Geoff Baker echos my thoughts on FA and the standard cliches (excuses) for a non-contending team

[allstar1579]

Who plays 1B in 2013? Are you picking up Reynolds' $11 million dollar option for 2.0 fWAR performance at 1B?

If you want to improve CF defense, you can sign Bourn next offseason or go after Sizemore...

Prince Fielder is the best option for 1B in the next 2 years that's not named Votto...

Reynolds is fine at 1B for me, and yes, I pick it up because it's still half of what you would be paying Fielder, and you aren't locked into it 5 years past that. Then Votto is a FA the next offseason if that is still a need.

Oh you can guarantee that Bourn will sign here? Or Sizemore? or that Grady will rebound and be healthy?

Fielder might be the best option for the next 2 years, but it's going to take a 7 year commitment, and we won't compete those 2 years anyway.

[JTrea81]

Reynolds is fine at 1B for me, and yes, I pick it up because it's still half of what you would be paying Fielder, and you aren't locked into it 5 years past that. Then Votto is a FA the next offseason if that is still a need.

Oh you can guarantee that Bourn will sign here? Or Sizemore? or that Grady will rebound and be healthy?

Fielder might be the best option for the next 2 years, but it's going to take a 7 year commitment, and we won't compete those 2 years anyway.

So you are prepared to pay 9/225 or 10/250 for a 30 year old Votto?

[Brando]

Who plays 1B in 2013? Are you picking up Reynolds' $11 million dollar option for 2.0 fWAR performance at 1B?

If you want to improve CF defense, you can sign Bourn next offseason or go after Sizemore...

Prince Fielder is the best option for 1B in the next 2 years that's not named Votto...

Every year it's a new disturbing fixation with you. How about we worry about building a complete team first with a system that can replenish it year after year, then we decide if we have a glaring enough weakness at 1B. Much better baseball minds on this board, let alone in the business disagree with you. Drop it and move on. Start looking at logical and real ways to improve the team as SG and others have suggested. That is unless you crave the attention.

[Sports Guy]

Who plays 1B in 2013? Are you picking up Reynolds' $11 million dollar option for 2.0 fWAR performance at 1B?

If you want to improve CF defense, you can sign Bourn next offseason or go after Sizemore...

Prince Fielder is the best option for 1B in the next 2 years that's not named Votto...

There are a lot of young first baseman out there that we could look to add to the team via trade.

[allstar1579]

So you are prepared to pay 9/225 or 10/250 for a 30 year old Votto?

Nope, I'm betting there is another solution between now and then. Everything isn't black and white like you try to make it out to be. It doesn't have to be Fielder or Votto. It could be Trumbo, or Alonso, or Smoak, or any number of possibilities you can't imagine right now. You don't have to have all the answers right now, you fix a couple spots and work on the rest later when other options play out.

[DrungoHazewood]

So you are prepared to pay 9/225 or 10/250 for a 30 year old Votto?

Yes, because overnight I've come to fully embrace the idea that the only way to true competition in Baltimore is a One Billion Dollar payroll.

[Brendan25]

Who plays 1B in 2013? Are you picking up Reynolds' $11 million dollar option for 2.0 fWAR performance at 1B?

If you want to improve CF defense, you can sign Bourn next offseason or go after Sizemore...

Prince Fielder is the best option for 1B in the next 2 years that's not named Votto...

Who plays left field in 2013? Who plays right field in 2013 if you want to trade Kakes? Who plays second in 2013? Just because we don't have a specific "1B of the future" in our organizaton doesn't mean we trade our possible SS of the future and other key pieces for that one position.

[Sports Guy]

Who plays left field in 2013? Who plays right field in 2013 if you want to trade Kakes? Who plays second in 2013? Just because we don't have a specific "1B of the future" in our organizaton doesn't mean we trade our possible SS of the future and other key pieces for that one position.

You just keep spending....That's what Jtrea doesn't get.

He acts as if there is an endless supply of money and he doesn't realize how much his ideas cripple the team long term...and they don't even produce winners in the short term.

[Spoonless]

Yes, because overnight I've come to fully embrace the idea that the only way to true competition in Baltimore is a One Billion Dollar payroll.

They'd still manage to mess it up.

[shylock]

They'd still manage to mess it up.

True. Otherwise the Yanks would win every series.

[JTrea81]

Who plays left field in 2013? Who plays right field in 2013 if you want to trade Kakes? Who plays second in 2013? Just because we don't have a specific "1B of the future" in our organizaton doesn't mean we trade our possible SS of the future and other key pieces for that one position.

Adam Jones plays LF in 2013. The Orioles can sign a RFer for less than Markakis and get the same if not better production. For 2B I already said I'd have the club sign Nakajima.

And 1B is one of the places where you get the most value out of a position.

Out of the 8 playoff teams, 5 of them got premium value from 1B. Only one of those, Napoli for the Rangers, was not thought to be a premium bat last year.

Peter Angelos hasn't been the only constant for losing as poor production and value at 1B has been a constant as well as the Orioles haven't seen 3.0 fWAR from 1B since Raffy left after 1998. Jeff Conine came close in 2001 with 2.7 fWAR, but that's as close as anybody has got and we haven't even sniffed 2.0 fWAR at 1B since Conine in 2001.

The Orioles can't continue to ignore 1B and expect to have a good shot at contending.

[waroriole]

Adam Jones plays LF in 2013. The Orioles can sign a RFer for less than Markakis and get the same if not better production. For 2B I already said I'd have the club sign Nakajima.

Are you going to post what you would do for this season and keep the payroll around $120M? I asked you about a week ago, just making sure you haven't forgot.

[Sports Guy]

Are you going to post what you would do for this season and keep the payroll around $120M? I asked you about a week ago, just making sure you haven't forgot.

He kind of did this but the payroll would need to be closer to 130.

The bigger question is, can he do it for 90M...He refuses to do that.

[Fan4Life]

He kind of did this but the payroll would need to be closer to 130.

The bigger question is, can he do it for 90M...He refuses to do that.

Because he knows you can't Field(er) a winner for only $90m.

[JTrea81]

Because he knows you can't Field(er) a winner for only $90m.

Not with this current roster.

We'd have to blow the team up to build that 90 million dollar contender.