Keith Law hating on the Orioles big time.

[Hank Scorpio]

[mefogus]

This board is so predictable.

As is your reaction to its predictability.

[G.O.A.T.]

Really? Law has been higher on many of our pitching prospects than most of the prognosticators out there. Is he wrong there too? Or is he only when wrong when those with their heads buried in the sand don't like what he has to say?

If he was blowing sunshine up your butt about the O's this year, would you be saying he is wrong?

This board is so predictable.

Dude get off it already. You are on a website for BALTIMORE ORIOLE FANS! Get it? If Law said this stuff about any other team, and you posted it to their board, what do you think they would say? EVERY fan base has fans like this. I don't get why you keep bringing this up. Why waste your time? Some fans don't ever take off their "team colored" glasses, some fans are very negative, and some fans are in between. You act like because someone disagrees with Law over something that is negative, that he/she is in this group of people that will never accept anything negative about their team. Then you generalize most of the board as being the same.

I don't read Law, but based on these comments, I don't agree with a lot of what he said. I guess I'm predictable to.

[reisig08]

http://www.masnsports.com/steve_melewski/2011/02/keith-law-criticizes-the-os-offseason-moves.html

Steve Melewski did a phone interview with Kieth Law yesterday and let's just say he's not a fan of the O's chances or the moves we made. A few quotes below, but I encourage you to read the whole article.

I understand how difficult the AL East is, but I don't think you can say that we are clearly the worst team in the division and to say we have very little chance of getting to .500

I usually value Law's opinion, but I do think his biases show through a lot of times. And he's pretty arrogant about his opinion too...

My reaction to this is that he has the luxury of looking at things outside of the view of what it takes to be a successful GM of a Major League Baseball team. The moves were made to improve the one year fortunes of a club that has not won in 13 years and to take the heat off of some of the younger players. The moves were made to show other players that the Orioles are committed to winning and Camden Yards is a desirable place to play not only because it's a nice stadium....Law is looking at it for the short term and that, combined with his love of the Yankees and Red Sox (he is one of the key offenders when it comes to over valuing their prospect's talent...), leads to him really not getting it.

I like the moves, and trust the moves, and I see why they were made. This team has improved, and it will compete in a tough division. To say that they are the worst team in a 5 team division is kind of a safe thing to say based on more recent history. If he's right, which history is on his side, he looks smart. If he is wrong, the story is not the O's, but instead the collapse of the Yankees or the Rays, or both. If Toronto is really bad, he can point to a total rebuilding effort. I admire the "experts" who are calling the O's a darkhorse contender more than guys like Law because it takes a bigger pair to predict a 13 year loser as a contender than it does to call them a 14 year loser....

Bottom line on Keith Law? He's just mad that Matt Weiters has not yet made him look good, so he's sour on the O's. Just my take.....

[ChaosLex]

It boggles my mind that any "analyst" can look at our offseason and have something bad to say. I mean, how can you not love the upside?

I shouldn't be surprised by ESPN though. I watched a little bit of Baseball Tonight the other day, and they made out like the only thing the O's accomplished this offseason was signing V. Guerrero.

[clapdiddy]

Well, apparently your version of the truth might hurt, but I think it's a bunch of crap.

The Orioles added two players in their prime in Reynolds and Hardy and filled in areas of need with solid veterans without blocking a single realistic minor league option.

It's pipe dream to think the Orioles just took $8 million from their scouting and development budget. Guess what, the Orioles weren't going to spend that money on scouting regardless. People like Law and other so-called experts in the national media have no clue how things work in the organization so they assume money spent here means money not spent elsewhere.

The Orioles did exactly what they should have done this offseason. They improved in four positions in their lineup without touching their core young starting pitchers.

I'd like to know what these experts think we should have done this offseason? I guess the Orioles are not suppose to better themselves because clearly we are not going to contend right? Bullcrap!

We have our core pitching prospects (minus Britton) here now. Wieters is here now. It's time to get out of the defeatist attitude that the Orioles are supposed to just lay down. Lay down until when? When in the hell are we supposed to "go for it?" Who in the hell are we waiting on?

Should the Orioles do more in international scouting? ABSO-Freakin'-lutely. Should the Orioles pour more money into the Rule-4 draft and hiring more scouts? Sure. But anyone who thinks the $8 million spent on Vlad somehow set us back just doesn't get how things work.

The Orioles success hinges on the continued development of the young starting pitchers, along with the development of players like Markakis, Jones, and Wieters.

I've been a critic of MacPhail when I thought it needed to be said, but at the same time I'm giving him credit for making this team much better than it was last year. Did the Red Sox improve? Absolutely. Are we in the toughest Division in baseball? Right on the mark!

But at the end of the day I don't see how anyone can not think this team is better than the team from last year, a team who's historically bad start made their record much worse than it should have been.

We might not contend this year, I certainly don't know, but I do know that if things break for the team that they can be much more competitive and could be in the wild card hunt.

I completely and utterly reject any notion that this off season hurt the organization's development in any way. If we were trading young core pieces for guys like Lee or Vlad then I could understand, but the only player we gave up of value this offseason with David Hernandez and Kevin Gregg was signed as his replacement.

The only truth is the haters are hating because it's convenient. The Orioles are going to be continually bashed in the national press until they start to win. I completely understand that, but it's sad to see some around here buy into what the national media tells them is right.

Maybe someone shot me up with orange koolaid steroids or something but I tell you what, for the first time in many, many years, I believe in this team. I believe for once they have the horses to challenge for a wildcard if some things go right.

I'd be shocked and disappointed if this team doesn't win at least 85 games. That won't win them a WC, but it certainly shows they are moving in the right, not wrong direction.

Great post! I don't necessarily think Law's or others here that agree with his opinion are wrong, but what were the Orioles going to do?

If we went into this upcoming season with Wigginton at first, Bell at third, and Izzy at short, this place would be having a tizzy. We've added young, very good players at short and third, a mercenary at first, who we'll likely deal during the season if we're not contending, and the same thing at DH.

As I stated earlier, our most attractive trade pieces are too young to be dealing. We have to build around what we have. Hopefully, Scott and Guthrie have great seasons and will be trade targets as well at the end or middle of the season.

I think MacPhail did about as well as he could, considering where we were when the offseason started. Could he have added some more young players? Maybe. I would have liked to have seen us claim Encarnacion and make him the DH/backup corner guy or perhaps some other moves like that. There were some possible other guys we could have claimed as well, but I think they would have been role-players that we could have used.

I think we need to let the season play out. If things are looking bad, Lee, Guerrero, Guthrie, Scott, and others could be great trade chips. If we are in the hunt, I won't be surprised to see us go out and try to get a pitcher at the midway point.

[SilentJames]

There are two ways to look at everything. The Orioles either added players in their primes and a solid vet, or they added flawed injured players and a declining vet.

I disagree with Law's prediction on the last place finish. This is not a last place team, I mean does he really think the Jays will be as good as they were last year? I mean really? Does he see Damon and Manny effectively replacing the production of Crawford and Pena? Really? He think the Yankees' rotation is better than ours, really?

I mean that is his opinion.

I could go off on how the Orioles actually doing something is upsetting the apple cart and that always ruffles some feathers. The Orioles are supposed to be bad - this is how the world works. But that is just a dumb gut-feeling type thing.

The reviews of the Orioles tend to be a bit all over the place because, as it stands right now, no one really knows what will happen. We can try to find a baseline of prodcution for Hardy, Reynolds, Lee and Vlad but all of them have questions either due to age or past injury.

Law looks at Reynolds and sees 200 Ks

Olney looks at Reynolds and sees 40 homeruns

This Orioles team could likely finish anywhere from second to fifth. We just have to play the games and find out.

[PrivateO]

I'd like to know what these experts think we should have done this offseason? I guess the Orioles are not suppose to better themselves because clearly we are not going to contend right? Bullcrap!

I thought the exact same thing when reading Law's comments.

Like I've said, I really like the moves because they are solid decisions for the 2011 season. They don't affect payroll for future seasons. They are risky, but they have a lot of reward. And really, there weren't many other players that MacPhail could sign that would have made this team better.

Just once, instead of criticizing every team, I'd like to see an analyst be "armchair GM" and go through each signing/trade that they would make in an off-season, given the minor league and payroll knowledge they have.

[SrMeowMeow]

Outside of Baltimore, 85+ wins in the AL East really means nothing. It's not like Reynolds, Lee, and Guerrero are bridging the gap to sure-fire, can't miss prospects at their respective positions.

But not signing those guys doesn't somehow magically create sure-fire, can't miss prospects...this is a false dichotomy. What's wrong with improving the MLB club on deals that have no negative impact on our future? Answer: Nothing.

[Sports Guy]

As is your reaction to its predictability.

As is your reaction to my reaction.

[NewMarketSean]

I don't disagree with Law, but I do wonder what Law would have said if we signed Dunn or VMart to the deals they got. Would he still think they were bad deals? It would have been a lot more money wrapped up in an old-ish player than 1 year for Lee and Vlad, and it would have filled positions of need for the long term.

But for 2011, we had to sign someone. Let's face it, we don't have anyone on the farm to play 1B. Vlad was a luxury we could afford and gave us some depth for the season. So looking at these moves, they are good for 2011 but not good for the future of the team, especially if the money spent on Lee and Vlad means we can't spend on the draft.

And the plan always was to win with pitching, which is still on target. The added offense is a complementary move to developing these pitchers.

[clapdiddy]

There are two ways to look at everything. The Orioles either added players in their primes and a solid vet, or they added flawed injured players and a declining vet.

I disagree with Law's prediction on the last place finish. This is not a last place team, I mean does he really think the Jays will be as good as they were last year? I mean really? Does he see Damon and Manny effectively replacing the production of Crawford and Pena? Really? He think the Yankees' rotation is better than ours, really?

I mean that is his opinion.

I could go off on how the Orioles actually doing something is upsetting the apple cart and that always ruffles some feathers. The Orioles are supposed to be bad - this is how the world works. But that is just a dumb gut-feeling type thing.

The reviews of the Orioles tend to be a bit all over the place because, as it stands right now, no one really knows what will happen. We can try to find a baseline of prodcution for Hardy, Reynolds, Lee and Vlad but all of them have questions either due to age or past injury.

Law looks at Reynolds and sees 200 Ks

Olney looks at Reynolds and sees 40 homeruns

This Orioles team could likely finish anywhere from second to fifth. We just have to play the games and find out.

I think the Rays have regressed a bit, but I think if Manny is healthy, he is going to have a monster season. Just a hunch.

[SrMeowMeow]

Really? Law has been higher on many of our pitching prospects than most of the prognosticators out there. Is he wrong there too? Or is he only when wrong when those with their heads buried in the sand don't like what he has to say?

If he was blowing sunshine up your butt about the O's this year, would you be saying he is wrong?

This board is so predictable.

When Law (or anyone) writes or says something I agree with, I agree with them. When Law (or anyone) writes or says something I disagree with, I disagree with them.

How is this confusing for you?

[SilentJames]

As is your reaction to my reaction.

OK ladies, move it along.

[Hank Scorpio]

OK ladies, move it along.

Hey, that's my schtick!!!!!