Moose Milligan

After reading Connolly's column in the Athletic, I kind of get it. This guy promised to make himself more public and more accessible and hasn't done so. Connolly said the last time he showed his face was on a zoom call to announce the McCartney concert. So it appears that John is only going to make appearances when it's not baseball related. So Connolly shot his shot, I can't really blame him for it. I don't have a problem with some of the content of John's response but the tone was wrong. And John shouldn't be such a b****. Like he pointed out yesterday, the team is on the right track, two back to back #1 prospects, things are looking up for once. I get that it probably sucks to have to deal with the perception people have of his father as it comes to owning the Orioles and that people are probably going to project that onto him but he should do himself some good and make himself more available.

I don't like this either, but some of the umpires out there (Laz Diaz, Angel Hernandez, CB Bucknor) are making this a necessity. I agree with the above, it will take something away from the game. Pitch framing, how catcher's set up, receive pitches, etc...it's a small part of the game, but the game can be decided in the inches. Plus arguing balls and strikes is always a good time.

Also had no idea that was the Baltimore mayor. Dude looks like a middle infielder with a good glove and no pop.

Never really seen John Angelos speak before, but every once in awhile he looks like Dubya with some of the facial tics. It kinda made me laugh. I don't really have a problem with what he said, either. I understand Connolly's question but if it's an MLK event with the mayor and about College Bound, that's what the event is about and the Orioles future plans aren't really germane to the conversation. Connolly should have dropped it but kept pressing.

Fireworks start around 15 minute mark.

"i WiSh tHeY'd aSk tHe hArD qUeStIoNz!!!!!!!1111"

What'd you expect? This whole process has been about a youth movement, being able to scout, draft and develop a young core. At some point it was going to be all about depending on young players for the teams improvement.

Is this the part where @Can_of_corngoes ape**** because we didn’t spend every last dollar available?

Most exciting part of our offseason, hands down. Probably won't see any sort of payoff until 2029 but that's okay. We can all be like "Remember that boring ass offseason we all complained about when they signed Kyle Gibson, Adam Frazier and Ryan O'Hearn? Turns out it was actually AWESOME."

It’s not hot. Everyone’s bored.

Is this just some weird Socratic line of questioning?

Arraez isn't on the table, no. But it's plain to see that the Marlins want a player of that caliber.

Beats me, I've never negotiated a MLB trade before. But I'd imagine they place a certain value on Lopez and what they'd need coming back from the other side, whoever it is. For Minnesota, it started with Arraez at the centerpiece of the deal. So I'm assuming they're going to want some kind of value that equates to what Arraez brings to the table. It seems like if they value Arraez, they want a guy who can play multiple infield spots and get on base at a decent clip, even though if that on base percentage is propped up by a high batting average. Now maybe they'd take someone who plays the outfield who can bring some offense to the table. But no matter how you dice it up, I'm assuming there's a target amount of value they want to get back for Lopez. Seems logical, no?

Unfortunately, no matter how much we yap about it on here, I don't think the Marlins are interested. Can't really blame them, either. I'd probably be annoyed if this were Marlins Hangout and we traded Lopez for Hays and Mountcastle.

I realize that not everyone can have Adley's approach...but yeah, watching these two swing away at practically everything for two months was maddening.

Probably just tell Frobby, he seems to be able to whip stuff up that happened awhile ago. Or if you're really desperate put it on whatever calendar you use (outlook, g-suite) in 2 and 4 years from now to pop up as a reminder on a random date in 2025 and 2027.

I think we're overrating Mountcastle here. Great guy, no question about it...extremely likable. But his skill set isn't irreplaceable. Granted, Lopez's skillset isn't elite and irreplaceable either. But I think it's a lot harder to find a guy like Lopez than it is to find a guy like Mountcastle. I'd rather have him for the 2 years and hope to extend him rather than Mountcastle for 4.

I think our pitching has a lot of question marks, guys we need to see if they can carry over their success from the end of last year like Bradish and Kremer. Some seem to think it's bad, I just see question marks. IMO, Lopez solves a bit of that problem. MLBTR says that the Marlins wanted Arraez, there's no one we really have that can match up with that. I don't see a deal happening between us and the Marlins, despite everyone's best efforts here.

They probably don't, but this is the OH and we're always thinking that other teams won't notice the flaws we berate our players about. Essentially, we think we're smarter than everyone else.

These points are fair, however if it comes to packaging Mountcastle for someone like Pablo Lopez, you should probably do it. And if Mancini is a one year placeholder, I bet he can come close to what Mountcastle did last year. If the argument is who's the better player after 2023, sure, it's Mountcastle all day. But Mountcastle put up a .729 OPS and a 105 OPS+ last year, Mancini was at .710 and 101+ while in Baltimore. The differences weren't that huge. I'm not blinking if the Marlins want Mountcastle/Hays + Urias/Mateo. If we can get Pablo Lopez back, I'm good with it. And if they toss in a minor league lottery ticket from Low A or lower, I'm great with it. Getting Lopez wouldn't completely erase the disaster this offseason has been but it sure would make me feel better about it. I like Mountcastle as a guy, I think he's a good dude but his slumps are excruciating. Hays and his lack of plate discipline are terrible, too. I'd miss Mountcastle a little bit, wouldn't miss Hays at all. And we should have plenty of talent to take over for either Urias or Mateo.

It's a good day when Frobby types OMG just STOP like he's a teenager texting.

Your old lead singer, eh? You should get in touch with @Can_of_corn, he likes terrible music.

Because I'll have been spared the agony of Mountcastle's annual 5 week cold spell and I'd prefer not to see a player who hits like that, you know, all the time.

I'd bring back Mancini for a one year go-round if we dealt Hays and Mountcastle to the Marlins for some pitching. He might want O'Hearn money or something which might break the bank for this franchise but whatever.

I'd love to see Hays and Mountcastle elsewhere. That'd be awesome.