Orioles Reach Out To Prince Fielder's Representatives

[DrungoHazewood]

I really don't understand why? We already have Chris Davis and he has performed as well Smoak,maybe better. Not much of an age difference.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=smoak-001jus

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/smoakju01.shtml

http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=davis-003chr

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/d/davisch02.shtml

Smoak has far better plate discipline. He walks in 11% of his PAs and strikes out in 22%. Davis walks in less than 7% of his PAs and strikes out in 32%. Smoak is a little younger, and he may have had more difficulty adjusting to Safeco than Davis has in Arlington and Baltimore.

[DrungoHazewood]

That is the most ridiculous backwards thinking I have ever heard.

Fans aren't coming back until they WIN. They can't do that by taking another 3-4 years to do it the "right way" with no free agents. You need to get the players FIRST, then sell the fans that you actually are trying and then they might come back. Maybe.

You think the fan wants to hear 'trust us" for another few years after the last 14? Yeah, right. Put your money where your mouth is and show us something and then we might listen. I have NO reason to believe anything they say because thy have been saying and claiming the same thing for 10 years.

I don't think they should particularly care what the fans think, at least short term. The fan base has already cratered. It ain't getting any better with a 78-win team featuring a couple of Jayson Werth-type contracts.

The only real hope is to build a good team with young talent and win, then the fans will come back. There are no quick fixes.

[El Gordo]

Smoak has far better plate discipline. He walks in 11% of his PAs and strikes out in 22%. Davis walks in less than 7% of his PAs and strikes out in 32%. Smoak is a little younger, and he may have had more difficulty adjusting to Safeco than Davis has in Arlington and Baltimore.

In your opinion what is the difference between Smoak and Davis worth? What player would you be willing to give up for that difference?

[crawjo]

I don't think they should particularly care what the fans think, at least short term. The fan base has already cratered. It ain't getting any better with a 78-win team featuring a couple of Jayson Werth-type contracts.

The only real hope is to build a good team with young talent and win, then the fans will come back. There are no quick fixes.

I agree with this. I get so tired of people saying the Orioles should spend big money on a FA to "bring the fans back" or to show that they want to win. That's just BS. The fans will come back when the team is winning, and not before. If the Orioles add an expensive FA and the team still can't clear .500, I don't think that's going to cause people to pack Camden Yards.

[oriole]

If Seattle signs Fielder and we trade for Smoak...why not try to sell Davis as a 3rd basemen and trade him in a package deal to Seattle in return?

[Sports Guy]

If Seattle signs Fielder and we trade for Smoak...why not try to sell Davis as a 3rd basemen and trade him in a package deal to Seattle in return?

Because Seattle isn't likely to be that stupid?

[CA-ORIOLE]

I agree with this. I get so tired of people saying the Orioles should spend big money on a FA to "bring the fans back" or to show that they want to win. That's just BS. The fans will come back when the team is winning, and not before. If the Orioles add an expensive FA and the team still can't clear .500, I don't think that's going to cause people to pack Camden Yards.

I generally agree with you and Drungo. That said I'm not sure Fielder is mutually exclusive with rebuilding/restructuring. Especially as it appears we are going to keep this core anyways. Win or lose, I would have to think he'd be a revenue enhancer. Sounds like the Fielder camp are only considering teams that could immediately contend. I guess that would leave us out.

[El Gordo]

I generally agree with you and Drungo. That said I'm not sure Fielder is mutually exclusive with rebuilding/restructuring. Especially as it appears we are going to keep this core anyways. Win or lose, I would have to think he'd be a revenue enhancer. Sounds like the Fielder camp are only considering teams that could immediately contend. I guess that would leave us out.

I would say Wieters time here would be our most immediate window to contend. If you don't feel that those four years is ebnough to build a contending team, then certainly spending on Fielder is misguided.

[CA-ORIOLE]

I would say Wieters time here would be our most immediate window to contend. If you don't feel that those four years is ebnough to build a contending team, then certainly spending on Fielder is misguided.

If they're not liquidating the core, one would have to think we're looking to contend in that time frame and not looking at a major rebuild. Also, Wieters (assuming continued progress) should be a no brainer extension candidate.

[SteveO]

So you would like to sign Prince Fielder but keep the payroll around $100 million? If nearly 25% of the payroll is devoted to our first baseman, we'll have to be pretty damn efficient with the other $75 million - not impossible but not something I can expect the Orioles to pull off without completely disregarding everything I know about this team.

I have to disagree to some extent. If you go back and look at DD history, you will see he tends to like to have that big bat / security blanket in his lineup. Prince is exactly the kind of guy that DD and Buck would covet. It would not shock me if in the very first conversation they had, they began to devise a plan to get Prince. These are two guys who know how to play the game and if you consider removing the salaries of Scott, DLee, Vlad, and Gonzalez your approaching what it would take anyway. I am not saying they will be able to convince Peter to spend the dough, just saying I have to believe that they are gonna give it a go.

It appears that DD intends to build a team utilizing some of the younger talent already here, the ones on the way (not many but good quality) and maybe whatever he gets via trades and drafts. If that's the intention what your really trying to do is build a team in a similar manner as Tampa has but with a little more resources to retain and add talent. Prince is young enough that you could reasonably expect him to for most his contract. If they cant or wont sign Darvish then the next best option is to upgrade the offense and try to make more modest pitching upgrades, essentially hope to meet in the middle. Prince Fielder could go a long way towards doing that.

[CA-ORIOLE]

I have to disagree to some extent. If you go back and look at DD history, you will see he tends to like to have that big bat / security blanket in his lineup. Prince is exactly the kind of guy that DD and Buck would covet. It would not shock me if in the very first conversation they had, they began to devise a plan to get Prince. These are two guys who know how to play the game and if you consider removing the salaries of Scott, DLee, Vlad, and Gonzalez your approaching what it would take anyway. I am not saying they will be able to convince Peter to spend the dough, just saying I have to believe that they are gonna give it a go.

It appears that DD intends to build a team utilizing some of the younger talent already here, the ones on the way (not many but good quality) and maybe whatever he gets via trades and drafts. If that's the intention what your really trying to do is build a team in a similar manner as Tampa has but with a little more resources to retain and add talent. Prince is young enough that you could reasonably expect him to for most his contract. If they cant or wont sign Darvish then the next best option is to upgrade the offense and try to make more modest pitching upgrades, essentially hope to meet in the middle. Prince Fielder could go a long way towards doing that.

I think you may not be far off. Whether we end up having a realistic shot at Fielder is another story. Like Sports Guy said, it's probably a set amount that we'll go and that's pretty much it. I wonder if it's realistic amount or an Andy McPhail no way in heck we'll get him amount.

[JanJaap]

Orioles Reach Out To Prince Fielder's Representatives

If it is true, with a big if, this is a well known Angelos tactic, make a lowball offer you know it will be declined so they can say to the fanbase: we have tried.

[scOtt]

If it is true, with a big if, this is a well known Angelos tactic, make a lowball offer you know it will be declined so they can say to the fanbase: we have tried.

I've never been fully on board with this theory. Take Tex for example, I believe Angelos TRULY believed he was making his best offer, nothing token at all. Bending over backwards even, in HIS mind. He did offer $140million of his money. It's just that he has an incredibly skewed view of player worth.

But that is completely irrelevant. "Orioles Reach Out To Prince Fielder's Representatives" should be interpreted as "Orioles Reach Out To Scott Boras". That could mean Fielder... could be discussing Matt Wieters. Could be discussing any OTHER of Boras' hundreds of clients. There is NOTHING in this to indicate this is about Fielder.

[CA-ORIOLE]

But that is completely irrelevant. "Orioles Reach Out To Prince Fielder's Representatives" should be interpreted as "Orioles Reach Out To Scott Boras". That could mean Fielder... could be discussing Matt Wieters. Could be discussing any OTHER of Boras' hundreds of clients. There is NOTHING in this to indicate this is about Fielder.

That would be some pretty poor reporting.

[scOtt]

That would be some pretty poor reporting.

Well, it is just an AM radio station in Milwaukee. Could be a little Milwaukee-centric... focused on their own issues (losing Fielder.)