Orioles: The Great Cal Mess of 2010

The Orioles 2010 season woes aside, things just got weirder for the Black and Orange...

So this weekend, former Sun reporter Ken Rosenthal posted a report on Fox Sports that Cal had approached Petey Angelos about a front office job with the O's, but Angelos had reportedly turned him down because he didn't want Cal to steal Andy McPhail's thunder when the Orioles eventually improve. Angelos came out right away and rebuked this, saying that Cal had never discussed a front office job, only affiliation with the Ripken Academy, that he would welcome Cal into whatever post he'd be interested, and that he doesn't see the need for McPhail to share responsibilities with anyone. In my Baltimore, Cal-loving frame of mind, I figured good ole Cal would give us the truth.

Cal released a statement today saying that Angelos never said anything about denying Cal credit, but made some cryptic remarks like "I am more excited now to explore all opportunities and find the right situation that could lead me to the next phase of my life." He did acknowledge that they have had discussion about baseball and the Orioles, with the direction steering towards Cal wanting to join the organization.

So, what do we think of this now? Well, Cal obviously didn't burn any bridges. And I do mean ANY bridges...He spoke nothing but positive spun sugar about Peter Angelos. So while I think that means he wants to keep a good relationship with the O's, it could also mean he doesn't want to get a label for throwing people under the bus if he'd be interested in, say, the Nationals FO...but, please please, before the collective city of Baltimore throws stones at me for even mentioning Cal going somewhere else, I only mean that if the Orioles were to stonewall him, I think he's keeping his options open for other jobs.

That said, I really can't believe that Angelos would be so stupid as to keep Cal at a 10-foot-pole's distance from the franchise. Granted, I can understand the notion about wanting to "protect" McPhail, because if anyone but McPhail rights the Orioles, Peter Angelos goes down as probably one of the worst owners in history. He took a team that had been very prominent and poised for greatness in 95/96, flushed them down the toilet due to personal gripes, and squandered every opportunity to rebuild. And bringing in Cal, who the majority of Baltimore desperately want to buy out Angelos as owner, could just server to make Angelos look more lame duck. But with Cal on board, it would also buy him a LOT of respect from fans, and probably some more leeway in terms of winning now versus soon.

I also think Cal's comments were worded such that I believe Angelos was stonewalling to a point, and Cal just, without throwing him under the bus, put the ball in his court. Now if Angelos doesn't make seomthing happen, he really looks bad since Cal still wants to come here and basically is just waiting for the phone call for a job.

And once again, kudos to Mr. Ripken. The Baltimore son still comes off as the golden boy for sticking with a franchise who so desperately needs a rebuild. It would be very easy for him to sniff around say the Phillies, who would be a little more win now. But once again, it appears Cal stays true to his hometown. And once again, Cal Ripken proves why he is an institution in this....institution.