Fanfest

[Frobby]

32 minutes ago, wildbillhiccup said:

You all are reading too much into this. Manny is a diva and immature. Always has been. This is his silly little protest for the Orioles shopping him in the offseason...even though it hurts the fans much more than it hurts the team. Schoop is just along for the ride because it's his buddy. 

There's zero chance the team is holding him out of FanFest because they're close to trading him. Zero chance. 

I disagree, and I also think it’s unlikely that this is because Manny is throwing a hissy fit.     If that were the case, he would have declined to come to Fanfest in the first place, rather than pulling out at the last minute.     It’s not like anything has changed, from his point of view, since the players coming to Fanfest were announced a couple of weeks ago.   So, there are three possibilities:

1.    The O’s are keeping Manny away because he’s likely to be traded shortly.

2.    Manny’s throwing a last minute hissy fit.   

3.   Some legitimate personal reason popped up at the last minute.

I’m voting for 1 or 3.   I think 2 is the least likely explanation.   

[Can_of_corn]

6 minutes ago, SteveA said:

http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/florida-man

You know why that is right?

Because all the arresting information is public information down here.

Well that and the crack.

 

Edit- and the oxy.

[weams]

5 hours ago, interloper said:

I'm willing to bet it was, and the O's withheld that information for either incompetence or to hope fans who already bought tickets don't see the news. 

Would that be surprising to you?

Yes. And that is not what happened. I’d ask Manny or Jon when they told them. I’m sure they will answer that if not their reason. 

[Moose Milligan]

This is one of the funnier threads I've seen on here in awhile.

[oriole]

12 minutes ago, SteveA said:

That kind of rings true to me.   Could he have roped his best friend into an ill-advised boycott?

Sure, if I had to speculate that'd be my guess. I'd also guess there was some kind of silent gentlemans agreement since he was called up that he would move to SS at some point and the O's changed their mid when Beckham proved useful. I'm grasping but it makes sense in my head. I truly doubt something came up that prevents both players from making it.

[Can_of_corn]

Just now, oriole said:

Sure, if I had to speculate that'd be my guess. I'd also guess there was some kind of silent gentlemans agreement since he was called up that he would move to SS at some point and the O's changed their mid when Beckham proved useful. I'm grasping but it makes sense in my head. I truly doubt something came up that prevents both players from making it.

I'd never enter into a gentleman's agreement with Dan.

He doesn't return phone calls.

[SteveA]

3 minutes ago, Frobby said:

I disagree, and I also think it’s unlikely that this is because Manny is throwing a hissy fit.     If that were the case, he would have declined to come to Fanfest in the first place, rather than pulling out at the last minute.     It’s not like anything has changed, from his point of view, since the players coming to Fanfest were announced a couple of weeks ago.   So, there are three possibilities:

1.    The O’s are keeping Manny away because he’s likely to be traded shortly.

2.    Manny’s throwing a last minute hissy fit.   

3.   Some legitimate personal reason popped up at the last minute.

I’m voting for 1 or 3.   I think 2 is the least likely explanation.   

Would you believe #2 is more possible if he was just informed of a decision to keep him at 3rd this year?

Buck DID say the situation would be resolved and announced before Fanfest.   So that could be the reason for a last minute hissy fit.

[Frobby]

1 minute ago, SteveA said:

Would you believe #2 is more possible if he was just informed of a decision to keep him at 3rd this year?

Buck DID say the situation would be resolved and announced before Fanfest.   So that could be the reason for a last minute hissy fit.

We are so far off in speculation land (my theory included) that I don’t even know what to say to that, except that it’s a possible scenario.

[foxfield]

2 minutes ago, Moose Milligan said:

This is one of the funnier threads I've seen on here in awhile.

You think this thread is funny???

Funny how? Let me understand this...

 

NSFW

 

[murph]

47 minutes ago, Number5 said:

LOL.  Between catching in baseball, third base in softball, playing football, and basketball over the course of so many years, I've broken both pinkies so many times that I have no choice but to keep my pinky extended when I drink. 

I have the same problem (mostly from basketball), my wife gets a kick out of giving me hard time about it and especially when I go to fist bump her, she grins from ear to ear and then make sure get her pinky knuckle out too! 

[jjnono]

I'd ideally like to give the players AND the front office the benefit of the doubt - that the reason has to do with an impending trade that brings down the curtain on one era of Orioles baseball and lifts it for another.  I mean, that's where most of us are, right?  Trade Manny.  If Schoop  goes, too, is it really that much worse?  It definitely makes for a miserable 2018, but probably also for a brighter future..

And if something along those lines doesn't transpire, then, well, feel free to boycott the games.

[murph]

23 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

You know why that is right?

Because all the arresting information is public information down here.

Well that and the crack.

 

Edit- and the oxy.

That's still bad down there, eh?  I know a few years back Cardinal health drug (drug wholesaler) was completely cut off from shipping CII's to FL and that many pharmacies were shut down.  Thought it had gotten better. 

Oh and yea, I agree with many that some explanation should be forthcoming on both of the guys for missing fan fest, unless Frobby is right and Manny is traded relatively soon, that would explain it in itself. 

[weams]

4 hours ago, cimota said:

It isn't our business? People on here have bought season tickets and other's have bought fan fest tickets with expectations that the team's highest paid players would be there.  Of course it is their business.  I guess their option is to stop following the team if they don't get a valid explanation. 

It's our business. 

[tntoriole]

4 hours ago, interloper said:

That's all fair. Hey, it sucks. It's on the Orioles though, not the player. I have a hard time believing that if the Orioles projected an atmosphere of competence, operations that were anywhere near being portrayed as player-friendly (even just outwardly/optically), open communication, aggressively doing its best to show both players and fans that they intend to win, etc., that more often than not, they'd avoid situations like this.

Unfortunately, that's not the case. The face of the franchise is openly mocking the organization on Twitter. Whether or not you agree with that, that's the situation they've created for themselves. It's not the situation the players have created for the organization or the fans.

I disagree that players have no role to play in the situation.   You can say that it is all on the organization.  But, in fact, fans don't really care what dirty laundry players, agents and GMs and owners have.  What we want is a fantasy....like a rock concert, a NASCAR race, a film....It is not my problem who doesn't like who in the organization, or that the director and the star hate each other, or that Manny and Jonathan and Adam don't care for the owner or his style.   Not my problem as a consumer.   If players want to just say, judge me on my performance on the field we will judge them the way we want to judge them whether they want us to or not.   We are involved in a fantasy so how the players want ME to think about them is irrelevant to me.     They will either reinforce my fantasy and I will spend dollars on them, or they won't and I will spend my dollars and attention towards those who will.      Come to FanFair in Nashville some time and watch how country music superstars treat their fans and compare that to these two adolescent millionaires.  

If they do not want to participate in the maintaining of the fantasy for fans, like autographs, like fantasy weeks, Dream camps, whatever, then don't.   But as a consumer then it will affect my decision to spend dollars on their entertainment product.    And then collectively they will make a lot less money both as a sport and also in their individual career.   Players just dissing fans in events like this touch the strong emotions of the fantasy.  Which is what drives the money.   Take away the strong emotions of the fantasy, then they are just out there throwing a ball around in the dark by themselves.  

I know they have lives, real lives, dirty laundry, issues, whatever.   You think Tom Hanks doesn't when he comes on to a set every day?  That his agent is being a jerk and he is being sued by this studio or that one or that he got stuck in traffic or his wife is not well.....whatever.   When the director says action, then he becomes the character.   Same way with these players.   That is what makes their jobs entertainment professionals, not amateurs.    Play

[foxfield]

14 minutes ago, tntoriole said:

I disagree that players have no role to play in the situation.   You can say that it is all on the organization.  But, in fact, fans don't really care what dirty laundry players, agents and GMs and owners have.  What we want is a fantasy....like a rock concert, a NASCAR race, a film....It is not my problem who doesn't like who in the organization, or that the director and the star hate each other, or that Manny and Jonathan and Adam don't care for the owner or his style.   Not my problem as a consumer.   If players want to just say, judge me on my performance on the field we will judge them the way we want to judge them whether they want us to or not.   We are involved in a fantasy so how the players want ME to think about them is irrelevant to me.     They will either reinforce my fantasy and I will spend dollars on them, or they won't and I will spend my dollars and attention towards those who will.      Come to FanFair in Nashville some time and watch how country music superstars treat their fans and compare that to these two adolescent millionaires.  

If they do not want to participate in the maintaining of the fantasy for fans, like autographs, like fantasy weeks, Dream camps, whatever, then don't.   But as a consumer then it will affect my decision to spend dollars on their entertainment product.    And then collectively they will make a lot less money both as a sport and also in their individual career.   Players just dissing fans in events like this touch the strong emotions of the fantasy.  Which is what drives the money.   Take away the strong emotions of the fantasy, then they are just out there throwing a ball around in the dark by themselves.  

I know they have lives, real lives, dirty laundry, issues, whatever.   You think Tom Hanks doesn't when he comes on to a set every day?  That his agent is being a jerk and he is being sued by this studio or that one or that he got stuck in traffic or his wife is not well.....whatever.   When the director says action, then he becomes the character.   Same way with these players.   That is what makes their jobs entertainment professionals, not amateurs.    Play

I agree with every word of this.  Well, if I can nit pick, just a bit.   One word.  Just one.  

I found myself confusing my love of baseball with other pursuits, especially today...somehow, I just can't stop wondering if Jennifer Aniston...

 

can pitch.