The search isn't over

I opened yesterday's entry by saying that we might have an announcement on a new president of baseball operations, and I came close to being right. An offer was made to Blue Jays assistant general manager Tony LaCava. He turned it down yesterday. Otherwise... LaCava returned home, huddled with his family and broke the news to the Orioles that he wasn't leaving the Blue Jays. I'm sick of this topic, but it won't go away. Dodgers executive De Jon Watson is waiting to find out whether the Orioles will bring him back for a second interview. Again, I don't count two dinners in Baltimore as additional interviews. We could debate whether they count as meetings. As a few of you pointed out, it depends whether he ordered soup and whether it came in a bowl or a cup. Breaking up crackers also is a factor. As I wrote yesterday, money wasn't a factor in LaCava's decision. Far from it. I heard from one source that the Orioles were "more than competitive with their offer." So what happens next? Watson could get another call. He flew to the Dominican Republic yesterday, but he's not hard to reach. I'm hearing that the Orioles already came up with three new candidates and were considering other names. I know that they hadn't sought permission to interview anyone as afternoon turned into evening. I'll mention Rangers executive A.J. Preller again, just in case. I know he's on the radar, though that doesn't mean he'll get a call. In the meantime, manager Buck Showalter, director of baseball operations Matt Klentak and other front office personnel are handling the duties formerly performed by Andy MacPhail. That's as close as you're going to get to business as usual. Klentak is widely viewed as a future GM, so this is good practice. He's sharp and he's pretty much on top of everything. And Showalter figures to be involved anyway, to whatever degree. In case you're also sick of this topic, I'll pass along comments from catcher Matt Wieters later this morning. He's being made available on a conference call to talk about winning his first Gold Glove. You can check Steve Melewski's blog later today for right fielder Nick Markakis' comments about also winning a Gold Glove. If I haven't completely lost the will to live, I'll be joining Amber Theoharis again today for "The Mid-Atlantic Sports Report" that airs from 5:30-7 p.m. on MASN. We're teaming up every Monday, Wednesday and Friday until I leave for spring training or she becomes sick of me.