Manny being Manny somewhere else
The next comment I receive will bring our grand total to 5,000 since School of Roch swung open its doors on Aug. 1.
Perhaps it will come from a reader who always wanted to contribute to his hometown blog. Nothing against the original blog, but the opportunity to comment on one that he or she grew up with brings a certain appeal.
I've been asked about the possibility of the Orioles making a run at left fielder Manny Ramirez. I'm not one to toss out bold predictions (shut up!), but I can't see that happening, no matter how much of an impact he'd have in the middle of the lineup.
Do you really think Manny would want to play here and be part of a rebuilding process? Do you think manager Dave Trembley would want to put up with the distractions that he brings - you know, Manny being Manny and all? And at what cost?
There's no way Manny Ramirez will be playing for the Orioles in 2009. If it happens, I will grow my hair like his.
I will trade bodies with Brandon Fahey and spend the day on the beach.
I will run sprints with Ramon Hernandez, and lose.
I will try to sneak a fastball past Alex Rodriguez - and a plate of food past Sidney Ponson.
I will ask Allen Iverson if he has any tattoos.
I will climb into my time machine, set it for 2005 , draft Alex Smith No. 1 overall and make him my franchise quarterback.
I will hire Matt Millen to run my team.
I will ask Brian Billick to be humble.
I will replace the oil in my engine with whatever drips off Al Davis.
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Categories (click for archive)Roch Kubatko |
I think you will win this time.
Am I the third caller? Do I win the Haloti Ngata autographed jock? Congrats on reaching your milestone comment.
Now how do I tell my 5 year old that his favorite player (Adam Loewen) just doesn't want to be an Oriole any more? And what do I do now with his $50 Adam Loewen replica jersey? Seinfeld had it nailed - we don't root for players any more - we simply root for laundry.
Not that I think we should or will go after Manny but if Torre, Francona, and Manuel put up with Manny for a period of time, than Trembley sould be able to as well.
I'd be most afraid of getting the food past Sir Sid. Just don't tell him that you're a judge.
You must really want Manny in Baltimore. Don't you?
But Roch, don't we need to replace cleanup hitter of the future Loewen's bat? I realize Manny is slim pickings after we whetted our appetite with the idea of Loewen challneging Bonds' HR record in the Orioles lineup but how can we NOT go after Manny, now that we have lost Adam "Babe" Loewen?
Gotta love fans who call Loewen a traitor for picking his country over an adopted team who paid him some money.
Did I get it? And what's the prize?
I agree. There's no way Manny's an Oriole. I'd be more interested in Burnett and Teixeira.
Roch-
You can't ask brian Billick to be humble. That's just ridiculous. He does not even know what that word means.
Hey Roch,
Good luck trying to get that plate of food past Sir Sidney.
I would rather put up with Manny than another year of Trembley doing nothing as call after call go against us. Why don't we hire Nero at least he can play the fiddle.
Oooh, I luv a good Sidney Ponson joke.
Someday we'll all be grandpas, Sid will be long gone from baseball, and we'll be cracking our Sidney Ponson jokes on the Inner Harbor. The old-timer Water Taxi guys who look like grizzled fishermen will be saying things like, "sneak..a plate of food past Sidney Ponson!" and the kids in Baltimore will just give us puzzled looks while they teleport to school.
Hey Roch - looks like the 'special announcement' planned for 11/12 will be the unveiling (finally!) of 'Baltimore' on the road greys! About time!
The worst thing about the whole Loewen thing is that it is just another disaster for the O's drafting. Although a lot of people would have drafted Loewen with the 4th pick just like the O's, the following is a list of names that were drafted after him:
Prince Fielder
Joe Saunders
Khalil Greene
Scott Kazmir
Nick Swisher
Cole Hamels
James Loney
Jeff Francour
along with some other marginal major leaguers. Also, the O's took a catcher in Rd 2 and left Brian McCann on the board for Atlanta.
Yeah a team that drafted him, signed him, paid him, supported him and was willing to let their investment try being a hitter instead of letting him get the surgery and go back to pitching in a year or two.
I am ok with Loewen leaving. I really was disappointed they drafted him anyway. I am still trying to figure that one out when they have had a need for a 1B. But I guess Prince would... umm... I have no idea.
Of course there were a few other lefty pitchers in the draft that would have looked nice #15 S.Kazmir, #17 C.Hamels and #9 J.Francis. A few other pitchers in that draft also made a solid impact.
Roch-- Have you heard anything about Clint Barmes? He might be a good fit for us.
If we could give Manny a one year deal, for less than 20mil, and see how he does, I'd say what the hell. But if my memory serves me right, he wants a longer contract. Plus he would want 30mil or more per year, I mean, that's what the dodgers just offered him for the next two, even though he will probably deny it. There's no way he's an Oriole. Just get atleast two veteran pitchers, including Burnett, since I now hate the blue jays. Also go for Teixera, because hes an award winning fielder and batter, and fill the gap at shortstop. I'd rather have "Orioles" on the field for us like Scott, Reimold or Montanez than a "Red Sox", Or "Dodger", which is what Ramirez is. If we're desperate to add hall of famers, how about a hall of fame pitcher past his prime but with a little gas left in the tank.
Yea, forget Manny, but if Derek Lowe wants to come to the East Coast, I'd welcome him with open arms.
I take it that - after you put your feet in your mouth earlier this week - making a similar list is a statement - no a plea - for Manny to come to Baltimore.
For the record - no thanks. I want a player, not a guy who can hit well.
Trade Loewen get Burnett
what kind of rebuilding fan includes paying a 36 yr old millions for 4-6 years by the time we need the FA bat we'll be paying a declining manny all the spending money...not gonna happen..btw thats 58 comments a day..nice bloggin Roch
Roch, us 6'2" guys who weigh 160 do just fine, thank you very much, and we'd appreciate you not making fun of our appearance at the beach. Just because we don't have the real estate to tatoo our kid's names on our arms... ;)
I'm just getting the chance to look at the blogs and weigh in on Loewen. I think less of him today, and less of Ricciardi, too. I'd kind of like to see Loewen make it to Toronto next year as an injury replacement, do well in 200 at bats, then leave for a free agent deal elsewhere. He'll say "it's not about the money" and cement his place in the anals of disloyalty.
OMG, Roch! How do you come up with this stuff?
Hi Roch,
I'm a season plan holder and just got an invitation to a "special announcement" and fan rally from the O's. Any insight/speculation on what the "special announcement" might be?
The time for the Orioles to pick up Manny Ramirez was when the Red Sox put him on waivers during the offseason years ago. The O's would've paid the full cost of his salary but lost no draft picks nor any players in trade.
Hey Roch. Totally off topic, but I just watched Chad Bradford pitch a 1-2-3 bottom of the 7th inning and heard Buck/McCarver mention that the Rays acquired him from the O's. Didn't we trade him for a player to be named later? AND IF SO, would the quality of the player have any potential for increase considering how well Bradford is pitching for Tampy Bay and that they've made it to the World Series? In other words, does Bradford's performance after the trade affect the player to be named?
With Manny in the O's lineup and Wieters coming up, we will bludgeon people to death, and the team ERA won't even need to be under 4.50 for us to win games.
Kidding.
So, I'm watching the Series, and I'm just asking myself, how did Jayson Werth, a former O's CATCHING prospect, get the speed to steal a base in the 8th inning. No sooner do I say that than he screws up and gets picked off one pitch later.
Rocco,
I believe before you list all the new things you are going to do if Manny signs with the Orioles there is still the unresolved matter of you wearing Haloti Ngata's jock as a Halloween mask after Loewen signed with the Blue Jays. Can we get an update on when that is going to occur?
Roch, I just read Loewen's remarks in the last blog. Good move getting him for some quotes, but I have to ask... Did you really drink his coolaid or did you mutter BJ BJ or BS BS in the background ala the Delta's in Animal House during the court room scene?
He thinks he fits in better in Toronto? He has a better chance to crack their lineup? He forgot to use his other lame excuse, his love for Toronto all his life from British Columbia. OOOPS. Gotta remember those talking points better bud. You didn't let him get away with those lines did you? How can he fit in better than with the team he has been with his entire ML career to date? How could he feel any more "comfortable"? As for cracking lineups, the O's are screaming for a good hitting 1B or corner OFer, have been for years. How could he foresee breaking into Toronto's lineup more than the O's lineup? That was a bunch of BS.
He is an ingrate & jumps to the head of the loathing list for me. I hope he wallows around in AA for years & gets hemmoroids from all the bus rides!
All O's fans should wish for him to fail miserably, to end up ice fishing somewhere in his beloved Canada & broke, pounding Molson's & muttering "eh?" to himself....
hey Roch i expect a steak dinner down at Ruth chris.Ravens-7-1/2, Phil-9,best bet.and Houston. I do like the porter house for 2 with mushrooms,baked potato,and creamed spinach
No way Manny plays in Baltimore next year. His agent says Manny deserves A-Rod money, and that's just not going to happen, and I wouldn't want it to happen unless Manny was still in his 20's. As it is now, at 36, his best years are behind him and it's all down hill from here. And considering that Manny will cost as much, if not more, than Teixeira, there isn't a team in the league who wouldn't prefer Teixeira. Beside the age advantage, Teixeira can actually field his position, where Manny looks like a clown rolling around on the field.
I don't know where Manny will go, considering the Yanks & Mets have already stated that they'll pass, and every other team balking at giving him a 4 year contract (yet he wants 6 years). Plus the evil way that he left Boston is not going to ease the mind of any GM, with the spector of faking injuries fresh in their thoughts.
Wait, I know, send him to Japan! To make up for the shortfall in salary he can go on some of those wacky game shows where they run obstacle courses... even I'd pay to see that.
Dear God,
RE: Adam Loewen to the Blue Jays
Sometimes when I ask for something to happen, I'm just joking. Do you not have a sense of humor or is it just that Canadians are a godless people over which you have no control?
-Confused in VA
Hey, unless I have this wrong the Jays have to keep Loewen on their 40-man roster. I wonder what the chances are that he gets grabbed by someone else - Rule V draft (for example, our brief fling with Josh Phelps), or moved to waivers during the season if the Jays need to clear roster space for a call-up. I enjoy karma.