Orioles Exec VP & GM Mike Elias said the team is losing games "way more than we want to," and the group of people who joined the organization this year are "trying to fix it," according to Jon Meoli of the BALTIMORE SUN. Elias said that just because the team is the "most front-facing part of the Orioles' operation doesn't mean it will be any different going forward." He added, "We're going to continue to be in the strategic mode that I've said from the beginning this year, about improving the overall talent level in the organization." Elias: "We're taking a broad, strategic, organizational view here. Like I just said, winning a couple extra games is not the end goal here. We want to get this team back to the playoffs and have the organization be in a healthy spot for a very long time." Orioles Exec VP John Angelos and Ownership Rep. Louis Angelos pledged to let Elias "run the organization as he saw fit." Elias said that he has been "allowed that opportunity all year." He added, "They've recognized the need for big changes and sweeping changes, and they're allowing us to do so, and they're supporting us throughout that, and that's really important. This is not an easy situation we're in, and we all need one another's support and understanding" (BALTIMORE SUN, 9/23).
TENURED TREATMENT: The SUN's Meoli notes Elias' comments come after a "month of drastic change in the baseball operations department, where dozens of scouts, front office staff, and player development personnel were told they wouldn't be back" for the '20 season. These recent moves sparked "understandable angst about the futures of staff who have decades upon decades of experience with the game and with the Orioles and what will happen without them" (BALTIMORE SUN, 9/23). Former MLBer B.J. Surhoff, who had been a special assignment instructor with the Orioles for the past six seasons, said of the team's recent firings, "Am I pissed? Yeah. I'm unhappy about what happened." He added, "Do I have sour grapes toward the organization? Well, I don't like the way things are being handled. I just don't like how they're treating people. I want that to be known. It's not that I've got sour grapes just because they've decided not to bring me back." THE ATHLETIC's Dan Connolly noted it had been "anticipated that Elias would make sweeping changes this season," but what "infuriates Surhoff is how the cuts were made." There was a "perceived lack of communication by Elias during this time of upheaval" (THEATHLETIC.com, 9/21).
APATHETIC ATTENDANCE: In Baltimore, Peter Schmuck noted heading into yesterday's home finale against the Mariners, the Orioles were on pace to "draw about 1.3 million fans this season, which would represent a 17% year-over-year decline in attendance." Last year's "total of 1,564,192 was the lowest" since the '78 season at Memorial Stadium. While MLB teams "don't depend on gate and concession receipts nearly as heavily as they did before the explosion of television rights revenue, it's still important to give fans reason to show up." This year's Orioles' slogan was "Be Part of it All," but next season, "fans might need a little more encouragement than that" (BALTIMORE SUN, 9/22).
