The State of the Orioles Address

[Sports Guy]

Chili Davis says hello.

Really bad example.

He is another Aubrey Huff type guy...Those guys are available every year...Those middling guys who have the potential to have a big year but could also be average at best.

However, they aren't big bats and naming him is a horrible example of what is being talked about on here.

[RShack]

I think you can go back to MacPhail's tenure in Minnesota and Chicago and ask the same question TS did and get the same answer.

In MIN, circumstance thrust him into the job, and he was a kid-GM learning how to do it.

In CHI, he was minding the store for the mega-corp that owned it.

People learn, and their circumstances change. His situation now is different than it was then, and he's probably different too.

As best I can tell, he has returned to his roots and is emulating what happened here when he was a kid.

I see lots of evidence that that's true, and I see nothing that indicates it's not.

[Pickles]

Really bad example.

He is another Aubrey Huff type guy...Those guys are available every year...Those middling guys who have the potential to have a big year but could also be average at best.

However, they aren't big bats and naming him is a horrible example of what is being talked about on here.

He was the best hitter on a team that won a world series. He was a FA signing by Andy MacPhail. How is that a horrible example of talking about Andy MacPhail's history of bringing in FA bats?

[Sports Guy]

He was the best hitter on a team that won a world series. He was a FA signing by Andy MacPhail. How is that a horrible example of talking about Andy MacPhail's history of bringing in FA bats?

He wasn't a big bat...Not a premium, difference making player.

He had a monster year for the Twins but he wasn't anything special the previous several years before that.

He wasn't a major FA signing...He didn't get some big long term deal.

That is what people are talking about.

They aren't talking about the guys that sign for 1-3 years that are always available.

No one has any doubts the Orioles can spend 4-8 million a year for a middling FA bat.

[hoosiers]

AM did not succeed in Chicago. If he does business in Bmore largely as he did in Chicago, he will not succeed here. I would be shocked if he has not learned from his experience in Chicago.

AM knows what it takes to build a consistent winner - from investment in the draft, to international scouting, to trades, to working the waiver wire to scooping up upside guys like Pie and Hill.

Some posters are quick to put AM in a box and assume he will repeat past mistakes, but I expect those posters will be proven wrong soon enough.

[Pickles]

He wasn't a big bat...Not a premium, difference making player.

He was the best hitter on a team that won a world series. You don't think that makes a difference?

He had a monster year for the Twins but he wasn't anything special the previous several years before that.

The lowest ops+ he had in the three prior years was 114; the highest ops+ in Huff's three years before FA was 109. Chili Davis was a better hitter than Aubrey Huff.

He wasn't a major FA signing...He didn't get some big long term deal.

Jack Morris signed a one-year deal with the Twins that same off-season. The market place was different. So to act like C Davis wasn't a premium FA just because he didn't get 8/160 is ridiculous. Nobody got contracts like that back then, so it's a moot point that C Davis didn't.

That is what people are talking about.

I know what people are talking about, and, as always, most fail to realize what they're talking about.

They aren't talking about the guys that sign for 1-3 years that are always available.

Again, in today's market place C Davis would have gotten a much longer contract. This is really a ridiculous argument.

No one has any doubts the Orioles can spend 4-8 million a year for a middling FA bat.

C Davis was hardly middling. You don't know what you're talking about and you're making ridiculous apples to oarnges comparisons to justify your position. It's pathetic.

[Mike B]

1 - Inadequate is still not good

2 - Must be looking at moving some outfileders. Pie, Scott, Riemold, Freel = Logjam3 - Ughhh

You might be right if moving an outfielder brings back pitchers, but it is dangerous to make the assumption that you have enough depth. It is only a log jam until someone gets hurt or slumps.

[TonySoprano]

AM did not succeed in Chicago. If he does business in Bmore largely as he did in Chicago, he will not succeed here. I would be shocked if he has not learned from his experience in Chicago.

AM knows what it takes to build a consistent winner - from investment in the draft, to international scouting, to trades, to working the waiver wire to scooping up upside guys like Pie and Hill.

In other words, he knows what it takes after years of trial, and mostly error, in Chicago. I'm not as convinced.

Some posters are quick to put AM in a box and assume he will repeat past mistakes, but I expect those posters will be proven wrong soon enough.

We'll see. I'll watch his handiwork rotation this season.

[Pickles]

It amuses me that so many people are focused on how AM won't go find us bats during a season when we're projected to score the 2nd most runs in the majors AND we re-signed our two best hitters to premium contracts BEFORE they hit free agency. Didn't we do EXACTLY what most of you have been clamoring about when we signed Roberts for 4 years & Markakis for 6 years? This "buys" 7 free agency years for those bats.

What exactly are you guys complaining about? The fact that we did what AM said we were going to do or the fact that we're projected to be an excellent offensive team this year?

We basically have 2 positions to potentially fill next year out of 9 hitters (including the DH). That is 1B and 3B. In those other 7 positions, not a single one of the players is over the hill or even declining. Heck, a couple of them are blossoming stars that aren't even arb eligible yet. Do you realize how many freaking teams would love to be in that position?

But Andy MacPhail didn't throw 200 million dollars at Tex so he clearly isn't a good GM.

I'm still waiting for SG to try to refute the fact that AM has in fact signed a premium FA bat, which directly led to a WS title for Minnesota.

[Sports Guy]

But Andy MacPhail didn't throw 200 million dollars at Tex so he clearly isn't a good GM.

I'm still waiting for SG to try to refute the fact that AM has in fact signed a premium FA bat, which directly led to a WS title for Minnesota.

When Davis was signed, he wasn't a premium bat..He had a sub 800 OPS for like 6 years in a row.

The fact that he had a monster year in Minnesota doesn't take away from the FACT that when he was signed, he wasn't a premium bat.

People are talking about AM's inability to sign a premium bat at the time that player was signed...Chili Davis doesn't fit that criteria...The idea that this continues to fly over your head is amazing yet not surprising.

[Pickles]

When Davis was signed, he wasn't a premium bat..He had a sub 800 OPS for like 6 years in a row.

The fact that he had a monster year in Minnesota doesn't take away from the FACT that when he was signed, he wasn't a premium bat.

People are talking about AM's inability to sign a premium bat at the time that player was signed...Chili Davis doesn't fit that criteria...The idea that this continues to fly over your head is amazing yet not surprising.

So an ops number compiled in Anaheim in the late 1980s is the best way to judge a hitter? Don't you think ops+ is a better stat?

You know better than that but you're just grasping at any straw that floats past to try to justify you position. Just admit it: You're wrong. It's not that hard to do.

[Frobby]

So SG, are you unhappy with how AM has done overall?

I'm sure not unhappy. He took over a disaster and has us clearly pointed in the right direction. Might there be some GM out there who could have done it even better? Maybe, but I'm quite satisfied with his progress.

When the team's ready to be a contender, we'll see if he's ready to buy a big bat to put us over the top. Tex was an unusual opportunity but I can't say MacPhail played that one wrong. It only made sense to go so far for a departure from the general plan.

Meanwhile, we should have one of the best offensive teams in baseball this year, so why so much talk about bats? Our bats will be very good IMO.

[Sports Guy]

So an ops number compiled in Anaheim in the late 1980s is the best way to judge a hitter? Don't you think ops+ is a better stat?

You know better than that but you're just grasping at any straw that floats past to try to justify you position. Just admit it: You're wrong. It's not that hard to do.

LOL...There is no way Chili Davis was considered a premium bat when AM signed him.

I bet you won't find one person on this site to agree with you.

[Sports Guy]

So SG, are you unhappy with how AM has done overall?

I'm sure not unhappy. He took over a disaster and has us clearly pointed in the right direction. Might there be some GM out there who could have done it even better? Maybe, but I'm quite satisfied with his progress.

When the team's ready to be a contender, we'll see if he's ready to buy a big bat to put us over the top. Tex was an unusual opportunity but I can't say MacPhail played that one wrong. It only made sense to go so far for a departure from the general plan.

Meanwhile, we should have one of the best offensive teams in baseball this year, so why so much talk about bats? Our bats will be very good IMO.

I am just talking about the bats because some others brought it up.

I think AM is doing fine and has us on the track that I think we should be on...as of right now.

[Sports Guy]

Pickles...Heading into the 2007 season, would you have considered Aubrey Huff a premium bat?