Will this weekend be the last time we see Chris Davis in Baltimore?

[Can_of_corn]

4 hours ago, John Welch said:

Holy cow. Couldn't disagree more.

All the track record Elias has in St L, Houston and the changes he's made in an abbreviated year here would be thrown out because he doesn't handle a hot button issue quickly enough to suit some. 

I'm not arguing that Davis is deserving of a roster spot and I'm not arguing that I believe an offseason of working on swing changes is going to work. But if Davis is given extended opportunities the first few months of next season after ST would not, to me, indicate he's not a smart GM.

And the gnashing of teeth about "full control" is misplaced. Anyone remember the scene from Moneyball where Billy Beane is begging the owner for more money to make a trade? Somehow the great Theo Epstein couldn't convince owners of the Cubs to give him money for more bullpen upgrades this year when they were clearly needed. The Rays are constantly shortchanged. Does that make their GM any less impressive or mean he doesn't have full control? I'm sure there are a half dozen other examples. Yankee fans constantly whine about Hal being cheap. Does that lessen what Cashman has done?

Perhaps the zest to get rid of Davis is clouding the picture here a bit.

Full control doesn't mean, has never meant, that the person in charge can spend whatever they like.  It means that they have control over how the budget is used, what procedures are in place and who the personnel are.

[Can_of_corn]

9 minutes ago, drjohnnyfeva said:

Mancini has not been given a fair shot at 1B, but that's not the issue now.  If Mancini is going to be traded it will be based on what he did this year not what he might do with playing time at 1B next year.

Mancini isn't going to be here as a DH very long if at all.  If Mountcastle is ready, he's going to be-  should be- played at 1B.  The only caveat would be that Mountcastle's 1B play is accepted as MLB ready and it's the hitting they are worried about.  That's legit.  Mancini has demonstrated MLB hitting ability and not been given 1B play.  His 1B play next year, if he's here, would be to evaluate Mountcastle's hitting exclusively. 

Leftovers.... Davis.  Time for the farewell party.  Thanks for everything.  We couldn't have done what we did in those runs at a Championship without you, but it's time to pack your things.

I'm willing to see what Mountcastle brings to left field.  Early returns seem favorable.

[7Mo]

3 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

Full control doesn't mean, has never meant, that the person in charge can spend whatever they like.  It means that they have control over how the budget is used, what procedures are in place and who the personnel are.

That's what "full control" means when a poster uses it?

Or that's what "full control" means with each owner-GM group in MLB?

I would agree that every team has some limit where the GM includes ownership in a decision. And maybe I've interpreted posts on here incorrectly but some posts seem to suggest that it's a failure on Elias' part if he doesn't have full control. IMO he clearly doesn't, but he has an amount of control that you would expect from just about any MLB team. And there's nothing wrong with that. 

I don't think Elias has the luxury of cutting Davis right now. But that doesn't mean he's a limited GM.  

[Can_of_corn]

2 minutes ago, John Welch said:

That's what "full control" means when a poster uses it?

Or that's what "full control" means with each owner-GM group in MLB?

I would agree that every team has some limit where the GM includes ownership in a decision. And maybe I've interpreted posts on here incorrectly but some posts seem to suggest that it's a failure on Elias' part if he doesn't have full control. IMO he clearly doesn't, but he has an amount of control that you would expect from just about any MLB team. And there's nothing wrong with that. 

I don't think Elias has the luxury of cutting Davis right now. But that doesn't mean he's a limited GM.  

Yes it does.  He doesn't have full control of his roster, that limits him.

The issue I have is that it was put out that he has full control.  They were trying to distance themselves from how Peter ran the team.  If he doesn't have full control it is going to bother me if they claim he does as I don't like it when I'm lied to.

[7Mo]

1 minute ago, Can_of_corn said:

 I don't like it when I'm lied to.

Your first time?

[Can_of_corn]

Just now, John Welch said:

Your first time?

Any time.

I'd rather be told an uncomfortable truth than a comforting lie.

[Satyr3206]

7 hours ago, Sanfran327 said:

His presence on the roster is not what separates us from being screwed or not. It's a sign that our GM either doesn't have full control of baseball operations, or that he's showing that he's just not a smart GM. I would really hate to start thinking the latter so quickly, because I have extremely high hopes for him and the future of our team. But moving forward should not include Chris Davis any longer. 

Here we go again. Elias doesn't have control. Then how did he get rid of a bunch of scouts, etc that had been with the organization for a generation?

It's like any business. You see if you can try to salvage something out of a bad decision. Davis will be gone by the end of ST.

[drjohnnyfeva]

29 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

I'm willing to see what Mountcastle brings to left field.  Early returns seem favorable.

So then unless some team knocks our socks off with a trade for Mancini, Manicini sticks.  Right?  Because that's where I am. 

We know that Mountcastle can hit.  We're evaluating Mountcastle.  We evaluate him at a position that is not his own?  He was slated for 1B.  I'm cool with him auditioning at LF and playing every day during that MLB trial.  That's not an audition Manicni was ever given, but I digress...  Mancini filled in in injury or match-up roles where he got playing time because he was hitting.  I don't think they should do THAT with Mountcastle.

Right now, I don't think Mancini gets traded.  I think the O's want Mouncastle at 1B - at least according to what the old regime planned for.  If that's not the case any more and they are trying to find a spot for him, then if Mount can pull off a OF gig and Mancini can go at 1B, that's not a bad way to begin 2020, imo.

 

[ScGO's]

There is probably so much going on behind doors that we don't know including PR, Economics, Projections, etc.  First Elias would have to prove that cutting Davis was beneficial financially.  If they cut him this offseason he will probably be pressured to move Givens, Villar, Mancini, Bundy for financial reasons (not saying he won't be trying to max out his trade return). 

Next they would have to figure out the right way to do it, the PR side.  Davis just got the Roberto Clemente Award nomination, he's still the most well known Oriole, but all the realists know he's done as far as performance, so they need to find the best way to let him go.  If Chris would agree to it, that would obviously be the best way.  If not, how do you cut him as quietly as possible.  I think in the off-season, as cutting him during ST or the 2020 season would garner more front page stories then if he was cut in the midst of an exciting October Classic.  However, waiting to cut him until ST might allow Elias to seek more in trade value for the players mentioned above as the other teams in the league might not feel like the O's are trading their assets for financial reasons. But then you have more PR work to do since its the beginning of a brand new season.

Elias is probably dying to use all 26 roster spots for more evaluation next year too and would hate to waste that new 26th spot on Davis. This is not an easy situation, and I don't envy Elias.  I say he is cut after the winter meetings when Elias has hopefully swung a trade or two for a good return.

[Can_of_corn]

I don't think his Clemente award nomination will be an impediment.

[fansince1988]

I voted no, but a part of me thinks could be released, and the team could be sold this off-season.

[oriolediehard]

Why don't the O"a use CD as a coach since they have to pay him anyway and it opens up a roster spot?  I would hate to release him and he hits 50 homers somewhere else, while we pay him and he performs because he has no pressure for his new team to prove to them like he has to justify $160 mil for O's.

 

 

[Can_of_corn]

1 hour ago, oriolediehard said:

Why don't the O"a use CD as a coach since they have to pay him anyway and it opens up a roster spot?  I would hate to release him and he hits 50 homers somewhere else, while we pay him and he performs because he has no pressure for his new team to prove to them like he has to justify $160 mil for O's.

 

 

Davis won't hit 50 more homeruns over the next three seasons.

[Frobby]

Well, if that was the last time we saw Davis in Baltimore, he went out on a high note, hitting the go ahead homer in his final at bat in a 2-1 Orioles win.   The fans appreciated it and gave him a standing ovation as he rounded the bases.    Then ironically, as the team was getting ready to take the field for the next inning, they showed the homer on the scoreboard, including a comment by Gary Thorne something like, “we don’t know if that will be his last at bat in this ballpark, but if it was, it was a big one.”    That must have been a little embarrassing for Davis to hear.    But when he came out of the dugout to take 1B, he got another very nice ovation from the crowd.     I’m sure he appreciated it.    

[DirtyBird]

Good to see he can still catch up to an 89 mph fastball.