fatkins '10

Good one, whatever your name is.

I bet it took you a while to come up with that.

Well, I think that Andy could have done worse and if Reynolds can come in and hit 35-40 home runs then who gives a crap what his average is.

I'm sure this acquisition was Buck approved too, so let's trust that (if nothing else) Buck knows what he's doing and what he'll have to work with.

Probably not so bad considering the price tag. This also gives the O's the option to give Josh Bell another shot at winning 3rd base, Reynolds getting some time at the DH. At the rate that Josh Bell was striking out, we may have 2 potential guys who could reach 200K's in the same year. These guys make Adam Jones look absolutely Suzukian by comparison and he also has a HUGE hole in HIS swing.

Firesale to be honest I think pretty much excludes Bell from seeing any MLB time unless his AAA numbers are so overwhelming that the Orioles are forced to promote him.

The O's are on the hook for $5 million next year, $7.5 million the following and $11 million the year after if the option is picked up on Reynolds. They didn't trade for him and commit $23.5 million to him to split his time with anyone. He's gonna be an every day guy.

Jones may have a better average than Reynolds but NO WHERE NEAR his patience. Reynolds walked 80+ times last year. I am fine with a .230 average if you have a .340 or .350 OBP, hit a lot of HR's, drive in a bunch of runs and force opposing pitchers to throw a lot of pitches.

Seems like MacPhail has been coming up short quite a lot. Is this really what he meant when he said we would be "buying the bats."

This is the second coming of Atkins- a flawed hitter that no other team wanted (not to mention a thoroughly mediocre hitter). His contract may be "cheap", but I wouldn't so quickly dismiss the cost of giving up two good young relievers (to a GM who is known for his expertise in assessing bullpen talent). Just like Atkins, six months from now this guy is going to be sitting at .200 with 50 strikeouts and we're going to be hearing more BS from MacPhail that it was really a free bet that we had to take.

This acquisition does not make this team any better and it certainly doesn't represent the impact move that Andy MacPhail owes the fans by this point. With 12 years of miserable baseball and years of empty promises about being willing to pay for top free agents, he owes us more than this.

Hey, why hasn't there been any commentary on how the Red Sox swept in and got Adrian Gonzalez- who would have been the ideal player for the Orioles to make a run at? Why weren't the Os a leading bidder for Gonzalez, since he surely would have been worth more to us? Why doesn't anyone question MacPhail's dictum that the Orioles simply cannot pursue a true top free agent? (this assertion is false on its face and should be exposed as such)

Andrew -

If you don't think we've discussed Adrian Gonzalez and MacPhail's reluctance to acquire a top of the line player, you either haven't been around long or you haven't been reading the comments.

It's ok NB...anyone doing things like drawing comparisons to Atkins (who was in his mid 30's not entering his prime nor had he shown power like Reynolds) or saying things like he's not any better than what we had last year (which is absurd) or acting like right handed middle relievers are worth their weight in gold is clearly just set in their mind on complaining and being negative.

I'd rather have Atkins who turned 27 only a few months ago than any of the guys looking to get big contracts into their late 30's on the markets. I've heard Adam Laroche mentioned 100 times on these boards in the last few weeks yet no one seems to care he struck out 170 times, is in his 30's and has only broken 30 HR's once.

Haha Freudian slip there...said I'd rather have Atkins when I meant Reynolds.

Andrew:

You know, I was going to take your ridiculous post apart, brick by brick, but there's nothing to tear down.

I will give you credit...you didn't mis-spell anything.

Do not like this aquisition. Be surprised if Reynolds hits 30 HR in Baltimore, but we will see the 200 Ks. Needless to say I hope I am wrong on all that. However Bell wasn't cutting it, and Reynolds is probably actually an upgrade for the O's, at least next year. Hernandez wasn't THAT untouchable, but he was good at the end of the year.

Read this article...

http://espn.go.com/blog/statsinfo/post/_/id/13545/reynolds-much-needed-upgrade-for-os

This guy is not the savior but he definitely is an upgrade at third. People were complaining that we needed a power hitter. We got a power hitter. Who cares if he strikes out a lot? An out is an out is an out. They're all the same. I'd rather have him than Tejada's corpse any day of the week...

I think this is a good shot. The O's were 5th-lowest in the AL in strikeouts and in HR's last year, so maybe we can stand to trade off a little. It's a gamble, but if you hold for a sure winner you end up mostly watching everybody else play.

Dunn's OBP is 50 points higher than Reynold's.
He average was 52 points higher last year.
He has hit 38 or more HRs every year for the last 7 years... the last 2 on terrible teams.
He hasn't shown any sign of decline.

Does he K a lot? Sure.
But to say he has some of the same issues as Reynolds is ludicrous. He is a proven power guy and you know what you are going to get from him every year.

Reynolds is a question mark, a gamble, and nothing more.

Should have paid for Dunn.

Reynolds won't be with this team in 2 years. .198 doesn't keep you in the majors.

Did you say 'CHEAP' Pete?

Of course you did.....

This is 'buy the bats' folks. This is the best you're going to get.

The dude practically strikes out every other time at bat.... not just this past year, but his entire career.

And look at you all defending 198 as if it's no big deal.

198 is a HUGE deal folks. 198 is the worst of the worst. Ok, Pena is in his company, but he's the worst of the worst as well.

198 doesn't even come close to respectable... and you're all foaming at the mouth thinking he may get to 242....... Whippeeeeee.

So what do you all think he'll bat in a new league where he's not familiar with the pitchers? Could this guy strike out 250x this year.

Again, how long have the Orioles been in Baltimore? Almost 60 years? This year, this guy would have had over 50 more K's than anyone in the team's history...... and he batted 198.

And for you saying he's an upgrade? Congrats for falling into the O's trap, once again. OF COURSE HE'S AN UPGRADE. GARBAGE WOULD BE AN UPGRADE FROM 2010.

I can't wait til AM gets a FILLER for 1B. The you'll all come on here and talk about it being another upgrade.

PETE,

Your last sentence was an all timer, even for you. Did you really say that?

He doesn't get what he wants Pete because the guy wants to be Commish in a couple years. Know what I'm getting at hipster? He needs votes, and every time he lets a big name pass by, he gets em....from every small and medium market in the land.

He got Reynolds because 1) He's cheap, 2) He's out of touch, and 3) He's cheap, 4) He's a liar.

This is 'buy the bats' folks.

Enjoy the upgrade y'all.

ENJOY CONTINUING TO BE PLAYED

Well I guess Reynolds is better than nothing which is about what we had at thrid last year.

Oh well wake me when its over....

wayne,

How does your post here differ from anything you wrote on the last blog from Pete?

Did you not read what NB and others responded to you with? Maybe you could respond to that instead of hitting the same note over and over again.

I think either your needle is skipping or there's a crack in your record.

thanks, wayne, for being the voice of reason around here. 198. 198. 198. 1 freaking 98! he has three highest k totals in a year in HISTORY. give me a break, andy.

198 is a good chant for people who can't understand a season beyond a single number.

wayne:

What personnel moves would you make to improve the Orioles?

I mean, obviously you have a lot of time on your hands, with all the 48 sentence posts you put up every day.

Surely such a great baseball mind has a blueprint for success.

Leave all the Monday morning quarterbacking in your pocket for once.
Leave all the 'trust me' for another post.
Leave all the hateful, snide, smart assed MacPhail-Schmuck-Angelos-commenters comments on the table.

Just once, put your money where your mouth is and tell us all your blueprint for Orioles success. And not some vague St. Louis market spending junk. Real players. Real moves. Boots on the ground nitty gritty, not REMF philosophy.

I know one thing for sure. I'd take out ad space in The Baltimore (Orioles shill, right?) Sun and say it if it weren't all bought out by Vaderlos....

wayne will never, never, ever give his blueprint. He knows that it's easier and safer to crap on this move, that owner, this paper, that writer and on and on and on and on than to take a stance and put his plan out there. That would only make him accountable for his words. That would only give people something to look to and say 'see, you were wrong.'

By the way wayne, I thought Andy moved over and Buck started over? You know, AMMO - BISO? So this trade is the work of Buck Showalter? Or were you wrong in saying that 10,000 times over the last two months of the season?

And didn't you say in the last week that MacPhail is a nice man? And in the last day or so you said he's a bad guy? Which one is it? He lied to us? Isn't you saying one thing then another lying? Aren't you playing us, too?

At 3rd base.... Reynolds...
you can cross that one off your list smart one.
I like the numbers of averaging 35 home runs a year the last three years pretty good.
Even in his "down" year last year he would have led this team in Home Runs and Rbi's.
I see us getting Izzy back at short and Derrick lee at first and resign Koji.
That will improve us a lot in the infield and let us build off the last two months.
Good move Buck.

Smitty, CIH, ET AL

The Royals want two impact prospects, with one preferably being a pitcher, in return for Zack Greinke, who is under contract through 2012 at $13.5 million a season.

Does anyone here think the O's have enough to get Greinke???? I think we do, but it doesn't matter what a furry rodent thinks. I don't think the Royals are being outrageous here. The Orioles need this guy! I really really want this to happen! It would definitely re energize the fan base. Including me~

MOST STRIKE OUTS IN THE HISTORY OF BASEBALL.

EVER. Nobody has ever ever ever ever ever stuck out more.

EVER BEFORE IN THE HISTORY OF THE SPORT!!!!!!!

Every time this guy steps to the plate O's fans are going to expect a HR...but you'll get that only 35 times in a year....mostly it'll be K's, K's, and more K's.

Does anyone else realize how much that is going to drive you crazy during the year?

BASEBALL doesn't have a clock. There is no time limit. Baseball ends when there have been 27 outs recorded. Now the O's handcuffed themselves and wil play a full season with 26 outs.

Strike Outs are THE FUNDAMENTAL no-no. Being poor at another aspect of the game might be negligible. But K's are the most Fundamental part of the game.

MOST EVER IN THE HISTORY OF BASEBALL!!!

2 years ago Mark Reynolds was in Sports Illustrated and asked about the 200 K's. His response..."I don't care, and it's not a problem from where I'm standing."

Stunning. Give me a break.

Take it from someone who has seen Reynolds play for the last 4 years, he will be a fan favorite. Does he drive you nuts with the K's? Absolutely. He will hit significantly better than that .198 this season however. I am guessing he's around the .240 mark this season. He had a lot of pressure as the leader of a D-Backs team that, like last year's O's, were expected to compete for a playoff spot. The guy single-handedly tried to homer that team into a winner, and it was too much. He played hurt a lot last season, when he could have used it as an excuse to shut it down in a meaningless season.
You can all look over and bemoan his K's and his BA last season. I think you will be very surprised by the type of player we got and how little we gave up to get him by the end of this season. I see him sliding over to first in 2012 when Bell (if not traded for pitching) is ready to play 3rd. Which means we can expect to sign a 1st basemen to a 1-2 year deal.
Believe me, this is no Atkins we are getting here. The kid is a solid ball player who gives us a power bat that we have been missing for over a decade. Is he Albert Pujols, Texeira, or AGon? No, but he will get the job done and give 100% every time he steps on the field.

Good Luck Mark! See you on opening day!

Squirrell,
I think that's it on the trade front. We really don't have any position players very high. They are all low minors for the most part except Mohoney. And it will be interesting to see what he can do in AAA this year since he plays first.
Plus, that should be it on letting pitchers go. We've got some depth at starting pitching right now, but we will still sign some bullpen help and probably a starter or two to minor league deals

Squirrel,

I might say yes to trading two impact prospects for Grienke if we had drafted Matzek in 2009, but seeing as how we didn't...

I still think Pie for Kila Ka'aihue would be good for both sides though.

I don't think Dayton Moore is that eager to move Butler, who would be a perfect DH for them once Hosmer is ready (possibly by the end of this season). That means Ka'aihue is expendable and they are in need of a CF.

Anyone notice how every move that improves the O's only makes Wayne more bitter and angrier. If anyone really believes that Wayne really likes Baltimore or the O's then you've been played. I don't buy for one minute that he just likes to argue and hate.

The more I think about this move he better. Not Brooks on a previous post showed he has similar numbers to Dunn, and he's way younger and he steals a few bases and he's more athletic.
Great Move Buck. I know you are running the show now cause Wayne is never wrong.
AMMO Buck is starting Over !!!!!!!

wayne,

Yeah, the O's need to go after Zach. They have the talent for that trade, and it would be a huge coop.

But Zach has a no trade clause to 15 teams (I think that's the reported number).

Zach will probably not sign off on going to the O's. Kinda a moot point.

Doesn't mean it's a bad idea, or that such a move isn't exactly the type of thing the O's should be looking at. Just it's kinda DOA. IMHO.

Rodent, Olney's post today said that the Royals want four ML ready prospects, including the next Greinke and that the Royals are in no hurry to trade him. They don't need to and Moore thinks that if they're young players develop, the Royals might even have a winning season soon and they could convince Greinke to stay.

The Orioles were not in on the AGon talks, I don't any team other than the Red Sox had a chance. Hoyer used to work for Epstein, Hoyer knows the Sox system and they have a great working relationship. Some things are out of your control.

Anyone who thinks that Mark Reynolds is another Garret Atkins is totally clueless. Reynolds OBP was 320, showing he can work the plate, keep in mind his average the year before was 260 with an almost 900 OPS. He's 26 going into next season, plenty of time to learn to cut down on the strikeouts. But, then again, Deer never did, Kingman never did, even Mickey Tettleton, and they all had pretty decent run production numbers. Pena, BTW, hit 27 two years ago and 247 the year before that and is 33 in May, seven years older than Reynolds. I don't like giving up Hernandez, but you get what you give.

Wayne, you are beyond clueless. Stop fixating on one number and look at what else is there. But you won't, because it doesn't fit your agenda. I swear, Andy MacPhail could find a way to dig up Babe Ruth and transform him into the 1927 Bomber and you still won't be happy.

Don't let people like wayne sway anyone, this is a good deal.

Credit where credit is due. I am cautiously optimistic that finally AM (and I am one of AM's greatest critics) may have hit pay-dirt with Reynolds. I love the fact that he is only 27 and coming to a team with arguably one of the strongest managers and experienced coaching staffs in all of baseball. Reynolds has the power in a hitter friendly park, decent defense and on base percentage, so hopefully at 27 with good coaching he can learn better plate discipline and solve our problems at 3rd. base for a decade to come. I certainly like his all-out gritty and gutsy play, he should fit in well and help to drive and inspire others.

Patrick

.198
.198
.198
.198
.198

I almost hate to ask, but do you guys know what a troll is? If not, please consult this article....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troll_%28Internet%29.

Ok, good. Having read that, does it remind you of anyone? Maybe someone who seems to bash the Orioles no matter the situation? The guy with the ad hominem attacks? The guy who says nothing except to elicit a certain response from the posters on this board? I think you know who I'm talking about.

This individual LOVES this attention. Loves it more than if the Orioles won 10 straight World Series. Loves it because he's the star of the show here in our little corner of the internet. And you know whose fault it is? Ours. We feed him. We respond to his ridiculous posts. We talk about him on other blogs. We act as though our incredibly well-reasoned arguments will somehow make him say, "Wow, maybe I was wrong about that MacPhail guy."

So, maybe we should stop? Just a thought. Cause if we do, he will.

...and I'm one of AM's biggest supporters.

Time will tell, hopefully I'm wrong. But 200 K's, and leading the Majors 3 years running, the most ever by any player...

That's a HUGE "negative".

It's a step forward, but it could also be 2 steps backward.

I've vented, I'm back to earth. I pray it'll be as good a trade as many think. I hope I'm wrong...

You poor souls.....

Improvement? Just what they want you to think.... Man, are you people easy. So how good does the trash have to be to improve over the garbage at 3B last season?

Of course I'm fixated on 198 and the historic # of K's. Both stats are beyond horrible, yet you are defending it.

I'm not saying this guy is Atkins. I am saying that you're the exact SAME people who felt it was a good move last year. Look it up... you're the same bunch.

And you come on here accusing me of singing the same ole song..... It's you morons who keep saying the same thing year after year.

And look.... smitty want Lee at 1B. Then he'll come on and say what an improvement he is. garbage replacing garbage.

1B - Nothing
2B - Big ?
SS - Nada
3B - 198 / most K's in history - wow
LF - See stats
RF - Regressed
Closer - Zippo
SP - Who knows
Position players in Minors - Oh my

O's fans are actually defending 198 and historic K's.

This is what happens when most of the major moves are done before the winter meetings AM.

Speaking of moves...

Hey Plausible... How about AG and Beltre?

What do you think those 2 would have done for the team? All while continuing to keep the payroll below most medium market teams.

But hey, that would have been 'buying the bats'

Besides, you'd prefer Reynolds and Lee, right?

BEING PLAYED LIKE A VIOLIN

You actually still use the word 'troll'?
How often did you get your head flushed in the toilet in school?
Troll? Really? That's actually funny

Blueprint, wayne.

What do you think those 2 would have done for the team?

Which team? Oh, you mean every team in baseball? Stunning insight.

Blueprint, wayne.

Beltre for how much how many.

Gonzalez for who.

You won't answer, because you know that creates accountablity and reference.

If you do, that leaves:
2B - Big ?
SS - Nada
LF - See stats
RF - Regressed
Closer - Zippo
SP - Who knows

Blueprint, wayne.

Hey Wayne, Beltre didn't want to come here the last 2 times he was a free agent. Why was he going to come here now? What would have been your package to give up for Gonzalez? It's all well and good to throw those things out, but they weren't happening.

So what if Reynolds hit .198 last year. He hit .260 with 44 HR's the year before. His BABIP dropped by 100 points below his career average last year. He battled injuries all last year. He was hit in the head by a 95 mph fastball in August and suffered a concussion. That's called a fluke. He's 27 years old. Camden Yards, Fenway, Yankee Stadium and the Rogers Centre are 4 of the top 8 hitter friendly parks in the majors. He's going to hit some homers. Yes he's going to strike out a lot. But whats the difference between a K and a weak grounder to short? Or a pop-up to first? Nothing. An out is an out. I know it's pointless arguing with people like you. You only like sports to be able to complain about sports.

Reynolds numbers are better than Beltres.
The troll doesn't know baseball though.
I agree with Joe I will only call the troll troll. and I will try to avoid the troll because trolls are mean people and mean people suck.
Great Move Buck

Wayne,
No one is defending .198 or 200K's. What I was saying is that this guy is a baller. He will be as big a fan fav as BRob and Nick. He is a power hitter, so while .198 is abysmal, .240 is acceptable. He plays a decent 3rd base and hits 30+ homers every year against guys like Cain, Lincicum, Kershaw, Latos, Jimenez, etc... he has been facing good pitching where he was, so the staffs in the east are not going to scare this guy. Will he K between 150-200 times, yep. He will also get his fair share of HR markers on Eutaw Street. It will be nice to see some hometown HR out there instead of all the visitors'. The bottom line is we got a power bat for a good reliever and a potentially decent reliever. That is a trade you make any day of the week. Stop clouding the picture by comparing this move to what everyone else is doing and look at it for what it is: A trade to aquire something this team has lacked for 10 years, while not giving up any of our top flight talent.

2008: 204 K's, 28 HR's, 97 RBI, 11SB, 87 R, .239 BA

2009: 239 K's, 44 HR's, 102 RBI, 24 SB, 98 R, .260 BA

2010: 211 K's, 32 HR's, 83 RBI, 7 SB, 79 R, .198 BA

Don't let one injury plagued year on a horrible team change the fact that this kid is a legit power hitter. And don't let AM's lack of involvement with the glorified FA's cloud the fact that this is indeed a very good deal for this organization.

Hey wayne troll,

You know that last post is a perfect illustration of why you're a troll, right?

And no pop pop, not the fairy tale troll.

You think people get their heads flushed in the toilet in school? What is that, something from like the 70's?

If you're in a Baltimore school, you get shot in the face.

wayne

Also take into consideration that Reynolds wasn't doing as bad his season totals would indicate. After his concussion on August 5th, his BA was only .213 and .078 his final 2 months, indicating that maybe he came back too soon from an injury. My only hope is he doesn't have Paul Blair syndrome.

And even going along with his high strikeout totals and low BA, he still managed a .320 OBP and 86 BB's in 2010. We're not exactly looking at Adam Jones here.

If you're just going to focus on SO total, you have no arguement. And if you think Reynolds is going to bat .198 again, I think you're being rediculous. This isn't another Garrett Akins case. If you you're going to predict a bigger career downfall because he's facing Sabathia, Lester, Price, Beckett and Hughs - look up the NL West pitching and see who they have.

Also, by playing in the AL East, he'll being playing in more hitter-friendly parks that give up A TON of HR's. Look up Park Factors and you'll see 4 of 5 AL East parks are in the MLB top-8 for hitter friendly parks and compare it to the NL West.

And being that you were so high on the assumption that Showalter is playing a big part on call the shots, don't you think that he may have had some sort of involvement in this deal??? Or have you changed your mind on that one too.
Dude, you change directions more then the wind. What's your new catch-phrase now anyway? Here's one:

O's Fans Don't Be A Fool - Showalter Is AM's New Tool!

Keep fighting the good fight, man.

OFDBAF - SIAMNT

Aubrey Huff has a ring, BTW

He's looking pretty good at this point.

This sounds like another McPhail failure.

Having watched Mark Reynolds 1300 times the last four years. forget the strikeouts, he gives 100 percent at third base and is always a HR threat. Good trade for the Birds.

wayne, wayne, wayne, wayne, wayne...... stop with the obsession trolls.

I love when you guys play GM, asking others to do the same. Who would you give up for this player? How much for that player? What a bunch of geeks.

Problem is, the O's would have to give up all their pitching prospects for any great player. Why?

Because there are NO position players who anyone wants. You know the one's..... those under AM's great rebuilding plan.

Guys.... You're defending a guy that hit 198. A guy that strikes out at a historic rate. And you're doing so by saying it's an upgrade over last year.

You're really doing that. You're really defending the exec that has lost more games since the internet was invented. Defending someone who was absolutely dishonest when he said 'buy the bats'.

Why don't you have any pride? Don't be angry at me. Be angry that AM will say it's a big improvement if the team wins 78 games this year....which is what he said last year.

Channel your anger where it matters most. No need to be obsessed with me.

I'm out, so talk amongst yourselves. Let's see how DEFENSIVE you all can get.

BEING PLAYED LIKE A CONCERT FLUTIST

Hey bdf
I'm happy for Huff. He now only needs one more ring to be a compete failure and have as many as Andy!

The bottom line of today is are the O's a better team today than yesterday?

It's all about improvement in the offseason.
It's obvious to all but the most dimwitted amongst us that the O's are considerably better tonight than they were yesterday or at the end of last year.

Keep it going Buck! Great Moves!
Don't even let Andy back in the room the rest of your time down there!
We know who pulled this off wink wink

Being played like a concert flutist? Is the flutist being played... I thought he was doing the playing? Does a flute play a flutist? Waaaaaaaaaayne, I'm confused. Help me! That's a very specific reference, as well - the flute. Do you play the flute, Wayne? Sometime I'd love to hear more about the flutes you like to play... you know, the size, circumference, flesh tone, veininess, etc.

Peter -- No, Pena isn't the other power option; he's one of a few, and not the best one, either.

As MacPhail said after signing Reynolds, the Orioles need guys who can hit left handed pitchers and that guy isn't Carlos Pena, who hit only .179 against southpaw starters in 2010.

I wish you and other writers would do your homework and quit beating the drum for someone who has no business being in the orange and black next season.

So what power options would be preferable to Pena? Konerko, obviously, but by all reports he's not going to sign with the O's. Derrick Lee, on the other hand, might be someone they can get signed to a short term contract and he's a lot more dependable hitting lefties than Pena.

I would rather have a strikeout than ground into a dp

Pete asks "Why Mark Reynolds ?"

Smitty and Micah have some good answers. And - as indicated - Rob Deer, Dave Kingman and Mickey Tettleton are good examples of how a player can have less than 5 tools and still be a big contributor. Like the part about the solid defender too.
Hernandez will probably do very well in AZ ...but good for him.
With Werth signing a ridiculours deal with the Nats the rest of the free agents will likely be overpriced as well. So Andy said act now ...or fuhgddaboudit.

Smitty, CIH, Ken

Thanks all!

Ken one thing though, I know you said 4. But the article I dug up said 2 big time prosepcts.

Chris in Hawaii, yes I keep hearing when Hosmer is ready. Kila is ok. Believe it or not, I would like to see Thome. I don't think he'll cost that much, he would be a good dh to have!

Paulie and Smitty maybe you're right too. I just don't know I would like the O's to at least make an offer.

I have seen Mahoney play, grant it not much just one game. The guy who impressed me was Henson the O's AA outfielder.

All I just want to make it clear because even I poo pooed Reynolds. I feel badly about that. But I am willing to give him a shot and so should you. You meaning all the boo birds out there, just like I was

There I feel better now!

RE: The Orioles are now playing an entire season with only 26 outs.

The highest recorded team batting average in history is .350 in 1894. (Highest since 1900: .319). Since a team gets 27 outs per game (assuming neither extra innings nor rain shortening), that means that the "best" hitting team in history played the entire season with only 9.5 outs per game. I'd be willing to bet that at least one of the 17.5 outs they "gave away" each game was a strikeout.

Now, I'm not saying that it's a good thing that Reynolds strikes out so much. However, I am saying that I fail to see the difference between one player accounting for that strikeout versus ye olde randome person on the team striking out instead. Seems to me that it might be better to pool all those strikeouts in one place, but I'm open to discussion.

These idiots are still trying to justify the most strike outs in the history of the game of baseball. Come back wayne. These have to be the dumbest fans in baseball. Or is it that the media has these fans so twisted, they actually believe this was a major move. Actually, I guess it was for this club. Andy is turning this club into KC east.

Anyone who uses strikeouts as a reason not to have someone is blinded by a flawed stat.

The .198 average? Ya, that's a legit concern, but not the K's. An out is an out...if Guy A has 50 Ks in a season and 450 fly outs/groundouts, and Guy B has 200 Ks and 300 flyouts/groundouts, what's the difference?

I'd rather have Guy B...less double plays. An out is an out, no matter how you slice it. If the guy can raise his average, and gives us 35-45 HR, then he can strike out as often as he wants.

Comeback, what?????
KC East?? what do you mean by this?

I wish Andy would turn the O's into KC east.... I have read all kinds of reports on the Royals. They are loaded.
The O's aren't quite there yet.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1160735/1/index.htm

Paulie a few quotes from that SI Article that you spoke of earlier.

But Reynolds was unabashed. "It's the way I hit," he said shortly before setting the record, and he shrugged.

He is relentless

Reynolds was 0 for 3 against Seattle's brilliant Felix Hernandez, and his fourth time up he hit a long home run.

My take from reading this article.
He has to stop using The Edisonian Approach. Jimmy P has to get Mark R to stop this trial and error silliness. The learning curve has to be sped up, clearly!
If they both have a meeting of the minds, these strike outs will go down and the batting average way way up. Maybe even .275 or .280. Reynolds has the talent, but he better damn well find the drive to work on this! Relentless is to be lauded. Working smarter not harder is the way to go for sure.

John the Baptist,

Re: The Orioles are now playing a whole season with 26 outs.

If by having Reynolds, than nobody else struck out, sure...best deal in history.

But, unfortunately, Reynolds K's are in addition too the rest of the team. And the team is not the most patient group. Luke Scott, Adam Jones, Felix Pie....aheem.

And as for the "grounder or a K, what's the difference"...that's where batting average comes in. Ground out's are measured in the AVG, so it's not as if Reynolds is without ground-outs and fly-outs too. I'll take 200K's if he had a .350 average too boot.

--One of the "bonuses" with Reynolds, unlike Dunn, is that once he Draws a Walk, Reynolds can actually Steal a base and is a good base runner. And Mark Reynolds is at least making his BB's climb every year...

I got a little curious, about team Strikeout records after my last post, so I did a little more research.

As it turns out, the lowest total team strikeouts for a season was 308 (in 1921). That team played 153 games, which amounts to over 2 K's per game. Oops.

Paulie,

Point of clarification please: Ground out's are measured in the AVG

Did you mean the ground balls that are hits are measured in the AVG? Because in terms of BA, a K or a ground out both (negatively) impact BA the same amount, on a one-for-one basis.

I'm not trying to nit-pick, but I want to make sure we understand each other too.

OK Peter, I guess this is what you have to do when you are writing about our lowly Orioles. We have to somehow justify why MacFail and owner still don't seem to want to build a contender.
disappointing.
I'll take LaRoche for 1st.

Will you all shut up? This is the first time we have somebody who in a smaller ballpark will beat the living bejesus out of the ball. So what he may strike out a ton. If he gets me 30 hrs Ill take it. Plus this makes the guys batting around him better. Rather than markakis getting pitched around every at bat perhaps his nnumber rebound. scott, jonesy, all the guys benefit from this trade. now snag me hardy from minnesota and either bring back wiggy or sign pena and we've actually got a hard hitting lineup.

Right James, Pitchers will be giving Nick fastballs down the middle because ------ Oh no, we don't want to face the 198 hitter who strikes out more than anyone in baseball.

Ummmm James, I think pitchers will take their chances on someone who happens to connect 30some times out of 550 ab's, especially when they know they're facing someone who whiffs like no one the league has ever seen.

Any of you know how many players could hit 30 bombs if they wanted to bat under 200? Is that too tough a question for most of you?

And if you haven't been watching, it's hardly been mentioned on espn. It's been more of a little side note. The Orioles are considered a joke and this move simply confirms the though

So it appears we added somewhere around a 3 WAR player in Reynolds in exchange for a pair of relievers, only one of whom looked really on their way to being a contributor for us? And this is a bad move how? It's not 1990 anymore, can we stop just looking at Reynolds' batting average and assuming he sucks? He'll get on base,provide more power, and produce more runs from the 3B position than we've seen in quite some time. If he mashes anywhere close to his 2009 levels, we're looking at a huge steal.

Wouldn't mind taking a flyer on Pena as well. No way he bats .222 on balls in play again. An xBABIP of .321 suggests an amount of bad luck that is impossible to fathom. A lineup consisting of Reynolds, Pena, Markakis, Scott, Jones, and Wieters will be as fun a team as we've had to watch in a while, and probably a far more competitive one too.

So it appears we added somewhere around a 3 WAR player in Reynolds in exchange for a pair of relievers, only one of whom looked really on their way to being a contributor for us? And this is a bad move how? It's not 1990 anymore, can we stop just looking at Reynolds' batting average and assuming he sucks? He'll get on base,provide more power, and produce more runs from the 3B position than we've seen in quite some time. If he mashes anywhere close to his 2009 levels, we're looking at a huge steal.

Wouldn't mind taking a flyer on Pena as well. No way he bats .222 on balls in play again. An xBABIP of .321 suggests an amount of bad luck that is impossible to fathom. A lineup consisting of Reynolds, Pena, Markakis, Scott, Jones, and Wieters will be as fun a team as we've had to watch in a while, and probably a far more competitive one too.

So it appears we added somewhere around a 3 WAR player in Reynolds in exchange for a pair of relievers, only one of whom looked really on their way to being a contributor for us? And this is a bad move how? It's not 1990 anymore, can we stop just looking at Reynolds' batting average and assuming he sucks? He'll get on base,provide more power, and produce more runs from the 3B position than we've seen in quite some time. If he mashes anywhere close to his 2009 levels, we're looking at a huge steal.

Wouldn't mind taking a flyer on Pena as well. No way he bats .222 on balls in play again. An xBABIP of .321 suggests an amount of bad luck that is impossible to fathom. A lineup consisting of Reynolds, Pena, Markakis, Scott, Jones, and Wieters will be as fun a team as we've had to watch in a while, and probably a far more competitive one too.

Gotta Go with the haters on this one.
Doesn't look like a genius move by any means. I liked both of the pitchers we gave up too. Does it mean we will stop watching the orioles? Wayne, not brooks, other haters?

The Orioles may be more entertaining than in the past decade if they win more games. But Reynolds is not a good baseball playe. He's only fun to watch about one in every twenty at bats. That's about the frequency he hits a home run. Unforturnately he will strike out about one out of every three at bats and only get a hit about once every five ABs. His fielding is varies from poor down to atrocious. I wonder how many douple plays Reynolds hits into per season? He is a caracature of thw worst of baseball, but he probably sells tickets to people who don't care much for the game.

When watching the O's on TV in 2011, I can do soemething else when Reynolds bats. On the odd occasion he hits a HR, I'll rewind and see the ball sail over the fence. It's just basic physics of kinetic enregy. When a strong guy swings uncontrollably from the heels, he will occasionally hit a fastball ball a great distance.

If the O's win more in 2011, then the primary reason will be consistently excellent pitching and good fielding.

I would have preferred a great fileder at third who hits .260 and gets 15 HRs per season. Guess that ideal would be Brooks.

Mark Reynolds. You have got to be kidding me. What a joke.

Wayne is correct with his cynicism. Wait..., scratch that. He's not a cynic, He's just brutally honest. The rest of you have rose colored glasses on and have been so twisted by the local media to believe that this is an upgrade.

A real upgrade would be signing Cliff Lee, or Carl Crawford. Or making a run at Derek Jeter or Andy Petit. Money talks people and that's the one good thing the Orioles have.

Espn is reporting that wigginton is closing in on a deal with Colorado. I would hate to lose his versatility. He covers a lot of rolls for this team and will be missed if we let him go.

Espn is reporting that wigginton is closing in on a deal with Colorado. I would hate to lose his versatility. He covers a lot of rolls for this team and will be missed if we let him go.

Espn is reporting that wigginton is closing in on a deal with Colorado. I would hate to lose his versatility. He covers a lot of rolls for this team and will be missed if we let him go.

Espn is reporting that wigginton is closing in on a deal with Colorado. I would hate to lose his versatility. He covers a lot of rolls for this team and will be missed if we let him go.

Kevin states:
Mark Reynolds. You have got to be kidding me. What a joke.

Go Back to Sleep, re evaluate your boldness, and then come back with something more positive!

Tony P, it's official Wigginton did sign with the Rockies. Good for him. They might be pretty good this year. Plus, they have a nice fan base out there. So the Orioles did help him finally I think by letting him go.

We really need to try to get Zach Greinke!
We really do!

Bye-Bye Ty. Not to worry, Mark Reynolds is so much better!

ZERO = # of bats "bought" this off-season.

TWO = # of arms traded away.

ONE = # of bats let go (Wigginton to Colorado, for $7.5 million over 2 years).

ONE = # of arms left to pursue free market (Koji, who may or may not come back).

Squirrel,

See.... there you go again. But its not just you, as so many do the same thing.

There is ZERO chance AM will try to figure out how to get a player of Greinke's stature. That's not negative, that's not being a hater, that's just....

FACT

What team have you been watching? Why would you fill your head with such hope?

I saw the same people do the same for players like VMart, Dunn, Werth, and of course the one who everyone used to talk about - AG.

None of those players were EVER going to be in an O's uniform. Why?

Because AM was dishonest when he said 'buy the bats'. He lied!

See the bat he just bought, via a trade? See how everyone here has been trying to justify it since?

So if he's going to be the way he is when it comes to the bats, imagine how he is with pitching.

And you want Greinke?

SORRY, BUT AM's PLAYING YOU SQUIRREL

Why Mark Reynolds? Where do I begin? Josh Bell, who strikes out even more, is grossly fat for a youngster, PIGgingTON, who had one good month? THANK YOU, LORD, Colorado Rockies!

Everyone

You got to admit, Wayne is making very valid arguments. This team just can not compete with the Yanks and Sox. They can not outbid most teams for quality players (or PA just does not want to spend much), and as a result we are stuck trying to find the best possible players out there. I am guessing Reynolds, given his price tag, and HR totals over the past few years was a worthy risk. Let's see if our new hitting coach can get him to bat .250 for the season (HUGE accomplishment). I remember once Quentin left ARZ, he flourished offensively. Let's hope for the same.

But you guys must stop the Wayne obsession. The fan base is in fact being played like a "concert flutist" and year after year we are led to believe this retarded plan is in place. This plan was in place multiple managers and GMS ago and where are we now? Oh yeah, mired in our 11+ losing season in a row. We suck. No one wants to come here and PA won't shell out what Washington is shelling out (they know they suck, and their owner will spend whatever it takes because he is willing to blow his top trying to win, even if it means signing a very risky player who is 31 years of age to a 7 year contract, for 126 million and possibly offering Cliff Lee 7 years at 200 million) to try and build a contender. Nope, instead we will trade Reimold (big mistake, the guy can rebound after his horrific year) for a shortstop who reminds me a lot of Izturis with a slightly better bat, and slightly worse glove.

It's the same old song and dance year after year folks. We will never get the premier free agents. We can never sign the Beltres or the A-Gons or the Maryland natives like Tex because we have sucked so long we are no longer attractive, and we just won't spend a ton.

Reynolds is as good a player as we are going to get this offseason. Book it. I am rooting for him as is Wayne. Wayne is rooting for the sh** O's just like every other disgruntled fan. Can't fault AM really, he is only spending what his cheap boss will allow him to spend, and he is not the one with a pathetic farm system shelling out one good prospect every 3 years.

Anyone who would seriously argue that Reynolds is the major acquisition the Orioles need to become competitive is either deluding themselves or on the payroll of the Orioles. His numbers, both last year and over his career, do not inspire confidence, and as Atkins and our other budget free agent busts have proven, players don't get better by playing in the AL East.

Look down the road at the Nationals, who just landed Werth and are making a serious run at Cliff Lee. Here is a team in a similar competitive position as the Os, and in a worse financial position- yet they don't seem to buy into the notion that you simply have to concede that you won't get a top-20 free agent if you aren't NY or Boston. Did they not get the memo?

Why aren't the Orioles doing what it takes to land a Cliff Lee, Carl Crawford, Jayson Werth, Victor Martinez, Adam Dunn, Paul Konerko, or the like? Have the last few years of team-building on the cheap taught us nothing? Does MacPhail, against all evidence, still believe that he has some kind of special ability to pick bargain players better than every other GM in the majors?

And to read some of these posts, the only thing I can conclude is that some of you (including many of the Sun's sportswriters) are suffering from some form of Stockholm Syndrome. These moves are not what the fans deserve, and this front office has blown any goodwill or benefit of the doubt they might have been afforded.

I think people are only looking at what is right in front of them here. I think Greinke(sp?) is a solid pitcher, but McPhail would never go for it. We have top quality prospects coming up that are going to start pitching well. Andy knows that and trading away the farm just to reach .500 aint worth it. if I were andy, I would rather trade all the same prospects I would have for Grienke and go after Hanley Ramirez, but then again, while he is the best shortstop in the game, he wont give us a chance to make the postseason alone. And trading away all those prospects who in time might help to add depth and consistency on a team that has neither only makes our problems worse.

Do we have the money to buy a big bat?? Im sure we do. Are we going to over spend just to get a team that, given its inflated payroll, would be a complete disappointment? I hope not.

In the end we do need more impactful players. I'm a little sad to see Wigginton go, but I trust its for a good reason.

If McPhail leaves the winter meetings only having aquired Mark Reynolds, I would be sorely disappointed, as would many of you, but we still have 5 more days left and I think a few more things will get done in that time.

Feels great to see some post that are based on common sense, rather than the typical Baltimore spin.

Get ready to be called 'trolls' and alike though guys. Many people, including Pete, don't like to hear or accept the basic truth.

Meanwhile, I'm told I don't know baseball, while posters come on here and clam that K's are no worse than any other type of out. They'll back their claim noting that K's are better than dp's.

Certain posters don't understand the power of a sacrifice fly or advancing runners over. Instead, they'll get excited at 30some hr's over the course of 550 at bats, while this guy Reynolds sits on the other side of the Mendoza line.

But wait.... We're to 'bite' when people say he batted 198 due to an injury. Wow......

Meanwhile, the guy is coming to a new league, with pitchers he's never seen...not to mention, the AL East.

To the posters who 'get it', disregard the following tag. To those continuing to buy into our dishonest head of baseball operations.....

YOU'RE GETTING PLAYED LIKE A FINE TUNED BASE

John the Baptist,

Re: Ground outs are measured in Avg.

I mean to say, as you've more or less stated, that a ground-out negatively impacts a AVG just as much as K's. With Reynolds last year, there were K's and ground-outs and fly out's in that miserable Average.

If Reynolds didn't hit into fly-outs and ground-outs his AVG would be higher...but, he's gonna hit his fair share of GO/FO in addition to K's. That's where I was going with that...

One more thing.

It is unfair to criticize McPhail here. He has brought some serious talent to Baltimore while purging ourselves of the older and more overpaid players we had on our team. He actually has done wonders in restocking the team with young talent.

But If I were owner I would be doing the same thing that Angelos is doing. Im not spending a dime until you get to .500. Prove you can win at least half of your games with a 70 Million dollar payroll. If you can win with that and think you can win significantly more by adding 10-20-30 million more, then fine, here you go, but the extra money has to result in more wins. So far, additional money, mostly spent by other GMs, has escalated while the win total has continually fallen. That is why McPhail has not signed big free agents, because those players dont change the downward trajectory of our Win/loss record. Player development and key marginal aquisitions do that. When its time, they will spend, but now is not the time.

At least a strike-out requires the pitcher to throw at least three pitches, which is more pitches than many O's have taken in the past to ground out or fly out.

@a Seahawks fan - go Seahawks!

A Seahawks fan telling us how to do things? A Seahawks fan telling us we more or less stink. Maybe the Orioles should sign Shaun Alexander for CF. He still has the speed, he just doesn't like getting hit/tackled anymore. After that we could sign Dan McGwire, that's right Mark's brother. Dan was a great QB and had a great arm. He could play 1st Base since he's still so big and strong. And after that, the Orioles could sign Kelly Stouffer another former QB, maybe he could play catcherfor us. Finally, the Orioles could sign Rick Mirer. Rick, just like a lot of Orioles prospects had a great rookie season and then didn't do much else afterwards. So he would be a tremendous addition to the "Flock of O's. Gee, Thank You Seahawks fans for cleaing up as to who we should sign, I don't know where we'd be without you!

Comments from MLB commentator Kevin Millar on Mark Reynolds.

"He's good for 30 HR's" ... "it's the AL East now and getting HR off of CC, Lester, and David Price not the same as out wast."

"He's now moved to a Division where he's gonna get 350 K's!!! Against all those great pitchers in the AL East."

--that's from Kevin Millar, take it for what you will, but not everyone thinks Reynolds is going to be better by changing divisions...food for thought...

It's time to give Wayne a column of his own; he certainly dominates this site with his own entries and all those who respond to him.

@ Squirrel

First off, stating facts. Not telling anyone how to do things. If you think PA was ready to shell out the money necessary and trade the players necessary to acquire Adrian Gonzalez, don't you think it would have been done? Prince Fielder? According to the sun, the tires have been kicked. Where have I heard that one before? I am not playing GM I am merely observing the predictable offseason trend for us Orioles fan, and as hard as it is for you to believe, I am a diehard fan who is pissed off this team can not seem to PUSH when the time is right and make things happen. They just sit, wait for the 'market to set itself' and sign FA off the scrap heap.

As for the Seahawks, they have stunk mightily but hey, as of right now are still in the playoff chase thanks for the NFC worst division.

It's easy to play GM when your teams suck and you think you can do a better job than guys like Andy M. but the truth of the matter is, he is only working with what PA allows him to work with. The farm is pathetic. This team's future today is where it was 5 years ago. We stink. End of story. We'll chat after the 15th game when we are 3-12 and spiraling.

People need to stop trying to Rationalize or Mitigate Reynold's Strike Out's.

He Strike's Out more than any other Baseball player in MLB. Now or Ever.

Stop trying to "spin" his K's.

There are dozens of other things that he does well. Walks rates improving every year. Defense has been getting better every year. Above average Base Runner and Base Stealer. He's a Gamer and 110% effort type. He's locked in for 2-3 years. And he's young still. There is a lot to like...

But the K's are Atrocious. It can't be over stated. Worst in the HISTORY of ALL of Baseball. It's a MASSIVE negative. Stop being foolish and trying to "spin" the K's any other way.

I'm on board with Reynolds and hope for the best. Again, plenty to like. However, the K's can not be over-looked or mitigated. BIG BIG issue. How that plays for 162 games in the AL East is very dubious.

Wayne needs to stop playing the skin flute so much.

@a Seahawks fan - go Seahawks!

Furthermore....

We could sign Chuck Knox as the 1st base coach. I know Kirby is there, we'll still keep him as a special assistant until Chuck retires again. But, Chuck really knows when to run, hence his nickname "Ground Chuck". He would make the perfect 1st base coach!

Also, Tom Flores could be hired as the Spanish speaking coach for the Orioles. Since he was not only the first Hispanic QB in profesional football, he was also the first Hispanic Head Football Coach as well.

And if Knox and Flores get bored with the Orioles, the could always sashay over to Raven stadium and help them out. They do have a lot of experience!

Boy Seahawk Fan thank you for adding to the conversation today. You have enligtened as well as enriched us!

Point of order -- a person who plays the flute is called a "flautist", not a "flutist".

A smart-a$$ who isn't smart is...well... you know.

"Shocked! Shocked, I say",so says Andy the Turtle. "Here I've been telling those Baltimorons that no worthwhile player will sign with a last place club and this Werth guy makes a liar out of me. And for a paltry 126 big ones at that. Doesn't he kmow that, in about four or five years that $126M will only be worth (man, 2nd time I've had to say worth) about $2 or $3M the way this country is going."
"Yeah, now I just heard that the owners of the Senators (no not those Senators. They're owned by Wall Street), the Lerners, are millionaires. Boy, don't I wish I had a rich owner running the Orioles. He might have allowed me to bid higher on that kid from Maryland who would have solved one of those corner infield spots I've been harping about for a couple of years. Oh, what's that? I do have a rich owner? Why hasn't anyone told me this before? PA (he likes to be called that) is always griping that his windfall money from those court cases is running out. What, he's got millions coming in every year from some TV deal that Bud Sieleg drummed up in order to allow those Senators (no, not them I told you) to get back into baseball."
"Say", says the turtle, "Does this mean that I could have offered $10 or $20M more for that "Tex" kid and solved our 1B problem for the next 10-12 years?"
"Of course, with my luck (see Atkins) the kid won't live up to his rep OR (and I hate to even think about this) PA may decide that I don't have my grandpap's or Dad's genes after all. Don't know how Grandpap Larry could have made all those trades and still slept at night. I'm still losing sleep over acquiring Atkins and Gonzo.
Well, more power to the Senators. (I TOLD you, NOT those Senators. They already have too much power in Washington.) The Nats (how's that) still need pitching and, as I've said sooo many times, you grow the arms and buy the bats. Hey, didn't I just buy Harold Reynolds for a pittance! PA will be proud of me. What! You say it wasn't Harold Reynolds! Who the heck is Mark Reynolds?"

Squirrel

Honestly, you make Orioles fans look retarded. The sarcasm only tells me you are as blind as the millions of other so called fans who have developed 'learned mediocrity' so when you obtain a guy who hit >100 HRs in the past 3 years, and the logical fan makes a comment about his monstrous K total (again, I am rooting for Mark Reynolds like everyone else on this blog, and wish him well but am voicing the same concerns this fan base has voiced for over a decade which is - show me the big acquisition already!).

You sure do know a lot about the Seahawks, and I applaude you for that. When it comes to the Orioles however, it seems this entire fan base with a few exceptions have grown accustomed to or support mediocrity, and make excuses for every signing, every trade, every new 'Plan' etc. This team needed Adrian Gonzalez. It needed Mark Tex two years ago (we could have outbid the Yanks if we wanted to, if the Nats can give Werth >50 million more than any team in the MLB would have given him, WE could have got Tex, trust me). Now we are looking at Adam LaDouche for 1B? Seriously? Sigh. It's another Jay Gibbons if you ask me.

Am I telling you how to run the Orioles? Not by any means but you can not be blind Squirrel and tell me you don't see the rest of the league making waves each offseason, while we sign the Kojis, the Mike Gonzalez to be the closer, the Gregg Zauns, the Tatums, the Cordovas, the Joe Carters, the Dejeans, the Fetters...I can go on and on man, it's ridiculous to me. The last major signing we made was Tejada (how long ago was that again?), and Tejada's position was not even our major need at the time.

The blame is solely on Peter Angelos. If you look at the Seahawks, they have an owner who cares about winning. Let's look at the MLB now. Arte Moreno likes to win right? The Angels are constantly making improvements, and don't care if they have to shell out a few extra million (even >10-15 million) to get the guy they want. Hell, I am even looking at the Nationals making waves this offseason, and as I recall, they got some guy named Dunn a few years back towards the end of the FA season when we would not budge. Now we get outbid by CHI for him, and we are stuck 'kicking tires' (heard that BS before), and looking at K-arlos Pena to team with Reynolds, or the Jay Gibbons clone.

I'm done rambling Squirrel. Keep following the Seahawks though buddy, they are a pretty good team who does what they need to stay competitive. You know what that word means right? Competititve? The O's owner should does not, or does not give a damn about it.

Hey, JON. Didn't I read that some West Coast team gave Miggy $6M to play short for them next year. Let's see, oh yeah, it was the team that beat out EVERY other team for the World's Championship. But. of course, you know more about Miggy's worth than the Giants do.

Oh Patrick....

The sad thing is, many think the way you do.... even Petey.

'he has brought some serious talent to Baltimore'....

Really Patrick? Let's take a look:

1B - Who?
2B - Was already here
SS - Who?
3B - Who?
LF - Who?
CF - That's one
RF - Was already here
C - Was already drafted
Closer - Who?
SP's - Guthrie, Bergy, Arietta - Were already in the system. Matusz - That's two (hopefully). Tillman - No one knows..... A couple other pitching prospects? Every team has them.
Position Players in the Minors - Who you going to 'reach' for Patrick?

So let me here about all these great, young players AM has brought into the system Patrick.

You sir, are today's poster boy for.........

GETTING PLAYED

Ha ha Wayne,

How old are you dude? Honest, simple question. I am 28 and have already had enough of this BS. And Wayne, if MacPhail had the $ to spend he would spend it because at this juncture, he knows his time in B'more is up and he would wanna save his job ;-)

PA is the problem - always has been, ever since the Davey Johnson fiasco. I hope Peter does this organization a favor and goes away.

Having owners that truly care about winning is what matters in any sport. Cleveland Cavaliers - their owner is going to try and do anything to win a title before LeBron. Cuban. The Utah Jazz ownership (always winning 50+ games)

Look at the MLB - Angels, Yanks, Sox, Twins, etc. When you give a damn, you would do anything and spend whatever it takes (at times) to put a solid product on the field.

This year is going to be no different for the Orioles, but as a fan I am going to cheer them on every single game until the 20th game when we are mathetmatically eliminated from the AL East chase and Buck is on the hot seat, and we start tapping into AAA for starting pitching and bullpen help.

Welcome to Scamden Yards folks! We as fans are being scammed into believing there is a P-L-A-N

paulie -

I guess Millar doesn't realize that Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Ubaldo Jimenez and a few more damn good pitchers pitch in the NL West.

And that the parks in the NL West, aside from Coors, are all pitcher's parks.

And that Reynolds has a .250/.380/.530 line against lefties in his career.

There are a lot of negatives to Mark Reynolds, but facing tougher pitchers certainly isn't one of them.

Pete just deleted one of my posts. How sad is that. There was no profanity, only opinion and it was clean. Wayne you may be on to something buddy. This is a sad sad organization who can't hear/read the truth.

Ken, with some of your posts, I wonder if you are really Andy MacPhail under an assumed name.

Mark Reynolds was a terrible trade. Andy MacPhail and "ken" are fascinated with Mark Reynolds power just like guys hand money over to exotic dancers with nice ta-tas. Mark Reynolds who has some power strikes out a lot and has a terrible batting average, just like the exotic dancers with nice ta-tas have messed up teeth and a couple of kids at home.

Andy MacPhail (or should I say "ken") would love to have these five (5) players at the top of the line-up:

1. Justin Upton-RF (152 strikeouts in 2010)
2. Adam Jones-CF (119 strikeouts in 2010)
3. Adam Dunn-DH (119 strikeouts)
4. Ryan Howard-1B (157 strikeouts in 2010)
5. Mark Reynolds-3B (211 strikeouts in 2010)

With General Managers like Andy MacPhail and fans like "ken" thinking these are good deals, it is no surprise the Orioles haven't been to the playoffs in over 13 years.

I keep seeing the same message from WAYNE:

Wayne: Do you think trading Hernandez to the St. Louis Cardinals for Pujols could have happened?

The Orioles need a big bat in the lineup. The guy will hit 35 HR in for the O's. If he hits 250 that is a bonus. The trade should work out fine. Do we need more help, of course. This is not a horrible trade. And the players that have signed are getting too much. Werth=126 million: not a chance. And won't satisfy that number. Dunn wanted too much. Pena is older.

Be happy...

Dan F., Amen to your "Be happy" advice!

We all must make ourselves happy with our lives because the Orioles won't make us happy with their 2011 team, nor give us any hope.

Wayne you left a few guys out there. Namely Reynolds, Pie, and Scott.

re Reynolds' strikeouts.

He struck out 10 more times than Dunn. Would all of you moaning about his K's have been screaming about this if they had opened their wallets and signed Dunn?

Face it, batter K's are not a big deal nowadays. Aside from Dunn, here are some other names of hitter K leaders in 2010
Rickey Weeks, Matt Kemp, David Wright, A Laroche. These are not superstars, but also they are good-very good plpayers. Just cause he K's a lot does not mean he cant be a good-very good player. He does get a good amount of walks to offset those K-s. If you want hitters to go deep into counts (ie yanks) then you have to accept some strikeouts as a result.

His average is a much bigger worry to me. He had a down year last year, no doubt. Sounds like he may have been hurt, and pressing, or both. His stats from the prior 2 years are much better; it's not unreasonable to rhink that he might return to those levels, given he's only what, 27?

Overall, I think this is a great trade for the O's. Reynolds is very likely not a superstar, and I really wish the O's would try to sign a Lee or Crawford, but this move makes them a better team, and why should we complain about that?

The Squirrel's Brother,

So are you saying you wouldn't want Justin Upton on your team? I'm willing to bet 29 other GMs would jump at the chance of acquiring Justin Upton. But you like all the other geniuses here are too smart for that. Geez, I'm glad you don't run this team.

Paulie:

Thanks for the clarification.

The Squirrel's Brother: I can't tell if you're being serious or not, but 3 of the 5 people you mentioned are really good players, and the other 2 could be really good (In my opinion, though they may not ever get there).

Wayne: While I'm generally ambivalent when it comes to your posts, I must disagree with your assertion that K's are generally worse than any other out. I will grant you that they aren't desirable while men are on base, if the bases are empty they really are a wash.

EVERYONE: Quick Quiz 1: What do Brett Gardner, Daric Barton, Jayson Werth, and Big Papi have in common? If you said they were the only players last year that saw more pitches per at bat than Mark Reynolds, you are correct.

Quick Quiz 2: What do Jose Batista, Pujols, Konerko, Dunn, Miguel Cabrera, Votto, CarGo, Tex, and Uggla have in common? If you said they were the only players that hit more HR than Reynolds, you are correct.

Number of players that drew more walks than Reynolds? 12 (4 of whom played in the AL East)

Number of players that had few AB/HR? 6. (Unless you count Elvis Andrus and Nyjer Morgan, neither of whom hit an HR last season)

Is the .198 and all the K's unsettling? I'd be lying if I said no. Is it the end of the world? Absolutely not.

I like this trade. I think if we got past the surface numbers, people may realize this is the type of player we desperately need: a Patient, Legitimate power threat.

A Few More points:

Number of players who hit into FEWER DP's? 25.

Number of players with MORE SF's? 55

Number of players with more Total Plate Appearances? 89 (Which could make his other numbers better, or worse, depending on your perspective)

Just food for though

For all those that think .198 is the norm for Reynolds, get real. If the guy hits .240 with 30+, this is a ggood deal. You've got to think Presley relates well to him based on his own career, and can help him improve on the average and K's.

But we gave up Hernandez and Mickolio. Two relievers, much easier to fill than a power corner.

As for signing Beltre, or any other top free agent, forget it. You all keep spouting off every offseason, but PA is the owner and him being cheap isn't going to change until the young guys have success. Then ticket sales have to go up, then he'll spend more money in hoeps he can make more money. So why debate it? Or worse, keep pointing it out that the O's don't spend money and then claiming you're some kind of truth-teller.

AM said 'buy the bats' because he believes it's the right philosophy. Maybe he also said it to put a little pressure back on PA....who knows.

So Pete your saying if Andy can't really do what he wants to but does what he can, dos that mean PA is still pulling the strings? I mean if so, the ORIOLES will go down in history as the biggest losers ever!!

Baltimore baseball ain't what it used to be in Bawlmer. Too much PA and not enough talent.

So Pete your saying if Andy can't really do what he wants to but does what he can, does that mean PA is still pulling the strings? I mean if so, the ORIOLES will go down in history as the biggest losers ever!!

Baltimore baseball ain't what it used to be in Bawlmer. Too much PA and not enough talent.

Those infamous Orioles shills on MLB Hot Stove seem to think the O's are much improved.

Angelos' tentacles reach far...

If the Konerko deal with the WhiteSox is indeed at an impass, now is the time to go in with an offer that he can't refuse. Pay the man and get him @ 1st base! Would be a great fit for this team... give him a 2-3 yr deal that gets him to sign now! Strike while the iron is hot!
I would then like to see Vlad at DH and have Scott/Pie/Reimold fight it out for the 3rd/4th outfielder spots... or trade one of them in a package for pitching. Come on O's... get it done...
Then either bring back Izzy @ SS or give andino the chance to play everyday. Can't be any worse than the production we got at the position last year.

Love to see one article from anyone who covers baseball in any city who think this trade was not good for the O's....
Probably can't find one cause it's a obviously a good deal for the O's.
On paper we are a better team than last year with this move.
The object is to improve. This deal for Reynolds does that.
The troll and his many personalities and different names doesn't change the facts.
Great move Buck!

Why Mark Reynolds? I say because of his career .913 OPS vs lefties (and a .543 SLG), Martinez would have been best, especially given the O's struggles vs lefties. And compared to Dunn's .720 OPS vs lefties, Reynold's isn't a bad consolation prize.

HaHa smitty (dumdum),

Just me brother, although you HATE when others don't buy into your nonsense.

Improved dumdum? at 3B? What was I quoted as saying recently? That of course it's an improvement over last season's garbage? Yeah, I believe that was it.

Do you eat dirt dumdum? Because that's how low your bar is.

It's the same thing you'll be saying when the teams wins 75 games..... that they improved. Which is all we should ask for.

Right dumdum?

I'd say you're the co-poster boy for getting PLAYED today, but that would be a terrible insult to others...... as you stand alone my friend.

"Love to see one article from anyone who covers baseball in any city who think this trade was not good for the O's...."

Posted by: smitty | December 7, 2010 7:37 PM

"HaHa smitty (dumdum),

"Just me brother, although you HATE when others don't buy into your nonsense. "

Posted by: wayne | December 7, 2010 8:16 PM

He said an article by someone who covers baseball, not the rantings of a loon who comments on a blog.

A proud member of the National Brotherhood of Journalists

"That of course it's an improvement over last season"
Wayne 8:16 PM Dec 7th

Straight from the horses .....uh....oh it's a family blog...

So trollboy, if we improve in 2 or 3 positions from last year that would be good too huh....or should we stand pat?

Can't find even one media guy in the entire country who doesn't think this is a good trade for the O's?

Oh well, keep looking. There has to be some unbiased observer who agrres with you on this besides your alter egos or those who already hate anything the front office does. Better yet, write your own article on your hatred for all things Macphail and get that published somewhere. That should be riveting..

BYW Who's playing you?

Great moves by Buck. Thank You sir. and I love how humble he is and deflects the praise to AM. Great company guy too.

Me at 9:23

HaHa dumdum,

You think Buck wants to take credit for missing out on all the 'A's. Are you even awake dumdum?

And here you go dumdum...... Yes, Reynolds is better than Bell. He's easily an improvement.

Problem is dumdum, almost any minor leaguer 3B in the game would be better than Bell.

So you win dumdum.... Yes, they improved. Garbage with just a little less stink.

Dumdum is what dumdum does

"Problem is dumdum, almost any minor leaguer 3B in the game would be better than Bell."

Posted by: wayne | December 7, 2010 9:44 PM

Really, wayne? Surely you aren't THAT misguided by your AM hatred.

Thanks for proving you know less about baseball than musical instruments.
If Reynolds was garbage and we gave up two good middle relievers to get him, the national press would be right in your corner with you. But of course you are way off base, blinded by hatred and just not very good on the uptake.
So Bell is garbage and a guy who averages 30 home runs a year is garbage? You throw that term around pretty liberally.
What exactly does that make a trollboy like you then?

New blog entry Pete!!!
This ones gone on so long that TB left us to "talk amongst ourselves" and then came back again.

Wayne, you've been wanting Buck to become GM and make all the personnel moves. How do you know that he wasn't the one responsible for the Reynolds trade? Or at least in collaberation with AM. I think, if questioned, he would say he did support the trade. I can't imagine that if Buck said 'no', that Andy would have done it anyway, or is that what you;re implying. And Buck is no yes man. So you should be pleased with the trade. Buck was involved and supported the trade. Why aren't you supporting it then? Don't be so hypocritical....

well i can see nothing has changed with all the horse s*** being posted on this blog. ill continue to focus my attentions elsewhere

I see that wanger punked out on providing his blueprint for Orioles success, other than trading for Adrian Gonzalez and signing Adrian Beltre. Wow...no sh*t.

Like I said, there's no way, no how that he'd be a man and post his plan. He'd rather call people 'geeks for playing GM'.

It's allowable for him to post stats as it pertains to his bunk arguments against something. But putting his money where his mouth is by saying 'I'd do this' is never going to happen.

All he knows how to do is talk sh*t, call people names like dumdum, geeks, dumbest fans in baseball etc., then be Mr. Innocence when it's done to him.

He contributes noting positive to this blog. He talks sh*t to the blogger, commenters, about people having adult conversations about stats and who they'd like to see in an O's uniform and why.

Then he refuses to provide what he would do. Except (or is it accept?) for when it serves his sole purpose: Being a MacPhail bashing troll.

Sounds like a coward ass troll punk b*tch to me.

I won't address him directly or indirectly ever again. I encourage the rest of you to do the same. Maybe then he'll grow up and learn how to have an adult conversation. Maybe he'll stop thinking he's Super Fan, PhD., Sportsology.

DFTT

Pete paid him 5 bucks to keep the blog going in his absence...

I pay the kid next door 5 bucks to take the trash to the curb when I'm on a business trip...bout the same thing.

Pete is going to type a "comment of the day" and leave for microindonesia for a month..

Seriously. call the blog "wayne and co." and go the F on...

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2010/12/cubs-carlos-pena-agree-to-terms.html

Whew! Dodged that bullet...

In trade terms with ARZ, it took Hernandez and Mickolio to get Reynolds. I get it on that micro-scale. You're not going to get the next Mike Schmidt for that.

But in roster terms, BAL gave up those two pitchers plus Wigginton to get Reynolds. Oops.

Personally, I'd rather have Wigginton as an everyday player than Reynolds but even if the whiff-meister is the better choice, is it worth those two pitchers?

I can't imagine anyone saying YES. Heck, I wouldn't say YES even if I knew neither pitcher would ever make a major league impact. The reason is we need depth at the minor league level.

I know that sounds like The Plan. So does the "Grow the Bats" fungo that swings our way ad nauseum. And that is exactly the point.

I'm against this move because it is against The Plan. How ironic. Now before anyone thinks I'm an impostor using "waspman," let me repeat I think The Plan in its spoken form is way too narrow in scope by itself to ever have any true success. However, The Plan should be a component and this goes against that component, not embellishes it.

Even worse, it flies in the face of the "Buy the Bats" component. It was BUY and not BYE, wasn't it?

The Orioles just discarded a bat in order to trade two pitchers for a bat. Huh?

The cherry-on-top irony is ARZ has signed Melvin Mora to be part of a platoon as a replacement for Reynolds.

To paraphrase Hamilton Berger, the Orioles are "incompetent, irrelevant, and immaterial." That's lawyer-speak so The Warehouse get's it (or, at least, get's something).

Speaking of OOPS, I meant to say "Grow the ARMS" not BATS. Sorry.

Maybe the problem is we aren't the Yankees or Red Sox. We think we should compete with them but we ain't them. I guess the questions is...who are we?

I'd say we are a medicore franchise that's being run poorly. Don't get me wrong, we could win a pennant someday but if anyone thinks we are going to compete in the American League East every year they are just deluding themselves. Potter or no Potter...

Plausible.... Yawn,,,,,,

Already gave you a little insight. But you don't like players like AG. Guys like you like to save PA's money. Like PA and AM, you've settled into losing. It suits you.

Problem is, if the wallet opened up, this team would still underspend compared to other medium markets.

The other problem is, AM wants to be Commish in short time, thus he lies to the Baltimore fanbase by implying that he'll 'buy the bats'.

The other, other problem is, AM's version of 'buy the bats' is far lower than the Detroit's or St Louis's of the world.

The other. other, other problem is....

YOU'RE GETTING PLAYED LIKE SIX STRING BANJO

Mike in Columbia,

Re: Reynolds Strike Outs.

Yes, I would be just as banana's about Adam Dunn. (in fact, I've been bemoaning Dunn for 2 years now)

"Face it, batter K's are not a big deal nowadays" -- Mike in Columbia

Huh? Is there a 3 hour clock instead of 27 outs? Dunn, Wright, Weeks, Reynolds. All of them K a bunch and their teams were not in contention...Coincidence?

Just curious, is there a limit for the amount of K's a player can have before he's ineffective? 400 K's in a season? 500 K's?? There is a point where K's adversely effect the teams capabilities, that can't be argued...I guess with Reynolds leading the league in K's and being the all-time EVER leader in K's in the HISTORY of MLB is moot because of the 200+ K's he'll hit 35 HR's. Sounds like a Faustian deal if I ever heard it.

Don't get me wrong, as Buck said, "We know what type of player he is, it's not a secret, and we're not trying to change him. We're all in on Reynolds."

I'm all in, too. But let's see where everyone stand after watching 162 games and 200+ K's. If you think it'll be anything less than utterly frustrating, you're kidding yourself.

How many times in 2011 will there be 2 outs and a man on base with Reynolds at the plate. Sure, 35 times it'll be a 2 Run HRer. But 200+ times it's a K. Inning over. Rally killed. Frustration for players and fans.

Coming from AZ GM Kenny Tower's mouth himself "Those K's were rally killers over the course of the season. It's hard on the players."

A lot of positives on Reynolds. But the K's can't be mitigated as some would have you believe. Those HR's might win 35 games, but the 200 K's will loose the O's at least 35.

(and yeah, the average is a pretty big issue too. maybe 200 K's and a .320 average would work, but...)

Think about the looooong history of the Baltimore Orioles. How many years have they been here? Since 1954? Not sure, but I'm sure someone knows.

Think of all the teams, all the players, all the really, really bad hitters.

Now think about the all time O's record for K's. I mean think about that. Think of the players you remember you tended to whiff more than usual.

After you've done all that........

Picture our Mr. 198 whiffing more than 50 times more than anyone ever has in the long history of this franchise.

Not 10. Not 20. Not 40........

But over FIFTY.........as in 50

The good news is? There will be a nicer breeze than usual at the ballyard on those muggy nights in August.

For that -- Thanks AM..

Wayne,

Go back on your meds. You are sounding like a lunatic. We got it.

or at least go play with your flute, it might calm you down.

We should have some faith in Buck here. Buck has input on players and personnel, so he knows what he's getting with Reynolds. He likes his defense, he likes his power, and he likes his upside. Would he have preferred Beltre? I would think so, but he knows what we can and can't do. And guess what? He's ok with that, otherwise he wouldn't have signed on with the O's to begin with. PA is PA, folks. That's the reality, and all the constant moaning isn't going to change that fact.

Side note to Wayne: You wanted Buck involevd in personnel decisions. He is. So stay true to your word and trust he's making decisions for the improvement of the team.

"YOU'RE GETTING PLAYED LIKE SIX STRING BANJO"

Posted by: wayne | December 8, 2010 12:22 PM

Have you been watching a lot of Yakoff Smirnov lately, wayne?

PS - Banjos only have four or sometimes five strings. The banjo you just described would be very rare, and most likely pretty valuable.

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2010/12/orioles-in-serious-talks-for-jj-hardy.html

Hola O's fans!

It's too early to get too worked up about the Os. The Os will do what they always do, which is nothing. Do you truly believe that Peter F. Angelos is going to turn this around? Yes?! Good one .... ROFL!

waspman -

Ty Wigginton? You mean the Ty Wigginton who averaged a .721 OPS, 16 homers, 36 walks and 20 GDP's per year in his two seasons with the Orioles? That Ty Wigginton?

Man, I'm so sad that we let him go in favor of Reynolds!

Come on, man. The Reynolds acquisition isn't anything to throw a party for, but Ty Wigginton? Seriously?

paulie -

"Dunn, Wright, Weeks, Reynolds. All of them K a bunch and their teams were not in contention...Coincidence?"

Austin Jackson, Matt Kemp, Drew Stubbs, B.J. Upton, Carlos Peña, Ryan Howard, Colby Rasmus, Jason Werth. All of them K a bunch and their teams were in contention. Coincidence? Yup. I just picked the guys who strike out a lot who were on winning teams. Just like you picked the guys who strike out a lot who are on losing teams.

Heck, the Phillies have had Howard and Werth contributing 300 some odd strikeouts over the past four seasons and they've made the playoffs every year, advancing to the World Series twice and winning it once.

Oh, but the D-Backs have had Reynolds and Justin Upton and Chris Young striking out like mad for the last few years and they're terrible. Oh, wait, they finished two games out of first place in their division in 2008 with Reynolds and Young combining for 370 strikeouts? How can that be? Because they had really good pitching and a damn good offensive, despite all of the strikeouts.

It's all random paulie. You find a guy who strikes out a lot on a bad team, I'll find a guy who strikes out a lot on a good team. Reggie Jackson is the strikeout king, right? How many of his A's and Yankees teams made the playoffs? How about Bobby Bonds? Those Giants teams in the late 60's and early 70's were pretty good, and Bobby was leading the league in strikeouts like a champ. And hey, Jim Thome is a big strikeout guy as well. Even at age 40, who wouldn't want him on their team?

I'm not saying that Reynolds is going to be a good fit for this team. I'm not saying that it's not going to be frustrating to watch him strike out 200 times. I'm just saying that it's pretty stupid to say that big strikeout guys lead to bad teams, especially since I bet you saw names like Howard, Peña, Stubbs and Upton when you were looking up big strikeout guys.

Bah Humbug! I traded for Mark Reynolds. What other lump of coal do you want in your stocking?

not brooks, the difference in GIDP is 15 -- about one every 11 games difference.

Fielding percentages at 3B (.949 versus .937, advantage Wigginton). Fielding percentage at 1B (.991 versus .972, advantage Wigginton)

Batting average (.248 versus .198, advantage Wigginton)

Reynolds strikes out once every 3 plate appearances, and once every 2.6 at bats.

As I said, even if you prefer the whiff-meister to Wigginton, he's not worth two pitchers.

The Orioles didn't buy the bats. They have tossed two arms they were supposedly growing.

Additionally, they anti-bought the bats. Reynolds' salary in 2010 was $833K, Wigginton's was $3.5M. And finally if we look into the future pretending it is all roses and wine, nobody wants Reynolds and nobody will want Reynolds. He'll get tossed like worn out socks -- same as Wigginton except there are teams who want Wigginton. Translation: Wigginton will have trade value for Colorado when the Orioles are celebrating their 15th consecutive year of losing and Reynolds will be Cuisinart-ing the Camden air in front of dozens.

So far the O's have:

traded for Mark Reynolds,
traded away Hernandez and Mickolio,
let Wigginton go to sign with the Rockies,
left Uehara in limbo.

A.L. East here we come!

I'll take a 7 or 8 pitch strike out over a 1 pitch pop up any day of the week.

Very rare indeed CIH... and as you say, quite valuable.

Mad respect for knowing such.

Now enough of that... Did you really just spin the K again? You're correct of course, but is that who you think this guy is?

Someone who works the count, thus making good use of his historic # of K's?

NC Terp,

Good call... I believe I will go take a turn on the flute. Very calming indeed. I appreciate your concern.

Before I do however.....

1B - Zipppppo
2B - ???
SS - Naaaaaaada
3B - 198 / K Champion / But an improvement, right?
LF - See Stats, See Stats, See Stats
CF - Excellent AM. How long you get for this?
RF - Regressing
C - Wish I could give you full credit AM
SP - Wish I could give you credit for Guthrie, Bergy and Arietta
Closer - 'Huh'?
Minors - Not one position player... ZEEERRRROOOOO

'Buy the Bats' - The Big Lie

Hey Z..... Let's see that FA update my man.... can't wait for your daily updates. O's fans are glued to their seats waiting to hear who AM underbid for.

Ok, now for the Flute... Thanks again Terpster.

waspman -

You're stuck on .198 as well, eh? Well, to each his own, I guess.

And who cares about 2010 salary? Reynolds is making $5 million in 2011 and $7.5 in 2012. Wigginton is making $8 million over two years in his deal with the Rockies.

Come on, man. We all know what we're getting from wayne, but I thought you at least did your research.

Also, I don't get why people are so upset about Hernandez and Mickolio. We're talking about two relief pitchers here. Hernandez has nice potential, but Mickolio has no control and hasn't been able to stay healthy. It's not like the O's traded Jake Arrieta and Ryan Berry for Reynolds. Come on people.

Reynolds is a risk, obviously. But everyone keeps harping on .198. .198! ONE NINETY EIGHT! 198198198198 While IGNORING the fact THAT (.198) Reynolds got hurt IN Spring Tra(.198)ining last YEAR!!! And that he .198!!!!!!! GOT hit in the (one ninety eight) head BY a 95-MP(.198)H fastball in August. And that he'.198s a year removed from a .260/.349/.543 line (.198) with 44 home runs and 24 stolen .198 bases. And he's 28. But all .198 and .198 makes .198 a dull .198... So you know (.198).

Look, Reynolds has clearly got the talent. For those of you who couldn't understand the .198 paragraph:

- He's 28
- He hit .260/.349/.543 with 44 home runs and 24 stolen bases in 2009
- He wasn't 100% out of the gate in 2010.
- He got hit in the head by a 95-MPH fastball in August of 2010.

You don't have to give him a chance to succeed in Baltimore. You don't have to think trading Hernandez and Mickolio was a good deal. But at least pay attention to the facts. When you (by "you", I mean all of you .198-ers) focus on one thing while ignoring almost everything else, you just make yourself look stupid.

Yaaaawwwwwnnn,

No one has doubted his 2009 nb... Nope, haven't seen it.

Lots of players play with or through injury's though. They just don't end up batting 198, striking out over 50 more times than anyone in O's history.....

Question: Was he struck in the head when he struck out even more 2 years prior?

Keep breaking down those stats nb. AM keeps proving you wrong, thus you're doing your best to make punch from a bowl of crap.

I get it... We're all frustrated.

But to constantly go out of your way to defend such horrible key stats.....well, let's just say I expect such from those like dumdum..... not you nb.

Good night all.. Carry on

crawdaddy to the Angels, Lee to the Skanks, Agon to the sux... 198/211 to the blO's. $crew you AM/PGA!

Mark Reynolds batting #'s in 2010 by RATIO:

SO/AB: 2.4
HR/AB: 15.6
AB/RBI: 5.7
SO%: 35.4%
HR%: 5.4%
BB%: 13.9%

WAR: 2.4

Lets compare him to our 2010 clean up hitter, Ty Wigginton:

SO/AB: 5.0
HR/AB: 26.4
RBI/AB: 7.6
SO%: 17.9%
HR%: 3.4%
BB%: 7.7%

WAR: 0.3

Umm, in terms of "who has more value" and "improvement"......lets stick that one in the Obvious Department. As for the .198 BA, it's an anomally. If you think its going to happen again you're an idiot.

And as far as this "horrible fielder" tag onReynolds, he had a 2.2 UZR, which is far from horrible.

Haha one ninety eight....... Careful, you can't say 198/211 around these parts....

Meanwhile.....

1B - Nada
2B - ?

Oh nevermind........ Good night for real. Love to all!

Here's a list of the SO Kings in MLB history:

1. Reggie Jackson+ 2597
2. Jim Thome 2395
3. Sammy Sosa 2306
4. Andres Galarraga 2003
5. Jose Canseco 1942
6. Willie Stargell+ 1936
7. Mike Schmidt+ 1883
8. Fred McGriff 1882
9. Tony Perez+ 1867
10. Mike Cameron 1842
11. Alex Rodriguez 1836
12. Dave Kingman 1816
13. Manny Ramirez 1809
14. Ken Griffey 1779
15. Bobby Bonds 1757

WOW!!! Look at how many outs they "gave away"!!!

TB has left twice on the same blog.
How Cool!
He hasn't even dealt with the fact that Buck made Andy movbe over and then made a trade that he can't stop ridiculing???
Everyone knows Andy didn't want Buck (according to troll boy and other "sources").
So this trade for Reynolds was made by Buck with Peter Angelos OK.
And now do you hate Buck also trollboy?
I mean be consistent. Andy has moved over and Buck has the reigns. Everyone knows that Andy would have rather bought that "garbage" Wiggy back. But Buck chose Garbage light. Is that why you and Peter wanted him? man, at least Wedge would have signed Beltre don't you think? Oh that's right you went to bed to play the flute and all. Do promise not to post as Wilber or Larry he he?

Please help me you seem a little out of sorts. Maybe it's because you've been played!

Don't you love the moves he has made?

paulie,

The example you gave makes no sense, and in fact sort of makes my point. If there's a guy on base and 2 TWO outs, a k is exactly the same as any other kind of out, aside from I guess the tiny chance a fielder makes an error.
K's are bad with runners on base and less than 2 outs, because a runner won't advance. But let's face it, he's been hitting cleanup and he's not being asked to move runners over. He's being asked to drive them in, and he's done well at that. Someone mentioned his record setting year in 2009 - record setting number of strikeouts in a season.
All Time MLB record I believe.

Lets look at the rest of that year.
44 homers and 30 doubles
102 RBI and 98 runs
24 steals and .892 OPS
76 walks
and 214 (MLB all time record) dreaded K's at age

Again, I'm not trying to make him out to be some kind of savior, but to think he's not as good as Wiggy....don't lose your ability to be objective. MacPhail can make some decent moves, personally i believe his hands are tied as far as spending goes. I think he's doing the best he can, notice this move doesn't cost much.

Thanks for the reply, wayne, but I wasn't talking about strikeouts.

Reynolds strikes out a ton. Always has, always will. And I don't believe that I said anything about the fastball to the head affecting his strikeout total.

I'll take a 7 or 8 pitch strike out over a 1 pitch pop up any day of the week.

Posted by: Chris in Hawaii | December 8, 2010 6:14 PM

Very rare indeed CIH... and as you say, quite valuable.

Mad respect for knowing such.

Now enough of that... Did you really just spin the K again? You're correct of course, but is that who you think this guy is?

Someone who works the count, thus making good use of his historic # of K's?.
[...]
Posted by: wayne | December 8, 2010 6:40 PM

Obviously someone doesn't read past their own posts.....

Wayne: Fact: Reynolds saw the FIFTH most number of pitches PER at bat last season (over 4.3) and you may have heard of a few of the names above him: Brett Gardner (Yankees), Daric Barton (A's), Jayson Werth (Phillies), and David Ortiz (Red Sox).

So in short, YES, CIH was making him out to be someone who works the count, because he is.

Oh, and for the record, your boy Adrian Gonzalez sits at a cool 76th on the list (3.85) behind such players as Luke Scott (60th, 3.93) and Nick Markakis (30th, 4.04).

CIH, I'm sorry for speaking for you, and if I'm wrong, the please call me out on it.

Mark Reynolds set the MLB record for striking out in a season with 204 strikeouts in 2008.

He then surpassed that by striking out 223 times in 2009.

In 2010, he became the fastest player to reach 100 strikeouts in a season, doing so in only 67 games...

The winds will be blO'sing in Camden Yards this year...

for the baseball knowledge impaired:

For non-pitchers, a batting average below .230 is often considered poor, and one below .200 is completely unacceptable. This latter level is known as "The Mendoza Line", named for Mario Mendoza, a stellar defensive shortstop who hit .215 during his Major League career. The league batting average in Major League Baseball for 2004 was just higher than .266, and the all-time league average is between .260 and .275.

maybe we could dig Bill Bergen up... at least he doesn't strike out 200 x's a year:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bergebi01.shtml

BREAKING NEWS

AM does nothing for months..... waiting to make his big splash at the Winter meetings.

Splash # 1 - 198 hitter / Historic K king

Splash # 2 - Relief pitcher who used to be a starter in Japan before being relegated to the pen, only to be made a SP by AM, only to predictably breakdown under such. So much so, he's continued to break down out of the O's pen as well. BUT HE'S BACK and ready to give us a SOLID HALF A SEASON.

Future Splash # 3 - Cheap Filler

Future Splash # 4 - Has been with upside

Future Splash # 5 - Ex Cub

YOU'RE ALL BEING PLAYED LIKE A TUBA IN A TUNNEL

You can't make this stuff up....

HARDY HAR HAR

Ok nb, bring on your spin for this guy. Let's go back to 2007 and 2008.

Let's discount his injuries and simply say he's only 28 with huge upside....

Goodness.

Splash # 3 - This guy can't even be described.

........ LIKE A TUBA.......

Your right Wayne, Angelos bought the team because he hated you so much, he wanted them to lose forever, and Andy MacPhail came here to keep them losing because he and his father and grandfather hated you and your family.
Wayne=Nestor. Doesn't everyone see it. He is Nestor, and has many cronies that back him up.

Okay, not brooks, I'll take your cue and not harp onto his regressive batting average because ... I don't know why exactly, but anyway ...

You focused on GIDPs -- something Wigginton did once every 10.8 GAMES more often Reynolds. (He wasn't that close to breaking Brooks Robinson's club record in that department if that's what you're worried about.) Yet, you seem fine with Reynolds striking out 0.7 times PER GAME more often (1.36 versus 0.67).

Broken down, Reynolds strikes out EVERY GAME and twice every third game compared to Wigginton striking out twice every three games.

And Reynolds is inferior as a fielder at 3B and 1B. And Reynolds doesn't even attempt fielding any other position.

Thems the facts, man.

It's okay to prefer one so-so player with a narrow set of attributes over another so-so player with a different set of attributes. We can disagree on preferences. If you re-read my original post that somehow set you off, you see I offer my opinion and I half-expected some would disagree.

But that trade-off was at the expense of two pitching prospects. Even if you are a devout believer in The Plan as the stand-alone panacea for future success, this move (actually two moves -- letting Wigginton go and the trade) flies in the face of that narrowly defined plan.

The Orioles gave up two pitchers as the price to get a player whose offensive weaponry and liabilities are different, a worse fielder, and a less versatile commodity. That's pull and discard the pitchers and not buying the bats. That's anti-Plan.

As for the salary, you're right. I noticed their 2010 salaries by happenstance when researching the facts. I did not bother looking into future salaries.

However, Wigginton was already a free agent. Reynolds is under Oriole control for a bit longer before he becomes a free agent. That's not a bad thing but in the wake of the Orioles maybe being on the cusp of being a .500 team (not even contending yet), this does two very important things:

(1) It goes against (instead of complimenting) the all-eggs-in-one-basket approach, and

(2) It signals to the other players -- including those already on the team like Wieters, like Matusz -- the Orioles couldn't be bothered with free agency.

I bet Markakis is kicking his fanny for signing an extension with this organization. His meeting with Angelos shows he genuinely cares about winning.

So does Angelos, but I'm not sure what he is intent on winning. Being right? Being smarter than everyone else? Being profitable? Being stubborn?

Everyone has their theory. Personally, I don't care. It's not being a team much less being a winning team.

If the Bullets leaving town was like a divorce and the Colts leaving town was like losing a loved one because of a drunk driver, the Orioles have become watching a parent deteriorate with a disease. Thank goodness the Ravens are like watching your child go off to college to make something of him/herself.

@ Waspman,

One thing though Peter S you gotta get back soon from your Vacation.... this blog thread has gotten "Wayyyyne" Too Long!

Ok, back you Waspman, you seem like a pretty Cerebral guy. This one line I gotta point out, since I am a squirrel. It's what I do =P

Thank goodness the Ravens are like watching your child go off to college to make something of him/herself.

Raven Stadium is right next door it's not an out of state college to be sure. So as to why the "Raven Mojo" hasn't rubbed off on the Orioles is beyond me.

Also, I didn't realize that Nick Markakis met with Angelos for an 1 and 1/2 hours.

http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2010-06-24/sports/bs-sp-orioles-markakis-0625-20100624_1_angelos-nick-markakis-brian-roberts

I hope he ordered the Chicken Parm.... The one spot over there has "Great Chicken Parm...mmmmm chicken parm.

The question is "Does Angelos Remember the meeting"? Answer, I hope so! Nick M might be a quiet guy, but I know there's a lot going in his mind, and I truly believe that he wants to win! He's just not as overt as some. Which that's fine by me, I have no problem with that. But if I were Nick M, I would come out right now and say "Hey some of those moves that the O's have made so far are pretty good, but we need to do more!
If he came out and said the Orioles need Greinke, Butler and Gordon. That would truly make my day!
Lastly, if he came out and said "NO" to Prince Fielder that would be even better.
The Orioles are not going to out spend anyone, but they should be able to out wit the competition at least in theory!

I think I've finally found the perfect location for these deck chairs!

Baseball Reference shows that Mark Reynolds' career performance is most similar to Michael Jack Schmidt!!!!

Goal: Improvement
3rd- check
SS- Check
2nd- Healthy Roberts Check
1st- still Working
Closer- Healthy Koji Check
Left- Healthy Reimold and Pie Check
Center- Should be check with one more year
Catcher- Ditto
Right- Down Year last year- should be check.

That Buck is really doing some good things.
But please Buck, keep Andy out of everything, you are doing fine with just you and PA.

Waspman,
If I might interject. nb knows his baseball. he has won an argument or two with me but I'm a novice. If you really think we were better off signing Wiggy than making trade for Reynolds you are pretty much alone with Trollboy. I'd challenge you to find one baseball writer in any publication in any city who thinks this wasn't a good move for the O's. It's not even close. The stats bear this out. Buck and Andy know what they are doing.

Smitty Smitty Smitty... LOL

Seriously though what is up with these two posts? And six minutes after each other.

1.) But please Buck, keep Andy out of everything, you are doing fine with just you and PA.@ 9:08 am

2.) The stats bear this out. Buck and Andy know what they are doing @ 9:14 AM

I know it's cold outside! But come on one way or another, you can't have both!=P

Oh and I can't say this enough, we really need to make a trade with the Royals!

Subliminal Message! EOM!

Cmon Rodent Dude it's pretty simple for even a squirrel
1. weak attempt at humor
2. serious

wayne -

You've been focusing all of your attention on Reynolds' career low batting average while ignoring everything else about the player. And you want me to bring on my spin? That, my friend, is a good one!

Look, as I've said 100 times before, Reynolds comes with huge risk. Would I rather have Adrian Beltre? Damn right I would. But, considering our GM and our owner, how in the world was that going to happen?

I'm not applauding the move by any means. I'm not saying, "Hey, great deal Andy!" I'm just looking into the player we got and seeing that there are reasons for his down year in 2010. You keep harping on .198, wayne, but typically, that sort of massive dropoff doesn't just happen to a guy who hit .257 in his first 1500 big league at bats. But you couldn't care less about that. In wayne's world, .198 is all there is. Because while I'm trying to figure out why Reynolds hit .198 in 2010 (call it positive spin if you will), you couldn't care less about anything else other than the fact that he hit .198.

In the end, is Reynolds going to be the best third baseman in baseball in 2011? Not even close. But to dwell on .198 and expect him to be just the same next season is just plain ridiculous. Just on sample size alone, you can see that Reynolds hit .257/.338/.500 in 418 games over his first three seasons. Why would you take a sample size of 145 (games played in 2010) over a sample size of 418? It just doesn't make any sense.

waspman -

I didn't mean to imply that I was arguing in favor of the MacPhail plan. It's plain to see that there is no MacPhail plan and that he's acting out of desperation now.

One more thing though... Do you really think that letting go of Ty Wigginton is showing the young O's that the team "can't be bothered by free agency"? Seriously? Again, we're talking about Ty Wigginton here. On a good team, he's a utility player who doesn't play any position particularly well. On the O's, he was forced into a starting role and put up a .721 OPS over his two seasons with the club.

The only thing the Reynolds over Wigginton move shows is that the Orioles know, as every other team in baseball knows, that Ty Wigginton is not a starting anything. So when you need a starting third baseman, shortstop and first baseman, why would you worry about hanging on to a guy who gave your team a .721 OPS over two seasons?

In the end though, what does all of this matter? Reynolds doesn't matter. Hardy, who I'm sure everyone is going to start complaining about, doesn't matter.

And why is this?

Because the Red Sox acquired Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford within a few days, which is going to make the Yankees step up and offer that seventh year to Cliff Lee. And the Rays are reloading their bullpen. And the Blue Jays are still looking to make additions.

This team is going to be stuck in mediocrity until Peter Angelos sells the team, dies or is willing to go all in on a big free agent. And I guess we also need a GM who's willing to do that as well for such a thing to happen.

Here's to fifth place in 2011, even if a miracle bumps this group to a .500 baseball team.

nb chill out man!
The Red Sox basically swapped Beltre and
Martinez for Crawford and Gonzales.
Sure that makes them better but by how much?
BTW/ Who won the World Series last year?
Hint: It wasn't New York or Boston.
So yes, each of these moves matters and only a losers mentality resigns themselves to 5th place before a pitch is thrown.
Lots of stuff happens during a season and all you can do is make your team better than the previous year as much as you can.
The O's are doing that.

@NB

In the end though, what does all of this matter? Reynolds doesn't matter. Hardy, who I'm sure everyone is going to start complaining about, doesn't matter.

You won't hear one complaint from me about either of these two. I mean it.
Reynolds obviously strikes out a lot. To me its like choking down a brussel sprout. But I am willing to give him a chance and I think you're starting to come around and therefore willing to do the same.

As for Hardy, I like him, U'all will not hear one complaint from me about him.

As for the rest of the Orioles, they gotta get together and Cowboy Up and get that youthful exuberance thing going!
There's something to be said about that.
I want them to win 2011! Not sit around cry because we didn't get this free agent or pull the trigger on that trade. Come on fellas "Lets Roll"!

Hardy Har Har,

SS - Check.... Really?

What is it about you dumdum? The worse a player is, the happier you are?

Oh.... AM filled the spot.... he sure did. Anyone seen this dudes last 2 years though?

3B - Disregard a players last season - Check
SS - Disregard a players last two seasons - Check

AM is a liar people. He is looking you right in the eye and lying his A off.

He's just filling positions now.... because well, he does need to field a baseball team.

Hardy Har Har had a couple real nice seasons for a shortstop... But that was 3 and 4 seasons ago. Doesn't that mean anything to anyone? Did you learn anything from the Atkins deal?

3B - Below mendoza line K King - Check
SS - At least you could count on Izzy to show up. This guy? - Check

These are the moves you were all waiting for so anxiously? You must all be SOOOOO excited.

And the real funny thing is.... You all KNOW (including Pete) that I'm right. You just can't admit it because you don't like me.... like I care.

You have to admit though folks... It is sad watching what we're watching.

NB, you don't even say 'prove me wrong Andy' anymore. I know you're hurting

BEING PLAYED LIKE A STEINWAY PIANO

Sorry, smitty, but Victor Martinez was the Orioles number one target this winter, and they screwed the pooch on that one.

Offering only fair market value to your number one target when you know for a fact that you need to overpay to get players to play for your team and that your team rarely gets a chance to make a second offer? If that was Andy's attempt to "make the team better than the previous year as much as he could", I've got to laugh.

http://twitter.com/danconnollysun/statuses/12906429841145856

Woohoo! $500K!

Maybe each remaining O's fan will get $1000 out of this deal!

Amusingly...now one wants to accept that strikeouts aren't all bad.

Mark Reynolds only hit into 8 DP's last season. Adrian Beltre hit into 25 and Pablo Sandoval hit into 26.

That means Beltre was responsible for 34 additional outs on ground balls that Reynolds was not accountable for. Subtract that from the 211 strikeouts and you have 177. All of a sudden, his strikeout totals don't look nearly as bad.

Beltre, one of the consensus best 3rd basemen in the game hit .321/.365/.553, OPS of .919, 84 runs, 28 HR, 102 RBI, 40 BB, and 82 K.

Reynolds hit .198/.320/.433, OPS of .753, 79 runs, 32 HR, 85 RBI, 83 BB, and 211 K. He also had 90 less plate appearances.

Last season was one of Beltre's best and Reynolds worst. Statistically, anyone saying Reynolds is "no good" does not have an argument. In a bad year, Reynolds still helped his team more than the 3rd basemen on the O's last year.

"AM Move Over - Buck Has Taken Over"

So Wayne, do you really believe Buck is succumbing to AM? That Buck had no input on Reynolds, Hardy, Koji, etc? Are you suggesting that Buck has a strong personality to most, but behind closed doors he's smooching up to AM? Because all of your usual tomato-throwing is still aimed at AM. Shouldn't you be lobbing a few at Buck too?

Or maybe Buck knows a few more things than you do, and the moves so far are part of his doing?

I know, you'll come back with "if Buck were GM as well, none of this would be happening". So in your world, if Buck had sole control, we'd have traded for AGon, signed Beltre and Lee, and suddnely risen to a 90 win team?

If you use logic and break down what you say, you;re just being hypocritical. We all know you love the spotlight while not actually being on the stage. It makes it easy to claim the truth while not actually saying something of substance.

Buck's involved Wayne. He is. So either stick with your man or throw him under the bus too. You can't have it both ways.

Say hi to Wedge at lunch for us today.

I don't like the Reynolds addition. There are positives about the guy like rising Defensive metrics, and BB totals, and, Most importantly he's under team control for 3-4 years. Mixed bag. A very very mixed bag. (although a D-Backs fan-friend of mine tells me that other than Zimmerman, nobody can pick at 3rd like Reynolds. I'll like that if it's so, but most don't agree with that statement.)

JJ Hardy I don't understand. Not even in the same conversation as Izzy with the Glove. I guess he's better offensively, but both Izzy and JJ have seen their offensive numbers tumble over the last 2 years. "Defense up the middle" is something I don't think can be discounted. Added to that, JJ is a free agent next year. Is Manny Machado THAT close to Majors? (um, no. Not at all.)

Reynolds makes a bit of sense, and for the O's, it was a coop of sorts. JJ Hardy, I'm confused about.

There are plenty that were supportive of Atkins, but either One or Both of these pick ups are in the same mold. Players bought "low" with hopes of return to former glory.

As far as comments on the O's moves, I've been watching MLB channel religiously. Kevin Millar thinks Reynolds could Strike Out 300 times in the AL East. Harold Reynolds also questioned the benefit of Reynolds on the O's.

Harold Reynolds also made the comment that "Buck looked amped and excited. He had that look in his eyes that the O's were about to make a major major move. I know Buck had told Andy and the O's that this year would be different and that this year Free Agents would want to come to the Baltimore. Buck's been working his tail off talking to these guys, and still it seems like the same old thing. I feel bad for Buck..." (that's not verbatim, but it's pretty darn close)

Anyway, my 2 cent's. I'll hope for the best, but I'm fooling myself more than Luke Scott.

ps. Adding Adam LaRoach will complete the off-season in which all the types of players I dread put on Orange and Black. Philosophically, the high K totals I find to be the Antithesis of Good Baseball. I am, however, willing to concede that I don't know everything, and that Andy and Buck probably know more than I. So I'll curb my opinion and let it ride.

Let's go O's!!

Look, everyone,

Wigginton, Reynolds -- neither is going to mean 4th place at the end of the year -- any year. Therefore, the de facto swap was not worth two pitchers, especially in an offseason that has the Orioles losing pitching depth left and right (and "depth" being a relative term).

I was talking big picture. Personally, comparing Wiggy and Reyny is like comparing last night's yawn with this morning's yawn.

200 strikeouts is frightful from someone offering no protection in a line-up that can offer none. And he's a worse fielder. And he's less versatile. Those are three attributes that are likely not to change. Ever.

These two moves have only a chance to being an improvement if he actually mashes 30-plus HRs. His RBI total could be formidable if the Orioles were acquiring solid offensive nuggets to surround him. Think Mickey Tettleton and the line-up he was in. Tettleton thrived even though he was a strikeout risk because teams had to take their chances. Tettleton also walked a lot, and that's an area where Reynolds might improve if the Oriole line-up was more impressive.

The Oriole line-up is not more impressive and certainly not as impressive as in Tettleton's day. The Hardy/Whoever acquisition is an upgrade but we're talking about someone who bats ninth. That's good for Roberts (or Patterson if Roberts goes back to visiting hospitals as a patient), but it's not good news for Reynolds unless Reynolds bats eighth.

If there is some magical big picture that has yet to unfold and the Orioles beef up their line-up so Reynolds bats seventh or eighth as a result, I will admit openly, freely and gladly I was wrong. I don't see a track record that offers hope beyond blind hope on that one, and the Orioles are two pitching prospects poorer.

As for Hardy/Whoever, that was a good trade. I saw Hoey pitch twice, and he pitched well both times at Norfolk. Nevertheless, neither of his outings sang the song of potential in my book. I know nothing of the Single-A pitcher we lost beyond stats anyone can read. This deal gets high marks from me.

Unfortunately, this trade should be 10% of the off-season, not 20-50% it seems destined to being.

Taken together, these deals make the Orioles look like, well, the Orioles. Unless they actually do something significant, they will again be Halloween and 2011 is just a new costume.

As for the Ravens rubbing off onto the Orioles, I think that is sort of a misleading thought Baltimoreans of a certain vintage might have. The Colts and Orioles (and Bullets for a spell) had success similarly. Even the Irsay Colts had three decent years in the mid-70s.

In truth, professional teams within a city compete with each other as businesses than many know. Oh, you will have a football player throwing out the first pitch or some baseball player honored at halftime or somebody else sitting right behind the home bench at a basketball game, whatever. But in truth, the Yankees are elbowing the Giants for shelf space as much as Coke and Pepsi at the local Giant.

Most owners are simply smart enough not to let their business competitiveness spill into public observation. It doesn't (and can't) do they any good. Emotionally, fans can root for multiple teams. Owners can't do anything about that. But they can be nice while trying to enlarge their market share. Cheering can be spread around. People's disposable income can not.

Then there's the dynamic of the two different sports. Running and managing a baseball team is far different than a football team. Even if one wanted to look at the Ravens, Steelers, Patriots and (dare I say it these days) Colts as being model franchises, there's little to be learned that would help the Orioles, Pirates, Red Sox and, ummm, hmmm, Pacers.

While the Orioles and Pirates may seem to be examples, the Red Sox are a better example. They run their business totally different than the Patriots, and both are successful.

Oh, and I'm not really a cerebral guy. I only play one on the Internet.

AZ Chuck,

Re: Amusingly...no{ed.} one wants to accept that strikeouts aren't all bad.

You were happy to subtract the Double Plays from Reynolds K's totals to arrive at 177.

Let's complete that equation.

Missed 90 at bats compared with Beltre...

177K's + 90AB's = 300+ K's!!

AZ GM Towers said this about Reynolds "Those K's were rally killers and detrimental to player moral."

Look, the O's are in a corner, and Reynolds was an above average grab for team that needed a middle of the line-up guy.

But trying to spin the K's is as senseless as trying to claim that Padre's ripped off the Red Sox in trading Adrian Gonzalez..

Sorry, paulie, but you're just plain wrong about Hardy's defense.

According to UZR/150, Hardy has ranked 4th, 7th, 10th and 4th among shortstops over the past four seasons.

Izzy has ranked 10th, 4th, 7th and 12th.

And Hardy is in the top five among shortstops in The Fielding Bible's Plus ratings from 2006 through 2008 (that's all you can get if you don't pay to subscribe). Izzy isn't even in the top ten.

So, considering that defense is hard to qualify, I think we can at least say that Hardy and Izzy are at least similarly skilled defenders.

So considering similar defense, similar healthy history and the fact that Hardy's three years younger, I'll go with hope for Hardy to hit .260 with 15 or so homers over Izzy's lock for .255 or lower with 10 stolen bases.

Paulie,

The biggest subject of debate for me is what big move(s) could the O's make that makes them significantly better to justify the cash required to get the deal done. And simply because PA hasn't spent any cash in the last 10 years, does it make sense now to overpay for a marquee player?

My concern is that when you overpay, the player's only in it for the money and you limit what other players you can sign. And even if we DID offer the money, I don't see marquee players wanting to come here and help rebuild. Unless again, they are looking purely at the cash. That's been Beltre's mo.

PA is telling AM and Buck the same thing he's probably said a million times now: I won't invest more money until I see better results from what we already have. It's pure business for him. Both AM and Buck knew what they were getting involved in, and they took the challenge. Buck is much better at this than AM, that much I agree with. And hopefully we do have a new, more aggressive GM next year. Until then, Buck will have to get more out of this team than most other managers have to with theirs.

As long as PA is the owner, I just don't see the philosphy changing, and wishing for a top-10 free agent doesn't change that.

not brooks,

Once again, good looking out. I'm happy to be proven wrong. I hope his glove work shines. Critical area of a team for sure playing SS, imho.

PeteyPablo,

Thanks for the comments. But I'll respectfully disagree. I've seen plenty of indications that the O's are willing and able to spend over the last 10 years. Personally, I'm an Andy fan and Angelos fan. And yeah, I know that makes me one of the last of the Doo-Doo's. I do understand where you're coming from, and can appreciate it. I have come to a different conclusion about the FO, and I'll leave it at that.

To all of you praising Andy McFail.

Don't cry when the O's fall short of accomplishing their goal of winning 78 games next season.

Paulie,

Here's who comes to mind over the last 10 years:

Kevin Millwood
Ramon Hernandez
Miguel Tejada
Javy Lopez
Rafael Palmeiro
Scott Erickson

The last decent signings we had were in 96, with Alomar, Wells, BJ, and Myers. That was the last year I can think of where PA allowed the GM to spend money. Every other time it's adding 1-2 guys, which to me is what we are seeing again. If PA thinks we're on the verge of turning the corner, it would be interesting to see if he green-lights the signings of the more marquee players.

Folks,

I've actually been reading at least most of this thread, an avid O's fan of 40 years, and I won't bemoan the obvious ... I'm just glad I got to see some good ball when I was a kid.

My comments might not set the world on fire, but you're all way too worked up ... it's pretty obvious that yes, they're better ... Hardy and Reynolds are improvements, who can pretend they're not (well, I know who, but different subject) ... but to think that it's enough improvement to move us more than 5-10 games is silly. I'd label the offseason a huge disappointment (LaRoche or not) but really, what did we expect? The kids will carry us, or they won't, and we're in the wrong division to expect a happy ending.

As for the 'star' of your blog, please ... just stop pandering to him, it's obvious that no one can be that much of an idiot, unless what they're really doing is trying to get attention. He's dumb like a fox, as they say.

Thanks!

Are the Orioles a better team now with Reynolds and Hardy? You have to answer that question by asking are they better when measured against the Red Sox and Yankees. Let's face it - the Red Sox and Yankees are much better next year than last. While the Orioles improved over 2010 they slipped backwards when compared to the Sox and Yanks. THAT IS THE PROBLEM. We have to get better compared to them not to our 2010 team.

Are the Orioles a better team now with Reynolds and Hardy? You have to answer that question by asking are they better when measured against the Red Sox and Yankees. Let's face it - the Red Sox and Yankees are much better next year than last. While the Orioles improved over 2010 they slipped backwards when compared to the Sox and Yanks. THAT IS THE PROBLEM. We have to get better compared to them not to our 2010 team.

Fair point, Eddie ... I suppose it's a sign of how far we've fallen that I don't even bother comparing to the Sox or Yankees ... if the front office isn't interested in competing with them, why should I be?

You're right ... we're better than last year, but yeah, further from first place.

All I have to say is using fielding percentage to say Wiggington is a better defensive player than Reynolds is one of the stupidest comparisons you can make. Remember, you don't get tagged with an error for balls you can't get to.

I got some respect for Wiggy (mostly because of him telling that Ranger to go sit on the bench), but sometimes I wondered if his range allowed him to reach the balls in his pants.

The Sun needs to get a commenting system like Disqus so I can "Like" Chris's comment.

Haha, good one...

We should have kept Wiggy. It was stupid to exchange him for Reynolds and give up the arms. In fact, I liked wiggy and izzy and I even like to say their names. This is not an upgrade. Mac is just doing something to be doing something and look like he's doing something.

we are bottom feeding again. Look at all this talk about Reynolds. Reynolds will hurt us more than help us. Inning killer. Unteachable. The guy we got cause we were 16 million short on the Martinez. And Pete, a little short? A little understatement. You were joking. Tell me you were joking. We were embarrassed.

@Anonymous

No one is stopping you from saying Wiggy and Izzy's names. You can go around saying their names all day long. It might be a waste of time, but you could do it.

Or you could go take a look at fangraphs.com (or any other statistical site) and compare Wiggy vs. Renny and Izzy vs. Hardeezy's numbers.

You'll probably end up a lot happier if you go with the second option.

@not brooks

I know it's not my site and all, but I would actually like a comment section that allowed for multiple threads.

Thanks for the love, BTW.

This is IT everyone.....

I know, I know.... I'm dumb like a fox, right?

But read my post/rants from over a month ago. Bulls Eye....

While all of you were dreaming about the big names, I TOLD YOU there would be no such players coming to Baltimore.

I know... It's annoying to you all... And trust me, it's a burden to me as well. Being spot on all the dang time is exhausting...

But guess what?

It doesn't take a genius to realize that AM is a liar.

'buy the bats'? Well he's in his 4th year folks...... How long you gonna wait?

3B - Keep defending him everyone. Each time you do you look ridiculous.
SS - Had a good 2007 and 2008. Sound familiar? And the guy likely won't stay on the field.
RP - Seriously? You guys love this guy? Look it up everyone. Oh sure, he's fine when he pitches.... BUT HE'S ALWAYS HURT.

Those are our BIG off season acquisitions folks...

THAT'S IT.... THAT'S WHAT THIS LIAR HAS GIVEN YOU - MERRY CHRISTMAS.

Improvement? OF COURSE. Look at SS and 3B last year folks. GARBAGE. Of course it's an improvement.

And when he gets a STIFF 1B, you'll all SCREAM what an improvement it is. IMPROVEMENT OVER WHAT? WAKE UP!

This is it my brothers.... Enjoy the off season moves.

BEING PLAYED BY THE LIAR - SERIOUSLY

Fellas,

I thought this was a tremendous read!
I just don't feel like posting it on the Insider.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1007623/1/index.htm

Originally, what precipitated the digging up of this nut by the squirrel was the fact that I just found out today that Cliff Lee was drafted by Pat Gillick (Orioles)in 1998. It got me stirring again.

Cliff Lee:
June 2, 1998: Drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 20th round of the 1998 amateur draft, but did not sign.

Also, if you don't feel like reading the article. Here's some excerpts with some commentary.

Several times Gillick refused to interview with Angelos because he had heard the owner was difficult to work for, too meddlesome.

Hmmmmmmmmm??? Is all I can say!

Gillick, who also has axed $16 million from the payroll and might come in below last season's $48.8 million budget—embarrassingly high for a sub-.500 club.
This is too funny... I bet we all thought those players were a bunch of overpaid bunch of bums back then... Now the Orioles payroll is about the same as it was in 1995! HMMMM is all I can say!

Still, the Orioles' biggest pickup this off-season was Gillick, 58, as sharp and energetic a general manager as there is in the game. He has a photographic memory, and friends nicknamed him Segap Wolley—Yellow Pages spelled backward—because, they say, he could memorize the book forward and backward.

Photographic Memory...Not only that Pat Gillick is a man who thought outside the box and had vision as well as passion. He didn't need some stupid plan to tell him what to do or how to go about building a team.

Gillick is a sensitive man who believes that an organization is like a family. When he arrived in Baltimore, he found a front office that was excessively rigid and running scared, with too many employees afraid to even make suggestions. Assistant general manager Frank Robinson, who was canned on Dec. 4, lashed out at the organization during his going-away party, saying the team would not win again until there was a return to the old Oriole way, when people smiled at each other in the halls and cared for each other. Gillick knows that feeling. "It came from winning," he says. "It has been lost along the way. We have to recapture that."

I hear people say all the time History repeats itself. As for me I love History! A lot of good stuff you can learn from History aka Experience.
Maybe Andy Mac will have made move during this offseason to get the Oriole Engine purring again. We shall see!
From my viewpoint Pat Gillick did more from 12/25/95 to 2/25/96 then Andy Mac has done in his whole entire career!

I guess that's why Gillick is in the Hall of Fame! Congrats Pat, you deserve it!

i'm going OTA and internet for my tv. no need to keep paying comcast so i can get masn. screw you, o's, i'm done.

So Wayne...

How do you feel about the move to bring in Reynolds?

Look, here's how I see it. I agree with the sentiment that these moves (Hardy, Reynolds resign Koji) are not very likely to help us get in contention with the yanks, sux, etc.
I do think they make us a better team, so on that level they are good and I support them.
The bigger problem is why do we operate like a small market team. I think it boils down to 3 possibilities:
1) MacPhail, given the "blank check" by Angelos, simply refuses to try to buy players.
This would be like if your boss said - hey spend as much of my money on your wife's christmas presents, and you said, well, I think she'll just be happy with this new vacumn cleaner, she doesn't need any new jewelry.
Odds of this 2) Players are being offered big bucks by the O's, but don;t want to come here. I think there are some players who fit this bill. Who knows, even if we offered tip top dollar to Crawford & Lee, maybe neither would come here.
Odds: Depends on the player, but I would guess roughly half of them might feel this way until we ever win a few games
3) The owner, the one who controls the payroll, refuses to spend big bucks / take big risks.
Odds: You do the math

MacPhail is trying folks, your anger is directed at the wrong person.

Uh oh...

It's only December 9th and wayne, despite his claims that he only cares about whether or not the O's win, has already started his never ending string of "I told you so" posts.

We already have to deal with the second worst GM in baseball (no one tops Dayton Moore) and, as per usual, we're going to continue to get bashed in the head with wayne's typical BS:

But read my post/rants from over a month ago. Bulls Eye....

Back pat #1.

"I TOLD YOU there would be no such players coming to Baltimore."

I think everyone here, even smitty, already knew that.

"it's a burden to me as well. Being spot on all the dang time is exhausting..."

Back pats #2 and #3.

"It doesn't take a genius to realize that AM is a liar."

Clearly...

Don't you ever get tired of yourself, wayne? Don't you realize that all of this crap that you post day after day after day continually backs up the unavoidable fact that you've slowly become more concerned about being right than you are about whether or not the Orioles ever win again?

I know I'm just going to get a patented waynejab™ and a bunch of the same crap that you generally store up for when people aren't on board with you, but I couldn't care less. Honestly, I'm pretty much right there with you when it comes to my attitude about the team. Even though I'm giving Reynolds and Hardy a shot to prove themselves on the field before I condemn them online, I know, as most people here do, that this team isn't going anywhere until we get some real top of the line players. Especially in this division.

But bring on the waynejab™ anyway, if it'll make you feel better. Honestly, I'm really starting to feel bad for you, buddy.

nah nb... I truly wish I were wrong. You have no idea. Fact is though, when it comes to AM, I never am.

I do think it's better than hoping for the big names, then simply spinning the real AM moves in order to make one feel better.

It does get somewhat pathetic to watch, year after year, so many posters wish for this big name or that big name... only for it never to happen. That's the people I feel bad for nb.

Me? It's hard to be disappointed when expectations are never there.

Wouldn't you all LOVE IT if AM just once signed a legitimate major player? Say like Detroit or other medium market teams.

Wouldn't you love to jam a VMart or AG or Greinke up my butt JUST ONCE? Wouldn't that feel oh so great?

But you know it'll NEVER happen nb.

Even LaRoche would shut me up at this point. He's not even close to a star, yet you and I both know there's no way AM will compete to get him.

I mean look how far the bar has lowered to shut me up nb. Won't happen though, because AM is a liar.

PROVE ME WRONG ANDY - JUST ONCE

waynejab™ is a registered trademark of wayneCorp. Enterprises, LLC.

Any unauthorized use and/or positive comments about the Orioles will be subjected to a waynejab™ and/or names you haven't heard since 4th grade.

HaHa CIH.......

Made me laugh in a good way, instead of laughing about AM's moves.

Good form.

The Orioles are worried about the Yankees and Red Sox, but still can't compete with Toronto.

Record against the AL East. Tampa: 42-30; Jays: 39-33; NYY: 38-34; BoSox: 37-35; Balt: 24-48. Interesting.

I just read that the Texas Rangers are looking to cut salary to sign Cliff Lee and are willing to trade Michael Young to anyone willing to take on his salary (3 years/$48 million remaining). Since the O's have money to spend and need another corner infielder why not make this deal? He has a limited no trade clause but maybe would like to play for Buck again.

It sounds like they wouldn't have to give up much because Texas is looking to dump salary. Young could play 3B and the O's could move Reynolds to 1st, where he has played before. I have always heard that Young is a great leader and clubhouse guy. He is a 6 time all-star who batted .284 with 21 HR's and 91 RBI last year.

This also would help the Rangers keep Lee away from the Yankees.

Buster Olney Blog:
But three years ago, he struggled so badly for the Indians that he was sent to the minors. His fastball is typically 91-92 mph, so as he ages and loses velocity, he'll soon drop into the much more hittable 89-90 mph range. His best weapon is his incredible command, and if that suffers just a bit, he will be a very different pitcher. "He has very little margin for error," one talent evaluator said this week. "If he starts to decline, he could go from being great to being average quickly."

I don't agree with Buster Olney or if I don't agree with Buster, I certainly don't agree with the assessment "He has very little margin for error," one talent evaluator said this week. "-- ONE TALENT EVALUATOR!

Have either of these two heard of Jaime Moyer or Pedro Martinez????

Jaime Moyer IMHO is Cliff Lee light

Pedro Martinez was a fellow that threw smoke most of his career. As far as I am concerned no one and I mean no one matched Pedro with the stuff he threw in 1999 (especially true in the 1999 All Star Game). He Made Curt Schilling look like a Hack out there.

But back to Pedro's changed ways. He become a finesse pitcher and he was one Hideki Matsui from being the 2009 WS MVP. Matsui figured Pedro in a big way. That's why he (Matsui) was WS MVP and the Phillies were runners up!

My take is even if Cliff Lee loses some of his fastball, he will do fine. The way he does things on "The Bump" during the game appear effortless. He is the most Mechanically sound pitcher I have ever seen, Period!

LaRoche

THE BIG MID ATLANTIC SWEEPSTAKES

Who will get thE SUPER SUPER STUD ---- ADAM LAROCHE

The Baltimore Orioles

OR

The Washington Nats?

LATEST VEGAS ODDS:

Nationals: 3-2

Other medium mkt team: 2-1

Orioles - 1,000,000 - 1

Don't be discouraged folks... at least the O's are on the board.

Besides, you already have difference makers like Reynolds, Hardy and Koji locked up.

Will AM, in his desperate attempt to fill GAPING holes finally pick up a player that others teams may want?

Or will AM continue to LIE like he always does?

LATEST VEGAS ODDS:

AM steps up (a little) - 1,000,000 - 1

AM lies (per usual) - 5-2

AH... THE DRAMA

>>>>I am guessing Reynolds, given his price tag, and HR totals over the past few years was a worthy risk.

++O's fan in CA who is also a Seahawks fan - go Seahawks!++

The Ig meister is on the board!

How's it going?

If the O's wanted or needed to take a risk on someone to play 3B, then why not Jorge Cantu? Yes his numbers were down last year, but:

1. He's a free agent - no need to give Hernadez and Hooey away.
2. He has actually played in the AL East.
3. He doesn't strike out 200+ times a year.
4. He can play all four infield positions.
5. He's a gamer and, when he was a Ray, was a clutch hitter.
6. He doesn't strike out 200+ times a year.
7. He could probably be signed to a one year deal with incentives and club options for more years. The O's are on the hook with Reynolds for what, three years?
8. No, he doesn't hit 30-40 HRs, but he has hit almost 30 twice, and if an out is an out is an out, as some are arguing here about Ks vs ground outs, then run production is run production is run production.
9. He doesn't strike out 200+ times a year.
10. Seahawks suck - Go Cowboys!!!! There's a new sheriff in town named Jason Garrett, and the 'Boys are back!!!!

Seriously, this team needed the second coming of Rob Deer? We don't need another Rally Killer in the lineup!

Crud

P.S. Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life, son.

I think they fell asleep at the insider...no new posts for awhile...

I guess the proud, the few, the tired are posting here.... while they wait.

"Don't you ever get tired of yourself, wayne? Don't you realize that all of this crap that you post day after day after day continually backs up the unavoidable fact that you've slowly become more concerned about being right than you are about whether or not the Orioles ever win again?" - not brooks

You know, one thing I forgot to address in my previous post was from someone who agreed with not brooks where his assessment and my assessment differed. The statement was something to the effect, "waspman, you're not going to win this one."

I wanted to clarify the points of agreement and separate out the points of disagreement. In that process I forgot to say, "I'm not interested in winning anything. I hope I am wrong. Nothing would make me happier."

I also got a good chuckle when someone had written in broken mathematics that wayne was Nestor (obviously referring to Nestor Aparicio). When I read not brooks' accounting of all of the self pats on the back and reading "my brothers" from wayne's post of preaching, I couldn't help but think how similar the two are (or have become).

Additionally, it does seem there is this element of needing to be right. We all want to be right on a certain level; I get that. But it has gotten to the point of being obsessive -- even to the point it is coming off as a campaign -- which brings me full circle thinking about the Nestor part with his Free the Birds stuff.

I don't know if wayne and Nestor are one and the same. Frankly, I doubt it. But it is funny how similar they do seem to be.

I am angry, disheartened, and whole lot of other things when it comes to the Orioles. Some of it stems from I know how it once was and I don't believe the Orioles need to spend $150M per annum on salaries to get there again.

Most of my feelings, however, stems from the fact there is really nothing I can do about it. It is that helplessness that makes me feel like I'm watching a terminally ill loved one deteriorate.

Make no mistake. I prefer to disagree with my friends here from time to time than to follow the footsteps of hatred even if I agree with the morsels that rain down like a Chinese water torture.

And one more thing Im flying to our nations capital where I plan to personally verify our Presidents birth certificate,,,Ill tell he better hope that its all in order

I have mixed feelings on the moves so far.
I'm in agreement with signing Koji again-he looks like he's a stroke-throwing machine and he can shore up the pen.
Hardy is an upgrade over Itzuris offense-wise and Harris adds some depth.
I liked what I saw from David Hernandez in relief but you have to give up something to get something I suppose..which brings me to Reynolds.
He strikes out a lot and that .198 avg is a concern..not much better than Josh Bell if he stays there. I do think he's capable of turning it around and supplying 35 Hrs and at least a .250 Avg. I would have preferred Dunn but I'll take the pre-2010 Reynolds...
I also like the idea of maybe bringing in another bat but only if it's an upgrade over what we have now.

Nice try Wayne..... If you're going to be me though, please at least be funny or interesting. That was really bad dude. But keep trying...

How's the LaRoche thing going guys?

You squirming in your seats, knowing AM won't pull the trigger.

He won't guys....

Why?

Because AM is a LIAR.

And you all know it.

Ooops, new VEGAS ODDS are in

LaRoche to Balt is now 2,000,000 to 1

I suppose they realize AM lies as well.

Goodnight all..... Have a safe Friday night. Be careful out there.

BEING PLAYED BY A LIAR - AM STYLE

... baseball and the turds.

oh, and $crew you, AMPGA.

I gotta go take a AMPGA. Better get the Lysol.

There is no doubt in my mind, that the O's have done a fantastic job with the band aid therapy AM is using on the roster. If we trying to stabilize our bench and get some utility players, AM is spot on.

Oh but we had real holes in the line-up, oh well, looks like year 14 of futility. This isn't rocket science but maybe AM is still thinking about that 7th year for Cliff Lee, albeit he only offered $6.5M per year and certain to disapointed yet again.

No I see a Jim Thome type or even a Giambi putting us over the top!

Remember, manage/lower those expectations, it is AM and the O's were talking about!

The truth will set you free!

luke scott is the biggest a-hole in sports. shut your mouth, enjoy playing a kid's game for millions, be humble. jerk.

"If we trying"
"No I see"...

Federal employee

I just stepped in a big steaming pile of AMPGA. Ugg.

You know......

All anyone here wants to do is get really excited about this team... After the final 2 months of the season under Buck, I really believe people felt AM would finally change his style and help this team in a way that was finally exciting.

No... we didn't expect Yankee or RSox type spending... Of course not. But was it too much to ask for one star player? One?

Pick up one star, then there's no scrutinizing the likes of Reynolds, Hardy, etc... But when that's IT, then you can understand the lack of hope or enthusiasm moving forward.

Rebuilding Pete?

This man had to fill empty holes at 1B, 3B and SS, and still needs answers for LF, Closer, and parts of the rotation. He's been here almost 4 years Pete... Some pretty blatant holes, especially when there's not ONE legitimate player in the minors to consider, and especially when many of the key players were already in the system when AM arrived.

That's not rebuilding Pete. That's nothing to be thankful for. That's just a mess.

AM continues to flat out lie to the fans of Baltimore folks. And the press eats it up....because they have to.

No one should be surprised that AM hasn't changed his stripes. After all, he's lost more games than any exec in the business for over 2 decades now. That's a long time..... and counting.

LaRoche won't be in Baltimore folks. He would have been a nice player. Certainly not a star, but at least someone who was wanted by other teams. Someone with a respectable all around track record...

Someone AM would never consider, because he's a liar.

When AM said 'buy the bats', we now know he meant the cheapest bats available. He fooled allot of us for some time, and he's still fooling some.

Too bad the media must have the O's advertising .... then everyone would finally get the truth.

Too bad.

hey euph - stop ruining my good name!

I realize I say the samething over and over but if you pay attention dumb dumbs im always right....I said it before and iyall say it again...just say NO!

We should have said NO to AM long ago.

Being played like is my new catch phrase

BTW Oboma was born here so all you fellow US Americans can sleep better..your Welcome

Wayne makes no sense , has no sense of humor and is largely uninteresting

no matter who uses the name

we should have said NO to wayne long ago

being played makes you sound 15

From trash talking Phil Itzoe to constant complaints about baseball issues he cant possibly know anything about to finally just being a total Jackass with his identity theft concerns

wayne is the ultimate fool

Oh yeah big man

you know im right

AM is a waffler who wont pull the trigger

we need a 1base guy with power but where is he? he isnt here

we need a 3b guy too but AM wont spend PAs money

dont bring up the past STINKO im over that im here to talk Orioles

something you fellas dont understand

youses are being played

So it's time to start speculating on the Starting Pitcher that's needed.

Not many FA's that look too great. Maybe VanDeHurk is in the rotation....but...

given the off season that McPhail has put together so far, the team is getting younger and targeting players with a couple years of MLB experience. I haven't thought to much about it yet, but I'll be the first to through some spaghetti on the wall.

3 names, just talking here....(these are names that have been rumored, and aren't of the Zach Greinke order of hope-against-reality.)

Matt Garza. Kevin Slowey. Jeff Francis.

I'm good with any of the above. You???

Try rich hill . He's our big fa.

It wasn't too long ago that Adam Dunn was the Mark Reynolds of baseball in the KO category, but that doesn't stop Wayne from thinking we should have thrown insane amounts of money to him....

Wayne can't even spell, or write, in a linear coherent pattern, so it boggles my mind that you let this mongoloid under your skin. The guy is just here to stir the pot, and, clearly, has no baseball savvy. Exactly none of his "arguments" hold any water. He is one of those guys that bitch all the time, just for the sake of bitching...I believe they are called "women"

Slowey is the opposite of special and Francis is constantly hurt and pitches in the NL West, lots of good pitchers parks in that division. No thanks to both of them.

Would love to see them pull of a trade for Garza or Greinke, but not very optimistic. Don't understand why they aren't trying to get Greinke.

You people will never learn

The SAME retreads always pitch for the Os

AFail doesnt get it

Prove me wrong

Be a playa or be played

wayne,

Should I put you down for the "Bruce Chen" trade with KC???...(sans Butler or Grenike, of course...)

I found it amusing that everyone was bashing the Werth signing by the Nats. Of course Werth our former first round pick turned All-star which we got a AAA reliever who pitched all of 9 innings for us, great deal there eh? But more importantly, what the Nats figured out much better than the O's, if you don't have a solid history with free agents, they won't come lining up to take your money. So the Nats sent a huge message to all the Free Agents and their agents, the Nats are now players!

On the other side of this message are the O's. every agent and free agent know, the O's are NOT committed to winning and are a self proclained small market team who won't spend money. Only actions by the O's front office will ever change that perception and the only free agents coming to Balmore will be the ones without a home! Its sad but true, been saying it for 3 offseasons and A McFail continues his failing ways!

The truth will set you free!

Hey all - Did you see my new video? I smoking the good AMPGA.

Keith. The Jason Werth signing is probably one of the worst in recent years, ranking right up there with the Barry Zito deal.
The Nats would have been better off resigning Dunn who ended up with a fraction of what Werth got , yet there really isn't much differnence between the 2.
Up until only a couple of years ago, Werth wasn't even a regular and bounced around MLB. Suddenly he has a couple of decent years and he's worth 19 mill/yr???
He isn't going to vault the Nats into playoff contention and I am glad the O's didn't overpay for him.
I don't think the free agents are going to come flocking to Washington just because they overpaid for one player. Most of the prime free agents are gone now to the usual players-ie Boston/New York and besides, how can the Nats afford any more guys anyway, given the poor crowds etc. I don' t think the attendance is going to dramatically increase because of Werth and when all is said and done, they will finish with a worse record the Balt. in '11.

Bruce Chen? pls

we need to offer CLiff lee 275 mill over 10 years for starters

If A Fail had listened to me wed be contending for a playoff spot with Texiera Halladay Holliday etc

but who do we get? thats right human garbage

be a playa dont get played is my new motto

275 mill huh wayne? You should be the owner as you think like PA when he first bought the team.

although your obviously not as bright or savy and you seriously lack MLB knowledge judging from your posts

Keith -

Did you seriously just bash the Orioles for trading Jayson Werth ten years ago? When it was clear that he wasn't going to be a big league catcher? And when he was five years into his pro career and hadn't put up a SLG% north of .400?

Seriously? Come on, man. There are a ton of things you can bash the O's for right now. I mean, sure, John Bale turned out to be garbage, but after the trade Werth was traded again and took another seven years to develop into the player he is today.

Give me a break...

PS - Sure, the Nats sent out a message, but they did it with the wrong player. The Werth deal was universally panned by scouts, GM's and commentators all over the country. You think the players didn't hear that? Before the Werth deal, the Nats were losers. Now they're losers who just committed way too much money and way too many years to a 32-year-old.

And in terms of future success, Werth essentially replaces Adam Dunn in Washington's offense, so, really, where's the big upgrade? Do you really think the Nats are going to be that much better with Werth instead of Dunn? And when Werth is making $21 million per as a 36, 37 and 38-year-old, the Nats are going to be hurting.

Ridiculously overpay for Cliff Lee. Or Carl Crawford. Or Adrian Gonzalez. Or Albert Pujols. Or Hanley Ramirez. Don't ridiculously overpay for Jayson Werth.

TerryP,

I hope your enjoying the holidays on the AM bandwagon and philosophy! Heck no, Werth wasn't worth anywhere near his contract, that wasn't the point, The Nats are now players, just last week Cliff Lee's name was mentioned along with Nats. Agents and Free Agents now think hey, the Nats are paying top dollar so if the Yanks and Sox bail, the Nats are another home. They aren't saying maybe we can look at Balmore.

And while your almost correct about the Dunn vs Werth analogy, Werth is younger and is an outstanding defensive outfielder and since they play in the National League and no DH, Dunn has been and would have continued to be a defensive liability.

All that said, the National have there fans talking about the future, Strausberg, the power hitting 17 year old #1 draft pick, spending some money on Werth, they are demonstrating a long term committment to success.

On the other hand, Reynolds, Hardy Isturis and Koji plus playing in the AL East doesn't demonstrate much of a committment other than to finish closer to 4th place.

Werth may be dollar foolish but certainly worth the great PR message to future free agents. The reason we have confederate dollars is that for such a long time there has been no real committment to excellence in Balmore!

It really isn't that hard to see. But expect the O's to quickly get surpassed by the Nats. This year may be pretty even but as Strausberg returns and they continue to spend Washington and Balmore will start looking like Philly and Pittsburgh! Sad but true!

The truth will set you free!

NB,

Possibly NO BRAINS? It is about what the guy is worth, I too would rather have had Carl Crawford, (Cliff Lee, no way for 91 MPH finesse guy) Mark Texiera, yeah I get it. But they made their big statement where the could.

Signing worth gives them credibility in the market.

As far as slamming the O's for dumping Werth 8 years ago, what's he done and what did what we get do? Nothing but the facts, some organizations give up on players or fail to develop them. I believe the Steelers are still taking a beating for cutting Johnny Unitas, 40 years later????

My point to Dick and Jane this, comparatively, what have the O's done to demonstrate they are nothing but a cheap second rate organization? The Nationals at least are being blindly aggressive and showing THEIR FANS they are trying to get better!

In Balmore you apparently don't even have to give the perception that the O's are trying to get better, and the fans and media just accept 14 consecutive years of futility!

The truth will set you free!

Keith,
Baltimore vice Balmore

Slogans like "the truth will set you free" make you sound like a complete or 5 tool Moron if you will !

maybe after your done flipping burgers tonight you will share with us how you would get us to the World Series

Your truth isnt worth SH!T

don't you mean: Your truth isn't worth AMPGA?

HaHa

Beginning with 12:12, that wasn't me..... BUT hey smitty and the rest, you're going to great lengths to mimic me as best you can.

However...

You're coming up waaaaaay short.

You're just not funny dude(s).

If you're going to be me, at least be funny. Or here's a good one, come up with your own handle and be creative in whatever you do.

Do your own thing bro. Be proud.

Or be me... but just be funny

Right wayne. You caught me again. Anyway, don't you know by now that people imitate you because they want attention? You get a lot of ink, and others don't. So they try to be like you so they can at least get some attention. But sorry my man, it wasn't me. Look at Not Brooks, of Keith or paulie.

And by the way wayne, we can tell when it's not you. The guy is actually weak at the attempt. and truthfully, you're right. He isn't funny.

I have a rash on my bum.

Keith,

So when the Nats credibility in the market leads them to a 70-92 record because they blindly demonstrate their aggression, I'll be sure to note that the truth has set me free. Get a clue.

If the Nats had any brains, they would've "demonstrated" to their fans how much they care by resigning Dunn and signing Werth to a REASONABLE contract, and being aggressive towards Lee with a 7 year/$155 mil contract. All they did was set themselves back thru brashness and stupidity (or " blindness", if you want to make excuses).

Werth will barely be worth half his value at the end of his contract if hes lucky. But yea, it's good they took the demonstrative aproach instead of the logical one.

AM should demonstrate by offering Lee a 7 year/ $195 mil contract, just to make a statement. Stupid is as stupid does - Right?

it was me immitating you wayne

And dave in glen hickville.... you're as much an idiot as keith

not brooks,

What a self appointed genius. You and wayne should get a room and share t with Chris in Hawaii. You all deserve each other.

Once again, Keith, tells me how the Nats got better by replacing Dunn with Werth, especially at an insane price.

Looks like Jason is on Winter Break again.

I disagree ...the poster(s) that supposedly imitates wayne are hilarious

if I was wayne or another alias I would say they werent funny

keep it up

What an ego some of you have.."that wasnt me after 10:12"

hahah get a life , as if we are hanging on your every word wayne you dumb sh!t

question: since when do we care what a constant complainer thinks?

Count me in as another who thinks the posts aimed at wayne are HILARIOUS!

even wayne himself thinks they are so that is a ringing endorsement..and i will go you one better

more interesting as well

Greetings -

Please check out my new show this winter - AMPGA My Dad Says on MASN4.

Hello Fools,

MASN4 = MASN, fourk it over, chumps.

bwahhh hahha hahha hhahh (peeing in my golden laced underwear that YOU bought)!

Peter the Great was such a wannabee when compared to Machiavelli

I wonder if Andy Mac read this in college
thus the beginnings of his plan!

Before all else, be armed.
Niccolo Machiavelli

Machiavelli illustrates his thought saying that a power broker can become successful if he is both cunning like a fox and ferocious like a lion

Above is the real reason Andy Mac traded for Jake Fox!

It is double pleasure to deceive the deceiver.

Ohhhh I like this quote.... Yes... Yes I do!

Although Wayne subscribes to this quote! He seems to think all Oriole fans are Dodos' and he's the genius.... Ha!
Men are so simple and so much inclined to obey immediate needs that a deceiver will never lack victims for his deceptions.

Don't you jerks know that Wayne loves it when you imitate him? You may be the dumbest fans when it comes to baseball, but are you this stupid when it comes to life in general?

So Wayne makes good points about this team having yet another ugly off season and the best you can come up with is copying him? Do any of you have a creative bone in your bodies? The best you can do is say to yourselves 'oh boy, ok, i'll just pretend to be Wayne. That'll make everyone laugh really really hard. yeah yeah'. Is that what you guys have fallen back on?

I didn't think it could be done, but you guys have actually made Wayne look clever. What a bunch of losers.

Seriously, reading this is better than watching Jerry Springer.

I didn't think it could be done, but you guys have actually made Wayne look clever.... Oh Pish Posh...not a true statement! Dumbest!

Guys,

Since you have NOTHING to be excited about as pertaining to the O's.

A project 198/211 at 3B
A project 'used to be good' new SS
A reliever that can't stay on the field.
A soon to be 'filler' at 1B

Then by all means use my name. Mimic me, copy me, be me.

If that's what it takes for you to enjoy the off season.... then enjoy

Meanwhile.....

AM continues to lie his a off. How does that make you feel?

BEING PLAYED LIKE A CLASSIC GIBSON

Im so sad as this is the only thing in my life!

someone anyone help me

PLEASE

Yes this was a lame attempt at more attention

i was trying to play you again

im soooooo sad

Please help me

It's Sunday!

We have plenty of other fodder to use other then picking on Wayne.

Come on O's fans, this off season is critical for the future of the O's

Wayne never say I never did anything for u!

Personally, I can tell when it's the real wayne and not. Some say the real wayne gets under my skin. Actually he doesn't as it's just good fodder.

I feel the Orioles are in great shape by the way. Scott can play first, and Pie will dominate in Left. Our rotation is set, and Koji may be the league's best closer in 2011.

It really is amazing how this has become wayne's blog, instead of Pete's.

How can Pete be gone so long, completely through the WInter Baseball meetings? Pete, I just have to ask. How many weeks do Sun employee's get each year? Where can one sign up?

CIH....hmmmm
one part of your bold statement sounds like you. The other part however... sounds like what Wayne said not too long ago...

Look, Peter can do whatever he wants!

Anyway... when Peter does make the "Comeback" like Roy Hobbs, I will be waiting with great anticipation!

As a side note The Natural" is on right now ABC

Hey smitts - did you just type that Pie would dominate. whoo-hoooo. bwaaahaahhahahaha. now that's the funiest thing I've heard since we signed Garret Fatkins.

Listen to all the morons who consider it a minor achievement that they can tell who the real wayne is....

you are the ones who need help

ps im so proud of you all

HAHAHAHA

you all just keep drinking my kool aid

maybe you suckers being played will git with the program and realize nothing will change with mcFail

dont hate the playa hate the GM

One dipshit gets on another dipshit's nerves so bad that the one dipshit imitates the other dipshit in a fit of dipshittery.

Whoever's been playing 6th grader this weekend, good work. Wayne's a moron, but you've made his posts look like something from the Algonquin Round Table.

Algonquin Round Table..... what????

Well, I am quite sure that you're potty mouth isn't exactly on par with the Lincoln/Douglas debates either, Pal!

It's Sunday.... you should know better!
Potty Mouth!

http://fc00.deviantart.net/fs13/i/2007/060/1/6/Mad_Wakko_by_anniemaniac.jpg

Im still gonna be proud of you for being able to differentiate between to posters with the same name...

in my eyes thats quite a skill

*smirk*

e=mc^2

My name is wayne

My name is wayne

My name is wayne

Will the real wayne please stand up

You jerkoffs have actually made wayne a hero. He's right. Since there's nothing to talk about as far as the Orioles, you made him the subject.

wayne, you're a tool. But you're laughing at these morons. Congrats

Due to too many postings by Wayne, I am leaving this blog. There's not enough intellectual stimulation here for me! I am going over to the Oriole Insider Blog. There's clearly more intellectual stimulation over there!

Im also laughing at myself because as any 11 year old can surely tell im doing the EXACT samething as i am accusing others of doing

OK im back but only becuase those boobs at the Oriole Insider Blog dont like me as they say im arrogant and a tad judgmental!

I think the point that your all missing is this person(s) is laughing at the Blog and its posters as a whole!

the attention seekers are you regulars on here who think their opinions only largely count!

it should be a wake up call,,but im guessing you ignore this

yes Thee Bruce Dickinson

I can't even spell my name right... I am so bored from all of this!

I, Zack Greinke, have been reduced to blogging.....oh the shame...

The only thing that can redeem me would be the Royals trading me to Baltimore Orioles. So instead of blogging about them, I can pitch for them.

this blog is a real piece of AMPGA...

wayne -

I know who you are. you're going down pal. i know you. and i don't like your sensible tone or your spot on criticism. don't mess with me. i am the o's. dont criticize me. dont question me. dont speak the truth. this goes for you too, mr. Keith D. Rowe. I am the Os. what i say gO's. pay me. subscribe to Comcast. thank you. pay me. thank you. actually, i dont care. f yu. i still make money. plenty of fools in this market.

bawwwwhahhahahhahhhah.

I am Peter the Great. and i OWN you.

foools.... bwhahahhahha

oh AMPGA.... comacst just figured me out and my service is being shut off at midnight... so says the email. just one parting shot - $crew you PGA. I hate you. die fucka. die a painful and loathing death. long live the real O's. Rip, Brook, Frank, Jim, Flanny, Eddie, Boog, Mike, Earl, Sr., Joe, Lenn, and such. Damn I used to love ya. This just sucks. Thanks for nothing, beatch.

wayne,

Ive read your comments on my abilities as a GM/human being and I gotta say grudgingly your right on the money.

It takes more than what I have to succeed in this business and I admit I need help..so why dont you come on over to my office and we can chat about and constructive ideas that you may have.

We can pick a convenient time for your mother to drive you over after school and even give you a tour of Camden Yards where im sure youll enjoy some Homemade thick-cut garlic potato chips and a large lemonade.

If you are watching your calories as most young people are or should that sit behind a computer all day hurling insults, we have Potato knish thats very affordable and low on calories

hope you can make it wayne and maybe we can build an Oriole team to be proud of ..together

AMPGA,

Dude, very funny stuff...... and actually not that far off.

I've actually been told that those copying posters who don't agree with the O's are actually working for the warehouse. Just because I don't use the term 'warehousers' that I came up with much anymore, doesn't mean I still don't believe they post. They do post. It just gets boring pointing them out.

But yes, those copying me are from the warehouse.... and that's fine.

More to the point, here we go....

1B - No one (LaRoche? Forgetaboutit)
2b - We'll see if he can hold up
SS - Another AM project
3B - An AM project who will swing and connect at times.
LF - See stats
CF - Datta boy AM - You still have a job because of this one?
RF - Has regressed
Closer - Seriously?
SP - 3 of 5 were already in system. Matusz may work out for AM. We'll see.
Minors - Not one position player to brag about. As in Zero
Manager - New poster person for the organization wasn't AM's choice.

There's your rebuilding effort that Pete is 'thankful' for people. AM, well into his 4th year had to (still has to) fill gaping holes because pretty much everything he's tried has failed.

And 'buy the bats'?

You should know by now that he LIED about buying the bats. Oh, he's buying them alright. It's just that he's buying the cheapest bats he can find.

Wait until you see who he brings in at 1B folks. But it'll be an improvement, right? You know that line is coming. No matter how bad the stats were last year at the position (see 3B and SS as well), you'll see people come on to say 'we improved'.

Oh my people..... I really mean this...

YOU'RE BEING PLAYED LIKE LIKE A KAZOO

Played like a Kazoo???!!!???

Never!
Right now I am leaving work and going to the nearest store that carries giant butterfly nets and buying one. I am quite determined to catching Kazoo and not being played by him!

Despite my shock and fear shown in this picture... I have decided to Not to "Fear" the Kazoo, much less be played like one! It's my early New Year's Resolution

http://exiledonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/38113256.jpg

wayne

that is so cute that you attempt so badly at fishing for info about the person who started the whole "wayne" thing!

and that is the biggest laugh of all

I wouldn't call it a starting... it's been more of a morphing! I don't think any singular person started it.

Besides, I would much rather join the peanut gallery that is watching and waiting for the Orioles next move.

This whole "Wayne" thing is for the "Birds" not the "Orioles"!

Knowledge is power.....nice attempt at fishing though, you could be an expert email spammer if you properly applied yourself

know what your talking about

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Im so incredibly lonely

Nice warehouser.... But do better. Better yet, give your reality about the O's.

As a warehouser, I know your job is a difficult one... but come on. Give it try.

Or, you can just keep copying me in your attempt to get noticed.... which is cool.

You're not serious, are you wayne?

The 12 year old copycats have taken over the blog. Nothing is real anymore. Only the little dxzd weasels post anymore. It used to be readable, but one or two jerks, with no life whatsoever, want to be noticed.

uh, Peter, you still work here? I do hope so.

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2010/12/agree-to-sign-cliff-lee.html

Let me try a new tack here, instead of imploring Andy McPhail to bring in a mediocre stopgap 1st baseman (see Adam LaRoche) maybe we should be encouraging him to do NOTHING.

We continue to debate whether Luke Scott can play 1st base, whether Felix Pie is a major-league starter or an extra outfielder, and if Nolan Reimold is a power source or worth less than Jason Bartlett. Perhaps instead we should be conducting a 162 game experiment and finally get some definitive answers. Give Pie the LF job, make Reimold the DH, and let Scott be a full-time 1B. See if Scott's defense improves enough over the course of the year, if Pie stays healthy and productive, and whether Reimold can produce a .350+ OBP and 20-30 HR campaign.

Lineup
1. Roberts 2B
2. Reimold DH
3. Markakis RF
4. Reynolds 3B
5. Scott 1B
6. Jones CF
7. Wieters C
8. Hardy SS
9. Pie LF

A better defensive 1st baseman may mean an extra win or two in 2011 but finding long-term answers is clearly worth more.

Cameron -

NO more experiments. I am tired of losing. We've been experimenting for more than 2000 games. Sheesh. Get some real damn players here. What are you gonna do with that lineup when 3 of them are injured? Call up Bell? WE NEED PLAYERS!

Cameron -

Depth is the big thing here.

WIthout LaRoche or Lee, this team won't have a single actual first baseman on their roster.

Luke Scott has been terrible in his first base experiment. You know why? Because you can't just move a guy to first base just because you feel like it. There is no "easy" position in the majors.

First, we need a real first baseman. Then we can talk about who's backing him up.

Cameron represents what has become of most Oriole fans.

They settle.

They believe we're a small market team who can't spend like a mid market. They believe players don't want to come here....

and they ALWAYS believe the players on the roster (see Reimold, Pie) will turn things around.

Problem is... it never works.

This team is once again filled with projects and hopeful turnarounds.

The marquee person on the club is the manager. When has that ever happened?

He's on the billboards, he t-shirts.. you name it.....

What a loser of a team.

How long can you all accept the fact that AM lies to its fanbase?

Fans like Cameron, with his ridiculous lineup projections deserve what they get.

Well said wayne.

I for one, won't waste my time with the Orioles until they get some real talent here and start winning.

I don't settle for fifth best.

not brooks I agree with you re: 1B being manned by someone that actually played there.
There isn't an 'easy' position anywhere on the diamond and the ball has a habit of finding you!
We all remember how poorly the Javy Lopez experiment turned out;he couldn't cut it there. That signing turned out to be another bad one as a result because he then couldn't hit or catch!
So whle versatility is ok to a point, let's find a decent 1b. It should actually be one of the easier ones to fill yet we have had to suffer through the likes of Millar, Wiggington, Gibbons etc for what seems to be an eternity.
I'll even take Laroche or Overbay at this stage!

I find it unusual, everyone mimmicking Wayne, Well you should, once you get past all that warehouse Kool Aid you've consumed for the past 13+ years you could see that he is right on the mark!

If you wanted to believe (just try for a second) that were rebuilding, where exactly in year 4 of the AM effort are the everyday players? Low A ball with last years SS pick? Who is in AA or AAA, that is ready for challenging for a position? Does this seem like the Rays, who are parting ways with the heart of their line-up BUT have players at AA and AAA? I don't think so!

And I haven't seen any effort to bring in better than mediocre talent or even trying really hard (ie... spending real money). So what is the Warehouse doing for you? They are stringing you along once again.

Another fact to consider and heard firsthand from a former member of the Texas Rangers staff, Buck's magic only lasts so long! That hardnosed, no BS style quickly wears thin on MLB players, ie see Diamondbacks, Rangers and Yankees.

But for Gods sake, quick making excuses for this pathetic organization. I'll say it again, the Nationals are at least making the effort, unlike AM and the warehouse!

Thank you Phillies for grossly overpaying and overextending a 31 year old 90-91 MPH pitcher and getting him out of AL. Amazing how the Phils can spend more on their rotation than the O's can on their whole roster?????????????????????

The truth will set you free!

Keith,

If the truth will set you free, why are you still here?

Pete, Despite what the New York Times reported, Earl Weaver is still very much alive. I'm not as sure about you. Could you let us know either way? If the worst has happened, could you at least post an address where I can send the flowers?

Hey CIH,

Do you ever get tired tripping on the same O's bs year after year, month after month, week after week, day after day?

I get that you're a blind follower, not caring if they ever truly compete again. But perhaps you should make a point at some time that can't easily be refuted the following season... or day for that matter?

This team is a joke... plain and simple. Pete's big column/story is about how Reynolds is eager to put 2010 behind him.

Is that not even a little bit funny to you? That the teams MAJOR acquisition can't wait to put the previous season behind him?

Oh I know... He was injured... he was this... he was that. heard this before chris?

Just come out and say you've joined the smitty (check, check, check) club.

Even nb doesn't say 'Prove me wrong Andy' anymore. It just gets to the point where I just get sad for you guys....

Sad that you just don't see it.

I know, I know... You're sad for me.

Thanks!

I will add however Im am so incredibly lonely

not brooks,

I am just expressing a little frustration with the Orioles' lack of player development. Second tier FA's, while moderate upgrades in the short-term, can easily block younger players who just need bulk playing time to develop. Both Reimold and Pie have the potential to be 5-10 year contributers with the Orioles, something LaRoche and Lee have little or no chance to be.

As for Wayne,

Why is giving your own players opportunities to succeed/fail settling? I think settling is signing journeymen in FA and discarding young players for stopgaps.

Reimold (should be your guy Wayne, not drafted by AM) has always produced good OBPs (.379 in the minors and .345 in the majors) and scouts rate him well. DHing would hopefully keep him healthy enough to show his offensive capability. Pie looks like a 4th outfielder due to his poor approach at the plate but is a tools guy who can play CF (valuable if you decide trading Jones is in your best interests).

The things I don't like about AM are just different from your own complaints-spending money and wasting draft picks on second tier relievers and a Dickensian approach to arbitration and non-tenders.

CIH,

I am free brother, it's you and the other Kool Aid drinkers that are lost. The blind faith you exhibit is more than most people give to religion. And the signs AM has given you???????????????????????? Ah yeah, Gerritt Atkins, Millwood, Hardy, Reynolds, that's right he's buying the bats,
ha ha ha ha ha, gotcha AGAIN!

I'm free as a bird, because a couple of us on the board have seen the light, were just trying to bring the rest of the flock out of 13+ years of wondering aimlessly through the desert!

The truth will set YOU free too!

Cameron -

Tell me who our first base prospect is who's going to be ready by mid 2011 and I'll gladly stop talking about Adam LaRoche.

The fact is that the only player in our system that even has a small chance to be legitimate big league first baseman is Joe Mahoney. And he just put up an .800+ OPS for the first time in his four year pro career.

So go on about Reimold and Pie all you want, but remember that neither of them are first basemen. And neither is anyone else on this team right now.

Brandon Snyder doesn't look like a 1B fit to me and Mahoney is probably a year or two away from an opportunity. I would not like to sign LaRoche or anyone to a 2-year deal until the Cardinals finalize a contract with Pujols. Granted, I would have rather had Scott play 1B last year instead of Garrett Atkins and Ty Wigginton. This is more about giving 600 AB's to both Pie and Reimold to decide if they are starters, platoon players, or less than that. I would bring in a glove man to replace Luke in late-inning lead situations (think Ishikawa for Huff in SF last year).

Peter. Tell me the O's aren't offering Kevin Gregg a ridiculous 2 yr.12 mill deal!
Haven't they learned from their past free-agent bullpen signings dating back to the Timlin days and most recently, Walker/Gonzalez?
We already have a fairly decent pen so why bring in a guy who was shaky with the Jays and although he had 37 saves, most were an adventure. I say use Koji as the closer and we have guys like Johnson, Gonzalez to set up. Accardo was a decent move if he rebounds but Gregg?
Maybe at 2 mill/yr but not at those prices!

By definition of course I am held prisoner by my narrow minded beliefs...

Loneliness and desperation wull NEVER set me free

I guess thats a start Keith

But nobody is more hopeless than me

I mean my cat doesnt even sleep on my bed anymore

life sucks

I can imagine the hurt and pain you two fellas go through just by being Know-It-Alls on here

But I can truthfully say as a faker myself and I never really say this but you two need help and not by a TV shrink

Reading Wayne and friends everyday is getting depressing....

One observation....Wayne whines and tells everyone that they are getting played like but doesn't he have season tickets? Who's getting played?

I might have to become a Phillies Fan...

Where's Pete? Anyone know when he's expected back from vacation?

wayne and Keith,

You guys both missed the point of the question.

If you were truly "free," you wouldn't slavishly post on here multiple times a day, every day. You're just as much a slave to this team as myself, not brooks, waspman, smitty, paulie.

The only person who's really free is Gil.

@NC Terp Fan

Peter S has a new story about Mark Reynolds, from what I read it was a pretty good piece and the interview took place during the " Holiday" aka "Christmas" Party =0)

Ne way go over to the main Orioles page you'll see it!

Peter's In Da House =)

Great post, Chris.

That's the only reason I can stand to read wayne's and Keith's posts

No matter how often we disagree and no matter how ridiculous those two sound to me, I know that everyone here has the same illness, but we're all just showing different symptoms.

Keith always says that the truth will set us free, but really, the only thing that will set us free is a winning baseball team at Camden Yards.

@nb

A winning team at Camden Yards won't happen in Peter Angelos' lifetime...sad but true.

I thought he was the savoir of the franchise when he bought it....I couldn't have been more wrong. He doesn't care about the product. We might get lucky with some prospects or rebound guys but that doesn't make a championship team.

Good to have Pete back....we need a new thread.

Funny how Wayne et. al. think any of us are happy with the losing....Yeh...last place again.

maybe some of you have a point and it would be a first but Accardo may be the best signing we have made in years

he didnt cost us much and the wear on his arm has been minimal the last 2 years albeit due to a previous arm/elbow injury.

Ill acquire season tickets when im able to afford public transportation smart guy

I mean it this time ..Im GONE!

The warehouse posters might think im arrogant and opinionated but at least they want to see the Os succeed!

unlike you wayne Rowe or Keith D.wayne

see ya

There was a time when this team and fans had a sense of pride.

Wayne....you arrived after that?

@ Zach Grienke

You are a Dizzy One Zach!

Coming, going, leaving, announcing a comeback.. which is it man!

Do the Orioles really want this guy???

I know a lot of fans do! But do they know he's dizzy like a squirrel ;) Sure but so what! We'd love to have you! Welcome ne time at the Yard

I see the idiot was out again today posting as wayne, keith, not brooks, and CIH... talking to himself. lonely a bit? moron. go back to your daddy's porn.

hahahahaha

Oh yeah dumb blog no filter...that was my post and I expect a formal apology

question: you have some special insight on who posts as whom?

I think you spend to much time here ,,get a life

I do apologize wayne as i was trying to flush out the inposter and it didnt work. I admit i sopend too much time on the puter and it is inffecting my school work but its nice to know you are still here telin it like it is proper

keep bein the Playa

Ok im back for one more response only "Anonymous" (if thats your real name) and I would like to quote from my favorite contemporary poet

" Like the pine trees linin' the windin' road
I've got a name, i've got a name
Like the singin' bird and the croakin' toad
I've got a name, i've got a name
And i carry it with me like my daddy did
But i'm livin' the dream that he kept hid"

@ Zach Grienke

I like that poem & I like Jim Croce's work.
Although, it's been awhile since I read any of his works. I should do more of that kind of reading... I really should!
Maybe Tom Clancy will write a book in the next 5 or 10 minutes and help pay for you Zach ;) maybe....

Seriously though, even though you're well read Zach... you're still spelling your name wrong.. it's not an h, it's K. That's oK though, I will want you on my team everyday of the week and "TWICE" on Sunday!

As for my name being Anonymous...well what you do you think Zach? You seem like a pretty smart guy despite your inability to spell. I think you can figure it out. As a side note my spelling isn't always the best either.

I spoke to my parents and they assured me with a copy of my birth certificate that the spelling of my name is indeed correct. But I just wanted to be sure lest you a complete stranger, tell me again how in correct my spelling is.

"I got a name"

cmon Pete i need a new article that I can comment on

the peeps need more wayne

just write anything at all and i will pee all over it

"Ice Ice Baby" the org Playa

@ Zach

One of these days, this silliness will end.
Anyway, I doubt they would spell a name wrong on something like this

http://www.sportsmemorabilia.com/sports-products/zack-greinke-2009-al-cy-young-winner-24kt-gold-coin-photo-mint.html

Or maybe that's why it's on sale?

Lastly, if the Orioles do indeed trade for you, lets hope they get the name right when they make the announcement. And maybe, just maybe they can get clarification from the man himself (Greinke) before they make it to make sure his name is spelled correctly!

Uh wayne

no need to Shizzle my Fizzel

You DONT want that

dude

this is my real name not to be confused with the Royals SP

but i do appreciate all the research that you have done

now im gone

@wayne

"the org playa"?

back in my day I was an original Vanilla Ice tapper

"All right stop collaborate and listen
Ice is back with my brand new invention
Something grabs a hold of me tightly
Flow like a harpoon daily and nightly
Will it ever stop yo I don't know
Turn off the lights and I'll glow
To the extreme I rock a mic like a vandal
Light up a stage and wax a chump like a candle
Dance go rush to the speaker that booms
I'm killing your brain like a poisonous mushroom
Deadly when I play a dope melody
Anything less than the best is a felony
Love it or leave it you better gain weight
You better hit bull's eye the kid don't play
If there was a problem yo I'll solve it
Check out the hook while my DJ revolves it "

@Not brooks

Busta move

yoh Proper

@ Not Brooks, wayne

If he says one more cool thing..hes in!

Youve checkmated my teenage cynicism

"Im a bigger hit with the kids since Will Smith and his nice clean rap"

HA HA

"Help out your mom and dad by getting a job so you can help out with school supplies"

what what

I get the copying Wayne and friends...it can be funny but now it's just boring and unfunny...

Pete has really dropped this ball on this blog.....It's really turned into a turd.

How about a guest moderator if he's going to take the quarter off....

...............................................................................................Pete's reply: Mike, I apologize for taking a vacation.

I disagree Terp as I find this hilarious but unless you have a personal stake in this READ Participating, I dont think you have a sense of humor

Oh yeah HC I have a very good sense of humor..im an Os fan afterall

but I just get very sensitive when fun is made of the Rap/Hip hop scene as it is my livelihood so Shizzle Vizzel that

@NC Terp Fan

I never knew MCness Grand master....

The rhymes just roll Shizzle

Youll never be played Playa

I guess Im not down with the Rap game Y`all

I dont get it

Fatkins `10

AH, THIS IS GETTING GOOD NOW....

I love it.

My last post was on 12/14 at 11:21..... Yet, there are wayne post everywhere.

Hey SHAMSMIT, having fun getting attention for once good pal?

But dude... Have some style. Use my name all you want, but don't just do it for the attention you're getting. Do it so that you can have an original thought. Be creative my friend.

Meanwhile, I've been away for a couple days, and still NOTHING. Of course there's the usual Koji update however.

How does Koji constantly make the front page in the Sun? Even when Pete gets back, he'll do his usual multiple Koji updates on the Blog (you think I'm kidding? See last year)

Don't you guys get tired of Koji updates? You don't?

Personally, I'd rather see Z's FA updates about who the Orioles are targeting.... followed by the his newest list, with the names the O's didn't get.

Hey Z..... your list is getting shorter and shorter buddy. Don't fret though, you can always do a Pete type column/story like the one he did on Reynolds looking forward to putting 2010 behind him. AH, that was an instant classic.

And Cameron my friend, Your post isn't even worth responding to. Let's just say that AM and friends have fans like you right where they want them.... with a losing mentality.

Don't worry though, when the team wins 75 games, guys like you can have a parade celebrating the teams improvement.

Thanks for the enjoyable reading today folks, I'll be leaving for the day, but fear not.... SHAMSMIT will come on soon as wayne. Don't pity the dude though... Being wayne is the best thing that's ever happened to him. In fact, he's smiling right now because I've acknowledged him.

Your welcome bro......

Last thing.... Everyone be sure to check the Sun throughout the day. You wouldn't want to miss the next installment of......

AS AM LIES...........

...............................................................................................
Pete's reply: It's funny Wayne, you rip everyone for reading the Sun, yet you're here more often than anybody else. Frankly, I think you're being played.

Uh oh, wayne's got a new catch phrase...

Uh oh, wayne...

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2010/12/orioles-closing-in-on-deal-with-laroche.html#disqus_thread

Even LaRoche would shut me up at this point. He's not even close to a star, yet you and I both know there's no way AM will compete to get him.

I mean look how far the bar has lowered to shut me up nb. Won't happen though, because AM is a liar.

PROVE ME WRONG ANDY - JUST ONCE

Posted by: wayne | December 9, 2010 9:13 PM

So, if this becomes official, will you shut up, wayne?

@not brooks what dont you understand about being Played?

afterall it was my catch phrase

BTW that last longwinded self serving speech by wayne was not me.

Im me

wayne saying he will shut up is like wayne saying he's gonna grill Andy during the Q&A at Fanfest.

So wayne complaining isnt a style...

Meaning:

Expressing pain or dissatisfaction of resentment

Synonyms:

complaining; complaintive

Context example:

a complaining wife (or wayne)

Similar:

fretful; querulous; whiney; whining; whiny (habitually complaining)

grumbling (muttering discontentedly)

protestant; protesting (making a protest)

repining (wishing discontentedly)

THIS wayne is your life!

again not a style

Uh oh, looks liked AOL's Ed Price was wrong.

O's MLB.com reporter says that the O's remain interested, but nothing is close.

Buster Olney says LaRoche is looking for three years (now THAT'S funny!).

PS - Yes, I am going to start every post with "Uh oh" from now on. It's my new catch phrase.

The Nats will give LaRoche 3 years. Hell, they might even go 4 without any prompting at all.

Nah, the Nats will wait for Prince Fielder next year.

Eight years, $190 million.

Since they won't be able to DH him, Prince will give up twice as many runs as he produces by the third or fourth year of the deal.

If Prince Fielder were named Prince Hitter, he never would have made the majors.

NB,

Concur with the assessment, we each have a different way to present our gripes. I will admit that while winning is the ultimate goal, firing AM, fielding a quality team would also satisfy most of my wants. But yes winning is the ultimate goal!

The truth will set you free!