We all saw this coming.

Jim Duquette was going to quit or be fired, but he wasn't staying in the Orioles' organization. And Friday, he made it official: He resigned as vice president of baseball operations.

Once Andy MacPhail was hired as president of baseball operations, Duquette became third on the food chain. And I'm not counting majority owner Peter Angelos, who's the big fish. MacPhail was the No. 1 decision-maker, followed by executive vice president Mike Flanagan and Duquette. Except MacPhail seemed to be making all the decisions, without needing to consult anyone.

In a meeting last week, MacPhail informed Duquette that he was going to bring in someone from the outside to fill a role that would knock Flanagan and Duquette further down the chain.

I give Duquette credit. He could have accepted a drastically reduced role - assuming MacPhail was willing to keep him and not simply hoping Duquette would resign before being dismissed - and continued to collect a fat paycheck. But that's not how he's built.

"It's definitely been an adjustment period and one I wasn't accustomed to," Duquette said of the changes that occurred once MacPhail was hired. "It was a little bit odd at times and I would say a little uncomfortable. One of the things I'm used to is having too much on my plate, and not searching for things. And for me, that was the biggest difference."

We can second-guess decisions that were made while Duquette was part of the process, but I appreciate how hard he worked and how accessible he was to the media. He's a good man. He'll take a breather, get reacquainted with his family, tackle the honey-do list that's waiting for him and attempt to find another front-office job before Opening Day.

roch.kubatko@baltsun.com

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