MLB.com: Monday Afternoon MacPhail Quotes

[El Gordo]

This satememnt is troubling to me:

Andy MacPhail, Baltimore's president of operations, reiterated Monday afternoon that there is no trade in place and that he's not sure where the rumors originated

It's not a direct quote but if he said something to that effect then he is being totally disingenious IMO. He can't possibly not know where this originated. It originated with Jones telling the press that he was being traded to B'more. I can't believe he is that insulated. Obviously Bavasi believes, or at least did believe, that he had a deal.

[square634]

Our MLB reporter for the orioles sucks. How can you miss this quote in the AP article:

"There really is no change. We are still having discussions, but we don't have an agreement," MacPhail said.

Here is the MLB.com Fordin quote:

"As I said last night, we don't have an agreement with Seattle or any other team," he said. "I'm not expecting anything in the next few days and I'd be surprised if anything developed in the next few days."

The AP quote makes me feel so much better than the garbage in the MLB.com article that made me feel that the deal was just about dead. The MLB article said nothing about still being in discussions. That changes the whole perception of the situation. Fordin's tone makes Am sound pissed and the deal dead but the AP writer is more anything can happen.

Uhh, not to be disingenuous, as an amateur sports journalist (I write for the college paper), if I had procured those two quotes, I would use the second one because it is much more informative whether it makes anyone "feel better" or not. The first one could mean basically anything, while the second one gives an actual timetable.

[dkdc]

Uhh, sorry, but as an amateur sports journalist (I write for the college paper), if I had procured those two quotes, I would use the second one because it is much more informative. The first one could mean basically anything, while the second one gives an actual timetable.

You should use both quotes since they provide very different information.

[square634]

You should use both quotes since they provide very different information.

What is the very different information? That he is still having discussions? That info. is in a later quote:

"We've had this on other players before and there certainly has been talk about Bedard. It's not surprising that there has been speculation."

FWIW, if someone tried to use both of the quotes you mentioned, the editors would have cut one of them because one would be superfluous and take up space.

[utvolzac]

I'm just basing it on logic and history, but this just wreaks of us "backing out" again. Which I really hope is not the case.

I'm mainly basing this opinion on the writers & players involved.

1) Seattle writers flat out said the deal is done. Baker & Churchill both said the deal is done. Obviously they aren't going public with such a definitive statement without getting confirmation from some credible source within the M's organization. Journalism is all about credibility and if this deal falls through, both of these guys are going to lose alot of credibility.

2) Players were told. ESPN is reporting that both Sherrill & Jones have said they were told that they were going to Baltimore to get physicals. Jones was even pulled from a very important game with his Latin team. If these guys were told they were traded and needed to catch a flight to Baltimore, it had to be some legit source in the M's organization that is telling them this.

There is no way that Bavasi would mess with his own players heads if there weren't a deal already agreed upon. Why would he mess with the confidence of his #1 star prospect and current RF'er and a key piece of their bullpen who stated publicly that he doesn't want to leave Seattle. There is no way he'd toy with his own players if they were still in "negotiations".

3) Combined with our track record. We are notorious for pulling our of deals at the last minute. I don't think that is even debatable at this point.

My opinion is that a deal was in place and we are having second thoughts, again. Which I really hope is not true, because that is not a good way to conduct business and a good way to burn bridges.

[Ozone]

This satememnt is troubling to me:

Andy MacPhail, Baltimore's president of operations, reiterated Monday afternoon that there is no trade in place and that he's not sure where the rumors originated

It's not a direct quote but if he said something to that effect then he is being totally disingenious IMO. He can't possibly not know where this originated. It originated with Jones telling the press that he was being traded to B'more. I can't believe he is that insulated. Obviously Bavasi believes, or at least did believe, that he had a deal.

Exactly my thoughts. Either McPhail is completely incompetent, or he thinks we are idiots.

[dkdc]

What is the very different information? That he is still having discussions? That info. is in a later quote:

"We've had this on other players before and there certainly has been talk about Bedard. It's not surprising that there has been speculation."

FWIW, if someone tried to use both of the quotes you mentioned, the editors would have cut one of them because one would be superfluous and take up space.

You're taking it out of context, they refer to two very different things.

Quote #1:

"I'm not terribly surprised," said MacPhail of the clamor surrounding his staff ace. "We've had this on other players before and there certainly has been talk about Bedard. It's not surprising that there has been speculation."

Translation: There have been a lot of rumors and speculation about Bedard being traded. The "talk" here refers to the talk in the media, radio, tv, online, etc. This doesn't refer to talk between MacPhail and Bavasi.

Quote #2:

He appears close to working out a deal with the Mariners, but insisted Monday that a trade was not necessarily imminent.

"There really is no change. We are still having discussions, but we don't have an agreement," MacPhail said.

Translation: We continue to talk to the Mariners about trading Erik Bedard.

Quote #3:

"As I said last night, we don't have an agreement with Seattle or any other team," he said. "I'm not expecting anything in the next few days and I'd be surprised if anything developed in the next few days."

Translation: No deal is close.

These three quotes all say very different things to me. Including #3 without #2 paints a very different picture.

[square634]

You're taking it out of context, they refer to two very different things.

Quote #1:

Translation: There have been a lot of rumors and speculation about Bedard being traded. The "talk" here refers to the talk in the media, radio, tv, online, etc. This doesn't refer to talk between MacPhail and Bavasi.

Quote #2:

Translation: We continue to talk to the Mariners about trading Erik Bedard.

Quote #3:

Translation: No deal is close.

These three quotes all say very different things to me. Including #3 without #2 paints a very different picture.

Fair enough. You're right that I didn't read the first quote carefully enough. As for the second two quotes, I think it's fairly obvious that MacPhail and the Mariners have been having discussions, so I don't think the 2nd quote adds very much. Obviously, it makes us fans feel better about things than Fordin's quote because it is inconclusive or suggests that things are the same as they have always been, which is partially why I think Fordin's quote is more informative (if that makes any sense).

[Frobby]

Updated as of 6:06 p.m.: http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/baseball/bal-bedard0128,0,7989634.story

[dkdc]

Updated as of 6:06 p.m.: http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/baseball/bal-bedard0128,0,7989634.story

From the article:

A source familiar with the talks said a potential deal is being held up on the Orioles' end and unspecified complex issues still need to be resolved for the trade to go through. One of those might be Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail getting the approval of club owner Peter Angelos.

Very mysterious.

The only thing I can think of is that the Orioles are flipping someone to the Cubs or elsewhere and they need to get their ducks in a row.

[wayne25]

This is all angelos and AM playing with our heads because we won't wait for THEIR big announcement.. And if thats true, God help all O's fans. With what Tony hinted at, and this 2nd OriolesGate fiasco, I think we are all going to be sick real soon.