Should we just spend like drunken sailors for the next 2.5 seasons no matter the long term effects?

[weams]

I wonder what they ever did with all that handling money they made from the playoff games that were never paid. Pete's pocket is my guess

I think it ended up being refunded and was the main reason the Orioles switched from Ticketmaster to Tickets.com. I thought that it was a Ticketmaster charge that they refused to refund and the Orioles did. It had been quite a few years since the Os had such a problem to deal with and probably had few people in the organization who had been through the process recently.

[weams]

If this team is tapped out financially, Chris Davis and Wieters should be shopped this winter. No way the team can afford either one of them. That's assuming you buy the theory this team is tapped out financially (which I don't).

Ashame that the team finally has a solid foundation, and the fans have done their part. Too bad the owner is still the same.

This team is not tapped out, whatever the hotdog vender told Heyman. If they do not add payroll, it is because Dan and Buck have planned it that way.

[backwardsk]

I pretty much view relief pitchers as replaceable cogs that are hopelessly erratic from one season to the next. Look who is closing in Pittsburgh and Chicago for goodness sake.

Would you bring any of those three back? If not, who are you replacing them with?

[Can_of_corn]

Would you bring any of those three back? If not, who are you replacing them with?

No way on Johnson.

If my folks think Matusz can start I keep him, as a bullpen guy I don't.

Hunter has shown enough that I can live with keeping him and O'Day assuming they make about 3 million each.

As for whom I replace them with...whomever is handy. Next season's O'Day, or Grilli, or Gregg.

Plenty of scrap heap relievers sitting by the roadside every offseason. Stock up on a bunch and see who sticks.

[DrungoHazewood]

Plenty of scrap heap relievers sitting by the roadside every offseason. Stock up on a bunch and see who sticks.

So, have you ever seen any studies of scrapheap relievers vs. midrange free agent relievers? I mean, there has to be some advantage to using relievers with established track records as opposed to guys with none, or those guys coming off down years or injuries. I can't believe there's no advantage at all. That means there has to be a break-even point.

I think my baseline assumption is that if you just cut loose every reliever who starts making over, say $4M or $5M and replace him with whatever you can find you'll lose some production while gaining payroll space. But I'd like to see that quantified.

It would also be interesting to see the impact on relievers of the "known quantity effect" wherein players who are resigned by their old teams outperform those free agents who switch teams.

[Can_of_corn]

So, have you ever seen any studies of scrapheap relievers vs. midrange free agent relievers? I mean, there has to be some advantage to using relievers with established track records as opposed to guys with none, or those guys coming off down years or injuries. I can't believe there's no advantage at all. That means there has to be a break-even point.

I think my baseline assumption is that if you just cut loose every reliever who starts making over, say $4M or $5M and replace him with whatever you can find you'll lose some production while gaining payroll space. But I'd like to see that quantified.

It would also be interesting to see the impact on relievers of the "known quantity effect" wherein players who are resigned by their old teams outperform those free agents who switch teams.

No I haven't and I would like to.

Ideally you are replacing at least some of those arms with internal options that will supplement the free agent relievers making 2 million or less (That is pretty much what I meant by scrapheap)