Thorne says O's on Tex's list

[Moose Milligan]

Tex is going to the team he wants to go to IMO...He probably has a group of teams he would play for....almost all of them are contending teams except 1..The Orioles.

So, for him to come here, the Orioles have to put comparable money on the table and need to show him what they are building towards and tell him that he is the centerpiece of that.

That is it...That is what it is going to take.

This isn't some difficult analysis...Its not some far fetched pipedream or anything like that.

It is about selling the team and putting the money on the table.

Good post.

And it's exactly why I don't think we'll land him. We can put comparable money on the table, sure...but at the end of the day, look who you have to sell yourself against.

If winning means something to Tex, he won't come here.

Put the shoe on the other foot. If you're Tex and you have 4 different offers on the table that are all pretty much the same, the only thing that separates these teams is the track record...3 teams are perennial post season contenders, the 4th hasn't done much in a decade...who would you choose?

To me, it's not a hard decision to make. If I want to get to the post season every year, I'm going to Anaheim, Boston or NY. If I want to cement my status as one of the best first basemen of my generation, get some endorsements and perhaps have an outside chance at the Hall of Fame, I'm not going to Baltimore where I won't be able to put myself on the map, I'm going to Boston or NY.

If I want a team who'll build around me and is in no way shape or form a lock to make the playoffs every year, I'll go to Baltimore and play in front of Mom and Dad. Maybe that makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside, but it doesn't put a ring on my finger anytime soon.

Like it or not, we're a very, very tough sell, even if we're putting up the same amount of money as everyone else.

[Sports Guy]

Good post.

And it's exactly why I don't think we'll land him. We can put comparable money on the table, sure...but at the end of the day, look who you have to sell yourself against.

If winning means something to Tex, he won't come here.

Put the shoe on the other foot. If you're Tex and you have 4 different offers on the table that are all pretty much the same, the only thing that separates these teams is the track record...3 teams are perennial post season contenders, the 4th hasn't done much in a decade...who would you choose?

To me, it's not a hard decision to make. If I want to get to the post season every year, I'm going to Anaheim, Boston or NY. If I want to cement my status as one of the best first basemen of my generation, get some endorsements and perhaps have an outside chance at the Hall of Fame, I'm not going to Baltimore where I won't be able to put myself on the map, I'm going to Boston or NY.

If I want a team who'll build around me and is in no way shape or form a lock to make the playoffs every year, I'll go to Baltimore and play in front of Mom and Dad. Maybe that makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside, but it doesn't put a ring on my finger anytime soon.

Like it or not, we're a very, very tough sell, even if we're putting up the same amount of money as everyone else.

I don't think you can answer this question at all because you have no idea what Tex is going to value.

He is signing with a team for 6+ years, not 1 or 2. So, he needs to be able to see that a team is heading in the right direction.

If he likes what he sees out of the Orioles young talent and they put up the money, that could easily be enough since he does want to come back home.

[davearm]

For many teams, AAA is just a holding pen for MLB ready players without any place for them on the big league roster. The pitching in AA is a lot better, and the AA environment is much more of a learning environment than AAA is. Not to mention the fact he's 25 or 26, and if he's not ready for the MLB now, he wont ever be.

Is Montanez half the prospect Reimold is? No. He skipped AAA this year, and he did it having been in AAA and sucking. Reimold could go to AAA, but it's a waste of his talents.

Well without debating the developmental benefits of AAA baseball, and without debating Reimold's own MLB-readiness, the scenario you laid out is exactly this: with Teixeira at 1B, Huff at DH, and Scott in LF, there isn't any place for Reimold on the big league roster.

[JTrea81]

If he likes what he sees out of the Orioles young talent and they put up the money, that could easily be enough since he does want to come back home.

And this is where Matt Wieters comes into play. The Orioles need to be playing the Wieters card, two switch hitting GT alums together on the same team etc...

Not to mention Jones, Markakis and all the young pitching talent.

[JTrea81]

Well without debating the developmental benefits of AAA baseball, and without debating Reimold's own MLB-readiness, the scenario you laid out is exactly this: with Teixeira at 1B, Huff at DH, and Scott in LF, there isn't any place for Reimold on the big league roster.

Huff at 3B, Reimold in LF, Scott at DH...

[Big Mac]

Well without debating the developmental benefits of AAA baseball, and without debating Reimold's own MLB-readiness, the scenario you laid out is exactly this: with Teixeira at 1B, Huff at DH, and Scott in LF, there isn't any place for Reimold on the big league roster.

That's why you trade one of Scott/Huff. Preferably Huff because he is more expensive and only under our control through '09.

I'd be shopping Huff regardless of if we sign Tex or not.

[Big Mac]

Huff at 3B, Reimold in LF, Scott at DH...

I think it has been pretty much determined Huff can't handle playing 3B everyday.

[Mackus]

Huff at 3B, Reimold in LF, Scott at DH...

Again, I don't understand why you aren't getting this.

Huff cannot play 3B. He can't play there defensively. He's ok for short durations in a pinch, but he'd be one of, if not the, worst fielding 3B in all of baseball if played there for an entire season.

You can't put Huff at 3B.

[Moose Milligan]

I don't think you can answer this question at all because you have no idea what Tex is going to value.

He is signing with a team for 6+ years, not 1 or 2. So, he needs to be able to see that a team is heading in the right direction.

If he likes what he sees out of the Orioles young talent and they put up the money, that could easily be enough since he does want to come back home.

SG, you're a bit of a hardass, ultra competitive, win at all costs kind of guy.

I'm asking you, yourself. If you were in his shoes, what would you value?

Now before you say it doesn't matter what YOU value, it does. Because if you assume the fact that Tex is a competitive person (and he must be, given his line of work), you two would probably value the same things.

That said, what do you choose?

[davearm]

Are you suggesting that the O's are like the Royals and Pirates? Obviously, geography plays a part in this.

I don't think Mackus is - on the other hand - suggesting that Tex will go wherever the highest bid originates, but rather that if the O's have the highest bid he'll come.

Well to anyone that isn't a Maryland native, the O's pretty much are like the Royals and Pirates, although that wasn't the point I was making.

Mackus was indeed suggesting that Tex will go wherever the maximum dollars are to be had, period, and that all other factors are unimportant... including geography.

[JTrea81]

That's why you trade one of Scott/Huff. Preferably Huff because he is more expensive and only under our control through '09.

I'd be shopping Huff regardless of if we sign Tex or not.

I just don't think Huff will net that much this offseason, not until teams see where Giambi, Delgado etc. land. Huff is only looked at as a 1B/DH so that's the value he'll have. He's more valuable to this team IMO. And you won't get back the value of the two draft picks you'll get if he has a similar season.

[Sports Guy]

SG, you're a bit of a hardass, ultra competitive, win at all costs kind of guy.

I'm asking you, yourself. If you were in his shoes, what would you value?

Now before you say it doesn't matter what YOU value, it does. Because if you assume the fact that Tex is a competitive person (and he must be, given his line of work), you two would probably value the same things.

That said, what do you choose?

I would want to win but that doesn't mean I don't sign in Baltimore either.

If I wanted to come home and they looked like a team on the rise, i could see sacrificing 1 or 2 years for long term contention.

Besides, i despise NY.

I personally would take into account fan base and media as well.

[geschinger]

Good post.

And it's exactly why I don't think we'll land him. We can put comparable money on the table, sure...but at the end of the day, look who you have to sell yourself against.

If winning means something to Tex, he won't come here.

Put the shoe on the other foot. If you're Tex and you have 4 different offers on the table that are all pretty much the same, the only thing that separates these teams is the track record...3 teams are perennial post season contenders, the 4th hasn't done much in a decade...who would you choose?

To me, it's not a hard decision to make. If I want to get to the post season every year, I'm going to Anaheim, Boston or NY. If I want to cement my status as one of the best first basemen of my generation, get some endorsements and perhaps have an outside chance at the Hall of Fame, I'm not going to Baltimore where I won't be able to put myself on the map, I'm going to Boston or NY.

If I want a team who'll build around me and is in no way shape or form a lock to make the playoffs every year, I'll go to Baltimore and play in front of Mom and Dad. Maybe that makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside, but it doesn't put a ring on my finger anytime soon.

Like it or not, we're a very, very tough sell, even if we're putting up the same amount of money as everyone else.

IMO, the way its going to play out is that there are going to be several teams with similar bids. In that scenario if he was forced to choose one then other factors might have some influence. But what Boras is going to do is work on convincing some of the interested teams to add and extra couple of years narrowing the field. Then he'll try to negotiate options in addition and if he has more than one team bite he'll be able to say, guarantee those years and he'll sign. He is going to end up signing with whomever offers him the largest contract and when it is all said and done the total dollar figure isn't going to be close as the extra years will increase the gap between the interested teams.

[Big Mac]

I just don't think Huff will net that much this offseason, not until teams see where Giambi, Delgado etc. land. Huff is only looked at as a 1B/DH so that's the value he'll have. He's more valuable to this team IMO. And you won't get back the value of the two draft picks you'll get if he has a similar season.

If we can't get more value in a trade then the two draft picks we would get, then of course we should hold on to Huff. But if that's the case, I'd rotate him between 1B/DH/3B. He's okay to play at 3rd once in awhile, but not everyday.

If Huff finishes the season batting over .300 with 30 HR, then I think we could get 2-3 good prospects for him. We need to sell high on this one, in '09 Huff is much more likely to look like the '07 Huff then the '08 Huff, IMO.

[davearm]

The O's better hope Tex doesn't seek out Miguel Tejada's perspective on being the centerpiece the O's intend to build around.