Losing Loewen?

[davearm]

Well, we might lose Loewen

All but the most optimistic realize the O's have already lost Loewen.

[The Wedge]

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/

Loyalty in modern professional sports? You'll be more prone to finding a politician who doesn't lie.

[JTrea81]

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.

Well he has no idea if he's going to play in the Majors again, and he's got to think about his long term future. If all the Orioles are offering is 300K and another team is offering 1 million to 750K, I wouldn't blame him for signing with the other team.

I suspected this might happen once I heard of Loewen's success in the instructional league. I remember he was an awesome hitter in JuCo.

[Sanfran327]

Loyalty in modern professional sports? You'll be more prone to finding a politician who doesn't lie.

I don't think Loewen has reached the "back-stabbing, cut-throat" level of professional baseball yet. He's still in a position where showing some class would be his best move.

Just so we don't have to keep bringing up this stupid point: YES, I would be understanding if Adam left because someone offered him a ton of money. But get real; it's an artificial point. It will never happen. IMO, it's arguing for the sake of arguing.

[The Wedge]

I don't think Loewen has reached the "back-stabbing, cut-throat" level of professional baseball yet. He's still in a position where showing some class would be his best move.

Just so we don't have to keep bringing up this stupid point: YES, I would be understanding if Adam left because someone offered him a ton of money. But get real; it's an artificial point. It will never happen. IMO, it's arguing for the sake of arguing.

His ORIGINAL contract was at the level of backstabbing cutthroat!

[Sanfran327]

His ORIGINAL contract was at the level of backstabbing cutthroat!

Why? Because it was an ML contract? You need to show me something before you think you have that kind of hand. If he's got that POV, he can take his little bad ass attitude somewhere else and be the next Manny. We don't want guys like that anyway, right?

[The Wedge]

Why? Because it was an ML contract? You need to show me something before you think you have that kind of hand. If he's got that POV, he can take his little bad ass attitude somewhere else and be the next Manny. We don't want guys like that anyway, right?

You do realize he could be the coolest kid in the world, but his agent could be the d-bag, right?

[Migrant Redbird]

I'm surprised there is "interest". Any chance that Loewen's agent is just trying to drum up "competition" -- or fabricate it -- to improve his bargaining position on Loewen's new contract?

If so, he's short sighted. Loewen is such a long shot that his value right now is mostly as public relations fodder. Every sports fan loves a great story, but O's fans have a lot more emotional investment in Loewen than fans of any other team would.

Ankiel's first game back

When they announced Ankiel was starting in right field and batting second, the crowd erupted in applause. When he stepped up to plate in the bottom of the first inning, he received a standing ovation. Each at bat he received a welcome round of applause.

The home run ... wow. As soon as he hit it, everyone stood on their feet. It wasn't a no-doubter, but everyone knew it was close. When the ball carried the wall, Ankiel gave a small fist pump as he rounded first base. The cheer was one of the loudest cheers I've heard in a baseball game. When he crossed home plate and walked into the dugout, Ankiel buried his head in his hands. If he wasn't crying, he should have been.

No one cared that Pujols was at the plate, or that he took the next pitch for a ball. All eyes were on the dugout. Ankiel appeased the crowd by coming out quickly and tipping his cap.

What a wonderful night.

Ankiel was a great sports story, but that story played a lot better and longer in St. Louis than it did nationally. Loewen would be the same kind of public relations bonanza if he makes it back as a successful major leaguer.

In Ankiel's case, it was GM Walt Jocketty who convinced him to give it another chance as a position player. St. Louis Post Dispatch story

Ankiel made it back to the major leagues as a reliever in 2004 but suffered more frustration the following spring, when he again began to obsess over his wavering command and found it difficult to eat or sleep.

One morning in early March, La Russa praised Ankiel's progress as the lefthander worked behind his manager. As if on cue, Ankiel spiked a curveball on the front edge of a plate, sending the ball over the bullpen backstop. Several days later he walked out of camp.

"It was a tough road back as a pitcher. I'm not sure he ever really felt comfortable with that," Jocketty recalls. "It was obvious that day he'd had enough."

The same day Ankiel left camp, Jocketty contacted him about trying to play in the outfield. Ankiel, after all, had been a star hitter at Port St. Lucie (Fla.) High as well as having a dominant arm. While with Johnson City in 2001, he had hit 10 home runs in 105 at-bats and made the All-Star team as a designated hitter and pitcher.

"My mind was totally on the pitching side of it and retiring," Ankiel says. "I wasn't really sure (about playing again). I told them I'd call back. I'm glad I did."

Jocketty and Ankiel's agent, Scott Boras, plotted to ensure that Rick could pass through waivers, so that he'd be free to start over at whatever level seemed appropriate (low A, as it turned out).

When the Cardinals nontendered Ankiel after the 2004 season, Scott Boras put out the word that Ankiel wasn't interested in returning to baseball with any other teams and would retire rather than report elsewhere. That didn't keep someone from posting an April 1st story

After a bizarre and always interesting pitching career with the Cardinals, Rick Ankiel is now headed north to join his former enemies: the Chicago Cubs. The most interesting twist in this seemingly never ending saga, and the one that is likely to strain even further the already rocky relationship between Ankiel's agent, Scott Boras, and the Cardinals, is that after announcing his retirement from pitching this spring, Ankiel has now agreed to join the Cubs 25-man roster as a pitcher. It is expected that Ankiel will replace injured starter Kerry Wood who will require surgery on his pitching elbow and is expected to miss the first 3 months of the season.

"We invested several years in Rick, and bent over backwards to give him an opportunity as an outfielder this spring, so to have this happen now, I don't really understand his or (his agent's) motivations" noted Cardinals Manager Tony LaRussa.

Cardinals General Manager Walt Jockety noted that the club is considering filing a grievance with the league office against Ankiel and Boras.

.... Now Ankiel will have yet another chance to turn his career around, although not in the setting that anyone had expected.

"This is the best possible situation for me right now. While I appreciate the opportunities that the Cardinals have given me over the years, I knew that they didn't seriously consider me an outfielder, and my career would have ended in the minors. I had to do what's best for my career, and I'm excited by the opportunity given to me by the Cubs", said Ankiel when reached at his home in Florida.

It is expected that Ankiel will be in uniform and with the team when they open the season next week in Chicago.

APRIL FOOLS!!!!

[hoosiers]

Anyone notice that the article said Loewen could go to Frederick?

I thought the talk was he would start at DelMarva - perhaps the bat is proving to be more advanced that some people thought a few months ago.

Perhaps AL needs a new start in a new organization, but it would be very upsetting to see him reach the majors as a hitter in a different uniform.

[Lucky Jim]

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.

A big time myth. I've never seen convincing evidence that he was even a 2nd-3rd round talent with the bat. And he was most certainly not a better talent with the bat than with his arm when drafted.

[Fred Manfraud]

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 agree wholeheartedly. I don't think he has a realistic chance of being even a decent major league hitter at this point, but the Orioles deserve the reap the benefit if he does beat the odds.

[Sanfran327]

You do realize he could be the coolest kid in the world, but his agent could be the d-bag, right?

He still has to sign his name on that line, brother. I don't think agent's have mind control over their clients to the extent that we are led to believe. Is he being advised by Obi Wan Kenobi? Player's aren't robots. They're people with brains - some of them very well educated - and they have their own opinions. He can tell his agent to jump off a cliff if he really wants to stay with the O's.

[TakebackOPACY]

I'm surprised there is "interest". Any chance that Loewen's agent is just trying to drum up "competition" -- or fabricate it -- to improve his bargaining position on Loewen's new contract?

If so, he's short sighted. Loewen is such a long shot that his value right now is mostly as public relations fodder. Every sports fan loves a great story, but O's fans have a lot more emotional investment in Loewen than fans of any other team would.

Ankiel's first game back

Ankiel was a great sports story, but that story played a lot better and longer in St. Louis than it did nationally. Loewen would be the same kind of public relations bonanza if he makes it back as a successful major leaguer.

In Ankiel's case, it was GM Walt Jocketty who convinced him to give it another chance as a position player. St. Louis Post Dispatch story

Jocketty and Ankiel's agent, Scott Boras, plotted to ensure that Rick could pass through waivers, so that he'd be free to start over at whatever level seemed appropriate (low A, as it turned out).

When the Cardinals nontendered Ankiel after the 2004 season, Scott Boras put out the word that Ankiel wasn't interested in returning to baseball with any other teams and would retire rather than report elsewhere. That didn't keep someone from posting an April 1st story

I hate to feed into the speculation, but I will. The Blue Jays could parlay the 'feel-good story' and the "public relations fodder".

[Dipper9]

I hate to feed into the speculation, but I will. The Blue Jays could parlay the 'feel-good story' and the "public relations fodder".

Okay, we need to stop painting Loewen out to be some bad guy. By all accounts, he has been a personable fella, a good teammate, and a fan favorite. Plus, he volunteered to be part of the Orioles Magic video. He WILL sign wiht us, and he is going nowhere! Don't make him a bad guy before he has even given us a sliver of reason to doubt him.

[Frobby]

Just so we don't have to keep bringing up this stupid point: YES, I would be understanding if Adam left because someone offered him a ton of money. But get real; it's an artificial point. It will never happen. IMO, it's arguing for the sake of arguing.

And in my opinion, 90% of what we do on this board every day is arguing for the sake of arguing.

So let me put this another way - how much more money would a team have to offer Loewen, compared to what the Orioles were offering, for you not to feel he was being disloyal by taking the money?

- $25,000?

- $50,000?

- $100,000?

- $250,000?

Personally I'd say that it would have to be six figures. Loewen's made enough in his career where less than that should be immaterial to his decision.