TT: Matusz speaks to the fans

[bluedog]

That "statement" was a whole lot of nothing. It was good PR is what it was, and the only reason his agent didn't send it was because he can't be his agent until he signs or else he can't go back to USD next year.

He gets absolutely no financial benefit from making that statement to the O's fans. The only possible purpose is to create goodwill with the fanbase and because he's a genuinely good guy who understands that his future multi-million dollar career is made entirely possible by people like us and he wants to reach out to us and let us know he wants to play here.

99.997% of all draftees keep their mouths shut before they sign. Matusz had to specifically choose to buck the normal trend for a reason - and I choose to believe that reason is he's a stand up guy.

[NCRaven]

Let me tell you something - that's a pro athlete with his priorities straight. Mr. & Mrs. Matusz did them some fine child rearing...

BS. It's a well crafted PR campaign. The same e-mail went out to the Sun - see Jeff Zriebec's piece today. It's not an exclusive reach out to the fans at the Hangout. It's his "advisor" trying to put pressure on the team.

[Malike]

You ornery ol' cuss! He could have said nothing you know. Wieters signed at 11:59pm and we all loved him for it. He didn't say a word beforehand. I think it was a nice gesture on Matusz' part.

Not to mention all the people waiting to jump off bridges if Wieters didnt sign, and the orioles didnt write him a blank check. People actually said to give him 12-15million if thats what it takes to sign him. He was the best bat in the draft. We now have the best arm in this draft and people are going to hate him if he doesnt want to sign for slot.

[bej6789]

Smart move on his part, real class act. As for where we are now, doesn't change anything. Someone isn't telling the truth here. Or else different people have different ideas as to what a "fair" offer is. With a smart move like this, he has to know that going back to school can't really improve his chances on improving his draft position... hopefully a resolution can be had.

[McLovin]

All the time. Most of the college bats drafted in the early rounds were also drafted out of HS and didn't sign then. Then there are college guys who hold out, like Varitek and Drew, who go on to have fantastic careers.

Sure, I get that. I should have qualified the question with 'first rounders'...

Varitek and Drew are good examples of first rounders. I'd have to say though, that it's a strategy that's not in the best interest of the player from a financial perspective - that could be one year off the prime year's if they could have made the show one year sooner (and one year extra until free agency). In Varetek's case, that might have cost him one last big contract.

In Weiter's case for example, had he went back to college - even as good as he is - he probably wouldn't have been looking at a shot at starting 2009 on a Major League roster. That might eventually be the difference between becoming a free agent catcher at say 32 instead of 33.

[JTrea81]

BS. It's a well crafted PR campaign. The same e-mail went out to the Sun - see Jeff Zriebec's piece today. It's not an exclusive reach out to the fans at the Hangout. It's his "advisor" trying to put pressure on the team.

Yeah that's interesting it's not an "exclusive." AM hates negotiations through the media so this probably isn't going to make him happy. I wonder how many other media outlets got the e-mail...

[Tony-OH]

BS. It's a well crafted PR campaign. The same e-mail went out to the Sun - see Jeff Zriebec's piece today. It's not an exclusive reach out to the fans at the Hangout. It's his "advisor" trying to put pressure on the team.

Very interesting that he sent the same e-mail to Zriebec. He did address the e-mail to me personally so I didn't take it as a PR stunt. Obviously the wording was very careful and I figured his agent was probably behind some of it, but either way, I find it interesting that he would address an e-mail personally then send the exact message to other outlets.

While we appreciate the fact that he wants to "reach out" to the fans, he'll need to work on the part of PR that differentiates between something personally addressed and a "press release" statement.

[Sports Guy]

Very interesting that he sent the same e-mail to Zriebec. He did address the e-mail to me personally so I didn't take it as a PR stunt. Obviously the wording was very careful and I figured his agent was probably behind some of it, but either way, I find it interesting that he would send address an e-mail personally then send the exact message to other outlets.

While we appreciate the fact that he wants to "reach out" to the fans, he'll need to work on the part of PR that differentiates between something personally addressed and a "press release" statement.

Yea, it was his way of saying the Orioles aren't offering me fair compensation and that we, the fans, are supposed to feel sorry for him.

[Sanfran327]

Very interesting that he sent the same e-mail to Zriebec. He did address the e-mail to me personally so I didn't take it as a PR stunt. Obviously the wording was very careful and I figured his agent was probably behind some of it, but either way, I find it interesting that he would send address an e-mail personally then send the exact message to other outlets.

While we appreciate the fact that he wants to "reach out" to the fans, he'll need to work on the part of PR that differentiates between something personally addressed and a "press release" statement.

If you look at the Sun article, there's nothing in there that wasn't covered in the letter that was sent here. And, I'd say that there's a really good possibility that Zrebiec got his info here...

[Tony-OH]

If you look at the Sun article, there's nothing in there that wasn't covered in the letter that was sent here. And, I'd say that there's a really good possibility that Zrebiec got his info here...

I doubt it because if he did and he didn't give us credit, it would be plagiarism and I'm sure Jeff would not do that. Unless Brian tells me something different, I'll assume he sent it to multiple media outlets including the Sun.

[ScottieBaseball]

BS. It's a well crafted PR campaign. The same e-mail went out to the Sun - see Jeff Zriebec's piece today. It's not an exclusive reach out to the fans at the Hangout. It's his "advisor" trying to put pressure on the team.

Hmm...well then...so much for sincerity! His "advisor" made a poor choice in my opinion. Want to send out a press release? Call it a press release. Don't attempt to dupe hand-selected journalists into thinking you're reaching out exclusively to them. Even if you didn't say it, the way the e-mail is addressed implies it.

If Matusz' "advisor" is reading this...hopefully this deplorable act won't diminish your soon-to-be-client's image in the eyes of O's fans. Folks here don't take so kindly to deception when it comes to the Orioles. We're a rather scorned bunch!

Hopefully, though, your soon-to-be-client signs with the Orioles and you both go on to become legitimate, respected, Big League talent.

[ScottieBaseball]

If you look at the Sun article, there's nothing in there that wasn't covered in the letter that was sent here. And, I'd say that there's a really good possibility that Zrebiec got his info here...

Zrebiec wouldn't do that.

[tywright]

Why would this email be sent out if the Matusz camp didn't have a desire to sign with the O's? How many draft picks have actually reached out to the fans to explain the holdup in signing?

The email has me a little worried because it gives the Matusz camp a fall back excuse allowing them to blame the O's for not getting him signed. Then again it is also a positive since Matusz really felt like he was obligated to let the O's fans know what was going on, which shows his desire to want to play here. That desire I believe will be the force in him signing soon.

[bigbird]

So we're not making a fair offer?????????????

[Sports Guy]

So we're not making a fair offer?????????????

Yea, i would love to know what our offer is...The offer should be somewhere between 2.5-3 million.