Photo courtesy Baltimore Orioles
The new partnership of general manager Mike Elias and manager Brandon Hyde began on an up note Monday. Their time together promises to be much less contentious than the administration that precedes it.
For much of the seven years that Dan Duquette and Buck Showalter worked together, there was tension between the two. Elias and Hyde are very different than Duquette and Showalter.
Both Duquette and Showalter had years of experience as GM and manager before their arranged marriage with the Orioles, and both had strong opinions about how the franchise should operate.
In their first five seasons, they co-existed, perhaps not in harmony, but with success. The Orioles made the postseason in three of those five seasons.
If Elias and Hyde manage to construct a team that qualifies for the postseason as often as their predecessors did, fans would be ecstatic.
Elias seems determined to ensure that the old ways of the Orioles are in the past, even if he did acknowledge Brooks Robinson’s presence at Monday’s introduction for Hyde.
He hasn’t commented, except in generalities, on the reported candidates but none had ties to Elias or to the Orioles.
“In terms of our interview list, we did not interview anyone amongst our finalists who is currently in the Orioles’ organization,” Elias said. “I don’t know that that was intentional. We’re doing some new things here.
“I view outside perspective and outside experience as a plus. [Hyde’s] going to bring best practices and ideas to this organization that aren’t here now, that I’m not aware of that I’m not bringing with me. There’s some attraction to that.”
It’s clear that the horrifying 115-loss season convinced John and Louis Angelos that the Duquette-Showalter show had to end and that their dysfunctional relationship had only exacerbated the problems of last season.
“We view … the manager’s chair as an outpost of the front office,” Elias said. “While he’s on a nightly basis managing the 25-man roster, worrying about the players on the 40-man roster, trying to win games on the major league level, he’s also a full-blown, senior member of our front office team.
“He’ll be involved in every decision, strategy. That’s the dynamic I’m most familiar with because of my experience in Houston. That’s the dynamic that I know works around the league.”
The Orioles’ success from 2012-16 was achieved without much use of analytics, and minimal international scouting, two areas Elias has vowed to improve.
Now that he’s had a month to view the Orioles’ organization and its shortcomings, Elias has developed an understanding and appreciation for the team that had success before the collapse. He said he didn’t set out to do things differently in an intentional way.
“The past era here was hugely successful,” Elias said. “It was done against a lot of odds and a lot of expectations. I’m incredibly impressed by what the last group did here. It came to an end last year.
“This is a new era. I’m new. He’s [Hyde] new. It wasn’t part of my thought process. It was just getting the right person for this next era, what team we have now, how we’re going to approach things, what we’re going through. That was really what was on my mind.”
For their first six years together, Duquette would come out before nearly all home night games to watch batting practice and catch up with Showalter. This year, those meetings didn’t occur as regularly.
Duquette rarely traveled, except to Boston and New York. Elias said he doesn’t expect to travel often because of his many other duties. At last week’s Winter Meetings, Elias emphasized that he would be in constant contact with Hyde.
“This is a big job,” Elias said. It’s a complicated job. There’s a lot that goes into all of our decisions, and we want him a part of it and vice versa.”
Hyde said he welcomes healthy disagreements, and Elias seems to echo that philosophy.
“I come from a scouting background, and I’ve been in a lot of draft rooms,” Elias said. “We air it out, so to speak, in the draft room. We don’t agree on everything, but you end up with a decision that represents the organizational decision, and everyone is on board with that as soon as a decision is made, and that’s part of the fun of baseball, having those types of conversations.”
“We want to have a very open back-and-forth about those things because it leads to a better outcome and decision at the end of the day.”
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Rich: I don't think I could be more impressed with our new management team. The past is the past and you can't ignore it or as they say, "you could be doomed to repeat it". We are headed in a new direction which is long over due and maybe with the front office and the on-field management in sync, things will get done that benefits the entire organization.
I’m eager to see how things unfold, Spin.
Dan Duquesne was the worst gm in the history of baseball.
What about Dan Duquette, Whitebite?
I thought it was Douchette...
I like the chemistry between these two that I see already. They appear to be on the same page. But being as this isn't an "arranged marriage" that makes a lot more sense. I loved Buck and have a tremendous respect for what he did with what he was given. I'm sure DD's hands were tied by ownership a lot of times too, so I don't blame him for everything (Mr. Angelos, are you listening???) I really like what I see with Elias and Hyde at the moment though. Young, from winning organizations, up to date on current practices, and obviously committed to building the organization from bottom up. For the first time in a number of years, I feel hopeful about the future.
interesting thoughts, bigdaddy.
"If Elias and Hyde manage to construct a team that qualifies for the postseason as often as their predecessors did, fans would be ecstatic."
Rich I think the fans want more then just making the post season. We want to win the World Series. Sure it may take a couple of misses before getting there but the goal isn't just to make the post season. It is to WIN it all. One of my criticisms of DD was that he always talked of being competitive but I never heard him talk about winning the WS as the goal.
I think this new team will set a higher public goal then the previous one. I do believe we will win that last game in the not too distant future.
Owen, everyone wants to win the World Series, but everyone in baseball knows how difficult it is to win in the postseason. In 2017 and 2018, two excellent teams, Cleveland and Houston, were eliminated before the World Series by other outstanding teams.
The Orioles need to be concerned about getting to the postseason, and then see what happens. Duquette was realistic about the challenges the Orioles faced getting there, and Elias addressed that when he said he admired what the previous administration had done.
The Atlanta Braves were a truly great organization for years, but won only one World Series.
I admire your passion, but winning a World Series is really hard to do.
Of course it is but shouldn't it be the goal to win it then to just make the playoffs? I just want to hear from the top that the goal is to win it all and not talk as if they are satisfied to just be players. I think that the new guys talk will be more of not being satisfied until they have a ring.
You can almost feel a zen-like synergy between these two ...
Kind of like the one we have, Boog?
I really would like to know what the disagreements between Dan and Buck were. A lot of writers
talk around it but nobody gives any details. I assume Buck was not happy about always being saddled with Rule 5 guys and never getting replacements for Makakis and Cruz, but what else went on. It is hard to know who was at fault if we don't know any details.
You have highlighted a few of them, Victor. A lot of the differences were
in personality, too.
I feel like a broken record but again and again Elias and Hyde say all the right things to keep my enthusiasm for the O’s high.
Cedar, what’s a broken record?
The best part of this article was the quote the Showalter, Duquette era had to end. Yet I was chastised on other sites for suggesting this before it happened by Oriole fans who wanted Bucky to stay .
If you want to be chastised by me, bhoffman, just let me know. The Elias and Hyde choices seem to be pretty popular.
On another note I applaud the Angelos brothers. It could be ugly the next two years but they made the best possible choice it seems with Elias and Hyde
2 words.
Brady Anderson !
----------------------------~~---------
He'll have more to do with harmony on this club than Elias & Hyde combined.
He's an Executive Vice President (same as Elias), has a locker in the player's clubhouse, And has a welcome mat to drag any Orioles players willing out west with him to work out over the winter.
If you don't think Brady will have his fingers in the pie, than you're sadly mistaken
What bothers you about Anderson helping to get players in shape? I’m as confused over the “locker” comment.
Being in shape benefits the team. This will be a very young team. They will appreciate Anderson communicating baseball talk with them.
In my opinion a front office executive has no business with a locker in the player's clubhouse. Brady is an Executive Vice President and has either the old man's ears or the 2 brother's & will undoubtedly run to either to give his "Spy Report" .At any rate, a man who talks regularly with Ownership. & serves as an Executive doesn't belong in the clubhouse everyday.
This article was about harmony between Elias & Hyde. A clubhouse "spy" can do nothing but sabotage one or both of their efforts.
https://www.foxsports.com/mlb/story/brady-andersons-role-with-orioles-a-topic-of-debate-032017