Fanfest

[Can_of_corn]

1 minute ago, cimota said:

Kevin Gregg got booed on opening day as well. 

Did Huff get booed after his Horse**** town comment?

[SteveA]

3 minutes ago, cimota said:

Kevin Gregg got booed on opening day as well. 

THAT'S who I was thinking about, not Gonzalez.   We opened on the road in Tampa and he melted down in the 9th, so when we came home for the home opener he got booed.

[atomic]

2 hours ago, TonySoprano said:

OOF - "where does the problem lie, with the GM or with the owner?”

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/blog/95772150-132.html

I don't understand why the audience booed.   DD also didn't answer the question.   In the past he has said that Angelo's has given him the beans to get players.   Interesting that he didn't say that now. 

[SteveA]

3 minutes ago, cimota said:

I don't understand why the audience booed.   DD also didn't answer the question.   In the past he has said that Angelo's has given him the beans to get players.   Interesting that he didn't say that now. 

Oh come on, what did you expect.   The question basically boils down to "Are you incompetent or is your boss an idiot?".   How many people would answer that question in public with microphones and cameras pointing?

[backwardsk]

16 minutes ago, SteveA said:

THAT'S who I was thinking about, not Gonzalez.   We opened on the road in Tampa and he melted down in the 9th, so when we came home for the home opener he got booed.

Gonzalez definitely blew the opener in Tampa in 2010.  Also allowed three base runners in the 9th in game 3 before holding on for the save.

[atomic]

4 minutes ago, backwardsk said:

Gonzalez definitely blew the opener in Tampa in 2010.  Also allowed three base runners in the 9th in game 3 before holding on for the save.

Kevin Gregg was booed in opener in 2012.  

[SteveA]

And the 6 hours of coverage is on 105.7 is winding down.   They had some other guests such as Mancini.   But there was nothing noteworthy in the interviews, the stuff you would expect, what do you do in the offseason to prepare, what was it like jumping to the big leagues, etc.

Most of the other interviews were with writers such as Connelly, Kurzl, etc.   They didn't discuss anything we haven't discussed ad nauseum on here.

Hayney and Coleman had the middle two hours and they were the harshest in terms of criticizing the Orioles (though Jeremy Conn brought up the lack of international players when he was on with Garceau in the last 2 hours.   None of that stuff got brought up with Buck and DD (when they were interviewed by Long and Norris in the first two hours).

But it was nice to hear 6 hours of uninterrupted baseball talk.   After running errands and having it on the car radio  I was home listening to it the rest of the day.   Had the sound down on the TV as I watched UNC and Duke lose at home on the same day for the first time in 44 years while listening to baseball talk.   Just need a Hokie victory at Notre Dame tonight to make the day complete.

And it was warm enough to open all the windows for the second time since November or so.   Always nice to get some fresh air into the house.

We've got a game 3 weeks from Friday!

[foxfield]

6 hours ago, Frobby said:

Good post, but I’ll wait to hear the whole story before dumping on Manny and Schoop.     My feeling is there’s more to this than we know yet, and some of it will come out.   Get Ken Rosenthal down here to sniff it out — we certainly can’t expect Roch to do it.     We’re ripe for an in-depth story about what the hell’s going on here this winter.     What a train wreck.   

Honestly, this is the lowest my morale has been as a fan since the parade of GM candidates who turned us down in 2011.    

I actually find that encouraging....look at how that low morale turned out...

6 hours ago, mdbdotcom said:

I will be happy to apologize to any player I've torched if it turns out they had a legitimate reason for not attending.

Apology not accepted.  You have torched without knowledge of the answer...How about, I'd be happy to rip anyone skipping for no legitimate reason.  In this case it seems cause my agent said so for Schoop.  I think that is torchable, if you want.

3 hours ago, webbrick2010 said:

So join me, cancel you cable and with it MASN, go to zero games, and do nothing to have your hard earned dollars line the pockets of someone like Chris Davis getting paid 23 million dollars a year to be one of the worst at his position in baseball. Sports is out of whack in America and the average Joe needs to wake up and stop feeding it.

Well, if you hate it, you should follow that instinct for your own good.  Anyone should...but please dont feed that hate here either.

 

1 hour ago, tntoriole said:

If Dan has made a concrete offer to a free agent pitcher this winter that Peter Angelos has said NO to, then Dan simply needs to  leak it (and I mean leak every single detail- yes, I wanted to offer Alex Cobb...4 years, etc. etc.   but Peter Angelos vetoed this recommendation) or just come out and have an interview and do it yourself.  It will get you fired, but hey,  you are gone after this year anyway.  

Oh no!!! He can't do this...the rest of baseball knows how hard Buck and Dan work to keep the organization running...if he did this he would never work again.

29 minutes ago, Herman said:

I wish someone would ask Dan why they did relatively nothing while they had a young, affordable core in place and while the Yankees and Red Sox weren't dominant. They wasted a golden opportunity and it's disappointing but expected

This is a very fair question and I wish it could be asked.  You won't get an answer of course but its a good question.

28 minutes ago, SteveA said:

Jerry Coleman says Brady has told him twice, once this year and once last year, that the Orioles should have been proactive and signed Manny longterm several years ago.

Interesting, first time anyone in the front office has admitted that that I know of.

Brady making his move???  LOL!

[Can_of_corn]

5 minutes ago, foxfield said:

I actually find that encouraging....look at how that low morale turned out...

Apology not accepted.  You have torched without knowledge of the answer...How about, I'd be happy to rip anyone skipping for no legitimate reason.  In this case it seems cause my agent said so for Schoop.  I think that is torchable, if you want.

Well, if you hate it, you should follow that instinct for your own good.  Anyone should...but please dont feed that hate here either.

 

Oh no!!! He can't do this...the rest of baseball knows how hard Buck and Dan work to keep the organization running...if he did this he would never work again.

This is a very fair question and I wish it could be asked.  You won't get an answer of course but its a good question.

Brady making his move???  LOL!

Frankly I don't understand it.

Unless Schoop wants out of Baltimore how did he advance his cause by not going to Fanfest? 

 

[foxfield]

Just now, Can_of_corn said:

Frankly I don't understand it.

Unless Schoop wants out of Baltimore how did he advance his cause by not going to Fanfest? 

 

It speaks volumes how frank Buck and Dan were.  We got an explanation from his agent that he told him not to show.  That is not acceptable, but he listened to his agent.

And I do not see how he advances his cause either....

[Can_of_corn]

1 minute ago, foxfield said:

It speaks volumes how frank Buck and Dan were.  We got an explanation from his agent that he told him not to show.  That is not acceptable, but he listened to his agent.

And I do not see how he advances his cause either....

Unless he wants to be playing somewhere else in 2018.

I think the odds of that went up a smidge.

[Carllamy]

My Fanfest experience:

 

Got there around 10:45 A.M. Line was extremely long, one of the longest I've ever seen and I've been going every year for over a decade. That said, some years they actually had 2 lines to enter, one that stretched left away from the front door and one that stretched right, so if those years there had been only one line those lines might have been longer.

 

Went in and it was a mob scene. As many people there was there was last year, and as many as the year before. I was expecting far fewer people. Only real difference is the old Rag Time band they usually have had playing when you first get in wasn't there (although I saw a tuba leaning against a wall).

 

Started by going upstairs and went to the Orioles Store. Really interesting: apparently they remodeled a bunch of the luxury suites this off-season, so they took a bunch of framed pictures that had been in the suites down and were selling them for $50. Prints from the News American front page with WE WIN! as a headline from when we won in 1983,  photos of players, drawings of players (a drawing of Roberto Alomar in a Blue Jays uniform was interesting), that kind of stuff. I have no room, so I didn't get anything. I go for the outside banners. They had 25th Anniversary banners, but at $75 I said no. The guy said come back later, the price would drop. I did, and I got a banner with Manny on one side, Tillman on the other and the 25th Anniversary logo for $40.

 

Went to the freebie line. It was looooonnnnngggg. I was in line 40 minutes. I got a free red, white and blue Orioles logo shirt, a Maryland flag brim adjustable O's ball cap and the wine bottle stopper set. I didn't try going through again - too long. Later on in the day I saw people walking around with give away wiffle ball and bat sets.

 

Went downstairs. Big crowd playing Bingo. MTA Orioles bus was there. Lots of people in line for autographs. Davey Johnson was giving a pitching seminar with two guys I didn't recognize and who he clearly didn't know (I heard him ask them what pitches they throw - I guaranty he wouldn't have to ask Bundy or Gausman that). I had my picture taken with Michael Kelly (who?) for $5 to charity. He is tall and thin with huge hands.If he can't throw a curve, shame on him with the grip he must have.

 

Watched Orioles Family Feud, where O's players led by Joey Rickard played Family Feud against a family of fans. They asked "Name a song you would hear played at Camden Yards." Answers were National Anthem, Orioles Magic, Thank God I'm a Country Boy, Take Me Out To The Ballgame. The last one, Seven Nation Army no one was getting, so they asked Joey Rickard for an answer and he said "Sweet Caroline." I immediately started booing REALLY loudly, and a bunch of people joined in on the boo chorus. Rickard just started laughing.

 

Went over to the Clubhouse and dugout tour. For the second year in a row they allowed no picture taking in the clubhouse (I took some anyway). There is a new room, the Team Prep Room, set up like a small 20 seat stadium seating movie theater where guys can go before the game and watch film of that night's opposing pitcher. There were no lines at all at the Stadium. Usually there is a line to get in, to get on the elevator, to get into the clubhouse, etc. Not this year. I just strolled on in, strolled on through.

 

My take (for what it is worth): There were as many or even more people who showed up at the start, at 10 or 11, but far fewer showed up as walk-ins later on in the day.

 

I took pictures. I will post them on my Facebook page for public viewing later tonight. On Facebook I am Carl Lamy, and I'm the only Carl Lamy with an avatar of me wearing Orioles gear.

[weams]

10 hours ago, Frobby said:

Oh, I get plenty of information from his blog.    I just don’t expect him to dig when controversy is involved.    Frankly, the non-affiliated reporters at the Sun are no better.     I don’t need to have a NY style press core that second guesses everything that happens, but when there are obvious questions to investigate, it would be nice if someone got off their butt and looked into it.

http://www.baltimorebaseball.com/2018/01/27/orioles-fanfest-notes-machados-schoops-absences-loom-large/

[foxfield]

22 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

Unless he wants to be playing somewhere else in 2018.

I think the odds of that went up a smidge.

I know...a smidge at least...  

[Going Underground]

31 minutes ago, Carllamy said:

My Fanfest experience:

 

Got there around 10:45 A.M. Line was extremely long, one of the longest I've ever seen and I've been going every year for over a decade. That said, some years they actually had 2 lines to enter, one that stretched left away from the front door and one that stretched right, so if those years there had been only one line those lines might have been longer.

 

Went in and it was a mob scene. As many people there was there was last year, and as many as the year before. I was expecting far fewer people. Only real difference is the old Rag Time band they usually have had playing when you first get in wasn't there (although I saw a tuba leaning against a wall).

 

Started by going upstairs and went to the Orioles Store. Really interesting: apparently they remodeled a bunch of the luxury suites this off-season, so they took a bunch of framed pictures that had been in the suites down and were selling them for $50. Prints from the News American front page with WE WIN! as a headline from when we won in 1983,  photos of players, drawings of players (a drawing of Roberto Alomar in a Blue Jays uniform was interesting), that kind of stuff. I have no room, so I didn't get anything. I go for the outside banners. They had 25th Anniversary banners, but at $75 I said no. The guy said come back later, the price would drop. I did, and I got a banner with Manny on one side, Tillman on the other and the 25th Anniversary logo for $40.

 

Went to the freebie line. It was looooonnnnngggg. I was in line 40 minutes. I got a free red, white and blue Orioles logo shirt, a Maryland flag brim adjustable O's ball cap and the wine bottle stopper set. I didn't try going through again - too long. Later on in the day I saw people walking around with give away wiffle ball and bat sets.

 

Went downstairs. Big crowd playing Bingo. MTA Orioles bus was there. Lots of people in line for autographs. Davey Johnson was giving a pitching seminar with two guys I didn't recognize and who he clearly didn't know (I heard him ask them what pitches they throw - I guaranty he wouldn't have to ask Bundy or Gausman that). I had my picture taken with Michael Kelly (who?) for $5 to charity. He is tall and thin with huge hands.If he can't throw a curve, shame on him with the grip he must have.

 

Watched Orioles Family Feud, where O's players led by Joey Rickard played Family Feud against a family of fans. They asked "Name a song you would hear played at Camden Yards." Answers were National Anthem, Orioles Magic, Thank God I'm a Country Boy, Take Me Out To The Ballgame. The last one, Seven Nation Army no one was getting, so they asked Joey Rickard for an answer and he said "Sweet Caroline." I immediately started booing REALLY loudly, and a bunch of people joined in on the boo chorus. Rickard just started laughing.

 

Went over to the Clubhouse and dugout tour. For the second year in a row they allowed no picture taking in the clubhouse (I took some anyway). There is a new room, the Team Prep Room, set up like a small 20 seat stadium seating movie theater where guys can go before the game and watch film of that night's opposing pitcher. There were no lines at all at the Stadium. Usually there is a line to get in, to get on the elevator, to get into the clubhouse, etc. Not this year. I just strolled on in, strolled on through.

 

My take (for what it is worth): There were as many or even more people who showed up at the start, at 10 or 11, but far fewer showed up as walk-ins later on in the day.

 

I took pictures. I will post them on my Facebook page for public viewing later tonight. On Facebook I am Carl Lamy, and I'm the only Carl Lamy with an avatar of me wearing Orioles gear.

Did you get your picture at Buck's media desk? They told me they never let you take pictures in the clubhouse.I knew that was a lie.Did you notice no names or much equipment in the locker room? Used to have many shoes and stuff in each cubicle.

 

Was told season tickets are not selling well.Supposedly going to do a promotion season ticket package. Also single game tickets for weekend Yankee and Red Sox games selling well.