foxfield

I don’t see anything that said the Orioles had too much pitching talent. Or why you would read it as such. Simply another way for you to drop your belief that until the Orioles have the three best SP in baseball, they are not serious WS contenders. And while that is admittedly an overstatement of your point, I think it’s you who has a pie in the sky view.

The answer to the question is obviously no. Now if the question was would Gunnar have been worthy #1 pick the answer seems obvious that he would have been. But taking him where he went allowed the Orioles to maximize their draft which is what every team hopes to do. You can argue whether Adley was the right pick but if Gunnar went first there is no way the two picks work as well for Baltimore.

I don’t think I could make a list of 26 people I’d rather have than Gunnar.

Ordinarily a logjam is a good problem to have. Unfortunately for the O’s this one has some good and bad with it. On one hand it is remarkable that Bradish could be back so soon and the potential arrival of Means also has to be welcomed news. That the O’s are 16-8 without these two is also a really good thing. But the O’s do not have a hoard of optionable players and both Bradish and Means are potentially arriving but are not locks to either be effective or to have staying power. In theory both could be back out as quickly as they arrive just as easily as they could return to prior form. Either could also prove to not be as effective as hoped. But you have to find out so they are coming and the O’s will in my opinion try to minimize DFA’ing potential pieces as long as possible here. I still do not have high expectations for Bradish or Means, but color me very pleased that we get a chance to find out as we close out April. How this goes is going to be important and hitting on one or both of these moves would be extraordinary.

For me it’s the fascination with people who are fascinated at the people fascinated with Roch’s fascination with McKenna. And it’s not particularly close.

The question isn’t whether you offer it. It’s whether you are willing for him to accept it. It’s going to be pretty easy if Santander stays healthy to math out why he is worth more than $20M. But the pick associated with signing him could well affect the market. If you would love him back, make the offer. However, if you have any qualms about paying him for one year, you don’t offer the QO.

I would give him a deal based on what Seattle did. Large incentives for GG, MVP, All Star etc. and I’d try to avoid opt outs. (Although Julio Rodriguez’ did have them). That deal was 12 years 209M and could extend to almost 500M with 2 MVPs. And I’d tell Gunnar that these were the types of deals that would allow extensions to his teammates.

I looked at that draft today. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a very good draft. I don’t think there were many nuggets that the O’s missed on. They were just unfortunate to have a draft with so many in the top turning out to miss. But yes the difference is amazing. Hopefully they continue to grab top talent.

You mean the Montgomery who had a 9.0 ERA AGAINST US in the playoffs and still won? Yeah. Bud you keep beating this horse, but as it turned out the Orioles didn't pitch, hit or play def the same way in the playoffs. IF they had done that, perhaps it would have proven that the pitching was the reason the 23 playoffs ended for the O's. I mean I agree that I wish we had gotten Montgomery. But if Grayson pitched against Texas the way he pitched against Tampa or Wash in his last two starts...at the very least the O's do not get swept. And maybe they get on a roll. We don't know. We do know that the best hitter for the Orioles in the playoffs last year was Jorge Mateo who outhit the entire team in one game (except Gunnar) going 4-5 in Game 3. That kinda tells you something. And not specifically to your point, but even though Bradish exited game one in 4.2 innings, he outlasted Heaney for the Rangers. Game one comes down to the Jacob Webb HR, otherwise the bull pen does good work. Win Game 1 and well everything looks different. It didn't. But not because of the point you consistently make that the Orioles failed to get a starter like Montgomery. They failed to perform pretty widely. As is won't to do in a three game series. Simply repeating it over and over, doesn't make it so.

6.2 and 0 runs is not 7 and 1. I don't know whether you owe blood...or your head...but I assume missing by a whisker saves you. Try to do better next time though ok?

I think this is part of what is going on. Hays in my opinion is pushing a bit because he wants to stay and keep playing. In the off season he announced he would love to sign an extension. He ia a player I have always liked and admired. He was a bright light on some dark teams without much talent. He played all out when there wasn't much to play for except pride. However, the tide is rising and it would appear guys like Hays will be replaced. Whether he continues as a 4th OF guy or not IDK. I hope he comes out of it and plays his best. But I still expect Cowser to get the most abs.

Who had the OH turning on Jackson Holliday in less than 10 days? I took the over, but I am an optimist.

I don’t love Kevin Brown. But I like him a lot. I also see a ton of potential for him to grow. I think the O’s are lucky to have him and I think if our future is as bright as we hope he will be wonderful to chronicle that journey for us. John Miller isn’t coming back. Nor is Joe Angel. Kevin Brown is a nugget.

Best headline ever. Well done.

I’d make a run at it in the order of Gunner/Adley and then Holliday. I’m not unwilling to do something with Burnes but I think I’d be out before he says yes. I would also try to do incentives to make deals more lucrative. Like the deal Seattle did with Julio Rodriguez. I think going that long without incentives is unwise and giving opt outs only to the player is financial folly.

I’m happy to have em both.

I think the cut off is pretty fair. I say under but over wouldn’t be a surprise. I think the kid will settle in fine. Everyone is worried about the bat. I am slightly concerned about the defense.

You don’t have to really do a ton of research as this wasn’t long ago. Jones was the consensus #1 and it was virtually unanimous. In the thread in our own 2022 draft, the immediate take by many…including you, was that the Orioles were not taking Jackson because they thought he was the better player. The thought was that Jackson was an under slot pick foregoing the better player, Jones, in order to save money. Here is your first post to the news that Holiday was the Orioles pick:

3 things: 1). Leave 2). Him 3). Alone

Maybe we can trade him for a couple of stud pitchers...

2.50 ERA? How the hell are we going to beat anyone in the playoffs if we don't have at least 7 guys lower than that? Are you crazy?

Is this a game thread?

Oh I have it and I am glad. I have never really liked soccer but watched all three seasons of Ted Lasso and it’s as good as any tv show ever done.

I know you do. And certainly hope you are. I agree with you so I hope I am wrong too.

I will admit, as a 60 year old, that I thought I had pretty much seen the only great Oriole teams I was gonna see. I thoroughly enjoyed 96-97 but PA messed that up. And 12-16 was awesome but it always seemed like we were just short. 60’s-early 80’s, we expected to be good most years. In the way that Yankee fans do today. One thing I’d like to remind everyone. If I could go back and tell my young self anything about those days it would be this. Appreciate this time and enjoy it. Yes losing in the WS in ‘79 hurt but it was absolute heaven compared to the dark run of 14 years of total suckitude. This is a great time. We have a fantastic team, likeable players, a pretty damn good manager, one of the games best GMs, one of the best farm systems and we hope to find out we have one of the games best owners. Im not saying fans shouldn’t fan. Everyone should feel free to complain about whatever. But, don’t forget to enjoy this. Because it’s not guaranteed. No matter what we think the future holds. I am certain when Cal Ripken, Jr caught the final out in the 1983 World Series, he thought it was the first of many titles. I know I did. I was wrong. And I intend to enjoy every game of this. Win or lose. And feeling that way has made me almost laugh in these late inning comebacks like last night. Yes we will lose on an errant throw from Gunner occasionally. But I believe in this organization and I think it is finally driving in the right direction. It’s a great time to be an Oriole fan and I can’t wait to use my ticket plan to see my first game of the year on 4/29 against the MF Skankees.