Heyman: Orioles current favorite to land Fielder

[Frobby]

The new GM will do whatever Buck and PA want IMO...

I see no point in arguing with you. We'll see who the new GM is, and then we'll see what he does.

[Sports Guy]

Right, but compared to the rest of baseball back then, we had spent a bunch of money.

We had the second highest payroll in 1996...just over 48M. In 1997, it was just over 54M. In 1998, it was 70M.

Yes, we were at or near the top in those years.

No, that doesn't mean much in terms of thinking PA will all of a sudden happily turn the payroll into 120-150M in 2012.

[Hank Scorpio]

I see no point in arguing with you. We'll see who the new GM is, and then we'll see what he does.

There is absolutely no point in arguing anything with him.

[Moose Milligan]

We had the second highest payroll in 1996...just over 48M. In 1997, it was just over 54M. In 1998, it was 70M.

Yes, we were at or near the top in those years.

No, that doesn't mean much in terms of thinking PA will all of a sudden happily turn the payroll into 120-150M in 2012.

I know that. Tell it to Trea.

[TGO]

We had the second highest payroll in 1996...just over 48M. In 1997, it was just over 54M. In 1998, it was 70M.

Yes, we were at or near the top in those years.

No, that doesn't mean much in terms of thinking PA will all of a sudden happily turn the payroll into 120-150M in 2012.

Right, I don't think people realize how far baseball payrolls have outpaced inflation. What cost $70 million in 1998, i.e. one of the highest paid teams in the league, would have cost $93 million in 2010. In reality you would have had to spend upwards of $150 million to be on that level.

[JTrea81]

I see no point in arguing with you. We'll see who the new GM is, and then we'll see what he does.

Exactly. This offseason will reveal a lot IMO, one way or another...

[crissfan172]

The new GM will do whatever Buck and PA want IMO...

So you agree that they won't be spending a lot of money. That's good.

[CSB Jack]

Brewers star first baseman Prince Fielder is generally considered one of the three mega free agents of the 2011-12 offseason, along with Albert Pujols and Jose Reyes. But so far Fielder's impending free agency hasn't garnered quite the publicity as the other two.

Apparently Heyman hasn't been hanging out around the Hangout.

[The Rick]

I can't even begin to express how much I don't give a damn about this whole issue and this off-season. As long as Peter Angelos is remotely involved, nothing will change (even if it appears to from time to time).

Sorry for wasting a post without contributing, but it feels good to get that off my chest. All of this CONSTANT bickering about nothing is just insane.

[weams]

[glorydays]

The real issue is not whether or not we sign Fielder - but if that signing will make any difference in our ability to win with him added to the current roster. And if we do not win - how much blame will AM continue to take for those who were left over from his time in office.

And if the team does not win even with Fielder - IMO it is fair to point out that an obvious reason why they didn't succeed is because the players brought in by AM continued to fail. BUT if the team turns it around in part because the players we currently have began to perform - than AM deserves some of the credit by all of the fans.

[Malike]

The sooner you all realize this, the better. Angelos can't wait to open his checkbook and outspend the Yankees and Sox, so he can see a winner before he moves on, and MacPhail has brainwashed him into being thrifty. Upon arrival, the newly appointed GM will tap into Angelos' untold billions and will shock the baseball world by putting a team together to make a run at the playoffs.

[waroriole]

I hope we do. And I hope we make vast improvements. I'm sure it won't happen though.

[ledzepp8]

Heyman is a known Angelos basher.

You're a known MacPhail basher. Should we not take your opinion seriously either?

[TGO]

The sooner you all realize this, the better. Angelos can't wait to open his checkbook and outspend the Yankees and Sox, so he can see a winner before he moves on, and MacPhail has brainwashed him into being thrifty. Upon arrival, the newly appointed GM will tap into Angelos' untold billions and will shock the baseball world by putting a team together to make a run at the playoffs.

Dude, at least give us a warning so I can unplug my sarcasm detector so it doesn't short.