Per Roch: Orioles STILL interested in Fielder, but don't get up hopes...

[JTrea81]

You called Buck Showalter?

1) Heyman is an idiot.

2) I have no interest in Fielder (knowing that the last 2-3 years of a 6-7 year contract will probably have to be "eaten"), unless the price is really low, relatively speaking, and/or his contract comes with an extremely detailed, easily enforceable fitness clause.

You might as well say you don't want to sign Fielder.

As for the secret mandate, that would valdidate claims MacPhail was holding the team back if the emphasis that

Duke has been able to make with international scouting wasn't enough...

[MrOrange82]

You might as well say you don't want to sign Fielder.

As for the secret mandate, that would valdidate claims MacPhail was holding the team back if the emphasis that

Duke has been able to make with international scouting wasn't enough...

You do realize that "secret mandate" becomes an oxymoron if Heyman's the one talking about it, right?

[bballguru]

How is this even news? You know theses threads keep being made and I would like to point out that in the legendary Mark Tex. a thread in which we were all lead to believe by an "insider" that for sure we were going to land Tex. I stated that "there was no chance this was happening" and I got a neg. rep. for it. After 14 years it?s been no dice for a big impact bat ... 14 years, and these threads keep happening. And here I am throwing my two cents in anyway.... guess what I will bet everything I own we make an offer that?s almost but not quite embarrassing and he signs else ware. Now I know I must be a party pooper for saying "we wont land him" and I?m not certain if we did this would be a bad thing. I?m for anything that makes my team better and even though I wish we were building a nasty pitching staff rather than a nasty lineup I still believe that he could help us so I will put in my "hope I?m wrong" comment and go somewhere else and read some thread started by S.G. or Frobby. Have fun anyway!

[JTrea81]

Pardon me if this was posted already. Update from Roch:

http://www.masnsports.com/school_of_roch/2011/12/duquette-confirms-interest-in-fielder.html

Tex wasn't a priority for the Yankees either.

We'll just have to hope Mrs. Fielder wants Prince to be an Oriole...

[MrOrange82]

JTrea and I may be the only ones who agree that this is the very best possible FA for the Orioles since Tex.

He's not just a power hitter, he's a great contact hitter, relatively low strikeout rate....he is also just 27...and a total draw for the crowds at OPCY.

If you want to wonder know why theres 7,000 fans at OPCY in the second week of the season EVERY year..its because nobody cares about a vanilla team that

finishes dead last EVERY year. This club needs a pick up..and it AINT Chris Davis or Brandon Snyder..its Prince FREAKING Fielder..and if the Jays really do want

him and get him..it will be a travesty...and leave the Orioles without a single draw in the AL EAST.

Baseball is show business as much as it is a business...and if their aint no "show" people wont show.

Think about it.

We all have...extensively, I think.

I'm not quite sure I understand, though, why you're so completely behind a potential Fielder signing. You've obviously been around the game a long time, which in turn means that you know what players with Fielder's body type are likely to do once they hit their 30's. Couple that knowledge with the stark reality of the lackluster performances of most of the Orioles' prospects, a relatively barren MiL system, etc., and you also have to know that the O's are unlikely to be good during Fielder's last few (4ish) "prime" years.

And that leads back to the original question...despite the content of your post, why sign Fielder?

[Fan4Life]

JTrea and I may be the only ones who agree that this is the very best possible FA for the Orioles since Tex.

He's not just a power hitter, he's a great contact hitter, relatively low strikeout rate....he is also just 27...and a total draw for the crowds at OPCY.

If you want to wonder know why theres 7,000 fans at OPCY in the second week of the season EVERY year..its because nobody cares about a vanilla team that

finishes dead last EVERY year. This club needs a pick up..and it AINT Chris Davis or Brandon Snyder..its Prince FREAKING Fielder..and if the Jays really do want

him and get him..it will be a travesty...and leave the Orioles without a single draw in the AL EAST.

Baseball is show business as much as it is a business...and if their aint no "show" people wont show.

Think about it.

In principle, I don't think many are against acquiring Fielder. The issue is, the cost. So in that light, where is the line beyond which you would not go in years and dollars?

[Frobby]

JTrea and I may be the only ones who agree that this is the very best possible FA for the Orioles since Tex.

He's not just a power hitter, he's a great contact hitter, relatively low strikeout rate....he is also just 27...and a total draw for the crowds at OPCY.

If you want to wonder know why theres 7,000 fans at OPCY in the second week of the season EVERY year..its because nobody cares about a vanilla team that

finishes dead last EVERY year. This club needs a pick up..and it AINT Chris Davis or Brandon Snyder..its Prince FREAKING Fielder..and if the Jays really do want

him and get him..it will be a travesty...and leave the Orioles without a single draw in the AL EAST.

Baseball is show business as much as it is a business...and if their aint no "show" people wont show.

Think about it.

I believe with every fiber of my being that only winning is going to move the attendance needle in any appreciable amount. Fielder won't put many fans in the seats, unless the team wins a LOT more with him than without him.

The Nats got Adam Dunn for two years, and he hit 38 homers two years in a row and posted and OPS of .928 and then .892 with 100 RBI each year. What did it do for their attendance? Nothing! They were down 500,000 his first year and flat the second year despite the arrival of Strasburg, who unlike Dunn, was a "move the needle" guy on the days he pitched.

If the O's sign Fielder (or just about anyone else) and win 73-74 games, you won't see any noticeable change in attendance. If they threaten .500 (which will take a lot more than Fielder), then maybe the needle goes modestly north. They'd have to be in genuine contention at the all-star break to make a noticeable attendance move.

So, if you see Fielders as a strategic part to making the O's a contender in the next year or two, fine. But anyone who gets him thinking he's going to be a huge draw is sadly mistaken.

[OrioleMagic]

JTrea and I may be the only ones who agree that this is the very best possible FA for the Orioles since Tex.

He's not just a power hitter, he's a great contact hitter, relatively low strikeout rate....he is also just 27...and a total draw for the crowds at OPCY.

If you want to wonder know why theres 7,000 fans at OPCY in the second week of the season EVERY year..its because nobody cares about a vanilla team that

finishes dead last EVERY year. This club needs a pick up..and it AINT Chris Davis or Brandon Snyder..its Prince FREAKING Fielder..and if the Jays really do want

him and get him..it will be a travesty...and leave the Orioles without a single draw in the AL EAST.

Baseball is show business as much as it is a business...and if their aint no "show" people wont show.

Think about it.

Strawdawg would make 3 of you.

[MrOrange82]

Not to be disrespectful but I just said WHY. Because this team lacks an identifying player..a brand...and a very good hitter..Sign him for 6..He may end up in his last year or two as a guy who hits 15

HR's and drives in 75..but by that time the Orioles will have somebody on their radar who might deliver better..meanwhile he will have been a good draw and compelling reason to watch this team

for 4-5 years..its business..not just baseball..and its show business..I really believe that sincerely.

Besides the Orioles arent going to sell tickets with Joe Saunders, Edwin Jackson and Yu Darvish combined. Prince will.

But we did exactly the same thing with Tejada. He was amazing through the early years of his contract, and the O's were still terrible.

The team doesn't just need a brand name, it needs to win, and (I'm sorry for being contentious) tying up massive amounts of money in Fielder doesn't make it more likely that the O's will win. You're talking about putting a huge chunk of the team's available resources into one player - resources that could otherwise be dedicated to building a legitimate foundation through MiL development.

Again, I'm sorry, but it almost sounds like you're advocating for history to repeat itself.

[JTrea81]

Not to be disrespectful but I just said WHY. Because this team lacks an identifying player..a brand...and a very good hitter..Sign him for 6..He may end up in his last year or two as a guy who

hits 15

HR's and drives in 75..but by that time the Orioles will have somebody on their radar who might deliver better..meanwhile he will have been a good draw and compelling reason to watch this

team

for 4-5 years..its business..not just baseball..and its show business..I really believe that sincerely.

Besides, the Orioles arent going to sell tickets with Joe Saunders, Edwin Jackson and Yu Darvish combined. Prince will.You give this team a 35 HR left handed hitter at 1b and couple that with

Reynolds, Hardy, Jones, Wieters, Nick and even Reimold and they can batter teams with their own ERA of 4.5 or so....

Thats my opinion..but I respect my opinion.

Amen Roy. It is about entertainment and show business. With the average Orioles fan able to watch the team from the comfort of their home in HD, the Orioles need to give people a reason to come watch the O's at OPACY. They've got to make the on-field product watchable and exciting.

And winning will do that, but to win the Orioles have to acquire talent like Fielder now, while their core is still in its prime.

[El Gordo]

Not to be disrespectful but I just said WHY. Because this team lacks an identifying player..a brand...and a very good hitter..Sign him for 6..He may end up in his last year or two as a guy who

hits 15

HR's and drives in 75..but by that time the Orioles will have somebody on their radar who might deliver better..meanwhile he will have been a good draw and compelling reason to watch this

team

for 4-5 years..its business..not just baseball..and its show business..I really believe that sincerely.

Besides, the Orioles arent going to sell tickets with Joe Saunders, Edwin Jackson and Yu Darvish combined. Prince will.You give this team a 35 HR left handed hitter at 1b and couple that with

Reynolds, Hardy, Jones, Wieters, Nick and even Reimold and they can batter teams with their own ERA of 4.5 or so....

Thats my opinion..but I respect my opinion.

We'd sell more tickets with these guys because we'd win way more games with them than Prince.

[OrioleMagic]

Amen Roy. It is about entertainment and show business. With the average Orioles fan able to watch the team from the comfort of their home in HD, the Orioles need to give people a reason to come watch the O's at OPACY. They've got to make the on-field product watchable and exciting.

And winning will do that, but to win the Orioles have to acquire talent like Fielder now, while their core is still in it's prime.

It is about so much more than entertainment and show business. Both are certainly a part, but if you don't have strengths all around, the show business isn't the win business.

[Pedro Cerrano]

Time to add another term to the Offseason Thesaurus!!! "Secret Mandate" is right up there with "Wow Offer" and "Wine and Dine"

[Sports Guy]

You might as well say you don't want to sign Fielder.

As for the secret mandate, that would valdidate claims MacPhail was holding the team back if the emphasis that

Duke has been able to make with international scouting wasn't enough...

No it doesn't.

1) The Orioles did put a big, albeit very light in comparison, offer to Tex.

2) You have no idea if PA was willing to allow AM to do this...he may think differently.

Now, in no way do I believe PA has changed. However, my point is that just because the Orioles sign Fielder doesn't mean AM held anything back.

[Frobby]

Texas without ARod: 2.59 mm in 2000

Texas with ARod: 2.83 mm in 2001, 2.35 mm in 2002, 2.09 mm in 2003

Texas without ARod: 2.51 mm in 2004

So there you have it, the most ballyhooed free agent in baseball history barely made a dent in the Rangers' attendance, or in their W/L record. If you don't win, you don't draw significantly more fans.