“Liftoff - Perhaps a Bit Misunderstood “

[Roll Tide]

Quote

Which, in turn, can offer more thrust with the Orioles ready for liftoff, a term that made Elias smile today when reminded of his usage back in August.

Perhaps it’s been a bit misunderstood.

“I rattled that word off in Texas,” he said. “I feel very organically that is what I meant. I mean I think that this team is going to continue to get better from this point forward. We’re sitting here with this young nucleus that’s extremely talented. It’s going to be here for a long while. We’re sitting on the No. 1 farm system. We’ve got a roster and a payroll that we can custom build over the next few years because right now we don’t have any long-term contracts to build around. (It was) not a specific proclamation for we’re going to do it all at once at the Winter Meetings, but that the next several years of baseball in Baltimore is going to be excellent. And I think that the team is going to continually improve and we’re going to build the business of Baltimore baseball back up over the next several years.

“We’re on the upswing. That’s what I mean when I say that. It’s a very exciting time for us. It’s been a long time coming and a lot of work getting to this point, but to be on the upward arc of where we’re at, regardless of what we do or don’t do this winter, I think is very enco

More likely something has changed? Thought you had resources you don’t have?
 

https://www.masnsports.com/blog/orioles-still-in-hunt-for-starters-after-giving-gibson-10-million-contract

[Bahama O's Fan]

Oh, so he meant liftoff in more of a hot air balloon way rather than a rocket kind of way.

[Can_of_corn]

If you want to retract the sentiment admit you used the wrong term, don't blame others for misunderstanding.

[tabletop]

He was probably told that when the team was ready to compete they'd spend. As we all know there are things going on behind the scenes with ownership that weren't going on when he was hired. My best guess is that he expected to be able to spend close to what Duquette was spending and now that he has finally been given his budget it's a lot lower.

[Going Underground]

3 minutes ago, Going Underground said:

According to the Baltimore Sun ,he meant  the Orioles finally have the players that have arrived and going to arrive that the Orioles will be competitive again. Still will be near the bottom in payroll again this year. The Sun thinks bottom five to as high as bottom eight . A''s,Reds and Marlins probably lower. Royals and Rockies and Nats ,might also be lower.

 

[dzorange]

Nothing changed. People just decided to not read his entire quote and only focused on the word liftoff. They bypassed the parts where he said the payroll would largely be increased through arbitration, that the Orioles won’t be going from 0-60, and that this is the beginning of a 10 year window that the team will compete in.

Maybe we should stop trying to decipher every little thing he says.

Edited December 6, 2022 by dzorange

[Bemorewins]

I hope this is all a smokescreen because the thing about Elias is that he will have options and eventually leave.

If the O’s plans are to not spend again… I ask WHY? Why sabotage your on potential success? 
 

I don’t get it. Are they in love with mediocrity? Does winning a World Series matter to the org as much as it should?

Please O’s don’t mess this up! Not this time. 

[tabletop]

2 minutes ago, dzorange said:

Nothing changed. People just decided to not read his entire quote and only focused on the word liftoff. They bypassed the parts where he said the payroll would largely be increased through arbitration, that the Orioles won’t be going from 0-60, and that this is the beginning of a 10 year window that the team will compete in.

It's pretty odd to me how people pick and choose what they want to believe from Elias. When he says something one agrees with he's telling the truth but when he says something one disagrees with it's just GM speak and isn't to be taken seriously.

[Can_of_corn]

3 minutes ago, Bemorewins said:

I hope this is all a smokescreen because the thing about Elias is that he will have options and eventually leave.

If the O’s plans are to not spend again… I ask WHY? Why sabotage your on potential success? 
 

I don’t get it. Are they in love with mediocrity? Does winning a World Series matter to the org as much as it should?

Please O’s don’t mess this up! Not this time. 

Wby?

It's more profitable to keep payroll very low.

Which team made more profit, the 2014 squad or the 2022 team?

Winning isn't the primary goal for a lot of owners and a spend more to win and earn more strategy is risky.

[Hank Scorpio]

Don’t care how you do it, just win.

 

[Frobby]

16 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

If you want to retract the sentiment admit you used the wrong term, don't blame others for misunderstanding.

Totally disagree with this take.  “Liftoff,” when he said it, had to do with the competitive position of the team.  It didn’t relate to spending.  He’s made other statements, even concurrently, that related directly to spending.  The people who misunderstood were hearing what they wanted to hear, not what he said.   

[Can_of_corn]

8 minutes ago, Frobby said:

Totally disagree with this take.  “Liftoff,” when he said it, had to do with the competitive position of the team.  It didn’t relate to spending.  He’s made other statements, even concurrently, that related directly to spending.  The people who misunderstood were hearing what they wanted to hear, not what he said.   

And I will again state that liftoff is a very strong term and when combined with his numerous prior comments about the money being there when the team became competitive certainly indicates that spending would be going up significantly.

He shouldn't have used the term.

[Bemorewins]

16 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

Wby?

It's more profitable to keep payroll very low.

Which team made more profit, the 2014 squad or the 2022 team?

Winning isn't the primary goal for a lot of owners and a spend more to win and earn more strategy is risky.

I’m not saying anything you are saying isn’t true. I may not be ready to accept it. The O’s are a billion+ organization. Why would a few more million matter to them?

You ask about 2014 and 2022. I don’t know which made more for the club, but I know which team was WAY BETTER! And to me that’s what should matter MOST.

If the O’s primary goal is not to win and put the best product on the big league field as possible (please don’t let this be true). Why should I as a suffering fan of this team care and more importantly spend my money going to games and buying merchandise? And maybe even more important to that, why should I invest the time in trying to get my kids interested in the O’s; if their goal is mediocrity?

I’m not a billionaire, not even a millionaire yet, my money and time matter to me. I’m in my 40’s now and have no memories of a World Series game in Baltimore. I was 3 when they won their last series. I would like to see at least one championship before I kick the bucket. Considering how much time, energy, interest, and money I’ve spent on this team that I love!

[Can_of_corn]

10 minutes ago, Bemorewins said:

I’m not saying anything you are saying isn’t true. I may not be ready to accept it. The O’s are a billion+ organization. Why would a few more million matter to them?

 

What if the ballclub is the main source of income for the owners?

[Sports Guy]

It’s incredibly obvious how this team is going to be built and how they will handle the payroll.  
 

Anyone thinking they are going to be handing out these huge, long term FA deals are just delusional.  It’s not happening for many reasons.