Will Prince Fielder be worth whatever it costs to bring him here?

[JTrea81]

If those are my only choices, Reyes and Alonso. But I'd probably just as soon have Alonso, Hardy, and the flexibility of an additional $10-15M a year to do something else with.

We've done the spreading money thing around. It doesn't work. It's better to have a few premium players in your lineup than to have a bunch of mediocre ones.

Spend the money on position players and get the best ones you can.

[TradeAngelos]

I love this thread!!! Everyone knows there is no way in hell Angelos is going to spend the coin required to sign Fielder, so all guns are blazing trying to come up with every reason in the book he would be a bad signing. That is the defeatist mentality that permeates through the team and the fanbase now after many have finally come to realize what this team is all about these days. Everyone has been brainwashed into thinking that 90 million is the max we can or will spend on payroll, and that signing a guy for 20-22 a year will "cripple" the franchise and leave us with 24 other scrubs on the roster. Hogwash.

What do you think this team right now would be doing with a 40hr/.900 (minimum) OPS guy smack in the middle of the lineup? Contending for a playoff spot, that is what. But oh nooos we can't afford $110 million a year to fill the ballpark, get fans back on board and win a few more games and bring some excitement back into the yard! This team is one legit superstar away from contending, but will always be hovering around mediocre because of their cheap owner who decided he can't compete with Boston and New York so why bother?

And all you have to do is read how this entire thread is people trashing a guy who has just smashed everything in sight (at a position of DIRE need) since he set foot on the field, to realize that the fans are just A OK with being a 78 win team that will NEVER win anything because they know what time it is with the ownership. These are the same people who will be camped out at the presser introducing Fielder as an Oriole and dreaming all through winter of the possibilities with him in the lineup.

That's OK. I am sure there will be a couple washed up 35 year olds, some overpriced bullpen guys, and the best of them all.....the "buy low sell high" free agents that come to Baltimore every year to make up that $20 million we could spend on Fielder. Throw a bunch of (cheap) stuff at the wall and see what sticks. When it all ends up on the floor, do it all over again next winter.

[Sports Guy]

We've done the spreading money thing around. It doesn't work. It's better to have a few premium players in your lineup than to have a bunch of mediocre ones.

Spend the money on position players and get the best ones you can.

Is Reyes that much more of a premium player over Hardy?

[DrungoHazewood]

Is Reyes that much more of a premium player over Hardy?

He's paid a lot more and has more name recognition, so yea.

[JTrea81]

Is Reyes that much more of a premium player over Hardy?

Unlike Hardy, Reyes can stay on the field.

The difference between Reyes and Hardy is 2.5 fWAR right now.

Over their careers Reyes has been worth 27.7 fWAR to Hardy's 16.4

[DrungoHazewood]

We've done the spreading money thing around. It doesn't work. It's better to have a few premium players in your lineup than to have a bunch of mediocre ones.

Spend the money on position players and get the best ones you can.

Wow, that's a broad, sweeping generalization with almost no data to back it up. Do I really need to go back and dredge up the threads where we pointed out all the teams that have won in the last 20 years with no players over 4 or 5 WAR? Because there are a lot.

[DrungoHazewood]

Unlike Hardy, Reyes can stay on the field.

Except for 2009 when he missed almost the entire season, and 2010 where he missed another 30 games.

[Sports Guy]

Unlike Hardy, Reyes can stay on the field.

Do you actually do research before you talk?

In 2010, Reyes played in 133 games...In 2009, he played in 36 games.

[Moose Milligan]

Do you actually do research before you talk?

No he doesn't!! He doesn't at all!!

[Sports Guy]

BTW, a healthy Reyes is a better player than a healthy Hardy IMO.

However, if we can extend Hardy, it probably costs us 2 years and 6-9 million a year.

If we are able to sign Reyes this offseason and if he continues to put up the monster season he is putting up now, he may end up getting close to 100 million.

One thing I know for sure is that 2 more wins a year for a few years is not worth 4-5 more years and another 80+ million dollars.

[DrungoHazewood]

BTW, a healthy Reyes is a better player than a healthy Hardy IMO.

However, if we can extend Hardy, it probably costs us 2 years and 6-9 million a year.

If we are able to sign Reyes this offseason and if he continues to put up the monster season he is putting up now, he may end up getting close to 100 million.

One thing I know for sure is that 2 more wins a year for a few years is not worth 4-5 more years and another 80+ million dollars.

Completely agree, but remember we're debating a guy who thinks wins are directly proportional to payroll.

[JTrea81]

Do you actually do research before you talk?

In 2010, Reyes played in 133 games...In 2009, he played in 36 games.

Jose Reyes had 4 straight seasons of 150+ games played.

JJ Hardy has played in 150+ games only once.

[Sports Guy]

Completely agree, but remember we're debating a guy who thinks wins are directly proportional to payroll.

I will say that if we trade Hardy in the offseason, that I would go after Reyes in a big way...I really like him and, as Trea said, you can move him to second laster down the road.

But I am also hoping that if we deal hardy, that we have also dealt a few other guys like Guthrie....If that happens, then we have a lot of good young talent and Reyes can be a very good addition for us.

But it has to make sense within the framework of things.

I am pretty sure that if we didn't have Hardy, that Reyes would be second on my priority list this offseason...With Darvish being #1 if he is posted.

I would rather have Reyes than Fielder.

[Sports Guy]

Jose Reyes had 4 straight seasons of 150+ games played.

JJ Hardy has played in 150+ games only once.

Key word there.

You were wrong, just admit your poor comparison and move on.

[The Rick]

Key word there.

You were wrong, just admit your poor comparison and move on.

That's like telling hell to freeze over.