I know your just doing your job but its pretty hard to stay upbeat about anything with the Orioles anymore. I am tired about hearing of prospects that frankly won't ever amount to anything in the bigs. Yes we have had a couple as of late but it seems like we trade for prospects then act as if they are going to be the next Pujols or ARod so we won't give them up. We have had numorous opportunities in the past to give up some pieces for some great players but didn't and now those young guys have stayed in the minors elsewhere. We will field the same team next year that did nothing this year and no matter what positive thinking people say ie they had to get accustomed to the majors now they will be a lot better. Good try. Excuses excuses excuses. We have to pay GOOD players to come here and by that I mean overpay to show them that we mean business, last year was a great year for free agency, what did we get nothing but excuses. This year not so good on the market again we will make excuses that some team wanted too much and some players wanted too much. Tell McFail to give Angelos a clue and open the wallet for a couple of players. We NEED real POWER not someone who can hit 10 Hr's, and how about a REAL 1 and 2 starter cause we don't have them nor will we with the talent we have. Fans can keep dreaming but all the Management is doing is like always throwing a smoke screen and trolling.

Scott's comments are silly. The O's minor league system is doing very well. He obviousely know's nothing.

Dean,
Just wanted to say thanks for covering the Fall Leagues.. it's exciting having some players worth following this time of year even if it isn't in the MLB playoffs :)
What are your thoughts on Josh Perrault? He had solid numbers this year but is a little old for the leagues he played in.

You know, Scott, that is the most ridiculous statement anyone could make. You are the prototypical Baltimore fan, someone who can't see the forest for the trees.

For the first time since 1998, there is plenty to get excited about regarding the Orioles, but you just refuse to believe it. You want to wallow in your negativity, it's almost as if people of your ilk don't want the Orioles to be successful, it makes it hard to be negative about a team when it's doing well. Look at the Ravens, 3-2, in the thick of the race with 11 games left and yet many so-called fans are ready to write them off.

And here you are, Scott, with baseball's playoffs still in full swing, so many options available to the Orioles, and before they have done anything but routine administrative moves, you are writing them off.

Not only that, you are saying that some of the best prospects in the game, regarded as such not just by the team but by knowledgeable baseball people everywhere, won't amount to much. Try telling that to Wieters, Tillman, Matusz, Arrieta, Snyder, Bell, Waring, Turner, Bergeson, Britton, et al. I'm sure they might disagree with you. Add in people like Jones, Roberts, Markakis, Reimold, even Pie, Scott and Izturis and you have the makings of a very competitive club. Yet you absolutely refuse to believe it.

It is true that is too much to hope for that all those guys will make it, nobody bats 1.000, but for the first time in a terribly long time, the Orioles are in a position of strength. They have numbers and quality, you usually have one but not the other and the Orioles have both. That means a master empire builder(re: Twins and Cubs) can make decisions previous Orioles administrations could not make. Tell me a free agent who wouldn't be just a little intrigued by what is going on here.

The Orioles were right not to spend 200 million on Burnett, Sabathia and Teixera. They now have money in the bank and can go get the needed pieces to complement and lead the youngsters. Those pieces might not be on the market this off season, though Jason Bay is very tempting, but they will be in another year. Patience is a virtue and with this team so close, it makes no sense to abandon them now.

The choice is, Scott, you can sit back and take the easy way out, be the pessimist and think they will never be winners, or take the risk, keep the faith and believe in and grow with what is happening here. And when the club is a consistent contender, battling the Chankees, BoSox, Rays and Jays, we true believers can sit back and take great satisfaction in sticking with this team through the dark ages.

And you, Scott, and your followers, well, you're going to miss out on something that, in a baseball sense, can be very special.

Thanks, Dean, for letting me vent. And thanks as always for the updates.

Are any of the fall league games going to be on TV? I know the Hawaii league had a few games televised a few years ago.

RESPONSE FROM DEAN: Not sure, to be honest. It's probably unlikely, but I'll see what I can find out and let everyone know.

Dean,

thanks for keeping this going. This is great stuff. all year, keeping up w/ the prospects has been so easy (and encouraging) thanks to your work. and it's nice to see it still going in the fall.

Scott - i could go into a long argument about why i think you're wrong. but who cares what i think and who cares what you think. here's the real question: why do you bother to come onto this site and post your garbage? you've obviously given up on the team. that's fine. so give up on them already. cut the cord. don't read this stuff anymore. stop watching the games and reading the blogs. stop posting. just go away. that's your right.

but it make no sense for you to hate the team as much as you (and those like you) obviously do and to still hang around. leave. don't come back. and especially don't jump back on the bandwagon when the team finally improves.

Don't get down on Scott. He is tired of all of the promises that never amount to anything and quite frankly, so am I.

All you have to do is start mentioning all the hot prospects who were supposed to be something. As a kid when the Orioles were managed by Earl Weaver, I never knew anybody in the minors because I was paying attention to what the big league team was doing.

Since the Orioles have stunk for so long, the serious fans scour the minor league teams hoping some of these prospects will develop. That is why there is so much attention on the minors, and that is why Scott is disappointed. We are always being told about how great all of these guys are going to be, all of the Ryan Minors and Rocky Coppingers. Blah, blah, blah.

Personally, I think that the Orioles could have been a much more competitive team if they were in another division. Instead, they get their brains beat out in the American League East. What was their record against Boston this year, 2-16?
The Yankees?

Pesonally, I will refuse to support baseball until they go to a salary cap like in football. I am tired of the Yankees going out and spending over $100 million to get Texiera, Sabathia and Burnett year after year. And I am sure that they will do the same thing this year.

The Red Sox and the Yankees are the two biggest whores in baseball. Well, the Mets are, too, but they don't win ...

I disagree with Scott.. many neutral sources have had very good things to say about some of the O's prospects.. that's hardly propoganda from the FA

Well sorry to get everyone upset. I Love Orioles baseball more than every other sport. I do agree that we do have some good young talent, we can talk numbers and build them up to be bigger than what they really will be. I do agree with everyone of you in the case that you do have to have Minor system to stay afloat. You also have to have good veterans and this team has been by the wayside for quite some time, it doesn't help that we are in a league with the likes of the Yanks and Sox, but that should make you become more competitive when you are making your trades and getting certain players signed. One thing a player wants to see when he is coming here though is the fact that your team rally wants to be competitive and not just say it. Every one of you know good and well every year we hang our hat on what the management and local press talk about. We hope and we wish but we can only do that so long. I would love to win a World Series again (who wouldn't) but I would settle for going into a season and saying we and knowing that we just might make the playoffs. When was the last time you felt that way? Next year you won't, we have pitchers and hitters in the minors, will they make it in the majors? So many years we have settled for the Coppingers, Minors, Richards, Hairstons, McDonalds, Lopezs, and Loewens. (if he hadn't have hurt himself we still would be hyping him) but we have been a less than medicore team. That is not the Oriole baseball that I remember. If the team stinks it up again this year, Trembley won't be back and of course it will be his fault for not getting these young guys going, then what will be the excuse. I am sorry to everyone for seeming so negative when I know it will get better I would just like it to be a little sooner and it can be with the right additions, we can't expect this team to make it with just the farm system. Izturis does have a nice glove but he needs to hit. I hate seeing them sliding farther down in the league, It would be nice to here the O's could surprise some teams.

i think the o's are on the right track dont start BLOWING money now there's no one out there that fits what they need give there farm system one more year then drop the hammer

I hope the O's save EVERY PENNY for Joe Mauer in 2010 off-season.

I know, I know....Matt Wieters. BELIEVE me, I LOVE Wieters, but if the O's need a bat, the BEST bat in the next 2 years is Mauer. Between him and Wieters, they move between the 1B, DH and Catcher.

NO Free Agent can turn down the largest Money offer. Players Association would go Nuclear. So the O's simply have to out-bid Yanks and Sox and Angels.

Before the O's can out preform those teams, they ARE going to have to outbid them at some point. O's have the cash.

Besides, how wrong would a Tex, A-Rod, Mauer combo be? It's as important to get Mauer for the O's needs for a bat, as it is to bring the level of competition out of the Stratosphere.

MAUER in 2011!!!! It must be done. Save EVERY penny to get him. He is the BEST offensive player in the league. And they O's need a player of that caliber.

Dean - thanks for the updates on the O's prospects in the AFL. It helps us gauge how they are doing against other top prospects. Last fall we got to see Wieters and Matusz do really well, and follow them on to Baltimore in 2009.

I can understand the frustrations of Scott and GOM. A dozen losing years in a row, and seeming to get progressively worse, can do that to any fan. But I disagree with the notion that the only course of action is for the Orioles to try to overpay for top free agents. Those guys normally won't want to come to a losing team unless they see it as on the verge of turning the corner with a real chance to compete. Otherwise they would be admitting that they care more about getting those extra few millions (on top of the many they are already getting) rather than winning. When those guys can be the final piece(s), then it makes sense to be more aggressive with pursuing them. In the meantime we have to continue with the process of fixing the years of neglect to the farm system that goes back to before the Angelos ownership.

Fortunately, we are seeing some real prospects make it to Baltimore now, not just the ones that the O's are high on but others don't value so highly. How can you look at the pieces already in place and not feel encouraged about the progress? Sure, you can still be disappointed or frustrated about the distance yet to go but an objective assessment of the past two years shows tremendous organizational improvement, even if it's not reflected in the ML team's W-L record.

Ken and CSB Jack,

I'm behind you 100%.

I am not a native Baltimorean, but I have been a diehard fan of the Orioles since the 70's, back in the days of Murray, Ripken, Palmer, Stone, and the rest of the guys. I continued to follow them even through the 1988 debacle and Jeffrey Maier and the current losing streak.

Although it is extremely tough to be optimistic about a team that has not had a winning record since the previous century, I don't see any other way that AM can rebuild this team. He really did inherit a mess to clean up. He has been building the franchise up from within, and that includes the worldwide scouting department. The current crop of new young Orioles has shown much promise, despite a crappy W-L record. I am not too concerned about this past year's record because they went through a lot of changes to get there. Think about all the players they lost by trade and injury this year.

There is much reason to be optimistic about the future. They have not had this many good young players in recent memory. I believe that the O's will have a significantly better record next year if the expected youngsters take the field day in and day out and there are no major injuries. Progress will continue each year, and AM will keep building on that. They will turn the corner and have a winning record by 2011. Then watch out for this team.

Go O's.

Get real people,there are no blue chip prospects in the o's system.Some of them only look good in comparison to what the O's system has looked like before.McPhail doesn't believe in giving up what it takes to get blue chippers. A large inventory of mediocre players doesn't add up to good players.We blew yet another 1st round pick this year.Hobgood will be out of baseball in a couple years..37 pitchers in last year's camp and they wound up with Alfredo freakin Simon in the rotation.The only position the O's have any depth is at 2nd base and they just signed Roberts to play until he's in a wheelchair.To be fair I like Waring but the guy was at single A at 25 for a reason.Zagone and Britton could rise through the ranks next year but when you look at Matuz and Tillman,there's nobody showing these kids how to pitch,just throw.

Kranny concentrates on mechanics like arm slot,repeating the delivery etc. not setting hitters up with different pitchers or spotting the ball around the zone.. The O's will be in the bottom third of pitching again next year. They should have cleaned house after the season.The manager and coaches are stale and we needed some new eyeballs in here.

Does anybody really believe McPhail is going to get anybody this off season besides more reclamation projects? It's who he is, he worries about payroll,not winning.

RESPONSE FROM DEAN: Just one quick comment -- Why does everyone say Brandon Waring is 25? He was born in 1986 and is the same age as Brandon Snyder. Am I missing something? If people are going to complain -- and I'm not saying it's not justified -- at least speak the truth and use facts. That is all. Thanks.