Angelos doesn't believe in Andy's plan?

That's sure what it seems like in his latest quote with MLB.com, but we'll get to that.

First of all the article is entitled "Orioles ready to compete in 2010"

Yeah, right...

But moving on, you've got some positive Orioles quotes in here from Andy MacPhail, who has been selling his plan of hope and competing with homegrown players and taking down the Yankee and Red Sox juggernauts:

Tampa Bay, with much lower revenues, a small payroll and quality young players, proved it can beat the Yankees and Red Sox, and play in the World Series.

"Our feeling is if they can do it, we can do it as well," he said. "Last year we showed progress of an individual nature, but moving forward as a team is what we have to do."

Sounds good right?

I asked Angelos on Monday what he thinks happened.

Why?

Ruh roh, get ready for it...

He believes franchises such as the Orioles -- unable to generate huge revenues -- cannot remain competitive, or at least stay even with teams such as the Yankees and Red Sox.

"It's a question of how much money you can generate," he said. "Once in a while there is an exception to that rule, but it cannot be sustained year-to year."

SPLOOOOOOOOSH!!!!


Yes that is the sound of Peter Angelos throwing a bucket of cold water on the hopes and dreams of all Orioles fans that thought we were going to have a perennial contender under Andy MacPhail.

Not on his watch. Peter would apparently rather use the Orioles as a sacrificial lamb for the greater good of baseball, to prove that teams like the Orioles simply can't compete year in and year out with those damn Yankees and Red Sox. And to do that, he simply can't give MacPhail those resources to compete. It would damage his case...

And we all know how Peter hates to lose a case...

So it seems we as Orioles fans have been sold a bill of goods that isn't worth its price tag.

Once again MacPhail tries to give us hope though:

MacPhail puts it this way: "Despite whatever inequities might exist our job is to make our team better. And we certainly had a lot of room to make our team better. We're going to make it as good as we can. That's all we can do."

He can only make it as good as Peter Angelos lets him, and right now it seems Peter is more interested in proving a point, than providing a consistent winner.