Are the pitchers improving that much or is it Joseph?

[UpstateNYfan]

All of the above? None of the above? Could be just not spending that money for now' date=' so doing nothing.[/quote']

That clears that up.

[Aristotelian]

What does this mean? Sign free agents? Scouting? Building the minors? People talk about money as if they have inside info on how many marbles PA has or is willing to use. We can all speculate, but one's idea of good use can be very different from someone else. All the money talk here is BS and I don't mean Buck.

Any of the above would be better than resigning Wieters in my opinion. We are proving right now we can win without him. I am not saying CJ > Wieters; I am saying CJ + comp pick + $15 million a year > Wieters. Money is part of the game, you cannot just ignore it, especially when Boras is in the picture. We are not going to get a favorable contract.

[UpstateNYfan]

There is very little chance that the O's anticipate signing Wieters, although his price is likely to be a bit short of Boras/Wieters expectations. Do you think the O's drafted 3 catchers early last year because they thought Wieters would be back? Even today he did not respond to a contract question. He's gone and I suspect Davies is gone. Comp picks/tradeable it's ok. Both are fan favorites, but the O's can still be successful without them IMO. Pitching, pitching pitching.

[OriolesMagic83]

Boras wanted the O's to give Chen a 5 yr/$75 mill contract. I imagine he wants double the contract for Weiters. I believe that things like pitch framing and game management make Joseph a better catcher than Weiters right now. He might never have the offensive stats that Weiters does, but I believe the better overall defensive job by Joseph balances out Weiters better hitting. I hope Joseph is the backup catcher next year.

I used to not believe in pitch framing, but the huge difference between Joseph and Weiters has made me a believer. The O's have a long history of great pitching (in their heyday), and poor hitting, defensive catchers. Its worked well in the past, although I'm hoping Cisco can be a great defender, game manager and hitter.