Duquette, "Our best players are going to come up through the farm system."

[Dark Helmet]

I have provided quote afer quote after quote of PA saying he does not like free agency and does not want to spend a lot in free agency. YOu keep saying PA has made promises that he has not made, and you come up with him quoting the payroll would increase because of MASN. The payroll has increased. It's just not as high as you want it to be.

And here's some more quotes since you asked.

"This is great news for sports fans throughout the Mid-Atlantic region," said Orioles owner Peter G. Angelos in a statement. "We are pleased to have reached this agreement with Comcast, which will allow both the Nationals and the Orioles to maximize their exposure throughout the territory. We are grateful for the support we have received from public officials from Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia, whose support was critical to getting the games on television."

Angelos could not be reached last night for further comment. But he has said that MASN will be a vital source of revenue for the Orioles as they strive to compete with financial heavyweights such as the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox. The value of the network would have remained depressed as long as Comcast, the region's dominant cable provider, refused to carry it.

"It secured the future of this franchise," said Orioles counsel Alan M. Rifkin, who worked on the MASN-Comcast negotiations from the start. "It means that the franchise will be on solid financial footing now and for the future."

Rifkin said that without MASN, the future of the Orioles would have been "very bleak."

Asked when the benefits will become apparent, he said, "You're going to see it immediately."

http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2006-08-05/news/0608050463_1_comcast-cable-orioles-agreement-with-comcast

[Dark Helmet]

I have provided quote afer quote after quote of PA saying he does not like free agency and does not want to spend a lot in free agency. YOu keep saying PA has made promises that he has not made, and you come up with him quoting the payroll would increase because of MASN. The payroll has increased. It's just not as high as you want it to be.

Here's another comment PA never made

Once the Orioles are playoff contenders, Peter Angelos says, the team will be looking to make a big deal, as Peter Schmuck writes.

[Dark Helmet]

Here's another comment PA never made

I forgot to add the link of that quote

http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/blog/_/name/olney_buster/id/4007671/cavalry-coming-baltimore

[TonySoprano]

Brittany Ghiroli ‏@Britt_Ghiroli

"Let’s not confuse activity with the strength of our ballclub here in Baltimore."-Duquette. Mentioned Bundy & Gausman as options for this yr

[WEAVERMAN]

And here's some more quotes since you asked.

"This is great news for sports fans throughout the Mid-Atlantic region," said Orioles owner Peter G. Angelos in a statement. "We are pleased to have reached this agreement with Comcast, which will allow both the Nationals and the Orioles to maximize their exposure throughout the territory. We are grateful for the support we have received from public officials from Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia, whose support was critical to getting the games on television."

Angelos could not be reached last night for further comment. But he has said that MASN will be a vital source of revenue for the Orioles as they strive to compete with financial heavyweights such as the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox. The value of the network would have remained depressed as long as Comcast, the region's dominant cable provider, refused to carry it.

"It secured the future of this franchise," said Orioles counsel Alan M. Rifkin, who worked on the MASN-Comcast negotiations from the start. "It means that the franchise will be on solid financial footing now and for the future."

Rifkin said that without MASN, the future of the Orioles would have been "very bleak."

Asked when the benefits will become apparent, he said, "You're going to see it immediately."

http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2006-08-05/news/0608050463_1_comcast-cable-orioles-agreement-with-comcast

Well done, Dark Helmet.

[TonySoprano]

YOu keep saying PA has made promises that he has not made, and you come up with him quoting the payroll would increase because of MASN. The payroll has increased. It's just not as high as you want it to be.

Keep in mind MASN's first full season was 2007. Where are the big payroll increases after that year? Even after including the outliner that was 2007, the average payroll for the last 6 years is $79,366,293

Opening Day payrolls

2005 $73,914,333

2006 $72,585,582

2007 $93,554,808

2008 $67,196,246

2009 $67,101,666

2010 $81,612,500

2011 $85,304,038

2012 $81,428,499

[OFFNY]

Keep in mind MASN's first full season was 2007. Where are the big payroll increases after that year? Even after including the outliner that was 2007, the average payroll for the last 6 years is $79,366,293

Opening Day payrolls

2005 $73,914,333

2006 $72,585,582

2007 $93,554,808

2008 $67,196,246

2009 $67,101,666

2010 $81,612,500

2011 $85,304,038

2012 $81,428,499

Nice chart. Thanks.

[24fps]

Brittany Ghiroli ‏@Britt_Ghiroli

"Let’s not confuse activity with the strength of our ballclub here in Baltimore."-Duquette. Mentioned Bundy & Gausman as options for this yr

And let's not confuse activity with the Orioles' offseason so far. Mentioned Bundy & Gausman because the silence was becoming uncomfortably deafening after a while.

[Brendan25]

I assume you meant DD? And if he has an owner that won't spend, then what's he supposed to say? DD didn't mind spending money in Boston. I have quoted PA saying that the MASN deal would allow them to compete financially with the Yankees and Red Sox. TonySoprano has quoted it numerous times too.

Duquette made one big signing in Boston, Manny Ramirez. He drafted Nomar, Youk, David Eckstein, Hanley Ramirez, Freddy Sanchez. He traded for Pedro Martinez and then extended him, traded for Jason Varitek. Traded for Derek Lowe. DD was not a guy that went crazy in free agency in Boston.

And here's some more quotes since you asked.

"This is great news for sports fans throughout the Mid-Atlantic region," said Orioles owner Peter G. Angelos in a statement. "We are pleased to have reached this agreement with Comcast, which will allow both the Nationals and the Orioles to maximize their exposure throughout the territory. We are grateful for the support we have received from public officials from Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia, whose support was critical to getting the games on television."

Angelos could not be reached last night for further comment. But he has said that MASN will be a vital source of revenue for the Orioles as they strive to compete with financial heavyweights such as the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox. The value of the network would have remained depressed as long as Comcast, the region's dominant cable provider, refused to carry it.

"It secured the future of this franchise," said Orioles counsel Alan M. Rifkin, who worked on the MASN-Comcast negotiations from the start. "It means that the franchise will be on solid financial footing now and for the future."

Rifkin said that without MASN, the future of the Orioles would have been "very bleak."

Asked when the benefits will become apparent, he said, "You're going to see it immediately."

http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2006-08-05/news/0608050463_1_comcast-cable-orioles-agreement-with-comcast

Here are some PA quotes on free agency.

“That does not preclude a given club from going beyond that level, ... We believe it's time to get this spiraling payroll situation under some control. The idea is to stabilize.... We believe that in order to keep the game within reach of American baseball fan we have to do some payroll stabilization here.”

“I think the real story is that some of the demands coming from these players are absolutely outrageous, ... Baseball was on the right track until this recent spate of agreements.”

“I'd find it difficult to justify a $20 million salary per year for anybody. The economics of the game don't support that type of salary for any player.”

“[Tejada] has only been here two years, so I don't know what he's talking about. We're not spending $50 million on a closer who's been a closer for only one year and $55 million for a guy who hasn't won more than 12 games in a year. If that's what his criticism is based on, it just shows he wouldn't be a great general manager.”

http://thinkexist.com/quotes/peter_angelos/2.html

You're little excerpt about the Orioles competing with the Yankees and Red Sox is something a reporter said. Show me the quote from Angelos' mouth, where he said it.

Keep in mind MASN's first full season was 2007. Where are the big payroll increases after that year? Even after including the outliner that was 2007, the average payroll for the last 6 years is $79,366,293

Opening Day payrolls

2005 $73,914,333

2006 $72,585,582

2007 $93,554,808

2008 $67,196,246

2009 $67,101,666

2010 $81,612,500

2011 $85,304,038

2012 $81,428,499

They have sucked all those years. They had no good players worth extending. They had no reason to sign any top free agents. Those payrolls shouldn't have been any higher without building up the organizaiton first.

[Dark Helmet]

Duquette made one big signing in Boston, Manny Ramirez. He drafted Nomar, Youk, David Eckstein, Hanley Ramirez, Freddy Sanchez. He traded for Pedro Martinez and then extended him, traded for Jason Varitek. Traded for Derek Lowe. DD was not a guy that went crazy in free agency in Boston.

Here are some PA quotes on free agency.

http://thinkexist.com/quotes/peter_angelos/2.html

You're little excerpt about the Orioles competing with the Yankees and Red Sox is something a reporter said. Show me the quote from Angelos' mouth, where he said it.

They have sucked all those years. They had no good players worth extending. They had no reason to sign any top free agents. Those payrolls shouldn't have been any higher without building up the organizaiton first.

Why bother showing you any more quotes? You find a way to dismiss them anyhow. Was PA against FA when he signed Palmerio, Alomar, Surhoff, Belle? The facts are, we were led to believe MASN would give the Orioles the ability to up the payroll. And i'm not talking about going from 82M to 88M. I gave you what you asked for, and it's not enough. There's never going to be enough information to get you to believe any other way but your pov. Sometimes I wonder if you have an office at the warehouse.

[Bradysburns]

I don't buy that the Orioles' system is devoid of talent after the top 3. I looked at the Nationals' Top 20, and in terms of the stats, at least, many of them were drastically under-performing. Our farm system right now includes Arrieta, Steve Johnson, Xavier Avery and a bunch of other true prospects. I don't see it as barren. Modest? Perhaps. But not barren.

The prospect of us fans having to "manage expectations" for years while we build up this mythical farm system, and then additional years to deploy it at the MLB level... I find that depressing.

We just won 93 games. The goal this next season should be to win the division and get deep into the playoffs. I don't see this as the time to get overly cautious - nor to make assumptions about repeating certain performance patterns from last year.

My point is, I would hope DD doesn't fall into the trap of the "five-year plan" or whatever. We've tried that before. Win now - AND win later. We should be able to do both in 2013, somehow.

[Tony-OH]

Not to jump in the middle of a nice argument but Angelos did say as much in the infamous (or at least infamous to O's fans) pressbox interview. Here is the quote most people are referring to when Angelos talks about MASN being able to help the O's spend a little bit:

And some people wonder why the rest of us are still scratching our heads. Actions speak louder than words, and Angelos proves that every year the Orioles sit dormant and never add any impact talent despite his cash cow spinning out money.

[Frobby]

I don't buy that the Orioles' system is devoid of talent after the top 3. I looked at the Nationals' Top 20, and in terms of the stats, at least, many of them were drastically under-performing. Our farm system right now includes Arrieta, Steve Johnson, Xavier Avery and a bunch of other true prospects. I don't see it as barren. Modest? Perhaps. But not barren.

The prospect of us fans having to "manage expectations" for years while we build up this mythical farm system, and then additional years to deploy it at the MLB level... I find that depressing.

We just won 93 games. The goal this next season should be to win the division and get deep into the playoffs. I don't see this as the time to get overly cautious - nor to make assumptions about repeating certain performance patterns from last year.

My point is, I would hope DD doesn't fall into the trap of the "five-year plan" or whatever. We've tried that before. Win now - AND win later. We should be able to do both in 2013, somehow.

I think there is zero chance that Duquette or Buck are interested in a five year plan. They think we can compete with esseantially the same team we put on the field last year, and they don't want to sacrifice the ability to stay competitive for the next several years by trading away young talent, without a very good return. We'll see if their assessment was correct.

[soxhotcorner14]

And some people wonder why the rest of us are still scratching our heads. Actions speak louder than words, and Angelos proves that every year the Orioles sit dormant and never add any impact talent despite his cash cow spinning out money.

Every big star and potentially big contract is always a bad contract in Angelos's eyes. But year after year these contracts get signed and the O's are left sitting in a lazy boy eating apple sauce slobbering all over themselves.

I will tell you this, if you're not going to spend the money on the Big League team because these contracts are outrageous... Then you better have the best damn farm system in the big leagues. That has changed a bit starting with AM and now with DD. But this tells you no matter the justifications brought forward from PA or his sympathizers.. bottom line they've been pocketing the money and not sinking large amounts back into the organization.

Think about it, what do you think that $50 million dollars he gave to Albert Belle or the $72 he gave to Tejada would do for this organization? An awful lot I can tell you that. And those are just two guys we are talking about.. not to mention the lower echlon guys making between $1-$10 million a year. For some reason we always thought we were a Kevin Millar away from contending the past 10+ years. That kind of money could do wonders for an organization to find and cultivate talent.

The players might love him, and his close group of guys. If this team is going to move forward and contend, you need an owner who is all in when it comes to his word. I'm not positive that Angelos can look in the mirror and say that.

[Dark Helmet]

Not to jump in the middle of a nice argument but Angelos did say as much in the infamous (or at least infamous to O's fans) pressbox interview. Here is the quote most people are referring to when Angelos talks about MASN being able to help the O's spend a little bit:

That was actually the interview I was referring to, but I couldn't find the quote again. I know you weren't taking sides, but thanks for posting that.