Orioles owner Peter Angelos told The Sun a few minutes ago that there is no question in his mind that Andy MacPhail will remain the club's president of baseball operations beyond the term of his current contract, which expires at the end of this year.
When he was asked about whether he had made a decision on whether to extend MacPhail's deal, he didn't hesitate.
"I don't have to decide it,'' he said. "I think it's obvious. He's not going anywhere. We don't need to talk about it."
Angelos was clearly buoyed by the grand opening of the Orioles newly renovated spring training stadium, and by the way the upgraded O's lineup battered the Tampa Bay Rays. The Orioles hit five home runs in the first three innings on the way to a 12-6 victory that featured big performances by Nick Markakis, Vladimir Guerrero, Adam Jones and Jake Fox.
"If we can only duplicate that up north, that will make everybody happy,'' he said.
MacPhail has been reluctant to talk about his contract situation, but confirmed that he continues to have a very good working relationship with Angelos.
"I very much enjoy working with Peter, and what I believe -- and what I essentially gambled on -- is that he is a man of his word," MacPhail said. "He's done everything that he said he would do. He hasn't abdicated his ownership but he has lived up to everything he represented, which is frankly what I expected."
Manager Buck Showalter also seemed pleased to hear that Angelos wants to maintain stability throughout the organization.
"I think that's great,'' Showalter said. "Consistency is a great thing. I think anybody who has spent much time with Andy becomes a fan of his pretty quickly."
Look for Peter Schmuck's column on the Angelos interview here at baltimoresun.com later today.
Go to mobile.baltimoresun.com to get news on your mobile device. Text BASEBALL to 70701 for Orioles text alerts.