A few tidbits.....

[MarCakes21]

Come on guys. It is not the end of the world if what BB said comes true. I don't mind having O. Cabrera as the SS. He is a lot better than what we as fans have had to watch this year. As for the low offer for Tex well i don't believe Tex would have in any way want to coem to Baltimore. I believe he will stay with the Angels. And picking up some pitchers that are not top end wil work out okay i beleive. By late 2009 or 2010 all the young pitchers that are now in AA will be up to Baltimore. IMO

I think the fear with OCab is that he was such a clubhouse problem in Chicago, that he will be even more of one on a not so great team. Personally, I think he is an ideal #2 hitter with a ton of baggage. I would rather not have him, and see what it would take to get Greene or Hardy, or what we would have to give up in the way of picks for Furcal.

I think the low ball offer may be a starting point for Tex. They will start with something like 5/$14 and move up to the neighborhood of 6/$18. Just my thought. I'm not sure that will come close to getting him, but no harm in asking.

I would love for all the young pitching to be up by 2009 late if not 2010, but another one of my fears is that not all young pitching pans out. You need the depth in the system to complete a good farm team, because realistically, only 50% of prospects pan out.

[TonySoprano]

A stop gap, veteran presence in the rotation...been there, done that. I'll personally throttle the person in the organization that first uses the trite term "veteran presence" to try to market the new acquisition to the fan base. Heaven forbid we sign a solid 1-2 starter .

[Skeletor]

I REALLY have a hard time believing that's the offer for Tex. There is zero chance he signs for that and there are a lot of bad things that could happen just by making that offer. Not the least of which is insulting the fan base. Also, based on some recent quotes from AM, I just find this very unlikely.

How we fill the billpen is a non-issue for me as long as there are some quality arms in there. We've got two-thirds of a good pen now when healthy. Adding two guys via trade makes some sense to me.

After the debacle at SS this year, I see no way Roberts is traded. We would have a very similar situation at 2b next year.

We should sign the highest quality SS we can without costing a first round pick. I'm okay with dropping a second rounder on it.

Its okay to continue to trade our vets for prospects but you have to be smart in the time frame you're looking to compete. We're looking now like our pitching is going to be ready in 2010. It makes no sense to trade our vets who will still be contributing then for prospects who are three or four years away. I think Roberts and Huff will still be solid then. You have to be looking to make a run sometime.

[DrungoHazewood]

If this is all true, then the bloom is definitely off the MacPhail rose for me.

Reference SPs, the problem with adding a Kyle Lohse (especially on a two-year deal) is that those kinds of pitchers don't normally work out, and when they do work out in year 1, the pitcher typically returns to his normal self after that. You also have to consider Duncan's history with turning around Lohse-type pitchers. If Kranitz had the same reputation I'd feel a lot better about it. I just hate the idea of going after back of the rotation, low-walk (and more than likely low-K) pitchers.

Reference RPs, just plain idiotic to give out guaranteed (and likely multi-year) contracts to a couple of relievers this offseason. Adding relief pitchers should not be within the top 10 of offseason priorities.

I'd love to be a fly on the wall so that I can see the dumbfounded look on the face of Boras and Teixeira when they receive that offer.

Reference SS, signing Cabrera to anything more than a one-year deal would be beyond idiotic. You don't think that maybe the reason Cabrera wins everywhere he goes is because he always ends up on good teams? If he comes to Baltimore and their offseason answers are to add Byrd, Garland, a couple of FA relievers, and offer Teixeira a ridiculously low contract, then I'd be willing to bet that Cabrera's "history" of playing on winning teams will come to an abrupt halt.

That's pretty much my feelings, too. If you're going to sign a starter, make it a really good one, or a high risk/high reward one. The O's probably aren't going to contend in 2009, and Lohse or Byrd certainly aren't going to change that.

The O's had a fine pen built on young arms, repurposed LOOGYs, etc. They just didn't have enough arms. Collect more of them. Don't sign more Jamie Walkers to contracts sure to last beyond their effectiveness.

The only way Teixeira gets less than $150M is if the Yanks don't even bid. If they're serious about him he's in the $200M range.

And why is no one bringing up the point that, if Cabrera is such a winner, why winning teams are so willing to let him walk? And how come his teams keep right on winning after they've let him go?

[Wingman]

The big question for me is, if Roberts can't be resigned is he going to be actively shopped like last season?

I wish we'd trade Huff while his value is so high... get rid of Mora and Walker as well.

[TJ Wrangler]

Thanks a lot for the info BB. Anything on the Bradford deal?

[TinCup]

More of the same..."mediocrity by design"..Angelos style.

[Camden_yardbird]

Starting pitching - Sounds like the path is two of Byrd, Odalis Perez, Wolf, Moehler, or Pavano

1B - If no Tex I am kind of surprised they are not talking extension to Huff.

SS- Adam Everett, here come the O's.

DCab - I can see them keeping him if the reports that they are keeping Johnson in the pen are true. DCab will probably be in the pen by July 1st if not sooner. He will get $3.5-7.

Sounds like a mid 70's in wins in '09 philosophy. Waiting for a winning but not playoff year in '10.

Mohler resigned, and Wolf is not in the same group. He was actually effective late into the season this year so I would expect him to get a bigger deal.

I would not mind taking a flier on Pavano as long as the contract is not that bad.

As for everyone saying that this is more of the same that has led to mediocrity remember that we were getting the same rumors last offseason and it was the same reaction. Everyone was afraid of more of the same. And yet the only mistake may have been Trachsel and that was remedied quickly. As for the relievers that were targetted this past offseason....Albers, Sarfate, and Sherrill are all board favorites.

How many people don't trust Andy McPhail, because it looks like its many of you. Everyone who is saying they expect more of the same is just not opening their eyes to the evidence that you might hear the same thing, but AM is making moves that help the team.

[Sanfran327]

Yeah, looking at Furcal's numbers, I could handle him for 2 or 3 years. Wouldn't he cost us a pick though?

If they sign Orlando Cabrera I'll be pissed.

I'm not sure Furcal would cost us more than a Type B... he had a down year last year and this year he was hurt for all but the first month. The stats aren't there for him to be a Type A, but I'm not an expert on the rules.

[Flosman]

I'm not sure Furcal would cost us more than a Type B... he had a down year last year and this year he was hurt for all but the first month. The stats aren't there for him to be a Type A, but I'm not an expert on the rules.

You have to remember that every player that gets time counts in the rankings. Heck the O's alone helped make Furcal's numbers at SS look pretty good.

[health55]

I'm not sure Furcal would cost us more than a Type B... he had a down year last year and this year he was hurt for all but the first month. The stats aren't there for him to be a Type A, but I'm not an expert on the rules.

A Detroit blogger projects Rafael Furcal at the bottom of the Type B group in the Elias rankings:

http://tigers-thoughts.blogspot.com/2008/08/projected-elias-rankings.html

[Tony-OH]

That's pretty much my feelings, too. If you're going to sign a starter, make it a really good one, or a high risk/high reward one. The O's probably aren't going to contend in 2009, and Lohse or Byrd certainly aren't going to change that.

The O's had a fine pen built on young arms, repurposed LOOGYs, etc. They just didn't have enough arms. Collect more of them. Don't sign more Jamie Walkers to contracts sure to last beyond their effectiveness.

The only way Teixeira gets less than $150M is if the Yanks don't even bid. If they're serious about him he's in the $200M range.

And why is no one bringing up the point that, if Cabrera is such a winner, why winning teams are so willing to let him walk? And how come his teams keep right on winning after they've let him go?

Because he's such a winner that he leaves his magic winning dust behind him?

I seriously hope that is no the Orioles off season plan. In a winter where they are supposed to have some money, they can not be loking for stop gap players anymore.

Yes, I understand the future rotation should inclide Guthrie, Matusz, Tillman and Arrieta, but there is nor reason we should not go out and try to sign on of the top arms to add into that rotation. First off, as much as we don't want to admit it, most likely all three will not pan out due to injury or ineffectiveness at some point so it's not like we can just bridge the gap. If the O's do go out get two pitchers they should go after a top flight starter and then maybe a stop gap guy like Byrd for 1-2 years. Either way, two stop gaps is not smart in my opinion.

I'm not sure where the relief problems come from. We have enough good young relief candidates and I think we should have learned over our history that acquiring relievers is risky at best.

With Ray, Sherrill, Johnson, Sarfate, Olson, Liz, Bierd, McCrory, Miller, Mickolio, Castillo, Cormier, and David Hernandez available next year along with possibly Baez, Walker, and Hoey, I'd say the bullpen is one of the last areas we need to prioritize.

The offer for Tex can't be real because if it is, it means they really don't want him but want to show the fans that they "tried". I hope if Tex costs too much that Dunn could still be a possibility.

We need another bopper to the lineup and although Wieters will help, it may take him a few years to be the number four hitter.

[Satyr3206]

I don't know who this inside person is but I doubt MacPhail lets anyone know exactly what he is going to do. He plays his cards very close to the vest. I'll be patient and hope he spends some of that blank check.

[Hutman]

As much as I respect BB and his source. We have seen that AM plays his cards very close to his vest, so I'm not so sure that there is some mis-information here. We know that AM will do some through research before any offer to Tex and if they feel its too high, they will go another direction. I agree with Tony, I would open up the wallet for a pitcher (i.e. AJ Burnett) and a shortstop (I'd love Adam Everett). That would be a good off season to me. :rofl:

[OSfanfromCT]

More of the same..."mediocrity by design"..Angelos style.

This is mediocrity by design. But AM is self-aware that this team is going to be mediocre, which is the difference from regimes in the past. The signings he is apparently seaking are ones that are attempts to create a roster that is more stable and less embarassing than the team assembled for the last month of the season. The guys we are targetting are not arbitration eligible, so we will not be losing draft picks. Also, the shortstop situation was beyond embarassing last year. So signing a guy who can man the position is not such a bad thing IMO. We are still in rebuild mode, and I we are still going to try and shop guys who have some trade value, or even ones who have very little (Ramon and his contract).

Would I like us to be a little more aggressive in our rebuild? Yes. But we are not moving any of our prospects, and we're not signing lofty contracts to guys who will under perform (Payton, even Huff and Walker to an extent). We're waiting out the misery of the next year or two by signing mediocre veterans to man the fort until we are in fact ready to compete