Balfour speaks...

[Yardball85]

Do you think Angelos knows he is one of the most hated people in Baltimore?

[ledzepp8]

or Angelos wanted the total value of the contract lowered, not cancelled.

#marbles

So the only options are that he's the league's most meddlesome owner or he's so aloof and oblivious that he doesn't know until the eleventh hour that his GM has allocated 15 million dollars too much over 2 years to a pitcher?

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[CaptainRedbeard]

The only O's player probably happy about this Balfour situation is Troy Patton...takes the focus off of the team's other P.R. nightmare that's occurred within the past 24 hours.

A middle reliever testing positive for amphetamines isn't exactly a PR nightmare.

[atomic]

Yeah I get it...it was more rhetorical. If all money is the same, except that the 2nd year vests based on how healthy he was the first year (which I assume was what the deal probably would have been), then why not take the restructured deal if your the epitome of health? I get why Balfour didn't want to and that's his prerogative. But why is he allowed to be risk averse and the Orioles aren't?

2 years isn't much risk. Players are signing to 10 year contracts. Players want longer deals and he wanted a longer deal. The 2 years is him compromising.

[weams]

or Angelos wanted the total value of the contract lowered, not cancelled.

#marbles

Do you think Angelos knows he is one of the most hated people in Baltimore?

Do you think that Peter Angelos knows who Grant Balfour is?

[Number5]

I get why he wouldn't want to do it but then again why is he allowed to be risk averse and the Orioles aren't? And I would assume that any restructured deal would have had a vesting option just based on how healthy he was in year one and not necessarily on how well he performed (but I could be wrong).

This. As I understand it, vesting options are based on things like games played, as opposed to statistics such as ERA. The vesting would be earned as long as he does perform, not necessarily whether he performs well or not.

It is hard for me to even understand what the true story is here. The best I can make out, the Orioles doctors examined Balfour, had concerns, and recommended that the Orioles should not agree to a 2-year guaranteed contract. They suggested a one-year contract that carries a clause that a second year vests, provided Balfour remains healthy. The Orioles then heeded the advice that they paid for, and presented the alternative to Balfour, who refused to risk that he would stay healthy this season. Now, this doesn't mean that Balfour shares the doctors' concerns over the same issue, and any player would rather have the guaranteed second year, rather than risk that an unrelated injury might cause him to lose the vesting. The point is that we just don't know. I have read that the Orioles are prohibited from stating publicly what exactly the physical examination revealed.

Balfour is not prohibited from saying publicly what the Orioles' doctors found, but he has chosen not to reveal it. I find that to be interesting. All he has said is that the Orioles are making a mistake and that he, his agent, and other doctors that he knows think he is healthy.

What he has also said, though is that the Orioles have lost their best shot at a world series. Now, I was happy to get Balfour, but I didn't think that he was the last piece needed for a championship. I preferred Balfour over JJ, especially at less money than JJ would have cost, but not by a wide margin. In fact, I couldn't really think that he would do all that much better than JJ did. I mean, how many more than 101 saves was Balfour going to get over the next 2 years? If I was JJ, I'd be a little bit put off by Balfour's insinuation that he is so much better than the O's previous closer that he will carry them to the pennant.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out. If Balfour follows through with threats to file a grievance the Orioles would have the right to defend their actions, which would take the gag off of the Orioles, and they could make the findings of the physical examination public. Only then will we know the full story. I suspect that, instead, Balfour will choose to sign elsewhere and let the matter drop.

[Rick_Schu]

I don't doubt the Os doctors. Billy Beane chose not to re-sign him, I'm sure I'm not the only one who thought there had to be some good reason for that. Something didn't add up, Beane is brilliant and knows a ton more about Balfour than anyone in Baltimore does.

[TradeAngelos]

I don't doubt the Os doctors. Billy Beane chose not to re-sign him, I'm sure I'm not the only one who thought there had to be some good reason for that. Something didn't add up, Beane is brilliant and knows a ton more about Balfour than anyone in Baltimore does.

Wrong.

It was reported last night by Oakland beat reporter Balfour wanted 3 years and that is the reason he wasn't re-signed. It had nothing to do with some phantom injury from 9 years ago. They rather have JJ only committing one year.

[Number5]

Wrong.

It was reported last night by Oakland beat reporter Balfour wanted 3 years and that is the reason he wasn't re-signed. It had nothing to do with some phantom injury from 9 years ago. They rather have JJ only committing one year.

So you are saying they were willing to sign him for one year? Isn't that also what the Orioles are saying? In fact, aren't the Orioles saying that they would offer a vesting option for a second year?

[murph]

It is just a shame that the internet age has required immediate gratification on information. If someone how these deals could be kept quiet until after all the paperwork is done (including the physical obviously), instead of twitter shouting them out the second a handshake agreement has been made, then neither party would be effected with their continued searching for a deal with another player/organization which works.

I do hope this does not make other free agents hesitant to sign with us for fear of similar devaluation that is probably going to occur with Balfour.

[Elbren]

So you are saying they were willing to sign him for one year? Isn't that also what the Orioles are saying? In fact, aren't the Orioles saying that they would offer a vesting option for a second year?

No, that's not what the O's did.

They weren't "offering" anything. There was already a deal in place.

Then, they tried using his "physical" to try and get out of his 2nd guaranteed year.

[Number5]

Odd the stuff you miss on Twitter when the stuff you agree with gets posted in under a minute...

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Eaton wanted to be clear thats not an indictment of <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Orioles&src=hash">#Orioles</a> & team doctors. "I understand their concerns completely."</p>? Eduardo A. Encina (@EddieInTheYard) <a href="

">December 21, 2013</a></blockquote>

<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Eaton is the Rays' doctor that is being widely cited as disagreeing with the Orioles' doctors, right? Apparently, sensationalist "journalists" are taking some of what he said out of context and omitting this important statement.

[Number5]

No, that's not what the O's did.

They weren't "offering" anything. There was already a deal in place.

Then, they tried using his "physical" to try and get out of his 2nd guaranteed year.

Huh?

You do realize that you just said that it was not what the Orioles offered, followed up by saying that it was what the Orioles offered, don't you? That is precisely what the Orioles did, according to everyone, including Balfour.

Also, I don't understand your use of quotes on the word physical. Nobody, including Balfour, is disputing that the Orioles doctors performed an actual physical examination.

[Night Owl]

Anyone wonder why Oakland wasn't interested in signing Balfour? It makes me wonder what they know.

[ledzepp8]

No, that's not what the O's did.

They weren't "offering" anything. There was already a deal in place.

Then, they tried using his "physical" to try and get out of his 2nd guaranteed year.

That doesn't even make sense. He wanted three years and they negotiated down to two. Why would they then try and get out of that with only one year with an option? Why wouldn't they just try and get one year to begin with?

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