Man what is Dan thinking for real. Orioles will Tender all 9 players

[Mayor McCheese]

I think you are right, and that's why I have no problem with them signing him. If he is healthy, he could be our LF next season.

4th OF'er at best. Needs to be at AAA and reestablish his swing.

How about we sign a real LF'er instead of trolling out a Pearce, Mclouth, Urrutia, etc. platooooon.

[LookinUp]

I wish you guys would stop. I'm a Redskins fan. I can't take much more of this.

[Dipper9]

Scenario:

Reimold hits a home run in his first ST AB. There is much rejoicing. However, he then struggles for the remainder of ST, going 5-40 overall, with one additional HR. History suggests the O's are so enamored with his power that they overlook the struggles and over-value the HRs, and pay the man. This is what I fear.

They will be looking at his health in the spring, not his numbers. If he's healthy, history would show he will hit. His problem is staying healthy.

[Tony-OH]

DD is working within the budget he's been given. He's been as creative as he can be and hasn't signed terrible expensive, old free agents that MacPhail was known for. Yes, MacPhail acquired the core of this current team for the most part, but he had a last place team with some commodities (Bedard, Tejada, Koji) to trade and to his credit he was able to turn that into some core pieces for the current Orioles. For that he should be given credit, but at the same time, had he been GM, we most likely would not have had Chen, Miguel Gonzalez, McLouth on the 2012 team and Manny would have never had been brought up to the majors. Most likely the Orioles would not have made the playoffs and maybe not even broke .500 still.

Let's face it, it's DD who was able to take that core and add the other parts that made the Orioles a contender the last two years. All of his moves are not going to work, and they haven't, but his teams are in a different stage than MacPhail's teams. MacPhail was a good trader, but his methodical ways and lack of staff around him did not facilitate an environment in which the McLouth's or Gonzalez's are found.

Now, saying that, I truly believe that DD is under serious budget restraints from ownership. He has a legend in Fred Ferreira but yet only signed one significant kid for $325k? As Bruno pointed out, other GMs are going all over the Latin American market yet the Orioles made few investments. Now maybe the Orioles didn't think the talent was out there to support the bonuses, I really don't know, but what I do know is that the Orioles GMs have always worked within tight budget restraints and although Duquette seems to have much more control than previous GMs, the fact remains that his penny-pinching moves show that he doesn't have the capability to add payroll.

This of course means DD will need to be more like the Rays and that means he's going to need a farm system to start producing young talent and be willing to trade his stars (Davis, Wieters, Tillman) for good young talent before they hit the free agency markets.

MASN was supposed to be the mechanism that allowed the Orioles to compete with the big boys, but for some reason, it appears the Orioles still remain a small-market team when it comes to budget. DD in my mind is doing the best he can under these circumstances, but in the end, wins and losses will be how he is judged and so far, he's been at the helm of the only two winning teams in Baltimore since the 90's.

[Tony-OH]

DD is working within the budget he's been given. He's been as creative as he can be and hasn't signed terrible expensive, old free agents that MacPhail was known for. Yes, MacPhail acquired the core of this current team for the most part, but he had a last place team with some commodities (Bedard, Tejada, Koji) to trade and to his credit he was able to turn that into some core pieces of the Orioles. For that he should be given credit, but at the same time, had he been GM, we most likely would not have had Chen, Miguel Gonzalez, McLouth on the 2012 team and Manny would have never had been brought up to the majors. Most likely the Orioles would not have made the playoffs and maybe not even broke .500 still.

Let's face it, it's DD who was able to take that core and add the other parts that made the Orioles a contender the last two years. All of his moves are not going to work, and they haven't, but his teams are in a different stage than MacPhail's teams. MacPhail was a good trader, but his methodical ways and lack of staff around him did not facilitate an environment in which the McLouth's or Gonzalez's are found.

Now, saying that, I truly believe that DD is under serious budget restraints from ownership. He has a legend in Fred Ferreira but yet only sign one significant kid for $325k? AS Bruno pointed out, other GMs are going all over the Latin American market yet the Orioles made few investments. Now maybe the Orioles didn't think the talent was out there to support the bonuses, I really don't know, but what I do know is that the Orioles GMs have always worked within tight budget restraints and although Duquette seems to have much more control than previous GMs, the fact remains that his penny-pinching moves show that he doesn't have the capability to add payroll.

This of course means DD will need to be more like the Rays and that means he's going to need a farm system to start producing young talent and be willing to trade his stars (Davis, Wieters, Tillman) for good young talent before they hit the free agency markets.

MASN was supposed to be the mechanism that allowed the Orioles to compete with the big boys, but for some reason, it appears the Orioles still remain a small-market team when it comes to budget. DD in my mind is doing the best he can under these circumstances, but in the end, wins and losses will be how he is judged and so far, he's been at the helm of the only two winning teams in Baltimore since the 90's.

[wildcard]

I think your post was excellent.

This part I think is what aggravates me about the Orioles the most. The so-called plan they have been publicly touting for years.

The build from within mantra. It's been a downright lie. Every team talks about building from within, but with the Os it's once again expected to be done on the cheap.

This international signing period is a perfect example. It appears to have been a strong class so what does Theo in Chicago do? Go after every top prospect. He had the biggest allocation - it wasn't good enough. He blew past that budget. Traded to get more budget.

What does Daniels do in Texas? Same thing. And when you blow past the budget - that total blow cost what? A veteran middle reliever's salary? But it's expensive to Angelos.

The Os trade away a good chunk of their international slots - go bargain hunting again and then tout their one find they signed for I think $325k as the next Bob Gibson. He may be incredible. Let's hope so.

But our entire philosophy at every level of the organization is "cheap diamonds in the rough or bust."

That leaves zero margin for error. You aren't building from within you're just bargain hunting.

I think DD would be all about going heavy into the international market. I know he's focused on it - but when you've got overly constricted budget restraints there too - it's that much more difficult.

I remember when he said Darvish was the best pitcher on the planet before he was posted. Best pitcher on the planet - young - Os don't even bid.

So we get Chen. I like Chen. Chen is no Darvish. Not apples to apples comparison since they aren't 16-year old prospects.

But DD knows the international market. And I'm sure DD knows who the best international prospects on the planet are - and he knows we didn't sign any of them.

And I'm guessing it has nothing to do with DD.

If we are supposed to be building from within as the plan why aren't we taking every step to ensure we're the best at it?

At this rate of "marginal improvement" we'll just continue to get lapped. If we're going to be cheap on the major league level why aren't we flipping the switch and going 100MPH on the amateur front?

Throwing money at that problem isn't exactly as expensive as doing it at the major league level.

I think the cost of maintaining Jones, Davis, Wieters, and Hardy would all play like All-Stars and have to paid like All-Stars plus Markakis who is paid like an All-Star plus all the arbitration eligible players on the team suck the money out of the budget. Most middle market teams do not have that many All-Star level players. That is why DD doesn't spend more on international signing and does things on the cheap. He needs the money of the major league payroll.

If he had a bigger budget or if push comes to shove and he has to trade Davis and/or Wieters over contract issues then they are probably replaced with cheaper players and DD will spend more on development.

[Number5]

DD is working within the budget he's been given. He's been as creative as he can be and hasn't signed terrible expensive, old free agents that MacPhail was known for. Yes, MacPhail acquired the core of this current team for the most part, but he had a last place team with some commodities (Bedard, Tejada, Koji) to trade and to his credit he was able to turn that into some core pieces for the current Orioles. For that he should be given credit, but at the same time, had he been GM, we most likely would not have had Chen, Miguel Gonzalez, McLouth on the 2012 team and Manny would have never had been brought up to the majors. Most likely the Orioles would not have made the playoffs and maybe not even broke .500 still.

Let's face it, it's DD who was able to take that core and add the other parts that made the Orioles a contender the last two years. All of his moves are not going to work, and they haven't, but his teams are in a different stage than MacPhail's teams. MacPhail was a good trader, but his methodical ways and lack of staff around him did not facilitate an environment in which the McLouth's or Gonzalez's are found.

Now, saying that, I truly believe that DD is under serious budget restraints from ownership. He has a legend in Fred Ferreira but yet only signed one significant kid for $325k? As Bruno pointed out, other GMs are going all over the Latin American market yet the Orioles made few investments. Now maybe the Orioles didn't think the talent was out there to support the bonuses, I really don't know, but what I do know is that the Orioles GMs have always worked within tight budget restraints and although Duquette seems to have much more control than previous GMs, the fact remains that his penny-pinching moves show that he doesn't have the capability to add payroll.

This of course means DD will need to be more like the Rays and that means he's going to need a farm system to start producing young talent and be willing to trade his stars (Davis, Wieters, Tillman) for good young talent before they hit the free agency markets.

MASN was supposed to be the mechanism that allowed the Orioles to compete with the big boys, but for some reason, it appears the Orioles still remain a small-market team when it comes to budget. DD in my mind is doing the best he can under these circumstances, but in the end, wins and losses will be how he is judged and so far, he's been at the helm of the only two winning teams in Baltimore since the 90's.

Well said, Tony. This post should be a sticky.

[Oldorioles]

Makes no sense at all especially Reimold and Pearce. What about Valencia ? thought he was arb eligible starting this year and I don't see him on this list , he better be coming back next year . Without a doubt I would rather have Valencia on this team than Reimold and Pearce, he would probably be cheaper than both too. I guess tendering all these contracts means we are offically giving up on adding anyone better this off-season .smh. DD still better be adding a top notch starting pitcher this off-season tho , and no I don't mean Bronson Arroyo. lmao.

Valencia will not be arbitration eligible until a year from now.

[centralpaosfan]

Other teams have GM's that operate like they're on "Shark Tank", while the O's GM is forced to operate like he's on "American Pickers."

[Tony-OH]

Other teams have GM's that operate like they're on "Shark Tank", while the O's GM is forced to operate like he's on "American Pickers."

Good analogy!

[Number5]

Other teams have GM's that operate like they're on "Shark Tank", while the O's GM is forced to operate like he's on "American Pickers."

:rofl:

Good one!

[video=youtube;8gciFoEbOA8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gciFoEbOA8

[wildcard]

DD is working within the budget he's been given. He's been as creative as he can be and hasn't signed terrible expensive, old free agents that MacPhail was known for. Yes, MacPhail acquired the core of this current team for the most part, but he had a last place team with some commodities (Bedard, Tejada, Koji) to trade and to his credit he was able to turn that into some core pieces for the current Orioles. For that he should be given credit, but at the same time, had he been GM, we most likely would not have had Chen, Miguel Gonzalez, McLouth on the 2012 team and Manny would have never had been brought up to the majors. Most likely the Orioles would not have made the playoffs and maybe not even broke .500 still.

Let's face it, it's DD who was able to take that core and add the other parts that made the Orioles a contender the last two years. All of his moves are not going to work, and they haven't, but his teams are in a different stage than MacPhail's teams. MacPhail was a good trader, but his methodical ways and lack of staff around him did not facilitate an environment in which the McLouth's or Gonzalez's are found.

Now, saying that, I truly believe that DD is under serious budget restraints from ownership. He has a legend in Fred Ferreira but yet only signed one significant kid for $325k? As Bruno pointed out, other GMs are going all over the Latin American market yet the Orioles made few investments. Now maybe the Orioles didn't think the talent was out there to support the bonuses, I really don't know, but what I do know is that the Orioles GMs have always worked within tight budget restraints and although Duquette seems to have much more control than previous GMs, the fact remains that his penny-pinching moves show that he doesn't have the capability to add payroll.

This of course means DD will need to be more like the Rays and that means he's going to need a farm system to start producing young talent and be willing to trade his stars (Davis, Wieters, Tillman) for good young talent before they hit the free agency markets.

MASN was supposed to be the mechanism that allowed the Orioles to compete with the big boys, but for some reason, it appears the Orioles still remain a small-market team when it comes to budget. DD in my mind is doing the best he can under these circumstances, but in the end, wins and losses will be how he is judged and so far, he's been at the helm of the only two winning teams in Baltimore since the 90's.

Great post!! I think it bears repeating, so I see you did.

I totally agree that DD has been the better GM which is proven by his results. However, the fact that he looks like he will be tested with signing or trading Wieters and Davis bothers me. His trades so far are only so-so. And so-so with those two guys will not do.

I would feel better if MacPhail was consulting with DD on the trades. No I don't want MacPhail back as GM. I will take DD every day of the week. But MacPhail's trades sure helped provide the talent that allowed the O's to become contenders.

[Stotle]

DD is working within the budget he's been given. He's been as creative as he can be and hasn't signed terrible expensive, old free agents that MacPhail was known for. Yes, MacPhail acquired the core of this current team for the most part, but he had a last place team with some commodities (Bedard, Tejada, Koji) to trade and to his credit he was able to turn that into some core pieces for the current Orioles. For that he should be given credit, but at the same time, had he been GM, we most likely would not have had Chen, Miguel Gonzalez, McLouth on the 2012 team and Manny would have never had been brought up to the majors. Most likely the Orioles would not have made the playoffs and maybe not even broke .500 still.

Let's face it, it's DD who was able to take that core and add the other parts that made the Orioles a contender the last two years. All of his moves are not going to work, and they haven't, but his teams are in a different stage than MacPhail's teams. MacPhail was a good trader, but his methodical ways and lack of staff around him did not facilitate an environment in which the McLouth's or Gonzalez's are found.

Now, saying that, I truly believe that DD is under serious budget restraints from ownership. He has a legend in Fred Ferreira but yet only signed one significant kid for $325k? As Bruno pointed out, other GMs are going all over the Latin American market yet the Orioles made few investments. Now maybe the Orioles didn't think the talent was out there to support the bonuses, I really don't know, but what I do know is that the Orioles GMs have always worked within tight budget restraints and although Duquette seems to have much more control than previous GMs, the fact remains that his penny-pinching moves show that he doesn't have the capability to add payroll.

This of course means DD will need to be more like the Rays and that means he's going to need a farm system to start producing young talent and be willing to trade his stars (Davis, Wieters, Tillman) for good young talent before they hit the free agency markets.

MASN was supposed to be the mechanism that allowed the Orioles to compete with the big boys, but for some reason, it appears the Orioles still remain a small-market team when it comes to budget. DD in my mind is doing the best he can under these circumstances, but in the end, wins and losses will be how he is judged and so far, he's been at the helm of the only two winning teams in Baltimore since the 90's.

We'll see how the offseason runs. Right now, I think it's a tough sell to say Mr. Duquette is using best efforts to maximize the product on the field -- if you're spending $10MM on an "okay" closer, you're probably not doing all you can to maximize your team's ability to win on a limited budget.

[notyourbuddy]

Allocating 1/10th of your team's entire payroll to a single reliever doesn't sound very creative to me...

If that is indeed his plan

[Tony-OH]

We'll see how the offseason runs. Right now, I think it's a tough sell to say Mr. Duquette is using best efforts to maximize the product on the field -- if you're spending $10MM on an "okay" closer, you're probably not doing all you can to maximize your team's ability to win on a limited budget.

Honestly I agree with you in JJ. I don't think he's worth that value and I think they can find a closer for cheaper. Saying that, one move does not make a GM great or terrible. Duquette has been creative and active finding depth guys, but I agree that he will be judged by the talent that Orioles go into spring training with.

If JJ is the closer, Reimold the proposed left fielder, Phelps is the second baseman, our rotation remains the same except for Gausman expected to replace Scott Feldman, then I'll agree that was not a good off season.

It's time for the Orioles to step up this off season and make a splash either through a trade of free agency. If it doesn't happen though I think it will have more to do with DD's budget restraints than any lack of his ability to improve the club. Still, as the GM, the success or failure ultimately falls on him.