Losing Loewen?

[tywright]

Well, we might lose Loewen

http://masnsports.com/2008/10/could-loewen-become-an-exoriol.html

"There are other clubs in the offing, more significantly than even Adam or his agent anticipated," said O's President of Baseball Operations, Andy MacPhail.

MacPhail said considering Loewen hadn't swung a bat in five years he was a little surprised at the interest.

Loewen has cleared waivers, but other teams are out there that are interested in signing him.

If we do sign him, it is likely (according to Melewski) that he will start in...Frederick :eektf:

[Sanfran327]

If he cleared waivers, it doesn't matter how many teams are interested in him.. he'd still have to accept an offer from another club to part with us. And then it would be HIS decision, which would make him a jerk.

IF A-Lo decides to go elsewhere, he'll be dead to me.

[Dipper9]

Well, we might lose Loewen

http://masnsports.com/2008/10/could-loewen-become-an-exoriol.html

Loewen has cleared waivers, but other teams are out there that are interested in signing him.

If we do sign him, it is likely (according to Melewski) that he will start in...Frederick :eektf:

Loewen is a good kid and I don't think he will try to squeeze us dry. Also, consider me optimistic, but I think we see him at Camden by the end of the 2010 season...stroking balls onto the flag court!

[ChaosLex]

Well, we might lose Loewen

http://masnsports.com/2008/10/could-loewen-become-an-exoriol.html

Loewen has cleared waivers, but other teams are out there that are interested in signing him.

If we do sign him, it is likely (according to Melewski) that he will start in...Frederick :eektf:

Well, color me surprised.

[orangedive]

Loewen is a good kid and I don't think he will try to squeeze us dry. Also, consider me optimistic, but I think we see him at Camden by the end of the 2010 season...stroking balls onto the flag court!

You, my friend, are exceptionally optimistic. Maybe even a little delusional.

But it's nice to hear it every once in a while.

[JTrea81]

He's not a jerk if he signs with another team. $ talks, and anybody thinking we'd keep Loewen without competition was kidding themselves. His bat was much better than his arm when he was a draft prospect. And he did very well in the instructional league. Other teams remember that. The Orioles will just have to determine whether or not it's worth keeping him paying the price that the other teams are offering. It wouldn't surprise me if the Mariners were one of the teams that was interested...

[Frobby]

My impression of Loewen is that he is a very loyal guy. The Orioles have given him a lot of support over the years, and I don't think he'll be in any hurry to switch organizations. Now if some other team throws a lot of money at him, he'd be crazy not to take it. Somehow I doubt that's happening.

If he stays with us, I'd be pretty surprised if he starts at Frederick. There was talk of sending him to Hawaii for the rest of the fall season, and if he went there and held his own then I could see it. But with each passing day that becomes more unlikely. The HWL season ends 3 weeks from now.

[tywright]

He's not a jerk if he signs with another team. $ talks, and anybody thinking we'd keep Loewen without competition was kidding themselves. His bat was much better than his arm when he was a draft prospect. And he did very well in the instructional league. Other teams remember that. The Orioles will just have to determine whether or not it's worth keeping him paying the price that the other teams are offering. It wouldn't surprise me if the Mariners were one of the teams that was interested...

I'm going to disagree. His arm was a 1st rd talent...his bat was a 3-5th rd talent.

[Frobby]

If he cleared waivers, it doesn't matter how many teams are interested in him.. he'd still have to accept an offer from another club to part with us. And then it would be HIS decision, which would make him a jerk.

IF A-Lo decides to go elsewhere, he'll be dead to me.

What if some team offered him a $750,000 signing bonus? Would you still think he was a jerk to take it?

I wouldn't. The chances of Loewen making it back to the majors are slim. Whatever deal he can cut now may be the last deal he ever cuts to play baseball. The amount he has made so far in his career is pretty nice, but I wouldn't say he's set for life. If someone offers him a lot of money, I think he has to take it.

[Dipper9]

My impression of Loewen is that he is a very loyal guy. The Orioles have given him a lot of support over the years, and I don't think he'll be in any hurry to switch organizations. Now if some other team throws a lot of money at him, he'd be crazy not to take it. Somehow I doubt that's happening.

If he stays with us, I'd be pretty surprised if he starts at Frederick. There was talk of sending him to Hawaii for the rest of the fall season, and if he went there and held his own then I could see it. But with each passing day that becomes more unlikely. The HWL season ends 3 weeks from now.

As many of you know, my wife and I had our wedding reception at Ripken Stadium, and thus many of your reception pics have banners of then IronBirds hanging in the background. One of them is Adam. It would be kinda neat to see him return to Aberdeen for a few months.

[Sanfran327]

What if some team offered him a $750,000 signing bonus? Would you still think he was a jerk to take it?

I wouldn't. The chances of Loewen making it back to the majors are slim. Whatever deal he can cut now may be the last deal he ever cuts to play baseball. The amount he has made so far in his career is pretty nice, but I wouldn't say he's set for life. If someone offers him a lot of money, I think he has to take it.

Nobody will offer that type of money to a kid who's such "long shot" to make it back to the bigs. If he's worth that kind of money, it means he's got a decent chance, and would become an even bigger priority for us to resign him.

[Tx Oriole]

327, you are being pretty harsh. Why would it make him a jerk?

[TGO]

I'm going to disagree. His arm was a 1st rd talent...his bat was a 3-5th rd talent.

Yeah, I agree with you, though you could maybe argue he was 2-3rd round material. JTrea is dreaming up a reason to be optimistic about Loewen's future/pessimistic about our chances of signing him. This myth that Loewen was a first round hitter is exactly that, a myth.

[Sanfran327]

327, you are being pretty harsh. Why would it make him a jerk?

Because we've given him opportunity after opportunity to succeed as a pitcher, and when that avenue was exhausted and his career as a pitcher was over, we gave him yet another opportunity to continue his career as a position player. I think it's pretty generous of us to allow him to continue getting paid to experiment like this. It's a matter of trust and professional integrity, not just earning a payday. We've shown a lot of loyalty to him, now it's his turn to show some to us/

[ChaosLex]

Because we've given him opportunity after opportunity to succeed as a pitcher, and when that avenue was exhausted and his career as a pitcher was over, we gave him yet another opportunity to continue his career as a position player. I think it's pretty generous of us to allow him to continue getting paid to experiment like this. It's a matter of trust and professional integrity, not just earning a payday. We've shown a lot of loyalty to him, now it's his turn to show some to us/

I'm with you. If Loewen leaves, it's a slap in the face to this entire organization. Especially after how much we've freakin' babied him.