O's will probably make a trade at the meetings

[crissfan172]

O's are so CHEAP.Memo to Buck and Dan stay with the same team as last year and your looking at a under .500 team,

Memo to Birdland: They don't make the budget.

[MurphDogg]

Memo to Buck and Dan stay with the same team as last year and your looking at a under .500 team,

Based on what?

Also: *you're

[Brooks The Great]

Ah... I've missed you, old friend. A Winter Meetings staple before the inevitable, "O's hoped to make trade, but couldn't find a fit."

Brittany Ghiroli ‏@Britt_Ghiroli

The #orioles won't make a trade just to make one.

Man that line is a really annoying cliche. I've never heard of a team ever making a trade "just to make a trade" to begin with. That line's just a weak excuse whenever a GM is unable to find a deal.

[clapdiddy]

Man that line is a really annoying cliche. I've never heard of a team ever making a trade "just to make a trade" to begin with. That line's just a weak excuse whenever a GM is unable to find a deal.

It's an excuse, but I'm not sure it's a weak excuse. If we were targeting Butler and KC is adamant about getting Bundy and will not even think about another player, is that DD's fault?

[weams]

BTW, our old buddy Trea is having a conniption fit on Twitter right now.

That is so funny

A Call for the Immediate Resignation of Andy MacPhail

Hello folks,

I think some of you who read OH are all aware of my position regarding Andy MacPhail and his tenure as the President of Baseball Operations for the Orioles. I started a thread there, and am also taking the message here and elsewhere to spread the word.

Since MacPhail was hired in June 2007, the Orioles win-loss record is 187-275 for a winning percentage of .405

In each season since he’s taken control the Orioles major league squad has become worse in terms of on-field results. He has taken the Orioles from being a laughing stock, to now being completely irrelevant in MLB.

It’s time for Orioles fans to unite and say that they are sick of Andy MacPhail and his plan and continued losing that has occurred while he has remained in control.

I’ve started a Facebook group and a corresponding online petition that calls for the immediate resignation of Andy MacPhail as President of Baseball Operations.

I urge you who are as sick and tired of continous losing and the continuous inaction to do much about it, to join the group and sign the petition and spread the word to other fans who feel the same.

Together we can send a message that it is time for Andy to step aside and stop holding the Orioles back.

We can send the message that we will only tolerate winning baseball in Baltimore and nothing less.

The links are below if you wish to join me in this effort:

Facebook group

Online petition

Signed a Troll Balance Druid.

[osfan83]

Agree with this. People complain endlessly about us being stingy but what free agents would you want to get? Hamilton's a bad investment for whoever gets him. So is Geinke. The fact is free agency is not an efficient way to add talent to the team. Interestingly, there is actually no correlation between payroll and wins in the MLB. And yet we've got hoards of O's fans seeing red because DD won't throw $40 million at Mike Napoli or Adam Laroche. Free agency if for front offices who lack the resources to pull off deft trades, plain and simple. Moreover, our payroll is actually set to increase by close to 20%, which is quite the jump by any standard.

Actually there is a huge correlation between payroll and odds of making the post season. Many posts in the past show something like this:

Top 3rd in spending has a about a 65% chance of makingthe post season

Middle third has about a 45% chance

and bottom third has something like an 18% chance.

Last time I ran the numbers I looked at 1995-2011 or so.

Being in the top third of spending gives you a much better chance at making the post season than being in the bottom third.

[Scrat1]

Is it just me or is Ghiroli one of the worst reporters out there?

Uh, definitely just you. She's fantastic.

[Dark Helmet]

I don't understand what you mean by this. They will sign or trade for players to replace these three (or re-sign some of them). They didn't just disappear into an ether of free money.

DD didn't say that the Orioles couldn't afford to pay Mark Reynolds $9 million, just that it made more sense to use that money elsewhere.

If im not mistaken, DD said "Not sure if Reynolds fits in the budget". Not sure how else he could mean it.

[clapdiddy]

Uh, definitely just you. She's fantastic.

Agreed. She has done a great job as a beat writer here.

[Brooks The Great]

It's an excuse, but I'm not sure it's a weak excuse. If we were targeting Butler and KC is adamant about getting Bundy and will not even think about another player, is that DD's fault?

No, I never said it was. But the whole "we won't make a trade just to make a trade" company line is straight up insulting to the intelligence of your fans. Just say other teams were asking too much for their players, or that we wanted more value to give up our players.

[waroriole]

BTW, our old buddy Trea is having a conniption fit on Twitter right now.

I'm so glad he doesn't subject us to that anymore.

[weams]

Agreed. She has done a great job as a beat writer here.

The finest we have had.

[clapdiddy]

No, I never said it was. But the whole "we won't make a trade just to make a trade" company line is straight up insulting to the intelligence of your fans. Just say other teams were asking too much for their players, or that we wanted more value to give up our players.

I understand what you are saying, but I think that DD likely realizes the true value of his players. He's only been here one season and doesn't have any loyalty to anyone. I don't think he thinks that way, anyway. I think he looks for ways to make his team better.

The lack of movement is frustrating...I know!

[weams]

I don't understand what you mean by this. They will sign or trade for players to replace these three (or re-sign some of them). They didn't just disappear into an ether of free money.

DD didn't say that the Orioles couldn't afford to pay Mark Reynolds $9 million, just that it made more sense to use that money elsewhere.

Dan was kind to Mark. He never said that his contract was beyond team payroll, just that the player value that the Orioles assigned was less than the 11 million dollar option or 12 to 14 million dollar arbitration estimate that the Orioles team had decided he would get.

[Brooks The Great]

I understand what you are saying, but I think that DD likely realizes the true value of his players. He's only been here one season and doesn't have any loyalty to anyone. I don't think he thinks that way, anyway. I think he looks for ways to make his team better.

The lack of movement is frustrating...I know!

Oh I agree, I know that DD knows what he's doing. I just get really angered by that particular line, and I probably blame Andy MacPhail and other recent Orioles GM's for saying it more than anyone else.