When Orioles chief operating officer Joe Foss described a "gut feeling" by majority owner Peter Angelos as the telling factor in Frank Wren's naming as general manager, he wasn't being flippant.

By establishing an easy rapport with Angelos during the 43-day hiring process, Wren represents the opportunity for a house divided to grow closer. Wren, hired Friday after serving seven years as Florida Marlins assistant general manager, inherits a club dogged by a disappointing fourth-place finish and recent turbulence within its front office.

By the time Angelos and Wren shook hands on a three-year contract 1: 15 p.m. Friday, both felt comfortable with a relationship vital to solving the palace intrigue that festered in the last year.

"The general manager is the architect of the team's future. It's really not much different than being the architect of a building," said Foss.

An architect recommends options. The owner evaluates whether the plan is financially feasible. If changes are requested, the architect adjusts.

Such a relationship was found lacking during the final days of Pat Gillick and Kevin Malone's term as general manager and assistant. Wren, 40, represents an opportunity to reunite the franchise under a structure Foss insists is no different than elsewhere in the industry.

Wren has been granted control of day-to-day operations while accepting the financial blueprint of Angelos, Foss and the owner's adviser sons.

"What the Orioles do is no different than what the Cleveland Indians, Minnesota Twins or Colorado Rockies do," said Foss.

Miller outside looking in

Angelos, Foss and the rest of a tight-lipped inner circle did their utmost to quarantine the process from prodding and leaks. Initially Ray Miller thought he would be part of the second round of interviews, but instead was relegated largely to a spectator's role. Miller found out about Wren's hiring too late to attend Friday's news conference, which the manager had hoped also would serve to introduce his new hitting coach, Terry Crowley.

Because of Wren's scheduled return to Florida late Friday afternoon, a news conference was arranged only two hours before it took place in the designated hitter's lounge in the warehouse.

The seating chart at a makeshift dais held meaning. Wren, Foss and Angelos' sons, Louis and John, sat without any member of the Gillick regime alongside.

Wren spoke of possessing the autonomy to name his own assistant general manager and directors of scouting and player development. Foss heard a barrage of questions regarding the scope of Wren's authority and spoke of Angelos' "comfort level" with Wren.

"The qualifications of those interviewed were very similar," said Foss. "I think in the final analysis it came down to who Peter felt most comfortable with."

Wren made clear he is comfortable with Angelos and is willing to work within the parameters described during three interviews.

"The team in the front office needs to be categorized no differently than the guys in uniform," insisted Foss.

Added Miller: "I think it will be much more open. It won't be waiting for one person to do this and another person to do that. Everybody makes input and a decision will be made. I just want to have a guy to go to with stuff."

Much of the friction that developed between the previous regime and Foss and Angelos concerned the decision-making process. Gillick and Malone thought ownership's involvement too often bogged down moves that demanded swift action. Conversely, ownership believes it merits a strong voice when millions of dollars are involved.

"We've now been in this business for five years," said Foss. "I'm not purporting to be a baseball expert. It's important to have a Frank Wren, a Roland Hemond or a Pat Gillick who have spent their professional lives on that side. But to suggest after five years we know nothing about the business is wrong and inappropriate. When does someone become an expert, when they retire?"

Wren's greatest task may be constructing a "unified front" that Foss and Angelos have long sought but never achieved. Foss says its absence has contributed to the Orioles becoming a pinata for unfair national and local criticism.

"The general manager makes a recommendation to the chief operating officer and the owner. In the majority of cases where there is a disagreement, there needs to be a healthy discussion of the different points of view. If there is no consensus, the chief executive officer [Angelos] makes the ultimate decision," said Foss.

Wren in agreement

Wren seconded the statement and feels the situation here is little different than those he found in Montreal (from 1976-91 as player, minor-league coach and in front office) and Florida.

Yet in some ways the situation is different than the one that preceded him. Unlike Wren, Gillick inherited a front office and never named his own department heads or manager. Assigned Miller as the successor to Davey Johnson, Gillick did not attend the news conference to announce Miller's hiring. Eventually, he and Angelos stopped speaking as Malone served as intermediary.

"Most of the season you could see something coming and couldn't do anything to head it off," said Miller, who complained during the season's final series that varying front-office "agendas" had helped undermine the season.

In Wren, the Orioles believe they have found a "team player" with skills extending beyond conventional scouting methods. Where Gillick and Malone relied heavily on first-hand reports, Wren impressed Angelos and Foss with his openness to greater use of a computerized system.

Said Foss: "We wanted someone who could coordinate player development and scouting along with exercise the instincts to assess players. But we also want someone able to utilize the tools of the computer age. And that hasn't happened previously.

"You can walk around with instincts and judgment looking at a few players. But we have to rely on a database. It's not a tool used by itself.

"This is not rotisserie baseball where you look at statistics and away you go. But it is a tool that needs to be used and hasn't been."

No longer a great divide

Foss says a factionalized front office contributed to an industry-wide perception of a club at war with itself. That, too, will change, he says.

"Their recommendations were always welcome and in most cases acted upon, but not in every case," Foss said of the Gillick-Malone era. "I think the same will be true with Frank. His recommendations will be solicited and in the vast majority of cases acted upon. When there is a difference of opinion, you will find it will be communicated as a company decision. That's a normal process. It doesn't suggest a bunch of yes men in the organization."

Foss said because the club will one day be left to John and Louis, it is not surprising that Angelos' sons will become more involved in the club's operation. John, especially, is immersing himself in the business side and was a member of the screening committee that conducted last month's first round of interviews.

"Their presence reflected this is an asset that will go on to another generation," said Foss. "Their involvement is to be expected and will continue."

As for suggestions that Wren's evaluation of personnel may be challenged from within, Foss assured, "John, Lou or myself pTC aren't in competition for the role of strategist that the general manager carries."

Pub Date: 10/25/98