We are all pissed and rightfully so...What can the Orioles do this offseason to change that?

[DrungoHazewood]

And he should be. If you are going to be willing to spend significant money to bring in one difference making talent... might as well be the guy that can't go anywhere he pleases. You don't have to convince him to come here. You just have to win the posting. Any reasonable contract after the posting will be far more than he makes in Japan, that he does not figure to say no.

Maybe, kind of. His current contract is for 330M yen, or about $4.5M, and would probably get a decent raise if he stayed. He also probably makes near that in endorsement deals. Rumors are that his US deal would be in the 5/50 range, or something like that. So, yes, it would probably be a nice raise, but he's not making chicken scratch now. I don't think there's any guarantee that the O's would get him to sign even if they managed to win the posting.

[MrOrange82]

Connolly was on that story all day yesterday and is still probably uncovering stuff. Its a feature piece that was most likely written earlier this month and scheduled to go in. Connolly did interview LaCava yesterday and got his side of the story. Granted LaCava's story was not the tale of byzantine drama and Machiavellian intrigue that people wanted so I guess more "digging" is needed.

The real bottom line is this: we will never know what REALLY happened. Even Tony had two sources contact him, that he obviously trusts, stating two stories that were basically the exact opposite.

But it doesn't matter, even if somehow the Orioles were genuinely the party that got shafted here. If there is some twisted unreal universe where that is the case, it doesn't matter because short of video and audio recordings of the meetings or a cloaked TARDIS the narrative is the Orioles ineptitude.

And they deserve it. When you are this bad for this long you have to be perfect before people will prove you otherwise.

I was going to criticize your post until I read its last line. Because that's basically it...even if you choose to perpetually see the glass as half-full, to think that bad luck has had as large a hand in the Orioles' fortunes as bad management, at some point you have to look honestly at the results that've been recorded over the last decade and a half.

No matter what the cause, the O's have been terrible for a very long time. IMO, the common denominator has been and is PA, and enough stories have come out over the years to convince me that his ownership is a plague on the franchise. There's room for disagreement, but the O's really do need to be perfect over a measurable period of time before they'll gain back the trust of the fanbase at large.

[Sports Guy]

And he should be. If you are going to be willing to spend significant money to bring in one difference making talent... might as well be the guy that can't go anywhere he pleases. You don't have to convince him to come here. You just have to win the posting. Any reasonable contract after the posting will be far more than he makes in Japan, that he does not figure to say no.

You don't have to surrender any picks either.

[DrungoHazewood]

Reasonable points, though 330M yen is closer to $4.2M. (http://www.xe.com/) Also, no reason to believe his endorsement deals in Japan would end, and you can easily argue that his endorsement opportunities would increase being anywhere in the States.

He'll have to weigh the dollars against the costs. I'm sure he'll be fully aware he's coming to a team that hasn't won since he was in grade school and has bizarre and chaotic management, plays in Baltimore (not NY, Chicago, LA, or even the west coast), and has a deserved reputation for being poor stewards of their pitching staff.

A lot of ballplayers, Japanese or not, would find playing in Sapporo more appealing than Baltimore. If LaCava can turn down Baltimore's cash, why not Darvish?

[weams]

Reasonable points, though 330M yen is closer to $4.2M. (http://www.xe.com/) Also, no reason to believe his endorsement deals in Japan would end, and you can easily argue that his endorsement opportunities would increase being anywhere in the States.

Plus he would be doing his country men a great service because 500 of them would be employed to photograph his dinner selection.

[Goop]

All of the National reporters are saying what a joke this search has been. I would love for them to bring us into it. Go on the Live MLBN Hot Stove show and discuss how even the die hard fans are disgusted with Peter Angelos and his shenanigans. He is a disgrace and the ass in the Commissioner's office is even worse for turning a blind eye and not intervening on what PA has done to this Franchise.

Occupy Eutaw Street! We are the 1% remaining Orioles fans!

[SrMeowMeow]

What would make you happy?

PA is a joke, the GM search is an embarrassment but the offseason has just started.

And while this will always be an issue no matter what they do, they could still make us happy, I would think, if they wanted to.

So, what would it take?

They need to nail the GM hire. They still have the opportunity to do so. Failing that, nothing.

[Can_of_corn]

They need to nail the GM hire. They still have the opportunity to do so. Failing that, nothing.

That isn't enough, I want a good GM hire and the untouchables in the FO gone. I want a clear sign from PA that this time is different and the GM will be allowed to succeed or fail without being handcuffed by ownership.

[Can_of_corn]

Getting past that part of the discussion, what did you think about Camden Depot's attempt at translating Darvish's performance to MLB?

http://camdendepot.blogspot.com/2011/10/translating-yu-darvishs-performance-to.html

It is probably about as useful as BP converting Wieters' A and AA numbers to the majors.

[Can_of_corn]

Haven't you already gotten your answer on that one?

The OP asked what you would like to see changed.

[JDubs]

The only thing that would make me happy is for Angelos to sell the team!

Boom. You did what I thought was impossible and found something that actually could possibly make me optimistic about the team. Not about this 2012 season, but the organization.

[Mizerooskie]

A sale of the team that completely removes the tumor that is the Angelos family would do the trick.

Come on Steve Bisciotti.

[DrungoHazewood]

Getting past that part of the discussion, what did you think about Camden Depot's attempt at translating Darvish's performance to MLB?

http://camdendepot.blogspot.com/2011/10/translating-yu-darvishs-performance-to.html

I think it's very rough. Basing the translations on only three Japanese pitchers is going to mean you have a huge uncertainty in the projection. I don't think they took into account that Darvish plays in a pitcher's park. I don't think they took into account that the NPB has been using a deadened baseball this year.

The final projection of 20 WAR is plausible, but I'm not sure it's conservative. Paying $120M for the guy means you're assuming he's going to be one of the top 10 pitchers in baseball for the next 5 years. He's going to be Cliff Lee, essentially.

But I think you have to discount that for the uncertainty in the projection, and the fact that about half of the best pitchers up to age 24 aren't particularly great over the next five years. Guys like Eck and Fernando and Dwight Gooden were among the best young pitchers of the post WWII era, and all of them were worth about 10 wins total over the years Darvish is going to be under contract. Sign Darvish to a 5/60 deal with a $60M posting fee and there's a 60-70% chance he doesn't live up to the deal.

[Sports Guy]

I think it's very rough. Basing the translations on only three Japanese pitchers is going to mean you have a huge uncertainty in the projection. I don't think they took into account that Darvish plays in a pitcher's park. I don't think they took into account that the NPB has been using a deadened baseball this year.

The final projection of 20 WAR is plausible, but I'm not sure it's conservative. Paying $120M for the guy means you're assuming he's going to be one of the top 10 pitchers in baseball for the next 5 years. He's going to be Cliff Lee, essentially.

But I think you have to discount that for the uncertainty in the projection, and the fact that about half of the best pitchers up to age 24 aren't particularly great over the next five years. Guys like Eck and Fernando and Dwight Gooden were among the best young pitchers of the post WWII era, and all of them were worth about 10 wins total over the years Darvish is going to be under contract. Sign Darvish to a 5/60 deal with a $60M posting fee and there's a 60-70% chance he doesn't live up to the deal.

But who cares if "all he does" is be a very good #2 starter and is worth 90 million of the 5 year committment.

You overpay by one Kevin Gregg a year...Is that really going to hurt you? Does that really matter?

[ChaosLex]

Sign Albert Pujols.