MacPhail on Showalter and Tejada (audio)

I interviewed O's president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail for tonight's Orioles radio network pre-game show. Click below to listen to the entire interview. He talked about the hiring of Buck Showalter, what it means for the current coaches, how he and Showalter will work together and the trade of Miguel Tejada.
Audio:
If you didn't have time to hear the entire interview here is what MacPhail said on a few topics: Why hire Showalter now and not wait until next year? "The plus of bringing him in, which I thought overwhelmed the negatives, was that, he has an oppurtunity to come in here and make some judgments for himself. "Not just be fed whatever the people before him, or the front office or scouts felt was right. He would get an oppurtunity to look the players in the eye, be in the dugout with them over the course of the game and then make some determinations as to what is in the best interests of this franchise going forward and help us prioritize our needs. "My experience would indicate that the pluses far outweigh the minuses." Will Showalter be able to hire his own coaches? "I have always, wherever I've been, had the philosophy that, you shouldn't be putting your spies in the clubhouse. The manager should have people there he is comfortable with. "I think management has the right to veto certain choices or we can cojole and recommend and prod. But at the end of the day he has to be comfortable with those people. It is rare where we would overrule someone in a certain circumstance. We want the manager to have a coaching staff that he is comfortable with." Showalter has said to be someone that likes to have some control. How will that work with the both of you? "I've had an opportunity to talk to Buck on several occasions, gotten to know him. I don't really see this as an issue. I think the manager ought to be involved. There are a lot of times, if not a majority of times, where the decision is such, that the manager should have the dominant role." Are the Orioles 'blowing it up' and starting all over now with Showalter? "I think we've already blown it up to some degree. We are young and going along a different path. That decision was made a year and a half or two years ago. A traditional rebuild in today's day and age with the economics being what they are and in the division where we play, is a difficult process. "It's a steep hill to climb, but the decision to bring Buck in is just a further example of that philosophy that has already taken place." MacPhail's take on the trade of Tejada to San Diego: "Probably the predominant idea behind it is to give Josh Bell an opportunity to play over an extended period of time to help us make a decision whether that's a position (third base) we have to look at externally for 2011 or that we have an internal option."