O's have made final offer to vlad

[Lateralus]

Thank you for the wonderful insight. Have you checked out the Baltimore Sun's Orioles forum? You'd fit in well.

Boy howdy, we got ourselves a bonafide comedian.

[baltfan]

Because Andy MacPhail isn't speaking to the press and basically has the whole wharehouse on lockdown when it comes to knowledge about roster moves... he wants NOTHING going to the press.

If I had to choose between my source and a writer... i'll take my source 1,000 times out of 1,000 times.

AM said in an interview on the MLB channel that they have interest in Vlad and indicated there had been negotiations. When asked if the reports that a deal is close were true, he said that was a newsflash to him.

[Ransom]

Vlad is actually a good player coming off of a good season. This is not the kind of move the Orioles make. They only sign good players coming off of injuries or once great players coming off of bad seasons.

Why all the hate?

AM has done a very good job this off season, and frankly I am glad he is not over paying for a 36 year old who can't play the field. The guy can hit and might be worht the risk, but it is a risk.

If we get him great, if not that is fine as well.

[nerdlinger]

I think as long as they keep Pie and Reimold in the system (with Nolan being at AAA to start), I love the idea of signing Guerrero. It makes our lineup that much better and it will help the young pitchers by (hopefully) giving them plenty of runs to work with.

I haven't seen him play recently but is Vladimir THAT bad in the OF that he couldn't start occasionally?

[OFFNY]

Why all the hate?

AM has done a very good job this off season, and frankly I am glad he is not over paying for a 36 year old who can't play the field. The guy can hit and might be worht the risk, but it is a risk.

If we get him great, if not that is fine as well.

Absolutely. We have Nick Markakis, Adam Jones, Felix Pie, and a healthy Nolan Reimold in the outfield right now. Plus, Luke Scott could even occasionally play a game or so in both the outfield and at first base when he isn't DH-ing. No reason for a mid-market team that is on the rise with a lot of good YOUNG starting pitching and plenty of outfielders to overpay for Guerrero, who is in the twilight of his career.

.

[BRob411]

A friend of mine said heard that David Ortiz guaranteed that Vlad would resign with the Rangers. I know they both are good friends and are from the Dominican Republic so Ortiz must know sense something from talking to Vlad. I'm not going to use Ortiz's guarantee as a precursor to things to come, however I just get the sense that Vlad will resign with Texas and the Rangers will move/trade someone to make room for him (Michael Young?).

[Crazysilver03]

A friend of mine said heard that David Ortiz guaranteed that Vlad would resign with the Rangers. I know they both are good friends and are from the Dominican Republic so Ortiz must know sense something from talking to Vlad. I'm not going to use Ortiz's guarantee as a precursor to things to come, however I just get the sense that Vlad will resign with Texas and the Rangers will move/trade someone to make room for him (Michael Young?).

Trading Michael Young would result in very poor P.R. for the Rangers.

From this morning:

Rangers president Nolan Ryan says Michael Young isn’t going anywhere.

“He is going to be our DH on opening day,” Ryan said at a luncheon for the Round Rock Express on Thursday.

Besides that, Young has a limited NTC to 8 teams until May, when he gets 10-5 rights.

[Chevytrckman3]

A friend of mine said heard that David Ortiz guaranteed that Vlad would resign with the Rangers. I know they both are good friends and are from the Dominican Republic so Ortiz must know sense something from talking to Vlad. I'm not going to use Ortiz's guarantee as a precursor to things to come, however I just get the sense that Vlad will resign with Texas and the Rangers will move/trade someone to make room for him (Michael Young?).

I just do'nt see the need for Vlad in Texas. They need pitching, and at Michael Young's salary, i'd say he's un-tradeable at this point, unless they eat most of his salary. And, i think they owe Michael Young a little more respect than that. I don't take anything to heart right now. If true, that could be a friend (Ortiz) just trying to stir the pot a little for another friend (Vlad).

[Snutchy]

Baines would be a good argument, but Vlad isn't Harold Baines. Not even close. He's a significantly bigger human being (50 pounds heavier) and he's 6 years younger than 42 and slower than creeping death.

It's not a stretch to think Vlad's due for a DL stint or worse.

So let it be written

So let it be done

I'm sent here by the chosen one

So let it be written

So let it be done

To kill the first born pharaoh's son

I'm creeping death

Metallica.

[BRob411]

I just do'nt see the need for Vlad in Texas. They need pitching, and at Michael Young's salary, i'd say he's un-tradeable at this point, unless they eat most of his salary. And, i think they owe Michael Young a little more respect than that. I don't take anything to heart right now. If true, that could be a friend (Ortiz) just trying to stir the pot a little for another friend (Vlad).

You could be right about Ortiz stirring the pot and about the Rangers not trading Young. I'm just tired of all the rumors and speculation, one person says Vlad and O's are close to an agreement (Bowden) and others are saying it's nowhere near being close to being done (obviously this is more accurate at this point), enough is enough LOL. It truly has become "As the Vlady Turns" LOL.

[Chevytrckman3]

You could be right about Ortiz stirring the pot and about the Rangers not trading Young. I'm just tired of all the rumors and speculation, one person says Vlad and O's are close to an agreement (Bowden) and others are saying it's nowhere near being close to being done (obviously this is more accurate at this point), enough is enough LOL. It truly has become "As the Vlady Turns" LOL.

Yeah. I'd be a little more nervous, if we needed Vlad. It wouldn't hurt my feelings to see the O's kick the tires a little, then leave Vlad out to dry. Kind of like he did us 7 years ago. Then again, it wouldn't hurt my feelings to see him batting 5th on OD either lol.

[BRob411]

Yeah. I'd be a little more nervous, if we needed Vlad. It wouldn't hurt my feelings to see the O's kick the tires a little, then leave Vlad out to dry. Kind of like he did us 7 years ago. Then again, it wouldn't hurt my feelings to see him batting 5th on OD either lol.

At the end of the day I would still feel good about the O's if they didn't sign Vlad. I know I unfairly criticized Andy MacPhail this week (I was having a bad couple of days) but I truly believe that he has done a good job this offseason. Adding a starting pitcher (Duch, Millwood?) would offset the potential non-signing of Vlad for me. Buck Showalter being here for a full season has me really excited about the O's, so while I have greatly warmed up to the idea of Vlad being an Oriole if it doesn't happen it would be no big deal in the end.

[Snutchy]

Thank you for the wonderful insight. Have you checked out the Baltimore Sun's Orioles forum? You'd fit in well.

He is entitiled to his opinion. I don't see where he is trolling or anything stupid like that.

How often do you see big time posters around here say the same thing? I can copy and paste for you about 100 posts from just today alone.

[boog26]

Yeah. I'd be a little more nervous, if we needed Vlad. It wouldn't hurt my feelings to see the O's kick the tires a little, then leave Vlad out to dry. Kind of like he did us 7 years ago. Then again, it wouldn't hurt my feelings to see him batting 5th on OD either lol.

I really wanted to get him back then. Now, I hope we bid him down to a Garret Adkins type deal. I'm afraid that's all he he worth at this point.

[Brotha J]

The only drama in this situation is created by O's fans. After weeks of getting a tidbit here and a tidbit there, we can safely assume that the O's have made a fair offer and are unwilling to stray too much from that offer.

If Vlad wants to play everyday for 4-5mil, then he will be an Oriole. If he wants to play for a 'better team' or a more 'hispanic friendly or familiar city' then he will play elsewhere. The drama is created by those of us who realize we are a better team with Vlad.

The reason some of those in the know say nothing is imminent is because nobody but Vlad knows how close he is to signing. At this point he knows what his options are. It's up to him to decide what he wants to do. I don't believe that MacPhail or any other GM is going to have an epiphany and offer him a completely different offer from what's already on the table.

Make no mistake Vlad will make our team better. People can talk about Pie or Reimold's develpoment all they want. But they aren't really prospects anymore. We should have a good idea of their celings by now. People will get injured and they will have a good chance to prove they belong. Have faith that Buck will be able to work out the details.

I'm much more interested in Arrieta, Tillman, Matusz, BB and Britton's development!!! That's our future much more than a LFer. Vlad would help them considerably. You can look at WAR and fWAR all you want. But there's much more to it than that. It's about protection in the lineup and slotting players where they can excel.

I whole-heartedly believe Vlad is worth more than 2-3 wins for this team. He would bat cleanup and make our players, including pitchers, more effective. Our young staff will be effected much more than Pie or Reimold.

I wouldn't overpay him to the point he's untradable, but for 4-5 mil he's worth every penny. From Buck's reaction at fanfest, seems he agrees.