Losing Loewen?

[tywright]

I wonder if this will have any effect on extending Markakis

[Birds08]

I also wonder if this is any way impacts the Markakis discussions, as I believe they were best friends.

[tywright]

"Losing Loewen" sounds like the title of a reality series, and with all of the drama surrounding this signing I think it could be a good one.

we might need to change it to Loser Loewen?

[Frobby]

This has the earmark of a long-term vendetta. I doubt it stops with Burnett. The right people are really steamed.

What does Burnett have to do with it? He already let it be known he was opting out and would become a free agent. We were going to bid on him in any event, or we weren't. What are we going to do now, make sure we outbid the Blue Jays just to spite them? He either makes sense for us or he doesn't, and the fact that the Jays grabbed Loewen shouldn't influence that judgment one iota.

But while we're on the subject, I didn't hear anyone here complaining about the fact that Burnett was opting out of his deal and was interested in comng to play in Baltimore because his family lives here. The Jays paid him a lot of money the last three years, including a significant amount in yers in which he was injured a good bit of the time. Why is nobody here morally outraged at Burnett's decision?

[nyjimbo]

What if after a year or so his arm rebounds enough to resume his pitching career? That would be a real kick in the teeth!

[tywright]

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/baseball/bal-orioles1024,0,3105557.story

Orioles, who drafted Loewen with the fourth overall pick in the 2002 draft, were confident enough that they would retain Loewen that they held a spot open for him in the Hawaiian winter league.

"The way it was explained to me, it's all about playing for his national team in Canada and it's not about terms or anything," Orioles president Andy MacPhail said. "The way it was explained to me is he grew up there and it's his lifelong dream to play for Toronto."

[ChrisAF79]

Why is nobody here morally outraged at Burnett's decision?

I believe the primary difference is the "gentleman's agreement" that we thought we had in place with Loewen. All along, it seemed like a mere formality that Loewen was going to be in our minor league system this year. Up until a day ago, there wasn't even so much of a whisper that Loewen would consider signing with someone else. The O's have every right to be feeling spurned, as do the fans.

[NewMarketSean]

I don't like the "the way it was explained to me" wording, because it makes AM sound like he's not understanding of the situation. But maybe he's just frustrated. I sense that in there too.

[Hank Scorpio]

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/baseball/bal-orioles1024,0,3105557.story

Wow is right.

That's a big kick in the junk, there. Probably a little irresponsible on the O's part, too.

I guess this is what happens when you assume, huh!?!?!

[Bosibus]

Is this as bad as what Boozer did to the Cavs? Or does this type of stuff happen all the time?

[rooter]

**** Loewen. I hope he hits for **** in the minors and his career ends in the Jays organization.

[Birds08]

What does Burnett have to do with it? He already let it be known he was opting out and would become a free agent. We were going to bid on him in any event, or we weren't. What are we going to do now, make sure we outbid the Blue Jays just to spite them? He either makes sense for us or he doesn't, and the fact that the Jays grabbed Loewen shouldn't influence that judgment one iota.

But while we're on the subject, I didn't hear anyone here complaining about the fact that Burnett was opting out of his deal and was interested in comng to play in Baltimore because his family lives here. The Jays paid him a lot of money the last three years, including a significant amount in yers in which he was injured a good bit of the time. Why is nobody here morally outraged at Burnett's decision?

I think the situations were completely different. Burnett is a veteran, has had a long career, and had a contractual right to leave which the Blue Jays have known since he signed.

Loewen, on the other hand, came through our system, received a significant investment of time and resources (and a huge contract). He never produced for us on the field in a meaningul way, and when he had to become a hitter, we were supportive and continued to invest resources into him. He then made a gentlemen's agreement with the team to resign with us. He should have at least felt the normal 6 year obligation to remain with the team. I just find the situations in no way comparable, and I think it was classless and not in any way defensible.

[nadecir]

I was actually talking to them a couple days ago regarding what gives about a Markakis extension. They just reiterated that he's signing for a long time and doesn't know what's taking so long regarding an announcement about it. I asked if it was because of the World Series, and they said that could be the issue at hand. I'm a bit hesitant to believe that, because this would be a minor drop in the bucket in the grand scheme of MLB, but, then again, it'd be a big deal regarding the Orioles.

By the way, either Andy MacPhail is a great poker player, or I doubt this information about Markakis agreeing to an extension is true. This is from Steve Malewski's blog today:

As the Orioles move deeper into the off-season it appears one of their top priorities is signing Nick Markakis to a new, long-term contract. That's if the player and team can agree on the terms.

"I've had some conversations with his representative," O's President of Baseball Operations Andy MacPhail said. "We're just in the very, very preliminary stages there." He added no dollar figures have been exchanged between the sides yet.

http://masnsports.com/2008/10/macphail-on-markakis.html

[tywright]

FYI, Blue Jays DFA'd Kevin Mench

Hmm, I wonder who they won't protect on their 40 for the Rule V draft??:scratchchinhmm:

[NCRaven]

But while we're on the subject, I didn't hear anyone here complaining about the fact that Burnett was opting out of his deal and was interested in comng to play in Baltimore because his family lives here. The Jays paid him a lot of money the last three years, including a significant amount in yers in which he was injured a good bit of the time. Why is nobody here morally outraged at Burnett's decision?

For me, the reason is that this is the team that drafted Loewen. The team that went the extra yard to get him signed and gave him a major league contract to get the deal done. The team that paid him millions to do very little as a major league pitcher. The team that supported him through his injury and negotiated with him in good faith only to have him basically reneg.

Also, the Jays gave Burnett the right to opt out when they signed him to his contract. It was reasonable for them to assume that he might do so and seek a better deal at that time. There was no similar emotional attachment by the team, ownership of fans for Burnett. The Jays never went above and beyond for Burnett. The Orioles did for Loewen. For me, this is far worse than what Mussina did. At least the Orioles ownership and management deserved their fair share of the blame for that. Neither Angelos or MacPhail did anything wrong towards Loewen who has shown a deplorable lack of loyalty, IMO.