Dan...I'm under no illusions that Prince Fielder will be an Oriole next season, but I think it would go a long way with the fans if the F.O. were to make a sizeable and significant offer to Fielder, even if he doesn't take it. And who knows, we may even be shocked (a la Jayson Werth with the Nats).

Do you see the O's, at very least, loosening the purse strings and throwing out a competitive offer for Prince?

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Hard to tell. I'd say no, but I guess it depends on how aggressive Showalter and the new GM want to be and howmuch that decision is supported by Mr. Angelos.

No way I ever want to see a fat slob like Prince Fielder in an Oriole uniform.
He's a disgrace to athletes everywhere.
He's a CARTOON.

I'd like to see us take a serious look at Casey Kotchman. Now there's a guy who is slick with the glove, has decent power, and can hit .300+ ....... and he looks like a baseball player...... not an oversized loaf of bread with a beard.

Whoever gets the GM job will just be a figurehead (pencil pusher) to do Buck's administrative work while he calls the shots. Hopefully, Buck's versed enough to overhaul the way the O's went about drafting and developing players to get it headed in the right direction.

As for Fielder, Wilson and the rest of the huge contract players, its time to pass , not panic, and get stuck with a bad contract. Very few of those deals work out and there is no rush when there is so much work to do to get the system squared away. Let the starters do a 180 in 2012 and then buy, or trade for, the bat you need.

Glad you're not the GM Bear. The O's haven't had a hitter like Fielder in the lineup in a very long time. Kotchman can't even hold is jockstrap.

Yeah, people say Babe Ruth was a fat slob. They also say he was the best of all time. Fact of the matter is the O's need to get either Fielder or Pujols to compete with the teams in the AL East or they wont compete at all. In a division with A-Gone, Tex, and Bautista, you NEED a bat like Fielder to compete.

Cal, Jr for GM?

Just where did that expression, "can't hold his jockstrap" originate ?

Kotchman is a BETTER HITTER than Fielder, although Fielder certainly has more power.... but not six times the salary more power..... and Kotchman runs circles around Fielder with a glove.

Fat slob athletes like Fielder begin to decline much faster and sooner than those who are in shape.

Hell..... I'll take Mark Reynolds over Fielder any day of the week. He's IMPROVING as a hitter and 1B man while Fielder is declining.
Why ? Because Reynolds cares enough about himself to keep in good physical condition and not pop buttons on his uniform.

Get me Kotchman AND Reynolds in the O's lineup, and I've got two dangerous hitters and still enough $$$ to sign an established starting pitcher or two.

Besides...... with that hanging girth in the front of his midsection, Prince can't even see his own jockstrap.

One last response..... no one ever called Babe Ruth a fat slob..... because he wasn't one.
Babe developed a pot belly over time, but never became obese like Fielder.

i really hope this will turn around; 14 straight losing seasons is not acceptable! peter angelos needs to step down for the orioles to regain any sense of dignity

Bear, what did Casey Kotchman say to you to make you swoon so? I just don't get it.

Kotchman hit 300... this year. He's never hit 300 or even been close before that. Last year he hit 217. There's a real "professional hitter." He's also maxed out at 14 HRs - which is not power, that's luck. Derek Jeter averaged about 14 HRs a season for a while - power hitter?

How about this one - Fielder's 929 career OPS to Kotchman's 733.

I guess if you're judging on obesity, then fine. But it's a joke. Plenty of people called Ruth a fat slob - he was one. Quit making up history. You're following the classic "scout's eye" philosophy that is so often wrong; thinking you can "see something" in a player that isn't there on the stat sheet. That's what's brought us the likes of Luis Matos and so many others over the years.

I think Showalter staying in the managers role is a good thing, BUT giving him all the power as Schmuck points out that Buck will have, is a bad thing.
How do you get a quality GM if the manager has more power and influence? You don't so you end up with either a power struggle or an ineffective GM.
Either the GM leaves again in a couple of years or the club suffers because Buck can't be all things to all departments no matter how strong of opinions he may have.

Why do people think we need to add power to a lineup that has Reynolds, Jones, Wieters, Hardy and Reimold?

We need a #1 starting pitcher. That is the primary need for the team.

@gman --- either Cal Jr. for GM or for "the guy in charge of all minor league operations." The foundation of this team needs to be rebuilt and I think he would make sure it happens.

I'd give anything to see Prince Fielder be signed retire an Oriole. He would raise the intensity of this team within a week. I'd love to see the fan who believes that Prince is a "fat slob", tell Prince to his face. And running wouldn't work. Prince runs very well for a 270 lb. man.
Cal Ripken is NOT coming to GM the team. He has already told reporters that he is not interested in MLBB right now. He's working on being a father. If does try to make a return, he won't be thrust into a GM's position no more than he would the presidency, without experience. That would be crazy.

Pitching is where the O's can really improve. Yet, it seems that most every post is about hitting. Yet, it is the O's pitching that is terrible and the defense is not much better. Overall, the O's actually had okay hitting this year and it led to 69 victories. The correlation between these factors (pitching, defense and hitting) and the O's record is clear. Look at the Giants over the years. Look at the Phillies this year or overwhelming majority of playoff teams over the years. Pitching, pitching, pitching. Yes, some hitting is necessary and it is fun to watch, but it doesn't win championships, much less 3-4 game series. Get some Aces to migrate to Birdland or at least some legitimate number 2 starters along with a bullpen that can hold a lead. Was $8M for Vlad a better investment than in a top notch starter? Giving up that .290 average and 12 HRs to replace the worst starting pitcher slot with a quality number 1 or 2 pitcher ... how many more victories could the O's have had with that one change? My guess is that a combined 4-18 record of horrid AAA starters would have been replaced with a respectable 13-9 guy. All of a sudden, 69-93 becomes 78-84. Please spend the 8M on pitching!

we're wasting our time even debating. we have an owner that PROMISED that MASN revenue would be re-invested into the club. yet here you have a regional cable channel which covers 2 markets (Balt 29/DC 9) that generates 50 mil per year and is pocketed by angelos and other investors. google O's scouting or O's player dev. latin america - WAKE UP PPL - NOTHING will change until ownership does.

If anyone watches Fielder he/she can see that he is not a team player. Why pay someone a monstrous salary. One person does not make a team. Have many RBI's did Vladdy have this year. Getting hits when there are men in scoring position is key. By the way, Babe Ruth was a kind and open-hearted, not like some of these ego-maniacs that are running around today.

I'm not "swooning" over Kotchman.

I simply look at him as a more viable option at 1B for the Orioles than Fielder.
Both are Free Agents this winter.
I'm not arguing that Casey beats Prince in any particular statistic.
You, like so many other people, seem to think that statistics rule the player, when, in fact, the statistics don't even exist until AFTER the player has performed.... and, other that speculatory odds, are absolutely no real guarantee of the future.
I believe it's far more likely that Casey Kotchman will hit .300 again than that Prince Fielder will hit 40 home runs.
I have no stats to back that up..... but you have no stats to disprove it, either.
The future has yet to happen.
And you'd better believe that any time a club drops $100million+ on a player, that club had better have a "feeling" that it's going to work out, because there are NO EXISTING STATISTICS from the future lying around.

Again, what's the point in payng $15million for a player who's going to hit .270 with 35 home runs and a brick for a glove instead of paying $5million for a guy who's going to hit .300 with15 home runs and possibly win a gold glove ?
Just for good measure, add the fact that the second guy is getting better while the first guy is in decline.

One more thing..... I resent your accusation that I have revised history in any way regarding Babe Ruth.
Just take a look at any pictures of him and compare them to any pictures of Fielder. Fielder makes Ruth look like Charles Atlas.
Ruth was not a "slob". As I said before, he only developed a pot belly as his career went along. Very similar physique to Mickey Lolich... assuming. of course, that you have a clue as to who HE was.

Fielder vs Kotchman, eh ?

Fielder's a pretty good athlete for such a behemoth, but the risk of breakdown and early decline is there. Perhaps that keeps the price down a bit. The O's have some pretty impressive power now (anytime there's power guy at shortstop, watch out), but imagine a lineup including this guy ? If Markakis ever gets it back (dont care about HR w. him but get the oba up to .380) , and Jones and Weiters continue incremental improvements, it would be one of the best lineups around. Joy to watch even on a .500 squad .

However if the goal is playoffs, then allocate that money to pitching, keep Reynolds at first and sign a decent third baseman. (no ideas who's available).

Not big on Kotchman but i've been wrong many times before