I was listening to Allen and Nestor (and some callers, of course) yesterday arguing about why the Orioles are going to keep on sucking for all eternity.

What I would like to bring to the table is the factor that is not mentioned enough while discussing the ongoing failures of the Orioles and, especially, why McPhail’s policies might be different than in previous past:  Syd Thrift, Director of Baseball Operations.

Thrift was actually appointed in 1995, and was in charge of Player Development and Drafting for the Orioles.  After he finally got Pat Gillick out the door in 1998, he oversaw the franchise further descent into absolute suckitude.

Exhibit A is an article by Jonah Keri on ESPN.com, naming the 5 failed dynasties of the last 10 years.  A life long Montreal Expos fan, he certainly had first hand knowledge of baseball franchises that suck.   #1 – the Baltimore Orioles.  It was a light bulb moment for me as I had forgotten that Thrift had been there as long as he had.  Surprisingly, however, Thrift did not make Keri’s list of the 10 Worst General Managers ever! (Jim Beattie does get an Honorable Mention as Thrift’s nominal GM)

Exhibit B is a blog post from by Rick Maese in the Baltimore Sun from April 2, 2009.   I found this part especially interesting, especially since it was from pre-online days in 1995:

In that same day’s paper, Ken Rosenthal saw things differently. Here’s an excerpt from his column:

The banker hired the farm director. That’s what happened, and don’t anyone deny it. Joe Foss, Orioles vice-chairman of business and finance, just appointed himself minister of baseball.

You should have seen Foss at yesterday’s news conference, gazing at Syd Thrift as if he were Marilyn Monroe. No one in the front office wanted Thrift, but what do those silly baseball people know?

“It’s our intent to make major strides in improving our farm system,” Foss proclaimed, neglecting to mention that the system was progressing just fine under the evil Doug Melvin.

…The issue is not Thrift’s ability — he possesses one of the game’s sharpest minds. And it’s not his senior-citizen status, though the new front office motto should be, “Don’t trust anyone under 55.”

The issue is Thrift’s train-wreck personality. Club officials know his history. They fear he’ll be self-centered, egotistical, and potentially even a back-stabber.

Ouch.

Rosenthal’s column prompted a two-page press release the next day from Peter Angelos:

The recent selection of Syd Thrift as Director of Player Development has given rise to uninformed, unfounded, and, in my judgment, malevolent speculation on the part of certain members of the press as to Mr. Thrift’s role in the Orioles organization. To suggest that Mr. Thrift is going to usurp the role of the General Manager or Assistant General Manager is both irresponsible and juvenile.

…How can a responsible newspaper allow one of its so-called columnists, who is nothing more than a character assassin and name caller, to write such vitriolic nonsense, hiding behind unnamed ‘club officials’ for his cover.

…The brickbats thrown at [Foss] were absolutely misdirected and offensive in the extreme. Those particular comments represent the caterwaulings of an insolent twit whose journalistic fulminations vilify and randomly splatter written bile upon those with whom, in his distorted state of mind, he disagrees.

Finally, I also would like to pick out this quote out of the comments, which is another indication of Thrift’s ineptitude:

“Didn’t Syd Thrift once sing the praises of minor league prospect Gary Dell’Abate when asked his opinion on a radio call-in show? Of course, Gary wasn’t a pitcher he was Bababooey from the Howard Stern show.”

He sure did – it was on WBAL back in 1998 when he was telling everyone that Jayson Werth was going to be the next Johnny Bench.  He was kind of right in that Mr. Werth could hit a little bit, but I guess he didn’t have the courage of convictions seeing that we traded him for John Bale a year or so later.

Syd loved himself some John Bale, since he drafted him in the very first draft he was in charge back in 1995.  John didn’t come here, however, he decided to go back to college another year, just like Michael Young did in 1994. Yes, that Michael Young.

If you have some time, just peruse the names of players the Orioles drafted in Syd’s reign of error: 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998 [yes, it is THAT Cliff Lee, he went back to college too], 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002.  Maese took a look at just the pitchers in the aforementioned April, 2009, post, but I have to say, save the Brian Roberts, Erik Bedard, Willie Harris and Larry Bigbie 1999 class, it’s pretty sad.

And who can forget the infamous Luis Rivera, who Syd traded for despite everyone telling him that he already had a torn labrum.  The infamous 2000 “Fire Sale” trade which netted us Melvin Mora.

With apologies to the Thrift family as the man is very dead, besides Peter Angelos, look no further than Syd Thrift for laying the groundwork for the decade of losing of our Major League Baseball franchise.

In a next post, I will take a look at the above drafts and summarize it as best I can.