| Tom Morris. 23rd August, 2005 - 6:50 pm
 It may not be the easiest job to walk into: interim manager for a Major League Baseball team. Its title alone says, "Don't unpack your bags just yet", not even remotely a secure future for any man in a career already defined as less than certain. But according to sources cited by The Baltimore Sun today, Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos is pleased with the job done so far by Orioles interim skipper Sam Perlozzo, and is additionally leaning toward keeping him on in a full-time basis for the 2006 season.
Perlozzo --who apparently was a favorite choice of Angelos' for the job that eventually went to Lee Mazzilli before the start of last season-- has guided the Orioles to a 9 - 7 record since the firing of Mazzilli. Despite losing their last three in a sweep in Cleveland, it is a vast improvement over the 2 - 16 crash-dive Baltimore had gone through directly before Perlozzo stepped in as replacement, and it does not hurt that he has supporters in both the front office as well as the team clubhouse.
Some cite the man's upbeat, engaging demeanor as a cause for the marked turnaround on the team:
"We're relaxed with him," catcher Javy Lopez said. "He knows how to lift the team up. Because he wasn't the skipper before, he couldn't do anything about it. Now that he's the skip, he has all the opportunities to bring everything he knows to our team. He brings motivation, which we need."
Others were more political:
"I think everybody here is happy for him," said outfielder B.J. Surhoff. "It's unfortunate circumstances, but that's the nature of the business. You only get a job here if a guy retires or is fired."
Regardless of the quotes, and despite most of the players having good things to say about Lee Mazzilli, there is widespread respect and approval of Perlozzo, a Baltimore native who has spent ten years as a member of the Orioles coaching staff. There are some close to the ballclub who apparently say the fact that Mazzilli was from --of all places-- the New York Yankees before arriving did not bode well for the man and his ability to keep his job through his team's poor play.
For what it is worth, Perlozzo himself is enjoying the new responsibilities, despite having to right a capsizing ship that had lost both the AL East lead as well as a shot at the playoffs, was finding rare victories, and had most recently been tarnished by the crippling Rafael Palmeiro steroids controversy. It is said Perlozzo has an energizing approach to his players, chatting with them loosely, staying involved in their work and their lives. And it does not hurt that he and his wife Beth are a constant presence in charitable works within the Baltimore community as a whole, taking a large part, for instance, in helping and promoting the annual local food drive.
Perlozzo feels he has adjusted to his new responsibilities as manager, a major step up from the backseat role on the coaching staff:
"My pre-game preparation is beginning to become more of a routine," he said. "It's a lot more time-consuming than being a coach, but that's to be expected. We're just jumping into this thing. When you play teams the second time around, you're a little more familiar with what you want to do. It's been good."
These are all positive signs for the new manager of a ballclub still very insistent on salvaging something from this fairly disappointing season. And an alleged endorsement from the team's owner is said to have some kind of influence too, so I hear. But glowing reports notwithstanding, the attitude toward both the team and he who manages it is best summed up by the Orioles' ability to consistently win games, something that looked to have returned folowing several losing seasons. The ever-true practical philosophy was summed up nicely by Brian Roberts:
"We all know Sammy, and we all know he's a very positive guy," the second baseman said. "Maz was positive, too. But I've always said a manager can only do so much. It's our job to get it done on the field."
Indeed. People can talk all they want about the intangible --and often irreplaceable-- quality of being a manager able to foster positivity and support within his clubhouse. Yet anyone in baseball, or even casually observing the sport, must know that a bottom line exists. It may not make itself known quite as fast as it does in the historically fickle New York Yankees organization, but it looms nonetheless. And Sam Perlozzo has to continue to do what he can to keep this team at a respectable level of play for this next five weeks or so. If he does, and however he does it, there is no reason to believe he will not be back at the helm when the Baltimore Orioles start out in the Grapefruit League next year. |
