The Orioles made an offer to GM candidate Tony LaCava yesterday following his second interview with the team on Monday. Word was that LaCava left the interview "impressed", saying that he'd "take the job if it was offered to him". LaCava had been rumored to be the Orioles top choice since the search for a new GM to replace Andy MacPhail began in mid-October.
But yesterday LaCava turned down the Orioles offer, deciding to stay at his current assistant GM position with the Blue Jays.
Tony Pente, who runs the Orioles Hangout website and message board, wrote an article that appeared last night (the website has been down so far today) mentioning that an inside source said Angelos informed LaCava that he would not have complete control over who in the organization he could keep or let go, meaning both players and personnel. Reading between the lines, it's Buck Showalter who will have that control, especially on the player side. And since Andy MacPhail was not allowed to fire Dave Stockstill shortly after MacPhail was hired, you can bet your sweet ass that Angelos would have the ultimate say on who can stay and who can go on the personnel side.
It comes as absolutely no surprise that Angelos is still making outrageous demands as owner of the Orioles. You know that saying about old dogs not learning new tricks? Angelos is 82 and won't be making any drastic changes as owner at his age. He continues to mismanage the Orioles, like he always has, by interfering at inopportune times and being vacant at other times when decisions are needed to be made swiftly. He's also butchered the GM hiring process by ultimately having Buck Showalter and Matt Klentak hire their boss. What GM candidate worth their salt is going to work in that kind of situation? LaCava made the right choice. I expect him to be hired as a GM elsewhere after the 2012 season.
Meanwhile, the Orioles are down to two candidates: DeJon Watson from the Dodgers and John Stockstill from...you guessed it, the Orioles.
Word is Watson is Showalter's favorite, but who knows if Watson will sign up for a job in which his freedoms will be severely limited by Angelos and Showalter. Chances are it will Stockstill, which would be par for the course. Stockstill, who has been with the organization for five years as director of player development, already knows the workings of this organization. He's also done absolutely nothing to earn the job. The player development in the organization is terrible and has been for years. The Stockstill brothers have also been pets of Angelos' for years, which is why Angelos refused MacPhail on firing Dave Stockstill.
Oh, and all of this chaos is taking place just two days before free agency starts.
It's nothing new, 0's fans. Just another reminder that nothing will change as long as Angelos is the owner and getting in the way.
Angelos might as well save his money and just let Showalter, Stockstill and Klentak call the shots. They will be anyway, no matter who becomes the next GM.
