Bob Haynie: Cautiously Optimistic about 2013

[CA-ORIOLE]

Instead of trashing MSK, maybe you can give us reasons why we should think everything is going to be fine. Show us why the Orioles will be as good as last year. You spend a lot of times trashing opposing opinion but I don't see you providing a lot of data or opinions from national sources that agree with your rosy outlook.

I love ya man, and I know you mean well and you generally are a positive guy, but MSK has yet to act like a jerk in these threads.

There is no guarantee we're going to be fine. We may very well finish in last place this year. We didn't add free agents because the money/value wasn't there. We didn't make trades because the value wasn't there or we didn't want to give up an asset(s) like Bundy and/or a significant portion of our farm system. The GM balanced money, long term, and short term considerations and we are where we are.

[BirdFlipper]

I'm and other posters on here are fully aware of what our weakness are. Moreso than any outside analyst and almost certainly more than you.

Somebody pull out a ruler...

[Nigel Tufnel]

I think everybody wanted a MOO bat. Everybody would have loved a vet TOR starter. Where people disagree is on whether the players were that were available were worth what it would have cost to get them.

[MemorialStadKid]

Seriously, who knows the issues better with the Orioles than the people on this board? I think everyone here is entirely aware that almost every outside analyst thinks we should have added more free agents. I don't need to read continual references fron you to get that point. You, me and almost any person with half a brain on this board knows why we didn't. I'm not saying that I didn't want PA to raise payroll and shell out more money for free agents to improve the team, I'm just saying we all know the reasons why it didn't happen.

So, I don't need to read the interview. I'm and other posters on here are fully aware of what our weakness are. Moreso than any outside analyst and almost certainly more than you.

Apparently not.

Many of you used to say that we shouldn't spend money on FAs or make big trades because we "weren't ready." Fine, I'll accept that.

But 2012 proved we were "ready" and we should have done something to cement our chances at contention in 2013. We haven't done that. This isn't about Andy MacPhail, this isn't about Peter Angelos not spending.

This is about doing things WITHIN the spectrum of what PA is willing to do. DD said that PA gave his blessings to pursue Hamilton toward the end of the chase. I haven't seen any data that suggests that Hamilton would have been a bust if we signed him. I love it how every. single. FA. signing. is considered a bust despite the fact that every analyst and fan can see that it would only IMPROVE the Orioles.

Now, we've made some weird steps backward and the lot of you are suggesting that this was somehow an intelligent move. I've never seen more "core fans" advocate stagnation for the team if it requires spending money or giving up a prospect every now and then. And I am not asking for a spending spree, or a dump of the farm system. I'm saying that we could have done something to improve our need for pitching and one MOO bat.

Why can't I repeat this? You guys sure seem to endlessly repeat that standing pat was the sane thing to do. I have to parrot the status quo here in order to post without scorn?

9 out of 10 posts are talking about how "great" everyone feels with the standing pat. Why is there such an aversion to doing anything around here? I just don't get that. Some of you folks get downright mean and nasty whenever someone suggests something within the realm of Orioles possibilities.

Why?

MSK

[Crazysilver03]

Did you even listen to the interview? He makes some excellent points about the lack of movement. I'm not even talking about high-spending FAs, but something!

He felt they needed to add at least ONE veteran TOR starter at the absolute least. I doubt you'll listen to the interview though.

MSK

Lack of movement? We added 11 new players to our 40 man roster, significantly increasing our depth, so when injuries do occur, we don't end up like the Blue Jays did in 2012.

Again, the first half of the season, the team was lucky, the second half, they were just good.

[CA-ORIOLE]

I think everybody wanted a MOO bat. Everybody would have loved a vet TOR starter. Where people disagree is on whether the players were that were available were worth what it would have cost to get them.

Exactly, or even if the money was available to DD to get a FA like Swisher, much less Hamilton. I personally liked the idea of Willingham, but who knows what his cost was going to be.

[Nigel Tufnel]

Apparently not.

Many of you used to say that we shouldn't spend money on FAs or make big trades because we "weren't ready." Fine, I'll accept that.

But 2012 proved we were "ready" and we should have done something to cement our chances at contention in 2013. We haven't done that. This isn't about Andy MacPhail, this isn't about Peter Angelos not spending.

This is about doing things WITHIN the spectrum of what PA is willing to do. DD said that PA gave his blessings to pursue Hamilton toward the end of the chase. I haven't seen any data that suggests that Hamilton would have been a bust if we signed him. I love it how every. single. FA. signing. is considered a bust despite the fact that every analyst and fan can see that it would only IMPROVE the Orioles.

Now, we've made some weird steps backward and the lot of you are suggesting that this was somehow an intelligent move. I've never seen more "core fans" advocate stagnation for the team if it requires spending money or giving up a prospect every now and then. And I am not asking for a spending spree, or a dump of the farm system. I'm saying that we could have done something to improve our need for pitching and one MOO bat.

Why can't I repeat this? You guys sure seem to endlessly repeat that standing pat was the sane thing to do. I have to parrot the status quo here in order to post without scorn?

9 out of 10 posts are talking about how "great" everyone feels with the standing pat. Why is there such an aversion to doing anything around here? I just don't get that. Some of you folks get downright mean and nasty whenever someone suggests something within the realm of Orioles possibilities.

Why?

MSK

What MOO bats / TOR starters would you have tried to acquire, and what kind of $$, players, and/or draft picks would you have been willing to spend to get them?

I would feel a lot more worried if MacPhail were still the GM. He was so by the book that he was basically never going to make a move that the OH hadn't already discussed. DD, though? Who knows what the heck he has up his sleeve?

[Crazysilver03]

Apparently not.

Many of you used to say that we shouldn't spend money on FAs or make big trades because we "weren't ready." Fine, I'll accept that.

But 2012 proved we were "ready" and we should have done something to cement our chances at contention in 2013. We haven't done that. This isn't about Andy MacPhail, this isn't about Peter Angelos not spending.

This is about doing things WITHIN the spectrum of what PA is willing to do. DD said that PA gave his blessings to pursue Hamilton toward the end of the chase. I haven't seen any data that suggests that Hamilton would have been a bust if we signed him. I love it how every. single. FA. signing. is considered a bust despite the fact that every analyst and fan can see that it would only IMPROVE the Orioles.

Now, we've made some weird steps backward and the lot of you are suggesting that this was somehow an intelligent move. I've never seen more "core fans" advocate stagnation for the team if it requires spending money or giving up a prospect every now and then. And I am not asking for a spending spree, or a dump of the farm system. I'm saying that we could have done something to improve our need for pitching and one MOO bat.

Why can't I repeat this? You guys sure seem to endlessly repeat that standing pat was the sane thing to do. I have to parrot the status quo here in order to post without scorn?

9 out of 10 posts are talking about how "great" everyone feels with the standing pat. Why is there such an aversion to doing anything around here? I just don't get that. Some of you folks get downright mean and nasty whenever someone suggests something within the realm of Orioles possibilities.

Why?

MSK

What are these weird steps backwards this team made?

DD has stated why trades didn't really happen. The cavalry doesnt have much value, but most teams wanted Bundy or Schoop.

[CA-ORIOLE]

Apparently not.

Many of you used to say that we shouldn't spend money on FAs or make big trades because we "weren't ready." Fine, I'll accept that.

But 2012 proved we were "ready" and we should have done something to cement our chances at contention in 2013. We haven't done that. This isn't about Andy MacPhail, this isn't about Peter Angelos not spending.

This is about doing things WITHIN the spectrum of what PA is willing to do. DD said that PA gave his blessings to pursue Hamilton toward the end of the chase. I haven't seen any data that suggests that Hamilton would have been a bust if we signed him. I love it how every. single. FA. signing. is considered a bust despite the fact that every analyst and fan can see that it would only IMPROVE the Orioles.

Now, we've made some weird steps backward and the lot of you are suggesting that this was somehow an intelligent move. I've never seen more "core fans" advocate stagnation for the team if it requires spending money or giving up a prospect every now and then. And I am not asking for a spending spree, or a dump of the farm system. I'm saying that we could have done something to improve our need for pitching and one MOO bat.

Why can't I repeat this? You guys sure seem to endlessly repeat that standing pat was the sane thing to do. I have to parrot the status quo here in order to post without scorn?

9 out of 10 posts are talking about how "great" everyone feels with the standing pat. Why is there such an aversion to doing anything around here? I just don't get that. Some of you folks get downright mean and nasty whenever someone suggests something within the realm of Orioles possibilities.

Why?

MSK

Uggh, for the 100th timne, like it or not the team was not going to shell out the money needed to sign Hamilton. If PA came out and said I'm going to increase payroll by 30 mil for the next 5 years and sign Hamilton, I'd have been on here cheering with you. There are no signs that the old man is parting with his MASN money and DD is building the team the best he can within the constraints he has. No amount of whining about it is going to change anything.

[MemorialStadKid]

Uggh, for the 100th timne, like it or not the team was not going to shell out the money needed to sign Hamilton. If PA came out and said I'm going to increase payroll by 30 mil for the next 5 years and sign Hamilton, I'd have been on here cheering with you. There are no signs that the old man is parting with his MASN money and DD is building the team the best he can within the constraints he has. No amount of whining about is going to change anything.

I guess you missed the part where I said: "This is about doing things WITHIN the spectrum of what PA is willing to do. DD said that PA gave his blessings to pursue Hamilton toward the end of the chase. I haven't seen any data that suggests that Hamilton would have been a bust if we signed him. I love it how every. single. FA. signing. is considered a bust despite the fact that every analyst and fan can see that it would only IMPROVE the Orioles."

If the report was true that PA authorized the pursuit of Hamilton, then something isn't right.

And who's whining? I want the Orioles to win as much as everybody else here. I hope I am wrong and they keep up the pace from the end of the season. The rest of the AL East just won't remain the same for us to win the same amount of games under the same circumstances.

What am I saying that is so crazy?

MSK

[Nigel Tufnel]

If the report was true that PA authorized the pursuit of Hamilton, then something isn't right.

What am I saying that is so crazy?

OK, here's the thing. Assume PA authorized DD to spend whatever he saw fit to sign Hamilton. DD, who I tend to think is a pretty good GM, didn't sign Hamilton, who would have cost at least 5/125 and a 1st round pick. There are a lot of conclusions that you can draw from that sequence of events, but I'm not sure how you arrive at "DD must not want to win."

[CA-ORIOLE]

I guess you missed the part where I said: "This is about doing things WITHIN the spectrum of what PA is willing to do. DD said that PA gave his blessings to pursue Hamilton toward the end of the chase. I haven't seen any data that suggests that Hamilton would have been a bust if we signed him. I love it how every. single. FA. signing. is considered a bust despite the fact that every analyst and fan can see that it would only IMPROVE the Orioles."

If the report was true that PA authorized the pursuit of Hamilton, then something isn't right.

And who's whining? I want the Orioles to win as much as everybody else here. I hope I am wrong and they keep up the pace from the end of the season. The rest of the AL East just won't remain the same for us to win the same amount of games under the same circumstances.

What am I saying that is so crazy?

MSK

Ok, whenever you read "PA gave his blessing to pursue elite FA X," you can assume that's a pile of BS. You really don't get that? The translation here is "you can pursue elite FA X if the price drops to one within my paramaters and near rock bottom" ..... which never happens. The other connotation is "yeah you can do it , but I'm taking it back from somewhere else. Heck last I heard PA was still wanting his money that he payed to sign Vlad a couple years ago. You seem to live in a fantasy world. Maybe that comes from being science fiction writer.

[MemorialStadKid]

Ok, whenever you read "PA gave his blessing to pursue elite FA X," you can assume that's a pile of BS. You really don't get that? The translation here is "you can pursue elite FA X if the price drops to one within my paramaters and near rock bottom" ..... which never happens. The other connotation is "yeah you can do it , but I'm taking it back from somewhere else. Heck last I heard PA was still wanting his money that he payed to sign Vlad a couple years ago. You seem to live in a fantasy world. Maybe that comes from being science fiction writer.

What does my career have to do with anything? Cheap shot man. Really cheap, but predictable.

So let me get this right: if I say PA is a penny-pinching tightwad, I'm a troll and I don't know anything about the business and I am repeating what we already know.

If you say it, then you're proving you know more than me and that I am living in a fantasy world for wanting to make improvements within the confines of PAs wallet.

Right.

MSK

[MemorialStadKid]

OK, here's the thing. Assume PA authorized DD to spend whatever he saw fit to sign Hamilton. DD, who I tend to think is a pretty good GM, didn't sign Hamilton, who would have cost at least 5/125 and a 1st round pick. There are a lot of conclusions that you can draw from that sequence of events, but I'm not sure how you arrive at "DD must not want to win."

When did I say that?

When have I ever said that?

Where do you folks come up with this stuff?

MSK

[Nigel Tufnel]

When did I say that?

When have I ever said that?

Where do you folks come up with this stuff?

Not folks. Just me.

What was your point, then? That you know more than DD? That DD was lying, PA is cheap, and the sky is falling?