Pete,

I recall one time Redskins coach Steve Spurrier was asked why he was signing so many former Florida Gator wide receivers to the Redskins and his reply was they were CHEAP and AVAILABLE. I see the O's in the same mode, how cheaply can we get away with putting a 24 man roster together. Quite frankly its an embarrassment if Sexson is even seriously under consideration. If were rebuilding Salazar is a better option if were just being cheap let the 4th or 5th OF DH, but the O's will be a laughing stock!

Sexson is not worth the effort as he has fallen off very quickly since his back problems a few years ago. But, as you said, "If the O's want to sign the guy to a cheap, incentive-laden contract in hopes of catching some proverbial lightning in a bottle". Little down side. So, why don't they use that theory to signing a pitcher with some possible upside as well? Have they even considered it over the mediocrity they are linked to?

Peter- I personally would like anything other than Millar. Yeah, he is a great guy, but change something. I mean, jesus. I still don't get why they don't at least make an offer to Dunn, Sheets, and some others. What could it hurt? God forbid they try.
Also, why is it, that the Maryland Men get top 25 votes last week, win both their games by 20+ points, and then get 0 votes this week? 10-2 with a win over #5 Michigan St. is not bad. Consider the 2 losses.
Wow. Remember 2001? It doesn't seem like that long ago. Orange Bowl after winning the ACC for men football. Back to Back Final 4s and a National Title for BBall. SuperBowl winners. Albert Belle was a sign of great attempts at winning. Was it any better to live in this area then?
Seems like a lifetime ago.

I have no problem w/these low-budget moves during a rebuilding phase, but once our pitchers come up and prove they can pitch in the big leagues, if we continue to sign these types of players, I will be finished w/the team until the next ownership regime...whenever that may be. And I can't believe I'm saying that...because I've always not knocked Angelos and stood up for him when I heard those types of comments.

QUALITY OVER QUANTITY!
or
LESS IS STILL MORE!

When buying a product I was always taught to buy Quality over Quantity. Even with less in numbers you wind up with better performance and results with Quality.

The O's have gone to such low levels of search it would have to be classified as the "98.6 Test".

They do not want to pay big bucks for any one player but will pay smaller dollars for large numbers. Still you wind up with just bowling pins on the diamond that cannot move, cannot hit, cannot do anything but pick up a check.

Spend on a few quality pitchers for 3 years to force the young talent to make room. Stop the moves to a 100 loss season.

Sexon, Hendrickson,....... 100+ losses.

Is this the new vacation spot for out of town fans when their teams play here? By design it appears the O's are on their way to this success.

go with lou montanez. no real present with sexson and no future with him. lou could be a nice httter. showed a lot of patience when given the opportunity last yr. let him play dh/1b for the first 50 games and see what happens. it's not like we can really drop in the standings. time to give more young players a shot instead of bringing in players on the downside of their careers.

Is everyone asleep? Ivan Rodriguez, catcher, teacher, RH Batter, can play IB, still has it!!. Wake up.

Man that's awful, just cause we're not going to compete this year doesn't mean we need to sign the absolute worst players we can find. Sexon is absolutely terrible. Every time I hear about new players this year I cringe. I don't think we should be buying up all the free agents or anything, but these players like Hendrickson and Sexon are the absolute worst. If this keeps up there wont be any fans left that want to watch the orioles when they become competitive again.

Sometimes I just want to pull my hair out at these half hearted attempts to build a team.

Concerning these last two moves - are we building a baseball team or a basketball team? No more tall, lanky underperforming cast offs!

Sure he is worth a look....her may not be the same but he still will hit 15-20 homers...drive in 50-60 runs....part time...and bats right...may only bat .220 or so....but it is the same as Millar and could be better if alowed to get in a grove....worth a shot...maybe Crow can fix his swing and we luck out for a change...

This is a "buy low" type of move. Think of players as if they were stocks. Sexton's stock will not get any lower. It seems to me this could possibly be a huge deal. I believe Sexton's only a few years removed from hitting thirty home runs.

I would rather see a Huff/Salazar 1B/DH combo than to bring in another washed up veteran. I don't understand why this front office will sign washed up players well beyond their prime yet they won't take a chance on a pitcher with a history of health issues. They would rather spend money on players with no upsides than take a chance on someone who might actually make the team better?

Big Sexy is probably done. I'd offer him a minor league invite sort of deal.

Pete - Doesn't it seem odd that there is a fan outcry against signing Sexson this season, and that Mr. Angelos will be lambasted if we sign him cheap? I'm willing to bet that most of the people who are upset about potentially getting Sexson now are the same fans who were outraged at how 'cheap' Mr. Angelos was a few years ago when we didn't outbid the Mariner's for him. He would still be under contract to the O's for more than $12 million in 2009 if these fans had gotten their way....I guess they'd rather pay $12 million than $2 million.

If they are going to sign a guy like Sexson, they might as well have held onto Kevin Millar. Kevin is at least a good fielder. After years of losing seasons, I think the fans deserve something better then Sexson. How about signing a QUALITY pitcher or two. I really don't know what the O's are doing anymore.

NO, NO, NO!!!! To Richie Sexson, a thousand times NO! Utterly pointless, counter-productive...I'd rather (and this is not saying much) go for Sean Casey or Jason Giambi (as a DH).

ml

Pete,

This may be a stupid question, but what about Jason Giambi? I haven't followed baseball for a while ( since DJ, and JM were chased out of town ), but I have been watching the moves ( or lack of ) this off season. I was hoping for Tex, but didn't really think Peter would step up. Sexson would be a waste. Or how about Huff at first, and Dunn as the DH ?

I hate to say this because I could be totally off, but I can’t help but wonder if Sexson is just another product of the ‘roid era. I know he’s a big guy and all, but he also fell off the radar pretty quick. If his reputation is spotless, I apologize, but given the uneven decline in production, I just thought it was odd it hasn’t come up. I’d rather see Huff/Montanez for certain, why would the O’s of all people care for a 1 year stop gap?

Lets face it Pete , the O's get whoever is cheap up front and wait for the price to go down on the others , this is why they field a minor league team each year. They are sending terrible messages to the great fans of Baltimore and any future Orioles , if there are any ,,,,,,,,,,,

Happy New Year......

No, Sexson is not worth signing. The Orioles should ust place Scott at DH, Huff at 1B, and Montanez/Reimold at LF or attempt to sign Dunn.

A smarter move would be for the Orioles to sign Wolf and another starting pitcher so that they can put a respectable product on the field in 2009.

You got it Pete. Montanez would very likely put up better numbers than Sexson, plus he's younger, which you think would be important because of the O's being a re-building team. I suppose there's nothing wrong with inviting him to Spring Training to see what he has, but it would seem to be unwise to sign him and then think our first base situation is solved.

no sexon and i think aubrry huff had a career year last year.

No, no, no, the Os can not do this one. You are correct, this is an insult to the fans. I am a strong believer that the fans on sites such as this and on radio should never be paid attention to by GMs, but this one....jeezo. If it was 2002, yes take a chance on him, but no more reclamation projects for the Os. Pull up someone from AA, but do not waste a dime or roster spot on him.

Millar has more upside than Sexson.

warm body.. you were right the very first time you said it

No, no no! Pete are you sipping the New Year's fare early? This guy should not even be considered. Didn't he "play" the Orioles before signing with Seattle a few years ago? Keep Millar before you even think about Sexson. Go with Huff and Montanez and let Sexson sign with someone looking for an underproductive,aging ballplayer who has no class whatsoever.

I love how my fellow O's fans go into panic mode at the mention of a name like Richie Sexon. As if top-tier, second-tier or ANY-tier free agents are lining up for the 'Last-Place-For-The-Foreseeable-Future' Orioles. If you can get him cheap, why not do it? Suddenly Lou Montanez is a guy we can rely on for a platoon because he was decent for a month or two? Didn't we all say the same sorts of things about Luis Hernandez?

If MacPhail wants to go cheap and old, why not go with another year of Millar? He'll hit for a better average, he'll hit more home runs, and he's got a better glove. Plus, Millar actually wants to come back here, can't say that about too many other players. These "warm body" signings as you put them are starting to annoy me. I know MacPhail is a slow worker, but this is starting to lean over towards the ridiculous side.

Sexton strikes out often: why not offer Kotsay a deal ?

Pete,

Can the Orioles afford Richie Sexson? If so, is he really worth it?

The Sexson of the past two seasons was a shadow of the player he had been earlier in his career. The only reason to sign him are his offensive numbers--especially power numbers, but his combined home run total for 2007 and 2008 was 33, a figure he bettered in single seasons five times.

Even Kevin Millar, who would be replaced by Sexson, had 37 HR over the last two years. As a matter of fact, Millar's stats nearly across the board were better than Sexson's.

Admittedly, the numbers are skewed because Kevin had significantly more at bats, but even in the areas less affected by time up to the plate (BA, OBP, SA) he outperformed Sexson.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/m/millake01.shtml

http://www.baseball-reference.com/s/sexsori01.shtml

As far as defense at first, Millar is underrated. Anyone who followed the games very closely knows that had he not been so proficient at digging balls out of the dirt, Oriole infielders would have been charged with many more errors.

Sexson is sure-handed around first, and at 6'8" is a bigger target and better at taking high throws than Millar. Neither has the greatest range.

Unless Sexson can get his swing put back together by Terry Crowley, the only thing he's good for is to play when southpaws are on the mound. There's a Catch-22 situation here, though. Sexson may not want to platoon (he objected last year in Seattle, which was part of the reason he was traded to the Yankees--see link below), so do the O's sign him as a everyday player hoping that Crow can get his swing back.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/mariners/2008045801_sexson11.html

Yet can the Orioles afford to spend that kind of money on a player who may not be able to hit righties enough to justify Dave Trembley pencilling him in the lineup? And, again, if he's benched, is it good to have a sulking first baseman on the team?

Sexson's salary last season was $15.5M, and while he's not going to command that much this year, if his agents is halfway competent, he's still going to get a fairly hefty contract due to the many solid seasons he's had. What is the most Andy MacPhail should offer before it becomes too expensive a roll of the dice?

Now back to Millar. We have a pretty good idea that his offensive numbers aren't going to be much better or worse than last season. We also know that he'll come much cheaper than Sexson and that he's said that okay with a diminished role, so platooning isn't an issue with him. (Maybe Kevin wouldn't run out of gas like last season if given more days off.)

My perception of Millar, skillset aside, was someone who was really well liked among his teammates, who kept things loose so the club got too down on itself and who brought a lunchpail approach to the game that meshed pretty well with Dave Trembley's attempts to restore the Oriole Way in Baltimore.

Now Sexson may bring those qualities to the club as well. The Mariner's Willie Bloomquist, cited in the above article, called Richie his best teammate and characterized him as someone who "showed up to play."

All things being equal, I'd opt for the team to bring back Millar, if there is the excellent camaraderie I believe exists between he and his team. There's no risking possible bad chemistry, like might happen with Sexson, but a comfortable "Hey, Kevin's back!" take as Spring Training begins.

Bringing Millar back also has the benefit of saving the O's money they can better use to get starting pitching and re-sign Brian Roberts and Nick Markakis. And I'd advise the Orioles move quickly if they want Kevin, because he hasn't been forgotten by other clubs and is being promoted by national sports writers like Buster Olney.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=3797401&name=olney_buster

this is exactly the type of player the Oriole's sign every year. I expect a deal to be done by end of the week. PA loves players 5 years past their prime! Franky, i thought we would have signed Randy Johnson, but when I saw he got 6MM a year I knew he was still out of our league. Maybe we can get the big unit in Orange in Black in 2011!

I say we sign Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa and Roger Clemmens, if nothing else, it would bring tons of excitementy to OPACY!

No, No, No a thousand times No! I would rather watch some of our young guys promoted from AA or AAA. We are destined for last place for at least the next 2 years so lets evaluate or minor league rosters. Salazar can probably hit the same number of home runs and strike out less. Plus he comes cheap. NO MORE WASHED UP OLD GUYS!

Just a very quick follow-up to my rather lengthy post on why for a number of reasons Kevin Millar makes better sense than Richie Sexson if the O's want to go the "veteran presence" route at first.

A scenario that moves the team into the future, however, would be for the front office to trust that between Lou Montanez and Oscar Salazar, at least one of them is going to be able to hit major league pitching well enough over the long haul to stay on the team--who knows, maybe both.

This is simply a gamble of a different type than signing more expensive veterans. As I mentioned about Millar contract, even more so with Salazar and Montanez: The money the Orioles save by having them on the roster instead of an overpaid "star" helps rebuild the team by permitting Andy MacPhail to use the difference in signing more starting pitching and re-signing Brian Roberts and Nick Markakis.

And frankly, I think that Lou and Oscar are up to the task, if the team would just give them a chance.

I don't see Sexson as an improvement over Millar, so I fail to see the point of bringing him in.

We have plenty of outfielders we could mold into 1Bers, at least in the short run (more so than Jay Gibbons).

This is a bit off the subject, but do you think that the pitching will improve now that Ramon Hernandez is gone? I do think that a catcher can affect a pitcher's performance, and the one constant in the past two seasons has been Ramon behind the plate. This despite having top-notch pitching coaches like Kranitz and Mazzone. Just a thought.

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Pete's reply: I don't know, but I don't think you trade Ramon Hernandez for a fourth outfielder if you think he's good for your young pitching staff.

No to Sexton--YES TO MANNY!

You have to admit, Manny would be interesting and he might come here just to haunt the Sox and Yanks. 20 MIL EACH YEAR FOR TWO YEARS! MANNY!MANNY!MANNY!

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Pete's reply: Manny would be a blogger's dream, but he would be a nightmare on a losing team.

Jaysus, no.

In a vacuum, signing Sexson to a minor-league contract just to see if he has something left would not be a bad move. If he rediscovers how to hit, you get a bargain. If not, not much lost.

But it's not right for the Orioles, for exactly the reason you mention. Fans would keep complaining about Teixeira (he made the choice, people, not McPhail), and Sexson would not get a real chance to take 100 AB out of the spotlight.

Does anyone else remember that Sexson once idolized Cal Ripken?

By the way, thanks to Ken Francis for posting the links. Reading the story about Sexson's "discontent" with not starting makes it seem like he didn't exhibit much discontent at all. Here's the most important quote:

"If I felt that he could handle the next couple of weeks with less playing time, I would not have agreed with the move," Mariners manager Jim Riggleman said. "But [Wednesday], his body language was such that he looked like he wasn't going to handle it at all."

Body language, not verbal language. You can hardly blame the guy for slumping his shoulders.

Still asleep? Get Ivan Rodriguez. Forget your interim catcher issue, your 1st base issue, your RH bat issue, your team production and team leader issue. He's your answer. Wake up!!

What about Kevin Millar? Wouldn't you rather bring him back then sign Richie Sexon? I mean seriously.... Richie Sexon!?!?!?!?!?!

What do the O's have against Salazar? Sexson stinks. Salazar needs a chance to play. If you are in a rebuilding year, why not give guys like Salazar an opportunity.

I've seen Oscar Salazar's name mentioned way too many times in the comment section of this blog. He's a 30-year-old minor league journeyman. You've got to look at more than one year of statistics when you're talking about minor league talent.

As far as Sexson goes, if he'll come on the cheap, why not? He's not in high demand and it's not like he's going to be signing for big money considering his train wreck of a season last year. But it was only two years ago that he was a perennial lock for 30+ homers and 100+ rbi. Let's go ahead and take a chance on the guy if he doesn't cost more than $3 or 4M on a one year deal with an option.

One more thing...

To all of you who are bashing Andy MacPhail and the signings of Cesar Izturis, Mark Hendrickson and anyone else not named Mark Teixeira, what would you do with the Orioles this offseason?

CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Derek Lowe and Teixeira don't want to play in Baltimore. Mike Mussina retired. The O's don't need (the insanely overrated) Francisco Rodriguez or Brian Fuentes. Raul Ibanez and Manny Ramirez are too old and too expensive. Ben Sheets and Rafael Furcal are too expensive considering their injury risks. And they probably wouldn't want to play in Baltimore anyways. Pudge Rodriguez isn't going to be happy as a back-up once Matt Wieters comes to town.

So what's next? Adam Dunn, Pat Burrell and Bobby Abreu could work as 1B/LF/DH options. No team has come out as a front runner for any of those three. But I guess all you bashers forgot about them.

Starting pitching? Andy Pettitte, Kenshin Kawakami, Freddy Garcia, Braden Looper, Jon Garland and Paul Byrd are next on the list after Sabathia, Burnett, Sheets and Lowe. The Orioles have already shown interest in Kawakami and Looper and have shown interest in Byrd in recent seasons. No team has come out as the front runner for any of those guys either. Moving on, Pettitte and Garland are probably going to go for a whole lot more than they're worth. Garcia could be a decent low risk, high reward kind of guy.

So what comes after those guys? Bargain, low impact signings? DING DING DING! I believe we have a winner!

Come on people. I think everyone here can agree that the Orioles are rebuilding and that rebuilding is the right direction for this club. But then why do so many people freak out when the O's miss out on top free agents and go for low impact roster fillers instead?

A word to all of you bashers: Calm down. This is what a rebuilding club looks like. The O's have young studs in center field and right field, a solid veteran at the top of the rotation, solid veterans at first, second and third, the top hitting prospect in the game about to move into the catcher's spot and a fairly young, cheap bullpen. Also, three of their minor league starting pitchers are ranked in Baseball America's top 50 for 2009 and they have a slew of solid pitching prospects behind those guys. The offensive side of the minor league system doesn't look too good, but hey, you can't rebuild an organization overnight.

The bottom line is that Andy MacPhail has done a fine job with this organization over the past 18 months. Anyone who doesn't believe that needs to practice some patience.

Have you given up on Salazar ?

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Pete's reply: I haven't given up on anybody. Just trying to tell you what might be going on.

There is ONLY ONE way this could be A good move at that is unlikely. IF Sexton tears up the first 4 months and THEN we move him for a good prospect or two. I say make Huff your everyday 1st baseman and let Salasar,Montenez and Scott battle it out for LF/DH. Salazar is a guy w/o a position anyway. Sexton is a minus in the field and could be a BIG black hole in the lineup too. They would have some built in cooling down in the box seats with all that wind his bat would generate. Dave Kingman w/o the attitude and even less heavy with the bat.

"Introducing: your 2009 Baltimore Warmbodies!"

Pete,
Just curious, since the cubs just traded DeRosa any new news with trading Roberts to Cubs? Have a Happy New Year!

Pete, is there a stadium deal in Miami that Angelos had? I mean, if they finish in dead last and and don't sell out every game, is there a clause that allows them to go to Miami? I really feel like I've seen this movie before.

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Pete's reply: All joking aside, there have been plenty of spring training deals on the table. The problem is that this ownership will not make a deal Peter and his sons are convinced they are fleecing somebody.

Sexson is exact type of player you take a shot on if you are running a rebuilding team on a budget. There is virtually no downside and a potentially large upside if Sexson has returned to good health.

My question for Pete is do you think the Mark DeRosa trade in Chicago today is a precursor to a Roberts-to-the-Cubs deal? If the Cubs are really getting ready to deal Marquis to the Rockies and have opened up the second base spot, it seems like some dominoes are beginning to fall. Have you heard anything?

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Pete's reply: I haven't heard anything, but I'm going to make the same assumptions that you are probably making right now. I have to think the discussions about Roberts will heat up soon.

Pete,

If I'm the O's and the Cub's inquire about Roberts again, I tell them any talks start with Vitters & Pie. After that we'll consider Fontenot and/or Tony Thomas (if he wasn't traded off last season).

As far as the Sexson suggestion goes, I'd rather go with a combination of Millar/Salazar/Montanez then opt for FA on downside of career. I realize Salazar is 30, but I think we need to see if the guy can hit translate AAA success into a modest big league career. Perhaps as a utility type. Who knows, maybe he's the next Melvin Mora. Got to at least see if this works. That's what rebuilding teams do.

As far as the pitching? I'm fine with Looper, and perhaps take a shot at Randy Wolf. I'd still inquire about Byrd as well. These guys would give us serviceable pitching at the major league level, while allowing our young guns to develop within a proper time in the minors.

The Os should just play without a first baseman this year. Admit to the fans and league what a joke they are.

It will be much more interesting to see the ground balls hit to Brian-Roberts'-no-future-replacement get thrown over to empty air, backed up each play by starting catcher Quiroz (after IRod and Zaun pass on signing with the team).

Or maybe pick someone from the stands before each game and sign them to a one-day contract. Charlie Finely would sign at that.

At least it would be entertainment, since they have given up on fielding a baseball team.

No no no !!! Please don't sign Richie Sexton. He had a chance to sign here before and went to S/M and did'nt do well there. This man is past his time.It would be a BIG mistake to sign him..

Please Mr. Dayreamer;Our Lord is spelled with Jesus not jesus Please have some respect for our Lord
Thank you !
Curt.

Pete-

Have the O's done anything right in the 5 years?
10 years?
Except for the Bedard and Tejeda deals
snooze city!
When does Bowie and fRederick open up?
If it was not for the Junior Oriole Dugout Club my son and I would never make an appearance at the yards!
Jay