Tony-OH

He had a good PR person write that up. The statement didn't talk enough about John to be from John.

If "mastering" AAA was so important, why did Elias say he has an excellent chance to make the team out of spring training? Why even say that if they really didn't think he was special and was ready. All he did is go through spring training and show that he was ready at everything but hitting left-handers (though he did hit a Grand Slam off Kikuchi). I said all offseason that I didn't think Holliday would make the team because he probably wasn't ready, but then he went about spring training showing everyone he was actually ready, only to have the rug pulled out from under him. Elias is typically very shrewd and how he gives out information to the press, but he mis-stepped on Holiday. He should have never have said he had a chance to make the team if they had every intention are using service time manipulation to gain the extra year (which is smart long term). All he had to say is they're looking forward to seeing him in the spring and although he has little AAA experience, they'll be taking a long look at him. Then when they send him back to AAA, everyone understands but by giving false hope and then by Holliday having a great spring, it left him with a disappointed fanbase and egg on his face.

That's not rumored, that's directly from the mouths of both Elias and Hyde. The lineups are developed through a process between the Analytics folks/Sigbot computer, medical staff, and Hyde. Unless that's changed at some point, Hyde has never had full control to write a lineup card out. I never heard that she had anything to do with the lineup card though and I doubt it's being "dictated" to Hyde by an assistant GM on his whims. Nothing is done on a whim in this organization.

Great post. I just hope it's been budgetary limits put forth by John "McScrooge" Angelos and not a risk aversion by Elias that has kept us from acquiring this kind of impact talent through FA/trade. We'll have a better idea at the trading deadline and great idea by next spring training.

The OP did not denigrate the whole board as Angelos apologists though. This thread was a dumpster fire from the beginning due to some of the wording used in the OP. Anyways it's almost opening day, let's just get to the fun struff.

Here's the last thing I will say on this. I do have to give Elias/Sig some leeway here. hey signed Adam Frazier to a ridiculous $8 million contract and then played him pretty much everyday until mid season and the team still won 101 games last year. Unlike Frazier, Kemp cost 1/8 the salary is will not be a starter on most days. He's a bench guy who will be able to give Urias and Westburg a break here and there against a tough righty and if needed, can fill in out in LF. Unless an injury occurs, I imagine he will be gone when Holliday is deemed "ready". Why is here vs Wong? Maybe because he has a little more positional versatility and is a bit better defender at 2B according to OAA.

He was graded better by OAA with 0 making him major league average at 2B and is playable in LF as well.

It was not an "obviously a light-hearted, hyperbolic remark." And yes I do take things seriously when people generalize the board as something it's not. I actually agree with your take that the Angelos family were terrible owners, but I'm not going to sit around and watch your dog out our community with BS.

Thank you. It was an awful take because a few people in a thread about his death, didn't dance on his grave. "Can" actually hit it on the head with Peter Angelos as owner. He was not a good owner, and his son was an obnoxious self-important know it all who sought the lime light despite doing one thing right, and that was hiring Elias. This board has been 95% or more negative towards the Angelos family owning this team and saying THE BOARD is the biggest Angelos fan club is ridiculous.

The fact that you are defending that garbage post about THIS BOARD being the biggest apologists is pretty disheartening. As a long time member you know that it wrong and I would imagine would want to defend it instead of giving that poster his awful post any credence. Just because people weren't going to dance on Peter Angelos' grave and some wanted to remember what they perceived as his good points as owner does not make this the biggest Peter Angelos fan club. Nothing, and I mean nothing annoys me worse than when the board is generalized, especially when it's not even close to being right.

Idiotic statement. Good Lord, I almost want to suspend you for saying this because it's completely and utterly ridiculously wrong. The vast majority of this board (probably upwards of 95% or more) have been pretty anti-Angelos family as owners. You owe this community an apology.

Very well stated. It might be a combination of the things you mentioned. We all agree that Elias has been amazing at developing this team into contender with a deep system that should help them compete, but he's rolling the dice that his veterans (Urias, Mountcastle, Hays, and Santander) are going to keep producing at their levels and also hoping he's going to get more innings out of Wells and Irvin then they needed to give last year. Maybe he will end up right. Perhaps Montgomery was a luxury for him and perhaps he'll end up right, but there is no way the deal he signed for was something this team should not be able to afford. But again, who knows what financial restraints he was under? I guess we'll know more at the trading deadline this year and especially after next offseason with Rubenstein as owner on whether Elias is risk averse, frugal, or just truly believes he can put up a contender without bringing in high priced proven players.

I'll be honest, that is a deal the Orioles do everyday of the week and twice on Sunday. If you can get Jordan Montgomery for two years for $50 million when you still have an extremely low payroll that has been extremely low for years, that's pretty weak. Now had he signed a 5 or 7 year deal I would have said I get it, but 2-years on a team that's in it's window? Sure, the Orioles very well could get Means and Bradish back, but they might not. Is Mike Elias really saying he's perfectly fine with Dean Kremer starting game three of the playoffs this year again? I understood the Tony Kemp signing to degree and as long as it's to fill in for a bit and not all season, I really don't have a huge issue, but not getting a lefty starter that fits like a glove into your rotation on a two year deal is really, really poor. Now maybe Elias is still hamstrung until the new owners officially can cut checks, but I fear this says more about how Elias wants to operate. Sure, he went out and got Burnes when he knew Bradish was hurt, but between this and not pulling the trigger on a Cease deal because they wanted Jordan Westburg, (when you have Mayo and Holliday ready to play 3B and 2B respectively) tells me that he's going to be very skittish with trading his guys or signing expensive free agents. Elias told us today that he's risk averse. Perhaps that will continue to work and the team will win 100 games again and get hot during the playoffs and win a World Series. Or perhaps he just showed us his hand. He's a risk adverse GM who wants to show the world that he can win without doing these contracts. It makes me very concerned that if he's not willing to pay guys now, when the team's payroll is still embarrassingly low, what is he going to be like when he HAS to pay Gunnar, Adley, Holliday, Bradish, Rodriguez, Mayo and Basallo? Unless new ownership changes him, I think we better be happy he gained an extra year or Holliday and Mayo for a few weeks in the minors because we're getting 6 or 7 years of these guys before they are getting paid elsewhere. Maybe I'm wrong, maybe Elias was hamstrung still, but I just think he's risk adverse and likes to be known as the smartest guy in the room who can do it cheaper than anyone else. Unfortunately as a fan, we could have had a team with Montgomery in the rotation pitching half his game with Waltimore keeping those right-handed heavy lineups at bay. But I'm sure Cole Irvin will be just as good.

This was 100% the player's union fault for not really fighting to end this service time manipulation. This complicated system could have easily been solved during the last CBA, but instead, they did nothing significant to make teams not do this. Do I blame Elias for using this loophole, or course not. He actually would have been silly NOT to have used it when you get an entire season of control for a few weeks in the minors. A extra year or Holliday and Mayo is certainly worth a few weeks in the minors. Now, would I have preferred Holliday making the team and a 10 or 12 year contract being announced, sure, but that's unrealistic until the ownership change and even then it's unknown yet whether the new owners will be willing to do this or if the players would be willing. Afterall, you don't take Boras on as an agent to give away your earning power. As for his father being frustrated for his son, I 100% get it. Nothing he said was wrong. We all know this was about service time manipulation and we all know Jackson Holliday and Coby Mayo were ready for the big leagues.

At least he only cost 1/8 the price of Frazier.

There has to be at least one head scratching move by Elias each spring. I remember watching Kemp with the A's last year wondering why this guy was still in the major leagues. Unless he's willing to go to AAA to be depth, I just don't get this move at all. I mean, I get that Westburg, Urias and Mateo are all right-handed hitters and Elias would like a left-handed hitting utility guy, but Kemp basically only plays 2B and LF. I don't know. He had a decent camp with the Reds before being released after opting out so I guess he's here until Holliday is ready.

Obviously anyone in my top 30 that's not going to start in AAA. But outside of the top-30, the guys I'm most interested in following are: 1. Levi Wells (#31) - Didn't get a look at him after signing so interested to see how he looks. 2. Michael Forret, (#39) is a young pitcher who never pitched with an affiliate and has a good arm. I'm interested in seeing how he looks in pro ball. 3. Alex Pham, (#41) - Looked really good this spring and his statcast data gives me a better thought that his stuff could work at the major league level if he improves his command. 4. Aron Estrada, (#45) - Was hurt early in his FCL season and never fully recovered. I'm looking forward to see how the bat plays at Delmarva. 5. Edgar Portes , (#47) - Supposedly had a great spring. Looking to see if that goes into the regular season. 6. Aneudis Mordan (#62) - Is his bat real? Will his arm rebound to becoming playable behind the plate?

While Spring training games get real boring towards the end, I'm not a fan of this late March opening. I mean, the weather is not that much nicer in early April, but April just feel right for the start of baseball.

Not a lot connecting Montgomery to the Orioles at MLBRumors. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/players/jordan-montgomery Just to be clear, I think this is a fluid situation and while Montgomery makes perfect sense for this rotation, having the Yankees, Red Sox and Mets in on him does not make me feel good that the Orioles will sign him. The only real hope is Rubenstein wants to make that initial splash as owner, which could be the reason Montgomery has not signed yet. But that last part is speculation by me, not based on anything I've heard.

100% Hall would have made the team as the 3rd lefty in the pen. Perhaps the Orioles would have traded Urias to make room for Ortiz, but once Holliday showed up, where was he going to play? Ortiz was the exact guy you move for a TOR, even one that you only get 1 year of for now. And I was a big supporter of Ortiz and think he's going to be a quality big league shortstop.

Cullen will get released long before Castillo. I don't see Castillo not making the Tides.

I'm good either way, but do have something Thursday night that I will need to get to quickly after the game. It would be nice if the rain just stayed away totally for sure.

This was the other part of the equation I forgot to add. Now this also could mean he's got a better offer from one of the NY teams and he was just waiting to be cleared of the QO so he's more easily able to go back on the FA market next year. But, no one gives him a better ballpark and chance of winning than the Orioles.

Makes some sense now doesn't it? Can't make any signings right now, but what better way to open up a new season by announcing a new official owner who announces a great big splashy singing. I'm not saying this is what's going to happen, but it makes some sense to why has hasn't signed yet. He makes a lot of sense to this rotation.

Montgomery is reportedly looking for $20-$24 mil a season, and if the Orioles could get him for something like that over a two-year deal with an opt out, it seems to make some sense. Montgomery probably would not be ready to pitch until Late April so some of his value has already come off, but Montgomery would look pretty good in this rotation. While the O's will most likely get Means back before June, Bradish is a wild card and I don't think they can count on him this year. If he does come back, great, but the chances of both Means and Bradish coming back and pitching strong down the stretch is probably not great. Kremer's velocity seemed to be down this spring and Irvin was very underwhelming after his first appearance of the spring, so Montgomery may not be luxury, but rather could be a necessity at some point for a team that fancies itself a World Series contender. I've heard the Orioles are in touch with him so this does remain an opportunity, though I do expect one of the New York teams to sweep in and get him.