Moose Milligan

Adam Loewen still isn't 40 yet if you can believe that. I'd like it more if it were inactive professional players, too. I bet Rickey'd still want to play.

No one needs to encourage me to buy a pack of baseball cards.

I almost laughed, but I caught myself. It would have been more of a snicker than a laugh and that would have been rude. I just smiled and tried my best to look confused when he said that. The thing was is that we were having a decent conversation up until that point, he wasn't completely ignorant to baseball. I mean, the shop sells other stuff than baseball cards so I didn't know if he was more coherent when it came to other sports but he knew what he was talking about up until that point. Really nice guy but that was just weird and I didn't want to laugh at him to make him feel bad.

....I didn't say we should trade him. I said I'd listen to offers. I don't think his value is going to increase right now. If anything, it's going to start to slip a little. I like Mullins. But this is a funny anecdote that happened the other day and I'll share it here because I'm bored, it was a weird and funny moment and I also think people overrate Mullins just a little bit. So I'm at this baseball card shop near my house and I'm talking to the guy behind the counter and we're talking about Rutschman. I'm telling him that I'm an Orioles fan and that I'm looking to gobble up some of the Rutschman cards that are out there because I really like him and also because, well, they're going to increase in value over time, most likely. So he asks me "What do you think of the leadership of the Orioles?," which is a vague question. Leadership as in the Angelos clan? Elias and Sig? Veteran players? So I didn't really know what to say but I said "Overall, pretty good," because like Meat Loaf sang, "Two out of three ain't bad." Then he asked me what I thought of Mullins and I was told him that I liked Mullins and I hope he can get back closer to his 2021 season his year. Unprovoked, he goes "I think he's a future Hall of Famer." Said it as confident as could be, no hint of sarcasm or anything. I said, "Really?" And he just nodded. "Yup. He's a future Hall of Famer." "Well, I never really thought of him that way but maybe I should reconsider that," and I paid for my cards and left. Now, WC, I'm not saying you think Mullins is a future Hall of Famer but I also don't think Mullins is completely irreplaceable. I do believe his 2021 season is an outlier. He can still be a 3 or 4 win player but I don't know how long he's going to be able to maintain his speed and that's a key component to his game. As far as who to replace him with? I hope Cowser rakes and shows he can play CF this year, that would be my pick as a replacement, initially. I'm also hoping Fabian mashes and can show that he can play CF, too and is knocking on the door in 2024.

Jo Adell is on a freight train to Bust Town. I'd pass on that, too. I'm curious to see what we can get for Mullins. I think we could get two solid prospects from a system in return for Mullins and maybe a Dominican scratch off ticket, too. Your assumption that Reynolds is worth more is incorrect, at least based on last season. Mullins had a higher WAR. I think Tony has posted the information but I do believe Mullins' sprint speed has decreased over the past couple years and that's not going to get any better. If we're going to move him, now's the time to do it. I'm not actively beating the drum to trade him but I would be listening to offers.

Adam Loewen is playing for Canada, according to a buddy of mine.

**** Colby Rasmus. Should have been, but it wasn't. You say Markakis was average but I think he was slightly better than that. Not by much, but he was still a good player. We could have used him in 2015 and 2016. It was silly to think that Snider was going to replace him. That said, I agree that they should have retained Cruz.

Of all the people to pretend to be. That’s so random. But it made me pull up Gary Roenicke’s baseball reference page. He had some really good years.

I know it wasn't and that's ok. The article you posted, while rambling (the writer even admits to it in the end) is good and the notion of targeting guys that they think they can improve is a good one. I'm sure there are certain things that Irvin does that the Orioles felt that they could improve upon.

I don't know, maybe. But on the flip side of the negative coin and to make @HakunaSakatahappy with a glass half full take... ...we're ****ing due.

Low expectations means you're never disappointed.

No, I know. I just think sometimes we look at our prospects and kind of take for granted that they're all going to pan out and be good. We know Rutschman is. We have a really good idea about Henderson, it looks like he's going to be fine. We can't hit on all these guys, they're not all going to be good players. And I think drafting and developing pitching is the hardest thing to do, so if one of these guys is going to fail or, at the very least, not live up to expectations I'm going to bet it's a pitcher.

I hope you're right.

I wouldn't be surprised at all.

Also speaking of disappointments, I can't wait for the reaction around here when it's announced that Grayson isn't going north with the team out of ST. I know, I know, I know what Elias said, that he's expecting him to make the rotation out of ST. But I believe there's going to be some "things he needs to work on" before making his debut. Coincidentally, those things will align with whatever service clock manipulation will occur. If you guys think that situation is out of the realm of possibility, you clearly haven't been paying attention.

It's not that I don't think he won't be a good pitcher moving forward, I just think he's going to have some speedbumps along the way. An ERA north of 4.5 wouldn't surprise me along with some nagging injuries that require him to be shut down early.

I hope they do.

I'm expecting him to be disappointing. Just a gut feeling.

If Irvin gets 20+ starts (and it looks like he will) the trade will have been significant, like it or not. Might not be a big FA signing like we were all hoping for but it'll have had a significant impact on this team for this year.

I think the biggest developments will be guys like Basallo and other prospects from the Dominican. Bencosme, Tavera, etc. A guy like Jud Fabian is up there, too. I'm confident that Rodriguez will be good at the ML in his first season. Henderson is going to be good. Holiday will do well. I'm not too worried about those guys. Let's put it this way, we're going to graduate Henderson, Rodriguez, probably one of Westburg or Diaz, Hall...and I still think we're going to head into 2024 with a top 5, top 10 system with more guys that are in the organizational 10-20 range now that'll move up. Plus whatever draft picks we get. Good time to be an Orioles fan, for sure.

If he's having issues with a straight 4 seamer, I'd rather see him try to adopt a 2 seamer, too. I always search for a 4 seam grip but I threw a 2 seamer as well.

Nah, just kinda crabby and feel like taking it out on an unsuspecting 2nd baseman.

If he doesn't play 160+ this year it'll be a terrible season from him.

Kind of my thought, but this is from Update Series and Rutschman isn't part of it.

Thought we'd be talking about Frazier by now.