Normalcy

[Redskins Rick]

11 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

I don't know what that's from, but that cracked me up. Mainly because all that guy did was stand up after getting whacked, and the guy who smacked him appeared to just go back to speaking. 

That's a pretty good GIF of the way I used to moderate this board ten years ago!  

 

I can vouch for that!!!!! LMBO

[Redskins Rick]

2 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

Now that weams has turned this thread into the GIF/Meme portion of our show, I'd like to get back to the subject.

As much as I'm impressed with the hires of Elias and now Hyde, I'm probably even more optimistic about the future of this franchise because of how the Angelos brothers appear to be doing business. For all the years we've said that we just wanted an owner who will hire a good baseball man and let him run the organization as he see fit, we' apparently finally have that.

As for everyone "rowing the same way," this will be the first time since I've been covering the organization that this is the case. From everything I'm hearing, Elias' circle is very small and it's clear that everyone is on board with how this organization is moving forward. 

It's quite the road ahead, but the fact that everyone is now working in the same directions, without factions, is something that is brand new for this organization and something everyone should be excited about.

Elias still has a lot of hiring to do (Most notably a Scouting Director and Director of Player Development) and I'm sure it doesn't help that some guys he may want are under contract elsewhere, but I hope Elias looks outside the box and brings in unique talent to help rebuild the organization into the model Franchise it was back in the late 60s/70s.

I think the org has righted itself and making well informed hiring decisions.

My fear is, the loud minority doom and gloomers will be very focal during the season, with too high expectations, and overly critical of every decision.

IMO, we have to expect the worse, and anything better than the worse is gravy.

 

[Frobby]

5 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

Elias still has a lot of hiring to do (Most notably a Scouting Director and Director of Player Development) and I'm sure it doesn't help that some guys he may want are under contract elsewhere, but I hope Elias looks outside the box and brings in unique talent to help rebuild the organization into the model Franchise it was back in the late 60s/70s.

Honestly, it may take both Elias and Hyde more than one offseason to fill the key spots below them with the guys they really want, since they were hired relatively late in the offseason.   I also have the feeling that Elias is going to be very hands on when it comes to the draft, and will be the one making the ultimate decisions, at least in the early rounds.    

[Redskins Rick]

28 minutes ago, Frobby said:

Honestly, it may take both Elias and Hyde more than one offseason to fill the key spots below them with the guys they really want, since they were hired relatively late in the offseason.   I also have the feeling that Elias is going to be very hands on when it comes to the draft, and will be the one making the ultimate decisions, at least in the early rounds.    

Good Post, its not exactly like he has to get caught up to speed, I am sure, he already has his short list in place, and hiring the scouting team in place at some point, and let them provide their reports for the future years.

 

[JR Oriole]

1 hour ago, Redskins Rick said:

I think the org has righted itself and making well informed hiring decisions.

My fear is, the loud minority doom and gloomers will be very focal during the season, with too high expectations, and overly critical of every decision.

IMO, we have to expect the worse, and anything better than the worse is gravy.

 

In my mind, nothing that happens this upcoming season will be worse than what we just saw.  Even if they lose 120 games.  Last season felt completely hopeless for months on end and the ridiculous underachievement of almost every single player on the roster made it that much worse.  Top it off with the Red Sox riding Steve Pearce of all people to another title and it was just as bad as it could be. 

Now, in my mind, that hopelessness is gone.  I feel a lot of hope for the future, and the fact that it may be a more distant future doesn't bother me much because I like the foundation being set.  I am okay with having a really bad record in 2019 and 2020.  That doesn't matter to me as much as the organization catching up to modern times and building a strong farm system.

In the meantime, if somebody other than the Red Sox and Yankees could win titles while we go through this process, it would be much appreciated.

[scOtt]

2 hours ago, weams said:

Well I heard Mister Young sing about her
Well I heard ole Neil put her down

I saw Neil and Crazy Horse at the old Cap Center. Tore the place up!

[scOtt]

1 hour ago, Tony-OH said:

Now that weams has turned this thread into the GIF/Meme portion of our show, I'd like to get back to the subject.

As much as I'm impressed with the hires of Elias and now Hyde, I'm probably even more optimistic about the future of this franchise because of how the Angelos brothers appear to be doing business. For all the years we've said that we just wanted an owner who will hire a good baseball man and let him run the organization as he see fit, we' apparently finally have that.

As for everyone "rowing the same way," this will be the first time since I've been covering the organization that this is the case. From everything I'm hearing, Elias' circle is very small and it's clear that everyone is on board with how this organization is moving forward. 

It's quite the road ahead, but the fact that everyone is now working in the same directions, without factions, is something that is brand new for this organization and something everyone should be excited about.

Elias still has a lot of hiring to do (Most notably a Scouting Director and Director of Player Development) and I'm sure it doesn't help that some guys he may want are under contract elsewhere, but I hope Elias looks outside the box and brings in unique talent to help rebuild the organization into the model Franchise it was back in the late 60s/70s.

I said about the same about the big bolded part. No interference from ownership is a new era in O's baseball!

 

I came to post about the second bold part. From the presser:

“I view, we view - that’s not just me, it’s Sig and the rest of the baseball operations staff and Brandon - we view the manager’s chair as an outpost of the front office,” Elias said. “So, while he’s on a nightly basis managing the 25-man roster, worrying about the players on the 40-man roster, trying to win games at the major league level, he’s also a full-blown senior member of our front office team. He will be involved on every decision, strategy, and that’s the dynamic that I’m most familiar with because of my recent experience in Houston, and that’s the dynamic that I know works around the league, works best.

[weams]

3 hours ago, Tony-OH said:

Now that weams has turned this thread into the GIF/Meme portion of our show, I'd like to get back to the subject.

As much as I'm impressed with the hires of Elias and now Hyde, I'm probably even more optimistic about the future of this franchise because of how the Angelos brothers appear to be doing business. For all the years we've said that we just wanted an owner who will hire a good baseball man and let him run the organization as he see fit, we' apparently finally have that.

As for everyone "rowing the same way," this will be the first time since I've been covering the organization that this is the case. From everything I'm hearing, Elias' circle is very small and it's clear that everyone is on board with how this organization is moving forward. 

It's quite the road ahead, but the fact that everyone is now working in the same directions, without factions, is something that is brand new for this organization and something everyone should be excited about.

Elias still has a lot of hiring to do (Most notably a Scouting Director and Director of Player Development) and I'm sure it doesn't help that some guys he may want are under contract elsewhere, but I hope Elias looks outside the box and brings in unique talent to help rebuild the organization into the model Franchise it was back in the late 60s/70s.

I guess having a 36 year old running the whole darn thing is unusual for Baltimore. It seems like more a New Age approach. The wizened 45 year old underling mellows that harsh out.  But normal? I'll have none of that. 

[Can_of_corn]

4 hours ago, wildbillhiccup said:

I would have gone with the Talking Heads song. 

Not me.

 

[tntoriole]

9 hours ago, Redskins Rick said:

I think the org has righted itself and making well informed hiring decisions.

My fear is, the loud minority doom and gloomers will be very focal during the season, with too high expectations, and overly critical of every decision.

IMO, we have to expect the worse, and anything better than the worse is gravy.

 

I too remain hopeful...and for me, optimistic.  Now for others, my optimistic would definitely be doom and gloom.  Because I am often critical of organizations  “processes” no matter how successful they may or may not be.  

I have seen this organization win every World Series it ever has, and saw it come pretty close just a few years ago...even when outright conflict, factions, the old man actively interfering etc. were all in full force.   So just being on the same page as an organization in and of itself doesn’t mean the right decisions get made nor does it mean that we will necessarily win a championship at any point in the future.  Does it make it more likely?  Perhaps. 

The leadership has changed and seemingly for the better, ..and is riding the expected wave of completely noncritical good will.   And I do wish them all success!!

But it is also an absolutely ideal situation as a GM to come into, where there is absolutely no expectation for even a bare minimum of winning- yes, even losing 120 games in 2019 is perfectly ok with some...and the expectation is for multiple seasons of losing AND, on top of that, apparently no criticism either is expected ...lest one be identified as a doom and gloomer...lol.   

Maybe the marketing department can use that phrase to get fans excited..lol....”Expect the Worst in 2019 and Anything better than the Worst is Gravy.” 

[section18]

The 2018 team underperformed for Buck. Why ? There are reasons why we'll skip for now. McDowell and Coolbaugh were part of the reason.

How many on here before the start of the season predicted a 78 to 82 win season?

Who is no longer on the team? MM, Schoop, Gausman, O'Day, AJ, Beckham and Joseph.

We replaced Schoop with Villar. Improvement in more ways than one. Gausman was 5-8 after 21 starts and a 4.43 ERA.

It's not hard to replace Gausman. We have several pitchers that can do better than that.

O'Day also replaceable. Beckham replaceable and Joseph easily replaceable

That leaves AJ and Manny !  How do we replace them? Difficult? I don't think so and I think Elias and Hyde will add through trades or free agent signings players who can match their production.  Reddick in RF by trade? With improved defense, more small ball with players who know how to bunt and sacrifice and steal bases we can cover for some of our shortage. 

Everyone seems to look at this team as a team only as good as their record was in 2018. If that team had won what most expected.......at least 75 games we would not be looking at this roster as a 4-5 year rebuild team. Did we beat Boston, NY and the Astros at the end of the season? How did we manage to beat them?  We are not as bad as people may think. Players from those teams after their losses to us said they couldn't believe our record was as bad as it was.

The Chris Davis debacle will either continue or get better. We have a manager who was a hitting coach in the minors and a GM who played the game both who say they will work with him to improve his performance in addition to a new hitting coach. Is Wade Boggs looking for a job in Tampa?

I do not drink and enjoy ice tea, water and coffee from time to time.  I am not in fantasyland as some on here think. The GM and Manager are going to work with the roster and try to get better production out of them along with adding some new players and improving our defense that will improve our pitching performances and keep our team morale up. The manager said he wanted the team to play smart.  Something that's been lacking in recent years. 

Adding a better defensive catcher who can hit more than Joseph should not be hard.

Add a former Astro pitcher free agent Mike Fiers who can easily replace Gausman.

Add Martin Maldonado or Jonathan Lucroy at catcher and we have improved that position.

I would like to add at least 1 or 2 veteran arms to the pen. Kelvin Herrera a strike out pitcher.

Manny's production will come from improvement in different areas.  Mike Rizzo Nats GM was recently asked how they plan to replace Harper and he said what I just said. Play a different style of baseball.

None of the new players will have more than 2 year contracts and some will have 1 year.

The rebuild will be a blend of mostly young with a few veteran players brought in short term.

The 2018 team easily underperformed by at least 30+ wins. With a manager who is strong in player development and the use of analytics we can turn this team around faster than you  may think.

[wildcard]

2 hours ago, section18 said:

The 2018 team underperformed for Buck. Why ? There are reasons why we'll skip for now. McDowell and Coolbaugh were part of the reason.

How many on here before the start of the season predicted a 78 to 82 win season?

Who is no longer on the team? MM, Schoop, Gausman, O'Day, AJ, Beckham and Joseph.

We replaced Schoop with Villar. Improvement in more ways than one. Gausman was 5-8 after 21 starts and a 4.43 ERA.

It's not hard to replace Gausman. We have several pitchers that can do better than that.

O'Day also replaceable. Beckham replaceable and Joseph easily replaceable

That leaves AJ and Manny !  How do we replace them? Difficult? I don't think so and I think Elias and Hyde will add through trades or free agent signings players who can match their production.  Reddick in RF by trade? With improved defense, more small ball with players who know how to bunt and sacrifice and steal bases we can cover for some of our shortage. 

Everyone seems to look at this team as a team only as good as their record was in 2018. If that team had won what most expected.......at least 75 games we would not be looking at this roster as a 4-5 year rebuild team. Did we beat Boston, NY and the Astros at the end of the season? How did we manage to beat them?  We are not as bad as people may think. Players from those teams after their losses to us said they couldn't believe our record was as bad as it was.

The Chris Davis debacle will either continue or get better. We have a manager who was a hitting coach in the minors and a GM who played the game both who say they will work with him to improve his performance in addition to a new hitting coach. Is Wade Boggs looking for a job in Tampa?

I do not drink and enjoy ice tea, water and coffee from time to time.  I am not in fantasyland as some on here think. The GM and Manager are going to work with the roster and try to get better production out of them along with adding some new players and improving our defense that will improve our pitching performances and keep our team morale up. The manager said he wanted the team to play smart.  Something that's been lacking in recent years. 

Adding a better defensive catcher who can hit more than Joseph should not be hard.

Add a former Astro pitcher free agent Mike Fiers who can easily replace Gausman.

Add Martin Maldonado or Jonathan Lucroy at catcher and we have improved that position.

I would like to add at least 1 or 2 veteran arms to the pen. Kelvin Herrera a strike out pitcher.

Manny's production will come from improvement in different areas.  Mike Rizzo Nats GM was recently asked how they plan to replace Harper and he said what I just said. Play a different style of baseball.

None of the new players will have more than 2 year contracts and some will have 1 year.

The rebuild will be a blend of mostly young with a few veteran players brought in short term.

The 2018 team easily underperformed by at least 30+ wins. With a manager who is strong in player development and the use of analytics we can turn this team around faster than you  may think.

I don't see Reddick as an Oriole.  Too expensive.

[murph]

20 hours ago, Can_of_corn said:

Not me.

 

How about some Cockburn love!

 

 

[Redskins Rick]

14 hours ago, tntoriole said:

Expect the Worst in 2019 and Anything better than the Worst is Gravy.” 

The key here, this is a new regime, and a whole new set of characters. So we really need to wipe the slate clean and give them a chance to prove themselves.

[wildbillhiccup]

20 hours ago, Can_of_corn said:

Not me.

 

 

or perhaps...

Jason Isbell - I Follow Rivers

or

PJ Harvey - Down by the Water