Didn't know Christopher Walken was pitching today.

It's obvious. Hunter and Palmer were talking on it yesterday. When you walk a guy, you give your D no chance of helping you out. They cited stats that showed the percentage of walked batters and base hits to lead off an inning score at the same rate (37%). Palmer said a walk is automatic while a ball in play isn't (no kidding right).

Tillman ought to stay at Norfolk until he learns that simple baseball fact. Either he has no control or he's scared of giving up a hit. Either way, he needs to stay at AAA.

We've seen enough. As it's pointed out on here whenever someone is down on him, he's 23. Very good. That means he has time to learn how to pitch next year and still be 25 in 2012 when he gets another look.

What I learned from Strasburg's injury is that
a) You can never have too much inventory;
b) If you have the chance to trade young pitching for proven hitting, you ought to do it.

The Orioles have 5 young pitchers with good potential and should make valuable trade chips: Matusz, Bergeson, Arrieta, Tillman, and Britton.

It is safe to assume that not all 5 will make it. Perhaps 2 or 3 will, but we don't know which will. It is also safe to assume that without a major trade, their will not be a premium bat in the 2011 Oriole line-up, and they will not really be able to contend in their division.

The Orioles need to keep 3 of the 5 and trade the other 2 in a package for a premium bat.

If they guess totally right, and the 2 they trade are the ones who don't make it, then they are probably on a trajectory to be a perenniel contender.

If they guess partly right and 2 of the 3 they keep makes it, they are probably OK and might be able to cover the failure through future trades or free agency.

If they guess totally wrong, and only one or less of those they keep make it, then their future will be similar to their past.

So it seems to me that they need to make their best educated guess on who will make it, leveraged by who has the trade value necessary to bring back the premium bat they need. Then they need to find the trading partner and make the trade.

So their liklihood of future success largely depends on their ability to accurately identify their keepers.

there*
perennial*
make*
likelihood*

Andy Macfail, Blah blah blah. Weak free agaent market, Blah blah blah. Must be patient, blah blah blah. Is anyone else getting tired of andy constant crap? Good God, that man talks and talks and never says anything.

Hilarious....same old same old Orioles

Hilarious....same old same old Orioles except they won!!! But they would have found a way to lose under Trembly or Sammuel.

Nenene, he dosen't get anything sign Albert Pujos is it that hard???
Or sign CC Sabathia, come on people
lets trade Guthrie,Matusz,Arietta,Jones,and Hernandez for Texeria
You play to win the game!!!

Nenene, he dosen't get anything sign Albert Pujos is it that hard???
Or sign CC Sabathia, come on people
lets trade Guthrie,Matusz,Arietta,Jones,and Hernandez for Texeria
You play to win the game!!!

Good Gravy Doug... what do you want from the "Mother Hen" =P

On a more serious note

And this for comments earlier about free agents for next yr.

Adam Dunn is a big dude. I saw him standing next to Ryan Howard the other day and Dunn Dwarfs him. The problem with Dunn is he's not 25 anymore and he can't field.

The other problem I have with Pena is not with Pena. But with Andy Mac on this one, because I believe he was the GM of the Orioles when Pena was released by the Tigers. We could have gotten him for free in 2006. Is it worth taking a swing on him now worth it 5 yrs later?
I think he's worth more to the Rays then to anyone else now.

Lastly, I gotta tell you Showalter must have the Patience of Job with Gonzalez.
I was foaming at the mouth with him walking A Rod then the wild pick off and balk. I gota hand it to Buck he didn't bat an eyelash and was cool under pressure. I know I would have lost it in that situation

Also, I am happy for Mike Gonzalez, I thought he had no shot of getting out of that jam. So yes, kudos to Mike G as well!

So their liklihood of future success largely depends on their ability to accurately identify their keepers.

sure you're not a rocket scientist?

Christ, I quit.

Gary...

lets trade Guthrie,Matusz,Arietta,Jones,
and Hernandez for Teixeria

Are you out of your mind??? Why would we want to trade for a guy who did not want to play here when he was a free agent.

The only thing I would do and I am not even sure I would even do this for him.
I would offer publicly the Yankees a quarter for him and offer to pay the rest of his contractual salary. That's it 25 cents!

Jim 66: I am unsure what you mean.

But if you mean you can't take another year like the Orioles had this year... then I am with you.

Peter S
Did Andy Mac admit that his "Plan" is not exactly on schedule today? Can't understand that one because way back when the O's were 2-16. The "Plan" was right where it needed to be. When did the setback exactly occur then since that time?

If Buck signs off on one-two of these PUPs (previously underperforming players), I would definitely have a lot of confidence in his judgement. I'm sure Buck has had several potential players on his radar the day he signed his contract with the O's. I'm sure they'll have to be able to play defense as well as hit.

hey gary, this is another Gary, one in NJ. who the heck wants Texeiria? not me - he's a traitor. just like that other guy that left for the Yankees a few years back to get a ring. he never got one. and we still don't speak his name in this house.

Oh NeverMind Jim 66

I didn't read/see Euro Prof....

I can't read so good these days =P

AM must be watching too many movies, it's like he thinks "I had them at hello"! I hired Buck and look what we did, hell we would only be in 5th place by 22 games had I pulled the trigger before this season! Free Agent market is thin? Where have we heard this before? Like Adam Laroach, Troy Glaus, Vladi Guerrero wouldn't have helped us?

Can you say Paul Konerko or Adam Dunn or the Rays firstbasemen? Don't think they would be an improvement over say Gerritt Atkins?

I find it amazing when Pete or anyone else questions the attendance numbers, why would anyone in their right mind pay good money to see an inferior product. Sure Buck has made it better, but comparitively speaking, the Red Sox will win 25 games more than O's and do you think their impression of the Free Agent market is thin? Do you think they are looking for anyone who can improve their roster? Do you think there isn't 30 guys out their who could improve our roster?

But we have a plan........................... make me puke! AM is a total waste, and for the love of GOD the cheapness of this franchise is just PATHETIC!

The Truth will set you free!

"free agent market could be thin...."

"looking for free agent players who have a chance to improve
their performance next
year...."

Where have we heard this weasely, whining, cheap manure-speak before? Last winter maybe!?#*!

Some things seem never to change. If AM succeeds in co-opting Showalter into his low-ball approach we all know and love so well, the Orioles are dead in the water.

Hope Mr. Schmuck and others in the local media pick up on this publicly and take up the good fight, because the rest of us sure can't do a thing about it.

We don't need just "one big bat." We need one big bat (1B) AND several more solid, reliable, medium bats, for example at LF, 3B, and SS. Having one monster masher surrounded by weak-mediocre hitters doesn't do much. Much better to have a line-up made up of the Dunns and Konerkos and Uptons of this world, a line-up with NO WEAKNESSES. That, combined with our good young starters, could put us into 90-95 win territory
right away, next year.

But it ain't gonna happen on its own. CALLING AM OUT, NOISE, PRESSURE, MEDIA STAYING AWAKE THIS WINTER, all might help, might not. The signs aren't looking good.

People are getting bent outta shape because Andy told the truth?

The free agent market IS NOT rife with Power Hitting Corner Infielders.

It's Andy's fault there isn't a Mark Teixera available this year?????

people: "grrr, I dunno wanna hear the truth!! If you just say it's a good market, it will be!!!"

Does this mean that Garrett Atkins is coming back next year?

Andino does not have a good glove. He shows flashes of brilliance in the field, but messes up routine plays more often than he makes the fantastic play. If he can keep up with the bat he might find a home here, but his bat was never why he made a roster.

I am not too happy about the comments. Obviously MacPhail and Showalter can't mention specific names of players they might want, but you want to tell me that a free agent market that could have Adam Dunn, Carlos Pena, Cliff Lee, and several other names on it is slim?

This is another, "Well, we don't think we will really compete next year as well, so we're not going to spend money to get better." I warned people of this, nobody wanted to listen.

When is this team going to learn? When you have a position of absolute need (like a 30+HR 1B) and you are counting on it to produce for you, you can't rely on a reclamation project and then wonder why it didn't work out. I know there are instances of finding lightning in a bottle, but that doesn't work out as many times at it fails.

Dunn=DH

Last time I looked the O's had a DH that's hit 27 HR's. Not really a terrible position of need unless the O's move Scott in a trade, Dunn doesn't make a lot of sense. My quess is Washington still might sign him, seems to be some activity in recent days. But Dunn never could field, you don't want him on 1b behind a young staff.

You don't surround good young arms with an iron gloved infield or outfielders that can't cover ground. In case you guys haven't noticed, the steriod era is over, they're back to playing baseball again. Buck will want guys that will field their position.

I've been saying for two years the O's should keep their powder dry for Crawford. Pie is a nice find, and Crowley has done an excellent job with the young man.

But Crawford is a 5 tool guy that will out perform Pie in every way. He's an upgrade offensively and defensively and he fills a desperate need for another guy that can hit at the top of the lineup if Roberts is down.

Signing him also takes him away from Tampa and keeps him from the Yankees. It also allows Markakis to slide into the #3 hole which suits him better then being a #2 hitter. It upgrades two spots in the lineup and will scare pitchers to death when Roberts is being his pesky self. Want to walk Roberts
to face Crawford with a man on?

Why would Crawford sign here? Great home park, great manager, toughest division in baseball, and the O's have more money to spend then anybody else. And they will need to give him a serious contract.

I still think the O's could make a run at Cabrera via a trade, I don't think Detroit keeps paying 20m a year for an MVP type guy when they can't get over the hump. How long does he play there before he wants to play fall ball?

I could be wrong but I'd quess they'd be willing to look at trade offers for Cabrera while his value is at it's max. Adding Crawford and Cabrera make the O's solid 1-4, Having Scott, Jones, and Wieters in the 5-7 holes make them better hitters.

Why trade Jones when we've spent 3 years watching him grow from a minor leagurer to big leagurer. Next somebody's going to suggest shipping out Wieters cause he's a disappointment. Butler is not in Jones class as an impact player, can't see Buck ever signing on for that one.

I like Andino as a possible infield backup, but Izturis has got to be resigned. He's worth his weight in gold to this young staff. I'm convinced that Buck's going to want him back for sure.

Wiggington has proven that he can play a solid 1b. No, he's not a classic power hitter, but the guy's a gamer. If the O's can't come up wth a real upgrade, I'd look for him to be resigned. If the O's get a major upgrade at 1b Wiggington could try and work fulltime at 3rd. He's shaky there defensively as a part timer, but he works, so it's not impossible to see him work out at 3b. Again, the move to trade for Cabrera upgrades two positions.

Package for Cabrera; Pie, choice of Tillman or Britton, Adams AA 2B, Mahoney AA 1B, and I'd give them the choice of which CF prospect they want. The O's have a good CF'er at every level, so they could take their pick and not hurt organizational depth.

MountainFan,

I like the idea of trying to pry Cabrera from Detroit, but I don't think they'll be interested in minor league CFs. It may be our strong point, with Xavier Avery being the cream of the crop, but they are going to have Austin Jackson entrenched in CF for quite some time. I would think Detroit might be more interested in a guy like Berry over another CF. And I would consider a choice of Guthrie or Tillman instead of Britton.

I would like to see a deal that would protect Britton too. I think he could eventually pair with Matusz to give the O's two really good LH 'ed starters. But to get an MVP type of guy there's got to be some sugar in the pot. I'm quessing that after Arietta, Britton's the name that other clubs will bring up.

If the O's would have to send along Guthrie instead they really would need to consider looking at a guy like Lee as a FA to give the rotation a Vet.

You're right, Berry would probably be the next most desirable player in the O's system at the moment.

Wiggy & Scott's bats are plenty good enough if one of them is not being relied upon to be the cleanup hitter. And sandwiching Markakis between Crawford and Cabrera would turn him into the kind of productive hitter that a lot of baseball people think he could be in a tough lineup.

It would slot Wieters and Jones to hit down in the order would allow them to continue to grow as hitters and work their way back up to the 5 & 6 hole when they've earned it.

Bell could go back to AAA and take the hard lessons he's learned and put them to work. Bell's got talent, he's just pressing something terrible at the plate. One of the oldest trueisms in baseball,"if you're going to get yourself out swinging at pitches in the dirt, that's all you'll see, pitches in the dirt."

I still think he's got talent, just needs another spring training and a year at AAA ball for things to slow down a bit. He didn't exactly tear up this year before the promotion so I think he's over his head. Power hitters quite often take a little time to mature.

Fielder or Gonzalez in SD would be two more cleanup hittering 1B men that could be targeted if Cabrera isn't available. But I'd go after Cabrera 1st.

But move number one has to be Crawford. His addition along with a cleanup hitter would give the O's a very strong batting order and he's possibly the best LF'er in the game. Adding him and resigning Izturis would assure the O's defense would be strong behind their young staff.

Buck Showalter made me a Hopeful Fan.

Andy MacPhail brought me back to reality.

There are a lot of options out there for free agents and trades as posters have posited above. But MacPhail is already telegraphing inaction, cheapness, and failure.

Complete #*$@%#*@ BS!!!

Wow, will you people realize that Det. is not going to trade Miguel? Seriously, wtf world are you all living in right now? He is locked up for years, 27, and will probably win the MVP.

Prince Fielder is interesting, but we would not only have to trade to get him, but then we would have to sign him to a contract. Plus, the dude is fat at 26-27, I wonder how large he will be at 30-31?

Best thing we could do this year is get Jake Westbrook and sign Adam Dunn. You don't pay Dunn to play defense, you pay him the money to get on base and hit the long ball. He does both of those things extremely well.

On top of that, no way CC signs here. Boston and NY both need outfield help, so unless the Orioles break the bank there is no way he is coming to Baltimore.