Bauer interested in O's

[Can_of_corn]

3 minutes ago, Malike said:

There was a 70-story billboard with him on it, he set viewership records and his merch was among the best-selling in NPB, he attracted more fans to a game than anyone in team history, and the fans hated him so much in Japan that they voted him to the All-Star game, despite him having a meh season.

The All-Star game was in July, the incident being referenced was from last January.

 

[oriolediehard]

There is one concern I have about Bauer, is that the needy pitching Dodgers released him, there is something to be said about that.

[Aristotelian]

2 hours ago, Can_of_corn said:

Serious question, why do you think Gunnar is "absolutely our leader" and not Adley?

That's just my feeling but if you wanted to say Gunnar and Adley I wouldn't object. The larger point I was trying to make is that I wouldn't be bringing in a humbled and transformed Bauer to be a leader, I would want him to fit in with the existing guys. 

[TopGunnar]

6 hours ago, Frobby said:

Just to review the Bauer situation:

1.  His accuser sought a restraining order and the Court denied it based on lack of evidence.  

2.  The prosecutors decided not to charge him based on insufficient evidence.  

3.  His accuser sued him civilly and dropped her complaint without him paying any damages.

So, at this point, there’s no reason to believe that Bauer engaged in illegal or even civilly actionable behavior.  

Now, does that mean that Bauer doesn’t have some weird sexual preferences that leave you shaking your head?  No, not necessarily.  But that alone wouldn’t keep him off my baseball team, if he would help the team on the field and be a decent teammate.   But as to that, I’ll let Elias be the judge.  


 

100%. If he isn’t rostered by somebody this year it should be because he isn’t getting guys out 

[Malike]

1 hour ago, Can_of_corn said:

The All-Star game was in July, the incident being referenced was from last January.

 

I understand. I'm just saying that he was wildly popular in Japan and they loved him while he was there. Even after he raged dropping F-bombs when his defense played like the Bad News Bears they were glad that someone finally called out the Baystars for being bad and sided with him. 

If one wants to say wherever the dude goes people don't like him, well, they had a funny way of showing it in 2023 when he was playing there.

Edited February 18 by Malike

[Malike]

1 hour ago, oriolediehard said:

There is one concern I have about Bauer, is that the needy pitching Dodgers released him, there is something to be said about that.

30 teams would sign Bauer in a NY minute, but we live in a cancel culture and nobody wants to be on the wrong end of that. I get it, though, it's a business after all.

[catjuggler]

5 hours ago, Since1984 said:

To be fair, there were previous errors in the game and he sets a high standard, but the guy is intense to the point that there are no take backs. So pass for me, without researching all the issues.

There was previous error, not errors.

 

[Roll Tide]

10 hours ago, Sanity Check said:

Because of allegations, clubhouse disruptor, lack of talent, or just because you don't like the guy?

I just don’t think it worth the possible impact on the clubhouse. I think there is a lot of positive vibe going right with the new ownership and why take on a player who might disrupt that?

[24fps]

9 hours ago, SemperFi said:

I think it's actually "the invisible hand of the consumer"-30% of the MLB workforce is female as is 40% of the casual fanbase-those the Orioles need to hit 2.5m.  I would wager that their opinion is vastly different than what you read here.  

 

Yes, and that opinion will be cemented in place from the first wave of negative publicity explaining why there is any controversy at all.  Few, if any, will make the effort to determine if the controversy is “fair” or “just”.

Moral questions aside, signing Bauer would be a questionable baseball decision - is he really able to succeed in the MLB any more?  There is no question that it would be a bad business decision because it’s virtually impossible to see a scenario where the upside justifies the risk. 

[Tony-OH]

On 2/17/2024 at 8:25 AM, DrungoHazewood said:

Sign him and then cut him when the inevitable media circus and his inability to not publicly say dumb things happens? Then why sign him at all.

Also, his real, actual MLB ERA, mostly from his 20s, is 3.79. I don't see any reasonable way to say "he probably is at least a 3.50 ERA pitcher". You know how many full seasons he's had with an ERA+ of 130 or better? One. In 2020 he had a great 73 innings. In 2018 he finished 6th in the Cy Young. In '21 he was really good for 107 innings. Besides that? Five years of mid-4.00s ERAs and 175-200 innings.

Fangraphs lists four different 2024 projections for Bauer, with ERAs between 3.93 and 4.63.

Last year he had a 114 ERA+ in a AAAA league.

It's a fair point to suggest that the juice is not worth the squeeze. Whether he'd become a "media circus" depends on how he acts. There are lots of redemption stories like Josh Hamilton who were able to successfully come back from rock bottom. 

Now, I don't know anything other than what I've read about Bauer. Personally, my major concern is that he doesn't seem to be a very good clubhouse guy and struggles to control his emotions on the field. 

But let's say Bauer interviews with Elias, and Elias thinks he can fit in? He's already said he's willing to take a major league minimum salary with incentives to pitch again. What if he's willing to relieve and could be a shutdown high leverage reliever?

Now I don't know the answers to any of these, and I'm just as ok if Elias passes as if he decided to roll the dice with him. I guess in this case, I'll trust Elias' judgement over anyone else's because he's closer to the situation and has more info on Bauer than we in the public get out of the media.

[Tony-OH]

17 hours ago, Malike said:

False allegations rarely happen? I can tell you that isn't true. I've been to more calls than I can ever remember over the past 22 years when a girl or guy even, makes something up because they were cheated on, or had an argument, or just wanted them out of the house.  

I will take the word of a police officer like you on this topic over any other, because you guys are the 1st responders to incidents where the emotions are running high, and lies and exaggerations tend to fly. 

At the end of the day, I have no idea whether the allegations are true or not against these guys. What I care about is whether Elias believes that A) They can help this ballclub win a world series B) They will fit into this clubhouse.

[Frobby]

14 hours ago, wildbillhiccup said:

It feels weird and almost too dismissive to label it as just a "weird sexual preference". When a man needs to physically assault a woman to "get off" I think it cuts much deeper, regardless of whether or not there was consent. 

Fine.  That may not be a “serious” enough label, but I couldn’t think of anything better and I don’t know all the details.   

[wildbillhiccup]

6 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

It's a fair point to suggest that the juice is not worth the squeeze. Whether he'd become a "media circus" depends on how he acts. There are lots of redemption stories like Josh Hamilton who were able to successfully come back from rock bottom. 

Now, I don't know anything other than what I've read about Bauer. Personally, my major concern is that he doesn't seem to be a very good clubhouse guy and struggles to control his emotions on the field. 

But let's say Bauer interviews with Elias, and Elias thinks he can fit in? He's already said he's willing to take a major league minimum salary with incentives to pitch again. What if he's willing to relieve and could be a shutdown high leverage reliever?

Now I don't know the answers to any of these, and I'm just as ok if Elias passes as if he decided to roll the dice with him. I guess in this case, I'll trust Elias' judgement over anyone else's because he's closer to the situation and has more info on Bauer than we in the public get out of the media.

I'm all for a comeback/redemption story, but comparing Bauer to Hamilton seems like apples to oranges. Hamilton showed a considerable amount of remorse and regret for his struggle with drugs and when he made his comeback he was the epitome of humility. I'm not even sure Trevor Bauer knows how to spell the word humility. Therein lies the problem. It has nothing to do with legal or illegal actions. It's that every indication (videos, vlogs, interviews, etc.) suggest that Trevor Bauer is the exact same person he was before his suspension. And even before the sexual assault allegations there were clubhouse issues. Upstaging a very well-respected manager by throwing the ball into the stands like a petulant child, the drone incident, Dodgers and Reds players growing tired his constant vlogging/camera use around the team, etc. I agree that it's ultimately Elias' decision to make, but bringing someone with that much baggage into a clubhouse and team that you've just spent the last six years rebuilding and molding into your vision of an annual contender seems like it would be a complete act of desperation. And even with last week's flurry of injury news I really don't think this is a team in desperation mode. 

[wildbillhiccup]

1 minute ago, Frobby said:

Fine.  That may not be a “serious” enough label, but I couldn’t think of anything better and I don’t know all the details.   

Fair enough and I wasn't trying to be overly critical (of you). 

[Frobby]

15 hours ago, baltfan said:

Did the MLB investigation resulting in the suspension have findings beyond those related to the accuser?

This is a good point.  I’d forgotten about the internal investigation.  It was never made public, so it’s hard to guess what the factual findings were and exactly what standards applied to his suspension.  What we do know is, MLB did not think they warranted a lifetime ban, and he’s eligible to play now.