clapdiddy

Thanks for the info, Luke!

I'm a little (ok...a lot!) ignorant on the draft dollars. If Knight and the O's don't come to terms, can they use his slot money to sign any other players, or is it only dollars you save that can be used for bonus money?

I agree with you about the Cubs. I think if we were in a position to rebuild quickly, the addition of Russell or Baez would provide stability up the middle defensively. I think we are far away from a quick rebuild and should be looking long-term. I don't think the Cubs have those kinds of prospects in their system. I would much rather we look into another team.

I'm bored with the subject and I'm bored with Davis in the lineup. So...I guess I'm doubly bored!

I'm wondering if they would have offered this same deal to Manny when they gave it to Davis if he would have taken it? They probably would have needed to give him more money during the life of the contract, but the total dollars would seem to be in the ballpark.

Because he asked to be moved...or is that "demanded"?

It's hard for guys to lower the bat-head on it.

Unfortunately, one of them will have to stay.

Despite his obvious over-achievement this season thus far, I'd still rather have Flaherty over Vielma, Sardinas, or anyone else we could currently have in the "utility guy" role.

Have you watched him hit in the last season and a half?

Agreed. His apparent athleticism (for a big guy) was one reason why I said that he'd last longer than Ryan Howard, who never struck me as being athletic. I don't know what happened to him, but he's definitely lost a lot of that athleticism.

I think he's likely to hit between .200 and .230 this season. I see him around a .215/.300/.415 season. I truly hope I'm wrong. I just don't see how he's going to do anything with the bat speed. It's just not there any more.

Now...if we could just find someone/anyone to take Trumbo.

I can see that argument, but I hope the Orioles look more at the big picture. I'd rather throw money at another "innings-eater" than trade Givens at this point.

Would have to be Brach. 4 years of Givens> 2 years of McHugh.

As reluctant as I was about Cashner, I have to agree with you. If Cashner is a viable #3, I have no problem with us bringing Tillman back in the fold, preferably on a MiLB deal.

Is Cashner hurt?

Now, if we could pull one off with Mr. Machado...

So did Rafael Palmeiro's first two free agent contracts.

I just meant that he was limited to one position, which also happens to be the position to which Trumbo is best suited.

I'm not sure that risk aversion and bad judgement aren't equivalent. The Trumbo contract was livable. Only 3 years, not too big of a deal. The problem with it is that we already had a limited fielding guy in Davis and our best up-and-coming prospects were outfielders. Davis had a history of PED usage. Could that not be considered a risk?

A risk averse team doesn't sign Davis and Trumbo to the contracts they received.

Agree with your take on free agency. It's a nice way to supplement your team, but not build one. You are absolutely right about developing pitching. It's obvious that we'll never attract a top-tier starter, so we need to develop them. I think we've got some good, young arms in the system. I just hope that we stop worrying about TTTP and focus on commanding the fastball.

I'm not sure these two are contradictory.

And just to add to this, we are likely stuck with him for the next two years. So, let's hope he returns to his normal output.