Oriole's new architect finds he has a blurry blueprint

The Orioles will have to get accustomed to a level of skepticism. It goes with the uncharted territory.

The team that in 1997 employed the man with the highest winning percentage among active managers (Davey Johnson) and this year was again under the direction of one of me game's most respected general managers (Pat Gillick) now heads toward the millennium with a largely unproven front-office staff and a blurry blueprint for the 1999 season.

Don't misunderstand. This is not an indictment of new G.M. Frank Wren, nor a criticism of the club's hiring practices. It's just the hard, cold reality that faces the organization as it attempts to bounce back from the disaster that was 1998--the club finished 35 games out of first place--and make a successful transition from the old front-office structure to the new.

Wren, formerly the Marlins' assistant G.M., arrived in Baltimore last month facing a mountain of offseason business--eight unsigned free agents, several unfilled front-office positions and the small matter of evaluating the organization from top to bottom. He hit the ground running, but he already was weeks behind his established counterparts.

The Orioles are coming off a year in which they spent more money on payroll than any club in baseball history and turned out to be so structurally unsound that they were out of contention before the kids got out of school.

The club was too old, too slow and too injury-prone to compete with the Yankees for the A.L. East title or the Red Sox for the wild-card berth. The blame for that collapse has to go to the previous administration--it placed too much confidence in veterans such as Norm Charlton and Doug Drabek--but the responsibility for rebuilding the club rests squarely with Wren, who gained much of his front-office experience working under Dave Dombrowski in Montreal and Florida.

And it's not as if Wren has the luxury of laying out a nebulous five-year plan. Owner Peter Angelos has made it clear that he expects the Orioles to be back among the best teams in baseball in 1999 and is willing to spend whatever is necessary to get there.

That's the agony and the ecstasy of working for Angelos. He is a demanding boss who is embarrassed by anything less than success, but he is a very generous owner when it comes to making the resources available to improve the club.

It could be just a matter of whether Wren will have time to do everything that needs to be done.

The departure of assistant G.M. Kevin Malone to the Dodgers at season's end and the lame-duck status of Gillick this year prevented the organization from negotiating seriously with a crowd of free-agent eligibles that includes team MVP Rafael Palmeiro, All-Star Game MVP Roberto Alomar, batting-title contender Eric Davis (he finished fourth) and outfielder B.J. Surhoff.

Though it appeared obvious from the start that Alomar would not be returning, the uncertain status of the other marquee players could tie Wren's hands during the early weeks of free-agent bidding.

For instance, the Orioles need to know if they will be committing $50 million or more to re-sign Palmeiro and Surhoff before they can assess the wisdom of making a play for Bernie Williams. By the time those negotiations play out, however, the club's outside options may have diminished considerably.

The Orioles apparently will try to sign Palmeiro, whose five-year statistics make him the most productive free-agent player ever signed by the organization. But with minor league first base prospect Calvin Pickering only a year or so away, Baltimore may be reluctant to satisfy Palmeiro's desire for a five-year deal.

The club's relationship with Alomar deteriorated steadily during his three-year tenure in Baltimore, leaving little doubt that he would move on this winter. If manager Ray Miller has his way, the flashy second baseman will be replaced by either Delino DeShields or Jose Offerman--each a high-average hitter in recent seasons with good speed and the ability to bat at or near the top of the order.

Surhoff appears certain to return, but he could be pushed from left field to right if the Orioles acquire a center fielder. The Orioles are expected to make a pass at Williams or Baltimore-born Brian Jordan, and such a signing would require the team to trade Brady Anderson or move him to left field.

Wren already has set his priorities. He wants to improve the pitching staff and enhance the athleticism of the Orioles' roster, both goals presumably forcing him to go outside the organization for help. The Orioles are likely to touch base with the agents for all of the top-name, free-agent pitchers, but it appears unlikely they will be able to land Randy Johnson or Kevin Brown, the two biggest pitching prizes on the market.

The new organizational priorities appear to be a lot like the old ones. The Orioles will retain their win-now philosophy while continuing their efforts to rebuild the minor league system.

There is just one lingering question: Does Wren have full authority to map out a new direction for the team?