Angelos may be mandating the signing of Fielder!

[LookinUp]

For those that want us to sign Fielder, but then get upset when so many of us oppose it, I'll just say this:

Most of us that think it's a bad idea basically think so because of 1) the terrible state of this franchise and 2) the constraints put on the team by Angelos.

In a better run franchise, we'd have the payroll flexibility necessary to fit a guy like Fielder in close to a $100 million payroll and actually compete. Unfortunately, we pay a lot for bad or generally overpaid players that the GM isn't allowed to move, so we simply don't think that adding Fielder to THIS team is worthwhile.

PA puts too many constraints on this franchise. I could handle some of his anti-move-favorite-players tactics if he simply allowed a higher payroll. I don't care if he gets 20 WAR from Fielder but pays for 30 WAR. That's the risk you take. I don't need a perfectly efficient franchise. I'd love to watch the fat one out there 5 days/week.

There are purists on this board, for sure. They care about things that GMs should care about, like whether we'll get equal value in the 5th/6th year of a contract. That's all legit, but I'd bet dollars to donuts that most on this site would love getting Fielder if we thought it wouldn't affect us adding enough pieces to this team to actually make us compete.

We just don't believe that. This is depressing. The more I read about this franchise, the more I think the only way we can compete is with a complete rebuild (again). Drop every expensive contract, including those about to be expensive (Jones, JJ) and get what you can in return. Then focus on acquiring the best young players and wait until the team gets good to supplement with FAs. It's a terrible plan, but I see us throwing about $50 million a year down the drain over a failing product.

[utvolzac]

I disagree. With a player that demands a salary like this, you absolutely need the owner's buy in to be able to bid. Nobody is denying that Fielder will help the team, the only question is whether the contract would cripple the organization. If Angelos is telling Double D its okay to try to get him, that's fine with me. Now, if we were to get him, and then Angelos tells DD that there is now no money for scouting and development, etc, then you're absolutely right and it was a dumbass move yet again from Angelos.

In any case, I don't put much stock in Heyman's tweet nor do I have any false expectations that Fielder will be an Oriole.

I agree that the owner needs to sign off on high price contracts.

I took the word mandate to mean that Angelos is overstepping DD and ordering him to sign Fielder whether DD agrees or not. That is what I have a problem with.

[Dipper9]

I agree that the owner needs to sign off on high price contracts.

I took the word mandate to mean that Angelos is overstepping DD and ordering him to sign Fielder whether DD agrees or not. That is what I have a problem with.

I understand and I agree. I guess my question is, IF the owner is saying, yeah, here's the money for him, then why would any GM not want to go after him, unless of course there will be nothing left in the piggy bank.

[Roll Tide]

It's one thing to say "Sign Fielder!". It's another to say, your payroll budget is 105M. Do what you think is best.

What if it was...Sign Fielder and I will allow you to raise the payroll by his salary from the number we already agreed on?

[Dipper9]

What if it was...Sign Fielder and I will allow you to raise the payroll by his salary from the number we already agreed on?

My response would be, "Mr. Angelos, Sir. Not fuh nuttin, but would you mind putting that in writing? Thanks bunches!"

[Dipper9]

No good. I think what I posted was pretty clear. If Angelos is willing to up to payroll to accomodate Fielder's salary, I don't want him to tell DD that he has to sign Fielder in order to use that money. I want it to be DD's decision how to spend that money. If he decides that spending it on Fielder is the way to go, fine. I just want DD making the baseball decisions, not Peter Angelos. If Peter Angelos says "I will only increase the payroll for Prince Fielder" then I guess we just have more of the same old, same old. In that case, I'd still like to leave it up to DD.

We've had high payrolls in the past that were filled with $40 million bullpens. Perhaps Angelos telling DD to spend it on Fielder is saying, "I don't mind you raising the payroll for the big guy, but you ain't spending my money on washed up bullpen arms!"

[calhof2007]

How does it make any sense for the O's to sign Fielder? They're not even close to getting out of last place for the next decade even with him.

So the Orioles shouldn't even attempt to get out of last place?

[Roll Tide]

We've had high payrolls in the past that were filled with $40 million bullpens. Perhaps Angelos telling DD to spend it on Fielder is saying, "I don't mind you raising the payroll for the big guy, but you ain't spending my money on washed up bullpen arms!"

This is a good point ...don't sign one bad bullpen arm per season and stay away from each seasons 6-7 million Derek Lee, Vlad, Sosa and Fielder wouldn't be all that expensive. Just what the Orioles can save on not offering a contract to Scott and replacing Vlad with Soriano at $6 Mil per could cover it this year.

[Roll Tide]

If you want Angelos making the decisions instead of DD, all I can say is "you deserve what you have".

It's all right for a owner to say I'd really like to have a certain player. I'd be willing to cover it outside your budget. Why would DD or any other GM say no to the owner.

[BaltimoreTerp]

It's all right for a owner to say I'd really like to have a certain player. I'd be willing to cover it outside your budget. Why would DD or any other GM say no to the owner.

If the owner wants to run the team themselves they should run the team themselves, not hire a good baseball mind to run the team for them.

[Going Underground]

No secret mandate and no Prince-perhaps a frog . Frogs turn into Princes. No Princes but perhaps a Street. I think Heyman heard secret mandate but it was Peter's secret Santa. No one can go over the dollar store gifts.

[Dipper9]

I'm not saying they would say no to the owner. I'm saying it's a bad situation if the owner is willing to spend the money but he wants to be the one to decide which baseball players he wants to spend it on.

Angelos has done SO much wrong in his tenure here, but he has also meddled from time to time that has prevented disastrous decisions from his GM's. I don't want the owner running the team, but I also don't mind if he says, "If you can get player A, then I'm willing to expand your budget." There is nothing wrong with that. And making ONE exception does not mean I want the owner running the team, so please stop with the extremes!

[Dipper9]

Ill say it again.I dont think the Orioles will sign Fielder and for MOST of you I guess you think thats a good thing. But I have one

question. Does anyone think if we had signed Tex at about the same money were were any "closer" or"better" as an organization?

I say that the Orioles were ALOT worse off when they were offering Tex a ton of money(reportedly).

I dont think Prince is as complete a player as Tex, but he's as close as you are going to get in the future FA market. Forget Pujols he

DEFINATELY aint coming. SO TO SUM UP. IF YOU WANTED TEX..WHY WOULDNT YOU HAVE WANTED PRINCE?

The ONLY reason I want Prince is because he's the best thing available.

The difference between he and Tex is Prince is an extremely overweight ballplayer, and that doesn't bode well for his future.

[El Gordo]

If we had signed Tex we would have been a 73-75 W team last year. Wow!

[Hank Scorpio]

Ill say it again.I dont think the Orioles will sign Fielder and for MOST of you I guess you think thats a good thing. But I have one

question. Does anyone think if we had signed Tex at about the same money were were any "closer" or"better" as an organization?

I say that the Orioles were ALOT worse off when they were offering Tex a ton of money(reportedly).

I dont think Prince is as complete a player as Tex, but he's as close as you are going to get in the future FA market. Forget Pujols he

DEFINATELY aint coming. SO TO SUM UP. IF YOU WANTED TEX..WHY WOULDNT YOU HAVE WANTED PRINCE?

Whoooooooooa, dragon!!!!!

They are very different baseball players.