Just get better

[trueoriolesfan]

You didn't notice that the Orioles have four of Joe Jordan's draft picks ranked in the MLB top 50 prospects? When has that happened before?

Has it ever happened?

[Carroll County]

Roberts should have been dealt last year.

Now we're not going to get a whole lot for him, we're better off letting him play out the season and taking the picks.

[HoustonO]

Hey, I'm new posting here, but have been reading religously for years. There is no bigger Orioles fan than I am (okay equally!). I'm disappointed about Texiera too, but he's a pawn of the Boras controlled MLB money machine. Boras picked out the Yankees way before negotiations started and just sought to drive the price to level desired.

The O's are in a division that can only support 2 teams and until someone who loves the game more than the money takes control of the team, there is little that can happen. I do think Andy McPhail is doing a great job, calculated and slow, but rational. No one is going to come here in free agency until we show we can win; and that's only going to happen through internal production.

Baltimore/DC is a huge market and we should easily be able to compete with NY/Boston. I'm originally from NYC - the fans love the Yanks and Mets, but it's no different from the O's fans. That said, we need to get Adam Dunn - he's better than Tex.

[Enjoy Terror]

Who are the 4 DRAFT picks?

I know you know. And actually I am mistaken, Tillman wasn't an Oriole draft pick. But why are you emphasizing DRAFT to me? Scouting has a lot to do with drafting, and you said there were no improvements. Teams like the Nationals and Astros don't have a single player in the top 50.

[Carroll County]

Guthrie, Roberts, Ray, Sherrill, Huff, Scott, and possibly Markakis

These are the players we should be looking to deal as these are our best trading chips and if Markakis won't extend, then there is no point in keeping him either.

We should be able to get back major pieces for our future starting lineup and pitching with those pieces. All of these players should be traded before the 2010 season.

Hey, why even field an MLB team? We'll have SO many good players in the minors if we don't.

[Fan4Life]

I know you know. And actually I am mistaken, Tillman wasn't an Oriole draft pick. But why are you emphasizing DRAFT to me? Scouting has a lot to do with drafting, and you said there were no improvements. Teams like the Nationals and Astros don't have a single player in the top 50.

Which is more proof that this "build from within" mantra is just that. You have to pay, to play, period. How much depends on how awful your system is. If we just accept we aren't players in this league and just enjoy baseball, that might be a solution. Unfortunately the late 60's - early 80's spoiled our expectations.

[JTrea81]

Hey, why even field an MLB team? We'll have SO many good players in the minors if we don't.

I don't think you realize we won't be fielding an MLB team any time soon. We don't have the players in our system and we won't be signing any top talent FAs. So we might as well go young and cheap and hope everybody pans out. This team is going to stink for the next 4-5 years but may be able to compete in 2-3 years if we have a complete sell off and the younger talent lives up to its billing.

MacPhail is going to run this team like the Twins, so it's time to start being like the Twins.

[Sports Guy]

I know you know. And actually I am mistaken, Tillman wasn't an Oriole draft pick. But why are you emphasizing DRAFT to me? Scouting has a lot to do with drafting, and you said there were no improvements. Teams like the Nationals and Astros don't have a single player in the top 50.

LOL..Because your statement was about the 4 DRAFT PICKS that Jordan has in the top 50. That is false.

Now, if you want to talk about 3 draft picks....Well, 2 of them were top 5 picks...its not exactly difficult to pull off getting good prospects when you draft that high, is it?

Arrieta was considered a first round talent that fell due to signability and the idea that he was poor in his junior year.

And yes, i am glad that our scouting can recognize a guy with amazing stuff and a guy that has a body type that is built for endurance...That's not overly impressive to be able to pull that off.

[Wingman]

Tilllman may not have been a draft pick but he was someone that our scouts targeted for the Bedard trade so maybe our scouting isn't so bad.

[Carroll County]

I don't think you realize we won't be fielding an MLB team any time soon. We don't have the players in our system and we won't be signing any top talent FAs. So we might as well go young and cheap and hope everybody pans out. This team is going to stink for the next 4-5 years but may be able to compete in 2-3 years if we have a complete sell off and the younger talent lives up to its billing.

MacPhail is going to run this team like the Twins, so it's time to start being like the Twins.

Oh, I realize that. I'm just saying, you can't just keep selling all the parts you do have because you don't have enough to compete.

At some point, you'll have enough parts coming together at once that you'll want to go out and add the last few so you can compete.

I think the Orioles, by adding Tex, Sheets, one of the Japanese pitchers and resigning B-Rob were at a point where those parts could have made them competitive right away.

[OrioleFan55]

Sorry but this is bs and a cop out for the organization.

We need to hire more scouts..better scouts.

We need to totally overhaul the development staff...We need to overhaul the coaches in the minors and things like that.

We haven't done that. They have sat around and tried to get the different results doing things the same way.

What do you know about our scouts? How many have you met? Where have you seen them evaluated? Can you speak to stuff that you know? It may be minimal but it's in the best interest of all of us.

[ThisIsOurHouse]

With our division in the shape its in, we should be in no hurry to compete, The Yankees and the Red sox are going to spend on free agents, The Rays are in great shape for the next decade. Unless we have superb talent in place in the next two to three years, we shouldn't be in bidding wars over top free agents with the Yanks/Sox. We have to start from the ground up. Would Tex have helped our team, no doubt, but that 180 mil could be saved for Wieters, Markakis,Jones.

BTW first post, but I have read the forum for a couple months.

[TGO]

Your right but, he did go to college in PA

Are we still talking about Markakis? He went to Young Harris College in Georgia. As far as I can tell he's never lived in PA in his life.

[Sports Guy]

What do you know about our scouts? How many have you met? Where have you seen them evaluated? Can you speak to stuff that you know? It may be minimal but it's in the best interest of all of us.

I know that they have done a poor job...I know results.

My head isn't buried in the sand to these ideas.

I know that over the years, we have had an awful system.

And while it is better now, it is really driven by 4 players, 2 of which we got in the top 5 of the draft and another we got from another organization.

After those 4, the system, as a whole, is very mediocre.

All I care about is results...And the results speak for themselves.

And, to go with the scouting, an even larger problem is development. The development is awful.

[ChaosLex]

LOL..Because your statement was about the 4 DRAFT PICKS that Jordan has in the top 50. That is false.

Now, if you want to talk about 3 draft picks....Well, 2 of them were top 5 picks...its not exactly difficult to pull off getting good prospects when you draft that high, is it?

Arrieta was considered a first round talent that fell due to signability and the idea that he was poor in his junior year.

And yes, i am glad that our scouting can recognize a guy with amazing stuff and a guy that has a body type that is built for endurance...That's not overly impressive to be able to pull that off.

For a team that so desperately needs pitching, I can't believe we passed over Tim Melville for Xavier Avery. :cussing: