Nelson Cruz almost earned half his paycheck in the first game.

[Norfolk orioles]

Probably true. Incredible season. Not sure where we'd be without him.

I really wish Angelos would see the potential here and sign him for 3 years. I know there's no way we can afford him without a major bump in payroll, but boy do we have a nice window, especially if we could keep Nelson around as our DH.

I wonder if he is a big enough believer in Buck and Baltimore to give us a little bug of a home town discount?

A guy can always hope right.

[AlbionHero]

Again, because of defense, Jones probably is the more valuable player but I think Cruz has more to do with the success of this team than Adam Jones. That doesn't make sense on a sabermetric level but that's how I feel.

Its tough to say, since there aren't pure stats you can use for defensive value. You'd think a guy with nearly 40 homers and 100+ rbi so far would be our most valuable, but how many real runs (not defensive runs saved sabr stat) has he allowed to score in the outfield? Its not really as noticeable since its tough to tell when a ball is hit that other LFs would catch.

But still, I'd go with Jones being our most valuable. He's consistent and he has saved us games with his defense, while I can't think of a single time this year that Nelly has saved us a game with his defense.

[Ruzious]

Its tough to say, since there aren't pure stats you can use for defensive value. You'd think a guy with nearly 40 homers and 100+ rbi so far would be our most valuable, but how many real runs (not defensive runs saved sabr stat) has he allowed to score in the outfield? Its not really as noticeable since its tough to tell when a ball is hit that other LFs would catch.

But still, I'd go with Jones being our most valuable. He's consistent and he has saved us games with his defense, while I can't think of a single time this year that Nelly has saved us a game with his defense.

Yesterday, Cruz not only won the game single-handedly twice, but he prevented a few of his teammates from losing it.

[weams]

I really wish Angelos would see the potential here and sign him for 3 years. I know there's no way we can afford him without a major bump in payroll, but boy do we have a nice window, especially if we could keep Nelson around as our DH.

I wonder if he is a big enough believer in Buck and Baltimore to give us a little bug of a home town discount?

A guy can always hope right.

Mr. Angelos is 85 years old. I am certain that if Dan Duquette wants to sign Nelson, he will. I believe Nelson will get a four year contract as well.

[Morgan423]

Even if we have to pay a bit more for him than we'd like in order to keep him, it may be worth it. He has exceeded his value with us by a lot so far.

[Redskins Rick]

One thing is certain, DD has his work cut out for him, this off-season.

[OFFNY]

o

FIRST-YEAR IMPACTS:

11) Robinson Cano: Seattle Mariners

12) NELSON CRUZ: BALTIMORE ORIOLES

13) Masahiro Tanaka: New York Yankees

14) Scott Kazmir: Oakland Athletics

15) Tim Hudson: San Francisco Giants

16) Aaron Harang: Atlanta Braves

17) Chris Young: Seattle Mariners

18) Ian Kinsler: Detroit Tigers

19) Casey McGehee: Florida Marlins

10) Bartolo Colon: New York Mets

11) Doug Fister: Washington Nationals

http://espn.go.com/mlb/photos/gallery/_/id/11539896/image/1/look-back

[Austin]

With the season winding down, Nelson has been worth $19.6 million so far this year according to FanGraphs.

[OFFNY]

o

(vs. TIGERS, 10/02) O[A.L.D.S., Game One]

o

NELSON RAMON CRUZ

NELSON RAMON CRUZ

NELSON RAMON CRUZ

NELSON RAMON CRUZ

NELSON RAMON CRUZ

NELSON RAMON CRUZ

NELSON RAMON CRUZ