Guerrero Less Than Enthusiastic Being An Oriole?? Schmuck Thinks So

[LookitsPuck]

Poor piece by Schmuck.

Vlad is a lay low kind of guy. He doesn't speak much (if any English), and isn't a huge fan of the media. He's got a ton of cameras on him.

The man is a professional, he's not one to pout.

Shame on you, Schmuck. Terrible piece.

[olehippi]

Why wouldn't there be a very real chance that Guerrero isn't overjoyed about playing in Baltimore. No doubt, he hoped Texas would resign him, or that some other team with a legitimate chance of contending would have stepped forward. But, that didn't happen, and the Orioles were the only team standing there with a check in their hand to pay for his services. Hey, he needs that paycheck. So he signs the contract, smiles and says all the right things at the press conference. And because he is a pro, a man of great pride...and will want another paycheck from someone next year, too....Guerrero will give his best effort on the field this year.

What's wrong with that, Mr. Schmuck?

[waroriole]

Schmuck is exactly that. I forgot he still works at the Sun, since most of the real work is done by Connoly and Jeff Z.

[LookinUp]

Without reading the article or seeing the press conference, if I were to guess what Vlad's feelings were it would be something along the lines of what Frobby wrote; not particularly excited to be coming to Baltimore, but a pro who will play hard nevertheless.

My hope is that we give him reason to like being here this season.

[24fps]

Last year he played for the AL champion on a team with the AL MVP. Now he starts the season with a team likely to finish last in their division.

Why would he be excited to be an Oriole???

His and the O's best case scenario is that he has a good first half, a contender loses a DH to injury and the O's are able to trade him for some decent prospects.

If he is with the O's after the trading deadline it will not be a good situation for Vlad or the O's.

If Vlad is here after the trading deadline it could also mean that the team is playing well enough to need his services. For those of us who don't watch major league baseball primarily to see prospects develop, that is the best case scenario.

The first week of spring training isn't over, no games have been played and yet some people have already consigned the Orioles to last place and are busily calculating the return on the most exciting FA signing since Tejada.

I don't get it. Where's the fun in that?

[section18]

He looks good in black and orange and hits well at OP. Big year ahead for Vlad and Orioles. He will be given an extension in August. Orioles will be in the playoffs. Does anybody have any orange kool-aid? Seriously! I don't drink it and I have really good feelings about the Oriols in 2011. You better buy your tickets now because they will be hard to get in the coming months.

I wonder if Vlad is going to use Tejada's condo at Harbor Court? He looks to be in good shape and will have a lot of opportunity to walk for exercise around the harbor. The water views will make him feel he is back in the Dominican.

[weams]

I am no Vlad expert, but I think he is fine with our situation. I think he will show a leadership roll and be happy if he is able to help us like he feels that he helped Texas. He would have loved to stay there if the circumstances were different.

[Whammer]

Note to Vlad: Quite frankly, you weren't our first choice either. But at this point we're stuck with each other and need to make the best of it. Happy, sad or indifferent, we expect you to ring up a .300 BA with 30+ HR's and 100+ RBIs. In return you can take your $8MM and go home and sulk. Couldn't care less about your happiness.

[Moose Milligan]

Schmuck answers his own question:

Guerrero, however, did not seem particularly amused. In fact, he looked rather subdued throughout the proceedings, which could easily be attributed to his long-standing reticence about dealing with the media,

Agree with Frobby...Vlad probably would want to be elsewhere but he'll give it his all.

[statman]

Seems like Vlad and Pie are hitting it off:

Felix Pie played catch this morning with new teammate Vladimir Guerrero, the future Hall of Famer who could cost him the starting job in left field.

No hard feelings, I suppose.

He'll also dress a few lockers away from Guerrero and play catch with him. Pie never stopped talking the entire time they were long-tossing in the morning. It was constant animated chatter.

No hard feelings.

"I like him a lot," Pie said. "He's my friend, too. Like I said, I'm happy that he's here."

http://www.masnsports.com/school_of_roch/2011/02/pie-gearing-for-left-field-competition.html

...Maybe Baltimore ain't so bad?

[Round Tripper]

People like to read into everything. Athletes are under constant microscopes and all of their actions are subject to scrutiny.

That said, I echo some of the comments that he might not be thrilled at all to be here in B'more. He probably thought he could get a big contract, possibly from a contending team.

Remember, though, that he played for many years in, quite possibly, the most hopeless of baseball cities: Montreal. He's probably thankful that, at the very least, we don't play on Astro-turf.

If we win, I'm sure he'll be happy. If he plays well and he's protected well in the lineup, I'm sure he'll be happy.

[BaltimoreTerp]

After reading the article, I'm not sure why any of this is any big deal--either what was in the article or the response to it.

I don't think there was any reason for Schmuck to write this column. So Guerrero isn't happy: big deal. He not only signed for essentially half of what he wanted, he had to wait and fight to get that from one of the worst teams in the league last season. I would be worried if he wasn't disappointed in some way.

The question is whether or not it affects him on the field. I'm sure he either already knows or has been told by people close to him that playing well with a good attitude will at worst give him a better chance at a good contract next off-season, and could get the Orioles to a position where playing here is fun.

On the other hand, some of the statements made against Schmuck simply have no reason to be here. Particularly the ones comparing him to the awful Mike Preston; apparently those people cannot understand the difference between writing for the sake of writing and actively inserting one's self into the story through questionable methods. The latter is why Preston is awful. Schmuck is just writing on a deadline where there are no stories to talk about (welcome to the world of newspapers).

[TheBee]

Note to Vlad: Quite frankly, you weren't our first choice either. But at this point we're stuck with each other and need to make the best of it. Happy, sad or indifferent, we expect you to ring up a .300 BA with 30+ HR's and 100+ RBIs. In return you can take your $8MM and go home and sulk. Couldn't care less about your happiness.

You do realize that Vlad never actually voiced any displeasure, right? This was nothing more than Peter Schmuck's perception. That isn't fact...just a perception based on attempting to read body language. A perception he didn't really express with any confidence or real support if you read the piece. This kind of reaction to the article is exactly why this was a sloppy piece of journalism.

[El Gordo]

Seems like Vlad and Pie are hitting it off:

http://www.masnsports.com/school_of_roch/2011/02/pie-gearing-for-left-field-competition.html

...Maybe Baltimore ain't so bad?

Besides Felix, Izzi, AJ, Luke, and Guts, which other players/coaches are fluent in Spanish.

[isestrex]

Personally I could care less if Vlad is excited to be here.

I fully expect him to be dealt to the Yankees or Phillies mid season any way. It's not like it makes sense for him to finish the season as an Oriole.