MacPhail on Bedard
The Orioles retain interest in left-hander Erik Bedard after going over his medical records, but they don't sense that he's on the verge of signing with anyone.
"We have had conversations, we have reviewed the medical stuff," president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail said earlier tonight.
"We remember Erik the way he pitched for us, which was just positively dominating over the course of the 2007 season. We have confidence in the human being and his competitive nature.
"They've sort of told us from the get-go that this wouldn't be an early decision, that this was something that probably would move closer to the reporting date in spring training. I really don't know, nor should I know, the scope of other clubs' interest or necessarily the scope of his interest in the Orioles, though I have no reason to believe we are by any means discounted or his experience here was such that it would preclude him from considering us."
Asked if he's confident that the Orioles are an improved team through their off-season moves and the maturation of his young players, MacPhail replied: "Yeah, I think we should be. I'm going into spring training far more enthusiastically than when I first started here. I like our club. I like the fact that we're young, and I think we're talented.
"I think we saw a lot of individual progress last year on some of those guys. I think now, as an organization, we need to show collective progress. We need to show progress as a team. We need to be able to demonstrate that we can take the individual promise we saw, whether it be a Matusz or Bergesen or Tillman or Wieters or Reimold, and we need to turn that into more victories on the field. And one of the ways we do that is by surrounding those players with as many quality major league players as we can. And we think we got off to a good start with some of our acquisitions during the off-season. And we hope to add a few more."
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Categories (click for archive)Roch Kubatko | Roch Kubatko Orioles |
Which would you rather pick if given only 1 option? Bedard or any position player available (free agent only)?
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Probably Bedard if he's healthy. It all starts with pitching. - Roch
Roch,
Any idea why the Bedard camp wants to wait? Are they hoping that further proof of health allows the price tag to go up?
Miggy, Crede, not enamored either way. I think I like an exteded Aubrey tryout. But just like your response to Light Years above about how "It all starts with pitching.", (by the way there are a few rules of punctuation that I despise) next comes defense. If Bell works out OK then perhaps durability is not such an issue. So I would go with Crede.
Or we could go crazy, get rid of Andino and sign both. Crede 3b, and Miggy as DH against LH and backup SS. Atkins 1B and some 3B, Wiggy backup 1B and 2B and 3B. There is some offense on the bench and a train wreck in the field for you.
KPB, Brummie, Paul let loose. Just wanted to show you what a really bad idea that was really worth slamming looked like.
What I would really like is a solid #2 hitter for this lineup. I think the best one in the regular lineup is Markakis. OCJ on that basis perhaps the Damon idea is just the ticket.
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That's the assumption. - Roch
Roch, had the chance to listen live via internet. Great interview with MacPhail. As either you or Jim mentioned, he's just about as candid as you could hope a baseball exec would be. He's certainly way more forthcoming than Flanagan, Beattie, and that gang.
Thanks for the great interviewing and reporting. I continue to cross my fingers for Bedard. And, for the first time, I'm starting to hope for Tejada as well. He really left a bad impression toward the end, but I'm starting to think he'd fit really well in the 2-hole of this current lineup.
Roch,
A week or so back you posted a link to the archives for the hot stove show so that people could listen to the recording after the fact. Could you post that link please?
Roch-
Miggy and Bedard on this team, makes it MUCH better. A full season of Bedard, minus maybe a month or so, really makes this a different situation. WHo KNOWS what a team with Millwood, Bedard, and some good young arms, a solid closer, and a ton of offensive talent can do. They just have to hold their own against the Yanks and Sox, and maybe that wild card aint so crazy.
you posted a response to someone about Tiger Woods claims of sex addiction, you said you didn't believe in that, and I was agreeing with you. It was under shameless plug alerts.
I'll go out on a limb here: I really think Bedard -- if (and yes it's a huge if) he's healthy for a year -- could make our staff the most dominant in the AL. In short, I think the FO should make a VERY strong push to acquire him, provided his demands are reasonable (e.g., 1-2 years), and he wants to play for us.
Nevermind.
Found it:
http://baltimore.orioles.mlb.com/bal/fan_forum/hotstove.jsp
But Bédard isn't healthy, or he would have already signed a nice one year deal to re-establish his value. The questions are: What is the level of Bédard's injury? And, how long will it take him to get back to pitching regularly?
Do you have any ideas about the answers to these questions, Roch?
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No. That's why I keep asking MacPhail about him. - Roch
Roch, Am I missing something or has Bedard yet to start throwing? It's less than a month from when pitchers and catchers report to Sarasota, so it's getting kind of late.
I understand that he's not going to be ready by the first of the season, regardless, but you'd think he'd at least have started soft tossing on flat ground by now.
Aren't the Orioles imposing an unspoken cut-off of sorts as to the latest they'd want Erik to start pitching for them, say sometime in May or early June at the very latest?
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I don't believe he's throwing, but we're still trying to gather all the facts on him, which is why I bring up his name to MacPhail everytime I interview him. - Roch
If you had to guess.
What are the chances of Bedard actually signing with the Orioles?
Thanks Roch.
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I still think pretty good, but I don't know the market for him. - Roch
WOW! Did Andy turn over a new leaf or something? This is not the window dressing GM I have come to loathe over the years. All I can say is that the above statement is the kind of thing he should have been saying for a long time. No cliches. No BS. Just straight forward honest answers.
For once I can say: Good job communicating Andy.
Did the Warehouse boys hire a new PR agency or something? LOL
Light years- I am with roch, bedard is a nasty pitcher when healthy, and they wouldn't say pitching wins championships if pitching didn't win championships...
I am an avid supporter of bringing him back.. I know, we might only get 120-130 innings out of him...but ... Those innings will prolly follow a line of 150k's 3.5-3.9 era..50-65 walks...besides the fact that when he is healthy and has his stuff going he can be a one man wrecking crew. I want to see the rosey cheeked baby face in the orange and black again... Make it happen Andy...quite frankly I'd almost be willing to give him similar money to what harden got...hopefully he will come cheaper...
Also.... Am I the only one who thinks tejada won't b bad on a one yr deal? although I like branyan more.. Besides If tejada signs and his attitude sucks again you deal him before the nonwaiver dealine and bring up a young guy, that's what snyder and bell are there for.... Btw can some one please tell bell to stop switch hitting...
Roch- thanks again for great blogging, you are a gentleman and a scholar....1 question.... Say we get bedard and branyan/ miggy. How would you rate the o's relative to the division?... I'd say third ... How would you rate the offseason aquisitions?
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I'd say fourth at best. I don't see how they passed T.B. - Roch
Id like to see Bedard back on like a 2 year deal. That would make our pitching really deep. I'm lookin for Guthrie to have a nice bounce back year. I think he just simply had a down year last year. Altho he did still manage to get plenty of innings in
Getting back to the ST invitees, Jim Miller isn't there either. He's got to be better than some of those other stiffs who got an invite. What gives ?
I , unlike some others do not have any reason to question Bedard's work ethic. He is, nonetheless, an introverted Canadian.
I generally don't comment during the off season as I believe the only way to have an informed opinion for the most part is to have intimate inside knowledge, which I , of course, am not privy to.
Having said that, I would think his signing to be a huge plus if he is healthy.
Last year, facing our team in Seattle, he was lights out for 6 2/3.
I should point out that when he tires, he doesn't get rocked . He gets nibbled to death.
It's a 3 and 2 base on balls and a dribbler between the infielders.
As a point of comparison, remember ARod's first season at 3rd, or even go back to Cal. The transition isn't simple, and it took those guys most of a season to really pick it up. Those are two guys who were excellent shortstops. There's no reason to expect Tejada to be even an average defensive 3B, and a guy who grounds into more double plays than he walks and hits a pretty hollow .300 doesn't much interest me. Despite the health issues, Crede has held up very well as a defensive 3B. If I had a crystal ball and knew he could remain healthy through July before falling apart, I'd take him and let Bell or Wigginton close things out.
Again Andy's own words are what causes this organization the most grief
"We need to be able to demonstrate that we can take the individual promise we saw, whether it be a Matusz or Bergesen or Tillman or Wieters or Reimold, and we need to turn that into more victories on the field. And one of the ways we do that is by surrounding those players with as many quality major league players as we can."
The last sentence sums up Andy the best. He feeds a lot of BS to smooth over the kool aid drinkers only to to basically nothing again this off season. I guess Atkins, Eaton, Simon, Uehara, Traschel and the rest of these types......are quality major league players?
Andy do your best speaking by just shutting up......you make it too easy!
And we still have interest in Hendrickson...well Indecisive Andy...what is your excuse on this one if he wants to play here?
See everyone at FanFest
Roch,
Missed the show, was watching inglorious bastards with the wife. Highly recommend it by the way. Anyway, love th idea of Miggy and Bedard reunion in Baltimore. Neither is a lynchpin, but Bedard offers a great risk-reward pickup and Miggy is a solid bat at 3rd. I think Miggy would fit in really nice in the 2 hole. Still a good obp guy, without the power he once had. If the young guys continue to progress and you get lucky with a return of Bedard, 2010 could end the losing seasons streak. Can't wait! Most excited I've been for an o's season in a long long time.
Lets hope they sign Bedard? I hope so, but soon as another team gets involved or he doesnt bend to the "home team discount" forget it.
How low has Peter taken this organization during his reign of horror...they dont even make the front page on the Sun's internet version during FanFest day.
"How low can we go"
To me it sounded like Bedard most likely wasn't going to happen, since they are waiting I assume the medical records are not good.
Although Tejada sounds more promising, but is it really good for the team? He is not the power hitter that is needed but he does get on base a lot and that is never a bad thing.
If Bedard is added to our rotation, who gets butted out?? I am assuming Tillman, because Matusz is another promising lefty, and Bergesen has earned his right to start, in my opinion.
I am all for a return of Bedard.
Dave in Mt. Airy - Tejada is still a good OBP guy? Sorry that's no longer true. You can look it up!
If Bedard gets sign then say goodbye to Guthrie via trade. Sorry Guthrie thats just how it has to be. Should be able to get a nice prospect in return.
Millwood (either Bedard or Millwood is #1)
Bedard
Bergesen
Matusz
Tillman
Roch,
You agree Guthrie would be odd man out?
Hi Roch;
Where in the batter order was Tejada used last year? Do you or any other reader know?
Thanks
Roch, is Andy as direct as he seems? or does he sometimes engage in misdirection aimed at other teams? Good luck today. I hope sheets and amarie get to snap a pic with you, displaying an appropriately wacky amarie sign.
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I wanted to clarify my Tejada post, given some of the response. First, I don't hate Miguel, and I don't necessarily think he'd be a disastrous signing, depending on how much he'll cost. Hey, IF he can field passably at third and IF he can hit over .300 and IF he can cede the territory gracefully when Bell's ready and IF he'll have a better attitude and IF Andy can get him very cheaply, then maybe he's an upgrade over what we have. But that's five pretty big IFs, and I'm sure I could think of more.
While I think signing Miguel is likely to be a mistake, depending on the price tag, my bigger point was the one Baron highlighted: how much our opinions about a player can shift with time as we forget the bad and remember the good, at least in Miggy's case.
A little relationship history (dim the lights and cue the romantic music):
Remember when we first imagined that the great Miguel Tejada could be interested in little old us? Here he was an MVP stud, fresh off a string of playoff appearances, promising us the moon and immediately buying us a huge 150-RBI wedding ring. How could we not be swept off our feet? But the dream soon died. Hey, it wasn't just his fault, it was ours too. People change, right? Miggy wanted a divorce, and pretty soon so did we.
Once Miggy left, we had a series of brief and unsatisfying blind dates with a revolving door of awful shortstops, each one worse than the next. Pretty soon we were all thinking maybe we'd been too hasty. Maybe Miggy wasn't as bad as we thought. Sure he was lazy, and he lied to us, and he was verbally abusive, and he used drugs, but then he'd get a big hit and all would be forgiven. How could it have ended so badly?
And then Izzy came into our lives. How happy we all were to find him! Sure, he wasn't as good-looking as some of those other big-city shortstops, but he treated us well: He could work the leather (oh, Cesar!), and he never lied to us or told us he didn't love us anymore, and every time he hustled down the line on another ground out, he was showing how much he cared. Before you knew it, we forgot all about his career OPS+ of 67.
After all that unhappiness, what a relief to find the right guy! And we were right: Last year Cesar had a better WAR than Miggy (.8 vs. .5) in 50% fewer at bats. But that only told us how bad it had gotten with Miguel. C'mon, when we're truly honest with ourselves, when we look in that mirror at night, we know that Cesar is just a rebound relationship, a nice guy serving as placeholder while we get over Miggy and dream of the next *gasp* . . . Cal!
So now Miggy, fresh off another failed relationship, his hairline receding and his gait a little slower, comes knocking on our door again. Hey, Cesar's our shortstop now, but our heart skips a beat anyway. How could it not? All those years we shared, they mean something, right? We both wanted it to work, after all. No hard feelings. And Miggy wouldn't presume to take Cesar's place, just provide a little emergency backup, just in case, if you know what I mean. What could be wrong with that? He wouldn't cost much to keep, we could squeeze out a roster spot. Hey, come to think of it he could have Andino's room! Robert was never more than Izzy-lite anyhow. You never know when you might need that extra half a win. Sure, people might talk, but Miggy promises to behave this time. And Cesar's away on business a lot: In nine years, only once has he been home at his plate 475 times. Hey, it gets lonely out there. . . .
(Cue the "Psycho" strings)
Okay, everybody, back to reality. One thing I like about Andy is that it's not all about numbers. He knows what it feels like when a clubhouse loses hope and players start looking over their shoulders. All of us who have played ourselves or been fans of this misbegotten team over the last decade-plus know that feeling very well. So if Andy thinks "overpaying" for a good closer will help morale, fine. I'm on board, to a point (just don't start overpaying the rest of the pen). But is Miggy likely to be a Kevin Millar in the clubhouse, making up for his weak performance with good people skills?
I just hope Andy, and we, don't let our nostalgia for the players Tejada, Bedard, and even Atkins used to be blind us to the numbers that tell us who they are now -- and, in Miggy's case, to the baggage that is likely to go along with those numbers. It's a fun story if it works out, and I'm fine with Bedard at the right price, but I still remember pretty vividly what Miggy put us through, and don't see how his potential upside is worth even a slim chance of repeating it. Once burned, twice shy.
For what we'd get with Tejada's bat, I have a hard time believing that he'd be so terrible at third that we'd rather have Crede.
Sheets, the comparisons to Ripken are a little silly. By the time Ripken moved to third, he had lost a LOT of range at short, was batting .270-.280 at best, and still led the leagues in grounding into double plays. Unless I'm mistaken, Ripken actually holds the MLB record for grounding into double plays.
So... what stats do you want to hold against Tejada? And what the heck is a "hollow .300"? It's still .300. I'd sure take that for this team.
Tejada, like Ripken, is a great athlete. He could figure out third base. It's not the most dynamic shift from shortstop, and it's not the same as expecting a left fielder like Reimold or Scott to make a transition to first. He's a gamer. Bring him back.
Thanks for your work and for the community forum space, Roch.
Hey Roch, a columnist on the internet used this headline to discuss Bedar: "Is it true that Bedard has been abducted?" Almost as funny as some of your lines.
I'd like the Orioles to bring back Tejada. He has a 2009 slg. avg of .455 and a lifetime slg. avg of .469. Compare that with Nick Markakis who had a 2009 slg. avg of .453 and a lifetime slg. avg. of .470. Plus, we would have a backup shortstop with Mickey and Atkins and Wigginton as backup at third base. My only problem is where to bat who. My suggestion is Roberts/ Tejada/ Markakis/ Jones/ Wieters/ Reimold/ Scott/ Atkins (or Aubrey or Wigginton)/ Izturis. Looks pretty formidible to me.
Roch; thanks for all the great work..you truly know oriole bb and care about it..i cant believe all the am bashers..hes the best thing to happen to oriole bb in many years..he has a plan and its working..bedard trade one of 5 best of alltime...we have best young o.f. in bb.... best young catcher in bb...signed all-stars at 2b and rf..future superstar in cf...best young pitching arms in bb....budding ml operation with talent on the way at corner positions...and real depth in pitching prospects...whats not to like? its been a while but we are going to be good..and stay good...i cant wait ot watch these baby birds grow..and i drive 180 miles each way to watch them play....go birds.....thanks johnmyerssec334
OCJ... thanks for the romantic memories a la Tejada. However - as you know - I have a preference for moving forward and I'd like to think no amount of candlelight and soft music could ever soften my hardened heart, even around the edges. That's my personal view as a fan.
However, baseball is a business first and foremost, not only from a financial standpoint but also on the field. This year will be more about wins and losses than the previous three. I do trust Mr. MacPhail understands this. After all, his credibility is on the line if the team doesn't show some progress. He has admitted as much.
That being said, there is one reason for pursuing Tejada that is becoming more evident, and some people here have already pointed it out. When looking to fill the perceived gap at the corners, consideration has to be given to who may also be the best fit in the batting order. Arguably, the biggest need is for a hitter in the two-hole. Would people agree that Tejada may be the best potential fit there? He batted .367 there for the Astros last year in 69 games. (Note to Andy352 - he batted fifth in 53 games and third in 29 games last year) All of a sudden, this option begins to look more appealing.
I can relate to OCJ's 5 ifs concerning Tejada and I would still have trouble as a fan warming up to his return (Tejada, not OCJ) but in the business of baseball, sometimes personal feelings have to be set aside. It seems quite clear that the club prefers to have Atkins manning first base, and that Joe Crede is simply too much of an injury risk. Besides, neither Crede nor Garko appear to be as capably suited for the second spot in the batting order.
Any holes in this logic?
OCJ -- another excellent post!!
According to Breitbart news, Tajada has been signed by the Orioles (posted at 1:07 pm today
Smart and logical thing to do. It's best for both Bedard and any team that might have interest in him to know how far along he is in his rehab at that point to have a better idea of when he could actually take the mound during the season.
Roch, have you been able to talk to someone on the Mariners training staff to get an update? Bedard is still in their medical care so they would know what is going on with him, and might be willing to provide one like they did back in mid-December ...
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I don't have any connections with the Mariners' training staff. I can only go by what the media out there reports. - Roch