October 12, 2011|By Dan Connolly, The Baltimore Sun
Despite the criticism, Jordan has been mostly praised by draft pundits for helping retool the barren farm system. DeMacio, who oversaw the Orioles' drafts from 1999 to 2004, wore a lot of the blame for a laundry list of first-round misses that included Beau Hale (2000), Chris Smith (2001) and Wade Townsend (2004).
One of Jordan's most successful picks was Wieters, the switch-hitting catcher out of Georgia Tech taken fifth overall in 2007 and signed to a franchise-record $6 million signing bonus. Wieters made the All-Star team this past season and has emerged as a team leader and one of the top defensive backstops in the league.
Matusz, the left-handed starter who was the fourth overall pick in 2008, also was a widely praised selection, though he had a nightmarish 2011 season.
Jordan had also found talent after the first round, nabbing Arrieta (fifth round in 2007), Britton (third round in 2006), Jason Berken (sixth round in 2006) and David Hernandez (16th round in 2005).
"It was a great seven years," Jordan said. "I felt like that professionally and personally. I'm disappointed that I will not be able to be there when they [the Orioles] turn things around, because I think that will happen. I had a wonderful job, and I was allowed to do it the way I wanted to."
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Baltimore Sun reporters Peter Schmuck and Jeff Zrebiec contributed to this article.
