Past off season and Dan Duquette/Blue Jays distraction.

[kelsey59]

Does anyone think we are starting to see results of the whole DD/Blue Jays distraction?

It crossed my mind and am wondering what others think.

[MemorialStadKid]

Does anyone think we are starting to see results of the whole DD/Blue Jays distraction?

It crossed my mind and am wondering what others think.

Yes, quite a few people have considered this as the reason for the lackluster offseason results.

But it's a tough subject to broach here because you can't really quantify his poor choices with UZR, WAR or PECOTA. I mean, you could use your eyes to see the results of his being distracted by a potential new assignment.

Also, wins and losses tell the story but according to a select few, DD did an outstanding job during the winter months.

MSK

[24fps]

Much better to use the TANIA system to understand the full extent of Duquette's duplicity.

[video=youtube;Cpo3BPDYfrQ]

It's a little dense, but much more nuanced. Heck, you can see that with your own two eyes!

[kelsey59]

Much better to use the TANIA system to understand the full extent of Duquette's duplicity.

[video=youtube;Cpo3BPDYfrQ]

It's a little dense, but much more nuanced. Heck, you can see that with your own two eyes!

After 5 seconds I realized there is a woman in this world I won't be willing to go on one date with.

[Nevermore]

Does anyone think we are starting to see results of the whole DD/Blue Jays distraction?

It crossed my mind and am wondering what others think.

I don't know if DD was distracted by the Blue Jays thing. But I do know that he missed the boat on a few acquisitions. He seemed to have thought that, after losing Nick Markakis, that Travis Snider could replace him in RF. If nothing else, I don't recall Nick ever forgetting how many men were out in any key point in any games. DD seemed to have thought that a combination of Chris Davis and Delmon Young could replace Nelson Cruz. Young and Davis added to Cruz's presence last year, but these two could never replace him. DD also seemed to have thought that Everth Cabrera would add speed to the team. Maybe he did, but his speed never made up for his low BA/OPS numbers, nor some of his misjudgments on the field and on the basepaths. And don't get me started on De Aza. He's now gone for very little.

[TonySoprano]

Here are the 2013 offseason transactions. Until Jimenez was signed on Feb, 19, and Cruz was signed 5 days later, the biggest move was acquiring Davis Lough on December 18. Given how 2014 went, the only move that really paid off was Cruz. There was no talk of Toronto then. Ditto, the 2012 offeason when the biggest name still on the team is McFarland .

Contract extensions and arbitration increases added to payroll this year. After that, we don't know what payroll flexibility Dan had left. Pay no attention to the body of work from Tillman, and Norris to date, or that Hardy has missed over half of the games played. Instead, we'd rather point to conspiracy theories, and disparage Dan's work ethic. Whatever.

[kelsey59]

Here are the 2013 offseason transactions. Until Jimenez was signed on Feb, 19, and Cruz was signed 5 days later, the biggest move was acquiring Davis Lough on December 18. Given how 2014 went, the only move that really paid off was Cruz. There was no talk of Toronto then. Ditto, the 2012 offeason when the biggest name still on the team is McFarland .

Contract extensions and arbitration increases added to payroll this year. After that, we don't know what payroll flexibility Dan had left. Pay no attention to the body of work from Tillman, and Norris to date, or that Hardy has missed over half of the games played. Instead, we'd rather point to conspiracy theories, and disparage Dan's work ethic. Whatever.

I am not questioning DD's work ethic. It is human nature when you think you may be moving on with a possible better job to be distracted. Anything in someone's life can distract someone from their job.

[CA-ORIOLE]

Here are the 2013 offseason transactions. Until Jimenez was signed on Feb, 19, and Cruz was signed 5 days later, the biggest move was acquiring Davis Lough on December 18. Given how 2014 went, the only move that really paid off was Cruz. There was no talk of Toronto then. Ditto, the 2012 offeason when the biggest name still on the team is McFarland .

Contract extensions and arbitration increases added to payroll this year. After that, we don't know what payroll flexibility Dan had left. Pay no attention to the body of work from Tillman, and Norris to date, or that Hardy has missed over half of the games played. Instead, we'd rather point to conspiracy theories, and disparage Dan's work ethic. Whatever.

I heard he didn't answer phone calls.

[24fps]

After 5 seconds I realized there is a woman in this world I won't be willing to go on one date with.

Me neither, but it's because I'm thoroughly awestruck. She's just perfect. If Jonathan Ive was given the task to design gibberish, he would consider this his masterpiece.

[SteveO]

I am not a fan of what happened with the Orioles offseason but I also think that the whole DD/BJ's saga had nothing to do with it.

[SteveO]

Yes, quite a few people have considered this as the reason for the lackluster offseason results.

But it's a tough subject to broach here because you can't really quantify his poor choices with UZR, WAR or PECOTA. I mean, you could use your eyes to see the results of his being distracted by a potential new assignment.

Also, wins and losses tell the story but according to a select few, DD did an outstanding job during the winter months.

MSK

Just because DD made some incorrect choices and assumptions about guys production. That does not mean that it came as result of him being distracted. He is perfectly capable of making bad decisions just as any GM in baseball is. I like DD and hope he isour GM moving forward but he is not perfect by a longshot.

[TonySoprano]

I am not questioning DD's work ethic. It is human nature when you think you may be moving on with a possible better job to be distracted. Anything in someone's life can distract someone from their job.

Was he similarly distracted the previous two offseasons? As I've already said, his biggest score in both years was Nelson Cruz. Tell me what else stands out. Therefore it stands to reason that since we had a typical Orioles offseason in 2012 and 2013 (i.e. no big headline moves), the fact that we had more of the same in 2014 is not an indication that Dan was distracted, but rather that the moves he made/didn't make were driven by other factors. Budget? All I see people come back with is , well , he should have signed Cruz. Personally, I wouldn't have given him a four year deal either. Other than Cruz, give us examples of moves that Dan could have reasonably made but didn't?

[mdbdotcom]

Here are some of the things DD did in the eight weeks after the Blue Jays story broke on December 6th.

Dec. 11 - Acquired Logan Verrett and Jason Garcia in Rule 5 draft

Dec. 19 - Signed Wesley Wright

Dec. 23 - Claimed Ryan Lavarnway

Dec. 24 - Claimed Cesar Cabral

Jan. 7 - Signed JP Arencibia

Jan 9 - DFA Lavarnway (who cleared waivers and was outrighted to Norfolk)

Jan. 9 - Signed Delmon Young

Jan. 27 - Signed Chris Parmelee, traded for Travis Snider, and signed Steve Johnson

No huge moves here. Just DD doing his thing. This looks more like he was engaged than distracted to me.

Of course, there is no way of proving that he did not pass up any great opportunities to acquire a big bat, so there is no way to put the accusations to rest. But, the way these teams are run now, I'm guessing that any major opportunities would have been known by others in the organization, not just Duquette, and internal discussions would have ensued.

You'd think that if he'd missed a great opportunity we would have heard about it by now. Agents talk, and so do MLB employees who seem to always have advance word on trades.

[maybenxtyr]

I think he was trying to address some needs for this year and beyond by not spending on expensive free agents. Because of possible budget concerns he could not make costly moves that failed. I don't believe the Toronto job offer had anything to do with it.

Arbitration raises have put the team in a precarious position for this year, but maybe this off season he will non tender marginal talent rather than pay for AAAA production. I don't mean that as harsh as it sounds, but there are some players that could be replaced by league minimum players for the same or better production.

[ChinMusic]

I feel like this subject has been utterly beaten to death. Not to mention, this offseason felt no different than any other DD offseason. This is the way he and the Orioles operate. Always have, probably always will.

I'm just not sure why people come out of the woodwork with these conspiracy theories and crazy attempts to explain things whenever the O's are less than successful. If the O's were 29-24 instead of 24-29, would this be brought up? I very highly doubt it.

Sometimes, it really is as simple as the players underperforming. There are a lot of things to complain about. I'd focus my attention on the performance of De Aza, Pearce, Chris Davis, Cabrera, et al. before I'd start questioning Dan's motives this offseason. It's over. Let's move on.