Anyone have a link to MacPhail's Q&A from today?

[Flosman]

I think the draft spend has also been limited by us not having picks. Lets face it we have not had a bunch of guys that we developed that have been FAs that created additional picks. We also have had very few soon to be FAs that have been turned into prospects. The test will be what we do with this crop of pitchers when they are successful and have 5-6 years of service time. If we draft well and turn those soon to be FAs into multiple very good prospects, then AMs plan should work. But as you can see it is a long term plan in the truest sense. Look at all of the picks Tampa has this year, if they spend slot they are going to invest a ton. But these picks were years in the making.

[JTrea81]

More copouts and poor comparisons from MacPhail.

We aren't investing in scouting and that's how Tampa did it.

It's easy to point a finger at Tampa and say that's the way it should be done. It's another thing to actually do it like they did which we aren't.

And Teixeria as a "perfect storm?"

Teixeira was a epic failure and is the summation of the ineptitude of this franchise to land or recruit premium talent.

You had a player that grew up in Maryland as an Orioles fan, that wanted to be a Yankee when he had his choice of teams, and the Orioles offer him less than any other offer and don't even try to compete with the other teams vying for his services because he won't take a hometown discount. MacPhail is so afraid of crippling the payroll that he doesn't even attempt to make an honest effort to land a player that the franchise desperately needed and was a perfect fit.

And if you want to look at a mid market team who has a high payroll - just look at the Phillies, who have been able to ramp their payroll up in the $140 million range because they've had that success in the playoffs.

The Orioles could get there, but they've got to win first. To say that can't be sustained is wrong. Win and you will have enough revenue.

The excuses for MASN are a joke as well. MASN can be as big as Peter Angelos wants it to be. Baltimore-Washington is one of the biggest television markets in the country. Last time I checked NESN doesn't exactly only show Red Sox games.

I really do hope MacPhail is gone at the end of this season. It's obvious that he's not willing to actually do what it will take to sustain a competitive team in the AL East because what he will have to do goes against his personal beliefs on how a team should operate financially.

It's obvious he's more concerned about the business aspect of the Orioles than actually doing what it will take to win in this division.

I'm ready for him to become Commissioner so he can stop holding this team back.

[McNulty]

Phillies are mid-market but the Baltimore/Washington area is one of the biggest?

Haha. So much bait in that post man, well done.

[ilbm88]

More copouts and poor comparisons from MacPhail.

We aren't investing in scouting and that's how Tampa did it.

It's easy to point a finger at Tampa and say that's the way it should be done. It's another thing to actually do it like they did which we aren't.

And Teixeria as a "perfect storm?"

Teixeira was a epic failure and is the summation of the ineptitude of this franchise to land or recruit premium talent.

You had a player that grew up in Maryland as an Orioles fan, that wanted to be a Yankee when he had his choice of teams, and the Orioles offer him less than any other offer and don't even try to compete with the other teams vying for his services because he won't take a hometown discount. MacPhail is so afraid of crippling the payroll that he doesn't even attempt to make an honest effort to land a player that the franchise desperately needed and was a perfect fit.

And if you want to look at a mid market team who has a high payroll - just look at the Phillies, who have been able to ramp their payroll up in the $140 million range because they've had that success in the playoffs.

The Orioles could get there, but they've got to win first. To say that can't be sustained is wrong. Win and you will have enough revenue.

The excuses for MASN are a joke as well. MASN can be as big as Peter Angelos wants it to be. Baltimore-Washington is one of the biggest television markets in the country. Last time I checked NESN doesn't exactly only show Red Sox games.

I really do hope MacPhail is gone at the end of this season. It's obvious that he's not willing to actually do what it will take to sustain a competitive team in the AL East because what he will have to do goes against his personal beliefs on how a team should operate financially.

It's obvious he's more concerned about the business aspect of the Orioles than actually doing what it will take to win in this division.

I'm ready for him to become Commissioner so he can stop holding this team back.

OMG shut up about teixeira already, you have been crying about it forever. How in the hell is mcphail holding the orioles back???

[Sports Guy]

ARod's deal was of a magnitude to prevent the Rangers from building around him. I think AM made it quite clear that ARod performed to expectations and the Rangers still never competed, attendance did not increase meaningfully, and the organization was worse off.

Wrong..In 2010, the Rangers went to the playoffs with a payroll of 65M..Why did that happen? Because they had a very good young nucleus full of cheap talent. They didn't have that when AROD was there and they were poor at picking the right pitching for their park. They now have a lot of young talent and a lot of power arms, which is why they advanced to the WS. Had they had a better plan with AROD on the team, they could have won.

We have boosted amateur scouting. It's been posted here about increases internationally and domestically - including the recent hire of a US crosschecker from the Rangers. The changes may not be to the extent you would like, but it would take a fairly uneducated reader to deny we have boosted scouting.

Yes, they did JUST add a cross checker and we did get involved with an Asian scout. That's it..That's the extent of our boosted scouting and nothing has been done in the latin countries to boost anything. The crosschecker was just added a few months ago...not years ago when it should have happened. So yes, its boosted...but barely.

Our draft position has been a major function of our total spend, but I believe we have generally outspent TBR over the past few years - particularly in overslot signing after the fifth round. The number of guys receiving over $150k after the fifth round has improved substantially under AM - including the $1M spent each on Olhman and Coffey.

Yes, I know we overspent on other draft positions but overall, they aren't spending a lot and just pointing to the dollars spent, while ignoring draft position, is pretty much bs.

I can understand one's dislike of our GM on several levels - including not moving fast enough in multiple areas, but I think most of the criticisms above are quite hollow

.Somehow I will be able to sleep tonight. Your overall outlook on the Orioles over the last 5+ years have been very homeristic in many ways. I am fine you don't agree with me but I also don't consider you to be an impartial jury either.

[RVAbird]

While I agree with much of this post, especially regarding the draft and pursuing international talent, I think MacPhail's approach, aside from scouting, etc., is being underrated. Why should we qualify his acquisitions with "well, they were good moves, but he bought low." Why shouldn't he be buying low on players like Reynolds/Lee/Pie? Teams like the Red Sox can afford to buy a top tier player after he's had a career season (Crawford) and just hope he can maintain that production. Unless the stars align, and there's a top tier free agent with almost no demand, we clearly can't do that. And it's usually foolish to go after the mid-tier players like VMart or Carl Pavano. That leaves us with the retreads. Honestly, I'm okay with that. Target players who, for whatever reason, are being undervalued (down year in Lee's case/strikeouts in Reynolds' case), but have significant upside. Isn't that what money ball is all about? I honestly think, because of the Rays' recent emergence, the shift in baseball thinking has moved so radically toward young players, that many older players are getting a little undervalued. Look at Sabaen's band of creaky heroes. He bought Huff dirt cheap and Huff carried them to the playoffs. Obviously the Giants weren't in the AL East and a lot went right for them, but isn't that the case with every playoff team?

I'm not suggesting we go out and sign a bunch of old guys, but I also don't view stop-gaps as negatively as most people do around here. I'd much prefer we give good players in their mid thirties one year deals than give multiple year deals to players in their early thirties. The upside is still there, but the potential to damage your team long term is not. Flexibility is a good thing. MacPhail's scavenger approach strikes me as a smart way to supplement a young core.

Another thing about these huge free agent deals is we honestly don't know how it's all going to work out. It's a bit of an arms race, with teams, especially in the AL East, giving out big deals and hoping to stay afloat. Let's say the Jays turn into a juggernaut in the next few years like some people are predicting. If the competition becomes so fierce that a team like the Yankees doesn't consistently make the playoffs (let's say once every third year), the loss of revenue for a team with such large and long-term financial obligations could be devastating. I don't think this is just wishful thinking on my part (because obviously I don't want the Jays to become another powerhouse). While New York has had very expensive contracts on the books for a long time now, the competition hadn't been as fierce until just the past few years. The only way they can afford those contracts is if they keep winning. My point here, I guess, is I don't think this AL East arms race is sustainable.

We've debated about this before, but I fully agree with MacPhail's stance on trading for established starters like Liriano. Good starting pitching is extremely hard to find and these guys almost always bring major packages back. I think it's better to avoid these players unless you absolutely have to have them, which we don't. Liriano or Floyd, etc. would be nice to have, but would it really be smart to give up Tillman or Britton, cost controlled pitchers with upside, plus whatever else we'd have to throw in, for two years of a pitcher that's already starting to get expensive? We praise AA and Friedman for trading Marcum and Garza, getting younger and cheaper, but we criticize MacPhail for not pursuing these pitchers? Isn't acquiring one of these pitchers the exact opposite of what we should be doing?

Considering the attrition rate for pitchers, I don't think it's a good idea to give up young talent for proven arms, especially ones with an injury history (Liriano).

It seems strange to me that many on this forum are advocating trading Guthrie, while many of the same people are advocating acquiring an arm like Floyd. This strikes me as a case of the grass is always greener. These pitchers may be better than Guthrie, but the difference between the two, especially considering the volatility of pitchers, doesn't warrant a total shift in philosophy (trading Guthrie/trading for Liriano). I'm much more sympathetic to the trade Guthrie line of philosophy than I am for the trade for Floyd/Marcum/Liriano philosophy.

Sorry, this one got a little on the long side.

Well thought out. I don't think we disagree on much here, but I'll clarify:

Re: bargain deals like Pie/Reynolds etc., there's nothing wrong with them. Nothing at all. AM should always be on the lookout for good talent that can be acquired on the cheap. It's one of the things I like about him.

My only problem is that it's generally not enough to supplement a young core if you're cutting off free agency. Sometimes those moves work out and are great value, sometimes they don't and come at very little cost, but it's very difficult to acquire a good deal of impact talent via this route. More needs to be done.

Re: Liriano, he's not the best example because he's pretty properly valued, but the return for Marcum was fairly modest. That was a good deal for both sides, and that's generally not the risk that MacPhail is willing to take.

If you're going to cut off major FA acquisitions and trades for established talent, then you need to be spot-on with your drafting and you need to pour real money and resources into international scouting and you need to get more creative and more active with your trading.

AM makes very few mistakes, which is great. But he doesn't do enough to build a winning team. I think that, in order to win the way he wants to win in the AL east, you have to be more committed to and consistent with your philosophy.

[carolinaoriole]

A great job by Macphail outlining the challenges that the Orioles face.

The one thing that I disagree with him on is the salary cap.

I would be willing to go a year without baseball to acheive it. I would go 2 or 3 if it would break the strangle hold that the union has on baseball.

[Moose Milligan]

More copouts and poor comparisons from MacPhail.

We aren't investing in scouting and that's how Tampa did it.

It's easy to point a finger at Tampa and say that's the way it should be done. It's another thing to actually do it like they did which we aren't.

And Teixeria as a "perfect storm?"

Teixeira was a epic failure and is the summation of the ineptitude of this franchise to land or recruit premium talent.

You had a player that grew up in Maryland as an Orioles fan, that wanted to be a Yankee when he had his choice of teams, and the Orioles offer him less than any other offer and don't even try to compete with the other teams vying for his services because he won't take a hometown discount. MacPhail is so afraid of crippling the payroll that he doesn't even attempt to make an honest effort to land a player that the franchise desperately needed and was a perfect fit.

And if you want to look at a mid market team who has a high payroll - just look at the Phillies, who have been able to ramp their payroll up in the $140 million range because they've had that success in the playoffs.

The Orioles could get there, but they've got to win first. To say that can't be sustained is wrong. Win and you will have enough revenue.

The excuses for MASN are a joke as well. MASN can be as big as Peter Angelos wants it to be. Baltimore-Washington is one of the biggest television markets in the country. Last time I checked NESN doesn't exactly only show Red Sox games.

I really do hope MacPhail is gone at the end of this season. It's obvious that he's not willing to actually do what it will take to sustain a competitive team in the AL East because what he will have to do goes against his personal beliefs on how a team should operate financially.

It's obvious he's more concerned about the business aspect of the Orioles than actually doing what it will take to win in this division.

I'm ready for him to become Commissioner so he can stop holding this team back.

I actually hope MacPhail leaves so we can stop listening to you re-hash the same talking points over and over again. However I don't know what you'd do with yourself if you didn't have anyone to bash...but I'm confident you'll figure out your next whipping boy really quickly.

[Sports Guy]

I actually hope MacPhail leaves so we can stop listening to you re-hash the same talking points over and over again. However I don't know what you'd do with yourself if you didn't have anyone to bash...but I'm confident you'll figure out your next whipping boy really quickly.

At that point, he will then realize what every other Oriole fan realizes...that PA is the real problem.

[Crazysilver03]

I actually hope MacPhail leaves so we can stop listening to you re-hash the same talking points over and over again. However I don't know what you'd do with yourself if you didn't have anyone to bash...but I'm confident you'll figure out your next whipping boy really quickly.

At that point, he will then realize what every other Oriole fan realizes...that PA is the real problem.

Or he can turn on Buck by then, which I think he already did at one point this winter.

I am surprised MacPhail was this candid. The point about the salary cap is a very good one.

[Moose Milligan]

At that point, he will then realize what every other Oriole fan realizes...that PA is the real problem.

No, because he can't admit to ever being wrong.

Yes, PA is the real problem and has been for quite some time. The fish rots from the head.

[JTrea81]

At that point, he will then realize what every other Oriole fan realizes...that PA is the real problem.

Peter Angelos is willing to spend - in free agency.

MacPhail doesn't want to spend in free agency because it could cripple the payroll.

You've got to spend where you can spend. If Angelos doesn't want to spend in scouting and development, than MacPhail needs to take advantage of his willingness to spend in FA.

Unfortunately MacPhail doesn't believe in the proper investment in scouting either because he believes the fewer the opinions, the better. He didn't want a lot of people surrounding him in Chicago either. So he's not going to tell Angelos to make a significant investment there anyway.

We need a GM that wants to spend in scouting and development and to supplement with difference making players through free agency and can convince Angelos that should be the way to go.

[SilentJames]

No, because he can't admit to ever being wrong.

Yes, PA is the real problem and has been for quite some time. The fish rots from the head.

In other news, fire is hot, Jersey Shore is slightly less annoying than the people that watch and can not stop talking about it and if I see that damn nofoodtax commercial one more time I will wake the dear with my wails of lament.

[allstar1579]

Few points:

-Texas lost because of what they put around AROD, not the AROD deal itself.

- We offered Tex 144M apparently. We had heard 140-150...Now it seems like a number was given.

- How have we BOOSTED the amateur scouting?

- Yes, we have signed FA hitters..but not good ones for the most part. That's a poor answer.

- He keeps pointing out we have spent more on signing bonuses over since 2007. Of course, we have also been the team drafting at the top and getting guys like Machado and Wieters have driven that number up. IMO, this is also a weak argument by him and in no way represents what they should be spending on amateur talent.

- Again, you may want to emulate the Rays AM but your actions are nothing like them.

The more I read from AM, the more obvious it is that he isn't the GM to take us where we need to go. He is the guy to start off on the right path but he can't finish it. Of course, as long as PA is the owner, no one likely will.

I think TEX was determined to stay under $100m, so ARod effectively limited the rest of the team to $75m or something, so in a way it did hurt them, but overall it was their own fault for giving that big of a deal and setting a limit on payroll. If you are going to shell out a contract like that you have to be willing to pay every year.

I hate that comment about "we spent so and so on bonuses". I've heard it 4 or 5 times now this offseason, and now it's starting to get under my skin.

A) Their is a big difference between spending $8m on the right picks and spending $8m on the wrong picks. You could look to 2009 and say they spent a lot of money in the wrong ways, of course hindsight is 20/20 but other teams spent the same amount at the time and did much better.

B) If we aren't going to acquire talent other ways, then we need to be spending way more than other teams in the draft, not just keeping up with them. Especially when you give yourself a higher margin of error by spending more. There's no rule against it, exploit it. I look at all these int'l signings right now for 60k, and 300k and say, 1/4 of these guys are going to be top 50 prospects in 3 years, and we aren't even trying. I mean come on, Vlad's nephew signed with SEA today for less than 100k I think, even if you aren't that high on him, he projects ok for what amounts to a 13th round pick or so, and you just signed his Uncle, get the PR machine rolling if nothing else.

UGH. //rant off

[Scrat1]

Re: Liriano, he's not the best example because he's pretty properly valued, but the return for Marcum was fairly modest. That was a good deal for both sides, and that's generally not the risk that MacPhail is willing to take.

You're definitely right here. The Brewers made a nice deal. But I'm not sure this is applicable for the O's, since part of the reason the Blue Jays were willing to settle for Lawrie was because he was Canadian. And I imagine the price would have gone up if the Orioles were trying to trade for Marcum.