set us back to where we should be. Plus I an going to the park anyway might as well hear what they have to say. Dave gave me an answer at last years town meeting that helped me understand that the hitting coach was absolutely not the problem with our poor hitting approach at the time, so its not a useless experience. Andy will spin with the best of them though but I understand he can't tip his hand as to his true intentsions.

Hopefully, there will be enough loyal fans like you and me that keep going to the games, keep supporting the team, and prevent the Birds from flying to coup to another city, like the Colts did. Go Orioles. Go Team. I'll be there, win or lose.

[Joe]

You're funny sometimes. He will get the Asian question, but I already heard his answer. The spring traing thing is being worked out. Flanny? He kind of proved he was in a little deep, he is playing out his contract so to speak. He has a great eye for pitching though, I would find something for him to do. Most of the other questions are Ghost Oriole being ghost oriole.

I do like how much do you interact with the owner, thats good. And, why dont we hear from you more say on call-in shows for instance or in the paper. Those are fair questions.

Once again they are like a son or daughter, they are my team, they might be struggling now but I hope to see them through this rough time.

[Ghost Oriole]

Dave gave me an answer at last years town meeting that helped me understand that the hitting coach was absolutely not the problem with our poor hitting approach at the time, so its not a useless experience
----------

And you expected him to say, what? "HOLY COW! Now that you mention it, I realize our hitting coach is terrible! What was I thinking?!"

Joe, I really hope that you're about 20 years old, because your naivety should have worn off by age 25.

First off, bad teams lie. That's one reason they stay bad, because they're not honest with themselves. The O's have lied to themselves and the fans for over a decade.

Good teams pursue improvements, not excuses.

Secondly, good customers change their purchasing habits when sold bad products. And this is entertainment. It's a product. It's been a really terrible product for years. Yet the price is up to $80 for a good box seat? What, are you kidding me?

Lastly, the future is not bright. You badly want it to be bright, but there is almost nothing in the minors, and the team is alienating their best players (Roberts and Markakis). Angelos has been cutting payroll, and it just might continue.

You don't seem to grasp that at one time, Millar, Payton, Huff, Mora etc. were all highly-regarded prospects. Now, they play average baseball. Guys like Arrieta will be lucky to get to Cabrera's level of success, and that ain't good. Look at Clay Buchholz's minor league numbers, and look at him getting racked in MLB. That's not unusual. Guys like Tillman are probably due to get racked if/when they advance to MLB.

And Tampa has several more superior pitchers coming up through the minors, so they're not going back to last place. That now belongs to either Toronto or Baltimore, for a long time.

So dream all you want. The reality is bad.

[Orioles Fan From New York]

Joe wrote:

You're funny sometimes. He will get the Asian question, but I already heard his answer. The spring traing thing is being worked out. Flanny? He kind of proved he was in a little deep, he is playing out his contract so to speak. He has a great eye for pitching though, I would find something for him to do. Most of the other questions are Ghost Oriole being ghost oriole.
I do like how much do you interact with the owner, thats good. And, why dont we hear from you more say on call-in shows for instance or in the paper. Those are fair questions.
Once again they are like a son or daughter, they are my team, they might be struggling now but I hope to see them through this rough time.

THAT is when you know the difference between the REAL Oriole fans that give constructive criticism, and the Oriole-Hating Phonies. Call in to a LIVE talk show, peddle your bulls**t live on the air with over a million viewers listening, and see what the host of the show thinks of your point of view, as well as what all of the listeners think.

[Joe]

Orioles Fan From New York wrote:

<quoted text>
Hopefully, there will be enough loyal fans like you and me that keep going to the games, keep supporting the team, and prevent the Birds from flying to coup to another city, like the Colts did. Go Orioles. Go Team. I'll be there, win or lose.

They will all come back including the Ghost, once we start winning again. I saw a record breaking 70k in a field at Cooperstown last summer, we are a sleeping giant, and that park will packed again shortly. We will have 3 perennial All-Stars batting 2-3-4, Jones, Kakes, and Wieters for years, if the pitching comes around we will be in contention for years.

[Fred78]

"Washout" Billy Rowell is the youngest player in the Carolina League.

[Orioles Fan From New York]

Joe wrote:

<quoted text>
They will all come back including the Ghost, once we start winning again. I saw a record breaking 70k in a field at Cooperstown last summer, we are a sleeping giant, and that park will packed again shortly. We will have 3 perennial All-Stars batting 2-3-4, Jones, Kakes, and Wieters for years, if the pitching comes around we will be in contention for years.

Yeah, I know, when you win, all the bandwagon-jumpers always come running, as evidenced by attendance hikes. Tampa Bay, for example is going to easily set their all-time attendance record this season. I just wish there were at least 50,000 die-hard Oriole fans like you and me that would go see the Birds even if we were thirty games below .500.

[Joe]

Here was my question: Dave I other teams working the count and I see a lot of our guys swinging at everything and not working the count. Are you satisfied with the job the hitting coach is doing in light of this?

His answer: I don't like our approach overall either and I understand your question but believe me this has more to do with a players attitude than what my coach is saying. All the advise in the world won't matter if that player won't change his attitude.

So originally a Crow hater, I understood that our approach had more to do with the players ie Patterson, Miggy, Payton ect. who swung early and selfishly and who are all gone or soon to be.

[Orioles Fan From New York]

Fred78 wrote:

"Washout" Billy Rowell is the youngest player in the Carolina League.

I saw him play two weeks ago against the Winston-Salem Warthogs in North Carolina! He had a GREAT game (a homer and two doubles) DESPITE some stalker fan that was screaming insults at him. Fortunately, my girlfriend and I were in the front row, so we could scream FOR Billy after he got those huge hits. Way to go, Billy!

[Orioles Fan From New York]

Joe wrote:

Here was my question: Dave I other teams working the count and I see a lot of our guys swinging at everything and not working the count. Are you satisfied with the job the hitting coach is doing in light of this?
His answer: I don't like our approach overall either and I understand your question but believe me this has more to do with a players attitude than what my coach is saying. All the advise in the world won't matter if that player won't change his attitude.
So originally a Crow hater, I understood that our approach had more to do with the players ie Patterson, Miggy, Payton ect. who swung early and selfishly and who are all gone or soon to be.

You got to talk to Dave Tremnbley? That's cool. You have me beat. The best I can boast of is getting Jon Leicester and Tyke Redman's autographs when Norfolk played at Durham two weeks ago, and a verbal confirmation from the Tides' manager that he IS INDEED the same Gary Allenson that played seven seasons in the majors in the late seventies and early eighties, mostly for the Red Sox.

[Joe]

Orioles Fan From New York wrote:

<quoted text>
Yeah, I know, when you win, all the bandwagon-jumpers always come running, as evidenced by attendance hikes. Tampa Bay, for example is going to easily set their all-time attendance record this season. I just wish there were at least 50,000 die-hard Oriole fans like you and me that would go see the Birds even if we were thirty games below .500.

Very true I wish there were more like us, but it has been quite a beat-down these ten years. I have even cut back through the years. I used to buy 60 tickets, then 40, then 29, now its just 13 Sunday's. I do go to plenty of Bowie games though. I know if I lived closer it would be more like my old attendance though but I can't hammer the disillusioned fan too much but having lived through the Colts like you did, its hard to accept all the empty seats...

[Joe]

Orioles Fan From New York wrote:

<quoted text>
You got to talk to Dave Tremnbley? That's cool. You have me beat. The best I can boast of is getting Jon Leicester and Tyke Redman's autographs when Norfolk played at Durham two weeks ago, and a verbal confirmation from the Tides' manager that he IS INDEED the same Gary Allenson that played seven seasons in the majors in the late seventies and early eighties, mostly for the Red Sox.

Yeah Dave is a great person, he looks you right in the eye and has a great presence when speaking. He also has a Masters Degree which obviously has served him well, he is very well spoken.

[Orioles Fan From New York]

Joe wrote:

<quoted text>
Very true I wish there were more like us, but it has been quite a beat-down these ten years. I have even cut back through the years. I used to buy 60 tickets, then 40, then 29, now its just 13 Sunday's. I do go to plenty of Bowie games though. I know if I lived closer it would be more like my old attendance though but I can't hammer the disillusioned fan too much but having lived through the Colts like you did, its hard to accept all the empty seats...

Although I would LOVE for the Bird fans to pack our own park, I am one of the few O's fans that DOES NOT mind lots of Yank fans showing up at Camden. First of all, it boosts attendance and revenue. In our capitalist society, money is money. The Yank fans' money is green and white, just like ours is. Secondly, if nothing else, a lot of Yank fans would be pretty upset if the O's moved a thousand miles away. After all, Oriole Park is a beautiful Stadium, the tickets are MUCH CHEAPER than Yankee stadium, plus hanging out at the Baltimore Harbor for a few hours in the afternoon before the game is awesome.

Wouldn't that be a kicker if about 10,000 YANKEE FANS staged a protest to keep the Orioles in Baltimore?

[George Jetson]

Goast Oriole is a recovering crack addict. I know because we used to share a pipe until he ran out of money.

[Ghost Oriole]

George Jetson wrote:

Goast Oriole is a recovering crack addict. I know because we used to share a pipe until he ran out of money.

That's funny. I think the team is terrible and you think I'm on crack? Talk to the people who think the team is going to the playoffs in 2010.

[ironman]

George Jetson wrote:

Goast Oriole is a recovering crack addict. I know because we used to share a pipe until he ran out of money.

lollllll yes it would