Nice to know that Gonzalez is excited about pitching in the AL East.

Is there going to be a press conference introducing Gonzalez? What about Millwood and Atkins?

I've always like Gonzalez in Pittsburgh and Atlanta. He's a bulldog who won't back down from the AL East competition. I don't think he'll be the least bit overwhelmed closing out the 9th in Fenway or Yankee Stadium. Good signing.

Tillman, Snyder and Hernandez to SD for the "other" Gonzalez!

i'm such a sucker for these interviews. his (apparent)excitement makes me forget about those blown saves last year... is it february yet? go o's!

Got to like his attitude about playing in the AL East. Winning starts with thinking you can.

not brooks:

What do you know about Atkins defence.

bob c -

All of the numbers I've seen (I like UZR and Fielding Bible) suggest that Atkins is a below average defender at third base. There's really not enough of a sample size (only 100 or so games) to properly judge his first base defense.

I still think that, unless they can pull off a mega-trade for Adrian Gonzalez or sign Adam LaRoche (which would fill the first base void and force Atkins to third), the O's should go after Kouzmanoff to play third.

not brooks,

I wouldn't mind LaRouche, and its not out of the realm of possibility of putting together a package for Gonzales(conditional on him signing here long term) but not Kouzamanoff. His power numbers are not good enough to offset his terrible OBP. besides, why sign Kouzamanoff if you have Atkins, Wigginton and to a lesser extent, Bell and Waring? I would say that Kouz is npw off the O's radar.

Keith Law of ESPN rates Atkins a well below average defender, calling him "brutal."

The moves thus far all seem like good and logical moves. I just look forward to the day wehn it is more fun to read about the Orioles during the season than in the off season

The moves thus far all seem like good and logical moves. I just look forward to the day wehn it is more fun to read about the Orioles during the season than in the off season

Not brooks/not a visionary posted: "Nice to know that Gonzalez is excited about pitching in the AL East".

Wow, nothing new there. U r not a visionary after all

So just do us all a favor and go away. U should at least hold yourself to the same standards you hold to others, douche

brooks,

adding the Krushin' Russian at 3B isn't any sort of answer. he's as bad a hitter as Atkins without any of (very moderate) upside, leaving us with two corner IFs who can't drive the ball. that sounds all too familiar to me. the next move has to be to add a guy with a little pop at either 3B or 1B.

ken -

Three reasons I like Kouz, despite the ugly surface numbers.

1. He's an excellent defender.

2. He's got an .805 OPS outside of DeathCo.

3. He's only 28, so he still has a bit of upside.

And the only scenario in which I think the O's should get Kouz is if they're unable to acquire AG or LaRoche. If neither of those two come to Baltimore, I think the best move is to slide Atkins and his "brutal" defense over to first base and put Kouz, a solid defender with 20 homer pop, at third.

When it comes to the surplus of corner infielders, I don't think that's a problem at all. Fortunately, Wigginton will be gone after 2010, and maybe before then if he plays well enough to make himself a trade chip. Atkins may be gone after 2010 as well, unless he puts up numbers that warrant exercising the $8.5M option for 2011. But if he does that, he's at first base and/or maybe DH, depending on what happens to Luke Scott. And with Bell and Waring, until they show that they can hit in the majors, they're both question marks.

In short, I believe that player surplus is a good problem to have. Especially when it's a surplus of players who can play third base.

brooks,

kouz is a nice little defender at 3B, but he's not an elite fielder by any means. he had a nice year there last season, but that was as likely to be an aberration given his previous showings as anything else.

i'll refer to isolated power again when i suggest you check out his home/road splits in that category. ugly across the board. the guy has no power potential.

shf9 -

This is a guy who has hit 18+ homers per season over the past three years while hitting with zero lineup protection in the worst hitters park in the game.

I don't care what ISO says. Kouz has shown, in terms of actual results, that he's got 20 homer pop.

Kouz also has a career on-base percentage barely north of .300. that's unacceptable.

Whoop-a-dee-do!. McTurtle FINALLY made a decent acquisition, although I don't know which record tyoifies the players acquired, last year or the previous years.
To go forward from here McT definitely has to put a package together for the Padres' Gonzalez. I see where Seatles' GM was quoted as saying:"Did I think we'd be getting a guy (Lee) of this caliber? You always set your expectations high." Quite a difference from the way McT does it. He went into the off-season saying that the O's wouldn't be in the top players market inferring that they were out of his league. Zdureincik of the Mariners got Lee for THREE MINOR LEAGUE PROSPECTS! If that is possible why not go after Gonzalez with three prospects, and they don't ALL have to be McT's sacred cow minor league pitchers. Even a major leaguer like Scott or Pie/Reimold could be part of the package! Come on, MAKE THE TRADE!

shf9 -

Look at the away splits again.

Kouz's OBP outside of DeathCo is .328. Sure, that's not very good, but when you're getting solid defense and 20 homers out of the seven or eight hole, it's not that bad and certainly isn't unacceptable, especially considering that fact that the O's have had a .337 OBP from third base over the past four years.

I'm not saying Kouz is the third baseman of the future. I'm saying that he's better than anything we've got in house and, for the price, is better than anything we'll find on the free agent market.

jaycee,

that is not what MacPhail inferred. he inferred that due to the very shallow free agent market, prices would be inflated and that there was nobody worth overpaying to get. i agree with him wholeheartedly in that regard.

in addition, A-Gonz's price is exorbitant due to shallow market. the Red Sox are starting their offer with Bucholz and Ellsbury. that means we start our with Matusz and Jones. it's not worth it right now.

i know you're not saying that, but out of curiosity, what do you expect the price to be? he's not worth any of our name prospects. i wouldn't give up Pie for him. if he were a FA, i'd say sure, go for it, but otherwise, he really doesn't bring anything to the table for us.

Since the Padres are trying to save money and Kouzmanoff is blocking Chase Headley and a slew of third base prospects (James Darnell, Logan Forsythe, Edinson Rincon), I would expect he could be had for a lower level pitching prospect like Brandon Erbe, Zach Britton or maybe even Ryan Berry.

Since the Padres are trying to save money and Kouzmanoff is blocking Chase Headley and a slew of third base prospects (James Darnell, Logan Forsythe, Edinson Rincon), I would expect he could be had for a lower level pitching prospect like Brandon Erbe, Zach Britton or maybe even Ryan Berry.

Posted by: not brooks | December 17, 2009 3:44 PM

Since when is Brandon Erbe and Zach Britton lower level prospects? I doubt anyone that knows anything about our farm system would consider them lower level prospects. They both could be in the majors in 2011. We wouldn't give them up for Kouzmanoff for sure.

Anonymous -

Erbe and Britton are "lower level" in two senses:

1. Britton hasn't pitched north of A-ball and Erbe only has 14 starts in AA.

2. Based on talent, they're not at the same level as Tillman, Matusz and Arrieta.

I guess each of them has an outside chance at the starting rotation in 2011 depending on what happens with Guthrie, Millwood and the free agent class for that season.

And maybe you're right. Maybe Britton and Erbe would be too much for Kouz. I'm just thinking it'll probably take a middle tier pitching prospect to get him and those two are in our middle tier at this point.

sure, but why would deal those guys for a third baseman with a decent glove and little power? that doesn't go very far in the AL East, and it especially doesn't do anything for us right now. you might as well keep Mora at that point (just kidding...kind of).

Im excited now too!! Just the fact that he has that fire and that rocking motion is exciting. I love players that have some spark and character. 2010 is the year of the ImpOssible O's!! We're gonna make it happen!

Millwood is terrible, but Gonzalez was a huge pickup for the Orioles. Gonzo will be a mainstay for years. Also, Atkins will hit for the next three years - the Birds should get rid of him after 2012, but enjoy his bat in the meantime. BTW, Atkins is terrible at 3B defensively, but the Rockies looked the other way because he hit so well.

i would love to sign holiday and badard. trade tilmen and luke scott for 1b a gonzalis . and trade erbe ,hernandez, riemhold and pie for starter josh johnson and ss hanley ramerez. you then would have a line-up to comepete with the big boys. 2b roberts , cf jones, rf markakas, lf holiday , 1b a gonzalas, ss hanley ramerez, c m weiters, 3b g atkins dh wigington starters would be b matusz , millwold , josh johnson , guthrie, and e badard.