Maese: Is Angelos playing too small a role?

Guess so. I checked the “Hairspray 2: White Lipstick” credits. Nothing.

1. To players, Angelos has been little more than a signature on a paycheck.

2. They wish he were much more.

This is going to sound like heresy in some corners of the Orioles kingdom, but could it be possible Angelos plays too small a role in his empire?

No one is suggesting we revisit the days when important baseball decisions were made by people who learned the game from the backs of baseball cards. But there has been a push to get Angelos more involved with the players. One game into the season, in fact, it’s already a successful movement.

Angelos accompanied Vice President Joe Biden on a tour of the ballpark Monday afternoon. They stopped in the team’s clubhouse and hung around for about a half-hour. Biden did most of the talking and Angelos most of the observing, according to those who were there.

“He cares about this organization, and he cares about the guys,” second baseman Brian Roberts said. “He just doesn’t want to be one of the owners who’s here all the time.”

But those who wear the uniform are hoping for a change. Dave Trembley and Andy MacPhail have been urging the Orioles owner to show his face more often, to get rid of the mysterious man-behind-the-curtain mystique.