No excuses now

[JTrea81]

Let's see where we are in 45 days. BRob is hitting better right now than he has all year.

He's not stealing bases though and that's where his value is - the running game. He's been picked off more this year and is making poor choices.

DCab had one bad day and now he's "starting to get hit?" If he has two more bad outings in a row, I'll worry. He's valuable right now.

Sherrill's valuable, though not so valuable that he brings more than one really good prospect.

Guthrie's an asset. Many of our pitching prospects or younger pitchers are assets. Of course you aren't going to get three blue chip propsects for them, but if all you are looking to do is trade a very good young pitcher/pitiching prospect for one very good young shortstop/prospect, that should be doable.

We have plenty of tradeable assets.

DCab, Sherrill and Guthrie aren't going anywhere. As BB stated we aren't trading any good players to keep Tex interested...

So who else can we trade to get a blue chipper back besides Roberts?

[IamtheSkip]

Why is the shine off BRob? His OPS+ was 112 last year, it's 114 now. He's essentially the same player. (By the way, he's hitting the heck out of the ball the last few days.)

DCab had one bad day and now he's "starting to get hit?" If he has two more bad outings in a row, I'll worry. He's valuable right now.

Sherrill's valuable, though not so valuable that he brings more than one really good prospect.

Guthrie's an asset. Many of our pitching prospects or younger pitchers are assets. Of course you aren't going to get three blue chip propsects for them, but if all you are looking to do is trade a very good young pitcher/pitiching prospect for one very good young shortstop/prospect, that should be doable.

We have plenty of tradeable assets.

Well, I think the fear here is that Roberts is the only guy that the O's are actually considering dealing.

And the team that had the only real documented interest now has an entire infield of guys that are off to great starts. That doesn't bode well.

Sherrill and Guts I could see them hanging onto, because they're the balance of good and cheap.

Which leaves Cabrera.

While I'm not in the abandon ship mode, I do see why so many folks are upset with the draft. In the off-season MacPhail traded Tejada for 3 pitchers and 2 AAAA position players. Okay.

Then he deals Bedard for Adam Jones and 4 more pitchers. Okay...

Then the Roberts rumors were mentioning Ronny Cedeno, maybe Matt Murton and... more pitchers.

Outside of getting Jones, and what we "heard" about the Reds talks, the O's have shown no real interest in position players, and that's worrisome.

[LookitsPuck]

Bigbird can talk untl the cows come home, he's been wrong in the past. Not saying I don't appreciate his info, or that he's never right, just saying nothing is definite. I.e. the Roberts trade saga, the Bedard saga with Cinci, etc.

I would be shocked if one of Roberts, Sherrill, or Cabrera were not moved this year.

[Sports Guy]

Why is the shine off BRob? His OPS+ was 112 last year, it's 114 now. He's essentially the same player. (By the way, he's hitting the heck out of the ball the last few days.)

DCab had one bad day and now he's "starting to get hit?" If he has two more bad outings in a row, I'll worry. He's valuable right now.

Sherrill's valuable, though not so valuable that he brings more than one really good prospect.

Guthrie's an asset. Many of our pitching prospects or younger pitchers are assets. Of course you aren't going to get three blue chip propsects for them, but if all you are looking to do is trade a very good young pitcher/pitiching prospect for one very good young shortstop/prospect, that should be doable.

We have plenty of tradeable assets.

I do agree with this but some of BRob's "old school numbers" need to be brought up because so many teams pay attention to those it seems.

We have plenty of guys that can bring us talent...Its a cop out to say other wise.

This team is 2-3 very good trades and the signing of Tex away from being a legit contender IMO. The pitching is there, with or without DCab and Sherrill.

See, for me, when it boils down to is I don't think there will be any dropoff if/when we trade Sherrill and DCab and if we get back a Jason Donald type guy to play second in a trade, i don't see much if any dropoff at second either.

These guys aren't so exceptional that they are irreplaceable.

The strength of this team is pitching so I don't see it as any problem to replace these guys.

[PoorMike]

He's not stealing bases though and that's where his value is - the running game. He's been picked off more this year and is making poor choices.

Part of that, I think, is that he wasn't getting on base so he was taking more chances when he was on. If he gets on base (which he wasn't in May) he's going to get his steals.

[Frobby]

Of course he owes the Orioles nothing. He doesn't "owe" anybody a damn thing. But he WILL be hated by the fans of Balitmore if he doesn't sign here.

That's preposterous. Many people will be disappointed if Tex doesn't sign here, but nobody's going to hate him for it. It's a completely different situation that a player who was drafted by the team and played there for years. How many free agents sign with the team that is closest to their home town? Very few.

Of course, if he signs with the Yankees, he'll be hated just like all Yankees are hated.

[Sports Guy]

He's not stealing bases though and that's where his value is - the running game. He's been picked off more this year and is making poor choices.

Really? He is on pace for 47 steals.

[Frobby]

He's not stealing bases though and that's where his value is - the running game. He's been picked off more this year and is making poor choices.

I doubt any potential suitor is worried much about this. He's on pace to steal 47 bases and hit 44 doubles. That's what people want from BRob. He has been caught a few more times than usual this year, but a 77% success rate is still very good and it will probably go higher.

[Dipper9]

That's preposterous. Many people will be disappointed if Tex doesn't sign here, but nobody's going to hate him for it. It's a completely different situation that a player who was drafted by the team and played there for years. How many free agents sign with the team that is closest to their home town? Very few.

Of course, if he signs with the Yankees, he'll be hated just like all Yankees are hated.

Preposterous Frob? I don't think so. I bet if he signs for anybody besides us, he will be booed out of this stadium and bashed on the OH every chance we get. This isn't just any free agent. This is the guy that fans have wanted since we missed him in the draft. This is the guy that people are making up conspiracy theories in our draft about. Oh, I beg to differ. IMO, he will be hated!

Edit: Then again, this is Baltimore. They won't hate Tex...they'll blame Angelos!

[IamtheSkip]

Yeah, count me in on the group that thinks Tex gets booed hard if he goes anywhere but Baltimore...

He's a local kid, beloved more than most of the actual Orioles... if he goes to New York, it'll be a crapfest every time they're in town.

Naturally most folks would understand his reasoning. But that wouldn't stop them from being upset. No one said fans had to be rational, you know.

Though, when making his decisions this upcoming offseason, I hope Tex does realize that if he joins the club he'd be the single most loved Oriole since Ripken, absolute hands down. Talk about a no pressure situation... he could go through massive slumps and people just wouldn't care.

For awhile, anyway.

[DrungoHazewood]

Yeah, count me in on the group that thinks Tex gets booed hard if he goes anywhere but Baltimore...

He's a local kid, beloved more than most of the actual Orioles... if he goes to New York, it'll be a crapfest every time they're in town.

Naturally most folks would understand his reasoning. But that wouldn't stop them from being upset. No one said fans had to be rational, you know.

Though, when making his decisions this upcoming offseason, I hope Tex does realize that if he joins the club he'd be the single most loved Oriole since Ripken, absolute hands down. Talk about a no pressure situation... he could go through massive slumps and people just wouldn't care.

For awhile, anyway.

How many casual Orioles fans know who Mark Teixeira is? People like my wife, or my brother-in-law. People who go to the game because their company has tickets, or because it's nice to go to the ballgame a few times a year. People who brought the kids up in the SUV from Glen Burnie or Annapolis. At least half the crowd on any given night.

If you went around Oriole Park on a random non-Red Sox night and ask folks if they'd boo Mark Teixiera if he doesn't sign with the O's I'd bet 60% or 70% of the crowd would say "Sure, I'll boo anybody who's not an Oriole. Who's Mark Teixeira?"

[IamtheSkip]

How many casual Orioles fans know who Mark Teixeira is? People like my wife, or my brother-in-law. People who go to the game because their company has tickets, or because it's nice to go to the ballgame a few times a year. People who brought the kids up in the SUV from Glen Burnie or Annapolis. At least half the crowd on any given night.

If you went around Oriole Park on a random non-Red Sox night and ask folks if they'd boo Mark Teixiera if he doesn't sign with the O's I'd bet 60% or 70% of the crowd would say "Sure, I'll boo anybody who's not an Oriole. Who's Mark Teixeira?"

But you KNOW that if the O's actually get engaged in Tex talks, the papers and news stations would play up the local connection. Hence making sure anyone that wasn't completely uninformed knows who he is.

[ChrisP]

If you went around Oriole Park on a random non-Red Sox night and ask folks if they'd boo Mark Teixiera if he doesn't sign with the O's I'd bet 60% or 70% of the crowd would say "Sure, I'll boo anybody who's not an Oriole. Who's Mark Teixeira?"

I disagree. With as much press as he's getting (as has gotten for a few years), I think even the casual fan knows about Tex. Just wait until after the season and WBAL names their show "Hot Stove Tex Show". It's all anyone will talk about.

[Bosibus]

Isnt firstbase one of the easiest spots to fill? Rowell might end up there. Snyder could get it together.

I think SS is our biggest worry. That and pitching.

I agree. Seems to 1st basemen is a much easier position to fill rather than a #2. Plus, most of the time, it seems they come cheaper.

[IamtheSkip]

I agree. Seems to 1st basemen is a much easier position to fill rather than a #2. Plus, most of the time, it seems they come cheaper.

We have a massive stable of young arms. Granted, pitching "prospects" fail more often than not, but the O's have enough that they could have passed on one more for a guy that can play first base.

Especially seeing as how, you know, they have NO first base prospects. The average is a little skewed there.