O's Ink Izturis

[wieters=nucleus]

Hopefully. I wouldn't feel comfortable assuming it though. The guy was terrible in Chicago -- couldn't hit a lick and his defense was very mediocre.

Yea I agree, he was pretty bad. But I think it is what the Orioles need for right now if we weren't going to go after Cabrera or Furcal. I still dont see this solving our black hole there though

[Guest rochester]

Hopefully. I wouldn't feel comfortable assuming it though. The guy was terrible in Chicago -- couldn't hit a lick and his defense was very mediocre.

I know Izturis is not great or a great pick-up..

why do I have the feeling that if we get Tex you are going to have something negative to say about him:scratchchinhmm:

[PaulFolk]

The O's needed to see if Furcal resigned with LA, making Hu available….

Even if Hu never progresses with the bat, he is exactly 4 years younger than Izturis... can provide you the same exceptional defense... And at least potentially can be a long-term option.

Lucky Jim questioned yesterday why signing Izturis, would preclude the team from attempting to trade for Hu, or any other younger option… theoretically it does not, but I have a hard time seeing this organization making a 2year financial investment in Izturis, and making an effort to obtain a younger option.

Also, Hu is at a minimum an equal option for 2009 in my mind, and a better option long-term….

Signing Izturis for two years doesn't prevent the Orioles from going after Hu. After all, we know the O's are going after Felix Pie, even though they already have three outfielders under contract for 2+ years.

I disagree that the O's should've waited for Furcal to sign somewhere before they pursued a shortstop. You can't put off filling a hole on your team because you're waiting for Furcal to make a decision. While we're waiting for him, the other shortstop options could get snatched up by other teams.

[Ruzious]

Get ready for a Freel to Izturis DP combo.

These are good moves in and of themselves, but these aren't the guys AM should settles for.

[nyjimbo]

I know Izturis is not great or a great pick-up..

why do I have the feeling that if we get Tex you are going to have something negative to say about him:scratchchinhmm:

Because thats what trolls do.

[mikezpen]

crstoner, I don't think the O's were looking that hard for a hitter; they wanted a fairly inexpensive steady glove at short for the interim, and Izturis is that.

[wieters=nucleus]

I know Izturis is not great or a great pick-up..

why do I have the feeling that if we get Tex you are going to have something negative to say about him:scratchchinhmm:

Unless he gts fifty million a year their is nothing bad to say about Tex. He plays GG defense, hits for average and power, he is an animal.

[PaulFolk]

If the O's now go after Hu… after signing Izturis, then they wasted resources (financial) on obtaining Izturis…

If the O's wound up in a position where they lost out on Izturis, because they were waiting on Furcal… so what?

Then we end up with our collection of 2008 shortstops again. Better to fill the hole now than to wait too long and get caught unprepared like we did last year.

Izturis is only slightly more tolerable than Juan Castro…

You definitively know that Izturis is not a long-term option… as such, there is no rush to sign him today…

He is a last-resort type of guy… not a target.

Izturis is more valuable than you might think. Baltimoron posted some defensive stats in another thread showing that Izturis's glove outweighs his offensive ineptitude. Izturis may be a surprisingly good value for $3 mil a year.

[Saintbird]

I know Izturis is not great or a great pick-up..

why do I have the feeling that if we get Tex you are going to have something negative to say about him:scratchchinhmm:

Word... I think this could be really good for us, because I mean the Rays got to the World Series with who? Bartlett?

[Pruke]

Looking at his career stats, I find it odd how inconsistent his ability to successfully steal bases is from one season to another...

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/stats?playerId=4607

Gotta be the cleats.

[TinCup]

Question: was anybody else going after Izturis???

[Moose Milligan]

I'd like to know from Migrant Redbird if Izturis is THAT good with the glove. People are making it sound like he's '85 Ozzie Smith.

[Saintbird]

Question: was anybody else going after Izturis???

Probably not, if so why would he sign with us?

[mikezpen]

There's nothing stopping the Orioles from going after a longer-term solution at short. In fact, it's more likely that they'll be able to make a good move now. There's less pressure for them to do it, meaning that they have more time to examine the options and make a good pick-up.

[Fan4Life]

Question: was anybody else going after Izturis???

Astros Could Get In On Izturis

By Tim Dierkes [December 10 at 9:14am CST]

Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the Houston Chronicle says Cesar Izturis' agent Peter Greenberg spoke with Astros GM Ed Wade to gauge his interest in Cesar Izturis, Freddy Garcia, and Bobby Abreu. Wade confirmed that Abreu is not a fit for the Astros. Izturis could be, though, if they manage to trade Miguel Tejada. The Orioles are known to be making progress on a deal with Izturis.