Moose Milligan

I'll agree with you but not SG because you're slightly more palatable.

Mmmmm, ok. I believe I said: Nowhere did I say they don't have a pile of money. We agree that they had a high payroll at one time. But they haven't been winning for years, attendance has been decreasing and for 2018 and 2019, it has been awful. If you're suggesting - that despite declining attendance numbers and a pandemic that but a significant hinderance on what they could make this year - that this team can still have a high payroll, we just flat out disagree there. They clearly can spend more than they are now. I will agree that they can spend more than they are now. How much that is specifically is up for debate. And neither of us really know for certain. Ok, if you say so.

I think you're pretty new here, SG is not. That's how he argues, and he's been doing it for a long, long time. You're not telling him anything new, he just doesn't care.

But they didn't keep winning and didn't build it the right way. We can quibble as to what happened there but the issue is that they didn't. I should have been clear in my previous post, even when they were winning, attendance was middle of the pack. It was never at the top, so it's not like attendance was ever amazing. Again, let's find a team that has a high payroll that is perpetually in the middle of the pack to the bottom half of attendance for years on end.

Was it sustainable?

Attendance has been down, perpetually in the bottom half of the league going back to 2006, except 2014 when they were 6th out of 15 and it's been abysmal for 2018 and 2019. Some people will scream "MASN money!!!!" but I'm also not sure how you can just say "it's fair to say" they have a lot of payroll they could add. Again, no one has access to the books, no one knows for sure. I am not sure how a team can sustain 120+ million in payroll for years on end when the attendance is where it is. I'm too lazy to look and I also don't really care but I would be surprised to find a team that has a payroll in the range that you deem acceptable for the Orioles that has the attendance records that the Orioles do for a number of years in a row on end. I agree that it's about how you spend it but I'm fine with the Orioles not spending it if Elias deems that whatever's out there isn't worth it.

The thing that gives me hope is that he walked at a better rate than I expected him to when he got to Baltimore. There still should be some room for improvement. I'd be happy with a 40 point separation between his batting average and on base percentage. Anything over that would be a nice surprise.

I'll also tack on that I don't believe that this franchise is sitting upon giant sums of money and is refusing to spend it. I think they can spend more than they already are, for sure. But how much more? None of us really know and it's obnoxious to assume that it's WAAAAAY more just to fit a narrative because bashing ownership is a dead horse that we all love to beat.

Yeah, I don't think you were totally clear, @Philip

Yeah, @Philip, which is it? He may turn out fine or he's not going to succeed?

Might not have been the best to the left and right, but could he pick it?

I think Mountcastle looked decent in LF last year and I was very vocal about his defensive shortcomings. He's not a bad athlete. I'm not sure why you think he's not going to succeed anywhere except first.

Yes, because they're typically the best athletes and can pick up a different position. Adam Jones started off as a SS before moving to CF.

Mullins probably isn't on the radar for anyone. I know he's not on the radar for SG. He's a 4th outfielder. We're obviously going to get into his sample size for 2020 because that's what we do around here. He hit .271, which was respectable and a .315 on base percentage which is not good. We also need to factor in that a fair amount of his hits were bunts. And is that sustainable? I'm assuming not. It's not a plan for moving him forward. Vavra could be a good get if he can hit and play the position, I have no faith in Hays.

Perceptions are realities.

A thread on a baseball message board that's delved into dictionary definitions for verbs is pretty sad.

Good for that guy. Glad he found success somewhere.

Santander: .265 batting average, .325 on base percentage, 25-30 homers, 90-110 RBI. Hays: .270 batting average, .340 on base percentage, 18-22 homers, good defense. Hays staying healthy is the most important thing, though.

You must be new here.

Ahhhh, there's the vintage Sports Guy! Seems like a nice 2008 version.

Wieters was fine. I was hard on him at times but from a defensive perspective he was great. It would seem like he'd have to have a hot September to reach the stats that he would each year, but whatever. His cold spells were abysmal but when he was hot he was a joy to watch.

I don't know about you guys but I'm thrilled!

Well he wasn't here for awhile, figured it was like an OH DL or something.

Speaking from experience there, SG?

Probably. We just can't have nice things. The hype around AR is too much, you'd think we'd have learned after the whole Switch Hitting Jesus thing.