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Orioles deal with Grant Balfour Cancelled


Greg

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I agree that image is the biggest problem with this mess. The Orioles HAVE to make up for this with another signing or a trade or an extension... something. Otherwise the agents (and therefore the media) are going to let this handling of Balfour fester in their minds.

Right and with that comes the stigma of guys NOT wanting to come here again. Can you imagine if Balfour even gets a hearing for a grievance? Forget if he wins, which isn't likely vs Angelos and his team of attack dogs. Just the perception of impropriety on our part will have done the damage.

Two years of winning and good will flushed down the drain.

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The thing I will agree with is that even though I wasn't crazy about the deal I dislike even more that my team is looking like a circus act around the league right now when it comes to dealing with FA.

The impression isn't good.

Exactly this. Quality FAs, and especially pitchers, will now regard our organization with an air of suspicion and distrust. Especially if Balfour's value is hurt by this and he ends up signing a smaller deal. If that happens, agents may not even return our calls.

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Note to Roch, there's a big difference between a diagnosis performed on-field and one by examining MRI results. Big.
Roch is really starting to disgust me lately. Like clockwork is right, now he is trying to discredit the doctor by throwing this out there like it has anything to do with this situation. I mean this is just getting ridiculous now, I am so sick of these MASN employees acting as a defense team for Angelos and the other clowns in the warehouse.

I think you guys are missing Roch's point. This isn't about whether the Tampa team doctor is right or wrong in his Rmedical opinion. It's about the fact that the Orioles (Buck) didn't like the fact that the Tampa doctor was sticking his nose in the Orioles' business once before, so they'll probably be pissed that he did it again.

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His point was valid. Under HIPAA they can't release the information without the patient's consent no matter when the exam was evaluated.

I'm pretty sure Balfour and his agents have given the doctors full clearance to fully discuss his physical condition. He needs to do whatever he can to repair the damage the Orioles have done to his career reputation.

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The Orioles aren't known to nix deals due to physical exams more than any other team. I saw somewhere, I'll try and find the source, that Balfour might be a jerk. Maybe the clubhouse heard of the deal and voiced their displeasure? This is totally speculation in no way am I saying that Balfour is a clubhouse cancer, just throwing it out there since the situation is so odd. Has anyone else heard anything in terms of the kind of teammate Balfour has been?

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It amazes me, with the percentage of free agent signings that become albatrosses and the percentage of pitchers that end up having arm/shoulder problems, that people still get annoyed/critical of the Orioles for being diligent and thorough with the signings that they do make.

As for Balfour and his agent, of course they're going to argue that he's fine. And if that is the case, then it will be no issue for him to get the 2 guaranteed years from someone else. But if he is so healthy, why not take the 1 year deal with the option for the 2nd year?

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If Balfour had been signed and was not effective because of whatever the physical revealed - at that money, we would have been running him out there in ever save situation for two years. Nick played 160 games last year and it is obvious that he had health issues. Just not enough to keep him out of games. It's not just if you can play. It's how well. If the Dr. found something that he feels is significant, I'd rather not be tethered to that contract.

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The Orioles aren't known to nix deals due to physical exams more than any other team. I saw somewhere, I'll try and find the source, that Balfour might be a jerk. Maybe the clubhouse heard of the deal and voiced their displeasure? This is totally speculation in no way am I saying that Balfour is a clubhouse cancer, just throwing it out there since the situation is so odd. Has anyone else heard anything in terms of the kind of teammate Balfour has been?

I've heard that but who knows.

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This statement makes me believe that it's not going away...

"Would probably do 1 year with option." The use of the word "would" suggests that it's still an ongoing situation.

I think what Roch was trying to say, in the confines of a tweet, was that the Orioles went with the Dr's recommendations and those recommendations were, "We (the doctors) would probably do 1 year but, after this physical, we wouldn't guarantee a 2nd year".

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Sorry I agree with most of your posts on this one I differ if Balfour has 2 good seasons the O's f'ed-up

BIG TIME, Time will tell and again this REEKS of PA.

That's not necessarily true. It's not like the Orioles pick and choose, it would seem that they take a hardline approach to the thoroughness of their physicals. So if say they decide not to sign 10 different players, for similar medical reasons, and only Balfour and another player are able to fulfill their contract...that would seem to be a decent percentage for the O's FO. For sake of argument, the Orioles only have a certain amount of money to go towards payroll and it's nowhere near the majority of other teams. They've decided that they have to be as sure as possible when allocating money to certain players.

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The Orioles aren't known to nix deals due to physical exams more than any other team. I saw somewhere, I'll try and find the source, that Balfour might be a jerk. Maybe the clubhouse heard of the deal and voiced their displeasure? This is totally speculation in no way am I saying that Balfour is a clubhouse cancer, just throwing it out there since the situation is so odd. Has anyone else heard anything in terms of the kind of teammate Balfour has been?

Wrong answer.

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This is what the fourth since PA took over?

Am I missing any?

Where the O's MDs actually wrong in the prior three cases?

By my count, we have Sele, Hernandez, Burnintz, and now Balfour. ln the previous three cases, it looks like the Orioles most likely made the right decision based on the medical examinations. I can understand some frustration over the near signing of Balfour, but I think that the venom directed toward PA on here over this is a bit much. Apparently, the Orioles made a counter offer to Balfour after the medical team recommended passing on the two year deal. IMO, the Orioles made a business decision by passing on the initial offer based on the medical reports. Balfour has made this a much more inflammatory situation by criticizing the Orioles and their decision on twitter. This is another aspect of this situation that is different than the past non-signings. Because of the advent of social media, the fans are able to monitor the reaction of the player in pretty much real time.

The Orioles need to move on from this, and I'm confident that DD has a backup plan. I hope that it does not include an expensive closer like Rodney. My gut tells me that they are more likely to trade for a closer ( Cishek perhaps?) than to sign one in free agency. Finally,

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