Moose Milligan

.680 OPS? Aren't you the guy with high standards or something?

Hope not!

1. Serious enough to end his season. 2. I'm assuming every player that's sustained an injury would be doing something to strengthen whatever ailed him. 3. Because maybe he's still rehabbing. Or maybe he wanted to spend time with his family. Or maybe he wanted to work out on his own. Or maybe because the Orioles set aside an offseason plan for him. 4. Who knows? Do we know what any players are doing to improve over the offseason if they're not playing winter league or Arizona fall league or doing something else that's visible? Are we concerned with what Rutschman is doing to improve over the off-season? I'm only interested in Mateo as a player because of his speed. Other than that, I don't see how he figures into any long term plans past being a utility infielder.

There you go with your facts again.

You should post more often. Good info, for sure.

Yeah, but you can't paint an honest picture if you're not talking about the low minors, too. Look at a guy like Mayo, is it inconceivable he's not at Bowie by September of 2022 and on top 100 lists? As @Just Regularsaid, if that's his filter, it doesn't allow for him to look at guys who could make a big impact in 2022 and be in Baltimore by 2023.

I kid, I kid. Yes, scoop up all the lottery tickets. They can't be all fancy $25 scratchoffs, we need some dollar scratch offs, too.

Yeah, but he's also gotta meet a deadline.

Yeah, well...it's dragging a bit. It's been years. IMO, 2018 happened and I think we all saw the writing on the wall. The regime at that time wanted to see if they could coax one more year out of that core group and it just wasn't there. I personally thought they should have traded everyone at the deadline of 2017, I think a lot of us felt that way. The 2018 team sucked, it was so damn bad...but it forced the Orioles to recognize that it was time to tear it down, even though it was too late. A 72 win team that year, maybe they would have tried to just keep adding players through free agency and keep it afloat.

I don't think they're pretending to build. It's certainly not going as fast as any of us would want it to, I think it's something we can all agree on. A lot of us want to see some money being spent in order to bolster this rebuild and have a more appealing ML team. Playing cheap? I'll agree with you there.

Building a great complex in the Dominican?

Caballero probably looks like Charlie Hough compared to these kids.

Caballero, 21? Cuevas, 19? Far, far too old.

Maybe that guy last year was Mullins. No longer a prospect by the strict terms of the definition but still a guy who blossomed. I mean, that's a lesser prospect that suddenly popped, it just took him awhile to get there. That shouldn't really be discounted.

I didn't read the article, but the fact that he ignores some of the lower level minor leaguers here, as noted by @interlopermakes the quoted segments a little...disingenuous? Half assed? I dunno. I don't think they're telling the whole story and looking at the whole picture. And even as good as fangraphs is, it's still a national publication with writers that can't possibly look at the whole story for every ML team. I hate making the 2020 Covid excuse but we can't pretend that hasn't hindered development here. It did for everyone, I'm not suggesting that the Orioles are alone in being impacted. But if we had a whole 2020 season, I think AR would have probably been in Baltimore this past summer. Maybe G-Rod, too? At that point this rebuild would look different than it does now. We've got the #1 overall prospect in the game as well as the #1 pitching prospect in the game. I will say I think we need more top flight arms in the system but we should be pretty loaded from an offense perspective with Mayo, Gunnar, Stowers, Cowser, Kjerstad, etc. And we've got the #1 pick next summer again. We all wish it was farther along than where it is now...and I hate the whole "this is the year" notion where...well, this is the year. But I do believe 2022 will be what 2021 should have been if Covid hadn't wrecked havoc on the 2020 season.

If ever.

Yeah, but he sort of does. The what separates the Dodgers is that they're able to spend to keep their homegrown talent, and cheaply acquired talent (Turner) when in Tampa he couldn't have done so. The Dodgers are pretty much a model run franchise due to the fact that they're able to spend to keep a guy like Kershaw in the mix for the bulk of his career.

I don't disagree with this. I think people are just saying they're ready for the "build." Getting AR, G-Rod, Hall and others up, bringing in difference making free agents, etc. I think people will say the rebuild is over when we're winning 90+ games.

It’s my hope that Elias can set this up so there’s a continued amount of talent coming through the system that’s sustainable and we don’t have to fret over a rebuild. And if we have to rebuild, it doesn’t take 4+ years.

I think Buck is at an age right now where it would be reasonable for people to wonder if he wanted to manage again, that’s probably why we aren’t hearing that comment being made. If he gets a WS ring, is he a hall of fame manager? He’d have the same amount as Earl.

Agreed. I hope that money, if spent, is allocated to locking up our young talent. We have yet to see if Elias can spend money. Whether that’s the Angelos brothers holding him back or him deciding not to plays a part, too. Or maybe he steps up and lands some massive, game changing FA deals. To me, it’s the biggest question about him as a GM. Setting up the system, getting into the Dominican, he’s been great. But we need to see if he can negotiate and spend on significant talent.

That was a joke, bud. Relax. SG can be tough but he’s nowhere what he used to be.

When did the dork who started MLBTR all of a sudden have an opinion that mattered? That site used to be like a Drudge Report of baseball trade rumors…no original content, just compiling tidbits of info in one place. Tim Dierkes has as much insight into the Orioles payroll plans as the guy who made my breakfast burrito this morning.

Yeah, the OBP is definitely propped up by his batting average.

I agree with both of these outcomes. If he somehow cracks a .300 OBP, that would be something.