Duquette At Dempsey's

[weams]

"Definite Dan" has a plan...that I have no doubt. I'm just anxious to know what that plan is.

[weams]

[wildcard]

If DD's comments about Delmon Young returning are taken seriously then Dan will have his team.

1B - Davis

2B - Schoop

SS- Hardy

3B - Machado

LF - De Aza/Hassan

CF - Jones

RF - Pearce

C - Wieters if healthy, if not Joseph

DH - Young

Bench

Flaherty

Hassan

Lough

Catcher - either Joseph or back up catcher to be acquired

Tillman

Gausman

Chen

Norris

Gonzalez

Jimenez

DD fine with 6 starters on the team. One going to the pen.

Britton

O'Day

Hunter

Brach

Webb

Matusz but DD is still looking for a better lefty

Note not from Dan: Davis stats are better in rightfield than Pearce so Davis may play right and Pearce may play 1B where he did very well last year.

Alvarez, Yaz and Walker at AAA. They need more seasoning.

[weams]

Dan is very impressive IMHO. His answers were outstanding. I totally agree on the Markakis QO BTW. I think he would have taken it. I'm so happy that Dan is our GM.

What I like about Dan is that he was willing to take all that flack, just to keep me from being wrong about that Qualifying Offer meme of mine. You know. Because no one has ever taken one. Ever.

[Barnfather]

"There were 14 teams trying to trade for him. We paid a premium by giving them a good pitcher (Eduardo Rodriguez). We hated to do it, but it was required. If (Miller) didn't go with us, he would have gone to the Tigers and would have been pitching against us in the playoffs. Anyway, he was the difference in that series."

This confuses me a little. If we valued Miller high enough to pay a premium for to stop him playing for the Tigers, and had that vindicated when Miller was 'the difference' in the series, then why are we so quick to back off from signing him now, when it is highly likely he will surface at one of our direct AL East rivals and play against us multiple times during the regular season?

[wildcard]

This confuses me a little. If we valued Miller high enough to pay a premium for to stop him playing for the Tigers, and had that vindicated when Miller was 'the difference' in the series, then why are we so quick to back off from signing him now, when it is highly likely he will surface at one of our direct AL East rivals and play against us multiple times during the regular season?

Money. Miller was making 1.9m when the O's acquired him. The O's only paid him 633K for 2 months. Now he will cost 4/40m as a free agent. Huge difference.

[wildcard]

Steve Melewski captures a different tone to Duquette's Q and A session. More emphasis on the farm system and money wisely not spent. Nice write-up by Steve.

http://www.masnsports.com/steve-melewski/2014/12/dan-duquette-takes-fans-questions-at-camden-yards.html

[weams]

"When we extended a qualifying offer to Nelson Cruz, we were willing to pay a one-year salary of $15.3 million and if he accepted it, then we'd have a signed player. If he turns it down, then of course he becomes a free agent. So we took a look at the production of Nelson Cruz and saw that he gave us an opportunity for specific offensive capabilities and specific defensive capabilities."

"And based upon the evaluation system which we use to value that contribution to the team in our market based on our fans and the size of our market and the revenues that an incremental win will bring in for the team, we decided that Nelson Cruz's production gave us a good opportunity to get a return on that $15.3 million, so we made a qualifying offer to him. If we didn't make a qualifying offer to a player, then we weren't comfortable that we could get that kind of return on that investment."

[weams]

"I think that's a natural reaction because they spent so much time together. In Jonesy's case, his teammate is right next to him in the field. For the last several years, it's been Nick Markakis. So those personal relationships, they mean something. It takes a while to respond to change. That's a human reaction, which I understand, and I think that's a normal reaction."

[weams]

http://www.masnsports.com/school-of-roch/2014/12/more-on-duquettes-qa-session-and-orioles-reported-interest-in-upton.html

"From what I understand, Manny (Machado) should be ready to go at the start of spring training," Duquette said. "We'll have to see how Matt comes along with his throwing program."

Showalter is preparing as though Wieters won't be ready.

[weams]

"We are not trying to win in December. Now if you spend $200 million dollars, you should be able to buy a few wins for your ballclub. We have some work to do and we'll do it with opportunities that we like that are cost-effective for our team."

http://www.masnsports.com/steve-melewski/2014/12/dan-duquette-takes-fans-questions-at-camden-yards.html

"You can win the perception of having built your team in December and that helps, but we build our team year-round. And it's not always a high-profile signing. But I can tell you this. We have a good farm system. We have a good pitching staff coming back and good leadership in our manager and we are going to field a competitive team again."

[weams]

"I like Chris Davis, I'm a big Davis fan. I've seen a lot of growth in him in his time here. He's got that left-handed power and can hit it out to the opposite field in this park. My hope is Chris will return to what he's established in his career for his capability to hit for average and power."

"I also joke with Chris that I gave him an extra $5,000 dollars in his contract for that relief appearance . 'You should have paid me for the win and the save.' He's a Scott Boras client. "

"I hope Chris comes back and has a good year. He's dedicated himself to having a good year. He's got a lot at stake. I believe in Chris."

[Fiver]

In reading both the Roch piece and the Melewski piece, I don't think you can find a single quote from DD that you can criticize. Those are really fair and reasonable responses to every issue/question, and it's more in depth than the typical cliched type answers.

I particularly like what he had to say about how he valued Cruz and Nick differently in re the QO. It sounds like they have a set evaluation system in place that allows them to place a value on a player based on how many wins they can contribute to the bottom line. That seems like a positive to me. I think if Dan could have had Cruz for the 3/45 offer that was much discussed, he easily would have done that.

You have to feel comfortable w/ Dan in charge, you really do. We may have up and down years but you can't complain that there isn't an overall plan and direction, or an emphasis on a long-term vision when making short-term decisions.

[weams]

In reading both the Roch piece and the Melewski piece, I don't think you can find a single quote from DD that you can criticize. Those are really fair and reasonable responses to every issue/question, and it's more in depth than the typical cliched type answers.

I particularly like what he had to say about how he valued Cruz and Nick differently in re the QO. It sounds like they have a set evaluation system in place that allows them to place a value on a player based on how many wins they can contribute to the bottom line. That seems like a positive to me. I think if Dan could have had Cruz for the 3/45 offer that was much discussed, he easily would have done that.

You have to feel comfortable w/ Dan in charge, you really do. We may have up and down years but you can't complain that there isn't an overall plan and direction, or an emphasis on a long-term vision when making short-term decisions.

I feel that he is very trustworthy to the fan base.