Orioles told Bautista's reps...Orioles fans don't like him

[25 Nuggets]

2 hours ago, Can_of_corn said:

Just repeating what I have heard.  Living down here in FL I have lots of interaction with Red Sox, Yankee, Blue Jay and Pirate fans.  Even the occasional Rays fan.

I can definitely see that.  They don't watch him on a regular basis, they just see the highlights (which includes the lowlights).

This is pretty much true of anyone with even a small amount of controversy.

[weams]

On 1/6/2017 at 0:20 PM, Can_of_corn said:

This one isn't white.

 

Just sayin'

 

[pastorfan]

4 hours ago, backwardsk said:

 

Interesting comments....perhaps the price is dropping enough that he is considering it.

[MagicBird]

1 hour ago, pastorfan said:

Interesting comments....perhaps the price is dropping enough that he is considering it.

Hope not!!!!!!!

[MagicBird]

On 1/5/2017 at 0:23 PM, ArtVanDelay said:

Not in the future 

[Machado13]

A non-HGH Bautista is not worth much...just sayin':)

[sportsfan8703]

Would Bautista sign a one year deal because he can't be QO'd two years in a row?  I could see him signing a 1/18ish deal and hit FA for a long term contract next year, and with no loss of pick attached to him.  

There is just too much value to pass on Joey Bats for even a 1/20mm contract.   

[jamalshw]

25 minutes ago, sportsfan8703 said:

Would Bautista sign a one year deal because he can't be QO'd two years in a row?  I could see him signing a 1/18ish deal and hit FA for a long term contract next year, and with no loss of pick attached to him.  

There is just too much value to pass on Joey Bats for even a 1/20mm contract.   

I disagree. I'm anti-Bautista for a few reasons. Of course, I don't like the guy, but I'm also not sold on him moving forward. The dude is 36-years old and while his OBP is still really good and his power is solid, his bat looked slow to me at times in 2016. Granted, I'm no scout and don't have the knowledge to know if that was injury related or just perspective, but I'd want to be sure those weren't signs of regression. For Bautista, much of his OBP is driven out of fear/respect for him as a hitter. If he's no longer as dangerous, pitchers will go after him more and that number will drop much as his average has the last few years. 

I want no part of Bautista for 1/18 or anything close to that, but if he's forced to eat some humble pie again after turning down the Jays' preseason offer and the qualifying offer and then accepting something closer to 1/10...then, and only then, do I start exploring the idea. After all, you have consider the draft pick as part of the compensation package for him. Giving up a very good prospect given the first round pick for a guy that's hated in my city and by some of my players needs to be an excellent value. 

[Spy Fox]

On 1/5/2017 at 8:48 PM, PaulFolk said:

This post is all kinds of off-base. 

#1: Ortiz certainly hit well against the Yankees. So what? Is anyone here saying that he wasn't a great hitter? I think most of the focus has been on the fact that he often acted like a giant crybaby, which he did.

#2: When has anyone given even the slightest indication in this thread that race has anything to do with liking or disliking specific players? Why are you bringing that up out of the blue?

#3: Are a lot of people here clamoring for Trumbo over Bautista? I think there's a pretty strong sentiment (though not unanimous, of course) that we don't want the O's to re-sign Trumbo, either. 

In theoretical defense of crawjo's argument, it's certainly possible that people use their biases, racial or non, to form their dislike of certain people without ever mentioning those biases directly. It happens all the time. So I don't think it's inherently invalid to say that racial biases are influencing a conversation even when race hasn't been brought up by name. 

However, relating to this specific situation, I do agree with yours and others' opinion that Bautista (and Ortiz previously) totally earned any dislike he has from the O's fans and that I doubt that his race is a significant factor in that, especially not in this particular conversation on this particular board. 

For reasons of cost, distraction, and suitable alternatives, I hope we don't sign Jose. 

[sportsfan8703]

1 hour ago, Spy Fox said:

 

For reasons of cost, distraction, and suitable alternatives, I hope we don't sign Jose. 

What would be the distractions?  Bautista would love it here if we offered him the best situation for himself.  The fans would love him after his first HR.  

The fans stuff is overblown.  Then the race stuff is laughable, there's like 100 different message boards to discuss that stuff.  

Joey Bats has done his trash talking on the field.  It's not like he's a criminal off the field.  I'd take him on a 1/20 deal in a heartbeat.  

[weams]

http://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/mlb/big-read-mlb-execs-still-dig-long-ball/

Quote

...Yet owners think fans will care about the nuance of WAR?” counters the agent. “Fans want homers, fist pumps, walk-offs, closers throwing 100, neon arm sleeves, and their team to play in games that count. Nobody buys jerseys that say ‘[Andrew] Friedman,’ ‘[Theo] Epstein’ or ‘[Mark] Shapiro’ on the back. They want heroes and role models. Good guys and bad guys. Fans don’t pay $750 a pop for dugout club seats hoping to see five walks that night. They want to see their favourite hitter go deep and whether or not he pimps it.”

 

[weams]

3 minutes ago, sportsfan8703 said:

What would be the distractions?  Bautista would love it here if we offered him the best situation for himself.  The fans would love him after his first HR.  

The fans stuff is overblown.  Then the race stuff is laughable, there's like 100 different message boards to discuss that stuff.  

Joey Bats has done his trash talking on the field.  It's not like he's a criminal off the field.  I'd take him on a 1/20 deal in a heartbeat.  

That is an actual value of 1/33 then. Since he can not be offered a qualifying offer next season.

[Spy Fox]

3 minutes ago, sportsfan8703 said:

What would be the distractions?  Bautista would love it here if we offered him the best situation for himself.  The fans would love him after his first HR.  

The fans stuff is overblown.  Then the race stuff is laughable, there's like 100 different message boards to discuss that stuff.  

Joey Bats has done his trash talking on the field.  It's not like he's a criminal off the field.  I'd take him on a 1/20 deal in a heartbeat.  

I don't doubt that fans would come around to him if he signed, or that Bautista would enjoy playing here if he signed. But I do think that, with adding Bautista, you have an increased chance of drama. And that's because of the players, not the fans. You have an increased chance of drama because not only does Bautista have previous conflicts with some players on the Orioles, but he has plenty of previous conflicts with players on other teams as well and has shown a tendency to attract said conflicts. That's what I mean by distractions. And you know the media would be asking about it, understandably. Yes the players are professionals, but they are also humans. 

But all that said, the biggest reason I'd prefer the O's not to sign him is the same as why I'd prefer them not to sign Trumbo. With the pick attached, and other decent hitters available for less $$ and no pick, I simply think it's the better value choice to go another direction. 

[Frobby]

If I were GM, I wouldn't care too much about what the fans think of an opposing player who's a free agent.   I would care what the manager and players in the clubhouse thought, however.  

I wonder how much Yankees fans liked Johnny Damon or Jacoby Ellsbury when they were with the Red Sox.

[25 Nuggets]

40 minutes ago, Spy Fox said:

I don't doubt that fans would come around to him if he signed, or that Bautista would enjoy playing here if he signed. But I do think that, with adding Bautista, you have an increased chance of drama. And that's because of the players, not the fans. You have an increased chance of drama because not only does Bautista have previous conflicts with some players on the Orioles, but he has plenty of previous conflicts with players on other teams as well and has shown a tendency to attract said conflicts. That's what I mean by distractions. And you know the media would be asking about it, understandably. Yes the players are professionals, but they are also humans. 

But all that said, the biggest reason I'd prefer the O's not to sign him is the same as why I'd prefer them not to sign Trumbo. With the pick attached, and other decent hitters available for less $$ and no pick, I simply think it's the better value choice to go another direction. 

If Jose Bautista's name was John Doe, I still wouldn't want him, because he's 36, can't play defense anymore and costs a 1st round pick.  I don't see him hanging around like David Ortiz putting up obscene seasons in his late 30s.

I agree that Trumbo is also not the best option, but I'm higher on him because he's younger, would sign for multiple years, and would cost a lower pick than Bautista.  I feel good about Trumbo outperforming Bautista in 2018-2019.