New Sun article: Roberts/Penn vs Giles/LaRoche to be avoided by Angelos

[letgoflyers5]

Once this rumor goes out is it possible other teams start calling the Orioles and offering deals for Roberts. I mean I'm not talking about a bidding war but I'm sure its possible something better could come up.

[Boca Bird]

If we're willing to give up Roberts and Penn in the same deal, why not expand it to Chris Ray and blow the Rays over with that offer for Crawford ? The rays are the one team in the east more worried about operating on the cheap than the O's

The Rays are willing to trade Crawford because they want to move Upton from 3b to LF. If they added Roberts, they could move Cantu to 3b (where he's played before) since he's terrible defensivly at 2b anyway. They have no legit closer and they lack ML ready pitching. TB would be trading from a position of strength

The Rays get:

a (cheap) all star caliber 2b in Roberts

a proven (cheap) closer in Ray

(cheap) ML ready pitching in Penn

WE get:

Crawford for LF

Then sign Lugo as a FA to fill the hole in 2b and at leadoff

[letgoflyers5]

If we're willing to give up Roberts and Penn in the same deal, why not expand it to Chris Ray and blow the Rays over with that offer for Crawford ? The rays are the one team in the east more worried about operating on the cheap than the O's

The Rays are willing to trade Crawford because they want to move Upton from 3b to LF. If they added Roberts, they could move Cantu to 3b (where he's played before) since he's terrible defensivly at 2b anyway. They have no legit closer and they lack ML ready pitching. TB would be trading from a position of strength

The Rays get:

a (cheap) all star caliber 2b in Roberts

a proven (cheap) closer in Ray

(cheap) ML ready pitching in Penn

WE get:

Crawford for LF

Then sign Lugo as a FA to fill the hole in 2b and at leadoff

They better MAKE SURE they can sign Lugo before you ever even consider that deal.

[AgentOrange]

Well, with Bigbird's comments last night that we may get a player to package in a trade. Here is my idea.

Here is my take on the situation:

We get LaRoche and Giles for Penn and BRob

We move Giles to the Padres for Ben Johnson for LF

And sign Lugo for 2b.

[Witchy_Chick]

Say we DO pull the trigger on this trade...

What are the chances of us locking up BeeGee (someone had to do it) to a long term deal?

Alright -- I'll bite. Who's "BeeGee"? I can't figure out a BeeGee reference in regards to LaRoche (who doesn't necessarily need to be locked up yet). Do you have Marcus confused with Brian Giles (Bee Gee)? Or do I need more coffee?

Witchy

[TonySoprano]

Well, with Bigbird's comments last night that we may get a player to package in a trade. Here is my idea.

Here is my take on the situation:

We get LaRoche and Giles for Penn and BRob

We move Giles to the Padres for Ben Johnson for LF

And sign Lugo for 2b.

Now that's thinking outside the box.

[Skywalker76]

I know I am going to get killed for this, but how about waiting until Angelos actually nixes the deal before attacking him? So far, all you have is a reporter's conjecture, which is worth nearly nothing, IMO.

Sorry but not after being an Orioles fan for 16 years now and having to go through most of these years with PA as an owner. I don't trust him until he proves me wrong. It's like your girlfriend cheated on you 10 times and when you hear from someone else that she cheated on you again and she denies it, would you trust her? I don't.

[Moose Milligan]

Alright -- I'll bite. Who's "BeeGee"? I can't figure out a BeeGee reference in regards to LaRoche (who doesn't necessarily need to be locked up yet). Do you have Marcus confused with Brian Giles (Bee Gee)? Or do I need more coffee?

Witchy

Ah crap, I had him confused with Brian.

DAMMIT we need more players with catchy nicknames!!!

[AgentOrange]

Now that's thinking outside the box.

Yeah, I know, I may have over-stepped my boundries!

I am not one for trade proposals, but that looks like fair deals and would make our team younger and better.

[NewMarketSean]

I would have done this deal. I'll miss Roberts and the potential that Penn brings, but we've got Wright, we've got some other young pitchers on the way. Plus we'd get a player comprable to Roberts for 2B and the young, power-hitting 1B we've needed since we lost Palmeiro after 1998.

But, I guess Angelos didn't want to give up on a fan favorite in Roberts. It's not a bad deal to turn down, but it fills holes this team has with players we have a suprlus in. In other words, it's called making the team better.

[clapdiddy]

Now that's thinking outside the box.

The question is...can our FO think outside the box like this?

[Mackus]

Now that's thinking outside the box.

Here's further outside the box:

Trade Giles, Gibbons, and a prospect for Jake Peavy.

I forget exactly what the rumored Atl/SD trade for Peavy was, but I know Giles was involved.

If we're the ones holding off on the Penn / Roberts for LaRoche / Giles deal, then we might be able to sub in Liz / Olson for Penn and get it done.

So trade Roberts + Olson / Liz for LaRoche + Giles

Then trade Giles + Penn + Gibbons for Peavy

Then you can afford to move Cabrera or Loewen in a deal for someone like Crawford, or just go ahead and move Benson, Wright, and Lopez for various parts at 2B, LF, and maybe 1B/DH.

I'd have to think about this a bit more to decide if I'd want to do it, but I like a Roberts, Gibbons, Penn, Olson for LaRoche, Peavy deal a lot more than a Roberts, Penn for LaRoche, Giles deal.

[Moose Milligan]

This is the moment of truth, however. This is where the FO can sack up and make a big decision or continue to make minor moves that won't really do anything drastic for the team.

Yeah, the bullpen was nice, but it remains to be seen.

I'd actually like to see us pull the trigger on this one. It'd further convey the message that we're serious about getting better.

[erb8472]

How long until LaRoche would be a free agent?

[neveradoubt]

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/baseball/bal-sp.orioles05dec05,0,6371035.story?coll=bal-sports-baseball

"According to several industry sources, the Orioles have had serious discussions about a deal that would send second baseman Brian Roberts and pitching prospect Hayden Penn to the Atlanta Braves for power-hitting first baseman Adam LaRoche and second baseman Marcus Giles.

The deal has "several hurdles," according to a source familiar with the trade talks, with a major one being Peter Angelos' preference to keep Roberts, who has long been a favorite of the Orioles' owner"

Same old story with Angelos. I think if you can get Giles to sign an extension you'd have to make that deal, but what do I know. It's just so frustrating that the owner would rather keep one or two fan favourites and loose, instead of making this ballclub win again.

The only problem with LaRoche is that he has Attention Deficit Disorder and sometimes forgets what he is doing. I saw him field a grounder and run off the field without tagging the bag or runner. No big deal I guess.