Talked to my guy today....

[EASTERNSHOREFAN]

No I don't think so, but I don't think they look forward to the possible PR nightmares it would probably bring.

I think your right that the trading of Roberts or even Bedard would result in a lot of upset casual fans. I know from talking to a couple fans at work they get very upset when I mention the trading of Bedard and Roberts and act like the Orioles are just giving up and don't want to win.

[beardbr]

Belkast,

If handled correctly, it doesn't need to be a PR nightmare. They are sending him to a team with a chance to win. He has been through a lot with his time with the Orioles, and has remained a great person, at least to the public (He made some comments to me at Spring Training that something has to change with the whole team). Sure the casual fan may get upset, but if the team starts winning, as Drungo pointed out with they Why Not team, all will be forgotten.

[erb8472]

Is it safe to assume they arent trading Roberts without deals for the other 2 in place? I cant see them trading BRob then having Tejada (especially) and Bedard here next year.

I think without a doubt Bedard and Tejada are traded. If an offer comes along that you can't refuse before you've traded the other two you have to take it.

[Belkast]

Do you think signing him to a long-term contract would be good for the team in the long run? Too bad he probably doesn't want to be here.

In a perfect world yes, but I don't think he would be that big of a contribution once we are able to get back into competing for the playoffs.

[Hank Scorpio]

Okay back to Baseball. With the information that I have gathered I believe Roberts could go to the Cubs soon. We all know Roberts is a fan favorite and has done a good job in the community, and the fans with knowledge know by trading him we would be moving in the right direction in rebuilding. What do you think the "casual fans" reaction would be? Do you think it would be a PR nightmare for the front office?

LOL, it's impossible for a team whose fan base is as disinterested as this one to have a PR nightmare, I think. I'm sure some in the media will slam the team for trading away the perfect one, but those with a clue will see that it's likely the intelligent thing to do with respect to rebuilding this flaming wreckage.

[GeorgiaBird]

As has been said I think the casual fan is gone, or close enough to being gone, that you can't worry about them. The casual fan comes back with wins, and with that in mind I will be happy if the front office focuses on how to generate sustained winning seasons and not on how to keep the fans around.

Put another way, I think any drop off in attendance now will be more than made up for in a few years if we can assemble a team that is fun to watch (ie winning).

[Belkast]

Belkast,

If handled correctly, it doesn't need to be a PR nightmare. They are sending him to a team with a chance to win. He has been through a lot with his time with the Orioles, and has remained a great person, at least to the public (He made some comments to me at Spring Training that something has to change with the whole team). Sure the casual fan may get upset, but if the team starts winning, as Drungo pointed out with they Why Not team, all will be forgotten.

But in reality I think the majority of the fans are just "casual" anymore!

[MChance]

LOL, it's impossible for a team whose fan base is as disinterested as this one to have a PR nightmare, I think. I'm sure some in the media will slam the team for trading away the perfect one, but those with a clue will see that it's likely the intelligent thing to do with respect to rebuilding this flaming wreckage.

Yup. The Marlins are getting slammed for getting rid of Miguel Cabrera, but in reality, they made out very well in that trade. I'd expect something very similar when / if Roberts and Bedard are gone.

[erb8472]

But in reality I think the majority of the fans are just "casual" anymore!

Most "casual" fans are no longer your season ticket holders. It's the diehard fans, and most of them will realize what we are trying to do by trading Bedard, Roberts, Tejada, etc.

[srh523]

I think without a doubt Bedard and Tejada are traded. If an offer comes along that you can't refuse before you've traded the other two you have to take it.

But if Roberts is traded 1st and for some reason the other 2 arent traded, now there is a PR nightmare!

[erb8472]

But if Roberts is traded 1st and for some reason the other 2 arent traded, now there is a PR nightmare!

With 11 teams interested in Bedard I don't see how we don't get a good return, and he's not traded.

Tejada I'm a little more worried about, but I think someone will eventually bite.

[Belkast]

But if Roberts is traded 1st and for some reason the other 2 arent traded, now there is a PR nightmare!

See I don't agree with you on that one. I think we need to start somewhere and even if he is the only one traded we have to do it and start to rebuild.

[NJOriolesFan]

Okay back to Baseball. With the information that I have gathered I believe Roberts could go to the Cubs soon. We all know Roberts is a fan favorite and has done a good job in the community, and the fans with knowledge know by trading him we would be moving in the right direction in rebuilding. What do you think the "casual fans" reaction would be? Do you think it would be a PR nightmare for the front office?

Casual fans will be devastated. Especially the casual female fans. The casual fans won't care about a prospect's OPS+ in Iowa. They want their favorites. Most fans are like Cindy. Most fans like the baseball cards and bobble heads and autographs of their favorite players. There are so many Brian Roberts jerseys out there. He is the face of the Orioles to 75% of the fanbase.

Most of our fanbase does not read the Hangout although they should. The minorty of our fanbase is as knowledgable as any fan in baseball and know what is the right direction to go. Most of the fanbase doesn't want to read or believe that a player will leave at the end of their contract. Bedard and Roberts will leave if they don't see improvement in our direction by the end of 2009. We CAN NOT improve that direction without getting quantity and quality value for them while they are still with us. If we get something now for them the rebuilding starts in 2008 and 2009. If we wait until we get draft choices for these three guys, we will likely have 7 supplemental and 1st round picks in 2010 but they won't be ready until 2012 at the earliest.

This information has to be communicated to all Orioles fans for them to even come close to accepting why their favorite player is being traded. How many people have gone to a game in April, and you hear the fans talking in the stands about, "when did we get so and so?", "where did so-and-so go?", "This is great, we have THE Sammy Sosa". No-no the truth is we got the other Sammy Sosa. Most fans don't think about baseball in December. We do because we love it but we are a silent minority. And I do mean silent because our fanbase is not reading these boards, only we are.

"If a tree falls in the woods and nobody is there, did anybody hear it?"

I love the Orioles. I love winning. Unfortunately, I would love again if those two would meet again.

[davearm]

Amaris Ramirez to the Angels

Figgins, Roberts, and Tejada to the Cubs

Wood, Adenahrt, Pie, and Hill to the Orioles

You can forget about Aramis Ramirez being traded. The Cubs have no interest in moving him, and he's got a NTC. If he wanted to play in LAA, he would've just signed there for probably $25M more than he took to stay with the Cubs.

Not that the Cubs would consider this deal in the first place. Hill and Ramirez are the two best players in there, and we're giving both of them.

[Frobby]

I think there will be some fan backlash, but nothing really all that significant. Even casual fans know that Brian Roberts has never been part of a winning team here, and that the team needs to be dramatically recast.