PHOENIX - It only rains about 30 days a year here in the Valley of the Sun, which is why Orioles vice president Mike Flanagan was having a good chuckle Wednesday, as he sat beneath the awning at the Arizona Biltmore hotel, watching a downpour.
"We should have known," Flanagan said. "It's the Beattie factor."
Orioles executive vice president Jim Beattie just shook his head.
The teasing continued as Flanagan began summing up Beattie's first year in Baltimore: two big February snowstorms, a snow delay on Opening Day at Camden Yards, Tropical Storm Isabel.
"He and [his wife] Martha went to Bermuda for their 25th anniversary," Flanagan said. "It rained all week. ... See what I mean? The Beattie factor."
Beattie stretched his long legs and eased back into his chair. The comfort these two have together was obvious.
It's been 11 1/2 months since Orioles owner Peter Angelos went against conventional thinking by picking not one, but two men to run the baseball operations department. So far, from all accounts, it's gone off without a hitch.
"It works on sunny days," Beattie said, refusing to concede anything after taking Flanagan's barbs. "Rainy days, it's questionable."
But to hear team insiders tell it, there has been nary a storm inside the B&O warehouse since Beattie and Flanagan replaced former vice president for baseball operations Syd Thrift.
Under their reign, the Orioles have made some significant changes. They fired manager Mike Hargrove, replacing him with Lee Mazzilli. They traded two of their top players - Sidney Ponson and Jeff Conine - adding five young pitchers to the organization.
They bucked the odds by signing 2002 first-round draft pick Adam Loewen after his 11-month holdout. And they hired a new minor league director, Doc Rodgers, to help turn around a sputtering farm system.
Beattie and Flanagan - or "Beatagan" as they are commonly referred to on chat boards such as Orioleshangout.com - insist they have yet to have their first fight.
"They involve everyone, and everything's done with a consensus," said Orioles director of baseball administration Ed Kenney, who serves as their third in command. "I think the morale [in baseball operations] is extremely high. With Jim's years of experience, he brings a little bit of a historical perspective, and with Mike's bright baseball mind, I think it's a great mix."
