| Tom Morris. 12th October, 2005 - 4:43 pm
 While the rest of the world starts stocking up on beers and popcorn for an exciting week-long showing of a double-feature known as ALCS - NLCS, back in my home-state of Maryland Peter Angelos continued to show his face at the decision-making table. First, in an expected move, he and Jim Beattie "agreed" that the co-GM should no longer continue his duties in the Orioles organization, while longtime Oriole Mike Flanagan was given sole possession of the title. And today, almost as expected, Angelos dropped the 'interim' tag from Sam Perlozzo's name / neck, deciding to keep him as the Baltimore skipper for the near future.
Perlozzo took over as temporary manager of the birds after the firing in August of Lee Mazzilli, a man who beat Perlozzo out for the job at the beginning of the 2004 season. This is Perlozzo's first official tour of duty as skipper, having missed out on opportunities both for the O's as well as for the Seattle Mariners.
A native Marylander, Perlozzo, 54, has been looking forward to this chance since 1982, when he first began coaching duties. He followed a nine-year career as a player with five years as manager for the New York Mets' minor league affiliate, Little Falls, before assuming job of bench coach for the mets themselves. Perlozzo returned to Baltimore when he was hired as third-base coach under Davey Johnson, then was promoted to bench coach to work side-by-side with now-Mariners manager Mike Hargrove.
The Orioles went 23 - 32 following Perlozzo's taking of the reins, and the fact is they could have done a lot worse. The Orioles had already been going downhill for a long while before he replaced Lee Mazzilli, and were additionally then slogging through dramas involving Rafael Palmeiro, Sidney Ponson, and a struggling Sammy Sosa. These are now all considered huge offseasion personnel failures for Baltimore, who must now see if Mike Flanagan can make smart acquisitions to fill these and other now-vacant spots in the roster. Flanagan now does not have to share his responsibilities of GM with Beattie, an ambiguous tandem that confused many, including prospective players and agents, who said the two were notoriously vague and indecisive in trade talks.
But none of this should be Perlozzo's problem. His job is to govern his team on the field and he knows it. He is respected, capable, knowledgeable about the game, a straight shooter, and deeply cared for by his players, who repeatedly asserted they needed to win as many games down the stretch --just to keep Perlozzo around for next season. Well, looks like they won just enough. Perlozzo has gotten his wish now. And he has earned it. But owners are fickle in this business world, so let's hope this wish --come July of next year-- doesn't just flicker away like a candle in the wind. |
