Bergesen optioned to Triple A

[Sports Guy]

Thank god! The FO saw sense and wasn't blinded by a small sample size in ST!

Yet they signed Eaton after years of terrible sample sizes and Baez is still here.

[BaltimoreTerp]

So AM should ignore what he's been telling people about making players perform at AAA before they jump to the Majors...

Yes, if it isn't needed.

...ignore the benefits of an extra year of control at the end of a players contract...

Yes, because that wouldn't have been a reason before April of last season.

...ignore the face that he's got players he wants to keep who are out of options...

Eaton and Baez? Are you GD serious?

...and ignore the fact that even if Bergesen starts with the O's and pitches like Sandy Koufax, it won't help the O's get any closer to competing this season and just throw all those reasons out the window to get a few fans more excited?

Why not just keep him down to the end of the season?

Why not just keep him down next season if we don't look like we're ready to compete?

In order to compete, you generally need players who are good enough. And there's only one way to know if they are or not.

Yeah that's a recipe for a well run organization...

If it is being done intelligently and not blindly and lazily, yes it is. Just like any other legitimate plan.

[Fan4Life]

So AM should ignore what he's been telling people about making players perform at AAA before they jump to the Majors, ignore the benefits of an extra year of control at the end of a players contract, ignore the face that he's got players he wants to keep who are out of options and ignore the fact that even if Bergesen starts with the O's and pitches like Sandy Koufax, it won't help the O's get any closer to competing this season and just throw all those reasons out the window to get a few fans more excited?

Yeah that's a recipe for a well run organization...

Well gee, when you put it like that....

[BaltimoreTerp]

Thank god! The FO saw sense and wasn't blinded by a small sample size in ST!

Yet they signed Eaton after years of terrible sample sizes and Baez is still here.

SG has it right. Just so I don't have to repeat it.

[RShack]

If it is being done intelligently and not blindly and lazily, yes it is. Just like any other legitimate plan.

So, to summarize... if the O's brain trust disagrees with BTerp, they are stupid, blind and lazy.

That's certainly well thought out...

[SrMeowMeow]

I was kidding, relax.

I can't get worked up because I just don't care about this move.

Who likes...kittens!?

[Fan4Life]

This board amuses me at times. I would have hoped by this point that most of us get that AM and his crew see things clearly on stuff like this. They aren't stupid. They know the score. They just have their reasons for sending him down.

This is a lot like the Ramon situation last year where everyone thought that the team was just ignoring his laziness. Clearly, they knew what they were doing. They played it out whilst keeping their mouth shut and got three players for a guy that I wouldn't have on my team if someone else paid his salary.

Now, I'm not saying that AM is infallible, but this situation isn't that difficult to comprehend. I'd be very surprised if AM and crew honestly thought Eaton, Baez, etc... were better than Bergeson, Arrieta, etc... They just understand that the rotation in 2009 from April - June doesn't matter much and they've got a plan IMO.

The reactions on this board are nothing if not consistent. I'll give it that.

:clap3::clap3::clap3::clap3::clap3:

[BaltimoreTerp]

So, to summarize... if anyone disagrees with rshackelford, he will put words in their mouth.

Fixed that for you.

[bej6789]

By no stretch of the imagination do I agree with this move in any way, shape or form. That being said, I'm having a hard time freaking out about it. Let's face it, there isn't a soul on this board who doesn't think Eaton is going to be DFA'd within a month... or another injury (knock on wood) will occur. Bergesen will be up in a jiffy, so I'm not going to jump out of my socks over this. Although, I'm left wondering what this kid has to do given the current contenders for the rotation and what he's been doing lately. He's done everything right, exceeded expectations and still goes down. Pointless, but he'll be up in no time.

[OsFan462]

In Andy we trust.

Relax, he's got it under control.

[Sports Guy]

This board amuses me at times. I would have hoped by this point that most of us get that AM and his crew see things clearly on stuff like this. They aren't stupid. They know the score. They just have their reasons for sending him down.

This is a lot like the Ramon situation last year where everyone thought that the team was just ignoring his laziness. Clearly, they knew what they were doing. They played it out whilst keeping their mouth shut and got three players for a guy that I wouldn't have on my team if someone else paid his salary.

Now, I'm not saying that AM is infallible, but this situation isn't that difficult to comprehend. I'd be very surprised if AM and crew honestly thought Eaton, Baez, etc... were better than Bergeson, Arrieta, etc... They just understand that the rotation in 2009 from April - June doesn't matter much and they've got a plan IMO.

The reactions on this board are nothing if not consistent. I'll give it that.

There are some serious fools on this board if some of us seriously think that Baez, Hendrickson, and Eaton mean anything more to AM than short term filler. The team would cut ties with those guys in a moment if they thought there were young guys ready that they wanted in the majors.

A lot of this is true.

Still doesn't mean that going with the terrible vets is a smart or even good move.

You can spin it all you want but the bottom line is Eaton and Baez have no value and no place on a rebuilding team.

At least a guy like Pedro makes sense because he has some upside in terms of trade value and things like that.

These guys represent nothing for you.

[RShack]

Fixed that for you.

BTerp, you keep bringing up the issue of the O's being lazy. I'm not putting that word in your mouth. It's what you keep saying whenever they don't do whatever you want them to do.

[BaltimoreTerp]

BTerp, you keep bringing up the issue of the O's being lazy. I'm not putting that word in your mouth. It's what you keep saying whenever they don't do what you want them to do.

No it isn't. I'm arguing that the idea of having one philosophy covering everyone without taking other factors into account is lazy and poor thinking. There's evidence that it COULD be what the team is doing, but there's evidence that it could be otherwise as well.

If you aren't going to try and understand what I'm saying, then please don't respond to it.

[Leitch]

That being said, it is still a stupid decision and guys like Eaton and Baez have no business making this team.

So while it won't matter in the grand scheme of things, that doesn't make the decision any smarter.

Eh, the downside of losing 5, 10, or even 20 starts of Bergesen on the MLB club is what? A few ugly losses at the MLB level at the hands of Eaton or Baez or Simon?

Meanwhile there's a possibility, however remote, that Baez could be useful or turn into something useful. He did have a pretty decent run early in 2007. Maybe with improved defense and a little luck/health, Eaton could have a fluky-good first half and turn into another Scott Moore.

We leveraged Steve Trachsel's negative number K:BB ratio into something useful, after all.

[Sports Guy]

I get what you're saying, but I don't think they look at it like that. I think the current regime looks at it like they'll turn on the jets full force when they think they're ready, but prior to that time they just don't really care that much about the bodies in the "filler" spaces.

I'm not excited to see Eaton, Hendrickson, etc... either. I can't wait to see the youngsters. However, I'm going to trust that the talent evaluators will know when they're ready. That doesn't mean the rest of us need to wait patiently, though...

Just remember the LH discussions this time last year.