Pete,
You gotta love the way Baez has returned to the form he showed earlier in the year. Is it true he is one of the most popular O's in the clubhouse?
Also, do you think he will be gone in the next few days now that someone could probably use him in late innings for a playoff push.
Thanks.

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Pete's reply: Danys is a real gentleman both in and out of the clubhouse and everybody likes him. I don't know if something will materialize from a trade standpoint. I wouldn't totally rule out the O's re-signing him for a year if he continues to pitch well. Of course, the price would have to be right. He wouldn't get $5 million again.

Sherrill is the real deal but was just a season or two early and a year or two too old for the O's in this current rebuild which I think is going well and showing a lot more promise than any other team in the last decade.

Macphail bashers have got to be hating this...
Macphail was crazy to trade Sherrill....crazy like a fox....
It almost seems like he knew that Johnson could step into the closers role....

Let's not get too carried away...we still need a lefty in the 'pen and Johnson is far from a sure-fire closer. We already traded one reliever so we hardly have a surplus there. I don't think guys like Bass, Albers and Hendrickson are going to be around past this year so if anything, we are likely going to be looking for bodies.
And Baez may be a nice guy and all but do we really need another year of his roller-coaster outings? It makes no sense to bring him back to a team that is rebuilding.
Find a lefty, hope that Mickolio and Ray are solid and pray that Johnson can show some consistency.

I am very happy with todays 2 out 3 win againest a contender.
I'm not so sure we win this a week or a month ago.
We need to keep building on this.
Very impressed with Mickolio's stretch of pitching.
I remember when he wasn't effective last year.
I have to look forward to when I attend this Thursdays Indians game.

Nice win today! McPhail or anyone who trades something valuable away HOPES the person they have in mind can step into the role. As for Baez, now that he's through a year healthy and throwing hard, resigning with the Os would be nice, although it looks like another off season where the Os will pick from guys that aren't signed by more attractive clubs...although, slowly they are becoming one of those clubs.

Speaking of Flat Breezy, did you notice his facial hair? It didn't seem to effect his pitching ability.

Pete,
What are they smoking down on Calvert St. to allow this headline in the Sun today. "Blind Date wins Pearl Necklace at Laurel Park" I saw that and I still haven't stopped laughing.

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Pete's reply: I didn't see that. Was it in the print edition?

Yes, trading Sherrill was an awful idea, we miss him so, simply cannot with without him--NOT! As I predicted when we made the move, we haven't need a closer all that much, and JJ has done the job (no blown saves) when we have. We got two ML prospects, both of whom are doing very well in Bowie. McPhail strikes again.

Does Trembley smoke? And if so how many cigarettes were left in the pack at the end of the ninth?

Fire Trembley...fight fire with fire...I am the God of Hell Fire, and I bring you...Fire!

I do not think he was crazy like a fox. He took out his 8th inning pitcher and that is not good. Fact is Sherrill may not be around Dodger town forever but you have to feel good for him, getting a chance to play in the playoffs. Same with Huff, Zaun, Bradford, Cormier and others. Anyone notice what Werth is doing these days?

I agree that trading Sherril was not a good move, but it won't be a problem if next year someone steps up and becomes a viable replacement, i.e Chris Ray.

The argument against keeping Sherrill by most who were favorable to the trade, is that he was "old". Trevor Hoffman and Mariano Rivera have been pitching "old" for years. No Sherrill is not any of these guys, but he was in the top 5 closers in the league for the past 2 seasons. No reason to believe he would not still be there at only 32 years old.

Slugger,

I agree with you on that. Plus we have one lefty in the bullpen now. But who knows what the off season will bring!

Repeat after me....this is true
"closers are overated and can be found in many places...."

You can groom many people to be closers.

Ditto Bill. Most ML pitchers with a fastball can come in the ninth inning with no one on base, and possibly facing the lesser part of the lineup, and throw balls out for one inning to get three outs without giving up enough runs to lose a game and a "save".

A true "closer" should be a guy capable of regularly coming in with the GAME in jeopardy - not the blank ninth inning slate facing him. That might be the sixth inning with a two run lead , man on second,and the 2,3, and 4 hitters coming up. THAT could be the game right there. Shut that down and someone else can cruise through the rest of the lineup. The problem is, it doesn't qualify the pitcher for the glorious save statistic - which shows how pointless it really is - but you can't get ML managers, players, and agents from drinking the Kool Aid. Gotta have those ninth inning "heroics".

Years ago I always thought Batista wasn't given enough credit for his excellent setup work while Randy whatever-his-name was got way too much credit for his saves.

I disagree, closers are important. So are pitchers that can pitch the seventh and eighth innings. The game has changed. If closers were overrated why are teams willing to spend so much. Maybe it was not so important 30-40 years ago, when the Orioles had 70 complete games but now most teams are in single digits on complete games.. The Orioles only have two complete games. So a closers role is pretty important. And please there is no definition that describes a closer as someone that has to throw pure heat. I would rather just see Sherrill back because he is savvy, and got people out and continues to do so for a team that will be fighting to get into the world series.

Also a closer is someone that is going for the save in the last inning. Not in the 6th. Baseball is driven by conditioning a players psych, a lot of these guys get thrown off because of their conditioning to come in for more than one inning of work, but Sherrill handled that just fine, and I wish we had him still. Plus the guy believed in the team and the direction it was heading, and wanted to be involved in that.

Anyone notice that Torre put Broxton on 8th inning duty and gave Sherrill the save opportunity yesterday? Interesting move to make on a contending team. I guess Torre has the cred to do stuff like that without risking team dischord...

I'm glad to see that Sherrill's doing well, also happy that JJ is off to a good start, and hopeful that the pieces we got for Sherrill pay off. The payoff for Bedard continues to increase- Jones, Tillman, Mickolio all looking good, and hopefully Bell will make it to the majors in the next couple years too.

You can look this up, but I believe during Mariano Rieveras run of piling up saves that Oakland used over a dozen different guys and got the same amount of saves.

most pitchers era's are around 4.00 right?

in order to expect a pitcher to give up a run when he comes in one inning with no one on his era would have to be 9.00

so to blow a game when your team has a one two or three run lead and all you have to do is get three outs is really unlikely. It's also highly unlikely that any pitcher would blow a lot of games under the traditional closer situation. I admit you have to have a certain mentality to handle it, but most pitchers in the major leagues have that mentality (that's how you get to the majors).

What's really tough is to come in with men on base and keep the other team from scoring, but the saves stat is highly overrated which most GM's know....which is why the good ones (Macphail included) felt it was an easy risk to trade our "closer" for a possible long term solution at third base.

That trade (involving Sherrill) should be made 100 times out of 100 even if it doesn't pan out.....it is worth the risk

I like Sherrill too but he wasn't going to hit 30 home runs and play one of the corner infield positions anytime soon....and in case you haven't noticed that is much more of a priority than having a "closer" right now

Yes it was good to see that. The Dodgers have used a few others this year. Well it is interesting to watch the teams driving for the playoffs. With the Dodgers having two ex Orioles, the Rays with three, the Tigers with one and so on.

Despite his run of consecutive saves, I feel Sherrill is more valuable as a match up lefty. And he was never gonna be that here. So trading him for prospects is a good gamble w/ Johnson, Ray, or Mickolio ready to step up and close.

The bullpen still needs a situational lefty out there, maybe two. Uehara, with his change up, could also be tough on lefthanded batters out of the pen next year.

Baez has been downright nasty at times. Interesting thought that he may
re sign for less cake.

Finally, its grown very tiresome to see a manager so ill prepared. Did Scott even know he was pinch hitting? And why leave him in there after the pitching change when Izturis was coming into the game anyway?

Bill,

Oakland would have traded all 12 to have Mariano. Really you must be living in a dreamland. Even Maddon gave credit to Trevor for last years success. The only reason you make that trade is for hope that a guy might pan out, while the guy you trade me be only under contract for the remainder of the year. You are talking about a proven major league talent, not a double A player. If it was a 100 out of 100 times deal, then why did the Dodgers do it? Are they stupid or something? They are in first place, we are not. They added Sherrill to help bring them to the ultimate goal in baseball to go to the world series and win...

Wow. Is the Bedard deal the gift that keeps on giving or what? Mikolio looks nasty. He brings the kind of heat out of the pen that I've been saying we needed all year. With the possibility of Berken or Koji being in the pen next year too, coupled with a healthy and productive Ray, you've got to think that the only thing the O's might need bullpen wise is a left handed version of Mikolio or Johnson. Of course things rarely go according to plan.

About the Sherrill deal, I completely agree with whoever said you should make that deal 100 out of 100 times. I have a great feeling about Josh Bell. I think he'll turn into the power hitting thirdbaseman we've been craving all year. Maybe not next year, but just as everything will be falling into place in 2011.

Not to mention that Steve Johnson is exactly piling up wins, but he's got a 3.00 era and a K per IP. Pretty good Double A numbers for a guy who's only 21. Add Bell and Johnson to the "Curtosy of Erik Bedard List"

One last thing. Never thought I'd say this until a month ago or so but I think Felix Pie's fortunes may be turning around, and I'd like to see more of him.

Remembrances of "Two Pack" Stanhouse. For some reason, Johnson's relief stints give me the heebie-jeebies. It's like he can't do it clean. A tight wire act with no net. There always some drama behind his save attempts. He walks a guy, the next batter gets a broken bat single, ball in the dirt getting away from the catcher, players advancing to scoring position, then a double play ball. Game over. Meantime, I in the toiletten heaving lunch with the certainty that another late game lead's been for naught. I come back out, game over. What da? How he'd get out of that inning with a save. I don't know how much of Johnson's my stomach can take.

I agree that trading Sherril was not a good move, but it won't be a problem if next year someone steps up and becomes a viable replacement, i.e Chris Ray.

The argument against keeping Sherrill by most who were favorable to the trade, is that he was "old". Trevor Hoffman and Mariano Rivera have been pitching "old" for years. No Sherrill is not any of these guys, but he was in the top 5 closers in the league for the past 2 seasons. No reason to believe he would not still be there at only 32 years old.

Posted by: Slugger | August 23, 2009 8:59 PM

Rivera and Hoffman have been doing it for years. Sherrill had ONE and a half years as a closer. If he was the answer, why aren't the Dodgers using him as closer? Why didn't the Mariners use him as closer. Wait! It was the brilliant move of Andy MacPhail, Trembley, and the coaching staff (all of whom you constantly bash as being inept) who turned Sherrill into a closer. What place where the Orioles in with Sherrill as closer? Last. According to your 'logic' perhaps the team shouldn't have gotten rid of Tejada and Bedard either. To quote Jack Webb, "just the facts ma'am."

If it is true that it could take 4-5 months for Reimold to heal after possible Achilles surgery, why not shut him down now so that he'd be ready for spring training? Granted he may not need it but if he does, he has plenty of time to heal. Why would they wait since he is so banged up and Sept. call-ups are a week away?

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Pete's reply: I kind of doubt he's going to undergo a full Achilles repair. He says he has been diagnosed with "fraying" of the tendon," and I'm not sure what that means. The fact that he's playing so well on it ought to tell you it's not significantly torn.

Daydreamer,
Good point. They may do that come September. My guess is that he keeps playing and maybe surgery is not determined yet. He looks to be running pretty well.

Bad news about Reimold's Achilles tendon. I would like to see the O's shut him down, but then Trembly's job is on the line. (Unless of course a decision has already been made on his future with the club. That decision should have been made by now. ) It seems the O's are a bit snake bitten. Reimold is a legitimate candidate for rookie of the year. He is not a runaway winner though, and I think letting a promising young player continue to play in a situation where he could be doing more damage to a very sensitive tendon for the sake of a possible ROTY is being penny wise and pound foolish. Bergessen also had to be considered a legit candidate for ROTY, until his injury.

It would be great to see Pie get more time in the field now that he seems to be playing well. I would love to see an outfield next year where we have four young outfielders that can hit for average, power, run well, and gun runners down. With regular playing time I think we could have an outfield where even an all star caliber outfielder may have difficulty getting regular playing time. When Montanez comes back, I wonder what will happen. Will we trade Luke Scott? He may bring a good player in a trade, either an infielder with power, or another good young pitcher. Scott is more limited than the other outfielders, and at this point he may bring more in a trade than Montanez. I wouldn't trade Pie, unless we get a REALLY good deal.

Well lets see, and let me think clearly for a second. Big Jonathan Broxton is the current closer of the Dodgers and they traded for Sherrill. My guess is that the Dodgers do not have a good dependable lefty out of the bullpen, and they got one with Sherrill. The fact is he is helping them win games and his ERA in the Major League baseball this year is somewhere around 1.85 per 9 innings.

I hope Bell can mature into a good fielder, really he has defensive issues, who knows may make a good DH. Do you guys want a third baseman that could make 30-40 errors playing full time? I am thrilled they have Steve Johnson, that would be fun to see him pitch one day at the yard.

All I am saying is that the Dodgers see an immediate benefit with Sherrill, who is proven. Sure he has only been closing games for a season and a half, but he is a very effective lefty at the major league level, maybe he is an old 32 year old. A lot of these deals do not make perfect sense, because they did offer older pitchers jobs this year. Koji, Eaton and Hendrickson and Sherrill is better than all of them, and has the right attitude. Regardless the Orioles bullpen is weaker without him. .

Cb said
"Oakland would have traded all 12 to have Mariano"
You really don't get it.
No they wouldn't have traded these guys for Mariano. Beane believes strongly that the closer position can be filled by many different guys. You should check the facts on this.
Also, I'm not saying the dodgers made a dumb trade. They are in in a playoff run and they like Sherrill. When a trade is made you hope it works for both parties as this one may.

Another win! Is it possible that these guys are waking p to the fact that playing tough all the way to the end of the season and showing the other teams that you are not an automatic win for them is only going to help them next year?
I hope this is the beginning of a trend.
As for the Sherrill deal, I still think it was a wise move. I am feeling pretty optimistic about the O's pitching next year, my biggest worry lately has been the offense.
Now the bats seem to be coming around a little as well.
C'mon O's, finish on positive note this year. Just play hard, don't make stupid mistakes, and show the other teams you won't roll over for them. Take pride in being a spoiler.

Hey there Fake-toid,

MacPhail and Trembley did not turn Sherrill into a closer. He filled a void that was needed and stepped up to be one the best closers in the league. The Dodgers have a closer, and so did Seattle when they traded him. My point about Hofman and Rivera was that you can be "old" and still be dominant as a closer. Sherrill was still a top closer in the game when he was traded. I have no reason to believe he wouldn't still be. And, again, for you and other morons who use age as an excuse, the point I make before counters it.

MacPhail and Trembley are the only idiots I know that would get rid of players they can't replace immediately. Yes, they did it with Tejada as well and we have yet to get a shortstop half his caliber. How many shortstops have we had since? Izturis is average with the glove, definitely not a top shortstop in the league, and cannot hit to save his life.

Again, before another morons jump in to nitpick comments about Tejada. I'm not saying we should have kept him as part of our future. Same with Sherrill: If you're going to get rid of guys, you better have someone to replace him with, otherwise your "rebuilding" process will prolong even more.

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Pete's reply: I'll jump in and nitpick. Tejada was unhappy and wanted out for a couple of years leading up to the deal. He also was under a cloud of steroid suspicion that bloomed THE DAY AFTER MacPhail traded him. He had a couple years left on his contract. They could have kept him and gotten nothing for him after he played out two more meaningless years here. They got five players for him, one of whom has produced almost as many runs as Tejada over the same period. I have no idea why you're trying to cast it as a bad deal and blow up MacPhail, but it ain't working. You'r'e just being stubborn here. I'd go back to grouching about Eaton and Hendrickson, because the two big deal were both steals, and I didn't even mention the $25 million they saved in salary.

As I have said before on this blog, keep your eye on Jason Berken. He is a sleeper. The mechanical similarities to Greg Maddux are uncanny, and now he is experimenting with different grips in order to get more movement.

Now , I am ceratinly not predicting 300 wins for the kid. As matter of fact, the current crop young MLB pitching talent is not likely to produce another 300 game winner due to the 5 man rotation.

But Berken may end up being one of the best and most effective of the Orioles young pitchers.

Facts? You do not want to go there. Mariano one blown save this year, A's by committee nine blown saves this year. Rvera has nine in his last four years, while earning 140 plus saves. The last time the A's won anything is when Street was closing the majority of their games, remember him? Lets see the last time I looked Street is now closing for Colorado and they are contending now after a sub .500 year last year. The A's trade for Holiday to add a big bat, and it does not work out for them. So pitching, defense and clutch hitting gets it done. As far as it goes with Beane, I remember what he said, he would rather create a closer than buy one because of the cost. Kind of like Sherrill isn't it.

Slugger
You don't call Johnson a replacement who was ready to go?
What did you call everyone....idiots morons

Did you see that Johnson was 5 for 5 in save situations?

What would that make you?

Half my point was about Tejada, and don't see you countering that, Anonymous.

The other half, you don't have a leg to stand on the JJ argument just yet. Your sample size of 5 for 5 is not large enough to make any kind of educated guess. I hope JJ does become a good closer. He has the stuff and the makings to become one. JJ performance this year did not make the move to closer a popular choice. I hope they prove everyone wrong.

The Orioles didn't have anyone to replace Bedard either. They still don't have an ace. I don't think anyone is complaining about that trade.

When the O's traded Tejada, they didn't have much at any position. The Orioles simply needed more talent in order to rebuild.

This year, the Orioles had Mora and Wiggington at 3B and didn't think they had the answer in the minors. It seems logical that filling the hole at 3b makes more sense then making sure there's a solution at closer. It's not like Soria is doing much for the Royals, right?

The Orioles still have more holes then pieces. In this situation, trading a guy without a proven replacement isn't a bad idea if you can turn him into a few pieces(Tejada trade) or you can turn him into a more important piece(Sherill trade).

How about the fact Theo Epstein and Billy Beane let go of Nomar and Miguel, respectively with no legitimate backup behind either. I guess those two are idiots as well

Not to defend MacPhail or disparage Tejada, but I think the trading of Tejada was a good thing.

He has lots of natural ability, but apparently wasn't shy about using ways to "enhance" it, and he faced legal problems at the time for his involvement in the steroid scandal.

In his last year here his power declined, and yet he was still getting $12 million a year for being a "singles hitter".

His defensive abilities at shortstop were never great and seemed to be declining, and he later admitted to being 2 years older than he had claimed.

He voiced frustration/dissatisfaction at being here and had to be coaxed into wanting to stay by Mora (of all people).

All of these developments diminished his abilities to be a "clubhouse leader" (whatever that's worth), and if anything made him part of the problem that has been the Orioles' recent past.

Even if we were to assume that Tejada's presence here (versus the players we received in the trade for him) was worth a net gain of 5-10 wins per season, that would still leave us under .500, with an aging shortstop of questionable attitude, limited defensive ability, and a big price tag.

Apparently his contribution to the Astros hasn't been significant enough to lead them to the playoffs.

Slugger;

Miggy was a cancer that needed to be excised. While his BA has bounced back this year, his OB% and SL% are not much higher than average. No sign either of the power that justified the 14 million we were paying him. Add to that the fact that he had turned into a defensive liability and I have not the faintest idea why you would want him playing for you.

The Sherrill trade was a very smart move. How smart? -- we won't know until we see how Bell and Johnson pan out. That's the nature of trading for prospects. Closers and saves are highly overrated!!! Any pitcher who considers himself a "major leaguer" should be able to pitch ONE INNING --- ONE ---- 90+ percent of the time without giving up a run. Seriously!!! ONE inning!! It strikes me as being a mental challenge more than having great stuff. Sherrill certainly doesn't have great stuff. JJ, Ray, Mikolio, whoever!! The O's will find one easy enough.

Slugger how do you figure JJ's performance this year didn't earn him the closer spot. JJ's numbers the past two years BLOW AWAY Sherrills. How can any of you guys pine for the days of George and call JJ's appearences heart attack when Sherrill went through all of 08' with a nearly 1.50 WHIP!

Slugger,

Wouldn't 5 games be too soon to judge whether this team is missing Sherrill in much the same way it's too soon to say JJ is a success?

The drop off being experienced by the Orioles is just about non-existent in the closer situation right now. So I don't see too much of a problem. Especially with Johnson, Ray others making their case to take the role full time in the long term.

Sure Sherrill is pitching well, but do you see how they use him in LA? They flip flopped him the other night to have Braxton against the middle of the order and Sherrill took the bottom of the order in the 9th. They aren't using him in situations that they don't trust him in. That says a LOT about his trade value outside of Baltimore even though he was piling up saves here.

Who knows what will happen in the future, all you can do is look at the now when you are competing. With Braxton and Sherrill at least LA has one heck of a tag team wrestling match with a combined 535 pounds!

AL East and Bob C.

If you read and not just skimmed through my post for keywords, you'd actually see that I am not making a case for Tejada, Sherrill or anybody.

I acknowledge we had to make those trades. What I'm saying is: When you make a trade you better have replacement for the players you're trading that can do just as good or better. Otherwise you open more holes than you had in the first place, which in turn prolongs your "rebuilding" process.

I don't like doing this, but the name calling in my previous post was well warned, as your replies show.

Slugger, your whole argument is bunk.

I'll quote your main point verbatim so there won't be an issue of misquoting. You said "If you're going to get rid of guys, you better have someone to replace him with, otherwise your "rebuilding" process will prolong even more."

This makes no sense at all. Rebuilding by definition means that immediate results are not the goal, but rather laying a foundation for future success. Therefore, why is it wrong for a team in "rebuilding" to trade someone who isn't part of the long-term picture and has good trade value, even if they don't have an immediate replacement.

Your assertion that not having a replacement ready prolongs the rebuilding process is also bunk. If we can trade an injury-prone leftie or aging slugger and land multiple young all-star caliber talents in return, why not stock the organization and then plug the holes later when rebuilding is further along. In contrast to your view, those two trades actually ACCELERATED the rebuilding process.

I agree with Peter that we avoided a land grenade by trading Tejada the day before the steroid allegations came out. I also recall that shortly thereafter it was revealed that he was older than he disclosed. We certainly traded him (and Bedard) at peak value, and got GREAT value in return.

Andrew,

You all are reading too much into it. No one is actually questioning the trades. I'm questioning the plan for after the trades.

Who says that rebuilding means you have to suck BAD? OK, I will give you that we don't expect the replacements to be awesome, but put someone at shortstop or closer who are young and promising players that have shown a career progression that they will in the immediate future be viable replacements. You think Izturis is the future at short stop? I didn't think so. JJ or Ray could probably fill the closer role, maybe, I'll give you that.

We went from having a starting pitching problem, to additionally having a closer problem (maybe), a shortstop problem. Not to mention that we also need a first and third baseman.

Why is it that teams like the White Sox and the Redsox season after season come up with MLB ready prospects from their farm system that come out of the gates shooting for the top and we take years to develop the Penn's and Cabrera's of the World?

Oops ... I did it again. Awaiting to be reminded of the greatest trade since sliced bread and the 5 year plan.

Slugger;

You make no sense. Since no team who already had a Miggy caliber SS would be trying to trade for Miggy, the only way to get one would have been through free agency. Do you mind telling us which Miggy caliber SS were available then and which one was beating down the door to come to the Os. A source to back up your belief would be nice.

Let me save you the time. There were none. Logically then, your statement that they should not have traded him without getting another SS of equal ability to replace him, can mean nothing else than they should not have made the trade.

And that is why you do not resort to calling other people idiots, lest one of them point out how contradictory your statements are and refer to you in kind.

Remember the old saying. It is better to be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.

Exactly, the trades we made solidified our outfield so we didn't have to worry about finding an outfielder in free agency. Especially with not many if any great shortstops in the league period, there a fewer spots in our lineup to fill than there were when Miggy was playing for us.

Man it would be nice to live in Slugger's fantasy land. Where do these better "immediate replacements" come from? Do they grow on trees? If you could magically replace anyone, especially a multiple all-star, why would you need to make any trades in the first place?

Better question. Do you understand anything about major league baseball or a what a rebuilding process is and what it entails?

I don't think so. Get a clue man.

While slugger is getting slammed here, there is some merit to his point. Sure, you have to give up something of value to get something back. We all agree that the O's made out very well in the Bedard trade as we filled more holes-OF, a few pitchers in return for an ace who unfortunately is injured.
The Houston trade created a SS hole, which we eventually filled but I'm not sure we made out that great filling other positions. Scott has some value but I'm sure he's trade bait. The jury is still out on how many, if any, of those pitchers will play a role. Patton's been injured and from what I've seen from Albers and Safrate, who knows if they can be effective at the MLB level?
Many of the other trades are minor in nature and seem insignifcant-ie the Salazar for Meredith swap, Huff for who? and probably any trade with the Cubs.
I am with the minority on the Sherill deal but I have already beat that to death. We still lack a solid lefty reliever but if we find one and Bell becomes our starting 3B, then great deal!
The point of any Orioles trade from hereon in should be make us better in the near future. For example, it makes no sense to trade Roberts for the prospects as we then won't have a 2B. It's time to start filling in the pieces by trading a couple of our own prospects for a 1b or 3b IF we can't get them other way(free agency or from the farms system).

Slugger - the Orioles have a long way to go, yet. The now 12-year-old rebuilding plan really sucked for a long time. Hey, we drafted Billy Rowell ahead of Tim Lincecum and Adam Lind, among others, as recently as 2006.

The minor league system, as you know, was littered with toolsy athletes who never developed any skills, and pitchers with hurt arms.

There has been tremendous improvement in the 2+ years that MacPhail has been here. I'm sure his predecessors could have done much better had they gotten the committment that MacPhail seems to have now from ownership....but they didn't. So, in 2007 we had an awful major league team AND an awful minor-league system, and no international scouting to speak of. It's a lot to fix, and though we're seeing some immediate fruits, there's still a very long way to go before the Orioles are a quality organization with ready depth available for the major-league squad. More than half of the team's top young players were today acquired in recent trades or drafted in '07 and '08!

Slugger

~~Your sample size of 5 for 5 is not large enough to make any kind of educated guess.~~

And yet you, based on the same five game sample, have declared we didnt have anyone to replace Sherrill.

Oh yeah, and Cesar is a better fielding SS than Miggy ever was.

TerryP, it's funny you mention Roberts, because in this case I think that we do actually have depth in the minors at second base to bring up a quality replacement, in Justin Turner. Sure he's not going to be the immediate top 4 or 5 in MLB 2nd baseman that Roberts currently is, but what he could possibly add actual wouldn't be that far off from what Roberts brings to the table.
If you get a quality pitcher starter or lefty reliever with maybe a power hitting infield prospect, I could see making that deal. Not that I'm advocating it, but you could make a case for it.

djph. Good point about Roberts...If Turner is as good as expected then maybe there's some merit in dealing Roberts. I know it sounds far-fetched but hey, if we can obtain the kind of haul we received for Bedard, then that's the type of bold move MacPhail needs to make.
I don't see that happening for 2 reasons, however. First, Roberts has reached almost Ripken-like status in the eyes of the O's fans and trading him would result in a big fan backlash.

Second, his 10 mill per year might scare away a lot of teams as that's a lot of coin for a 2B and many teams already have a decent player there.
Overall, the idea makes sense but I don;t see it happening.

Get RID OF DAVE TREMBLEY HE IS NOT THE MANAGER THAT WILL HELP THIS TEAM WIN!