Soccer Dad

Passive aggressive negotiating tactics

The other night I was listening to the Orioles//Blue Jays game when the Blue Jays brought in BJ Ryan to close out the game. The Baltimore crowd started booing the pitcher as the announcer suggested because Ryan betrayed (I think that was his word) the Orioles.

Something similar probably happened when Johnny Damon showed up back in Boston after spurning the Red Sox for the hated rival Yankees. But as Ken Rosenthal notes, Boston fans have no reason to despise Damon

Damon, 32, left the Red Sox exactly as he joined them: as a free agent.

It wasn't betrayal; it was business.

If memory serves correct, few in New England felt sorry for the A's when Damon bolted them for a four-year, $32 million contract with the Red Sox after the 2001 season. Probably even fewer felt sorry for the Royals when they traded Damon to the A's the year before, knowing they could not sign him to a contract extension.

And though the Orioles traded for BJ Ryan, there's no reason to boo him. No it's Orioles management that's at fault for the departure of the pitcher. Dan Connolly writes in the Baltimore Sun Because this is the way the Orioles often operate.

Each winter we hear it from agents and other teams: "The Orioles were interested, but they didn't get back to us." Or, "They just weren't as aggressive as the others." Or the real killer, "They are very difficult to deal with." As an outstanding attorney, Angelos has made a career of being cautious and deliberate. No one ever forces his hand. It's not a bad business strategy, either. But there comes a time when you should move swiftly so you don't alienate others.

A great example of what not to do sat in the opposing dugout last night.

Ryan set a negotiating deadline for the end of spring training last year, the sides exchanged initial figures that were less than $5 million apart and then the Orioles never countered again. Instead of paying $15 million in March, he left for $47 million in November

The Orioles lost Mussina because they waited for him. The Yankees instead made him a generous offer on the condition that he didn't try to match it. The Orioles have come accross as passive aggressive negotiators.

This article would suggest that the fault with the Orioles doesn't necessarily lie with the general managers as much as it lies with the boss who ties their hands by inaction.

Now we have to ask, did the O's fail to land Phil Nevin last year because of this? Did they fail to land Vladimir Guerrero because of similar malfeasance? (At the time it was said that the Angels were more attractive to Guerrero because of the Hispanic community in Anaheim. But maybe that was just an excuse.)

It's looking more and more that we O's fans have little to look forward to as long as Peter Angelos owns the team. When he bought the team he had a tremendous amount of goodwill because he was the local guy. But local guy doesn't automatically mean good owner. Since 1997 this franchise has been pathetic and we have little to look forward to at this point.

I wonder if Maryland taxpayers who funded the stadium and added value to the franchise Angelos owns could qualify as a class. There would be some poetic justice in seeing a class action suit filed against Angelos for his mismanagement of our team.

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