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

[TonySoprano]

O.K. Cowherd played the bad cop routine. How long before someone (Peter Schmuck, I'm looking at you) rides in and plays the good cop? They often play old school SNL point-counterpoint. Peter, you ignorant slut!

http://www.hulu.com/watch/2306

[Frobby]

This team is really hard to root for. It's obvious Angelos and DD really don't care about the fan base. The crowds went from no one being there to a full house again, by saesons end and they just couldn't care less about filling the stadium. I don't get it. What a sad state of affairs. Angelos is a joke for an owner. I wish he would sell the team to Cal.

We will finish under .500 again and be right back to losers at the bottom of the AL east, this year.

Then do yourself a favor and go root for the Yankees. They're so easy to root for, spending all that money. Go ahead.

For me, the Orioles are the easiest team to root for in the world. I got more pleasure out of last season than any Yankee fan could have had, not just because of what the Orioles did, but how they did it, and the odds they faced. And I'm totally excited to see what this team is able to do this year, no matter what happens the rest of this offseason.

I'm not denigrating the way you feel, but I'm serious in saying that if you truly feel the organization is not committed to winning, is doomed to lose and doesn't care about it's fans, then don't make it so hard on yourself. Find another team to root for.

[Rene88]

He came here to get to the playoffs.

So the goal of MLB is to MAKE the playoffs? Got it:)

[OsHon]

The inaction is frustrating in a way, but I don't really feel like the Orioles have left any better moves on the table. Duquette clearly wants to get this franchise into a position where it can be competitive every year. The only way to do that is through the farm system. And while winning 93 games was totally unexpected last year, it doesn't change the fact that you still need to rebuild the farm system. That's going to take years. And it's going to mean that in the interim we aren't going to see a lot of blockbuster trades where we give up young players, or where we sign free agents who will cost us draft picks. This is the strategy. I'm fine with it.

Amen sir!

[Tony-OH]

Geez, I don't know Kevin. You're the reporter. Why don't you find out and let us know.

Pretty good point here, but that's not the Sun's style though.

[Sanfran327]

Honestly, if Bundy and Gausman turn into the #1 and #2 that they think they will turn into, they don't need a whole lot more to go right other than the rest of their guys just progressing at a reasonable pace. The core of this team, other than Hardy, is still either young or just reaching its prime. Yes, the farm is pretty barren beside the top 3, but there are a lot of young guys already up, improving, and contributing.

I agree with this. I think the next five years or so is going to be very fun for O's fans. I'm willing to be patient.

[Brendan25]

Our best players last year came through our system. Most of our best players.

I think our farm is deeper then some do also. I guess I'm one of the few that like this approach.

[Can_of_corn]

Our best players last year came through our system. Most of our best players.

I think our farm is deeper then some do also. I guess I'm one of the few that like this approach.

Chen, Gonzalez, Hammel, Hardy, Davis, Jones, O'Day, Strop, Patton, Ayala.

[Tony-OH]

The only thing I take out of this is that DD really doesn't have any desire/ability to sign big time free agents. Neither did MacPhail, which tells you it's a philosophy that's sent down from above. Thankfully, DD seems to be the kind of guy who will scrub every corner of the baseball world to find under appreciated talent. Chances are though that out of the surprises last year (Gonzalez, Tillman, McLouth, Davis, O'day and let's face it, Jim Johnson) odds are is that some of them will regress. The Orioles have some great chemistry and it's clear that DD and/or management feel their run last year was for a real and sustainable despite the fact that the rest of the AL East mostly improved on paper this off season.

We're bringing back basically the same offense as last year with no true MOO, streaky power guys, guys with big splits, few players who make productive outs over major league average, and mostly poor situational hitters. The only real difference is degrading our defense at first base by going from Reynolds to Davis and replacing Reynolds with a platoon of Betemit/Venecia-Pearce. Oh, and we'll probably have a 35-year old guy who hasn't played a full year in three years replacing Andino at second base. Let's just say I hope our pitching staff can build upon last year because if they slip back, it will be back to sub .500 for the Orioles in 2013.

As for the farm, Guasman and Bundy are obviously the two prize arms but after that, who's coming up and going to make an impact this year or even next year? Hoes may be able to come up and help at the corner outfield positions if someone gets hurt and Avery is a 4th outfielder type. Maybe Schoop can have a break through year and make good on the scouts that see his power developing. Regardless, this system is not filled with guys that can come up and make an impact in the next few years so the Orioles better start improving their scouting and development if this is the route they intend to take.

The last time the Orioles had sustained success over a few years in a row was when they went out and bought Palmeiro, Alomar and Myers. That doesn't mean I expect the Orioles to throw around huge money every off season, but I see no reason why we have to act like the little sisters of the poor when it comes to free agency each and every year. Someone will need to explain to me about the economics that allows a team like the Detroit Tigers to sign the Cabrera's and Fielder's of the world yet we have to hope our farm system brings in our best players.

The Orioles are never going to be the Yankees, Dodgers or Angels, but there is little reason why the Orioles management has decided we're the Tampa Bay Rays either.

[crawjo]

Or Duquette wants to resurrect his career in Baltimore then move on just as quickly as possible to a franchise that doesn't have Peter Angelos running it.

Or Duquette has a hard and fast (and inadequate) budget cap and is doing the best he can under those constraints.

And so on.

FWIW I think your analysis is most likely correct, but I don't think it's at all clear what DD wants. Furthermore I think it's all too easy to look at what Duquette's done so far and project whatever bias each of us has on his actions and feel content that progress is being made. Or in my case not. After all we're fast approaching the time where we've talked ourselves into believing Saunders and Morse is a successful offseason and that's not any sure thing either. Myself, I'm going to remain skeptical of schemes that require my money or my faith or my simple trust now for results somewhere vaguely down the road if such a proposal comes from the Orioles organization, directly or indirectly.

Percolation by any other name...

(crickets)

The free agent crop this year was rather poor. Unless you decide to go get a Josh Hamilton or a Zack Greinke, both of which I think the Orioles were wise to pass on, any move you make is going to be marginal at best. But even if you sign a big ticket free agent, the future of this club still depends on the young players and on rebuilding the farm system. I'm not interested in making cosmetic moves during the offseason just to say that we are committed to spending money. I'm interested in seeing the young players progress. Today the name of the game in baseball is to avoid albatross contracts. The Orioles almost certainly do have more payroll flexibility than we've seen to date, but you've got to be very careful how you use that flexibility because if you invest a lot in a guy who gets hurt or ages and doesn't perform, then you've crippled your ability to compete in the future.

[Brendan25]

The only thing I take out of this is that DD really doesn't have any desire/ability to sign big time free agents. Neither did MacPhail, which tells you it's a philosophy that's sent down from above. Thankfully, DD seems to be the kind of guy who will scrub every corner of the baseball world to find under appreciated talent. Chances are though that out of the surprises last year (Gonzalez, Tillman, McLouth, Davis, O'day and let's face it, Jim Johnson) odds are is that some of them will regress. The Orioles have some great chemistry and it's clear that DD and/or management feel their run last year was for a real and sustainable despite the fact that the rest of the AL East mostly improved on paper this off season.

We're bringing back basically the same offense as last year with no true MOO, streaky power guys, guys with big splits, few players who make productive outs over major league average, and mostly poor situational hitters. The only real difference is degrading our defense at first base by going from Reynolds to Davis and replacing Reynolds with a platoon of Betemit/Venecia-Pearce. Oh, and we'll probably have a 35-year old guy who hasn't played a full year in three years replacing Andino at second base. Let's just say I hope our pitching staff can build upon last year because if they slip back, it will be back to sub .500 for the Orioles in 2013.

As for the farm, Guasman and Bundy are obviously the two prize arms but after that, who's coming up and going to make an impact this year or even next year? Hoes may be able to come up and help at the corner outfield positions if someone gets hurt and Avery is a 4th outfielder type. Maybe Schoop can have a break through year and make good on the scouts that see his power developing. Regardless, this system is not filled with guys that can come up and make an impact in the next few years so the Orioles better start improving their scouting and development if this is the route they intend to take.

The last time the Orioles had sustained success over a few years in a row was when they went out and bought Palmeiro, Alomar and Myers. That doesn't mean I expect the Orioles to throw around huge money every off season, but I see no reason why we have to act like the little sisters of the poor when it comes to free agency each and every year. Someone will need to explain to me about the economics that allows a team like the Detroit Tigers to sign the Cabrera's and Fielder's of the world yet we have to hope our farm system brings in our best players.

The Orioles are never going to be the Yankees, Dodgers or Angels, but there is little reason why the Orioles management has decided we're the Tampa Bay Rays either.

To be fair to DD, he wasn't known for making huge free agent splashes in Boston either. He made one.

[NCRaven]

Where's the splashy free agent signing or two to energize the fan base even more? What, this team can't afford to make moves? What are they doing with all that MASN money?

Geez, I don't know Kevin. You're the reporter. Why don't you find out and let us know.

Not only that but is that really what we want? A GM that makes "splashy" moves for the sake of exciting fans instead of well reasoned moves that take both the short term and long term into consideration? If Bundy and Machado are the cost of making splashy moves, as far as trades are concerned, I'm glad we didn't. If over paying Hamilton or Grienke, who both have issues that cause me to wave red flags, is the cost of a free agent signing - not to mention the loss of a draft pick - then, again, I'm glad we didn't.

[Frobby]

The Orioles are never going to be the Yankees, Dodgers or Angels, but there is little reason why the Orioles management has decided we're the Tampa Bay Rays either.

I understand the point you are trying to make, but it just isn't accurate to compare our management's approach to Tampa's. Our estimated payroll for 2013 is about $30 mm higher than Tampa's. Tampa has one player on the entire team on a multi-year contract, and they routinely have let star players walk. And, of course, their approach has been working for the last five years, and the prognosis for the next five looks pretty good, too. So, if anything, maybe we should be a little more like Tampa than we are, when it comes to developing our own players.

[webbrick2010]

Good thing we have a great farm syst... oh wait.

:agree:

Problem is they haven't stood pat. They lost Reynolds to save 6 million, and thus far have lost Saunders also. In comparison Toronto, Boston and Tampa have made significant additions.

[mcgraw238]

I understand the point you are trying to make, but it just isn't accurate to compare our management's approach to Tampa's. Our estimated payroll for 2013 is about $30 mm higher than Tampa's. Tampa has one player on the entire team on a multi-year contract, and they routinely have let star players walk. And, of course, their approach has been working for the last five years, and the prognosis for the next five looks pretty good, too. So, if anything, maybe we should be a little more like Tampa than we are, when it comes to developing our own players.

This is a great point. I don't mind the draft and development philosophy but if you put all your eggs in one basket, you better be excellant at it. Our track record in the draft was pretty horrible under Joe Jordan, let's hope it is improved under the new guy.