Will YOU Cheer for Matt Wieters Opening Day

[weams]

My theory is this thread is an attempt to take some heat off DD. Of course it's a poorly planned attempt because once we all agree MW deserves our loyalty we will then move on to 'it's DDs fault!' and start gathering torches and pitchforks.

No, not at all. There was a strong out cry against Wieters' return. If anything it was meant to be a gage of whether folks were ready to be done with Matt or whether the front office had erred in trying to get a draft pick for him.

Matt was never healthy enough to have been traded after his Tommy John surgery.

Forks are still mad that Nick and Darren O'Day did not receive QAs.

Matt is Matt. People is people.

[berettafan]

Weams authentication complete.

[Redskins Rick]

No, not at all. There was a strong out cry against Wieters' return. If anything it was meant to be a gage of whether folks were ready to be done with Matt or whether the front office had erred in trying to get a draft pick for him.

Matt was never healthy enough to have been traded after his Tommy John surgery.

Forks are still mad that Nick and Darren O'Day did not receive QAs.

Matt is Matt. People is people.

As much as I love Darren O'Day, it make no sense to offer him one, no sense. 15.6 million is pretty steep.

[jjnono]

Do you think he will make the Orioles hall of Fame?

There are plenty of good players in the Orioles Hall of Fame that were not "great" players, per se: Rich Dauer, Gary Roenicke, B.J. Surhoff, Lee May,... There are truly "great" Orioles - Palmer, Robinson (F), Robinson (B), Cal, Murray. I could potentially see Wieters in the former group, but most certainly not the latter.

So we probably need to parse what makes a great Oriole. Is it "a great player who is an Oriole?" Or more along the lines of "a player whose longevity and commitment to the organization make him an example for others to come..." or some such.

[weams]

There are plenty of good players in the Orioles Hall of Fame that were not "great" players, per se: Rich Dauer, Gary Roenicke, B.J. Surhoff, Lee May,... There are truly "great" Orioles - Palmer, Robinson (F), Robinson (B), Cal, Murray. I could potentially see Wieters in the former group, but most certainly not the latter.

So we probably need to parse what makes a great Oriole. Is it "a great player who is an Oriole?" Or more along the lines of "a player whose longevity and commitment to the organization make him an example for others to come..." or some such.

I think from my perspective if the are honored as an Oriole Hall Of Famer, they pass the test.

[weams]

There are plenty of good players in the Orioles Hall of Fame that were not "great" players, per se: Rich Dauer, Gary Roenicke, B.J. Surhoff, Lee May,... There are truly "great" Orioles - Palmer, Robinson (F), Robinson (B), Cal, Murray. I could potentially see Wieters in the former group, but most certainly not the latter.

So we probably need to parse what makes a great Oriole. Is it "a great player who is an Oriole?" Or more along the lines of "a player whose longevity and commitment to the organization make him an example for others to come..." or some such.

I do not see a statue in Matt's future. Or the Real hall of fame. Which you are alluding to.

[jjnono]

I do not see a statue in Matt's future. Or the Real hall of fame. Which you are alluding to.

I was alluding to the test by which an Oriole is included in the Orioles' Hall of Fame.

Catcher is such an intriguing position by which to determine high level merit. No one touches the ball more frequently during the game (at least in today's reliever-heavy game). Without doing an exhaustive comparison to others in the Orioles Hall of Fame, my gut feeling is that he doesn't get in. (Unless he wins a World Series MVP, as my all-time favorite Os catcher did...)

He is certainly not getting to Cooperstown, barring some sort of offensive reinvention that is sustained for several years on a Pudge Rodrigruez level...

[higgybaby]

I don't even understand this question, its so absurd.

We have people who despise Mussina because he was "disloyal" and left for more money. And here is a guy who expresses a desire to continue to play here.

Of course there is an economic component to his decision but that is true of every player who signs with any team.

I understand we all like to play armchair GM and we all know that his accepting the offer could affect other moves we would like to make.

But I kind of miss the old days when fans were FANS and, not always rationally, were loyal to guys that had played for their team for years and sad to see them go.

In the old days Dads had to explain to their crying 6 year old why their favorite player left. Now they say to little Johnny, we will cheer for him as long as his WAR is sufficient for the payroll, but as soon as it isn't you won't like him any more and forget that you ever did.

Progress.

Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

Well said sir!

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[Beef Supreme]

It can't be considered "stealing money" when the team offers it to you.

[weams]

It can't be considered "stealing money" when the team offers it to you.

"We offered, he accepted."

[Going Underground]

From the Sun. Really about O'Day but some Wieters. Looks like Buck got them both back.

e Orioles were in the middle of a season-defining tailspin late last August when Orioles manager Buck Showalter pulled four veteran players into the visiting manager?s office in Texas. He wanted to exchange ideas with the players; he wanted to make sure everyone was on the same page and this quartet was his sounding board.

Two of his choices were obvious: center fielder Adam Jones and shortstop J.J. Hardy, both of whom had previously signed contract extensions and were going to be part of the club for at least two more seasons, maybe three.

The other two choices were more curious: pending free-agent catcher Matt Wieters and reliever Darren O?Day. Curious not because of their leadership capabilities they are among the most widely respected people the Orioles have employed in the past decade but because they both were potentially thought to be on their way out of Baltimore at season?s end.

But Showalter understood just how respected Wieters and O?Day are.

Flashback to September 2014: Chris Davis was suspended for failing an amphetamines test as the Orioles were about to head to the playoffs. Davis, who was reeling from his decision, was separated from his team at crunch time. He was despondent and said three conversations with teammates stood out at that time. One with his buddy, the affable Tommy Hunter, who offered an I love you, man. The other two were with Wieters and O?Day, who were selling much tougher love. They both stressed how much they were ticked off and disappointed with Davis.

The Orioles would never say it publicly, but the decisions not to give outfielders Nick Markakis and Nelson Cruz haunted them last year. And not just on the field.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/blog/bal-darren-oday-leadership-forces-orioles-out-of-financial-comfort-zone-20151206-story.html

[Prayin4Reign]

From the Sun. Really about O'Day but some Wieters. Looks like Buck got them both back.

e Orioles were in the middle of a season-defining tailspin late last August when Orioles manager Buck Showalter pulled four veteran players into the visiting manager?s office in Texas. He wanted to exchange ideas with the players; he wanted to make sure everyone was on the same page and this quartet was his sounding board.

Two of his choices were obvious: center fielder Adam Jones and shortstop J.J. Hardy, both of whom had previously signed contract extensions and were going to be part of the club for at least two more seasons, maybe three.

The other two choices were more curious: pending free-agent catcher Matt Wieters and reliever Darren O?Day. Curious not because of their leadership capabilities they are among the most widely respected people the Orioles have employed in the past decade but because they both were potentially thought to be on their way out of Baltimore at season?s end.

But Showalter understood just how respected Wieters and O?Day are.

Flashback to September 2014: Chris Davis was suspended for failing an amphetamines test as the Orioles were about to head to the playoffs. Davis, who was reeling from his decision, was separated from his team at crunch time. He was despondent and said three conversations with teammates stood out at that time. One with his buddy, the affable Tommy Hunter, who offered an I love you, man. The other two were with Wieters and O?Day, who were selling much tougher love. They both stressed how much they were ticked off and disappointed with Davis.

The Orioles would never say it publicly, but the decisions not to give outfielders Nick Markakis and Nelson Cruz haunted them last year. And not just on the field.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/blog/bal-darren-oday-leadership-forces-orioles-out-of-financial-comfort-zone-20151206-story.html

Just reading this now, thank you for posting that. Wieters remains one of my favorite O's and this is another example why. That's leadership...WAR can't measure that.

Here's maybe a more appropriate question....WHY wouldn't anyone root for Matt Wieters on opening day? Matt isn't the root of all evil because he's making 15 million dollars next year. That's just baseball and how crazy it is now in 2015....who on God's earth knows what type of insanity will be reigning 20 years from now.

I don't think it's for any of us to judge. It certainly seems like Wieters is well respected where it counts.....in the dugout.