SI.com grades the O's offseason.

[Can_of_corn]

Thats because Schoop struggled mightily at AA last year and I doubt we are counting on him this year. Why would they include him? Machado was always at least talked about being a possible Sept call up option

They could have signed Swisher, or re-signed Saunders...both would have helped this team (although we still could add Saunders). Again, they added noone other then very minor pieces. I can see why the national media would give our WINTER offseason a failing grade.

I don't recall anyone seriously discussing calling Machado up.

I take umbrage at the idea that Schoop "struggled mightily" at AA last season. Sure he didn't dominate but he was 20 and his OPS was a whopping 79 points lower then Machado's. So 789 OPS is September callup worthy and 710 is "struggled mightily"? Seems like kind of a tight grouping there. Is 720-745 "struggling" and 746-777 "doing ok"?

Of course he also finished 17th in the AFL in OPS at 874, making their rising star game.

[wildcard]

I think Flaherty plays the majority of games at 2B this year.

[Il BuonO]

Guerrero?

Guerrero?

:rofl:

Yea, that is a pretty ridiculous suggestion.

There is a world of difference between signing 35 year old Lew Ford or a 30 year old Nate McLouth to minor league deals during the season just in case and signing Vlad Guerrero before the season begins to serve as the team's primary DH. Yet the writer suggests Vlad because of "Duquette’s penchant for digging up long-lost players."

Get used to these articles. There are going to be a TON of them between now and April.

Really? Ridiculous? Do I need to cite Guerrero's career numbers to you guys? Come on. This article takes aim, rightly so, at our inactivity during the off season and go on to make a very REASONABLE suggestion for a DH platoon and it gets waived off as ridiculous? I mean are you forgetting Vlad had a WHOLE YEAR to take take off and possibly could "recapture his former glory."? That year off with intermittent stints for the Jays should pay dividends in my mind. A Vlad signing is well advised.

But D-? Whom do they suggest the O's should have signed? Other then Vlad I mean? Should they have traded Bundy+ for Upton? They don't even mention Schoop as a possible answer to the second base problem, even after DD called Machado up to fix third base last season.

Back to reality. Schoop is in our system and they don't rate our off season based on what decisions we might make within our own organization. He might well be a solution for us after the ASB, but we won't get any credit for it now as a possible off season move.

[Dipper9]

I stopped caring about what SI thinks after they wrote the Ray story. I wipe a camel's arse with what SI thinks!

[Can_of_corn]

Really? Ridiculous? Do I need to cite Guerrero's career numbers to you guys? Come on. This article takes aim, rightly so, at our inactivity during the off season and go on to make a very REASONABLE suggestion for a DH platoon and it gets waived off as ridiculous? I mean are you forgetting Vlad had a WHOLE YEAR to take take off and possibly could "recapture his former glory."? That year off with intermittent stints for the Jays should pay dividends in my mind. A Vlad signing is well advised.

Back to reality. Schoop is in our system and they don't rate our off season based on what decisions we might make within our own organization. He might well be a solution for us after the ASB, but we won't get any credit for it now as a possible off season move.

I see your point but if you think you have an in house solution to the problem then you can not be faulted for not spending significant resources on an outside solution.

[Tryptamine]

Just trying to keep this straight. So basically ESPN, SI, Keith Law, MLB Network etc etc all suck and don't have a clue. Running out of writers and publications that hold any kind of respect on this site.

[isestrex]

He really seemed to bash the 2B position:

Meanwhile, Duquette hasn’t done a whole lot to protect his club from the inevitability of another injury-plagued season from 35-year-old Brian Roberts....

...The O’s received just a .213/.273/.323 line from their second basemen in 2012, including Rule 5 pick Ryan Flaherty (.216/.258/.359) and the since-departed Andino and Quintanilla (who signed with the Mets). Casilla, a perennial disappointment in Minnesota who was plucked off the waiver wire after hitting just .241/.282/.321, is barely suitable as utility infielder fodder, let alone as a replacement if/when Roberts gets hurt again. Navarro, a 26-year-old acquired from the Pirates in a deal for a minor leaguer, is even less promising given a career .191/.244/.250 line in 168 PA.

That's pretty harsh stuff about a guy DD loves (Casilla) and a guy Buck loves so much he wouldn't part with him all last season (Flaherty). I'm going to have to trust that Buck really sees these guys as strong backups... strong enough to let Andino go anyway.

[Dipper9]

Just trying to keep this straight. So basically ESPN, SI, Keith Law, MLB Network etc etc all suck and don't have a clue. Running out of writers and publications that hold any kind of respect on this site.

Read their "expert" opinions from last year, and then come back and see us!

[Moose Milligan]

If they'd give the Orioles an A for their offseason everyone would all be like "Ah, finally the national news gets it right and is paying attention to us!"

[Frobby]

The "perfect storm" comment bothers me. Dave Johnson ticked this off one day on Wall to Wall Baseball:

1B: Davis was disappointing on defense and lost his defensive spot; Reynolds didn't hit up to his normal levels.

2B: Roberts wasn't able to come back; Andino declined from 2011

SS: Hardy had a poor offensive season

3B: Reynolds and Betemit were disastrous on defense for 2/3 of a season.

C: Teagarden missed the entire first half of the year

LF: Reimold never played after April; we played OF roulette out there from May-July

RF: Markakis missed 2 months

Rotation: Hammel missed two months; Matusz, Arrieta and Hunter all pitched so badly they lost their spots

Plenty of things went wrong for the 2012 Orioles.

[Il BuonO]

I see your point but if you think you have an in house solution to the problem then you can not be faulted for not spending significant resources on an outside solution.

Right, which is why I'm not hanging on their every word.

[Can_of_corn]

Just trying to keep this straight. So basically ESPN, SI, Keith Law, MLB Network etc etc all suck and don't have a clue. Running out of writers and publications that hold any kind of respect on this site.

Mitch Williams thinks the O's are going to win the East this year.

[Dipper9]

The "perfect storm" comment bothers me. Dave Johnson ticked this off one day on Wall to Wall Baseball:

1B: Davis was disappointing on defense and lost his defensive spot; Reynolds didn't hit up to his normal levels.

2B: Roberts wasn't able to come back; Andino declined from 2011

SS: Hardy had a poor offensive season

3B: Reynolds and Betemit were disastrous on defense for 2/3 of a season.

C: Teagarden missed the entire first half of the year

LF: Reimold never played after April; we played OF roulette out there from May-July

RF: Markakis missed 2 months

Rotation: Hammel missed two months; Matusz, Arrieta and Hunter all pitched so badly they lost their spots

Plenty of things went wrong for the 2012 Orioles.

Exactly. Which is why I was never in favor of trading any of Matusz, Arrieta, etc for Billy friggin Butler. The Orioles got some breaks in close games, but to claim that we had a "perfect storm" of events is just crazy.

Buck even brought this up at FanFest. Something along the lines of..."I keep hearing about the injuries to other teams last year. Really? Really? Ask Nicky. Ask Noley? Ask Robby."

[Dipper9]

Mitch Williams thinks the O's are going to win the East this year.

Now see, Mitch obviously knows what he's talking about. I LOVE that dude. LOVE him!

[Il BuonO]

The "perfect storm" comment bothers me. Dave Johnson ticked this off one day on Wall to Wall Baseball:

1B: Davis was disappointing on defense and lost his defensive spot; Reynolds didn't hit up to his normal levels.

2B: Roberts wasn't able to come back; Andino declined from 2011

SS: Hardy had a poor offensive season

3B: Reynolds and Betemit were disastrous on defense for 2/3 of a season.

C: Teagarden missed the entire first half of the year

LF: Reimold never played after April; we played OF roulette out there from May-July

RF: Markakis missed 2 months

Rotation: Hammel missed two months; Matusz, Arrieta and Hunter all pitched so badly they lost their spots

Plenty of things went wrong for the 2012 Orioles.

It was a storm alright, not the good kind. The team just worked through it.