And Then Melkey Was Gone....

[hendu]

Looks,like the team is just giving up. Letting Cruz and Markakis go and not getting anyone to replace them. Next year will be even worse when we lose Chen, Norris, and Wieters along with Dabis if he is even on the team this year. Oh well nice while it lasted.

Don't say that. Im sure the Orioles can get lucky with some cheap nuggets they find in the dumpster again.

Do you guys miss the offseasons with rumors of signing Teixeira? The O's have a good rotation, a decent pen, and a lineup full of guys that can hit. Seriously, you need a new hobby from November to March.

[Guest]

Do you guys miss the offseasons with rumors of signing Teixeira? The O's have a good rotation, a decent pen, and a lineup full of guys that can hit. Seriously, you need a new hobby from November to March.

I would say they have a lot of question marks about the hitting

1. Can De Aza lead off?

2. Will Manny play 150 games?

3. Will Davis get any better then 2014?

4. Can Wieters play 150 games?

5. Will Pearce stay the same or fall off?

6. Will Hardy pick up the HR ball again?

7. Who is the R.F?

8.Who is the D.H?

[hendu]

I would say they have a lot of question marks about the hitting

1. Can De Aza lead off? Not much worse than Markakis.

2. Will Manny play 150 games? I hope and expect, but every team has injury concerns.

3. Will Davis get any better then 2014? One would think.

4. Can Wieters play 150 games? A catcher rarely plays 150 games. 140, sure, as long as he's healthy by OD.

5. Will Pearce stay the same or fall off? Don't need him to stay the same. Some guys/positions will produce better than last year, some worse.

6. Will Hardy pick up the HR ball again? Don't much care if he's hitting with RISP.

7. Who is the R.F? Steve Pearce, Chris Davis, or whomever they sign between now and February.

8.Who is the D.H? Whomever they sign between now and February.

................................

[Can_of_corn]

I would say they have a lot of question marks about the hitting

1. Can De Aza lead off?

2. Will Manny play 150 games?

3. Will Davis get any better then 2014?

4. Can Wieters play 150 games?

5. Will Pearce stay the same or fall off?

6. Will Hardy pick up the HR ball again?

7. Who is the R.F?

8.Who is the D.H?

His career high is 148 so I am going to go with no.

[Guest]

His career high is 148 so I am going to go with no.

Between catching and D.H he can do it.

[Can_of_corn]

Between catching and D.H he can do it.

He could. History shows us that Buck isn't going to use him that much, and that was before the surgery. I think 140 is a high enough bar for next season.

[foxfield]

As everyone knows, I would have found him hard to pull for.

In fairness, I believe you said the same about Nelson. I don't disagree, but it is funny how once here and into the Oriole clubhouse these guys really can become ours. That said, don't mind the O's not taking Melky.

Looks,like the team is just giving up. Letting Cruz and Markakis go and not getting anyone to replace them. Next year will be even worse when we lose Chen, Norris, and Wieters along with Dabis if he is even on the team this year. Oh well nice while it lasted.

Go clean your room.

I would say they have a lot of question marks about the hitting

1. Can De Aza lead off?

2. Will Manny play 150 games?

3. Will Davis get any better then 2014?

4. Can Wieters play 150 games?

5. Will Pearce stay the same or fall off?

6. Will Hardy pick up the HR ball again?

7. Who is the R.F?

8.Who is the D.H?

These are certainly questions that are valid, although to me the easiest to answer is the one on Matt. He may bat in 150 games. But he has never caught 150. He certainly will not do that this year imho.

1) De Aza can probably do close to what Nick did, but I don't think that is what the plan is. I do not have an issue with DD essentially saying. I am looking, but I can use De Aza.

2) Will Manny play 150? I think that is a good over/under. I would pick the under, but I think it will be close. I think the bigger question is what level of performance will the O's get. I am confident that Manny is a star, but you have to be a fool to not be concerned about a kid with two repaired knees.

3) Yes. I am very comfortable saying Davis' future performance will fall between his two previous seasons. Better than 14, but not as good as 13. Of course that is a whole lot of ground for variance.

4) No

5) Yes. Pearce is a nugget. He can help. Like De Aza, I would prefer to not be counting on 2014 performance, but I expect him to be very helpful and understand there is a possibility that he has come into his own or that while he can be useful, he may never be as sharp as this past season. Still glad to have him.

6) Hardy. Power from Hardy is a blessing, not having it last year could well be an indicator that his power will not be back. Or it may not. I did consult my magic 8 ball and it said: "Concentrate and ask again." So if I hear anything....

7/8) Who is DH/RF? Not Nick or Nelson Cruz. I'm ok with that. But seriously, dude. Who is on first!

[weams]

I would say they have a lot of question marks about the hitting

1. Can De Aza lead off?

2. Will Manny play 150 games?

3. Will Davis get any better then 2014?

4. Can Wieters play 150 games?

5. Will Pearce stay the same or fall off?

6. Will Hardy pick up the HR ball again?

7. Who is the R.F?

8.Who is the D.H?

1. Yes, but so can Pearce and Lough.

2. Yeah. I think so.

3. Absolutely

4. No

5. Fall off.

6. Yes

7. Pearce

8. Morse or Delmon

[weams]

In fairness, I believe you said the same about Nelson. I don't disagree, but it is funny how once here and into the Oriole clubhouse these guys really can become ours. That said, don't mind the O's not taking Melky. [/Quote]

I did not want Cruz for a long term deal. I don't think I said I could not root for him. Melky and his magic web site are far worse than what Nelson did.

[weams]

http://deadspin.com/5936526/melky-cabreras-fake-website-sent-mlb-investigators-all-the-way-to-the-dominican-republic

[Guest]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>melky is said to have had a 4-year offer. but he decided he preferred <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/chisox?src=hash">#chisox</a>. 4-yr team is unknown.</p>— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) <a href="

">December 14, 2014</a></blockquote>

<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[Guest rochester]

I think Melky was not a nugget.

[ShaneDawg85]

Good. A dumb contract by a franchise stuck in neutral, glad the O's didn't decide to waste the money on him.

[atomic]

The O's have a ... and a lineup full of guys that can hit.

Well except at Second Base, DH, Left Field and Right Field? And Catcher and Third Base if Wieters and Machado aren't back to start the season. And first base if Davis hits like he did last season. So we are good at Shortstop, and Centerfield. I have a hard time believing. Pearce replicates a full-season of the way the last half of last year.

[Frobby]

Well except at Second Base, DH, Left Field and Right Field? And Catcher and Third Base if Wieters and Machado aren't back to start the season. And first base if Davis hits like he did last season. So we are good at Shortstop, and Centerfield. I have a hard time believing. Pearce replicates a full-season of the way the last half of last year.

The way I see it, we have good opportunities for improvement at every IF spot.

1B - Davis likely to have a better year.

2B - Schoop likely to improve his sophomore season.

3B - Machado back all season (I don't think there is any significant worry that he won't be ready for opening day)

SS - Hardy likely to bounce back from a down HR year

C - Wieters' return helps the team (I do think there is a risk he's not ready for Opening Day, but he'll play a lot more than in 2014, for sure)

I'd agree LF, RF and DH are potentially spots where we'd do worse, if we make no more moves this offseason. The O's finished 4th, 3rd and 4th in the AL in those three spots in OPS last year. Notably, the 3rd place finish in RF was due to the fact that Pearce and Cruz hit well there in those few games when Nick was out of the lineup.