Its now 2014 and we haven't made any notable moves

[Redskins Rick]

And that's pretty much all I'm saying - we don't know, so we can't just say "PA is screwing DD". We have to logically say, "this offseason has been a failure so far and that could be due to a number of factors, including possible PA budgetary restrictions, possible DD market mistakes or not being aggressive enough, possible player preference, possible outbids, etc."

It's stupid to take one side here. Right now, all we know is that until further notice, this offseason blows. And to put all the blame on one person or aspect is silly.

Success and Failure starts at the top of any organization.

[weams]

Why is that? I would be interested to hear your thoughts.

Look, DD isn't just free of all blame here. He hasn't been aggressive. He got shafted on Balfour and probably missed a couple guys on luck or player preference, I'll give you that. But at some point, we have to say in 2 consecutive offseasons, Duquette has not upgraded the team from where it stood in 2012. That's just a fact, jack. 2013's team wasn't better on paper than 2012, and so far 2014's isn't better on paper than 2013's. The Orioles are trending downward. Duquette has made some solid moves during his tenure, and he has budget constraints, but he does have about $15M to work with. There's time, but he's missed out on some solid players.

And if I sound less and less "rainbows and unicorns" lately, it's because I'm pretty tired of the continual inaction and explaining away of the inaction. We've got a window here and we're squandering it.

I did not like the people that you mentioned in the post as potential Orioles at all. I have no Unicorns and Rainbows going on here lately. I do think Dan has a plan and he has not been caught with his pants down. I believe he is still the smartest guy in the room.

[Il BuonO]

Colon you could say has had solid seasons, but he's over 40. Hart hasn't played in over a year and Morrison has put up negative WAR in his brief career. There may be some upside there but I certainly wouldn't call it solid.

Collectively, this is not the group with which I grade Dan's off season.

[scOtt]

And that's pretty much all I'm saying - we don't know, so we can't just say "PA is screwing DD". We have to logically say, "this offseason has been a failure so far and that could be due to a number of factors, including possible PA budgetary restrictions, possible DD market mistakes or not being aggressive enough, possible player preference, possible outbids, etc."

It's stupid to take one side here. Right now, all we know is that until further notice, this offseason blows. And to put all the blame on one person or aspect is silly.

This is where we diverge. You say the offseason blows. I say it's disappointing so far but still think DD will fill the roster the best way he can. I'm not ready to pass judgement yet.

Look at before the Balfour deal fell thru. Very early on people were moaning and wailing that the offseason was over blah blah blah. Then in like two days he signed Balfour and traded for Lough. Just that fast the offseason looked pretty promising. Things can turn on a dime.

[weams]

I just don't see how you can disagree that DD has missed out on some good players within his budget. Is that a far-fetched thing to say?

I feel that the choices that are left and will become bargains are as valuable as those ones that you feel he missed out on.

[weams]

And Ike Davis is that much better of a player than Morrison? I'm pretty sure Morrison has better splits.

I think Davis is better than Morrison. I do.

[Redskins Rick]

I think Davis is better than Morrison. I do.

Neither get me too excited.

[CA-ORIOLE]

And Ike Davis is that much better of a player than Morrison? I'm pretty sure Morrison has better splits.

The career stats (neutralized) do indicate Davis has been better. Not like Morison adds any value in the OF.

[weams]

And Ike Davis is that much better of a player than Morrison? I'm pretty sure Morrison has better splits.

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/tools/compare.asp

Player	Year	Team	League	Level	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	HBP	IBB	SH	SF	GDP	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	R/PA	2B/PA	HR/PA	RBI/PA	SB/PA	BB/PA	Speed	Contact	Patience	Batting	PowerIke Davis	2013	NY Mets	National League	MLB	103	317	37	65	14	0	9	33	4	0	57	101	1	5	0	2	9	.205	.326	.334	661	0.10	0.04	0.02	0.09	0.01	0.15	23	35	70	62	78Ike Davis	2013	Las Vegas	Pacific Coast League	AAA	21	75	21	22	7	0	7	13	0	0	17	18	0	1	0	0	3	.293	.424	.667	1091	0.23	0.08	0.08	0.14	0.00	0.18	23	35	70	62	78Logan Morrison	2013	Miami	National League	MLB	85	293	32	71	13	4	6	36	0	0	38	56	2	5	0	0	10	.242	.333	.375	709	0.10	0.04	0.02	0.11	0.00	0.11	44	66	80	58	63Logan Morrison	2013	Jacksonville	Southern League	AA	10	33	5	6	0	0	2	7	0	0	2	4	0	0	0	0	2	.182	.229	.364	592	0.14	0.00	0.06	0.20	0.00	0.06	44	66	80	58	63Logan Morrison	2013	Jupiter	Florida State League	A+	6	23	0	4	0	0	0	3	0	1	4	0	0	0	0	0	1	.174	.296	.174	470	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.11	0.00	0.15	44	66	80	58	63Ike Davis	2012	NY Mets	National League	MLB	156	519	66	118	26	0	32	90	0	2	61	141	1	3	0	3	10	.227	.308	.462	771	0.11	0.04	0.05	0.15	0.00	0.10	23	35	70	62	78Logan Morrison	2012	Miami	National League	MLB	93	296	30	68	15	1	11	36	1	0	31	58	4	2	0	3	9	.230	.308	.399	707	0.09	0.04	0.03	0.11	0.00	0.09	44	66	80	58	63Ike Davis	2011	NY Mets	National League	MLB	36	129	20	39	8	1	7	25	0	0	17	31	1	3	0	2	5	.302	.383	.543	925	0.13	0.05	0.05	0.17	0.00	0.11	23	35	70	62	78Logan Morrison	2011	Florida	National League	MLB	123	462	54	114	25	4	23	72	2	1	54	99	5	3	0	4	9	.247	.330	.468	797	0.10	0.05	0.04	0.14	0.00	0.10	44	66	80	58	63Logan Morrison	2011	New Orleans	Pacific Coast League	AAA	6	24	3	4	2	0	1	5	0	0	2	4	0	0	0	1	1	.167	.222	.375	597	0.11	0.07	0.04	0.19	0.00	0.07	44	66	80	58	63Logan Morrison	2011	Jupiter	Florida State League	A+	3	10	2	2	0	0	1	3	0	0	3	4	0	0	0	0	1	.200	.385	.500	885	0.15	0.00	0.08	0.23	0.00	0.23	44	66	80	58	63Ike Davis	2010	NY Mets	National League	MLB	147	523	73	138	33	1	19	71	3	2	72	138	1	6	0	5	13	.264	.351	.440	791	0.12	0.05	0.03	0.12	0.00	0.12	23	35	70	62	78Ike Davis	2010	Buffalo	International League	AAA	10	33	8	12	3	0	2	4	0	0	9	5	0	0	0	0	0	.364	.500	.636	1136	0.19	0.07	0.05	0.10	0.00	0.21	23	35	70	62	78Logan Morrison	2010	Florida	National League	MLB	62	244	43	69	20	7	2	18	0	1	41	51	2	0	0	0	4	.283	.390	.447	837	0.15	0.07	0.01	0.06	0.00	0.14	44	66	80	58	63Logan Morrison	2010	New Orleans	Pacific Coast League	AAA	68	238	36	73	17	4	6	45	1	2	48	35	4	4	0	3	5	.307	.427	.487	914	0.12	0.06	0.02	0.15	0.00	0.16	44	66	80	58	63Logan Morrison	2010	Jupiter	Florida State League	A+	5	21	3	8	2	2	0	2	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	1	.381	.381	.667	1048	0.14	0.10	0.00	0.10	0.00	0.00	44	66	80	58	63Ike Davis	2009	Binghamton	Eastern League	AA	55	207	30	64	14	0	13	43	0	0	26	60	0	0	0	0	1	.309	.386	.565	951	0.13	0.06	0.06	0.18	0.00	0.11	23	35	70	62	78Ike Davis	2009	St. Lucie	Florida State League	A+	59	222	28	64	17	3	7	28	0	2	31	52	1	3	0	1	2	.288	.376	.486	863	0.11	0.07	0.03	0.11	0.00	0.12	23	35	70	62	78Logan Morrison	2009	Jacksonville	Southern League	AA	79	278	48	77	18	2	8	47	9	4	63	46	1	5	0	1	3	.277	.411	.442	854	0.14	0.05	0.02	0.14	0.03	0.18	44	66	80	58	63Logan Morrison	2009	Jupiter	Florida State League	A+	3	11	0	3	1	0	0	2	0	1	1	2	0	0	0	0	2	.273	.333	.364	697	0.00	0.08	0.00	0.17	0.00	0.08	44	66	80	58	63Ike Davis	2008	Brooklyn	New York-Penn League	A-	58	215	17	55	15	0	0	17	0	0	23	43	0	2	0	1	8	.256	.326	.326	652	0.07	0.06	0.00	0.07	0.00	0.10	23	35	70	62	78Ike Davis	2008	Arizona State	Pacific-10 Conference	NCAA	52	213	64	82	26	1	16	76	6	2	31	34	0		3	3	4	.385	.457	.742	1199	0.26	0.10	0.06	0.30	0.02	0.12	23	35	70	62	78Logan Morrison	2008	Jupiter	Florida State League	A+	130	488	71	162	38	1	13	74	9	3	57	80	4	6	0	6	11	.332	.402	.494	896	0.13	0.07	0.02	0.13	0.02	0.10	44	66	80	58	63Ike Davis	2007	Arizona State	Pacific-10 Conference	NCAA	59	231	53	80	22	0	7	59	6	2	26	39	0		4	8	7	.346	.400	.532	932	0.20	0.08	0.03	0.22	0.02	0.10	23	35	70	62	78Logan Morrison	2007	Greensboro	South Atlantic League	A	128	453	71	121	22	2	24	86	2	2	48	96	7	5	0	5	8	.267	.343	.483	827	0.14	0.04	0.05	0.17	0.00	0.09	44	66	80	58	63Ike Davis	2006	Arizona State	Pacific-10 Conference	NCAA	58	240	39	79	20	2	9	65	2	1	20	58	4		0	2	4	.329	.387	.542	929	0.15	0.08	0.03	0.24	0.01	0.08	23	35	70	62	78Logan Morrison	2006	Jamestown	New York-Penn League	A-	23	74	6	15	3	0	1	11	0	0	11	17	0	0	0	3	1	.203	.295	.284	579	0.07	0.03	0.01	0.13	0.00	0.13	44	66	80	58	63Logan Morrison	2006	GCL Marlins	Gulf Coast League	Rk	26	89	10	24	4	0	1	7	1	0	10	12	0	0	0	0	3	.270	.343	.348	692	0.10	0.04	0.01	0.07	0.01	0.10	44	66	80	58	63

[scOtt]

You will notice I did say "until further notice" and "so far". I'm fully aware that DD has the ability to turn this offseason around quickly. I just have less confidence than I used to. That's all.

Fair enough. You're far from the worst in that category.

[Redskins Rick]

Fair enough. I think DD is smart as well. I do think he missed on Hart and Morrison, so we'll agree to disagree there. I like those players. I like Colon, too, but he's not for everyone.

I'm just not sure what the plan is. So far the plan looks like this:

Replace Nate with Lough.

Replace Johnson with Hunter, Rodney, or Rodridguez.

Repace B-Rob with Flaherty.

Replace Feldman with Gausman.

Replace Valencia with Almanzar.

These are largely lateral moves. I don't see a plan to upgrade so far. We'll see.

Gausman was already on this team, and letting Feldman go, was because of money and he got a 3 year deal.

Nate is a proven player, Lough is a prospect, so kinda of hard to say, improvement yet, quite possible, he will be an improvement, but we will have to wait and see.

Johnson replaced by Rodney, isn't an upgrade.

[scOtt]

Gausman was already on this team, and letting Feldman go, was because of money and he got a 3 year deal.

Nate is a proven player, Lough is a prospect, so kinda of hard to say, improvement yet, quite possible, he will be an improvement, but we will have to wait and see.

Johnson replaced by Rodney, isn't an upgrade.

Adding Webb and Rodney is.

e. Webb and Rodney replacing JJ and TJ.

[weams]

Fair enough. I think DD is smart as well. I do think he missed on Hart and Morrison, so we'll agree to disagree there. I like those players. I like Colon, too, but he's not for everyone.

I'm just not sure what the plan is. So far the plan looks like this:

Replace Nate with Lough.

Replace Johnson with Hunter, Rodney, or Rodridguez.

Repace B-Rob with Flaherty.

Replace Feldman with Gausman.

Replace Valencia with Almanzar.

These are largely lateral moves. I don't see a plan to upgrade so far. We'll see.

I agree with this. It is largely lateral. So far.

I wanted Beltran. He did not want us. I wanted Balfour to be healthy, he evidently does have some issues. I wanted Feldman. For 2/17. You saw how all of that worked.

[CA-ORIOLE]

I agree with this. It is largely lateral. So far.

"Lateral moves" that save 20+ million dollars aren't really lateral imo. I'm guessing we have another 10-12 mil or so to spend that we wouldn't have had without those moves. We'll see where it goes.

[Redskins Rick]

Bottom line, I'm more frustrated this offseason that I have been in years. Much of it stems from the Balfour thing coupled with a clear idea of what the plan is. We have 2 years of Davis and Wieters. It seems to be near impossible to sign a FA. There is 0% chance we post for any international players.

It's just frustrating. I believe in DD, I just need to see him make a follow up move to regain my confidence.

I too share your frustation, but to me, its just more the fault of the owner and not the GM. This team in theory could have a 125-140 million dollar payroll and hang with the best of them.

But, sadly, they want to play small money ball.