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spiritof66

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Everything posted by spiritof66

  1. I used to think that the only obstacles for a proposed owner being approved were insufficient financial resources to weather a business disaster (like a pandemic) and invovement in sports betting. I guess it's down to the first of those.
  2. I'm wondering whether Mateo's CF play in practice has convinced the Orioles he's not yet ready to be put out there in ST games -- or, even worse, that there's no use in experimenting because he's not going to be an ML-quality backup CFer. I hope neither of those things is true. It just seems like something that ought to be tried to help shape the roster.
  3. That's true. The sale will close after all the conditions to close have been satisfied. One of those conditions is MLB approval. We don't know what the others are -- I don't, anyway.
  4. I don't see this pointed out elsewhere, apologies if I missed it. Article V of the MLB Constitution, Meetings, provides in part: "The Commissioner also may conduct any meeting by teleconference or videoconference or conduct any vote by mail, facsimile, electronic mail or other means." https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6784510-MLB-Constitution
  5. I think Elias is done, unless he sees something he likes from other teams' roster cuts or Wells, Irvin and the other potential starters in the system flame out pretty dramatically.
  6. I hope you'll excuse me for taking this seriously. I lived in a neighborhood with a perfectly flat street, about 70 yards long and 25 yards wide. We played touch football, wiffle ball, boxball, wireball etc. there. (We had no Little League or other organized sports other than in school.) We often had to retrieve a ball from an adjoining yard, and when a new family moved in we had to break them in. On summer nights, we played varieties of tag and hide-and-seek games that took us through neighborhood yards, some belonging to our parents and others not. We didn't differentiate, except to avoid a couple where our presence might start a dog barking and giving our location away. So I'm a big proponent of letting kids go on your lawn if it's part of their recreation.
  7. I didn't think my regard for Adley could get much higher, but it went way up when I read that he's a big fan of "I Think You Should Leave" on Netflix.
  8. Looks like this guy can pitch a little.
  9. I often feel that things I have valued in my life have vanished, been diluted, or are on their way out, replaced by things I don't much care for or just don't understand. A day like today helps me forget all that. Oriole baseball (even of the early spring training variety) on TV via mlb.tv, with the knowledge this is likely to be the last season (or part of one) of Angelos ownership. The sun is shining (at least in New York). It's a good feeling.
  10. I don't much care whether the Burnes signing was proactive or reactive. The Orioles finally acquired an important piece to upgrade the rotation, and Elias showed his willingness to trade valuable prospects to improve the team. I also don't care much that I didn't know about Bradish's and Means' situations for a few weeks, giving me the illusion that the rotation was in great shape to start the season when it wasn't. Here's what bothers me. Once the Orioles knew about this stuff, they should have been pursuing pitching help, preferably a starter but alternatively a reliever, or both, in anticipation of moving Irvin and/or Wells to the rotation. One of two things is true. Either it's considered dirty pool for a GM to seek trades and free agent signings while knowing about new needs arising from injuries and not disclosing those injuries and that need to trade partners or player agents, in which case the Orioles disabled themselves from upgrading their pitching by not making these developments known, or else there's no problem with trading or signing while keeping those cards close to your vest, in which case the optimal time to make a trade or sign a free agent has passed without the Orioles adding much needed pitching help.
  11. Thanks for not re-naming the ballpark Angelos Stadium.
  12. Any time you acquire a pitcher, you run a risk that he'll become injured, ineffective, or both, so that you might be committing to pay him for some period of low, or zero, or even negative value. Obviously, the longer the contract you inherit or enter into, the greater the risk that will happen. The Orioles and other teams presumably have data that quantify that risk for each pitcher based on his history, age, throwing motion, pitch arsenal, etc. If the risk is high for Cease, and that wouldn't surprise me, maybe he has never been the right guy. But that risk will always be there. If you want to acquire an established pitcher, that's part of the package. I'm convinced that the Orioles' chances of qualifying for and advancing in the postseason in 2024 would be increased substantially by the addition of an upgrade to the so-far-four-member starting staff. That will require spending (in dollars or prospects) and taking on risk sooner or later. Since July, it's felt like "later" to me. I understand that some will disagree, and that they may turn out to be right. I also understand that the decisions to stand pat have been dictated by John Angelos -- doesn't matter to me since I don't know and won't know who is playing what roles in these decisions.
  13. Just a guess, but contributions from international signees may have something to do with it.
  14. Jordan Montgomery's wife is a doctor, and she's apparently doing a residency in Boston. https://www.nj.com/yankees/2023/11/ex-yankees-pitcher-and-free-agent-target-moves-to-boston.html I'm guessing that they thought it would be nice to spend the off-season together.
  15. I was close to certain that Mateo would become an effective hitter, slapping ground balls for singles and occasionally driving the ball to that spacious left field for doubles and triples -- an ideal #9 batter who would open up the right side for (and induce fastballs to) Mullins and occasionally bat lead-off against LHers -- and would be a Gold Glove contender at SS. My concern was with how his improvement might complicate the SS situation over the next couple of years..
  16. Change it to "The infield depth seems to be leading to one conclusion – a trade should be coming," and I'm fully on board. Elias has been extremely cautious and risk-averse when it comes to using dollars or talented players to bring in talent with established major league value. That trait (along with ownership's stinginess and profit-hoarding) has made him very reluctant to trade a guy who, while not likely to get many ABs with the Orioles (and, in some cases, may not even get a roster spot for another year), might blossom into an All Star-level player if traded. That speculation is strengthened by the fact that the centerpiece of the trade likely would be for a starter or starters who could be shelved due to injury at any time. You can throw in the fact that Elias has never made a "big trade" in which he parts with high-level (or potentially high-level) talent, or a big-dollar free-agent signing, and surely doesn't want to sully the strong reputation he's built by making his first big trade or signing one that turns out badly: any of the IFs he would trade could be a valuable, Adam Jones-caliber major leaguer for a long time.
  17. I agree that Kjerstad looks like he's ready to hit major-league pitching. I'm not as sure he's ready (or ever will be) to be good at catching major-league hitting.
  18. For me, that's the question: will Kjerstad be good enough defensively to be an everyday player in the OF? From what little I've seen of him, I have doubts. I hope he can get enough playing time to dispel those doubts by June.
  19. Easy call for me: September 17 vs. the Rays, in part because I was lucky enough to be there, and in part because it seemed like a lost cause multiple times. That game had just about everything, other than the NYYs or BJs on the losing side.
  20. I would doubt that. Why would someone invest money in the Orioles with a risk that he won't end up as the majority owner?
  21. I think history has shown, or at least it's commonly believed, that young, cheap, good starting pitches often (not always) will help you win you a lot of ballgames but usually won't get you very far in the postseason. Elias doesn't say much that commits him to any particular course of action, but I thought he had come as close he can to pledging that he would be adding veteranosity above the Gibson level to the rotation. It certainly looks like he or John Angelos or both are backing off after reviewing the prices in money and talent for what's available. In the Orioles' case, I don't see a strong case for saying a cheap starting rotation will free up cash to address other needs, unless you count augmenting the Angeloses' personal fortunes as among the team's needs. I don't see the $20 or $30 million that might be saved as making a significant contribution to retaining young talent through long-term contracts, and I'm not sure what other team needs can or will be addressed with the savings.
  22. Wouldn't that depend on who replaces Elias? He's been very good, but I don't think his talents are unique.
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