Baltimore Orioles: Time for forgiveness

As I said yesterday, if reports out of Toronto are accurate it appears that the Dan Duquette saga might well be over. As I had said many times, the outcome was never in doubt in the sense that the Baltimore Orioles would always be the victors. Either they would have kept their guy, or they would have legally stolen some prized prospects from Toronto’s farm system. Having said that, Duquette does probably need to earn some equity back from both ownership and fans alike.

As we know, Orioles FanFest is this coming Saturday at the Baltimore Convention Center. FanFest of course is a long-awaited and beloved event every year by fans. It’s also the first Orioles event of the new year, and it’s always well-attended.

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One of the signatures of FanFest of course are the various forums with coaches, players, and yes even the GM. If this year’s celebration is consistent with prior year’s, we’ll see Duquette on stage answering questions from fans – at least I hope so. Duqette’s absence this weekend would send a bad message. However it goes without saying that he’ll be asked about this situation, and when he is I would submit that he should tackle those questions head-on. I would also say that he would do well to make some sort of statement to the effect that his intention is to fulfill his contract, and that he likes working for the Orioles.

Since the beginning, I’ve said that I can’t really blame Duquette. I wouldn’t even suggest that he’s handled this poorly. Could he have shut the situation down by saying he wasn’t interested? Sure. However what if he did that and the Orioles pulled the trigger on a deal, sending him to Toronto? Whereas many people are arguing that he’s now staying in a place where he doesn’t want to be, the same argument could be made there.

Nevertheless, not everyone feels that way. This Saturday is thus Duquette’s first opportunity to appear before Orioles fans and show how committed he is to the organization. My sincere hope is that he shows up and does so, as his absence would most definitely send the wrong message.