Nationals taking advantage of their MASN money

[Stotle]

Werth becoming a scarecrow in a year or two and about 80+ million dollars before the end of his contract certainly is a strawman!

Would you take .270/.350/.485 and 25 HR at 1b? I would.

[Rene88]

Nationals Spending Crazily and then crashing and burning? Say it ain't so!

With their young core?? I think not. Learner is a good owner who cares about the fans and winning. Angelos cares about himself and his bank account.

[Rene88]

That is probably a pretty safe bet, but then the question would be whether or not failing to pony up a big deal for Werth led to any other significant moves over the past two years. I just don't know.

In any event, it's a silly tangential point that didn't merit discussion (in my opinion).

Thank you for making this point. It did open the door IMO for the Nationals which makes it hard to quantify. I probably would have chosen another player to make a statement, but oh well.

[SilentJames]

Would the Nats of made the playoffs without Werth this year?

That's not really the issue. The issue is the ridiculous contract they gave him. Their payroll could easily be under 100 million, but they are throwing cash around at a stupid level.

If they want to do that, fine. But their spending habits are their own and the orioles should not be emulating them.

If we gave soriano that type of money people would be losing their minds here.

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[Rene88]

I could be way out of line on this but I am just a little frustrated. I did not want Soriano but the Nationals are spending money where needed to take their team to the next level. I would just like the Orioles and the Angelos group to spend something to build on this young team. I understand we have Roberts, Markakis, and Reimhold coming back but 2 of the 3 are major question marks and where does it leave us if neither can produce or stay healthy. We no longer have Mark Reynolds which I am not upset about but the we have nobody to help protect Markakis and Jones. I am just concerned going into this season as our offense was not great last year and we have done nothing to improve on that. The Orioles upper management want their fans to buy and buy and buy some more but do not want to spend to make us buy. We all loved last year as it was a dream season. I was excited when Peter Angelos said he would do whatever it takes to make this team better. Obviously that was a P.R. thing to make him look better in the public eye. Peter has a strict leash on DD and is only looking to line his pockets with this team and not make it better. I am and will always be the biggest, die hard oriole fan you can imagine but seeing the Nationals spending money and making a great team even better is frustrating.

Thank you for taking the time to post this. I feel about the same way and I feel like I am on an island. I appreciate you taking the time to share your opinion on here.

[DrinkinWithFermi]

With their young core?? I think not. Learner is a good owner who cares about the fans and winning. Angelos cares about himself and his bank account.

So THAT explains why he kept the payroll at $70-90 million through all those years of losing instead of gutting it down to bare bones like Loria does every few years!

[Rene88]

So THAT explains why he kept the payroll at $70-90 million through all those years of losing instead of gutting it down to bare bones like Loria does every few years!

Loria is a madman that gets away with stuff because Selig is a joke of a commisioner. Even I think Angelos is better than that guy. My friend worked for him, some crazy stories...

So what is your point, he is better than Loria? or that Angelos really cares about the fans and is dedicated to winning because he didn't unload Brob? What are we getting for Brob?

[LA2]

Would you take .270/.350/.485 and 25 HR at 1b? I would.

Not when we're going to have someone there who hit .270/.326/.501 with 33 HR last year--for less than .5 million. Besides Werth is an outfielder and it's been a few years since he's put up figures like you cite, i.e. before the FA contract with the Nationals. Those are close to Werth's career averages, yes, but he'll turn 34 next season. I'll take a full year of Reimold and McLouth over that.

[Bradysburns]

What I don't understand is that the Nationals spend like a big-market club - and they're the start-up franchise, the Johnny-come-latelys. Did Pete get screwed in the MASN deal? How is this happening? Don't they have to give up every first-round draft pick for the next 18 years because they signed Werth? That's what people act like when we're talking about a top-tier FA signing here. Oh... it would cripple our farm system for generations to sign Adam LaRoche! Etc. Gah. To me, the Soriano signing is the first major deal they've made that I think represents just wasteful spending. But under Davey's management, Soriano will be in good hands. Still... why is it that they seem to have a large-market psychology, whereas we're poor-mouthing constantly... and we supposedly had the upper hand with MASN and all of that?

[Bradysburns]

That's not really the issue. The issue is the ridiculous contract they gave him. Their payroll could easily be under 100 million, but they are throwing cash around at a stupid level.

If they want to do that, fine. But their spending habits are their own and the orioles should not be emulating them.

If we gave soriano that type of money people would be losing their minds here.

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People would be losing their minds here. You're right. And in Nats Land, I'm sure fans are either applauding or merely raising their eyebrows. They're not viewing it as "the move that will sink the franchise."

[MurphDogg]

You mean last year, 2012, and Jayson Werth, the guy who played only half the season and had 5 homers and 31 RBI's (and one RBI in the playoffs)?

Yeah, Jayson Werth, the guy with the .387 OBP and 125 OPS+. Stats are fun .

[DrinkinWithFermi]

Loria is a madman that gets away with stuff because Selig is a joke of a commisioner. Even I think Angelos is better than that guy. My friend worked for him, some crazy stories...

So what is your point, he is better than Loria? or that Angelos really cares about the fans and is dedicated to winning because he didn't unload Brob? What are we getting for Brob?

My point is that there's very little evidence for the "Angelos doesn't care about winning and just wants the money!" argument that constantly gets thrown around on here- he continued to spend through all of the years of futility instead of completely gutting the team, a move that no one would've questioned and might've actually turned things around quicker. He spent his money, albeit poorly.

And this offseason, despite the lack of any headline-grabbing moves, will still see our payroll jump by $15-20 million dollars. As I stated earlier, if he really wanted to be a cheapskate, he could've vetoed the McLouth and Casilla contracts and spun it as "we already have a LF in Reimold and several capable 2Bs in Flaherty and Roberts." But he didn't. I still believe that if DD saw a FA that he actually felt would have been a significant upgrade, that he could've gotten approval from Angelos. But there really weren't any that were A) worth the investment and/or B) worth a first round pick(something we haven't had to worry about since the Clinton Administration).

[luismatos4prez]

Thank you for making this point. It did open the door IMO for the Nationals which makes it hard to quantify. I probably would have chosen another player to make a statement, but oh well.

They coulda had Hamilton. Keep Alex Meyer. Put Harper in CF. Morse in RF. LaRoche at 1B. You've got yourself a ballclub.

[Rene88]

What I don't understand is that the Nationals spend like a big-market club - and they're the start-up franchise, the Johnny-come-latelys. Did Pete get screwed in the MASN deal? How is this happening? Don't they have to give up every first-round draft pick for the next 18 years because they signed Werth? That's what people act like when we're talking about a top-tier FA signing here. Oh... it would cripple our farm system for generations to sign Adam LaRoche! Etc. Gah. To me, the Soriano signing is the first major deal they've made that I think represents just wasteful spending. But under Davey's management, Soriano will be in good hands. Still... why is it that they seem to have a large-market psychology, whereas we're poor-mouthing constantly... and we supposedly had the upper hand with MASN and all of that?

A few points:

Learner is really rich:)

The Soriano deal isn't as bad you think, much is backloaded. That may just put the Nats over the top. Not such a bad deal, then huh?

Angelos made out like a bandit with MASN and no it isn't in your head, he kept that money and us fans are suckers.

And yes, many threads can be summarized by your comment:

Oh... it would cripple our farm system for generations to sign Adam LaRoche! Etc. Gah.

On a positive note, I do believe Buck Showalter is the best signing this team has made in decades, let's hope they don't screw that up.

[Rene88]

My point is that there's very little evidence for the "Angelos doesn't care about winning and just wants the money!" argument that constantly gets thrown around on here- he continued to spend through all of the years of futility instead of completely gutting the team, a move that no one would've questioned and might've actually turned things around quicker. He spent his money, albeit poorly.

And this offseason, despite the lack of any headline-grabbing moves, will still see our payroll jump by $15-20 million dollars. As I stated earlier, if he really wanted to be a cheapskate, he could've vetoed the McLouth and Casilla contracts and spun it as "we already have a LF in Reimold and several capable 2Bs in Flaherty and Roberts." But he didn't. I still believe that if DD saw a FA that he actually felt would have been a significant upgrade, that he could've gotten approval from Angelos. But there really weren't any that were A) worth the investment and/or B) worth a first round pick(something we haven't had to worry about since the Clinton Administration).

My goodness, you defend Angelos and your evidence is he didn't veto the McLouth and Casilla signings? Most people are laughing those are out biggest moves?!?!?

I am so tried of hearing about look, he spent on Albert Belle...

You and I see things vastly different. I don't think we are going to get anywhere discussing on here. I respect your opinion.