Mixed feelings about the offseason thus far

[El Gordo]

My biggest gripe with the offseason is that we haven't substantially improved the talent base within the organization. Uehara/Izturis are solid signings that don't cost us anything in the draft. We solved a problem by trading Hernandez and got surprising talent in return. Otherwise, I'm mostly disappointed.

If you think of organizational talent as an investment portfolio, we didn't much to add new holdings, and we didn't rebalance our existing holdings in favor of stocks with higher potential returns.

I'm not in favor of change for the sake of change. And I don't know enough to pass fair judgement on moves that aren't made. To me, adding Dunn is such a no-brainer for this team when there is no compensation involved. But I'm not aware of his interest, and how strongly we have attempted to get him. I would trade Sherrill and/or Scott in a heartbeat if there was fair return in prospects. Not because I want them gone, but where they are in their careers and our long term needs for them. But if the offers just aren't good enough, as well as for Roberts, you don't deal them. And perhaps that's just the reality of this years market.

One remaining positive though, is that there are still so many free agents available at this point in the offseason. And so few trades have been made as well. It's the slowest developing offseason that I can ever remember. There will be major bargains on one and two year deals that are made just before spring training. We are well positioned to grab one or two.

I want all our draft picks, and I want to add more talent. Extending Markakis and what happens to Roberts are also obviously huge in grading the offseason. So, it's too early to call it a bust, but it also hasn't been a success.

I would be griping about this too, if I thought there were sufficient opportunities to do so. But I feel that Scott, Sherrill, and BRob have value to this team for the next 3-4 years and I wouldn't be willing to trade them for MiL filler. I don't see any deals out there for these guys that would gaurantee anything more than that. In today's economy what kind of investments would you be making, high risk high return, or low risk low but predictable return?

[Sports Guy]

Can the Orioles replace Brian Roberts? His OBP? His Speed? His ability to lead off and hit 40+ doubles a year, 100+ runs a year and play above average defense?

Can they have this single player ready to start in 2010? 11? 12?

The Orioles are once again playing hardball with a longtime Baltimore Oriole. Does the organization show any loyalty to a player, must they bicker over every nickel and demean every player through a hellish arbitration system?

This is when you start getting into bad contracts.

[RShack]

Yep...Look no further than Mora and Gibbons.

Mora's contract was OK. Not great, but OK, all things considered.

Gibbons' contact was dumb. Nobody is talking about doing something like that.

[33rdst]

Loyalty is not a good reason for retaining or extending a player. I've always thought that, generally, teams show as much loyalty to players as do players to teams.

But with regard to Mora, the Orioles have gotten as much as they could have hoped from an "aging' thirdbasmen. His numbers last year were among the best in the league even at age 36. Rc 102, WS 18 ops 826. The only problem with Mora's contract, it appears, was the no trade clause.

Mora's production at 36 speaks to his athleticism and the fact that he has kept himself in such good shape. It shows that statistics can provide broad based information but knowing the individual you're dealing with is most important.

This is why I'm not concerned about Robert's productivity declining. He has always taken care of his body and aside from the catastrophic injury in New York he has been healthy during his career. As a 31 year old he was among league leaders in RC 104 WS 21 and OPS 828. Extending him until age 35 would pose little risk IMO, especially given his attention to physical fitness.