I’m not sure what Andy MacPhail is up to these days. I ran into him in Annapolis Mall back around the holidays, but haven’t seen him since. Whatever he’s doing, I hope he gets to sit back, relax and maybe even light up a celebratory cigar while watching the 2013 All-Star Game tonight.
The folks that commented on this blog a couple years ago and were sarcastically calling MacPhail “McFAIL” and saying that he didn’t have a plan to rebuild the Orioles are no where to be found these days. After watching the Orioles climb out of the AL East cellar, it’s easier to find a T-Rex than an Andy MacPhail basher.
The O’s have five All-Stars, three of which are starting tonight, and all of them have ties to MacPhail.
- Chris Davis – Acquired by Orioles with Tommy Hunter from the Rangers for Koji Uehara on July 30, 2011.
- Adam Jones – Acquired by Orioles with George Sherrill, Kam Mickolio, Chris Tillman and Tony Butler for Erik Bedard on February 8, 2008.
- J.J. Hardy – Acquired by Orioles with Brendan Harris for Brett Jacobson and Jim Hoey on December 9, 2010.
- Manny Machado – Selected third overall by the Orioles in the 2010 MLB Draft.
- Chris Tillman – Acquired by the Orioles (in the previously mentioned deal) with Adam Jones, George Sherrill, Kam Mickolio and Tony Butler for Erik Bedard on February 8, 2008.
Thanks Andy!
The guys that called him “McFail” are no where to be found and happily scooped up playoff tickets last fall and are waiting to do so again this year.
This aint football, guys. When a franchise is so deplete that you have to build it from the ground up, it takes a while. You can’t draft a few guys in April and plug them in come September. it doesn’t work that way.
We know it’s not football because the Baltimore football team has brought two world championships to the great fans of Baltimore the past dozen years……………………
I for one was sorry to see Andy leave,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,he built up our deplorable farm system and it helped get the O’s where they are today,,,,,,,,,,,,,the problem is , since he left the influx of top talent has declined,,,,,,,,,,I realize there are other reasons for this such as lower draft place , bringing farm talent up , etc, but you can see the farm system is pretty lean right now,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,I admit I don’t know exactly what he did to turn it around but it would behoove this organization to copy what he did exactly because it worked,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,I don’t want to see this team go in reverse five or six years from now as it took that long to build it up……………………..fourteen years of crap from this organization took it’s toll on the players and the fans , don’t let it happen again………………..
Let’s not forget Andy also brought Buck Showalter to the team as well. He doesn’t get the credit he deserves when it comes to his tenure in Charm City.
People , it is going to take more than a few years of Andy being here to bring this poorly run organization to it’s feet,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,I don’t see the desire to win from the front office , I don’t see quality acquisitions in the off-seasons when you can really make a difference and I certainly don’t see any of the MASN money being spent on free agents,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,just look at the prior fourteen years of losing baseball and you get an indication of how much this organization wants to win,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,they have a few nice players right now , mostly thanks to Andy but lets see how long it lasts………………………..
“I don’t see the desire to win from the front office” c’mon spy, I thought you were more than just the BSR resident troll. That’s right, the front office is desire is to put a LOSING product on the field. When are you going to wake up and realize that teams win in baseball by NOT doing what they did in the late 90s. It’s not about the big free agent contracts. How many WS championships have the Angels won since they signed Pujols? The Tigers since they signed Fielder? The Marlins? The Red Sox? Dodgers? Baseball is about growing your own players and then adding pieces along the way. Those pieces don’t always have to be 10-year/250 mil dollar contracts. But also being the resident negative-Nestor….I mean Nancy, I can see you’re just not willing to give the O’s any sort of credit because of some B.S. grudge you hold against the owner.
I’m awake , however I wonder about some of the contributers on this site,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,If you lived through the fourteen years of losing baseball you saw first hand an organization that did not care about winning,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,the moves they made and the ones they didn’t spoke very loudly on the difference between winning and losing……………their only goal was to build up the Angelos trust fund at the expense of losing baseball for the great fans of Baltimore,,,,,,,,,,,,I have not forgiven them for this lousy streak of looking at a minor league team playing against the major leagues,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,they are on a lucky streak right now and I will withhold my trust factor until I see how they handle the upcoming contracts ,,,,,I give them credit for hiring Andy and Buck is doing just fine but I can’t forget that losing streak and will not forgive them until I see a winning pattern and a few decent quality acquisitions in free agency,,,,,,,,,,,,,,until then theyr are just lucky , in my opinion……………………