MemorialStadKid

Way too early for gripes. Mr. Elias is metaphorically tasked with raising the rotted hulk of the pieces of the Titanic off the ocean floor, then putting it back together again and then somehow making it not only seaworthy, but a top-of-the-line vessel. The Orioles have been running on spit, glue and wires for over 25 years with no true organizational philosophy and no plan for sustained success. Many former coaches and players often remark that their new teams have a system in place, where the Orioles do not/did not (Leo Mazzone repeated this on multiple occasions). I am saddened that the Orioles will be a horrible team for a few years after tasting those morsels of success from 2012-2016. One thing I refuse to do is be unnecessarily critical of a guy who has a thankless MLB gig and will work in a situation where the ownership is in a shaky place and there's no impact player/franchise player on the horizon. Elias isn't responsible for creating this mess. He should only be judged on what he does. And as of right now, he hasn't done anything. MSK

So you're saying there's NOT a group of people who don't ever, ever, ever want the Orioles to spend money on superstar FAs? Okay. MSK

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. How did I get lumped in with a crowd? I don't advocate - nor did I ever - reckless, endless spending. But not spending when we CAN while other teams improve around us is a very bad thing. Again, this is not a controversial idea. MSK

Please pay attention: http://forum.orioleshangout.com/forums/showthread.php/128490-Locking-up-our-own-players-vs-spending-on-free-agents?p=2992976#post2992976 MSK

When/where did I say I didn't want him? Show me please. I can't edit my posts so whatever I wrote stays. Show me please. Thanks. MSK

I was answering his post. I said "No, I do want Hamilton." Minus the comma. He was attempting to see if I was going to backtrack out of saying I like Hamilton on this team because he called him a "question mark." I was saying I don't have an issue with Hamilton. MSK

HAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAH! Yea, every single off-season it's like this. A superstar FA is available. Then there are like a million bizarre excuses why we can't/shouldn't sign him. Then we don't and that guy does wonders for the team who did step up. MSK

Two points: 1) I won't be "blasting" anyone because it will be business as usual for PA and the gang. 2) I think my tone here has been horribly misunderstood. I am not angry, bitter or reactionary. I am only stating that the Orioles aren't a dirt-poor team that needs to behave like catfish on the bottom of a fish tank. We have money and resources. We still have an attitude (some folks on the OH that is) that we can't ever spend money on anything ever unless it is to shore up current players. We have needs. Serious needs despite our success in 2012. Standing pat will not get us to the same place. We need some superstar level talent right now. Why this is so problematic or controversial a view I will never understand. MSK

No I do want Hamilton. I never said at $25 Million per year. I would love to get him for 5/100. MSK

Is that what I said? MSK

For one thing the bullpen was an incredible thing but I don't see us breaking a 1-run winning deferential record again. Adam Jones is good, but without some protection in the lineup, I don't see him having the same offensive stats. Weiters should not hit 5th or 6th. Again, not without some protection in the lineup. Markakis should be as good or slightly better. Reynolds should be gone. BRob, Hardy and Reimold are - right now - touch and go. We have no idea what kind of offensive power we can expect from those guys if they make it out of ST with no injuries or mental issues. We are a team full of question marks outside of the core. I want the Orioles to make the playoffs again and make the WS! I don't see that happening if we stand pat or make those weird moves the Orioles like to make where we might get lucky (McClouth) or we might not (Thome). MSK

Frobby, that's my point. WE made it last year because of over-performance, excellent managing, the Red Sox collapsing and the Blue Jays not presenting too much of a major threat. We had some stellar - but unlikely - performances from our bullpen and got extremely lucky with the SPs. If anyone believes we will reproduce the 2012 season without significant upgrades is being incredibly unrealistic. It feels like people believe that because we contended last year with the ridiculous small-town-invisible-market mentality that infests these conversations is setting themselves up for disappointment. I was VERY happy we made it, I watched like 90% of the games on TV or the internet, I went to a few of the playoff games in OPACY and NYC and I truly love this team. I just want them to be ACTIVE and stop behaving like we're broke. Is that too much to ask? Does that make me a "troll?" Again, we got VERY lucky last year. That won't happen twice. We need a Hamilton and at least two TOR starters. Proven guys. We've got the money to do it. We can do it. Some fans on OH absolutely refuse to for some reason. MSK

Every single off-season since I've been a member of this community, we have a gang of naysayers who speak out against spending money on FAs. Every single off-season. No matter who is available, no matter how badly we need that person, no matter how easily we could afford that FA, there's a gang saying not to spend money on FAs. Somehow, other teams not named Red Sox or Yankees can open the wallet on a major star (or stars) once every few years. Detroit did it. Toronto did it. Miami did it last year (stupidly, but they still tried). Anaheim did it. No matter what the situation is, people here will still say, "it's not a good idea" or "we don't want to mortgage our future on an aging superstar" or "we don't have any money" or "our guys will improve next year, we should wait and see" and on and on and on and on. It's just amazing to see this stuff after one of the best years in recent Orioles history. MSK

There's a serious disconnect about this subject. After all these years, some folks STILL believe we're a pauper team, with a pauper owner with pauper fans who won't support the team when they contend. 2012 proved that we have the talent, but there are obvious, glaring holes that need to be filled and once again, there's the group saying we can't spend money. Again. After the 2012 season. Sigh. MSK

The first three options are entirely possible. Who here has suggested the fourth? MSK