As an owner who, over the past decade, has built a reputation based on greed, selfishness, and bad decision making, Peter Angelos doesn’t seem to have place to talk about involving his disgraced organization in exhibition games against a Cuban national team. For one, anybody smart enough to figure out that the Orioles have been one of the worst teams over the past 10 years would find Angelos’ public expression of interest in a highly touted series of games to be distracted, to put it nicely. With so many parts of his team in a state of disrepair, it seems as if Angelos’ mind should be focused more on the improvement of his own team, and less on the exhibition opponents they could be playing next spring.

You can’t blame the fans for their outcry aimed directly at Angelos’ ability to run a team successfully. When a team hasn’t had a winning season in eleven years, things tend to get a little testy. Seeing and competing with model franchises such as the Yankees and Red Sox is one thing; The Orioles can compete with Boston financially, but have chosen not to. The worst part, however, is seeing teams like the Tampa Bay Rays grow from within to become a contender with the teams that choose to spend the money at will. It breaks hearts all over Baltimore to realize that the owner isn’t willing to make the decisions needed to change the direction of their beloved team.

However, the focus of Peter Angelos may be more on the money than it seems. On the surface, it may come across as just another ill-hearted attempt to put himself in the public eye. He has been known to make decisions for that very reason. But, a deeper look, and exhibition games against Cuba may actually be an attractive way for the Orioles to push forward with improvement of a team being built from the ground up.

1. Money.

Yes, we all know that money is a sore subject when it comes to the Baltimore Orioles and their valiant leader, Peter Angelos. He has built a reputation of not being willing to dish out the big bucks in order to attract free agents to Baltimore. Pitching has been a problem for several years because the O’s have had a hard time developing and keeping any players. The finest example was when they lost Mike Mussina to the Yankees due to free agency and a lack of cash.

But, recently, Peter has given Andy McPhail free reign to spend at will. While it hasn’t been successful quite yet, it’s hard to look past the fact that Mark Teixeira, Paul Konerko, and Vlad Guerrero have all been offered huge amounts of money, only to turn it down to play for a more consistent team. The big contracts given to Nick Markakis and Brian Roberts are also sure signs that the money drought the team has been suffering through may be on its last legs.

The O's faced Cuba several years ago in exhibition. This time around, the games would have a lot more meaning for both clubs.

Exhibition games against Cuba are sure to draw the big money from sponsors, attendance, and TV ratings, among other things. With that money, the O’s would have the ability to become more attractive to potential free agents, as well as have the resources to offer contract extensions to the prospects that pan out. While Angelos already has some of the most money of any owner in Major League Baseball, his willingness to spend it may be a little more free if he has a source of income such as the one that games against Cuba could draw in.

2. Public Exposure.

Angelos is jumping into a marketing goldmine by getting involved early with the talks of a MLB vs. Cuba series. Teams like the Orioles need to find new, innovative ways to compete with the large market teams like the Yankees and Dodgers. Player prospects that reside in other countries such as Cuba don’t necessarily know about any other team then those that have a market large enough to reach them. So what better way to expose the positives of your club then to give those prospects an opportunity to play against them? Cuban baseball, which will take a stance towards these games as more than just an “exhibition”, will also find out who the Baltimore Orioles are. No longer will only big market clubs like New York and Los Angeles have a place in the hearts of all the potential Cuban prospects who dream of playing in the big leagues one day.

Much like the Seattle Mariners set the bar for attracting Japanese players when they convinced Ichiro to come across seas, the Orioles are attempting to tap another resource. We’ve seen a fair share of Cuban players in the league already, but the promotion has been different. Cuba is much harder to promote considering the strict government that severely limits any American influence. Peter Angelos is attempting to take full advantage of the possibilities to gain footing in attracting some of the world’s best baseball prospects.

3. Exposure Within The League.

Players like Matt Wieters will finally get national exposure, allowing the country to see his limitless value to the O's organization.

Needless to say, the O’s are a young team who have struggled for a very long time. The likes of ESPN and the other national media outlets have all but forgotten that Baltimore even has a baseball team. A nationally televised game is completely out of the question for the Orioles because they have nothing to offer the league. Because of this, there is very little that the nation knows about them except that they have been nothing but an easy win on the schedules of most other teams.

With a nationally publicized game against Cuba, the Orioles will also help promote themselves within the league. Fans from around the country and players from around the league will see how serious the O’s are when it comes to building a strong team, meant to compete for years. Matt Wieters, Adam Jones, and the pitching staff will finally feel the heat of the national light, even if it’s just an exhibition. At this point, the Orioles need anything they can get to show all of baseball that they are going to a serious team in just a short amount of time.

Regardless, many of these advantages will only take place if Angelos plays the cards correctly. He has to be willing to spend the money he makes off of the games, not just hord it like he has been known to do in the past. He needs to be careful with the public exposure; The Orioles have to come across as a first class organization that players from Cuba would be willing to take the risks in order to play for. They can’t lose more respect by making poor decisions during and around the times of the games. But believe me, despite the selfishness Angelos projects with his stated interest, his intentions are for the team. He, along with the rest of the organization, are finally make drastic changes.