Orioles denied permission to interview Jennings (updated)

Orioles denied permission to interview Jennings (updated)
According to an industry source, the Marlins have denied the Orioles permission to interview assistant general manager Dan Jennings for the position of president of baseball operations. Jennings, who is currently in Arizona scouting the fall league, has a contract that runs through 2015. The Marlins have denied teams permission to interview Jennings on three other occasions. The Orioles are interviewing Diamondbacks senior vice president of scouting and player development Jerry Dipoto today...

This, that and the 40-man roster

This, that and the 40-man roster
I'm 51-34 picking NFL games against the spread this season. Is that good? Double-A Bowie first baseman Joe Mahoney, playing in his second Arizona Fall League game yesterday, went 3-for-5 with two doubles, a home run, three RBIs and two runs scored for the Mesa Solar Sox. He's hitting .600 with seven RBIs in two games. And his error total held at four. Xavier Avery, starting in center field, went 0-for-2 with two walks, a run scored and his first error. He's batting .077. FOXSports.com's...

Dipoto will be interviewed Tuesday (LaCava update)

Dipoto will be interviewed Tuesday (LaCava update)
The Orioles will interview Arizona Diamondbacks senior vice president of scouting and player development Jerry Dipoto tomorrow for the position of general manager, according to an industry source. Dipoto will be the first candidate interviewed. Toronto Blue Jays assistant general manager Tony LaCava is scheduled to be interviewed later this week. You can read more about Dipoto right here, courtesy of mlbtraderumors.com. Update: LaCava will be interviewed on Wednesday. That's two.

Accardo becomes free agent

Accardo becomes free agent
In case you were wondering or thought I forgot, reliever Jeremy Accardo refused his outright assignment to Triple-A Norfolk last week and elected to become a free agent. Add him to your list of available relievers. Accardo went 3-3 with a 5.73 ERA in 31 appearances with the Orioles. He allowed 43 hits, walked 18 and hit a batter in 37 2/3 innings. His WHIP was 1.619. Yes, that's too many baserunners. Accardo was 1-1 with a 2.16 ERA in 26 games at Norfolk. The Orioles also outrighted...

This and that

This and that
Jeff Passan, the lead baseball columnist for Yahoo! Sports, tweeted the following last night: Brewers gave up Brett Lawrie and four prospects for Shaun Marcum and Zack Greinke. Their playoff stats: 26.1 IP, 9.57 ERA, 1.86 WHIP, 7 HR. Ouch. Lawrie will be a star with the Blue Jays. Marcum will be remembered as something else, and it won't be Mr. October. I was reminded last night that you can't spell M-I-L-W-A-U-K-E-E without two Es. Jerry Hairston Jr. has carved out a nice career as a...

Is there a spot for Bordick on the coaching staff?

Is there a spot for Bordick on the coaching staff?
Double-A Bowie first baseman Joe Mahoney made his Arizona Fall League debut yesterday and went 3-for-5 with four RBIs. He also committed four errors. Now that his oblique strain is gone, he needs to get rid of the stiffness in his mitt. But at least he's playing again. Maryland's football team squandered an 18-point third quarter lead last night against Clemson, and Kevin Gregg was charged with a blown save. I'm not sure how that's possible. I failed to wish Jim Palmer a happy 66th...

Leftovers for breakfast

Leftovers for breakfast
My current issue of ESPN The Magazine has a naked Hope Solo on the cover. A naked goalie? I'm going to save this issue. (See what I did there?) I wanted to give you some reading material before I head over to Hunt Valley for the latest airing of "Wall to Wall Baseball" from 11 a.m. to noon on MASN. I wrote an entry yesterday detailing Jeremy Guthrie's inclusion on the major league team that will travel to Taiwan next month. He's known about it since August, but his placement on the...

Randolph won't return in 2012

Randolph won't return in 2012
I've been dropping strong hints that Willie Randolph wouldn't return to the coaching staff in 2012. I received further confirmation earlier this afternoon. It appears that manager Buck Showalter will need to fill two vacancies. I heard recently that Randolph was exploring other opportunities. Naturally, he'd prefer to manage. The Orioles hired Randolph to serve as bench coach, but he swapped places with third base coach John Russell. We were told that Russell's sore knee made it...

Orioles to interview LaCava, contacted Marlins about Jennings (updated)

Orioles to interview LaCava, contacted Marlins about Jennings (updated)
The Orioles have received permission from the Toronto Blue Jays to interview Tony LaCava for the position of general manager. Also, they've requested permission from the Florida Marlins to interview Dan Jennings. However, Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria is in Europe, so that decision is on hold. The interviews with LaCava and Diamondbacks executive Jerry Dipoto might not take place before Monday. As I wrote earlier, manager Buck Showalter is tentatively scheduled to fly back to Texas late...

Guthrie part of MLB traveling team headed to Taiwan

Guthrie part of MLB traveling team headed to Taiwan
Orioles right-hander Jeremy Guthrie is listed among Major League Baseball's All-Stars who will travel to Taiwan next month to play the Chinese Taipei national team in the 2011 Taiwan All-Star Series. MLB released the current roster, which is incomplete. Only six pitchers are listed. More names will be added later. The Taiwan All-Star Series will consist of five games played between Nov. 1-6 in three different cities - New Taipei City (XinZhuang Stadium) on Nov. 1, Taichung (Intercontinental...

The fluid list

The fluid list
I've decided that "fluid" is my favorite term to describe the Orioles' list of general manager candidates. If only I knew how to describe the job itself. General manager. President of baseball operations. Whatever. It's the same responsibilities previously bestowed upon Andy MacPhail. The list keeps changing, depending on who you follow on Twitter. In fairness, it's going to take on different looks, no matter who's passing it along, because candidates were added and removed during this...

Dipoto expected to be interviewed this weekend

Dipoto expected to be interviewed this weekend
The Orioles received permission to interview Jerry Dipoto, the Diamondbacks' senior vice president of scouting and player development, for the position of president of baseball operations. The meeting is expected to take place this weekend. You can read more about Dipoto in this report from mlbtraderumors. Dipoto is the only confirmed candidate that the Orioles have contacted today. However, it appears that they're still hoping to sit down with Tony LaCava (Blue Jays), Dan Jennings...

Graham a leading candidate for farm director

Graham a leading candidate for farm director
If the Orioles decide to replace John Stockstill as director of player development, the top in-house candidate appears to be former coach Brian Graham, the coordinator of minor league instruction. We've been told that the final decision will be made by the new president of baseball operations. The Orioles are trying to make these hires and announcements in their proper order. But multiple sources in the industry have confirmed that Graham is a leading contender for the job and would be highly...

Adair's role to be determined

Adair's role to be determined
Manager Buck Showalter will likely remain in Baltimore through the weekend while trying to speed up the process of interviewing candidates for general manager/president of baseball operations and making a hire. This thing can't drag out much longer. Showalter wants the coaching staff to become more settled by the weekend. We might not learn every name, but we could find out if anyone is leaving. The Orioles need a bullpen coach after Rick Adair replaced Mark Connor as pitching coach on June...

Byrnes off Orioles' GM list

Byrnes off Orioles' GM list
The Orioles are expected to begin contacting teams tomorrow to receive permission to interview candidates for general manager/president of baseball operations. I'm not sure which title will be used, so I'm playing it safe. The list is a moving target, to use one of manager Buck Showalter's favorite expressions. Thad Levine (Rangers), Tony LaCava (Blue Jays), Dan Jennings (Marlins) and J.P. Ricciardi (Mets) remain on it, though Ricciardi is an unlikely hire. I'd place him at the...

More movement in Orioles organization

More movement in Orioles organization
Like many others, I've been anticipating heavy turnover in the Orioles' organization, and it's been unfolding over the past few days. Andy MacPhail no longer will serve as president of baseball operations, news that became official late Friday night. As I tweeted earlier this morning, scouting director Joe Jordan has been hired as the Phillies' director of player development. (Check out this report from MASNsports.com's Steve Melewski.) The Orioles have lost two amateur scouts. Keith...

What's next in the GM search?

What's next in the GM search?
So when does the offseason begin? I'm talking about mine. Here's hoping that the Orioles don't drag out the interviewing and hiring process. Here's hoping we'll learn the identity of Andy MacPhail's replacement before next month's general managers meetings. The empty chair would be embarrassing. Owner Peter Angelos is supposed to meet today with manager Buck Showalter, who's racking up some serious frequent flyer miles. Or maybe he's just developed an addiction to those little bags...

The Fab 5 list of GM candidates

The Fab 5 list of GM candidates
The Orioles are putting together a list of candidates to replace president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail. They haven't sought permission to interview anyone, but that soon will change. A source confirmed that the short list includes Rangers assistant general manager Thad Levine, Blue Jays assistant GM Tony LaCava, Marlins assistant GM Dan Jennings, Padres vice president of baseball operations Josh Byrnes and Mets special assistant J.P. Ricciardi. Other candidates could surface,...

Accardo outrighted again

Accardo outrighted again
Orioles reliever Jeremy Accardo cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Triple-A Norfolk. See, the Orioles can still conduct business without a president of baseball operations. Accardo also was designated and outrighted this summer, so he can refuse the assignment and become a minor league free agent. The right-hander was 3-3 with a 5.73 ERA in 31 relief appearances during two stints with the Orioles in 2011. With the move, the 40-man roster now stands at 39.

This, that and the other

This, that and the other
I haven't checked lately, but I think Nelson Cruz is still standing at home plate admiring his grand slam. The first walk-off grand slam in postseason history? Can that really be true? Delmon Young's oblique injury makes him a real liability in left field. The Rangers must look at him out there and think, "Green light!" Not quite the same as one of Sidney Ponson's passengers yelling, "Red light!" The Orioles will be linked to Prince Fielder this winter because they still need a big...