Why won't you just die?

In 1996 Orioles owner Peter Angelos quashed deadline trades involving Bobby Bonilla and David Wells, the Orioles rallied to make the playoffs, and Angelos was emboldened to interfere with the operations of the club for the next twelve years. Since 1996, how many good personnel moves have the Orioles made? Three, (signing Tejada, drafting Roberts and Bedard) maybe four? Although the Tejada trade looks good now, it would have looked far better a year and a half ago had they gotten Roy Oswalt in return.

That trade, culminated a few days before the Mitchell Report was released, did seem to indicate that president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail was calling the shots. But the dragging out of the potential Eric Bedard trade reveals Angelos still needs to mull over any moves the Orioles make, handcuffing MacPhail, since Baltimore can only move at a glacial pace even by MLB standards. Why would any other team want to trade with Baltimore when they are so prone to backing out of trades, and are so hesitant to consummate a deal?