2015 Nelson Cruz tracker thread

[DrungoHazewood]

No you said" player that will make their team better". He has yet to make their team better.

That is because maybe you don't get that it is about team building and not acquiring any one player. Something Theo always said. Cruz could hit 60 this season but if SEA doesn't make the playoffs he hasn't made the team better. That's not semantics IMO.

What does "better" have to do with "making the playoffs"? You say it's not semantics, but literally taking the word "better" means that he's been worth more wins than the alternatives. What you're saying is that the '62 Mets could have added 45 wins worth of talent and they weren't any better. No rational person thinks that.

[backwardsk]

I don't think anyone is arguing that. I'm just arguing that if indeed the Os were scared off by an extra year ( understanding they might have very well been worried not only by year four but year three of that contract as well) that, that one or two years of sub par play would have been worth the first two years considering he could have put the offense over the top in what could be a WS contender.

Are scoring more runs or less runs than last season?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Palmoripken]

I don't think anyone is arguing that. I'm just arguing that if indeed the Os were scared off by an extra year ( understanding they might have very well been worried not only by year four but year three of that contract as well) that, that one or two years of sub par play would have been worth the first two years considering he could have put the offense over the top in what could be a WS contender.

Well as I said earlier, the guy was coming off his best season in four years and one of his only healthy years. I just disagree with the assumption that Cruz would put us over the top and frankly the offense really hasn't been an issue with out him. I would have been willing to give him three years at a reasonable amount. I just understand the reluctance given the two factors I brought up. If he were a younger guy and had a better health track record, I would have wanted to make extending him our immediate priority.

[backwardsk]

I agree that giving Cruz that contract would have been foolish but as I have said in the past the Front Office did not really do much in the offseason to improve the team. For example, who is the leadoff hitter? The last time the Orioles had a legit leadoff hitter was Brian Roberts in 2009.

I know it's early, but our lead off hitters are getting on at a .381 clip. That's better than 2009 Roberts.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[El Gordo]

I thought that was the jusitification for Cano's contract, he was the last piece of the puzzle that puts them over the top?

That was the year before. Wait til next year. Chris Davis? Napoli? Cespedes? etc.?

[El Gordo]

What does "better" have to do with "making the playoffs"? You say it's not semantics, but literally taking the word "better" means that he's been worth more wins than the alternatives. What you're saying is that the '62 Mets could have added 45 wins worth of talent and they weren't any better. No rational person thinks that.

If they fail to make the playoffs then perhaps it is because the team had other weaknesses that needed to be addressed more than the offense. Maybe the money spent on Cruz could have been better spent elsewhere. I think the idea is better means the club wins more games. If De Aza/Snider/Cabrera help the O's get to the WS then the money was better pent on them than on Cruz IMO.

[Ruzious]

Did I read that right? He's got 6 homers, 7 runs scored, and 9 RBIs?

Who needs a bad base-runner like him?

[DrungoHazewood]

If they fail to make the playoffs then perhaps it is because the team had other weaknesses that needed to be addressed more than the offense. Maybe the money spent on Cruz could have been better spent elsewhere. I think the idea is better means the club wins more games. If De Aza/Snider/Cabrera help the O's get to the WS then the money was better pent on them than on Cruz IMO.

Ok, don't disagree. I think it's questionable this year whether they're better off with platoons, but as Cruz' contract goes on it becomes less a risk and more a certainty that he won't be worth it. His contract is large enough and he's old enough that when he starts OPSing .670 there's nothing you can do besides eat the money, or have a $15M pinch hitter for David Lough against lefties.

[Redskins Rick]

We talked about Cano and all that money.

Talk about a blunder.

http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/04/16/robinson-cano-made-one-of-the-worst-base-running-blunders-youll-ever-see/

[ledzepp8]

We talked about Cano and all that money.

Talk about a blunder.

http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/04/16/robinson-cano-made-one-of-the-worst-base-running-blunders-youll-ever-see/

That figures. He's the most lackadaisical player in the league. He makes up for it with immense talent but everything about his game is nonchalant.

[weams]

You can't put a team not making the playoffs on one player. Yes, they did think their team was already good and that Cruz would put then over the top. However, if Cruz has an AllStar year but they dont make it, you will blame him and the FO for signing him?

Do you blame the Os signing Cruz as the reason why we couldn't beat KC last year? I believe we dont get out of the first round without him.

Really? Maybe if we had someone on a hot streak like KC did instead ... it would have taken us to the World Series.

[fansince71]

2 more bombs....

[Chavez Ravine]

2 more bombs....

A 1.15 OPS so far....and the M's are still loosing

[Chavez Ravine]

In that game against the Rangers, Neftali Feliz got Nelson swinging with the bases loaded in the 8th inning of a 10-7 game. Kyle Seager subsequently brought the M's within 1 run with a single.

On a side note, rookie pitcher Keone Kela walked Robinson Cano the batter before. Keone is a Seattle boy with an interesting history. See this Seattle Times story:

[Chavez Ravine]

Jeff Banister walked Robinson Cano to bring up Nelson with two outs and the basses loaded in the bottom of the 9th after Seattle had tied the game up on an Austin Jackson single. Yep..it didn't work out well. Game winning single.