Would you have matched SEA offer to keep Cruz an Oriole?

[SteveO]

That is a lot to replace. I believe that giving him that contract would have hurt us more than remembering the great times will.

Don't get me wrong I am not a "the sky is falling" person. I am a realist though and losing that amount of production hurts even if its just say 60% of it. I also do not see how 4/57 would have impeded the Orioles in any way from doing anything else they wanted to over the next four years. The money is there. I would have much rather just signed Cruz and let Nick walk

[BohKnowsBmore]

I live how WAR is the end all be all for ppl.

All WAR does is compare that player to his backup. If AJs WAR is 4 and Mike Trouts is 3 because theyre back up CF is better than the Os doesnt make AJ better of the two because of that fact.

[video=youtube;0N90D68_NfQ]

[weams]

Don't get me wrong I am not a "the sky is falling" person. I am a realist though and losing that amount of production hurts even if its just say 60% of it. I also do not see how 4/57 would have impeded the Orioles in any way from doing anything else they wanted to over the next four years. The money is there. I would have much rather just signed Cruz and let Nick walk

There are many people who agree with you. I am almost in the neither group.

[SteveO]

I am hopeful we can plug Wieters in.

I am to but I would have liked plugging MW in along with Cruz a lot more.

Think we can be competitive and still think we can win the division but I also think pretending like losing that amount of production is akin to being in denial. It just got a good bit harder to accomplish those goals IMO until DD pulls yet another rabbit out of the hat. My hope is that DD being a man of multiple options has a plan and that the plan will ultimately work out.

[weams]

[video=youtube;0N90D68_NfQ]

I unfriend you.

[SteveO]

There are many people who agree with you. I am almost in the neither group.

I actually do see both sides of the argument.

At the end of the day its all about the end product and DD has time to work on that so not panicking but concerned if that makes sense.

[Can_of_corn]

I am to but I would have liked plugging MW in along with Cruz a lot more.

Think we can be competitive and still think we can win the division but I also think pretending like losing that amount of production is akin to being in denial. It just got a good bit harder to accomplish those goals IMO until DD pulls yet another rabbit out of the hat. My hope is that DD being a man of multiple options has a plan and that the plan will ultimately work out.

I am in the camp that doesn't expect Cruz to match his 2014 production going forward.

[Billy Button]

This.

Lets go find some value for the OF.

Nick Markakis' agent has to be happy the bar has been set this high.

Sayonara Nick.

[Billy Button]

I am in the camp that doesn't expect Cruz to match his 2014 production going forward.

Faded in the second half.

[weams]

I am in the camp that doesn't expect Cruz to match his 2014 production going forward.

In 2015, 2016, 2017, or 2018. Sometimes a bright shooting star crosses your path at just the right time, with just the right brilliance - in search of that elusive FA contract. The pursuit of which had been dashed upon the jagged rocks of a PED suspension. I am really glad we got Nelson's best year. I enjoyed having him on our club.

[SteveO]

I am in the camp that doesn't expect Cruz to match his 2014 production going forward.

I figured on Nelson putting up 60-75 of his production of last year moving forward. Perhaps a little more but being conservative I think that would have been fair. Still a fair amount of production to replace. Certainly not impossible but it does have an impact.

[Frobby]

I don't necessarily believe that Nelson can do that again. All he every wanted was this contract. He has it now. And he deserves it. He worked so hard for it and risked so much.

One way or another, we've hit 210+ homers three years in a row. Wieters, Machado, Davis, Schoop and Hardy are all good bets to hit more homers in 2015 than they did in 2014. It's no certainty that we can make up for losing Cruz, but I think the chances are decent enough, depending on what else we do this offseason.

[SteveO]

One way or another, we've hit 210+ homers three years in a row. Wieters, Machado, Davis, Schoop and Hardy are all good bets to hit more homers in 2015 than they did in 2014. It's no certainty that we can make up for losing Cruz, but I think the chances are decent enough, depending on what else we do this offseason.

Well said. Its not the end of the world.

[BohKnowsBmore]

One way or another, we've hit 210+ homers three years in a row. Wieters, Machado, Davis, Schoop and Hardy are all good bets to hit more homers in 2015 than they did in 2014. It's no certainty that we can make up for losing Cruz, but I think the chances are decent enough, depending on what else we do this offseason.

Edit - double post

[tntoriole]

Huh?

We replaced CD's production by getting a monster year from Cruz. Frankly we got lucky, even DD was not counting on that.

If you want to believe that Cruz and his production were expendable and will be easily replaced that is cool, I just think that is looking at through Orange colored lenses. Maybe CD does bounce back, maybe not. Maybe MW picks up some of the slack, maybe not. Point is that if those things happen, we would still have been a lot better with Nelson Cruz on the team also.

When you subtract a guy who put up even 60% of the numbers he did last year then your team is taking a hit. I still hope DD has a rabbit in the hat, he may well have one but as it stands now, till the rabbit comes out this team is worse off for not having Nelson on it.

I think Wieters in his walk year is going to be exponentially better than the Joseph/Hundley 2014 production. And a healthy Machado in 2015 upgrades Flaherty/paredes etc 2014 production. And Chris Davis will be in the most important year of his career..any uptick at all towards 2013 would certainly be much more production than we got in 2014 and would also replace some of Cruz 2014 production. Throw in an unexpected 2015 year like, say, a breakout year for Schoop. All of these have to be essentially noncontributors for us to truly be worse in 2015 without Cruz. And Cruz of 2015 will be likely worse than the Cruz of 2014. And we may still yet add a bat in the offseason. DD has a plan and plans involve a budget process and a valuation process and not wavering when the dollars go up beyond what you believe the player value to be.

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