What kind of team would you build?

[Frobby]

Of course, we’d all like to see a team that does everything well.    But if you were the Orioles’ new GM and were given free reign, what kind of team would you try to build?   What characteristics would be most important to you?

Pitching vs. hitting?

Offense vs. defense?

Power vs. speed/OBP?

Rotation vs. bullpen?

Raw talent vs. fundamental soundness?

Assume you can’t have it all — what are your points of emphasis?   And take into account where we play.

[Can_of_corn]

6 minutes ago, Frobby said:

Of course, we’d all like to see a team that does everything well.    But if you were the Orioles’ new GM and were given free reign, what kind of team would you try to build?   What characteristics would be most important to you?

Pitching vs. hitting?

Offense vs. defense?

Power vs. speed/OBP?

Rotation vs. bullpen?

Raw talent vs. fundamental soundness?

Assume you can’t have it all — what are your points of emphasis?   And take into account where we play.

Pitching

Defense

OBP

Bullpen

Talent

I don't think any of the above should come as a surprise.

[clapdiddy]

Pitching and defense were the way the old Orioles' teams were built.  I see no reason to deviate from that approach.

Offensively, I'd put more emphasis on OBP and power.   Earl valued both of them, so I think that's good enough for me!

[glenn__davis]

I'd like to see a team built on speed, but I think that's only because teams don't do that too much anymore, and it's pretty much the exact opposite of the terrible brand of baseball we're playing now.  A team that can get on base with an outfield that can fly.  That would be fun, and different.  Think '80's Cardinals.

[OsFanSinceThe80s]

Invest in international talent!

[now]

Pitching vs. hitting? ... It all starts - and ends - with pitching.

Offense vs. defense? ... A matter of degree of course; but offense has more impact

Power vs. speed/OBP? ... Power the best weapon agst. superior pitching.

Rotation vs. bullpen? ... Strong rotation saves the bullpen.

Raw talent vs. fundamental soundness? ... Start with tools, teach fundamentals.

[webbrick2010]

The classic simple formula

Speed & Defense up the middle

Fast/Plus Defensive 2B, SS, CF, Plus Defensive/Arm Catcher

Power but not at the sacrifice of OBP at LF, RF, 1B, 3B, DH

Pitching that emphasizes strike outs, or high GB rates, no interest in fly ball pitchers,

At most 3,4 players over 30 in age

Hey this is pretty much the opposite of the O's roster

 

[esmd]

A team with strong pitching, defense, sound fundamentals, and I'd value high batting averages and OBP over slugging and HRs.  I love HRs as much as the next guy, but I'd rather have a guy who hit's .280 with a .380 OBP and maybe 15 HRs than a guy who hits .240 with a .300 OBP and hits 35 HRs.

[FlipTheBird]

1 hour ago, Frobby said:

Of course, we’d all like to see a team that does everything well.    But if you were the Orioles’ new GM and were given free reign, what kind of team would you try to build?   What characteristics would be most important to you?

Pitching vs. hitting?

Offense vs. defense?

Power vs. speed/OBP?

Rotation vs. bullpen?

Raw talent vs. fundamental soundness?

Assume you can’t have it all — what are your points of emphasis?   And take into account where we play.

Taking into account Camden Yards and the AL East in general, I'd lean this way...

Pitching - A necessity, obviously as it all starts and ends here. The offense can't score 7-8 runs every night.

Offense - I'm not saying kill the defense, but you have to hit to excel in the American League - and Camden Yards has a smaller outfield to begin with, so I don't need insane range from my outfield. Far better than what we've got now, for sure, but I don't need "elite" defenders at all three spots. I'd take a "good" defender with a bat first, every time.

Power - I'm a little torn here, as I don't see why speed/OBP runs together, but power is left alone. There are no shortage of power hitters in the league that also get on base. We just don't have any, currently, with the exception of Machado. Still, as others have noted, power is the best way to beat other teams' elite pitching - you need 2-3 base hits to get a run against Justin Verlander, whereas one homer...

Rotation - Not to say a bullpen isn't important, but those pieces are usually easier to cherry pick here and there. Having a strong starting rotation takes a lot of pressure off the pen and presumably gets you deeper into games. Having a soft rotation means the bullpen is coming in by the sixth night after night. No matter how good it is, it'll wear down.

Fundamental Soundness - The Orioles have lived on raw talent for awhile now, and have typically failed to develop it beyond that. I want a team that does all the little things right.

[Hank Scorpio]

I'd bat Chris Davis 4th, that's for sure.

[Three Run Homer]

I'd emphasize bat speed and defense in evaluating position player prospects, rather than polish/approach, and mechanics and fastball velocity in evaluating position player prospects.  

More importantly, I would devote significant resources to Latin America and the Caribbean.  This idiocy of effectively sitting out half of the draft has to stop.  

[Natty]

1. Pitching

2. Pitching

3. Pitching

[now]

27 minutes ago, esmd said:

A team with strong pitching, defense, sound fundamentals, and I'd value high batting averages and OBP over slugging and HRs.  I love HRs as much as the next guy, but I'd rather have a guy who hit's .280 with a .380 OBP and maybe 15 HRs than a guy who hits .240 with a .300 OBP and hits 35 HRs.

Where's our handy WAR conversion tool to actually compare the value of these two players?

[now]

26 minutes ago, FlipTheBird said:

Fundamental Soundness - The Orioles have lived on raw talent for awhile now, and have typically failed to develop it beyond that. I want a team that does all the little things right.

Hmm, my take would be the opposite of this. Seems to me the Orioles of the Showalter era have been largely successful on fundamentals, making up for a shortfall in pure talent compared to other clubs; with the poster boy being J.J. Hardy, or, on the pitching side, say, Darren O'Day.

[Moose Milligan]

Pitching 

Defense

speed/OBP

Bullpen

Raw talent 

Defense, for me, is one of those things you take for granted.  Watching this years team is just a nightmare on so many levels but particularly defense.  We play in a smaller park, I want to know that if the ball stays in the yard that my outfield can go get it.  I didn't realize how good we had it a few years ago until now.  Now it's amazing to me if one of our outfielders catches it.

Pitching matters more than anything.  I waffled on the rotation vs. bullpen aspect but went with bullpen because it's cheaper.  

OBP all day, for sure.  I hate the offense that we have, no one walks, no one can shorten up and go for a base hit instead of swinging from their heels.  The basepaths are almost always clogged.  An offense that puts OBP first is a sound offense that will avoid long droughts of not scoring runs, IMO.  Consistency matters.  

Raw talent, all day every day.  I'd be signing kids in the Dominican as fast as I could.  Provide proper training and coaching and see who sticks.