ooh!

I'll clear my schedule for October/November 2010 so I can watch my O's in the World Series.

i hate this team

Pete,

What does Andy have to say Millwood is MIA and Atkins will be on the DL all season?

Thanks for the info...was really racking my brain to figure out that loud chuckle coming out of the Bronx...

please go be nationals fans.

Peter,
Some investigative reporting is needed into what appears to be blatant manipulation of the Sun poll on fan attitudes about recent Orioles personnel moves. I think this is a coordinated effort on behalf of management and ownership.
You were right on with your Sunday column. The O's moves are not at all exciting. They're just more Angelos fizzle, while the Sox and Yanks continue to sizzle. Angelos has no more credibility than the Sun poll.

Larry - Why would Atkins be on the DL all season?

jake - Im satisfied. The team/organization was in shambles. over the past three years they have rebuilt the system and are looking good for years to come. unless you are going to buy all the season tickets not sure how they are going to get him here. that and here is the kicker HE HAS TO WANT TO COME HERE. not everybody wants to play for the orioles. get over it.

Rockvillejake
You act like this is something new from The Sun!

mike,

The Orioles never left the shambles of 3 years ago they just have upped the PR to make us losing look like it is leading to something. Too bad it’s more losing!

...............................................................................................
Pete's reply: Maybe, but it seems like the only thing that would have met with your approval would have been a genie shooting out of a bottle and turning the Orioles into the Yankees with the snap of a finger 2 1/2 years ago. In the state the Orioles were in, it was going to take a process. Not sure what you thought was going to happen at that point. If it was completely hopeless at that point, then you're the one who's doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.

Horrible move

I would love to hear from the haters what move they would have preferred here?

The O's have given up *nothing* and are paying a relatively low base salary to a guy who has a track record of power production and who is little more than a one-year stopgap.

Are there better third basemen out there? Sure there are, but not at this pricetag.

And lets stop pretending that the O's are one way player away from contending for a World Series title. Pray tell, what move would evoke more than a torrent of negative energy from you clowns?

If you're not on board with rebuilding - and doing it the right way - then you can gladly see your way off the O's bandwagon. Just don't come knocking when it amounts to something in 2010, 2011, 2012 and beyond.

Like I said, we aren't one move from the World Series, but if MacPhail and company play their hand right, we might be in a few seasons. But until then, there's no sense blowing our wad on Adrian Beltre or Dan Uggla or Kevin Kouzmanoff or Billy Butler or whatever other wannabe savior you fools are holding out for.

Seriously, get a clue or go home.

I love this 12 year rebuilding plan... Getting upset about the Orioles front office not trying is like wanting a playoff in college. Its just not going to happen for the next 5-10 years.

"I would love to hear from the haters what move they would have preferred here?"

Too bad.

They've been asked several times, but none of them seem willing or able to come up with a better alternative other than signing Holliday, Bay and/or Lackey.

But then they say that no free agent worth his salt would ever consider playing in Baltimore.

It's a vicious cycle.

You with all the 2's and G's -

I love that some of you "realists" really think that the O's ever really tried rebuilding prior to the MacPhail Administration.

If you think that signing Marty Cordova and Pat Hentgen is rebuilding, I don't know what to tell you.

Anonymous,

You're an idiot. Keep your unintelligent comments to yourself. For someone who hates the O's so much, you sure to follow this blog closely.

..............................................................................................
Pete's reply: Let's ease up on the name-calling. Doesn't advance the debate a bit.

ZZZZZZZZZZ

Gotta side with Dave here and some of the others who have clearly gotten sick and tired of all the naysaying and "negative waves" coming from some of the posters here. If the Orioles can't figure out a way to trade Kiko Garcia and Dave Skaggs for a young Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, and the reincarnation of Cy Young, they think that the front office has screwed up. Give me a freakin' break. Not a break, mind you. A FREAKIN' break, and I'm only saying "FREAKIN" because this is a family blog here. You don't like the Orioles so much, fine, go become a Yankee fan or a Satanist or something. We don't want you, don't need you. To be a fan means to be FANATICAL about your team, i.e. love them, support them, pull for them no matter what. If you can't do that, you're no fan, so stop posting here and start your own blog where you can have your whinefest all day long and see how many people give a rat's tookus. All that being said, I think the signing of Atkins is a smart move for all the reasons others have already noted here. I also believe that we have not seen the end of trades/signings for the Orioles, and I expect at least a couple more between now and spring training, if not during spring training. We are making progress, and Lord knows this is a much more interesting team to watch now, as it was more interesting the year before. Wieters is here, Matusz is here, Tillman is here, Roberts and Markakis are STILL here, Jones is here, and I'll bet Erik Bedard will be here fairly soon. There's light at the end of the tunnel. For true O's fans, that's something to celebrate this holiday season. For the naysayers, let's all hope that light is a barreling train that will take them out of Baltimore and to someplace else FAR AWAY...anywhere except this blog. Happy Holidays. Go O's!

I can't believe some of you guys out there. Last year we had a decent 4th Starter as our #1 (JG) and a bunch of guys who were just keeping spots warm. Millwood isn't a premier #1 Starter, but he's better than anyone we had on our staff at the start of last year, and I saw enough of Matusz and Tillman to be excited about their potential. Jones took a big step forward (although he has to stay healthy), Wieters showed he's the real deal (and didn't really start hitting until late August or early September), Reimold and Pie both out-performed cynical expectations and our minor league system is one of the best out there, with several prospects coming soon. Let's see what a whole season with our new pitching staff brings. I've been with the O's since the 1960's and I'll be here when we start winning again!

Mark Lesly, Matt, not brooks, maxmorf, I'm with you. I'm sick of all these people whp have nothing better to do than criticize every thing this GM does.

Yeah, the past 12 years has been painful. But as Mike Tyson says, the past is history, the future is a mystery. We have the possibility of some real good things happening here, yet some of these people wouldn't believe it if it hit them with a ton of bricks.

I wish they would keep their baseless opinions to themselves and let us try to get excited about the future.

Ken:

Count me in. What the constant naysayers are engaged in is masochism, continually subjecting themselves to pain and displeasure. It's really quite profoundly sick if you think about it.

The funny thing about the AM era of bad Oriole teams is that there is no accountability and it seems like everything is a moral victory even as the team gets worse. AM makes fans chase the carrot he waves attached to a stick. All he is doing here is riding out some time before he becomes the new commissioner.

What will happen first??!

US troops get pulled out of Afghanistan

OR

The Orioles go above 500

I really don’t know..

Amen to the hater haters. I think the majority of fans are on board with the current plan, and I think we all know that in general, blog commenters (like talk show callers) are disproportionally negative. I'm glad all the rancor is not influencing any front office decisions. Excitement does not equal progress, necessarily.

Not that I've agreed with all of Andy's moves, but I think there's finally a plan for sustained success. We're just not there yet.

Meanwhile, it would be awesome if all the other teams could stop going out of their way to make the Spanks and Sux better.

Steve D

Your right man I love having a losing team in town! This loss plan rocks!! Awesome! Camden Yards is a great bar to go to!

ryan - you posted a comment on an an orioles message board - YOU are following the carrot. If you ask me, the AM era is long over due and if you could see past your computer screen you could see who is playing for the tides, baysox and keys.

To those who think MacPhail is throwing in the towel on 2010 by signing Atkins:

I would like to have Adrian Gonzalez at 1B too. And I want Josh Johnson in my rotation and maybe Ryan Zimmerman at 3B while we're at it. But for MacPhail to make those moves, he would be throwing in the towel on the future. Ok, you probably won't see me wearing a Garrett Atkins jersey, but he can plug a hole and we didn't give up anything to get him.

Anonymous, were you cut from your high school baseball team? is this where all the hate comes from. If something makes you this miserable, why still watch? Why annoy us? Why come on these boards? Why why, why? Just answer the simple question why you have to constantly post your negative comments? And answer me why if they make you this upset why you just don't root for the yankees?

Ryan -

The way I see it, as you can't pin the 2007 record on him, the O's have gone from a 68 win team to a 64 win team under MacPhail.

Under the cast of characters before AM, the O's went from a team that won 85+ games four times in six years (and made the playoffs twice) to the laughing stock of baseball.

Which brings me to my next point (emphasis added for those who still don't seem to understand): GIVE IT SOME FREAKING TIME!

Rome wasn't built in a day.

You can just slap a new coat of point on a termite-infested house.

An oil change isn't going to fix a busted transmission.

As far as improvement goes, sure we haven't seen it on the big league field... yet. I know I'm going to get called out for "naming names" again, but here goes...

Brian Matusz was pretty good last season. A 4.63 ERA from a 22-year-old in his first year of professional baseball is damn impressive. He got off to a rough start, but in his last four starts he put up a 3.12 ERA and a .624 OPS against. He put up three 7+ strikeout games and was particularly awesome in his last start of the season against the Yankees in New York. Anyone who doesn't expect more of a contribution from Matusz in 2010 needs to pull their head out of their ass.

As a 21-year-old, Chris Tillman got roughed up in his big league debut, struggling to find the stuff that helped him put up almost 10 strikeouts per nine in 79 minor league starts (84 appearances). Regardless, he still showed flashes of brilliance (8 K's, 2 BB's in 5 innings vs. the Yanks in September) and kept his walk rate lower than it was in the minors. Anyone who doesn't expect more of a contribution from Tillman in 2010 needs to pull their head out of their ass.

Moving on to the offense, let's talk about Adam Jones. Jones faded after a hot start and ended the season on the DL, but, as he's only 24 and his injuries don't seem to be of the recurring sort, I'm expecting marked improvement. Just like the marked improvement he showed between 2008 and 2009. There isn't much to say about Jones, as we've all seen that he's talented enough to be a star for years to come, so I'll stop there.

Next, we've got Nolan Reimold. Injuries delayed Reimold's rise to the majors, but after hitting .394 in Norfolk in 31 games, what a rise it was. Reimold showed signs of real power, putting up 15 homers in 358 at bats in his first taste of MLB. After nine homers in his first 32 games, he slowed down a bit, hitting just .246 with 3 bombs in July and August. He came back with a vengeance in 33 September at bats, hitting .364 with 3 homers before shutting it down for the year. If he's healthy in 2010, there's no reason to believe that Reimold won't contribute more than he did in 2009.

And now for the wunderkind. Matt Wieters obviously wasn't the immediate success that basically everyone on the planet thought he would be. The numbers prove it, as Wieters hit just .259 with 4 homers and 20 rbi in 59 games from his callup to August 22nd. But, as he got more comfortable, he turned it on, hitting .331 with 5 homers and 23 rbi from August 23rd to the end of the season. Those late season numbers alone should show that Wieters is nearly ready to go head to head with Joe Mauer for the "Best Catcher in Baseball" tag.

So that's my case. The improvement of those five players specifically, plus a rebound year from Jeremy Guthrie, some rotation stabilization (hey, that's a good rhyme) from Kevin Millwood, continued success from Nick Markakis and Brian Roberts, an improved bullpen (Mike Gonzalez + Jim Johnson back in the 8th inning = improvement) and maybe a few surprises here and there (20 homers from Garrett Atkins? A breakout year from Felix Pie? A solid sophomore season from Brad Bergesen?) is what I'm expecting.

I laid it all out for you "realists". Now let's see what you've got. And do me a favor and actually explain some things instead of repeating the same rhetoric that we've all heard thousands of times before.

Count me in as on board w/ Atkins. I've yet to see his batting stance but he had 3 solid years prior to last year. Certainly worth 4.5 million to see if he can rebound at age 30.

If the O's only sign two more guys, let it be Bedard and a lefty matchup reliever.

An Aubrey/ Wigginton platoon would be potentially productive, and it would take the heat off of Trembley in assigning playing time. Last year Trembley was extremely weak in getting his bench involved, somewhat because there were no strict platoon situations on the roster.

Maybe they can trade Scott for a lefty reliever, freeing up a Pie/Montanez platoon in leftfield and moving Reimold to dh

not brooks - glad I stopped writing, I was going to use the same coat of paint line. I appreciate you taking the time to explain it. I am a big supporter of Reimold but I am curious what they have planned with Pie. Clearly being an everyday starter had its benifits. I am not sure how Reimold feels about playing 1B or an everyday DH. But if he is cool with it I would like to keep his bat in the lineup. You forgot to add how patient he is at the plate.

onceawarrior - I don't think I am satisfied with getting Bedard. Unless you heard something different, wasn't he supposed to be out until may/june? Not that there are a ton of other pitchers out there, but imo they should probably get someone that can contribute right away. Whether it be bedard or someone else, who do you like -Tilman or Hernandez as the #5?

mike - not sure about Bedards status, but when he's right, he's as good as ive seen. And my hope is that his health issues and introverted personality amount to some sort of "home team discount" as he is obviously familiar with a lot of guys here. I wouldn't mind waiting till he's ready, especially with a club option for 2011.

In the meantime, good question about the 5th starter spot. Tillman could probably use some more seasoning, but ultimately has more pitches so would be my choice from current roster. But i like Hernandez' fastball - probably more suited to long relief right now to come in and blow people away for a couple innings at a time.

yeah i agree. As for the two I say let them duke it out in spring training. should make a good competition.

This 2010 team is not much different than that horror story last season. I think you loyal warehouse posters have already forgotten how bad this team was last season. We still have McTrembley, still have that wretched bullpen with one upgrade (a closer we won’t need cause we cannot score runs) We have one good infielder, overhyped outfield that has not done anything and for some reason gotten the Paris Hilton treatment anyway in the bias Baltimore media. Still got a real shaky pitching staff with a key addition of MIA Millwood who does not want to be here. Oh and a new wave of bad MASN commercials, bad coverage and segments so lame that will make you jump ship if you haven’t already. So call the naysayers idiots, mean spirited or whatever but I think in this case they know what they are talking about. The Orioles are one big bowl of bad.

AHHHH Old Tricky Andy and Angelos are putting poor Trembles on the Atkins diet instead of getting him the goods!!

Chris - we know the team isn't going to win 100 games. nobody is denying it. what we dont understand is why you get your jollies off by constantly coming on these boards and wasting the time of others with your whinning and complaining. AM doesn't come on here. If you want to complain about the past 12 years, call the front office. I sure you saying "you suck, fire trembly" will get you transfered to AM's office in no time.

not brooks-
Great post. There's alot of haters on here, doom and gloomers, etc. etc. But don't count me among them. It's nice to see someone be positive or negative who backs up what they say by "naming names" and gives stats while putting their opinion out there.

I'm more of a reader than a poster, as I don't have a ton of time at the computer. I get very tired of the The Orioles Will Lose crowd. I know it surely isn't a guarantee that the O's will be competitive, but I think McPhail is making the best moves --->available

I have always believed in the build the farm system philosophy, and the it's better to lose young and have a chance to improve than to lose old and know that's what you've got philosophy. There's no need to break it down, because if you have an inkling of baseball/sports knowledge, you know what it's all about.

So anyway, keep shutting down the haters and spouters who never back up their statements, with stats and backed up opinions. Some of us enjoy intelligent arguments and not just spouting off.

Seriously, Pete--look at our California Angels (I refuse to call them by their official name).

For years they did what the Orioles are doing--signed aging stars (like Fernando Valenzuela) and let future hall of famers walk (like Nolan Ryan).

Then one day Angels management, spurred by Disney money, woke up and realized that a winning franchise needs expensive players (Vlad) keep talent (like Chone Figgins) and find pitching talent (John Lackey).
Then, they hire a real manager to keep the personalities in check.

The Orioles are far from being close. They need to stop this nonsense and decide to compete. If not, then they ought to admit they simply want to exist, and don't care about competing.

Also, all the "realists" should take a hard look at the state of the franchise's reputation across the league before wondering why Holliday/Bay and the like won't sign here. Whatever the reason is, Angelos, McPhail, Flannigan, WHATEVER, it doesn't change the fact that we are a laughing stock.

So that being said, doesn't it make sense to show the ability to take care of the team from within by smart scouting for the draft, good player development and the ability to fill holes through the minor league system? Won't it be much easier to sign a free agent or two than to try and build a team by free agency acquisitions? Who's going to sign here when we have "prospects"? Wouldn't it make sense to have the prospects develop into above average major leaguers, have them under team control for years at MUCH less than 15 million a year? THEN you gi after the two or three free agents to push you into the post season.

It's not like I'm breaking new ground with a whole new strategy here. It's been done over and over again. But it seems like some people just can't wrap their heads around it. The Orioles will never spend 200 million on payroll. No news there. Why is that so hard to understand?

Let McPhail have a chance to build this team the right way, and the only way the organization can.

Chris S -

This is the kind of stuff that bothers me.

You say that the Orioles have an "overhyped outfield that has not done anything" without bringing up any evidence.

Well, in support of the outfield, here's my evidence:

Nick Markakis (26):
- Put up an average line of .303/.384/.488 with 22 hr and 100 rbi in '07-'08
- In a "down" year in 2009, put up a .293/.347/.453 line with 18 hr and 101 rbi
- Plays excellent defense

Adam Jones (24):
- Between '08 and '09, improved his OBP by 24 points and his SLG by 57 points.
- Hit 19 homers in 473 at bats in 2009
- Plays excellent defense and was rewarded for it with a Gold Glove (though probably in the wrong year)

Nolan Reimold (26)
- Put up an .831 OPS as a rookie
- Hit 15 homers in his first 358 MLB at bats

So, that's nothing? Come again?

Hard work is not glamorous. Remember that the Rays more than competed with the Yankees not so long ago. It can be done. Slow and steady works. This is good. Keep the faith gentlemen.

Everyone who works in the Warehouse, and all Andy MacPhail's nephews and cousins must have posted in this comment sequence. An unbelievable chorus of applause for the negligible moves the O's have made to repair what was one of the worst teams in Oriole history in 2009.

I am by no means offended by Garret Atkins. He seems to be too young to have totally lost the ability he showed in his early 20s. (Perhaps he has vision problems? Or had undisclosed injuries?Don't know.) Be that as it may, I hope he does well and think he may.

But one signing of a one-time slugger, who might, with aid of favorable winds, once again find his way, is not enough. To compete in the AL East, we need half a dozen All Stars, including some big guns who can bang out 30-40 HRs in a season.

We, alone, in the AL East have no such player. We should have traded for Adrian Gonzales, or made a play to pick up Miguel Cabrera, whom the Tigers might have given up in a salary dump.

No MacPhail basically stands pat. He shies away from spending the money to acquire a genuine star. He keeps executing the bargain basement theme that has been in evidence for the last dozen years, and never more emphatically than when they retained that sad sack, Dave Trembley, certainly the most desperate and least intelligent manager in the Major Leagues.

As in all things, they don't want to spend the money for a competent manager. They are giving the season away, so they may as well lose cheaply.

It all makes sense in a perverse way, but not from the perspective of a fan.

I wish we were a front runner for the AL East, but we aren't, but at the same time, I can't help but look at all of the positive things that are happening with the O's now like a deep farm system, a new stadium in FL that will be upgraded so no more crap stadium, young core players that will continue to get better like Markakis, Jones, Reimold, Wieters along with the young staff. This is the 1st time in a long time where it doesn't feel like if only this happens or that happens because things are happening right now for the better. This is a long process that was made harder because a lot of people messed up along the way with signings, drafts, GMs and Managers, but either we moan and groan about the last decade or embrace the future. It's not hard to see that this team is moving in the right direction and you don't need to drink Kool-Aid to see that.

The Orioles need to hire Herm Edwards from ESPN as a contractor to explain to management and the owner that you PLAY TO WIN THE GAME!!!!!!!!! Maybe that will get them to understand and motivate them to stop playing for last place and torturing the fans with this hell.

Millwod will probably pull a Ryan Freel and deamnd to be traded. You know has to hate cominghere/. There's some gys like Atkins that don't want to sit around wondering where they'll be playing and want to sign to get it over with. a classic bird in the hand.

The O's probably won't sign anyone else till late Jan after they see if they get an offer from a real team.No reason to sign Bedard until late feb.

My Dad taught me that there are 3 certain things:

Death

Taxes

The Orioles will lose as long as Angelos is owner

Okay all jokes aside but does anyone know what happened to Millwood? He’s acting like when Richard Seymour got traded to the Raiders…

Not Brooks,

They are still losers buddy. I don’t remember any of them stepping up in the clutch last season and winning. Yeah blame it on the DL or whatever but until they help out and put the team on their backs they are Paris Hiltons.

Not Brooks,
What do you think the Orioles record will be this year?

WOW! I cannot believe how gullible some of these yokel posters are! Let’s not get too carried away with this Orioles team. Remember last year was a total failure and the players and Trembley played volleyball with the accountability for the bad season.

Not sure this guy Atkins is a real upgrade over Mora. Yeah Mora had a real bad year but he was hurt and still made some great web gems. The only real positive i see is that Atkins might be better for the locker room than Mora was but I dont know how that will affect the Ws and Ls...

He probably will be better than the Fencepost aka Crash Test Dummy aka Wiggy but we need better in the AL East.

By the time the Angelos era is over all the other AL East teams will have gone through rebuilding and seen success before the Orioles. Red Sox have won it multiple times, Yankees heck even the Rays have been to the World Series. The Toronto Blue Jays are rebuilding also and will probably be more a better team before the Orioles because the Orioles are stuck in stasis not trying to make any real moves just riding out losing years.

The Orioles MO is to play hard and use the pen to the extreme and compete for the first month to 2 months of the season. After that its all downhill. 100+ Ls this season If you thought last seasons team was bad just wait. You will wish that Mora and Huff were back lol 2007 will look like the glory days of the Orioles!!!

John,

That is sheer unfounded pessimism about Millwood and Atkins.

And you are upset that the Orioles will do nothing until January? Do you realize January is about a wk away? And that most players/agents/executives enjoy spending some amount of time with their families for the holidays?

As for Bedard, I see no reason why he has to sign for quite a while. Opinions vary about how soon he'll be able to pitch, so no team wants to jump the gun handing out a one yr contract.

Mr. Schumck,
A few comments........
You know Guys and Gals, this is the holiday season. So lighten up!
Let us delve back to the past six months.
This is sorta like the Twelve days of Christmas.
Here is my list of VERY GOOD things that have happen.
Brad Bergerson
Noland Reimold
Matt Wieters
Felix Pie Acually showing real talent.
Tillman getting his experience( at a very tender age)

Matusa Showing he can really has the potential to pitch in the bigs.
Come Back wins
Bringing back Dave T. continuity at this stage is vital.
Trading for a good starter.
Signing a good Reliever.
Signing someone WHO wants to be here(WOW)
The desire of the team, the come back wins even when we really know how out classed this team has been.
Lastly, some one in the Front Office that HAS A PLAN, and is sticking to it. This alone is a MAJOR change.
How's That for paying attention?
Enough!!!!
I going to Sarasota, can't wait!!!!
Have a Grand Holiday

.............................................................................................
Pete's reply: Richard, thanks for "The 12 O's of Christmas." Now duck. I'll see you in Sarasota.
!.

To compete in the AL East, we need half a dozen All Stars, including some big guns who can bang out 30-40 HRs in a season.

I love statements like this.

Number of people who hit 30+ HR's last year in the entire MLB: 30 (If we drop that number to 25, then we are up to 55).

Number of 30+ HR hitters who missed the play-offs: 17

Average Games Behind Division Leader for those 17: 16.26

Number of those 17 within 5 games of first place: 2 (both on the Tigers) If we make it to within 10 games of first the list grows to 4 with Dan Uggla and Derek Lee making the list.

Point: 30-40 HR guys do not guarantee competitiveness

Oh, and one last thing: number of Yankees on 2009 All-Star Roster: 3

I know the Red Sox had 6, but everyone seems to use the Yankees as the barometer for this division, so it seems appropriate.

And before the argument about the number of former All-Stars on the Yankees: the Yankees have ONLY 18 people on their 40 many with less than 5 years of service time (24 for the Orioles) and only another 5 with less than 10 years (4 more for the Orioles), so their players have had a LOT more time to accumulate All-Star births than the Baby-O's have.

And those aren't opinions.

Richard old O's fan Fan

Are you on acid, just really cynical and poking fun at the O’s or what bro?

Bringing back Dave T. continuity at this stage is vital.

For what another near 100 Ls?! I actually laughed out loud when I read that!

Who is Matusa? Another bad Japanese player the O's just signed for too much money?!

Also speaking in caps in general is just bad but doing it to proclaim something that is making the team worse year after year is just absurd. Put down the eggnog and come back to sobriety.

Pete
Thanks for staying on the chat. I posted a few weeks ago saying how annoying it was for people to just say go trade for a gonzalez or cabrera. I dont think anyone actually has a clue on how much it would take to trade for these players. Snyder, Hernadez, and Arrieta wont do it. This team has been lost for twelve years, and this fan here sees a lot of things being done the correct way finally. Good prospects, flexability, mangable payroll, no outrageous free agent signings, locking up our good players like Markakis and Roberts, good trades like tejada and bedard, angelos letting AM do his thing... How did that free agent spree work out last time with Ponson, Palmerio, Tejada, etc? I dont need to be dazzled with a big name right now, I see the progress. I am tired of loosing too, but I am aware enough to realize that we have some real progress here that I want to see continued.

To compete in the AL East, the Orioles need to develop the talent they have and THEN add to it. Doing that the other way around does not work.

Had Andy gone out and spent a fortune on pitching this offseason - signed Lackey, Bedard...whoever you think the four best starters available were - maybe this team would be competitive. And then maybe trading Tillman and Matusz for Adrian Gonzalez and signing Jason Bay at DH to top things off would make some sense. And then they'd have the highest payroll in baseball and a two-year window to compete and STILL wouldn't be as good as the yankees.

No, the team must develop Tillman, Matusz and Bergesen as well as Wieters, Jones, Pie, Reimold, Snyder, Bell, etc...

Once a solid, affordable core is in place, and performing, they can (MUST) add some expensive FA talent to push the team higher. Realistically, the earliest this might happen is 2011, but 2012 is probably more realistic. Few pitchers turn into aces at 23-24, in their second major league season.

This blog is hilarious! Pete obliviously is told to take the side of the Orioles at all cost and play spinster even though he probably knows better and it looks like both sides of the Orioles debate are following his lead by sticking to one side. Pete when did you stop doing sports writing and start doing editorials only??

Hi Pete, i'm a friend with Richard, i'll be with him in sarasota in march. so i will duck also. in reference to dick's blog, lighten up. instead of blasting people lets hear your ideas. Andy is doing just fine. looking forward to that road trip to sarasota istead of 2 blocks to ft laud. stadium. go oeo's

Hi Pete, i'm a friend with Richard, i'll be with him in sarasota in march. so i will duck also. in reference to dick's blog, lighten up. instead of blasting people lets hear your ideas. Andy is doing just fine. looking forward to that road trip to sarasota istead of 2 blocks to ft laud. stadium. go oeo's

John the B,

Here are the top HR hitters for 2009 playoff teams:

NY-Tex 39, A-Rod 30, Swisher 29, Matsui 28
Bos-Bay 36, Ortiz 28, Youkilis 27
Min-Cuddyer 32, Morneau 30, Mauer 28, Kubel 28
LAA-Morales 34, Rivera 25 (Vlad injured)

Phi-Howard 45, Werth 36, Ibanez 34, Utley 31
StL-Pujols 47 (Holliday traded mid-season)
LA-Ethier 31, Kemp 26 (Ramirez suspended)
Col-Tulo 32, Stewart 25

(1)Every playoff team had at least one 30HR guy.
(2)Every playoff team except St. Louis had at least another player with 25HR.
(3)Both WS teams had multiple 30HR guys.
(4)Both WS teams had four players with at least 28HR.

Yes, your data suggests that a 30 HR bat doesn't guarantee competetiveness. (For a while it seemed Adam Dunn would hit more HRs than his team had wins.) By contrast, Luke Scott was the only Oriole who managed 25HR. Nothing in the world can guarantee competetiveness, but clearly a power bat would add some bite to this lineup.

Jake,

Because surely no one would disagree with you of their own free will, right?

Jonathan,

You are absolutely correct. I guess I should've stated more clearly that we need to be careful what we wish for. I, for one, do not think any power hitter would fit the bill; I think it has to be a certain type of power hitter. For instance, I'm not necessarily sure an Adam Dunn type power hitter would be that great a fit simply because he can't take second on a walk. Thoughts?

Ryan-
~~The funny thing about the AM era of bad Oriole teams is that there is no accountability~~

I still dont understand this accountability kick. What woul dcons4titute accountability? PA hired AM based on his plan for a total and long term rebuild of the entire organization from top to bottom. Inherent in the idea of a rebuild is a tear down which is not conducive to improving the record short term. Tremblay was not AM's hire so it would be an easy move to fire him and then beg for patience from the fans. But DT was under orders from above IMO to protect the young assets and this was admitted when AM said winning was not job one for DT last year. So just what is this mythical accountability you want to see other than just fire someone for the sake of making fans feel better?

~~~and it seems like everything is a moral victory even as the team gets worse.~~~

I dont recall AM declaring anything a moral victory. That sounds like you taking some fans comment and holding AM responsible for it. It is not AM's fault that you cannot see past the record. The current team is better today and much better for the future than the team that AM inherited even with the trdaes of MIggy and Bedard. And organizationally we are even more improved than on the field at OPACY.

~~AM makes fans chase the carrot he waves attached to a stick.~~

AM doesnt MAKE the fans do anything. They CHOOSE to agree or disagree with his plan.

~~All he is doing here is riding out some time before he becomes the new commissioner.~~

that is your opinion and you are entitled to it despite the fact that you are in no position to know anything about his intentions or the owners' intentions for Bud's successor. He has sure been active for a guy just "riding things out".

Peter-

Obviously you are slacking on your job of over-hyping our OF a la Paris Hilton. I have not seen a single photo of an Oriole OF with their chihuahua.

Jake said
This blog is hilarious! Pete obliviously is told to take the side of the Orioles at all cost and play spinster
~~~~~~~
This blog just got more hilarious, except for poor Mrs, Schmuck who must be quite surprised.

Main Entry: spin·ster
Pronunciation: \ˈspin(t)-stər\
Function: noun
1 : a woman whose occupation is to spin
2 a archaic : an unmarried woman of gentle family b : an unmarried woman and especially one past the common age for marrying
3 : a woman who seems unlikely to marry

"They are still losers buddy."

So Markakis, Jones and Reimold are nothing because they've played for a bad team? What do you think about Zack Greinke? Ryan Zimmerman? Dan Haren? How about Ernie Banks?

Man, you're cynical...

How's your life? Staying positive?

Worthless blog subject! Atkins, right?

Have some pride Baltimore! Grow a set!