An Interview with Orioles VP Mike Flanagan

At 8:30 a.m. on Friday March 24, the phone rang in my office, as previously arranged, and I had the privilege of talking baseball for 40 minutes with Mike Flanagan, Executive Vice President, Baseball Operations of the Baltimore Orioles.

We began our discussion with the usual pleasantries and I congratulated him on his new responsibilities with the club. Throughout last year I had been hoping that the club would promote Mike to the lead operations position, and I told him that I had been “rooting for him” in that regard. I also shared that one of my own frustrations with the previous “dual GM” arrangement had been the perception of indecision and congratulated him on the perceived increase in decisiveness since he took over the helm. He was grateful for the comments.

We discussed the many changes in personnel since he assumed his new responsibilities. He was careful not to make comparisons between Jim Beattie and Jim Duquette, but simply stated that the addition of Duquette has brought “a lot of energy to the front office.” He explained that Duquette is well connected, well respected and has lots of very valuable experience.

We did not get into the controversial aspects of the departure of Dave Ritterpusch, but I did ask him if the organization had changed its use of the evaluation tools that are associated with Ritterpusch’s contributions to the Orioles. Mike said that those tools are still being used in much the same way as before, but that the new personnel who have come in have also brought evaluation tools with them from their previous experience. These new ideas from outside the organization are being incorporated into the overall evaluation strategies used by the Orioles.

Mike explained that they really have focused on re-energizing the minors at both the personnel and player levels. The front office is unified in the belief that this is the most effective way to build a ball club with a sustained winning legacy. Additionally, he noted that there are 27 players in the major league camp this year who were not there last year.

Most of the mainstream press focuses on Angelos, Flanagan and Duquette, but the Orioles also added people like Scott Proefrock to the front office. For my own curiosity, I asked Mike what specific role Scott plays. Mike said that Scott focuses mostly on contract negotiation, arbitration issues, scouting review and keeping a constant eye on the waiver wire. This last function is especially important at this time of the year as other clubs deal with paring down their rosters, dealing with problems finding slots for talented players who are out of options etc. Though Mike explained that they are always in conversation with someone about trade possibilities that could improve the Orioles, he said that there was “nothing earth shattering going on right now.” Most of their effort right now is focused on the waiver wire in the hopes of finding a useful player who can help the Orioles immediately.

We shifted our conversation to the major league camp and talked about roster make up as we approach the last days of spring training. I acknowledged that I understood that he wasn’t going to tell me who has made the club and who hasn’t. Indeed, he said more than once that the final choices have not yet been made. “We’re going to use all the spring games to make those decisions – that’s what spring training is for.” But I did ask if he thought there would be any surprises on the 25-man roster and he acknowledged that this was certainly a possibility. During this vein of our conversation, Mike brought up the outstanding spring performances of both Nick Markakis and Sendy Rleal.

Given the high praise for Hayden Penn earlier in camp, and the discussion about perhaps using him out of the bullpen, some members of the Belfry community wondered if he might be an example of breaking in a major league starter out of the pen, in much the same way as McGregor, Martinez, Garland and even Flanagan himself had been in bygone days. Mike was quick to point out that just because Penn has now been assigned to Ottawa does not necessarily preclude the above scenario from unfolding. The decision was made primarily because Penn is young (21) and they felt he needed innings to improve. Mike also said that because he’s always been a starter the jury was still out as to how Penn would handle pitching more frequently and whether his arm would recover quickly enough to effectively fill that role. Additionally, Mike said “we see Hayden as our 6^th starter in the event anything happens in our rotation.” He explained that if he were working out of the major league bullpen, he wouldn’t be immediately “stretched out enough” to come in and fill that 6^th starter role.

Cory Morris is another minor league starter who has had fine success this spring. I asked Mike if the same criteria might apply to Morris as we had just discussed about Penn. Mike felt the two situations were different for two reasons. First, Morris is older (26) and has more minor league innings and years under his belt. And second, even though Morris has also always been a starter throughout his career, Mike felt that he had responded especially well to the short, more frequent work he has received this spring.

When I asked specifically about Nick Markakis as both a person and as a player, Mike was quick to speak highly of him in both regards. He said that Nick was noticeably “more mature this spring, and focused” that “he has handled every situation extremely well,” and that “he has had good at bats all spring.” But the most revealing comment, I felt, was that Mike referred to him as “a man.” I also asked if it was possible that Markakis could make the 25-man roster, but not be a starter. There was a short pause before Mike answered, and then he said, “we’ll take the best 25 players north.”

As we wrapped up this portion of our talk, Mike said “none of these players (referring to Markakis, Rleal and Morris) have done anything not to be on this team.”

Mike and I talked about Cory Patterson and his obvious physical skills. Mike explained that he felt Patterson has had a good camp. He has been working hard with Terry Crowley to correct “some habits in his swing.” And Mike felt that he has worked hard, played good defense, run well and had lots of good at bats. They see progress in his development. I also asked specifically if Patterson has minor league options left, and Mike said that he does.

Another of the Orioles major off-season acquisitions has been Kris Benson, to fill a top spot in the major league rotation. Mike and I discussed Benson’s struggles on the mound so far this spring. Mike felt that mostly this was the result of a veteran pitcher working on new things and knowing what it takes to pace himself to be ready for the regular season. He didn’t seem at all concerned that Benson would be ready to answer the bell come April. I noted the leadership of Benson in getting together with the other starting pitchers for outings like the recent fishing trip. I asked if Benson had been taking these initiatives on his own, or if he had been encouraged by management to do so. Mike said that Kris has been doing this on his own, and that he felt the bonding and camaraderie shown amongst the starters was flowing out of Mazzone’s emphasis on the starting pitchers taking responsibility for the whole game, not just the innings they pitch. This means that not only do they need to focus on pitching well, but on going deep into the game and on turning the game over to the pen (should that be necessary) in good shape for the O’s to win.

I suppose no discussion of Kris Benson would be complete without mentioning Anna. Mike said they haven’t seen much of Anna, and that their “focus was obviously on Kris.”

As we talked about Leo Mazzone, I asked Mike about any differences between Mazzone’s philosophies and those of Ray Miller and Mike’s own philosophies when he was a pitching coach. Mike said that he “likes everything about Mazzone’s approach” and that all three of them (Miller, Flanagan and Mazzone) have similar approaches. I described the approach as “old-school” with the focus on responsibility, throwing more often and pitching deep, and Mike agreed that this is exactly what it is.

Mike and I talked about the SABR research that shows that Mazzone has a track record of improving a pitcher’s ERA by more than half a run. I pondered about the fact that Miller was already a fine coach and wondered if the effect of Mazzone might actually be less by comparison. Mike said that they really believe that Mazzone will continue to improve the O’s staff at much the same level because of his skill/track record and the relative inexperience of the current staff. He was also quick to point out that Ramon Hernandez has a similar track record for improving the staffs that he catches and that if both Mazzone and Hernandez can continue this effect, the Orioles will have something “really special.”

Since we’d been talking about Ray Miller, I asked Mike if he has had recent contact with him. Mike said that he and Ray spoke “a week or so ago, and had good long baseball talk.” Mike said that Ray is still recovering from his aortic aneurism surgery, but that he’s doing well. I asked if they discussed the possibility of Ray getting back to coaching in general or back to the Orioles as a roving instructor or in some other capacity. Mike said it’s still too early to discuss that. I expressed my own fondness and best wishes for Ray and told Mike that many of the fans at BITB share that sentiment. Mike said he’d pass-on our best wishes to Ray in his next conversation.

Another hot topic in recent weeks has been the contract negotiations of Melvin Mora. As I assumed, Mike couldn’t comment specifically about the negotiations and wouldn’t characterize the hurdles in the negotiations as being mostly about years or dollars. He simply said that the negotiations are “on-going,” and that the hurdles they’re experiencing are “the nature of contract negotiation.”

There has been a fair amount of discussion about Javy Lopez and exactly how he might be used defensively. Mike explained that the most important aspect of Javy’s playing time is that they keep his bat in the lineup everyday. Mike clearly indicated that Javy will be moving around, getting at-bats from first base, catcher and DH. Mike’s comments revealed that he’ll be used behind the plate in a greater capacity than just as an emergency catcher.

The second half of last year was a clubhouse chemistry disaster by most accounts. I asked Mike how he felt about “Chemistry 2006.” Mike said, “so far so good.” He specifically mentioned that in addition to the usual suspects (Tejada, Millar and Conine) that Ramon Hernandez has really taken a positive leadership roll in the clubhouse.

Our discussion turned toward the minor league camp when I told Mike of the brutal drive I took a couple of weeks ago across the state of Florida to Twin Lakes near Sarasota. (Long, narrow, winding roads with poor signage and starting & stopping at every little town. Ugh!) It took forever. Though I was sure I knew the answer already, I again asked about the possibility of getting the Major and Minor league spring camps together. Mike said there is still a hope to do that, but that there is no specific plan to do so at this time. He did say that the lease in Fort Lauderdale is year-to-year, which gives them the flexibility to do something if the opportunity comes together. He skillfully turned the focus away from spring and said that they’re really happy with their regular season relationships with Fredrick, Bowie and the like. We didn’t have time to specifically discuss the situation with Ottawa, and their possible move, but I got the impression that this relationship will be more favorable soon.

We talked a little about some of the pitchers in the minor league camp, first about Brandon Erbe. Mike described him as “a good young arm.” Mike said its hard for him or Duquette to get over to Sarasota often during the spring and that they typically only do so about twice. But he said that they talk with the minor league director and coaches nearly everyday. Mike wouldn’t comment about where some of the stars of the system might start the season, saying that it’s just too early in minor league camp to make those determinations.

We talked about the draft position of players and how this does or does not effect how the organization sees these players and their timely ability to move up the organizational ladder. I sited Sendy Rleal and Eddy Rodriguez as examples of guys who weren’t high draft picks but who have pitched effectively throughout the minors. Mike said that they hope that they are able to judge a player on his talents and performance, but said that sometimes considering draft position is inevitable. The obvious example he sited was that of Adam Loewen. Since he signed a Major League contract, his promotional schedule is very much tied to his draft/contract status.

I asked Mike about the 2006 First Year Players draft in general and how the Orioles might approach it specifically. He felt that this year’s draft is not as deep as last year’s. That will make it more challenging for the Orioles to identify and sign good value for the organization. Mike said that they’ll take “the best available player” in the draft rather than trying to profile players. He felt that profiling players (such as looking for a catcher or a college pitcher etc.) often leads to picking a player higher than would otherwise be necessary. The result, of course is that you over pay for the player and leave a more talented player who doesn’t fit the profile on the table.

We wrapped up our minor league discussion by talking about how the so-called “Mazzone Effect” would impact the minor league teams. Would they implement these philosophies throughout, or would each minor league pitching coach do their own thing? Mike said that the increased throwing programs are being used throughout the minors already and that the other philosophies are being passed down. Recently all the minor league pitching coaches were in the major league camp and they were “all huddled around Mazzone.” His reputation and track record make others hungry to learn from him.

Before transitioning to a more personal set of inquiries, I asked Mike, “if you could shore up only one aspect of the team before opening day, would it be offense, defense, starting pitching or relief pitching?” “Offensive efficiency,” was his answer. Converting base runners into actual runs-on-the-board is his focus as he looks to tweak the team before opening day.

There certainly was too much tragedy and loss of life in the Oriole family last year. With the recent passing of Elrod Hendricks, I asked what the organization might be doing to honor his life and legacy with the Orioles. Mike didn’t know about the specific plans (obviously this doesn’t fall under his responsibility) but said that in general he knew that the Orioles were planning something that would be “first-class.”

We talked on a personal level about Mike’s relationship with Elrod. He reminisced about Elrod catching Mike’s first game in the big leagues and warmed him up before he pitched in the last game at Memorial Stadium. Mike had the highest and warmest regard for Elrod and said, that he “is missed everyday.”

We also talked about how Chuck Thompson’s family is doing with their loss and Mike mentioned the passing of Jerry Wachter (long time Orioles photographer whom all of us Fantasy Campers knew well) and Pat Kelly, former Orioles outfielder from the teams of the late 70s. I related to Mike that I had spent a fair amount of time talking to Pat during fantasy camp 2005 and had even mentioned him, and our mutual faith, on the back of my fantasy camp baseball card. Unfortunately Pat passed away before I even got a chance to send the card out to friends and family in our Thanksgiving letter. It was clear to me that Mike considered all of these people “family,” and felt their loss deeply.

By about ten minutes after nine I had exhausted my little list of questions. I was feeling that Mike certainly could use his time better by focusing on improving the team to compete in the A.L. East – rather than talking to li’l-ole-me. :-) So, I thanked Mike for his generous availability for the discussion and his consistent willingness to answer questions for the Belfry. Mike was his usual affable self as we bid each other the best of life for the coming season. Thanks Mike.