Baffled in Baltimore: The Dan Duquette Saga

It started before the Winter Meetings and now keeps coming back up over and over again, like a dish of bad Mexican food. In early December it was announced that the Blue Jays wanted Dan Duquette to be their new team president – despite Duquette being under contract with the Orioles. It’s not uncommon for teams to make a request for an interview, but somehow this became public quickly and threatened to derail the Orioles offseason. To date, Peter Angelos has been the only one sticking to a concrete stance – Duquette is under contract and isn’t going anywhere. Duquette has done nothing to calm things or throw water on the fire, suggesting he may be trying to force his way out of a team he has led to two playoff appearances in the past 3 years, most recently a 96-win season that saw the Birds finish at the top of the AL East. So what are we to make of all this?

Let’s take a look at the key participants in this debacle and the role they’ve played.

Peter Angelos

For once O's fans can't blame ol' Pete
for Orioles' front office turmoil.

The consummate bad guy. Easy to hate and blame for anything and everything that goes wrong with this team. So far, he has dug in his heels and refused to let Duquette leave his post as Orioles General Manager – and shockingly has drawn criticism for it. Regardless of your views on ol’ Pete, he’s not in the wrong here. Yes, it is common practice for teams to allow their executives to leave for positions with other clubs that would be deemed a promotion, but it’s not a rule. Angelos is not the first owner

to deny his employee the ability to leave his contract, and he won’t be the least. Angelos isn’t even the only GM in this very case to deny his employee: Jerry Reinsdorf of the White Sox forbade Kenny Williams from interviewing with Toronto for the same position, but no one is on his case.

Duquette did amazing things his first two years as Orioles GM and was rewarded by Angelos for his with a 4-year extension, so it’s understandable he’s not rushing to let Duquette out of that same contract a year later. And I’m sure the fact that things became so public has not helped soften him on the idea.

Dan Duquette

Duquette’s behaviour in all this has been curious. He’s said nothing to quell the rumours and put out the fires, which would suggest he’s okay letting this circus play out so he can leave town. It’s possible Duquette has been working with the Blue Jays to try and force Angelos’s hand, but there’s nothing to prove that. At very least though, he’s allowing that perception to be created; a perception that he is trying to force his way out of town and undermine his current employer in the process. His reputation is taking a huge hit and he doesn’t seem to care. I understand his style of keeping information close to the vest, but this is one instance where he should have spoken up.

Duquette is still with the Orioles in body. Is his heart here too?

I’m incredibly disappointed in Duquette’s handling of this situation. I totally understand wanting a promotion, but it’s not a given (or a rule) that employers have to oblige. So if Angelos says no, you leave it at that and do your job. But it’s become very clear this debacle has affected the Orioles offseason

as they’ve let some prime outfield options waltz off the market at very reasonable terms and prices. All Dan had to say was that he’d expressed interest in the position, but now his focus was 100% with the Orioles and building for 2015. But he could not even do that with any kind of authority.

MLB

Many rumours have circulated that the Blue Jays were working with MLB to get this deal done. While I don’t doubt MLB wants to see it happen because it’s a promotion for Duquette, Jon Morosi reported today that MLB views this as an issue between clubs and is unlikely to get involved. Nor should they.

Toronto Blue Jays

In my mind, Rogers Communications, the owners of the Toronto Blue Jays, are the real culprits here. They began trying to poach other team’s executives (yes, I use the word poach because that’s what it amounts to) a week before the winter meetings. Kenny Williams and Dan Duquette were apparently approached by the Blue Jays, who leaked this information to the media to put pressure on Reinsdorf and Angelos. For some reason Reinsdorf has slid off into the background but Angelos still remains on the fire, but I digress. And not to mention all of this occurred without the knowledge of Paul Beeston. Who’s Paul Beeston, you may ask? That would be the Blue Jays president, signed through 2015. Yes, that’s right – Rogers tried to fill a position that was already filled, without informing the man who was currently filling it.

I’m sure there are many facts we don’t have in all this, but from what we do know so far, the Blue Jays have been very unethical in all this and may even be guilty of tampering. They approached GMs employed by other teams and leaked it to the media to put pressure on those GMs’ respective owners. Then when that didn’t work, they went to MLB like a kid tattling on a playground, hoping the teacher will take their side against the mean, unfair bully who, in actuality, is not the bully at all. The Blue Jays are the bullies here.

Solution

I don’t see any way to repair this situation and I think Angelos knows that as well. Even if Duquette came out now with a strong pro-Oriole statement, no one would buy it. The Blue Jays have gotten the result they were after all along, which was to create tension and havoc to the point where they’d ultimately have to be given their way.

If I’m Angelos, I’m putting an offer on the table for the Blue Jays that heavily rewards the Orioles. “I will let you have Duquette for XX – take it or leave it.” Make it public and put it in Toronto’s court. Then take what you get, send DD packing and get a replacement in pronto to start taking care of business in preparation for the upcoming season.

According to recent articles in the Baltimore Sun, there are some solid (though not spectacular) candidates lined up, including Omar Minaya, Ned Colletti and Kevin Towers. It’s also possible that Buck Showalter and Brady Anderson would jointly fill the role. Either way, it’s important for Angelos to step up and alleviate this uncomfortable situation and return some stability to the front office as soon as possible. It’s not his fault this situation is where it is, but he has the power to end it quickly for the sake of his franchise and its fans, and possible earn himself some goodwill in the process.

Send Duquette to Toronto and let him have a front row seat as the monster he created in Baltimore destroys his new team and continues to reap their recent success.

The Orioles will be just fine, everyone. Just fine.

--Christopher Mills, @cjmills82

Every Rose has its thorn

4,256. The Major League record for hits in a career. And the number of reasons why Pete Rose should be in the Hall of Fame.

For those who don’t know, Pete Rose received a lifetime ban from Commissioner Bart Giamatti in 1989 after he was found guilty of betting on the team he managed, the Cincinnati Reds. Gambling is forbidden in baseball, and pretty much all professional sports, for obvious reasons. Those within the game cannot bet on the game as it creates a conflict of interest and opens the door to the possibility – real or perceived – that games are fixed.

Nicknamed Charlie Hustle for his
intense and hard-nosed style of play,
many feel images like this is are
how Rose should be remembered.

Because of Rose’s lifetime ban, he has been denied eligibility for enshrinement in the Hall of Fame, an honour he definitely deserves. The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown has adopted the policy that they will not allow anyone to be elected if they have been banned by Major League Baseball. In other words, the Hall of Fame is keeping Pete Rose out of the Hall of Fame, not Major League Baseball. However, until MLB lifts their ban on Rose, the Hall will uphold his sentence.

So why now, after 25 years, is there more debate than ever over Rose’s candidacy? Let’s examine a few key reasons.

The Steroid Era

The steroid era has muddied the waters in terms of public opinion on players’ transgressions. Opinions of fans, media and the general public on the use of PEDs range from apathy, to feeling players should be punished for a mistake but still given another chance, to calls for lifetime bans for those who are viewed as cheating the game and fellow competitors.

The bottom line is baseball turned a blind eye to PED use for years because it helped the “state of the game”, and only acted upon it when they could ignore it no longer. This is one of Rose’s biggest arguments in his defense and I would tend to agree with him. In Keith Olbermann’s recent special, Pete Rose: 25 Years in Exile, Rose posed the question of which was worse – gambling or PED use. And then wondered why PED users are given three chances (or more), yet he is serving a lifetime ban.

Rose no longer denies his guilt (he did for years) and he acknowledges the severity of his offense, but it’s hard for anyone to argue Rose wasn’t made an example of. He is the poster child for what happens to those who bet on the game. If that’s the case, fine, but at least be consistent. Gambling hurts the image of the game, but PED use not only hurts the image of the game, it also affects the on-field product. It inflates numbers and hurts hard-working, clean competitors who are fighting as hard as they can to keep a job by doing things the right way. If PED users are going to get three strikes, why is gambling deemed a so much more vile offense that it immediately generates a lifetime ban? Whether you like Rose or not, it’s a very fair question and one that should be addressed by Major League Baseball.

Time

25 years is a long time for things to marinate and public opinion to change. For the most part, Rose is a likeable guy. He still lives and breathes baseball, he’s constantly interacting with fans, and he’s someone people can relate to. Rose is someone most of us could picture being the guy next door or coaching our son’s little league team. 

There are also many young fans now who know why Rose was banned, but they weren’t old enough at the time to grasp what was happening. They see the history books now and they look at Rose’s numbers and contributions to the game as a player and wonder how in the world MLB can justify keeping him out of the Hall of Fame when so many other men of more questionable behavior and character are enshrined. Ty Cobb is often brought up and with good reason – he’s an inductee and recognized as one of the greatest hitters ever, but one must dig deeper if they want to uncover his various atrocities. A list which, by the way, includes many more glaring crimes than anything Rose ever did, including various assaults and manslaughter.

How can MLB justify allowing men like Ryan Braun and Alex Rodriguez to continue suiting up and taking the field when the all-time hits leader sits at home, refused access to the game in any way, shape or form? Alex Rodriguez is an admitted PED user currently serving a one-year suspension for various offenses. Ryan Braun tested positive for a banned substance, got off on a technicality, proceeded to publicly destroy the reputation of the man who handled his urine sample, then was later found guilty of PED use and served a 65 game suspension. Are you telling me Rose hurt the game’s image more than those two?

New Commissioner

In Bud Selig’s tenure as MLB commissioner, he has refused to reinstate Pete Rose. He’s not a big fan of Pete Rose, but also does not want to undo a ruling set forth by one of his predecessors. With Selig now retiring and Rob Manfred taking his place, there is a glimmer of hope that a new commissioner might right a 25-year-old wrong and allow Pete Rose his rightful place in the game’s history.

Pete Rose

Pete Rose has never shied away from the public eye and is constantly making his case for reinstatement. It’s very clear he loves the game and, as he put it in his interview, even under banishment he is still one of the greatest ambassadors the game has. He constantly talks baseball, continually interacts with fans at card shows and autograph signings, and flat out loves the game. Is there really a downside to having a man like that working with young players? What better man to work with young hitters than the man who racked up more hits than any other player in major league history?

Rose spends his days signing autographs, interacting with fans
and talking about the game he loves.

As Olbermann stated in his thoughts on Rose during 25 Years in Exile, Major League Baseball has already benefited from Rose when it made sense to do so. He referenced the 1999 appearance of the All-Century Team at the All-Star Game in Boston. Mastercard sponsored the event and wanted Rose present, so in order to make their sponsorship money, MLB agreed. Now, there is already talk of MLB relenting and allowing Rose to be apart of festivities at next year's All-Star game in Cincinnati, in order to appease fans and sponsors. 


"The hypocrisy about Pete Rose, baseball's hypocrisy, Bud Selig's hypocrisy is subtle but still shameful," Olbermann said. "Pete Rose's lifetime ban can be and has been turned on and off like a light switch. Just remember to bring enough cash."

I’m not defending what Rose did. Betting on the game is wrong if you’re a player, manager or executive. MLB cannot and should not risk the perception that its games are fixed in any way. But 25 years is a long enough sentence, especially given the sentences being handed down for various offenses in the game today, and the fact that MLB profits from his presence when it needs to.

All MLB has to do is reinstate Rose on a zero tolerance policy. Set conditions, such as he not be involved in any kind of gambling, period, and that he give speeches at high schools and colleges about the importance of preserving the integrity of the game. And then let him use his expertise to mold some of the game’s young prospects into the smart and prolific hitter he once was. There’s virtually no downside to giving him one last shot.

You’re missing a golden opportunity MLB. Enough is enough. It’s time to reinstate Peter Edward Rose.