Is it too early to call the J.J. Hardy extension a mistake?

[ShaneDawg85]

Far too early. There was nobody to replace JJ with, and don't try and say Manny. To put him at short coming off two consecutive knee injuries would be the most asinine decision the Orioles could have made. The Orioles had the luxury of releasing Evereth Cabrera when Hardy came back. Imagine having to play an entire season with production like that because they decided to let Hardy walk, not to mention letting Cruz and Markakis walk and the unknown they were already facing from those decisions.

[wildcard]

JJ is worth the money. Having JJ play between two 23 year olds with a lot of talent is just about perfect as far as I am concerned.

I would have hated to see Hardy replace Jeter in NY.

[Es4M11]

Too early!

(re)signing Hardy is a "mistake" a lot of teams would have made this past off season.

[Reboulet'sStache]

I was just wondering tonight what we could get for Hardy. After this season he will be a 5 and 10 guy, with the right to veto any trade. It would be fun to watch Manny and Schoop up the middle. Until Manny was brought up from Bowie in 2012, those two were the double-play combo of the future. Well, the future is here.

Probably not much. Assuming he ends up being a 2 WAR player this year, he's basically being paid to be a 2 WAR player the next two years.

[scOtt]

JJ is worth the money. Having JJ play between two 23 year olds with a lot of talent is just about perfect as far as I am concerned.

I would have hated to see Hardy replace Jeter in NY.

All this. Hardy is the captain of the infield. None of us even know what he means to this team. BTW, 2 WAR is 13 million. Almost.

[brooks1083]

I look at it like he's the veteran pitcher on your staff. You've got two young guys flanking him, soaking up a lot of information. I mean I think there was a marked improvement on the defense (from everybody) when he came back. Personally, I think the drop off at 3B from Manny to whatever the next option is worse than the drop off from Manny to JJ at SS. Yes, the range and arm is worse at SS with JJ, but what MM does at 3B is VERY rare IMO.

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[El Gordo]

He is still among the best defensive SS in the game. He has played 28 fewer G that the AL leader, but is with in 1.3 RS of the league leader on defense. By the end of the season he should be #1 as he has been for the past few years.

[scOtt]

He is still among the best defensive SS in the game. He has played 28 fewer G that the AL leader, but is with in 1.3 RS of the league leader on defense. By the end of the season he should be #1 as he has been for the past few years.

So... you're saying it's too early then.

[BarclaySouthway]

He's never been a patient hitter.

But he never swings at the first pitch. Strange.

He's hitting .348 with RISP, which is why he doesn't seem as bad as his overall numbers this year. And it's tough to measure the stability he brings and his influence on Schoop's play. They turned another double play tonight that 90% of the teams don't make. So let's not bury him yet.

[El Gordo]

So... you're saying it's too early then.

If I have the best SS with the glove I don't care what he hits; Belanger forever.

[Nevermore]

I'm not worried about J.J. being extended. Believe me, we have lot more serious problems than J.J. Such as a reliable power bat.

[scOtt]

If I have the best SS with the glove I don't care what he hits; Belanger forever.

Exactly how I feel. He earns his keep.

[Rojo13]

All this. Hardy is the captain of the infield. None of us even know what he means to this team. BTW, 2 WAR is 13 million. Almost.

Did anyone watch the broadcast tonight? Manny credited all of his improvment in defense to learning from Hardy.

That's worth millions right there. Plus you need to keep some guys for team morale. If you just jettison people like they are simply numbers like the Astros, you'll have little team chemistry or let alone fan support.

The players will be like, "Screw this. they just look out for themsleves. I'm doing the same."

[25 Nuggets]

Out of all the people the Orioles could have lost last off season, I said J.J. was the most important to retain (they did before the season ended), and my opinion remains the same. He was/is the hardest to replace. I think (hope?) he has a power surge or two left in him too... but it may not be long before Schoop is moved up in the lineup and he becomes the #9 hitter.

[tntoriole]

That's an easy question to answer. Move Manny back to Short.

Yes and if Andy Macphail had just gone a little bit over the Twins 3.1 million offer to Sano, we could be looking at an amazing all star infield for a decade to come. That decision will haunt me for a long, long time, because Sano actually wanted to be an Oriole as his hero was Felix Pie, lol.