Kikuchi and other stuff
Japanese high school left-hander Yusei Kikuchi reportedly is scheduled to meet with seven major league clubs this month: the Giants, Mets, Dodgers, Yankees, Rangers, Mariners and Indians. And the Red Sox have expressed interest.
The Orioles aren't presently in the mix, but could jump in later.
"We've seen him some," said John Stockstill, director of international scouting. "We do have interest in him, but I don't know how high that interest lies.
"We're looking at all of them. It's the same thing with (Aroldis) Chapman and anyone else."
Jumping topics here, while we debate who should be the Orioles' closer next season, I can only hope that he carries the same attitude as Huston Street.
Street lost the last two games of the NLDS against the Phillies, with his blown save in the finale ending the Rockies' season. But he handled it like a total pro.
"The lazy step for me would be to walk out of here with my tail between my legs and tears coming down my face, then go home and lay in bed for two weeks," Street said. "I think it's foolish to forget. I think it's also foolish to keep it with you. This game is played by men. Take responsibility. When you get beat, you get beat."
Now that's refreshing.
Jumping topics again, California law requires that a divorce asset be divided 50/50, which is problematic when it comes to owning a major league franchise. That's why John Moores sold the Padres to former agent Jeff Moorad, a move precipitated by his divorce. And why doubts loom about the Dodgers' future now that owner Frank McCourt and his wife, Jamie McCourt, confirmed their separation in a statement released by the team.
It's sad that something so personal and painful has to be announced in a press release, but I digress...
Forbes magazine recently valued the Dodgers franchise at $722 million, so if you're sitting on a wad of cash and are looking for an investment, you know who to call.
Jumping topics again (my legs are getting sore), I wouldn't get too worked up over the Twitter report from the Toronto Sun's Bob Elliott - if that's the correct terminology - that the Orioles are interested in John McDonald. I'd be surprised if they regard him as a starting third baseman. Not after manager Dave Trembley talked about needing more power from the position.
I've been wrong before, but it wouldn't make much sense. If they like McDonald, it would figure to be as a utility guy.
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Categories (click for archive)Roch Kubatko | Roch Kubatko Orioles |
Come on Roch think of the health of the class. Getting bent out of shape by the Orioles minor league moves is the only exercise some of the posters on this blog get.
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I like to think of it as baseball yoga. - Roch
re-posting b/c I put some time into it & I want to see if others agree....thanks
I love Koji as a setup man but not as a closer. It would be great to mix his spotty 85+mph stuff in the 8th w/ a flame thrower to close like:
Jose Valverde
Rafael Soriano (offer him 4 years, he's only 30)
Fernando Rodney
J.J. Putz
I hear you, I hate spending alot of cheese on a closer but the O's bullpen MUST be fixed. We need stability out there badly & we are going to have to pay for it right now. Johnson didnt pass his test in my opinion. I have zero confidence in Ray & Mickolio isnt ready. Bringing back Hendrickson as a reliever only should be a priority also.
Hopefully our BP will look like this:
Long relief R : Hendrickson (should be also used in late innings if Uehara or Johnson need rest)
Long relief L: Albers (you CANNOT over work him like last year)
Lefty Specialist: Cla Meredith
Mid relief: R Johnson (use him in the 8th if he matches up well)
Mid relief: R Mickolio (we really need this kid to step up, he could make or break our pen)
Setup: R Uehara (can give you 2+ innings if needed)
Closer: R Soriano (or one of the other guys listed above)
- Ray needs a couple of solid months in AAA before he is considered for a callup. Berken should be starting in AAA but called up as a reliever if needed.
If there is competition the O's seem to have not chance to sign a int'l free agent. Wasnt Koji supposed to help us w/ this stuff? Bring in some talent boys !!
Roch,
Could you briefly comment on Matt Klentak's role within the front office?
Thanks,
CB
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Director of baseball ops. Assists Andy in all phases, including scouting, player development, contract negotiations and construction of the roster. If I have a rules question, or need something clarified - like whether a player is still regarded as a rookie - he's a good guy to go to. - Roch
Roch,
I know this subject has been raised before, but did you ever get a sense of why the Orioles weren't more serious players for Sano?
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There were concerns about his age and whether he would be allowed out of the Dominican if it was proven that he falsified his birth certificate. They liked him, but were only willing to go so high for a kid with a lot of question marks - including how he'd do in game situations, rather than just workouts. The MLB investigation dragged and dragged, which didn't help the situation. - Roch
This Bob Elliot guy is a genius. Want to attract attention and web traffic to your article? Just mention that some life long role player ( who never had more than 327 at bats) might possibly be interested in coming to another team.
Correct me if I am wrong, but teams cannot comment on players still under contract, so no one will confirm or deny Elliot's story.
McDonald must be thanking this guy for upping his google news results.
Must be a slow day in the Toronto press.
Here's a quick reminder. Everytime you read one of b_o's comments you lose approximately 5-10 seconds of your life.
b_o your last comment is the biggest pile of crap I've ever read. Yeah, we saved money by spending $100M+. I guess when you've been jobless forever the recession doesn't hit you so hard and everything with the economy is peachy keen.
Keep collecting that welfare stinky and maybe tone down the daytime drinking just a bit. Just a suggestion.
Looking forward to another offseason of the Orioles being called cheap because they won't pony up cash for a guy they don't want anyway. But we have to send a message to the fans by signing some Japanese guy no one had heard of yesterday!
Forget the "fans," Andy. I'm reminded of one of my favorite lines from West Wing: "They'll like us when we win!"
Steve Melewski did a nice piece today on how Baseball America ranked our prospects. We only had one player on the teams below advanced A (Hobgood).
I am curious as to why. The FO spent some good money on some lower level picks that wanted late first or second round money to sign, yet BA dosesn't consider any of them (nor our early round picks from last year) to be top 20 material.
Do you have an opinion on this?
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Not really. I guess that's a question better directed to Baseball America. I don't see these guys so it's hard for me to agree or disagree. - Roch
Roch,
Thanks for your response on the Koji closing. I do agree for the most part, it would just be nice to have someone who is the steady closer for this team (I know it'd be nice to have anyone steady in the bullpen right now lol). With Hendrickson, I can't remember, did we sign him to a 1 yr deal w/ a 1 yr option or just a 1 yr deal? Honestly, I'd like to have him back in the Pen, he seemed to do an excpetional job (especially considering how much we were paying him).
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Just a one-year deal. - Roch
Roch,
Regarding McDonald, his 13 career HRs freaked me out. But you're right, no way he starts. He's 35, so what you see is what you get.
I'm wondering if you have any analysis of what I'd call his Rebouletness: His ability to be clutch laying down sac bunts, playing defense, pinch running, etc.
OTHER STUFF
Schoolman and Fellow Students,
I believe that I have caught Jack using an alias. See if this reminds you of Jack's continuing hand-to-hand combat with our mother tongue:
El Duce said: "Tusker has something to do with the matinee?"*
Another entry in the "You Can't Make up This Stuff."
My guess is that El Duce -- strange taste in music or can't spell the name of his favorite flamboyant Italian dictator, Il Duce -- meant to say, "Manatee," the endangered warm-water mammal, which is thought to be the inspiration for mermaids in folklore. Or, he is confused with an afternoon showing of "Wild Hogs," starring the "Man of a Thousand Hairpieces," John Travolta.
Tracy,
I think our back and forth about Adam Loewen is concluded; the judges have ruled it a split-decision.
* "Tuskers" are wild razorback hogs; different and indigenous = good nickname.
I don't see how Twitter can be even considered a source for anything more than an extremely weak rumor unless it is something from a player themselves saying they are moving to wherever the new team in question may be. 140 characters or fewer is not even a blog, much less a story.
Roch, if you wrote "Orioles considering sale" on Twitter, there would be 20 stories on who was buying the team, all kinds of extrapolations by people who think they can read between the lines, and so on. Ultimately maybe the O's just have a sale on some kind of merchandise or tickets, but in the meantime things get so blown out of proportion it's ridiculous.
Ceral Blogger said:
Long relief R : Hendrickson (should be also used in late innings if Uehara or Johnson need rest)
Long relief L: Albers (you CANNOT over work him like last year)
Lefty Specialist: Cla Meredith
*********************
I hope Hendrickson doesn't start pitching as a righty after being a lefty his whole life. Albers may actually be better if he loses some weight and starts pitching ambidextrously. Cla, well he'll stay a righty I do believe.
"The Sporting News" May 19, 2008 by Roch Kubatko wearing his TSN cap.
SN: Why do you keep the bill of your cap straight?
SHERRILL: I put it on with my left hand, and it just kind of goes that way. In San Antonio (Class AA), everyone said, "Your hat is crooked." It looked straight to me. I don't check myself out in the mirror, obviously. I guess I look like Charlie Brown. But it's not a fashion show; it's baseball.
Another item for "YOU CAN’T MAKE UP THIS STUFF":
Chicago Cubs outfielder Andre Dawson on being a role model: "I wan' all dem kids to do what I do, to look up to me. I wan' all the kids to copulate me."
WHERE IS "THE HAWK" WHEN WE NEED HIM TO COMMUNICATE WITH OUR BASERUNNERS?
Err... John McDonald... not sure I know who this is.
The only John McDonald I could find is 35 years old been in and out of the league for 10 years. 13 home runs and 408 hits in 10 years and a career .238 hitter.
Is he applying for bench coach?
We won't be in on Chapman or Kikuchi because we got our hot international signing this year. That 17 year old Guatemalan prospect nobody had ever heard of and no teams were obviously that interested in going after except for us.
The bidding was was fierce...do I hear $50...$50 going once...going twice...sold to the "highest"/only bidder...the Orioles.
Next up Miguel Sano - please Orioles leave the room. Only serious teams need to be involved.
International scouting and signing..."brush hands together"...mission accomplished.
In that Baseball America piece it also showed how the Yankees and Red Sox had more top prospects than us as well.
So not only are they buying and trading for talent (and signing international players), but beating us in the farm system as well.
I wish I could be more optimistic. But it's impossible at this point. I'm in the expect the worst...hope for mediocrity stage of fanhood.
The one thing the positive posters hang their hats on here is the future prospects. But you are supposed to have top prospects when you suck for so long. We didnt accomplish anything. Yanks and Red Sox are good every year and have still have more top prospects than us. That's embarrassing.
The big boys play the free agent and trade to improve now market. We are still playing the tee ball trade for the future market.
I don't want to be disappointed anymore, so I just stay negative and since the Tex incident, I've been right on the mark.
I'll definitely do the trip to Sarasota, but in no way am I making the trip up to Maryland to see them in person this year. Not unless they put a more expensive product on the field or drop the ticket prices to reflect their food stamp payroll. Neither of those scenarios is likely though.
Wow, someone call one of those CO2 inspectors to come out to Baseball America and make sure their oxygen supply has not been tampered with.
Hobgood is ranked on the prospect list? LOL
just so you know cereal blogger, i live in atlanta and soriano is not who you want for a primary closer because he's pretty much always injured. last year he was plagued with several mysterious ailments that kept him from performing and no doctor could find out why. he was more stable this year but no more so than a non-starting koji.
but then again, ive never been a big braves fan and there arent many players on that team that i like at all minus their SPs.
Roch,
Correct me if I am wrong, but didn't we sign Koji to increase our presence in the Asian market?
Are we being snubbed by this guy or is Andrew snubbing him?
So much for an Internation presence
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Nobody said he's "snubbing" the Orioles. But it's not like every Japanese player will now sign with them because of Koji. - Roch
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR JIMBO
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!
Rather than John I'd prefer that the Birds bring in Country Joe McDonald and have him do the Orioles cheer for the 7th inning stretch:
"Give me an O....
What's that spell?...."
Jack, we have an international presence now............in Guatemala. LOL
When the FO said it was expanding its international presence, a lot of us hoped that it would lead to the Orioles signing top prospects from around the world. Instead, as we have seen with several prospects now, it simply means that the Orioles have an "interest" in these guys and nothing more.
It's a form of passive aggressiveness that is rampant throughout this front office.
" We are interested, but please don't come too close."
As for Kikuchi, he is probably going to command a decent amount of money, which means the Orioles are out.
Plus he did not win the Gatorade player of the year award, so that is a HUGE knock against him. Besides, we already have a "highly touted" high school pitcher in our system.
I agree with CB's approach to closing. I agree with jedd's pessimism unfortunately and I even think Brummie is not way out-of-line with his rant on the signings of Markakis and Roberts. They could be money savers. Our international signings have not amounted to much. Our big-time prospects are in the show now but we are still pushing back the date to be competitive. We are at the back of the pack and getting beat in all of the areas that could give us the edge. I expect the Yankees and Red Sox to sign better players than us as usual this offseason even though we are well behind them and have ground to make up.
2010 Orioles: A day late and a dollar short
We will probably win 70-75 games and people will say how much better we looked. Then what?
BO & jack
Pls refute the following
As for the O's bashing, true there have been some dark days during Angelos' ownership. But it is not accurate to ignore the changes now that MacPhail is on board.
Changes like: 1.) No trades overturned.
2.) Traded Bedard at the height of his value.
3.) Making a trade so good it basically got Bavasi fired.
4.) Trading Tejada while he still had value and before he suddenly aged two years.
5.) Staying out of the headlines. I'm looking at you Omar and Wilpon.
6.) Traded Sherrill at the height of his value. (That means MacPhail turned Bedard into 6 players)
These are big changes for O's fans and should be recognized, along with past problems.
Bottomline, if you are discussing the O's and you are not up to date with the recent transactions and the SP at AA and AAA, then you are at risk of missing a lot of new information.
It's funny you should mention that... Just this afternoon as I was taking a swim in my money pit, I was wondering what I should do with my extra $722 million.
Hey, amarie,Andrew,BMS...etal,
Thanks for commenting on the Derrek Lee band wagon, and especially to amarie for the keen insights and much needed spelling corrections when it came to my choice of Asdrubal Cabrera for 3B next year. Believe me I see your point of allot of fans just thinking that any ball player can play any position at the drop of a hat being ridiculous, but our boy Asdrubal isn't just any player. He's younger, quicker, has a stronger arm, better footwork, better instincts,and is smoother than just about anyone I've seen make the transition before, and there have been a few successful ones, take four teams from this year for example.
All five Phillies third basemen including starter Pedro Feliz played other infield positions in AAA, or the Majors, 4 out of 5 played short-stop.
The top two third basemen on the Dodgers have both played multiple positions in a single season for more than one team in the past, and their other four options have played every position except CF and pitcher, Martin Russell even catches.
Angels 3B starter, Chone Figgins,(my 2nd choice for our 3B opening) has started games at 2B and all three OF positions in his 7 major league seasons and at some point in the minors or school was considered an above average SS prospect.
For the Yankees; Pena, Hinske, and Hairiston the top three back ups at 3B are all multi-position players, playing behind a one time All-Star SS in Alex Rodriguez.
Look I know switching positions for even the most talented players can be exceedingly difficult but the truly successful teams, not just those in this post season but great teams of the past seem to find a way to get it done. I remember one great team back in the 80's, the O's I believe moved an All-Star short-stop to 3B. What was his name now? Oh right, Calvert Wripcan (sic)please excuse the spelling amarie.
Now lets get some more fans on the Derrek Lee, Asdrubal Cabrera,and Gavin Floyd band wagons. GO O's
Thanks Leon
Buddy,
I think every O's fan agrees the Bedard trade was phenomenal. People continuing to beat that trade drum is like people like me saying I don't care if Tex didn't want to come here...the O's should've done what the Nationals did and bid the highest and make him prove it regardless. Both sides of the opinion spectrum - both sides tired of each other bringing that one bullet to the table.
The Tejada trade looked great at first, but it's not like it's panned out awesome. That's a wash trade in my opinion looking at it now that we've had time for it to marinate. Luke Scott is a great streak
Sherrill I agree was a good move. We'll see if Bell is as awesome as we all hope he'll be. Jury's out.
But that's not all that much. It's basically what good teams do every year. Year in and year out.
And those good teams have respectable payrolls. Ours is a joke. For the potential fan base...the New England size if not larger fan geographic break down we have we should be in the bidding for serious players.
We never take a chance on any legitimate international player. We don't go after top dollar free agents. And we talk about our farm system stocked from over a decade of having top draft picks (meaning we've sucked) - whoopee.
Now we are legitimately a few pieces away that can be had this year with big trades for Fielder or Gonzalez - yes you'd have to trade Tillman or Arieta + Britton and who knows who else. That's what serious teams do. Red Sox traded Hanley Ramirez to get Josh Beckett and he took them to the World Series.
Then you sign an actual top shelf free agent pitcher - John Lackey. And you get somebody like Chone Figgins for 3rd base. Even if that means we have a Josh Bell situation on our hands. Good teams find ways to deal with that.
Our lineup would be incredible. Just put that lineup down on paper and look at it. Wow. Our pitching staff would be young and talented. Probably able to compete. Especially with the lineup.
But that would require our payroll to hit...oh my goodness...$85-$90 million. You know what serious teams have.
But no we are building towards that future that is always a year away and out of our budget.
2010 Orioles - $30 million off the books...Same Ticket Prices if Not Higher! Thanks fans!
囲碁 2010年オリオールズ!
Go 2010 Orioles!
Roch, I am trying to debate JDB here. So please forgive my use of ANDREW and Ole Pete. This is for the sake of a debate with the leader of the Kool Aid Drinking Army (KADA).
JDB: I'd love to debate you. Whoops, I am too busy working and paying your social security benefits. Enjoy!
Seriously, a very simple rebuttle. I'll just repeat what I said before. Andrew signed Nick and Brian BEFORE their values skyrocketed, thus saving Ole Pete a ton of money, most likely over $100m. The longer he waited, the more money it would have cost the Orioles to retain these guys.
If the Orioles failed to re-sign proven major leaguers like Nick and Brian, attendance would take a MAJOR nose dive. Andrew would not have two legs to stand on when he talked about making the franchise competitive. Would fans really buy into this if the team just let its two stars go?
National marketing would nose dive as well because Nick and Brian are the faces of the franchise, the guys the casual fans recognise, buy merchandise and the ESPN types focus on (Baseball tonight excluded since they focus on all types of players).
P.S. Leave me out of your S&M fantasies.
JDB watch what you wish for,B.O. is between 19-25,weighs over 270lbs.and Andy wouldn't sign him to pitch last winter.That's why he showed up on Roch doorstep.he's now Roch stalker setting his car alarm at night,first with his comments,rants of bring this one up and once that happens contradicts himself that their only fourAAAA players. Knocks Hobgood who proably has more athletism in one finger than B.O.. Him naked would be horrorfic sight,so please careful with your phrases. thank you!!
Roch
Could it be that the Orioles are a little leary of signing players from D.R. since most of minor league suspension were from the D.R.. How about that b-12 special!
JPA said:
I agree with CB's approach to closing. I agree with jedd's pessimism unfortunately and I even think Brummie is not way out-of-line with his rant on the signings of Markakis and Roberts. They could be money savers.
JPA,
Please accommodate me by explaining how the timing of the signings of Brian and Nick were designed to unfairly save money for the Orioles.
You know as well as I do that Brummie lives to bash Andy MacPhail; he uses tortured reasoning and consciously, misstated facts and works backward from his desired conclusion -- A. MacPhail’s agenda is to save money, not to restore the Orioles to competitiveness -- to his predicate, which, in this case, is the Roberts/Markakis contracts were somehow one-sided.
As you recall, fans were in an uproar about the delay in extending, or, in the alternative, trading Brian. There also was great gnashing of teeth about the necessity of extending Nick. Everyone seemed to be united in favor of “buying out” some of Nick’s arbitration years.
On the other side of the negotiating table sat agents Mark Pieper (Brian) and Jamie Murphy (Nick) engaged in negotiations with Andy; are you, by agreeing with Brummie, taking the position that these men did not protect the interests of their clients.
Brummie and anyone who agrees with his post are, subtly and unintentionally, implying that the agents were guilty of malfeasance. The deals were structured to benefit both sides. That should not be too hard to grasp.
If you don’t scroll the devious, little squint, at least, read his tripe with a jaundiced eye.
It's been bad for a few closers in the playoffs so far this year......
Franklin, Papelbon, Street....Hell the Phillies don't even have one!
Brummie posts at 3:57, Jack at 3:59 - ODD.
Steve in Phx,
I still say they're the same person. It'd be easy to prove otherwise, yet they've never done so.
Also, I seem to remember you mentioning the Hokies a week or two ago. Is this correct?
Jedd,
We can't call the Tejada trade a wash just quite yet, we have yet to see what Patton can do at the ML level.
Do you really want the O's to go back to their old ways? We don't know how good our pitching is going to be next year or in the coming years so it's probably best we keep as many of our pitching prospects as we can. Therefore, I would argue with you that trading Arrieta, Britton, or Tillman at this point is irrational and dumb. Until we know that we have a surplus of pitchers we should not be trading any. You talk about the good teams? Like the Yankees and the Red Sox? They would make those trades because they think are only one player away from a championship, and they have a deep deep system. If we traded for Adrian Gonzalez or Prince Fielder we would set our farm system back pretty far. If we were to trade away Tillman, Britton, and a couple other guys for either one, what would our Rotation/future look like? Guthrie, Matusz, Bergesen, Hernandez, and Arrieta? That's not good enough to compete, I know you and every other Oriole fan are sick of losing, so am I, but making irrational moves like the one you propose will only help for the short term, I would rather wait and continue to build up the system so we can be like Boston in a couple years. It takes time and patience, we're finally moving in the right direction, the team just needs more time.
JDB: man, that is a lot of reading into my comments " even think Brummie is not way out-of-line with his rant on the signings of Markakis and Roberts. They could be money savers." Like you, I abhor the venom and redundancy. I was not suggesting that I agreed with the specific details of the rant- but rather the general concept that the organization's much lauded move to extend Roberts and Markakis in the big picture may not be an expenditure that indicates the FO is willing to spend at the level that it will take to compete. Plus, you keep the die-hards content and give the impression we are moving forward. If you don't follow those moves up with other big deals, the extensions are hollow.
You have to admit that every one of these moves is excruciatingly drawn out and then celebrated as a massive step forward. Well, good teams do this and more all of the time. That's where I share jedd's skepticism. Prior to this past 10 months I was quite optimistic, but there are just too many signs that we will never be in the same league as the Yankees and Red Sox. We are all talk. We preach becoming a fundamentally sound NL-style team. Nope. We say we will "buy the bats". Conveniently, the market is thin this offseason. We'll go with Michael Aubrey and Josh Bell. Lackey's too much money. Pitchers are a risk. Yada, yada, yada... the evidence suggests we will not be competitive in 2010 and this is simply unacceptable. Koji as a closer? If we assume Bergeson will establish himself again (big IF), Matusz is dominant (I would bet on that), Guthrie doesn't continue to show why he was a waiver pick up, Tillman throws strikes, then we still need 2-3 quality starters.
Of course, there is still time. But do you really have confidence that this team will do what Roch stated it needs to do to be competitive? I don't. Does that mean I will stop cheering or hoping for them to beat down the other AL East beasts? No sir.
Brummie_Oriole said:
"Roch, I am trying to debate JDB here. So please forgive my use of ANDREW and Ole Pete. This is for the sake of a debate with the leader of the Kool Aid Drinking Army (KADA).
JDB: I'd love to debate you. Whoops, I am too busy working and paying your social security benefits. Enjoy!"
Brummie,
First of all, don't you think it's pathetic that Roch has to treat you like a child on this blog?
More importantly, I thought you were in England, working and paying taxes there? Sounds like yet another hole in your story, aside from your inability to grasp some basics that all journalist should know.
Brummie, Brummie, Brummie,
I trust you will not prefer charges, accusing me of literary assault on an unarmed man. Any further damage to your image/ego will not be covered under the “Assumption of Risk Clause” found in the implied agreement, which binds all students.
Why would you attempt to insult me because I am retired? I paid into SS for over 40 years; currently, I am on Medicare, which is a requirement of geezerhood, but I have not yet asked to receive monthly disbursements because 1. I don’t need the money, and 2. Believe it or not, it is my symbolic, less than miniscule attempt to help my country.
One last housekeeping point: It goes without saying, that you are never in my thoughts outside of class, and my fantasies run more to encounters with Jennifer Connelly-types, although there was a fleeting thought of being reincarnated as Gerard Butler.
I cautioned you about responding, especially when you are agitated.
Your entire existence on this blog is based on a phony conceit – Everything Andrew does is done to increase the Orioles' bottom line, and no credit is to be afforded Andrew if what he does ALSO makes the Orioles a better team.
Additionally, your premise that there was something nefarious about the timing of the extensions under discussion is complete balderdash.
You prepared a laundry list of the negative economic impact if the extensions were not completed. But Brummie, the extensions were completed, which means that, by your definition, Andrew acted responsibly in the best interests of the Orioles, AND Roberts and Markakis, guided by their agents, signed the contracts because it was in their best interests to do so.
That is known as a win-win situation. But you insist on twisting this example of prudent management into a condemnation of Andrew.
This is a debate that you cannot win because:
1. You admit that Andrew negotiated extensions with Brian and Nick, and
2. You established the parameters of what Andrew had to avoid; in other words Andrew was forced to extend our two best and best-known players, and
3. You admit that Andrew did the right thing.
4. You are chasing your tail on this phony attempt to denigrate Andrew.
Better luck with your next diatribe. From this point forward, I will try to summon the self-control to leave your inanities unanswered; I will probably fail, but it is not beneficial to engage you in a discussion because you are wearing a mask on this blog -- you are counterfeit -- phony as a three dollar bill, that's 1.84 British pounds.
P.S. You brought it up – as an employee of a company, which I assume, is based in the U.K., I assume that, under the terms of the Totalization Agreements, you have instructed your employer to send your withholding to the good old USA – it’s not wise to fool with Uncle Sam.
Great quote by Huston Street. Isn't he 26?
I thought LB had a great suggestion for bench coach when he said Billy Hunter, What would be wrong with that?
Who are you taking in the NLCS, Roch?
On a side note- Kershaw, 21, started the game for the Dodgers tonight. Can you imagine one of our young fire throwers pitching in a game like that exactly one year from now?! Wow, that would be fun to see.
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I took the Dodgers, though my reasoning that they have the better bullpen didn't hold up last night. - Roch
Yeah that was me, born and raised in Northern VA....Need Florida, Bama or Texas to lose somehow this weekend.
Roch-
how can people be making fun of Baseball AMerica for having Hobgood on the top 20 list?
It just shows how little they know about the game.
The kid throws in the upper 90s with a plus fastball at 18 years old.
Look at Tillman's numbers his first year.
it is like if the kid doesn't go 20-1 with a .98 era, he is a bust. lol.
Bunch of dummies.
Gosh, am I the only one who thought it was obvious Sherrill didn't have his stuff tonight in the eight inning. There will be a lot of second guessing Torre's decision to leave him in after two lead off walks.
Is it just me or is it really weird to hear Buck Martinez and not be watching an O's game?
Brummie/Jack-
I went and checked, and I should have figured it was YOU that criticized Hobgood and Baseball America.
You 2 are the biggest dopes.
Go and look at Hamels and Kershaw's first seasons, their 1st FULL seasons in the minors. Hobgood only made 10 starts, so next year is his 1st full season.
Hamels and Kershaw were BOTH BA top 100's after they were drafted.
Their stats were HORRID.
You are drafted and then placed in the top 100 based on your RAW ABILITY. STATS MEAN NOTHING at that point.
You guys are totally clueless.
Oh, Hamels and Kershaw just went head-to-head in game 1 of the NLCS. Dumb-dumbs.
Jackdunn'sbaby said
"I believe that I have caught Jack using an alias."
No you didnt! I am the type of person who says what I feel, and use my name to do it!
So on that note,
Get a life you idiot! Go back to playing nintendo and baby sitting your little sister!
Roch, any truth to the rumor that when Matt Albers & Chris Ray heard the O's were interested in McDonald, they got confused and called in their order for a Super-Sized meal?
http://baseballanalysts.com/archives/2009/09/its_not_whether.php
Given a fair strength of schedule, the Orioles would have been expected to score some 20 runs greater and allow some 20 fewer with a fair strength of schedule. Given this fact, as well as Baltimore’s youth, and the concept of regression to the mean, you can already mark me down for the Orioles’ over next year.”
"We've seen him some," said John Stockstill, director of international scouting. "We do have interest in him, but I don't know how high that interest lies
The Orioles "interest" always seems to fall just a little short of other teams "interest" on big free agents. Why is that? That's why we have lost for 12 years, we always wind up with the players no one else wants. 2nd tier players make a 2nd tier team. Until that changes we will be where we are now. I'm not saying we need to spend like drunken sailors, but when there's a guy out there that we need, we need to go get him. Not stand on the sidelines hemming and hawing about how high the "interest" of the Spankees or Red Suxx might be. If we are not prepared to out bid them on certain free agents that we really need, then we will never compete in this division. Because the Spankees will buy a player just to keep us from getting them. We need results not excuses. They are going to have to spend some money if we are ever going to compete in this division. The farm system is only going to take us so far.