masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgDan Duquette provided an interesting quote yesterday, one that I suspect will be controversial with some fans.

When asked last night if he feels the team has a reasonable chance of finishing better than .500 in 2012,the Orioles executive vice president said, “We want to be .500 or better this year. We want to build, but we definitely want to be over .500.”

Later, when I had the chance to interview Duquette one on one for a video here on MASNsports.com, I asked him more about that…Dan Duquette provided an interesting quote yesterday, one that I suspect will be controversial with some fans.

When asked last night if he feels the team has a reasonable chance of finishing better than .500 in 2012,the Orioles executive vice president said, “We want to be .500 or better this year. We want to build, but we definitely want to be over .500.”

Later, when I had the chance to interview Duquette one on one for a video here on MASNsports.com, I asked him more about that comment.

“I think the fans would agree with me. It’s been a long time and it’s about time we turned around the culture and the ways of the team. So we’re going to be looking to improve the ballclub so that we can win more games than we lose. There’s no better time to do that than right now,” Duquette said.

That comment could be controversial because some fans are going to say “they are just shooting for .500. They are settling for mediocrity.” I know that is coming, we’ve been there before with comments like that.

To me though, that is a bit of a bold statement since the team hasn’t recorded a record better than .500 since 1997. To me, a .500 or better record next year would be a great first step in the Orioles’ latest rebuilding plan.

Duquette, at least, didn’t shy away from that. He didn’t say “we hope to take some positive steps, or we hope to be more competitive.” He said .500 or better, which would be a nice improvement for a team that won just 69 games last year and has finished in last place for four consecutive seasons.

What is your take?: Is Duquette’s stated goal of .500 or better a good mark to shoot for?