Don Long is out per Roch

[spiritof66]

6 hours ago, SteveA said:

So if you really believe they are quibbling about salary differences that in many cases amount to less than $100K for a dozen or so people, why do you even bother to participate in threads where we talk about potential free agent signings, even mid level ones?   I mean, if money is so tight, the notion of signing a Gray or EdRod for what it will take is way beyond any notion of reality.

Unless you somehow feel that player payroll is a different pot of money and they will spend millions there while pinching pennies in other departments.   And that just doesn't make sense to me.

Look, I see the same things.  Announcers (although Thorne is 73 and Hunter is 70 so those guys would likely have been gone fairly soon anyway, and we just had retirements of 2 70+ year olds in Manfra and Angel as well.  So an overhaul/youth movement was needed.   Now you can argue they went cheap but Brown was certainly an up and coming AAA announcer and we wouldn't be the first team that has gone that route).   And the coaching moves.   And even things like fewer concession options in the ballpark.   There certainly is an appearance of penny pinching going on.   But I still feel that it doesn't make a lot of sense for intelligent people to quibble over that kind of money, when the last minute negotiation to sign one free agent could result in an additional $5 million in salary commitment.   

If we sign no free agents at all for more than $1 or $2 million (and don't trade for guys making more than that), then that will lend credence to the argument.   But if we even do a modicum of payroll spending, that would so dwarf the savings in coaches and announcers that I find it hard to believe that ownership could really care about that stuff.

 

It all makes sense (to me, anyway) if you believe (as I do) that the team's decision-makers expect the Orioles to be sold before the time for spending significantly more on payroll arrives. The apparent exceptions to the Orioles' recent cheapskate ways -- spending on foreign scouting, signings and player development, and on analytics -- make sense in that potential buyers would view the team as unprepared to compete, and worth less, if the Orioles remained as deficient in those areas as they were when the owner was in charge.

Otherwise, I can understand the Orioles' penny-pinching only as the reflection of something I don't know about. A neurotic desire of the inexperienced CEO to prove to himself, or someone else, that he can make cold and ruthless decisions to cut costs to the bone. A perverse attempt by the CEO to show the need for the MLB payroll caps and floors he has advocated. Something weird like that.

[sportsfan8703]

I trust Elias. I think it’s a good time to make a switch now that we have long term pieces coming up in 2022. Mullins, Hays, and Mountcastle, are here. AR, Stowers, Jones, Neustrom, Westburg, and Vavra, could all be up next season. 
 

Bottomline is that I think we’re now transitioning to the 2nd phase of rebuilding.