Os are tenth in 2007 MLB payroll

[Mark J]

I already said Fultz instead of Walker(i wanted Rhodes too but he is done for the year)....I didn't have a problem with the Bradford contract except for the lost draft pick.

Baez? Do we even need to sign someone here? Hell maybe even Todd Williams pitches close to him.

I do not remember all the FA relievers this year but i am sure there are plenty of guys who could give you a 4-4.50 ERA for 2 million or less.

If you point out / criticize the O's for their overspending on these players, then to be fair & objective you have to credit them for the players they got for less salary that what other of players of similar skills might have been paid. And in the '06 free agent market I think it's safe to say Aubrey Huff was a bargain. So the net effect of their spending may not end up being that much. And more to the point, unless any amount overspent can definitively be proven to stop the O's from acquiring some other needed improvement for that exact amount of money, then to me as a fan, any amount they may have overspent is completely irrelevant.

[Sports Guy]

If you point out / criticize the O's for their overspending on these players, then to be fair & objective you have to credit them for the players they got for less salary that what other of players of similar skills might have been paid. And in the '06 free agent market I think it's safe to say Aubrey Huff was a bargain. So the net effect of their spending may not end up being that much. And more to the point, unless any amount overspent can definitively be proven to stop the O's from acquiring some other needed improvement for that exact amount of money, then to me as a fan, any amount they may have overspent is completely irrelevant.

Huff was a bargain but its not as if he is so good that we couldn't get similar players for cheaper.

But let's go with that...Well, put Huff at third and never resign Mora.

[DrungoHazewood]

I think my major quibble with the payroll is not that they spent too much on any one individual (which is true, but any one or two Huffs or Walkers isn't busting the budget). What I have difficulty with is the fact the O's may have the lowest breakout/star ratio per dollar in the majors. If Markakis doesn't break out, Tejada may be the only guy on the offensive side of the ball who's a legitimate all star, and none of the O's highest paid pitchers are likely to have all star-type seasons. They have a lot of potential bargains with young players, but they have curiously few stars, and a lot of potential holes, for the 10th-highest payroll in the league.

[Fan4Life]

I think my major quibble with the payroll is not that they spent too much on any one individual (which is true, but any one or two Huffs or Walkers isn't busting the budget). What I have difficulty with is the fact the O's may have the lowest breakout/star ratio per dollar in the majors. If Markakis doesn't break out, Tejada may be the only guy on the offensive side of the ball who's a legitimate all star, and none of the O's highest paid pitchers are likely to have all star-type seasons. They have a lot of potential bargains with young players, but they have curiously few stars, and a lot of potential holes, for the 10th-highest payroll in the league.

Stars these days cost a lot of $$$... who would you have signed for the money they eventually got? And signing "potential" stars is a bit of a crap shoot, isn't it?

[Mark J]

Huff was a bargain but its not as if he is so good that we couldn't get similar players for cheaper.

But let's go with that...Well, put Huff at third and never resign Mora.

Not if they don't view Huff as a realistic defensive option as an everyday 3rd basemen.

[Sports Guy]

Not if they don't view Huff as a realistic defensive option as an everyday 3rd basemen.

He is just as good as Mora.

[Mark J]

I think my major quibble with the payroll is not that they spent too much on any one individual (which is true, but any one or two Huffs or Walkers isn't busting the budget). What I have difficulty with is the fact the O's may have the lowest breakout/star ratio per dollar in the majors. If Markakis doesn't break out, Tejada may be the only guy on the offensive side of the ball who's a legitimate all star, and none of the O's highest paid pitchers are likely to have all star-type seasons. They have a lot of potential bargains with young players, but they have curiously few stars, and a lot of potential holes, for the 10th-highest payroll in the league.

But in that same token, the O's have positioned themselves very well in the starting pitching department where for the next few years at least they should probably have one of the best rotations relative to salary & not be required to shell out insane dollars & years for (likely not worth it) players. So any future big dollar contracts they do shell out in the future will at least be for position players for whom the risk is much less great than with starting pitchers.

[DrungoHazewood]

But in that same token, the O's have positioned themselves very well in the starting pitching department where for the next few years at least they should probably have one of the best rotations relative to salary & not be required to shell out insane dollars & years for (likely not worth it) players. So any future big dollar contracts they do shell out in the future will at least be for position players for whom the risk is much less great than with starting pitchers.

True, but they've also locked up average/below-average players like Mora and Gibbons to multi-year deals, and they play positions that are among the easiest to fill with big hitters.

[Mark J]

He is just as good as Mora.

But - tell me if my memory is incorrect - you weren't all that critical of the contract given Mora at the time were you? If not, you can't really use the hindsight that you have now about Mora's decline last season.

[Mark J]

True, but they've also locked up average/below-average players like Mora and Gibbons to multi-year deals, and they play positions that are among the easiest to fill with big hitters.

That's true.

[Sports Guy]

But - tell me if my memory is incorrect - you weren't all that critical of the contract given Mora at the time were you? If not, you can't really use the hindsight that you have now about Mora's decline last season.

Yes i was....I wanted them to wait until the offseason to decide on this.

I was one of the few against it.

[Fan4Life]

But - tell me if my memory is incorrect - you weren't all that critical of the contract given Mora at the time were you? If not, you can't really use the hindsight that you have now about Mora's decline last season.

The fact that it is only one bad season doesn't establish the trend SG thinks it does... obviously he can express the fact that due to Mora's age last season is likely more indicative than previous seasons... but currently it is still just one bad year... Lowell had one, everyone wrote him off and he came back with a good season.. (not good enough for the money, but good).

[Sports Guy]

The fact that it is only one bad season doesn't establish the trend SG thinks it does... obviously he can express the fact that due to Mora's age last season is likely more indicative than previous seasons... but currently it is still just one bad year... Lowell had one, everyone wrote him off and he came back with a good season.. (not good enough for the money, but good).

Lowell had a good history of being an everyday player and Lowell was much younger than Mora is now.

[El Gordo]

You can save another 3-3.5 by signing a "cheaper Payton".

Cruz is not the cheaper answer to Payton. Cruz is a RH platoon player /4th OF and would require a LH hitting counter part who would cost considerably more. Payton while not ideal as a stsrting full time LF will give you better production against both LHP's and RHP's. Cruz is a better answer to our OF problems than Knott though.

[Mark J]

Yes i was....I wanted them to wait until the offseason to decide on this.

I was one of the few against it.

My fault. Either way - if the O's signed Huff for 3B, they would have had to get someone else to play 1B this year and after, and while I know you've been saying for a while they should have acquired a young 1B in a trade, we can't really know until after next year if that trade-off would've been worthwhile (after having a chance to know if the stats of potential players we might have acquired are better than Mora's.