O's have made final offer to vlad

[TheBee]

My opinion. This guy has played the game the way it is meant to be played. He keeps his mouth shut, plays hard, rakes the ball, and has had a brilliant overall career. To my knowledge he has never said anything negative about the Orioles organization or the city of Baltimore. He is entitled to try to get the best deal he can. None of us know anything about the inner workings of these negotiations. Nobody is criticizing D. Lee for admitting Baltimore was not on his radar at the beginning of the offseason, and didn't he spurn (if you want to call it that) us once before as well? Now, he's a Baltimorean through and through, right? He accepted the deal here...eventually, because it ended up being his best choice. And I have no doubt he'll play with passion for us now that he is an Oriole. If we are lucky enough to sign Vlad Guerrero, it will be no different. He will play with class and represent himself and the city well.

[ChaosLex]

Despite reports last week that that free agent DH Vladimir Guerrero and the Baltimore Orioles were nearing a deal, there has been little movement toward an agreement, according to The Baltimore Sun.

An industry source told the newspaper that the two sides have had "no significant conversations" recently.

http://www.sportingnews.com/mlb/story/2011-02-01/orioles-vlad-guerrero-no-closer-to-a-deal

[clapdiddy]

Sheesh! I can't wait until pitchers and catchers report. I'm sick of this "drama"!

[paulcoates]

I am starting to hope we put a deadline on the deal with him. We need to sign him or just move on

[BRob411]

Sheesh! I can't wait until pitchers and catchers report. I'm sick of this "drama"!

I'm sick of it too, I'm tired of waiting. I'm not as excited as I was last week about Vlad coming here although that could change if he decides to come here.

[statman]

The silence is a bit eerie, isn't it? I just think there should be more chatter between a free agent and *seemingly* the only club that can offer him an everyday spot in their lineup. Is it Vlad's ego? Is it AM trying to lowball him believing that we are bidding against ourselves? If the reports were correct, then we have offered him a 1 year deal that would make him the highest paid free agent DH of the 2011 offseason...so why hasn't he accepted it yet?

Even if we don't sign him, I hope we get more insight into how these negotiations unraveled.

[NCRaven]

I am starting to hope we put a deadline on the deal with him. We need to sign him or just move on

Why cut off your nose to spite your face. How does that change or improve our position? Also, that's really not MacPhail's style. You are talking about Mr. Percolate here. He has consistently been more about taking as long as it takes to get it right than making the fast move that looks better to the fans.

The answer is to stop hitting the refresh button every five minutes!

[RVAbird]

The silence is a bit eerie, isn't it? I just think there should be more chatter between a free agent and *seemingly* the only club that can offer him an everyday spot in their lineup. Is it Vlad's ego? Is it AM trying to lowball him believing that we are bidding against ourselves? If the reports were correct, then we have offered him a 1 year deal that would make him the highest paid free agent DH of the 2011 offseason...so why hasn't he accepted it yet?

Even if we don't sign him, I hope we get more insight into how these negotiations unraveled.

I think it's pretty obvious. A while ago, AM told Vlad's agent we were interested on a one year deal for a very low base salary around what the other mid-30s DH's got (~2 MM). To this, Vlad's camp said "um, no thanks."

Vlad waited around for a while without any other serious offers and saw almost all of his suitors move in other directions.

AM came back and said "We're still interested if the price is right. We're still not going to match your demands, but we can make a final offer of 1 year/4.5 MM. Feel free to think it over, we are not imposing a deadline, but we won't increase the deal."

Now Vlad is waiting for a Deus Ex Machina from another organization. There's no need for him to accept the deal immediately, since BAL has not imposed a deadline, but he knows the offer's not getting raised. There's no need for the two sides to be in communication until Vlad accepts or rejects the offer.

[BRob411]

The silence is a bit eerie, isn't it? I just think there should be more chatter between a free agent and *seemingly* the only club that can offer him an everyday spot in their lineup. Is it Vlad's ego? Is it AM trying to lowball him believing that we are bidding against ourselves? If the reports were correct, then we have offered him a 1 year deal that would make him the highest paid free agent DH of the 2011 offseason...so why hasn't he accepted it yet?

Even if we don't sign him, I hope we get more insight into how these negotiations unraveled.

I think his ego is getting in the way but from his perspective he's coming off a year where he hit .300 29hrs and drove in 115 RBIs. He thinks he deserves more money but the market is not dictating that and he may be having a hard time accepting that at the moment.

[paulcoates]

Why cut off your nose to spite your face. How does that change or improve our position? Also, that's really not MacPhail's style. You are talking about Mr. Percolate here. He has consistently been more about taking as long as it takes to get it right than making the fast move that looks better to the fans.

The answer is to stop hitting the refresh button every five minutes!

Because I have a feeling he is shopping our offer, which means he doesn't really want to be here.

So make him decide. Besides, if Andy has a plan B, and Plan B signs elsewhere, then we could be out in the cold.

[Dipper9]

Because I have a feeling he is shopping our offer, which means he doesn't really want to be here.

So make him decide. Besides, if Andy has a plan B, and Plan B signs elsewhere, then we could be out in the cold.

Plan B is Reimold/Pie platoon with Scott at DH, and I'm sure AM let Vlad's agent know we are more than happy to break camp with that situation. If Vlad wants to play, its our deal or nothing. The ball is in his court.

[El Gordo]

He's waiting to see how close, if at all LAAA, will come to the O's offer. They are the only other possible option, IMO, and then only as a part time DH. But I bet if they offer $3MM or so, he'd take it rather than play here.

[EtotheKallday17]

A lot of people are saying Vlad doesn't want to play here. I don't think its the fact that he doesn't want to play here, its just that he's waiting for offers from other teams that he would rather play for. So yes, while there are other teams that he would probably rather play for, I don't think he doesn't want to play here.

[El Gordo]

A lot of people are saying Vlad doesn't want to play here. I don't think its the fact that he doesn't want to play here, its just that he's waiting for offers from other teams that he would rather play for. So yes, while there are other teams that he would probably rather play for, I don't think he doesn't want to play here.

He isn't going to get any offers that are more than the$ 3-5 MM we have made. So if he goes elsewhere, it will be for less money and less playing time. That tells me he really doedsn't want to play here.

[EtotheKallday17]

He isn't going to get any offers that are more than the$ 3-5 MM we have made. So if he goes elsewhere, it will be for less money and less playing time. That tells me he really doedsn't want to play here.

Or that he would rather play somewhere else. Baltimore still may be high on his list, but he wants his first choice to come through. I know it seems unlikely because he hasn't signed here yet, but its possible.