SI.com's Tim Marchman has put out his ranking of baseball's 30 general managers, and Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail is ranked 12th, though Marchman is very complimentary of the job he has done in Baltimore:
12. Andy MacPhail, Baltimore Orioles
"He's baseball royalty and a possible future commissioner who has built first-rate clubs in Minnesota and Chicago, so the surprise of MacPhail's work in Baltimore is that he's there at all, given the Orioles' notoriously headache-inducing ownership. It's not a surprise that he's doing the job the right way. This is a lousy team, but that's because under MacPhail's stewardship they're actually rebuilding properly rather than burning money in a futile bid for 80 wins. In any other division they'd be a comer."
If you're interested in seeing how all the GM's rank, you can check the list out here, but I'll be happy to relay a couple of highlights.
Tampa Bay Rays GM Andrew Friedman gets the top spot on the list for his ability to compete in a tough market with a low payroll. Then Marchman tips his cap to Theo Epstein and Brian Cashman for winning six of the last 12 World Series. Oakland's Billy Beane -- who is one of the most celebrated GMs in the game -- was ranked 10th. Kansas City's Dayton Moore gets the dubious No. 30.
Sun file photo