Find MASN on your cable or satellite provider.

Thanks again for the shameless plug. My television is usually off unless I have a specific reason to turn it on. This gives me a reason to turn it on.

Roch,
Will this be MASN TV or Radio, I live in Connecticut and can't get MASN TV but can get it on radio on the net. Thanks.
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MASN is TV. 105.7 is radio, and they're airing Garceau's show from Miami the next two days. - Roch

Roch

Does it really make a difference with Bedard? At first glance this season, I would have liked to see Bedard back in Baltimore. In retrospect, the Orioles may have dodged a bullet (no Gilbert Areans pun intended).

This should not upset anyone (Cough, Cough Brummie). Bedard "supposively" is not schedueled to return until late June or early July. As you speculated, who knows with a labrum tear. Orioles fans have to remember this is Bedard; one little tweak and he would not want to pitch for ten days.

Talented, yes. Model of durability, not so much....

I'd offer him $2MM + shipload, but I won't be that disappointed if he goes elsewhere. We've had more than our fair share of pitchers of questionable health -- it's what wears the team down every September.

It would be nice to have his sunny demeanor back though...

To quote my favorite blogger regarding the title....

"That's what she said."

I agree Roch...I saw all this too..the O's should steer clear of Bedard if he does not really want to be here or ready to pitch now....we have dealt with his moods before..it was not cool. I read some place, maybe even a link off MLB Traderumors, that he may not be ready to pitch until June.....but I like you think how could he be ready--that is a serious injury and surgery. There are still other starting pitchers out there good and have been hurt as well....Lowry, Wang...and a few more...we sure have out own good youngsters to choose from too. I am sure we will know what happens soon enough. I still smile at the haul the o's got for Bedard 2 years ago...WOW.....so it can never be bad if he comes to Baltimore or not. That was rated the best trade of the decade in all of baseball. Go O's

I knew it was only a matter of time before you were on there :)

- Chris

PS - I think I've figured out what to put on the back of my BP jersey.

Ready?

PTBNL.

Think I can get it signed?

I love what Andy is doing, and I think that signing Bedard would be the perfect fit in his "low-risk high-reward" style of free agent signing.

It just makes too much sense not to do it, especially with depth needed in the starting rotation. I don't think we can or should pencil in Guthrie as having a solid season, Millwood performing as well in the AL East as the AL West, or Tillman & Matusz being 100% ready this season. Will Bergesen hit a wall? I think that adding an arm like Bedard would fit into Andy's mission and just make sense for a ballclub with very questionable starting pitching.

Roch,

For the long distance fans...is today's show available via the Internet? I know you've mentioned several radio/TV appearances, but I've always neglected to find out if any are streamed over the Net.

Jim Carter
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I doubt that you'll find it live, but it'll probably end up in the media lounge later. - Roch

First Miggy and now they are going after Bedard? Seriously.... if Bedard comes back I'm going to hang myself.

I thought we were moving forward as an organization.... not forward and then backward.....

STUPID!

Not for nothin, but Bedard will be 31 in March, not 29.

Let him stay in Seattle or wherever. . .the guy's a medical and mental basket case, and likely would not serve either the O's short or long-term goals.

No question he has talent, and on any given day (when healthy) pitch lights out, but. . .he's no real durability, and coming off surgery. . .why bother.

There now appears enough pitching depth, albeit significant amounts not yet proven, to let the O's roll the dice with the young guns.

Let 'em pitch!

Until this organisation stops banking the season on retreads and MASH units, this team will continue to lose 90+ games a year.

Why would Bedard deserve a rotation spot over a guy like Berken or Tillman who are progressing before our very eyes?

I thought the PLAN was to grow the arms. I thought "when we bring these kids up, we are bringing them up to stay!"

Why Andy?
WHY?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Why, Brummie, why are you ripping MacPhail when it appears that the Mariners have reached agreement with Bedard? Because he had a few conversations with Bedard's agent? Is that the issue here? - Roch

I prefer he stay away. I would like to see an starter signed to a minor league deal in case we run out of starting arms as we seem to do every stinking year

While Indecisive Andy was waiting for the market to play out, the Mariners swooped in and grabbed Bedard for 1.5 mil base salary plus incentives.

I am sitting here wondering what all of the Orange Apologist will come up with now. Last week they really wanted Bedard. Now it will be, glad he signed over there, he was a health risk, wouldnt be ready until June..lol

But bottom line, Andy let them down yet once again!

I don't think siging or not signing Bedard is a big deal. If you sign him, it will be a low risk, incentive laiden contract. If you don't sign him, you get to develop your prospects in the organization and see what they can do. I find it hard to see any way this can be seen as a bad move.

Roch, I ma sure you have been asked this a milion time, so I apologize in advance. IS MASN going to broadcast any Spring Training games? Do you have any idea who the broadcast team will be this year? I heard Brady Anderson? Thanks!
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Yes, but they haven't announced the schedule. And they haven't hired a replacement(s) for Buck. Likely to be different former Orioles. - Roch

I'd be in favor of a signing that included a club option for year two. Strictly a one-year deal makes very little sense (but still doesn't pose much of a risk).

The Mariners offered a shipload of incentives. Was that line intentional? The O's could counter with a bird's nest of incentives.

Got the show ready to record to the DVR.

Here's a good page I stumbled upon about Joe Jordan's drafts, pretty in depth but a great read about our developing farm system. I'd be very happy if we drafted Anthony Ranaudo, Jameson Taillon, or Christian Colon. (thanks steveospeak for pointing out the eligibility of the 3B Rendon I had mentioned last night.)

http://mlbbonusbaby.com/

In addition to highlighting the first 5 picks of each draft, this analysis is offered:

Joe Jordan has shown a few tendencies in his first five drafts at the helm of the Orioles’ scouting department. The first is a tendency to love speed from his hitters beyond the first round. However, in the first round Jordan usually goes with players that are a little more of a finished product instead of just being athletic. You can argue that Snyder and Rowell were more finished products than more athletic prep hitters at the time. They haven’t panned out, but that view was widely considered correct at the time of those drafts. In general, Jordan also prefers prep hitters over collegiate, but players such as Matt Angle and Tyler Townsend go against that philosophy. Townsend in particular is a strange pick when looking at Jordan’s past history, as he’s neither athletic nor a prep hitter. However, it seems they were looking for a slot pick at the time, and they didn’t want any arm at that slot. Another interesting trend is Jordan’s willingness to go either with one big-name player at the top or to mix and match with over slot bonuses in later rounds beyond the first. Wieters and Matusz qualify in the first group, but the 2009 draft shoes an interesting philosophy that netted them multiple quality picks beyond their first in Matt Hobgood. In addition, Jordan does have an affinity for the three big states in Florida, Texas, and California. He also enjoys finding some prospects in the Baltimore area, which is obviously easier to scout when it is close by. Finally, Jordan likes pitchers that are projectable, even if they are college prospects. He wants tall, lanky pitchers who will fill out. Hobgood again is anomaly in this situation, but as part of the broader philosophy, he doesn’t necessarily stand out.

Looking at draft budgeting, the Orioles have been one of the better teams at investing in the draft in recent years. Following the expensive signings of Wieters and Matusz, they spread a great deal of money out over multiple players in 2009, reaching about $8.5 million in draft spending. I’d expect more of the same in 2010. The Orioles pick at numbers 3, 85, 118, and every 30 picks after that, assuming that Rod Barajas signs a Major League deal with another club before the draft. Seeing as the Orioles are down a second-round pick, and they didn’t pick up any compensation picks, I see them going after multiple players that fell due to signability issues and signing them up themselves. The best examples of that in 2009 were Michael Ohlman and Cameron Coffey, a pair that signed bonuses comparable to the end of the first round when looking at the assigned slots of their bonuses. If they don’t want to spread their money out as much this year, and there might be a clear cut number three pick come June that makes them want to do so, they could easily allocate the majority of their resources towards that pick. I don’t see anyone commanding $6+ million at the number three pick this year like Donavan Tate did a year ago, but it’s quite possible.

Specific players that could be linked to the Orioles include Anthony Ranaudo, Jameson Taillon, and Christian Colon. In my latest mock, I have them going with Taillon, and he could easily command a bonus of $6+ million, perhaps even a Major League contract, though I don’t necessarily think that will be the case. Ranaudo will almost definitely need a Major League contract, though the Orioles haven’t been against that in the past, as Brian Matusz signed a Major League contract in 2008. Many Baltimore fans have expressed an interest in Christian Colon, and assuming a good recovery, he could be an option at #3. However, it would probably be a signability pick and drafting for need in a way, and I’d expect they’d only pick him there if he promises to sign for slot. Looking beyond the third pick, the Orioles could be looking in numerous directions, as Jordan is a little hard to peg, especially considering his lack of a second-round pick. Guys such as Reggie Golden, Michael Lorenzen, and Ty Linton could be on their radar as athletic prep bats with projection, and all would project as plus hitters with time. Other options could include Josh Mueller, Dixon Anderson, and Tommy Kahnle, all intriguing arms with some upside. I expect a fair mix in terms of ages and positions in their draft, as Jordan is known to draft for balance. I respect an approach like that, and I graded up their 2009 draft as a result. It makes my job of predicting that much harder, but it’s good for the Orioles’ farm system in the long run.

Here is where I am coming from Roch.

Andy has boasted for years about "growing the arms." Fine. Then do it.

The fact that Andy had talks with Pieper shows the O's were at least somewhat interested in Bedard. How would adding this guy be a positive to the team? Didn't we learn from Eaton and Hill last year?

He'd miss some months of the season and then the guy would take away a rotation spot from a Berken or Tillman who both learned a lot last year and showed signs of promise for the future.

The O's are rebuilding. Renting a banged up pitcher for half a year is not productive.

If they were a contender, then fine, I could see the logic in bringing in a guy like Bedard in the hope that he would be back in form for the stretch run.

But since the team is a perennial doormat, signing Bedard to a shortterm deal would not help the O's this year or in '11, '12, etc.

This leaves me with two conclusions.

1. Andy had talks with Pieper in the hope of catching lightning in a bottle.

2. Bedard, having health issues, would come CHEAP!

Either way it doesn't matter. Bedard will probably sign elsewhere because Andy couldn't make a firm decision.

Budget Baseball, at it's best'''
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That's more nonsense, Brummie. Couldn't make a decision? He's got Bergesen, Matusz and Tillman in the rotation right now. Arrieta is in Triple-A, with Britton moving up quickly. They're growing and developing the arms. Doesn't mean you have to shove a bunch of kids in the rotation at the same time. Millwood could be traded at the deadline. Bedard was worth exploring as a short-term, low-risk, high-reward guy so you don't have too many inexperienced arms in the rotation at once and end up burning out the bullpen. MacPhail did the right thing to at least look into Bedard's health and see what he was seeking contract-wise. If he did nothing, you'd complain about him playing golf instead of working the phones. Meanwhile, I'm still waiting for those links to your articles that I promised not to publish. - Roch

I truly believe the O's will have a 15 to 20 game swing in the Win column this year. Our starting rotation is better than last year. Our bullpen will be solid this year. Our lineup is solid 1-8. Our team ERA will be lower, we will score more runs. What's not to be psyched about going into this season? Who cares if we sign Bedard or not? If we do - then great - we have another arm, albeit maybe mid season. If we don't - we have plenty of inventory in the minors who could come up if needed. I am more optimistic than I have been in the past 12 years. Go O's!

Roch-Don't let Brummie get inside your head! If the Orioles announced they had signed Bedard to a contract, Brummie would criticize the move. If the Orioles do not sign Bedard (which appears will be the case), Brummie will criticize the move.

BTW, is the word organization spelled with a z?

Good afternoon, Roch:

I have the afternoon off today and if you will pardon me, I need to vent.

I've been a baseball fan since 1961, and believe it or not, I can still remember the first O's game I went to at the old stadium. As a 6 year old, and being with my father. I thought I found heaven. Full of hot dogs and pop, and my father caught a foul ball hit off the bat of Roger Maris. I still have the ball.

Ever since that day I was hooked. I was hooked because it was fun. And to me, that's what the heck that baseball is suppose to be. It's the inner child in me, that makes it that way. It's an escape from the trials and tribulations that are somehow meant to build character in all of us.

Brummie and Paul, why do you take this so seriously? It's a game. And you, Brummie, as a journalist, don't know how to spell. If I were a journalist, I'd be more worried about not being able to spell than I would be worried if Andy McPhail is screwing up or not. There are many more problems that are much more serious and need attention than bitching all the time about why Andy McPhail did not sign someone.

Personally, Brummie and Paul, I chose to go with the flow and enjoy the game for what it was meant to be: an escape. A time to have fun. Whether it be sports or just enjoying a damn good suspense novel, I chose to enjoy my life and not complain and get all worked up all the time. Unfortunately, I've learned from experience that in order to keep one's sanity, it's the best way to go.

I think we should at least match Seattle's offer for Bedard. $1.5 to 2 million base with incentives that take you up to $8 or 9 million.

With Bedard, Millwood and Guthrie, followed by any combination of youngsters, we'd finally have a rotation that could compete in the AL East.

Let the M's take the chance on Bedard. My guess is he won't sniff a big-league rotation before sometime in June, and it's a crapshoot coming off of labrum surgery. I'd like to see our three young starters get another year of seasoning. Then we can make a real run at contention in 2011.

I wonder if there are any psychology/psychiatry students who are regular readers here at School of Roch. I would love for one of them to go through your archives and pull every comment ever posted by Brummie and give them an analysis. I'm to the point where I just assume that the posts are deliberately inflammatory to try and get a reaction from the crowd, but I would love to see a professional analysis of his "body of work" to see if he is clearly as much of a sociopath as I assume he is.

I actually feel sorry for Brummie, who clearly is getting too much enjoyment from being the focal point of so much anger on this board.

Brummie,
I hope you are enjoying the services of a highly skilled Berlin dominatrix, who through pain will help you find the happiness you are so clearly lacking in your life.

It will be so nice to see and hear you on "WALL TO WALL BASEBALL" roch. Will you address the issue of if the birds are hopeing to play 500 ball this year or perhas just trying to get through the season with out to many hurt?

ken from gettysburg.

Great piece by bms...

one dude likes Michael Aubrey in 2010

Every year Santa brings me Ron Shandler's Baseball Forecaster book which is chock full of insightful fantasy articles and projections. Last year Brandon Kruse wrote an article called "Speculating on Breakouts". His definition of a breakout player is one who earns a Rotisserie value of $20 or more after previously never posting a value over $10 at the major league level.
The criteria used included the following:

-age 27 or younger

-an increase in at least two of the following categories-PX, SX or H%

-Minimum league average PX or SX (100)

-Minimum contact rate-75%

-minimum xBA-.270

Last year, his speculation predicted two solid breakout players-Ben Zobrist and Erick Aybar, along with Martin Prado and Seth Smith, both of whom performed very well in 2009.

His choices for 2010:

Michael Aubrey (1B, BAL)

Ronald Belisario (RP, LAD)

Neftali Feliz (SP, TEX)

Yovani Gallardo (SP, MIL)

Matt Laporta (OF, CLE)

Joe Smith (RP, CLE)

Luis Valbuena (2B, CLE)

http://www.faketeams.com/2010/2/3/1290007/fantasy-baseball-baseballhqs

I like how Brummie/Paul are mad at Andy for being completely incompetent for both

-pursuing Bedard
AND
-not pursuing Bedard.

You guys are really something special. At least you'd never let anything as small as a logical fallacy get in the way of blasting propaganda and losing credibility.

Good riddance, eh? Hope the talks result in a deal with the Mariners, eh? Stay in Seattle, eh? Or, go back to Canada, eh? Just stay away from Baltimore, eh?

I have been assuming all winter that the only way we would want bedard on a one year contract is if it had a team option for 2011. THought tht was a given.

I've got an idea on how to get rid of Brummie...make the minimum posting age 18!! What would Jason Rhodes say about that??

Hey Roch, Keep in mind the Mariners are paying all of Bedard's medical bills right now; so, he is talking to their medical staff and trainers right along.
They might choose to offer him a low contract with incentives and take a chance. Other teams might do the same thing. In the final analysis, it will be up to Bedard, but common sense tells me he is going to talk nice to the people, who are paying his medical bills. He is a very private person and playing guessing games with his decision is a waste of time.

Paul,

You're as idiotic as Brummie and Ryan. You're blaming Andy for not signing Bedard? Maybe he (Bedard) did not want to come here. You think all Andy has to do is put out a contract for every free agent out there and they will all sign on the dotted line. Get a clue dude. Did you ever try to hire somebody (probably not, I imagine you never progressed that far in whatever it is you do). Not everyone wants what you are offering.

I have an idea for you and your cronies-get lost. We don't like you, we don't want you and your negative views here. You are not a fan. It took twelve years to get into this mess and Andy is doing a great job getting the O's out of it. Baseball is not like the NFL, you can't go from worst to first in one season. So either be patient or take a hike.

Go O's- I cant wait for this season.

From MLBtraderumors:

"1:09pm: Larry LaRue of The News Tribune talked to Bedard recently. Interest is mutual, but he doesn't have an offer in hand from the Mariners or any other team yet. Bedard tentatively believes he could be pitching in May."

They forgot to add, "Baltimore is believed to be laying in the weeds on Bedard."

If signing of Bedard had worked out then the O's could have made somebody like Bergesen available for a trade for Adrian Gonzalez. A big hitter in the middle of the lineup not only makes the batsmen in front of him better, but also those behind him more productive.

Hey Roch, I have some more specific information from a small, reliable newspaper, The Herald, in Everett, Washington. Bedard has been throwing from a distance of 70 feet and is headed to Arizona to work with the same trainer that Randy Johnson used to extend his career. He will be able to stretch out and, hopefullly, benefit from this trainer. The basic question about Bedard being ready to pitch in May or July has not been answered. (There are also some risks involved in putting more pressure on his arm. After he reports to Arizona and begins more intense workouts, he should find out how fast he will return to the majors.

Hello Roch,
I been waiting for O's to turn around to start playing the big boys on the same field. I mean feel like we have a chance to win at any time. We are not there but slowly moving forward. It been 12 years. We have some good young players. But pitching is the question mostly the bullpen. Guthrie is a big ? has a starter. Gave up too many homeruns last year. Is there a pitcher out there to be a starter or help in the pen? So if Guthrie go back to his old form. We need to start moving more like we have chance to win games. 70 a year won't get the job done. There is rumors of the MBL changing the teams to diferent divisions? Is going happend or only talk?
Daniel

Shameless plug? Psh...according to Nestor Aparicio, you're a corporate whore anyway. Why worry about shame? LOL.

Growing arms doesn't necessarily mean pushing them out on the Major League level just because. You don't plant a seed and then chop it down a month later for firewood. I suppose you could, but that wouldn't be very logical.

If Bedard can be productive sign him. If he comes on board midseason you can seriously consider trading Millwood for prospects.

To bad Brummie won't call in, but I wouldn't hold my breath for that either. Good show so far.

The roster really has been completely overhauled since Tejeda's first stint with us.

Andy Macphail deserves an A+ for rebuilding the farm system which surely was in sorry shape as the entire organization as a result of Peter Angelos' meddling.

I think Macphail also deserves and F for improving the talent level at the major League level since he got here. The pure rebuilders think it is a zero sum game and they worship at the temple of not signing any name FA's, until the time is "right" whenever the hell that is. I say it is not a zero sum game and the fans deserve a competitive team while the experiment goes forward. Keep rebuilding, but get the Major league team in a postion to compete now{or last year}

The way I see it, Macphail's approach is that the team will keep on sucking until it no longer sucks. At that time he will add name FA's. The problem with that is the team may suck for a long time without adding proven talent.

Reminds me of Curly Joe of the Three Stooges who said "If at first you don't SUCKceed, keep on sucking till you do SUCKceed."

WHOOOOP! WHOOOP! WHOOOOP!!

While discussing the NFL's salary cap, Baltimore Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti took a swing at the New York Yankees: "If I'm a Yankees fan, I'm upset we're not winning 130 games with the roster that they have and the money that they pay out."

Bisciotti takes a swing at the Yankees
Clearly, Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti is a proponent of the NFL salary cap, and took a light-hearted shot at the Yankees during today's big news conference for their inability to totally dominate Major League Baseball with their huge revenue and payroll advantage over the other 29 teams.

"It certainly doesn't show up in the standings," Bisciotti said. "If I'm a Yankees fan, I'm upset we're not winning 130 games with the roster that they have and the money that they pay out. I think it's a disgrace they only beat the average team by 10 games in the standings with three times the money. I'd fire that GM. You don't need a GM. All you have to do is buy the last Cy Young Award winner every year."

That left me with no choice but to ask him afterward if he thought baseball should impose an NFL-style salary cap, something the baseball owners have wanted to do for decades, but have never been able to overcome union opposition.

"I think the genie's out of the bottle,'' Bisciotti said, pointing out that the huge value of the Yankees franchise is based on the current economic system and nobody is going to impose a new system that might damage the value of the top revenue-producing teams. "There's just no way of solving it."

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/schmuck/2010/02/bisciotti_takes_a_swing_at_the.html

Roch,

I am beginning to think that Brummie_Oriole is really Roch! Maybe another evil personality of Roch. Why else would he put up with this?

Roch-

NOT grabbing Bedard is a TERRIBLE move. Another disappointment in a long list of them.

Roch, here is another posting re Bedard. This guy is Johnny's brother.

http://blog.thenewstribune.com/mariners/2010/02/04/bedard-on-mariners-id-love-to-be-back/

Bedard sounds like a regular chatty cathy in this one.

B_O...it really is amazing how you talk out of more than one orifice at the same time:
"How would adding this guy be a positive to the team? Didn't we learn from Eaton and Hill last year?

He'd miss some months of the season and then the guy would take away a rotation spot from a Berken or Tillman who both learned a lot last year and showed signs of promise for the future.

The O's are rebuilding. Renting a banged up pitcher for half a year is not productive.

If they were a contender, then fine, I could see the logic in bringing in a guy like Bedard in the hope that he would be back in form for the stretch run."

1- Bedard should not be compared to Eaton/Hill...totally idiotic statement on your part.
2- It's true that Bedard would prevent, probably Tillamn from being in the rotation. However, if they are to become a contender, and THAT is the goal, then replacing Tillman w/ Bedard would be be a GOOD idea. I thought you wanted the O's to succeed, yet you wish to continue w/ unproven rookies to compete instead of Bedard to retard their, so far unsuccessful careers.
3- Huh?

Really, I asked you weeks ago what your agenda is...you obviously have one, but now I'm too confused to get it.

IMO...I would take a chance on Bedard for exactly the reasons you stated: to obtain a pitcher w/ major upside who would come relatively cheap in order to become a contender (not IF the O's are one). The O's are rebuilding yes, but they are almost rebuilt now, and a healthy Bedard would be icing on the cake.

John NYC said:
"Brummie,
I hope you are enjoying the services of a highly skilled Berlin dominatrix, who through pain will help you find the happiness you are so clearly lacking in your life."...funny

Reid in York...nice, that's how I view baseball also. If you can't enjoy it, go bowling, skydiving, badminton or something else...

Long season, short life...enjoy.

Hey owen,

Would you feel the same way if you were told that offering big contracts to add players to a team that doesn't have a foundation to compete would mean adversely affecting the team when the young players blossom, and the team becomes ready to compete?

If the fans deserve a competitive team, then it's the GM's job to put one together. That doesn't mean failing wildly to demonstrate that an effort is being made to make one happen immediately; it means putting in place a mechanism that will build a franchise that can be competitive for the long term. That's what the fans deserve.

Knowingly or not, you're praising MacPhail for fixing the mess that Angelos made of our farm system while advocating for MacPhail to operate at the major league level the way Angelos did. It's the Dan Snyder defense: Well, sure we're losing and all the free agents we bring in are total busts... but at least we have a committed owner.

Roch-

The Hot stove show on MLB Network said Bedard was hitting 92 off the mound in throwing sessions this week.
Now, that is only a few throws here and there and he is far away from game shape.
However, HE feels and I have now read that the M's feel he will be ready by MAY!!!

I thought the point of baseball was to stockpile as many top arms as possible. Bedard, when healthy, is just as good as anybody, AND he is PLAYING FOR A CONTRACT.

I think this is a bad move on the O's part, and I think his 2010 stats will prove my point.

Why not go incentive heavy with an OPTION for 2011? I don't get it.

Give him a PLAYER OPTION IF he pitches more than 20 starts in 2010.

The O's will NEVER pay for a top tier player. Webb, Lee, etc. The ONLY chance the O's have of acquiring one, is to catch lighting.
I agree with the guy on the last post, for the 2010 Orioles NOT to have either Bedard or Harden is a joke and a total fopah.

The 2010 version of Erik Bedard is not a difference-maker. The value in signing him would be to structure a 2010 deal with the ~$1.5M base plus incentives with the absolute need for a team option fo 2011. 2011 is where he could be close to the top of the rotation talent that would slot very well in the O's rotation after we (likely) say goodbye to Kevin Millwood.

At his best, he was 6-inning pitcher prone to ask out of games based on his pitch count. Being ready to pitch in May or June means a very conservative build-up of his innings and workload. Nice to have in 2010 at best. It was like the Braves seeing if Tim Hudson could come back last year after Tommy John. His performance in 7 starts led them to resign him. I would let Seattle be his rehab year in 2010 and pounce if he displays that he can be the pitcher we saw 2 years ago. Seattle, given the price they paid for him has more of an organizational vested interest in getting a return for Bedard even though they have a new regime that did not make the trade.

Best case is he signs 1-year deal with Seattle and is available next off-season after showing he is healthy.

Ironic and humorous how the little boy in his mommy's basement is now singing the praises of Tillman and Berken. Add "HYPOCRITE" to the little one's numerous names.

Hey Roch, any truth to the rumor that you, Tom Davis and Phil Wood are planning on doing a show from Berlin?

Chris in Hawaii -- AWESOME list of intro tunes. Aside from some hot Venezuelan beats, Wiggy's ZZ Top, and Wieters intimidatingly euphoric "Hell's Bells" (Ann Marie, I know he stole it from Hoffman, but Hoffman is about to go on Social Security and Wieters isn't a reliever. I think it should be OK), the intro music was PAINFUL last year. B-Rob went from Hypnotize to some Christian rock trash (the music, religion is your own matter), and Markakis had this DIFFERENT, new, and stupid "Country Boy" song that made me want to stab myself in both eyes. Everything else -- largely forgettable. Your list would not only have people bopping, but would be a great addition to the real "Country Boy" AND highlight B'More as a haven for committed hipsters.

HEY EVERYBODY!! Erik Bedard is employed by...drumroll...nobody as of now. So please, at least wait until you have any ACTUAL information before deciding whether the Orioles did right or wrong in this matter. And while you're at it, we just lost Sarfate! Oh, wait, we didn't. Wait until the facts are in before praising or flipping out over it.

Ryan -- You are half-right. The Orioles will not pay for a top-tier PITCHER in free agency (or most likely, as I read it) for the excellent reasons given in the past. I'm OK with going after somebody myself, for the excellent reasons you could give, but you've been making this point and generally listing the available quality pitchers (and rightly, as your point was about Bedard). But given what the organizational philosophy appears, I don't think we can judge just yet about position players. I think you're right in that the Orioles should pursue Bedard, but going from there to X will NEVER happen (when X is not Sidney Ponson)...

Roch when you get to Spring Training can you post a how to get around the Complex and what's avalable for fan access at the other fields

Ryan, you freak out about every little thing you read one way or another, kinda strange and fatalistic. It's just baseball man.

I was wondering, could this be a stunt by Bedards agent to get the most money possible? To my knowledge only the Orioles, Royals and now apparently Mariners had any kind of interest in him. Nobody had made a formal offer up until a day or two ago. You cant be certain that the offer was that good to begin with anyways. From what I saw from reports it ranged from 1.5 - 2 million base with incentives that could earn him an extra 7 - 8 milion.

I have always thought the best thing the Orioles could do if they where interested in Bedard is offer him a 3yr deal with excelartors each year of the deal and put his butt in the pen and use him the way Arthur Rhodes was used under Davey Johnson. Maybe sparingly use him as a spot starter but primary focus being to pitch the 6th and 7th innings every other day.

I also find it curious that Brian Roberts and Nick Markakis apparently vouched for Miguel Tejada to come back but yet didnt or wouldnt publicly do the same for Erik Bedard? Hes been the first pitcher since Mike Mussina for the Orioles that you had the sense of - hey we can win every game he takes the mound, at least that was my impression, even through all the injury BS.

Ryan said:

The O's will NEVER pay for a top tier player. Webb, Lee, etc. The ONLY chance the O's have of acquiring one, is to catch lighting.
I agree with the guy on the last post, for the 2010 Orioles NOT to have either Bedard or Harden is a joke and a total fopah.
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First off, your misuse and misspelling of the phrase 'faux pas' is comical. The phrase 'faux pas' is French and means "a slip or blunder in etiquette, manners, or conduct" (from dictionary.com). Calling the Orioles not signing a specific player a blunder in etiquette sounds like someone trying to impress others with his fancy vocabulary. In literary terms, this might be called a malapropism.

Secondly, it's nice to know that you can tell the future. Can you let me know what Saturday's Powerball numbers are going to be? For you to seriously state that "The O's will NEVER pay for a top tier player" is ludicrous on its surface and insulting to players such as Markakis and Roberts. It ignores the fact that the O's have in the past paid for top tier players such as Alomar, Belle, Palmiero, Tejada, Lopez, and others. You can argue whether or not those players were successful here, but saying that the team will NEVER pay for a top tier player is a flat out lie.

Thirdly, you assume incorrectly that all the Orioles have to do is offer the right contract and Bedard will come running right over with his tail wagging, grateful for the opportunity to earn his next large contract by pitching in the AL East. Seattle is closer to the playoffs than Baltimore is for no other reason than that the AL West is a significantly worse division than the AL East. Maybe he likes it there. Maybe it reminds him of his native Canada more. Maybe he likes Starbucks. Maybe he likes the rain. It suits his personality, at least. In any case, you cannot assume that players will just jump at offers because you want them to. It doesn't work that way.

Roch,

Looks like Bedard will be a Mariner after all. In the event this is the case, I was just wondering what your take was on why he chose Seattle and not Baltimore. I apologize if you have already addressed this.

I also wonder what kind of relationship Bedard and Tejada had while playing together in Baltimore? As an outsider, I liked to think they were friends and maybe the signing of Tejada would encourage Bedard to come back for round 2.

Thanks, and enjoy the snow
-KB
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I really don't know why Seattle over Baltimore. He'd have to answer that one. Not sure if it was about the money because I don't how high the Orioles were willing to go. He seemed to grow more comfortable there, and they took pretty good care of him during his rehab. He seemed to get along fine with his teammates here. - Roch

Mstrchef13 - Great point (#3)...wish everybody understood that. So many posters seem to think that just because its offered, the player will come. Unfortunately (or fortunately maybe), we don't know all the reasons why guys agree to contracts or not. Yeah, they tell the media all the politically correct things, but you never really know.

I have been reading the response of the Mariner's fans to the news that Bedard likely will resing with them and most of them say that he is lazy and only pitches for however long he wants, which is about 5 2/3 innings and that he will have another injury. Do the O's really want that.

mstrchef-
I'd love to compare educational background with you. If you want to put a way to meet up here.
I do consider not signing either of those 2 a blunder in conduct, you didn't include "a mistake in action", which is there as well.
So, I feel the usage is correct. As for spelling, I'm not a fruity chef, who has France on the brain, and I didn't fell like looking it up for a freaking blog post. I notice you understood what I was going for though, which is all I really cared about.
As for insulting Nick, which I didn't intend to do, I should have put, top tier Free Agents.
And I'll stand by my theory that the O's will NOT sign any Free Agents who would be considered marquee, or cost more than 15 a year. If at some point, I am wrong, I tell you what, I'll buy you a beer. Again, just get me your info somehow.

Since you have so much spare time, why don't you shove some "Foie gras" up your tank.

Roch, loved watching you guys talk about Twitter, Facebook, text messages, etc... even if it seemed somewhat unintentionally funny. It was great hearing a lot of O's/baseball talk as always and makes me want to listen to you guys more often if I can catch it on the radio.

FYI, MASN does tweet links to blogs when they are updated, including yours, so you're sorta on there.

Ryan:

It appears that you are defining a top tier free agent as someone who gets paid $15MM or more per year or is considered "marquee". How do you define a "marquee" free agent? Someone with a big name? If the O's had signed Delgado, would that have counted? I just want to be clear what you mean, so that I know what I am disagreeing with.

Also, it appears as if you believe that the team will NEVER in their future history do this. Will it count when, in three years, they sign Brian Matusz or Matt Wieters to long-term extensions, or are you only talking about players from outside the organization? Ideally, the team is in the process of developing players from inside the system, which will minimize the need to sign a big contract from someone else. Typically, it is starting pitchers and outfielders who get the big money, and we are well on our way to not need to sign someone at those positions for quite a while. The only position I can see signing someone from outside the organization to a huge contract would be at 1B, and that's only if their internal options fail to progress. I expect the Orioles to be in the mix for Gonzalez during the trade period this summer, and I expect that unless Snyder wows them during this season that they will look seriously at free agent 1B in the 2010-11 offseason. I believe that the O's didn't look seriously at any "marquee" free agents this year because (1) the position players didn't fit our holes, and (2) the only big-time starting pitcher available had injury concerns and didn't appear to have any interest in coming here.

Going back to your original post in this discussion, if you consider Bedard to be a top tier free agent then I totally and completely disagree with you. With all the depth the Orioles have at starting pitcher, I don't see any reason to spend money on guys like Bedard, Sheets, Harden, and others who are SEVERE injury risks. I'd bet on Berken becoming a solid #5 starter before I'd bet on Bedard making it through the year without another injury. I could be wrong, and I'd be more than willing to admit it if I am, but I don't think so.

MSTRCHEF-
No, I am not counting Bedard as a top tier FA. That's my point, that they have to take fliers on guys like him and maybe get lucky that he will return to "Marquee" form.
And, I am saying strictly Free Agents. Not extending players inside the org.
And, Marquee can vary from one year to the next. Hanley, if a FA NOW, would be marquee, in my definition.
Texiera, was a marquee.
For instance, Helton, 8 years ago would have been a marquee, but not now. The same for Delgado.
I mean, a FA who is the stud or 1 of the studs of that free agent class.

Actually, I have the perfect case in point. Lackey was the top arm in this class. Macphail HIMSELF said they are not going to be able to spend the money to sign him, or compete with the Sox and Yankees in doing so.
Well, EVERY top teir FA is on those 2 teams radar, so, my point is, we will NEVER grab one of those types. Unless a salary cap or something is put in place in the future and... you know. (I'm not crossing my fingers)

The O's are not a team that is going to say to themselves, "ok, we are going to sign this player, no matter who we are bidding against".
You HAVE to know what I mean. It was the same with the Chapman signing. They said to us (the fans) long before any offers were made that basically we weren't gonna be able to sign him unless no one else offers.

My point will be made NEXT year. Jose Reyes will be a free agent. The O's will have an opening at short. They will continue to have plenty of money. I have a feeling Jose will have a MONSTER season this year. Coming back from injury, getting a little older, more mature, better protection in the line-up etc.
The O's would be the PERFECT fit for him since Roberts will be a year older, could be moved to the 2 spot to let Reyes hit lead off. Anyway, it won't happen.
Now, if they are 500ish around July 31st this season, and the Padres are way out of it, and they said this week they basically have NO shot to extend AGon, the O's MIGHT trade for him, or maybe even next offseason, and in that rare case, would they grab a player who WOULD have been a marquee player had he hit FA.
The main point is, the O's have gotten into this strange thing where they publically bow out of a signing, before offers seem to even be made, they basically prepare us for dissapointment.

p.s. I got my BS in Criminal Justice at MD, then my Master's in C&CJ at MD, paid for more or less by Uncle Sam after giving him 18 months in Afghanistan. I am one of the youngest, if not THE youngest Senior Foreign Affairs Specialists with the DOD, where I have to keep going back to those 2 dumps several times a year.
I don't like someone questioning my intelligence, when I KNOW what I have accomplished to get where I am in my life, for mispelling the phrase "faux pas", which translated means "a false step"...which I feel this would be for the O's.

Ryan:

I understand your point. I just don't have the problem with the O's not signing big name free agents that you do. I think that there will be a time in the very near future, when the O's are ready to contend, that they *will* be in on those free agents. I'm perfectly ok with them not being in on Chapman or on Lackey. I think that Lackey is an injury risk, and that there is no way that Chapman is a better prospect than Strasburg, and the Reds will be paying Chapman twice what the Nationals are paying Strasburg.

I think that the Orioles are being judicious with their payroll because they know that in a few years they are going to have a gigantic payroll due to arbitration raises for the youngsters who have come and will be coming through the organization.

I apologize for the unintended insult regarding your intelligence. As a teacher, I have a natural inclination for correcting people when I think they are wrong. Given my reaction to Brummie's dismissing my profession I totally understand why you felt the need to defend yourself. Again, I do apologize. I was not thinking, and I should do that more often.