The warning signs are there for the reading

[Tony-OH]

None of us wants to think the worse. Even after all these years of being a fan of an Angelos-family owned team, not one of us wants to think that the Orioles are not going to spend. 

Unfortunately, there are a few too many yellow flags and the Orioles losing out on Chris Bassitt on a 3-year contract to Division rival (Blue Jays) should make fans take heed of the warning signs.

We know that John Angelos is currently calling the shots, but we also know that he and his mother are being sued by his brother Louis.

We then add in Mike Elias talking back his comment about "taking off", and the fact he no longer is talking about the Orioles adding significant payroll. 

Now, do all of these add up to an absolute red flag that says the Orioles are not going to sign a significant starting pitcher to a multi-year contract, no, but the signs sure do start to point towards the same 'ol same 'ol for the Orioles when it comes to adding good free agent talent.

Now could they still be able to add significant payroll by trading for that starting pitcher, sure. Is the off season over, nope. 

But watching another Division rival get better while the Orioles treadwater in December is certainly more of the same and doesn't make me feel good at all as an Orioles fan.

[tabletop]

I think the final nail was when Elias said that a free agent pitcher on a long term deal tends to pitch better the first year of the deal. At least for me that’s when I realized that regardless of years or money they wouldn’t be in for any meaningful pitcher. When you start blatantly lying like that because you know nobody will fact check you and the few that do will be criticized for it is when you know you can do whatever you want and still control the narrative.

[vab]

They just need to get this team sold and get some solid ownership in here by the time the Rutchsmans and Hendersons are due to get paid. 

[Roll Tide]

We’ve become all to accustomed to dumpster diving. I basically said what you are saying when Elias “clarified” his statement. He seems like a pretty confident dude and hasn’t done any take backs before this. I suspect they are basically pocketing 10s of millions. And again playing us for fools. I wish they would just sell and get it over with. Not really concerned about Lou’s lawsuit since he basically sold the law firm to himself for basically nothing.

[WarehouseChatter]

It would lead me to believe that they are entertaining a sale and trying to get maximum value for the franchise.

[Can_of_corn]

2 minutes ago, WarehouseChatter said:

It would lead me to believe that they are entertaining a sale and trying to get maximum value for the franchise.

I'm never going to agree with this idea.

I've not seen any evidence that a stripped to bare bones franchise brings more than one with a normal payroll.

If anything a low payroll tells me they aren't selling and are instead pulling as much profit from the team as they can on a year by year basis.

If someone is paying a billion for a team I don't think an extra 30Million a year in payroll is going to be a deal breaker.

[RZNJ]

The first line. “None of us wants to think the worst”.  Tony, are you that out of touch with your members?

[oriole]

Elias has got to be looking for a way out at this point. He has built the organization into something special from almost nothing and once it’s time to make that step, there is no green light. I have a hard time being mad at how Elias is handling this. I feel like he may have been under the impression that he could make some moves but it feels pretty obvious that ownership has somehow nixed that. The type of language that Elias has used since the Winter Meetings sounds like damage control. I can’t imagine someone in his position doesn’t realize that now is literally the best time to spend. 
 

 Either that or he is an idiot and I don’t believe that for a second. It’ll be interesting to see what he does with the next club he works with, assuming they aren’t cheap liars like O’s ownership.

[Ripken]

Expect our awful ownership to do nothing.  It's just easier.  I never thought we'd spend.  I stopped trying to kick that football a long time ago.  Sell the team already and go the hell away.

Edited December 12, 2022 by Ripken

[Roll Tide]

 

[billhatf]

My 2 cents: No one named Angelos is paying any attention to the Orioles. John hired Elias and let him run the show. But Elias has to work within the limits of the budget given to him by finance. I think Elias believed that they would give him a budget closer to what a real MLB team would spend on players, and the budget came in way under that. So now he's back to dumpster diving mode. The young guys probably can drive the team toward the playoffs, Means may be back mid year, and they can trade for what they need at the deadline for players set to become free agents. Not advocating, just thinking out loud.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Es4M11]

20 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

I'm never going to agree with this idea.

I've not seen any evidence that a stripped to bare bones franchise brings more than one with a normal payroll.

If anything a low payroll tells me they aren't selling and are instead pulling as much profit from the team as they can on a year by year basis.

If someone is paying a billion for a team I don't think an extra 30Million a year in payroll is going to be a deal breaker.

Especially not when factoring in the scarcity of these opportunities.

[Frobby]

Just now, Roll Tide said:

 

The Blue Jays were at zero yesterday, so things can change quickly.  

[Roll Tide]

1 minute ago, Frobby said:

The Blue Jays were at zero yesterday, so things can change quickly.  

True but you know it’s bad when your behind the Rays

[Ripken]

5 minutes ago, Roll Tide said:

 

We can't spend with Tampa.  No way.  They're in a much bigger market with way more fans.