Has our competitive window closed???

[DocJJ]

Is it blasphemy to say it?

We likely lose Wieters, Chen, O'Day, Davis, Parra (not that he did anything anyway).

We have mortgaged our future with terrible trades (Arietta for Feldman, Rodriguez for Miller, Davies for Parra).

Our top draft picks have gotten hurt (Bundy, Harvey).

We largely ignore foreign markets. When we do sign a player, it is a lesser caliber fringe type of guy like Urrutia/Alvarez as opposed to a bona fide star (Sano, Puig, Soler, Moncada).

We have a rotation of back of rotation type guys, and no true #1 or #2 type aces. And we probably can't afford to pay for an ace in free agency.

It may seem like blasphemy to say it, but I think this franchise had a brief competitive window that is shut. Toronto and NY will be good as always. Boston has stockpiled a ridiculous amount of talent and will be atop the division soon. Dumpster Diving Duquette and our miserly owner will sign a few journeymen retreads to fill out roster slots next to Schoop, Machado, and Jones, and call it a team. :angryfire:

[DrungoHazewood]

No. Characters.

[LA2]

No. Characters.

No, the window hasn't closed or no it's not blasphemy? Hey I know you mean the former, but there's a lot of validity to the dismal picture painted by DocJJ. We're a .500 team and it's going to take an extremely successful off-season to become real contenders again.

Corrected typo: "painted," not "pinnated." Must have been the spell-check.

[osfan83]

In 2016 we will have:

An All Star playing CF

A future HOFer at 3b

One of the best 2b in the AL

One of the best closers in baseball

The best defensive SS in baseball

One of the best managers in baseball

We will have all of that before making any moves in the off-season. And we have about 40-50 million dollars to use to sign talent. Not a bad place to start from. No guarantees, but an average GM could get this team in contention late in the year.

[Palmoripken]

No way of knowing. Baseball is unpredictable. We need to add to the core but I think the team can contend.

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[TheDirtyBird]

I would say that we were "competitive" this year, but not any good. I would expect much of the same next year, a .500 team. So by this standard, yes we will again be as competitive as we were in 2016 as we were in 2015

[mdbdotcom]

Next you should start a thread on how we can fix this mess. Oh, wait.

[DrungoHazewood]

No, the window hasn't closed or no it's not blasphemy? Hey I know you mean the former, but there's a lot of validity to the dismal picture pinnated by DocJJ. We're a .500 team and it's going to take an extremely successful off-season to become real contenders again.

Not closed, because the concept of a "competitive window" is much more fluid and shifting than is implied when you say one had slammed shut. The 2011 Orioles had a window that had a bunch of 10-penny nails hammered into it and it had been painted shut three times. And the 2012-15 Orioles won more games than anyone else in the division. I refuse to go along with the idea that you're either a 95-win team, you're totally blowing it up, or you're deluding yourself.

[MemorialStadKid]

We largely ignore foreign markets. When we do sign a player, it is a lesser caliber fringe type of guy like Urrutia/Alvarez as opposed to a bona fide star (Sano, Puig, Soler, Moncada).

We have a rotation of back of rotation type guys, and no true #1 or #2 type aces. And we probably can't afford to pay for an ace in free agency.

This is the part that confuses me to no end. I've never understood why the Orioles don't have more of a presence on the international scene (especially Curacao which now has a legit baseball pipeline of talent coming up)? If we're going to stick to the "we can't spend like NYC/BOS/TOR" mindset then we could find cheaper solutions on the international front and make sure to develop them properly.

Jonathan Schoop is an example of a talent from Curacao and there's many more like him just waiting to be discovered.

As far as pitching is concerned, we're in a bit of a mess. We cannot operate from the "let's hope they'll rebound" mentality any more - at least not if we expect to contend ever again. This is where we need to spend some money. Without decent starting pitching, we don't really have a shot at anything.

MSK

[El Gordo]

Is it blasphemy to say it?

We likely lose Wieters, Chen, O'Day, Davis, Parra (not that he did anything anyway).

We have mortgaged our future with terrible trades (Arietta for Feldman, Rodriguez for Miller, Davies for Parra).

Our top draft picks have gotten hurt (Bundy, Harvey).

We largely ignore foreign markets. When we do sign a player, it is a lesser caliber fringe type of guy like Urrutia/Alvarez as opposed to a bona fide star (Sano, Puig, Soler, Moncada).

We have a rotation of back of rotation type guys, and no true #1 or #2 type aces. And we probably can't afford to pay for an ace in free agency.

It may seem like blasphemy to say it, but I think this franchise had a brief competitive window that is shut. Toronto and NY will be good as always. Boston has stockpiled a ridiculous amount of talent and will be atop the division soon. Dumpster Diving Duquette and our miserly owner will sign a few journeymen retreads to fill out roster slots next to Schoop, Machado, and Jones, and call it a team. :angryfire:

You started a "How do we fix this mess?" thread. Apparently you weren't happy with the responses to that so you start a "this mess can't be fixed thread". Sorry I refuse to play. It's boring, and this crap happens every year.

[24fps]

No such thing unless you believe in it hard enough. Like all self-fulfilling prophecies.

[El Gordo]

No such thing unless you believe in it hard enough. Like all self-fulfilling prophecies.

[BradyBunch]

This is the part that confuses me to no end. I've never understood why the Orioles don't have more of a presence on the international scene (especially Curacao which now has a legit baseball pipeline of talent coming up)? If we're going to stick to the "we can't spend like NYC/BOS/TOR" mindset then we could find cheaper solutions on the international front and make sure to develop them properly.

Jonathan Schoop is an example of a talent from Curacao and there's many more like him just waiting to be discovered.

As far as pitching is concerned, we're in a bit of a mess. We cannot operate from the "let's hope they'll rebound" mentality any more - at least not if we expect to contend ever again. This is where we need to spend some money. Without decent starting pitching, we don't really have a shot at anything.

MSK

Orioles have signed 7 guys from Curacao. Kirvin Moesquit was drafted in 2015 (latest signing). We sign in Curacao. But you also gotta remember the guys that are coming out of Curacao making it to the majors are from just two little league teams (2004 and 2005) in recent years. Nothing major outside of Schoop and such in major talent that young.

[24fps]

I would say that we were "competitive" this year, but not any good. I would expect much of the same next year, a .500 team. So by this standard, yes we will again be as competitive as we were in 2016 as we were in 2015

If the Orioles are smart about how they go about it, next year's .500 team will be much better in 2017, perhaps for an extended time. In that sense a small window might have temporarily closed, but nothing like the boom-or-bust cycle that's usually implied by the term "competitive window".

[SpinJr]

In 2016 we will have:

An All Star playing CF

A future HOFer at 3b

One of the best 2b in the AL

One of the best closers in baseball

The best defensive SS in baseball

One of the best managers in baseball

We will have all of that before making any moves in the off-season. And we have about 40-50 million dollars to use to sign talent. Not a bad place to start from. No guarantees, but an average GM could get this team in contention late in the year.

Unfortunately I see the most important thing missing from your list. Quality starters.

Like others have said we need to have a great offseason as well as a QUALITY draft.