Per the Sun: "Orioles most inactive team..."

[CA-ORIOLE]

I'll give PA that credit - he is one cunning ************* shark of a man.

Yep, and he picked a "business" that he can run incompetently and still make gobs of money with virtually no risk if losing. People may hate him but that's a nice club to be in.

[Redskins Rick]

He didn't get those things, that you responded to, done; he inherited them when he bought the team.

But he did negotiate MASN and the payout for allowing the Nationals to DC.

[NJ BIRD FAN]

Oh, I forgot to sign. That last bit of negative rep was from me.

Smooches.

Im crushed

[DrinkinWithFermi]

Wow, so it was ok, in your opinion, for a contending team, to have Wilson Betemit as you starting DH? In the AL East? Besides the fact, that a contender doesn't have Betemit as their DH, the term "MUCH better" is just crazy talk. Yes, he would have put up better numbers than Pearce and whatever ELSE, Dan got from the trash heap from one of his diving expeditions. However, it wouldn't have changed the standings.

Nonetheless, starting pitching was/is the issue, its hasn't been addressed and for that, yes, I consider DD, incompetent. He hasn't even taken a cheap flier on someone such as Scott Baker.

Its a joke, that isn't funny anymore.

Um, your ignorance of the matter is showing. We got almost no production from the DH spot for most of last year. Meat crushes righties(.820ish OPS vs. RHPs for his career). Most pitchers are right-handed. It doesn't take a Billy Beane to solve that equation. The offense would have been considerably better had he been healthy. Dan Duquette had no control over that.

[Tony-OH]

Duquette is riding MacPhail's ability to trade and build our team from the same "budget contraints" he has. The core of this team is from MacPahil. Lets not kid ourselves here.

I would be willing to bet you a beer at a game (I will still go to 10-15 games), that IF any players are added, they won't be a difference maker. To me Balfour could be a difference maker, if we have any leads......

What a tired old argument that has been proven false multiple times on here. Duquette brought in 3/5s of the rotation , the left field/leadoff guy, several relievers and brought up Manny Machado during the playoff team of 2012, all moves that MacPhail would have never have done. Did McPahil acquire a lot of the core of the Orioles, yes, but he never was able to be flexible enough or move quickly enough to augment that core. MacPhail also had much bigger chips to trade than Duquette.

I'm not thrilled with Duquette's off season, but I feel like he's trying to at least bring in enough stones in order to find a diamond under his budget constraints.

[Scrat1]

And then we get to have John Axford as our closer. Sounds like a play!

And when Balfour gets a shoulder injury halfway through next year, as pitchers tend to do, the Orioles won't be on the hook for that extra 8 million in year three. They can use that money to sign another Webb. Or for a Hardy extension. Or for a Machado extension.

[Redskins Rick]

Oh, I forgot to sign. That last bit of negative rep was from me.

Smooches.

That's funny!

[OFFNY]

So now apparently anything over .500 is a good year? Have we really sunk that low in our expectations?

Yes. I think that we have.

When I first became an Oriole fan in the early 70's (October of 1971), the Orioles having a winning season from 1971 through about 1984 was almost as sure the sun rising in the east, and setting in the west. I remember when we went 88-74 and came in 2nd place in 1976, and that was considered a "bad" season.

Now, we are only 2 years removed from 14 consecutive seasons between 1998-2011. So yes, our expectations have indeed sunk from what they have previously been historically.

[twinedenter]

Um, your ignorance of the matter is showing. We got almost no production from the DH spot for most of last year. Meat crushes righties(.820ish OPS vs. RHPs for his career). Most pitchers are right-handed. It doesn't take a Billy Beane to solve that equation. The offense would have been considerably better had he been healthy. Dan Duquette had no control over that.

I am well aware of the numbers sir.

My point was that it wouldn't have changed the standings. It was a position that Duquette have built on and improved and didn't. So, my point still stands. We were worse in 2013 then in 2012 and we will be worse in 2014.

[Austin]

Of course I do.

Yea but there team ERA was half of a run better than ours. Starters almost a full run better. You don't have to score quite as many runs with that staff.

Your argument isn't valid IMO.

Your argument was that a contending team wouldn't have a DH like Wilson Betemit. My argument is that there are a million ways to build a contending team, and there have been contending teams with a DH worse than Wilson Betemit. My point wasn't really about the 2014 Orioles since I don't think they are a playoff caliber team at the moment.

[Redskins Rick]

What a tired old argument that has been proven false multiple times on here. Duquette brought in 3/5s of the rotation , the left field/leadoff guy, several relievers and brought up Manny Machado during the playoff team of 2012, all moves that MacPhail would have never have done. Did McPahil acquire a lot of the core of the Orioles, yes, but he never was able to be flexible enough or move quickly enough to augment that core. MacPhail also had much bigger chips to trade than Duquette.

I'm not thrilled with Duquette's off season, but I feel like he's trying to at least bring in enough stones in order to find a diamond under his budget constraints.

DD is forced to dumpster drive to field a team. Something he proven very adept at doing.

Is he dumpster driving because he is a tightwad? I doubt it, of course, none of us will ever know for sure. But, it stands to reason that the owner sets the payroll where he wants it to be. So if DD is forced to dive in.

[TiredofLosing20]

Exactly. No one expects Angelos to lose money year in and year out, but he told the fans that when the Orioles are ready to compete he would provide the money. He said, "This time it literally will come true!" I hate to use the word "liar" because that assumes intent, but at the very least Angelos misled Orioles fans. He has no intention of giving Duquette the budget needed to improve the team. Every indication is that he is making money hand over fist, yet we fans have to be embarrassed each off season as National pundits lambast the inactivity of the O's.

He truly believes he can make money regardless of whether the Orioles win or lose and the way things are set up, he's right. In 20 years, when the generation that grew up with losing Orioles baseball now how disposable income and are choosing to spend it elsewhere, he'll be long gone from this good earth.

I'm honestly more mad at this team then anytime before, because even in our darkest times in the past, I kept thinking in the back of mind that the Orioles would spend once we got a good core. Well, we have that core now but Angelos won't allow the budget to augment that core with additional impact players.

He really doesn't get that part of being a fan is having a pride in our organization. Well, it's hard to have a pride in an organization that gives it's fans nothing to be excited for the next season other than hoping they can catch lightening in a bottle to compete once again.

This is the part that does get me. We were all led to believe that when the time was right to strike we would. Well the last offseason and this offseason are the times to strike and it appears there is no budget for it. That is extremely disappointing.

[Orioles0615]

Entitled fans??? How many franchises in MLB went through 14 straight losing seasons? Ours and Pittsburgh's... and

This team is run like they don't have any TV money at all. NO OTHER TEAM can claim they pocket so much % of revenue. Not even the Yankees!

And we're "entitled" and lost touch with Earth? OK - we're so fortunate we can call a MLB team our own, what a blessing! And it's so neat that everyone with a Comcast contract pays for it, even if they don't watch! Brilliant strategy! Better?

:angryfire: :angryfire: :angryfire:

You know what I realized today when I heard a commercial for the Orioles 60th anniversary. They have gone half, yes half their history without winning a world series.

[centralpaosfan]

Let's say PA runs a budget where the profit is 10 million. We, as a fanbase, cannot expect him and the other investors get by with a mere 10 million a year can we?

[Austin]

This is the part that does get me. We were all led to believe that when the time was right to strike we would. Well the last offseason and this offseason are the times to strike and it appears there is no budget for it. That is extremely disappointing.

Maybe Peter didn't actually expect the team to compete in his lifetime.