Roch Article-Wieters

[forest leech]

Really? I thought for sure the OH was ALL OVER the FO for not giving him that deal and waiting to see if he could close. Doesn't anybody remember this, or am I losing my mind????????

Why would the FO tell the media the specifics of a contract that they were THINKING about giving a player?

[Mackus]

As I recall, Ryan's agent was quoted as saying that's what they asked for, but were turned down.

So, who do you believe? The agent (who supposedly gave specific numbers)? Or Flanagan (who didn't give specific numbers)?

I've never heard anything like that regarding Ryan's agent. Do you know where that came from? Its certainly news to me.

[RayFink1e]

He is a potential impact position player. Its tough to get one of these in the draft.

I dont understand why we just dont pay the man now then have to pay crazy money for a Free Agent impact player. Look at the Brewers and Devel Rays. They are reeping the rewards for their drafts.

[NCRaven]

Carlton Fisk might argue with Varitek being called the best Red Sox catcher, ever. I might too.

[FarmSystem]

If he's not signed, I will consider their desire to win to be zero. At which point I will walk away from the team because they have broken the sacred trust of the fans, and in my mind, are no better than those who throw games. If they screw this golden opportunity to add a top notch prospect for less than they paid for Jay freakin' Payton, the fans should stop going to games until there is new ownership/management.

[Mackus]

As I recall, Ryan's agent was quoted as saying that's what they asked for, but were turned down.

So, who do you believe? The agent (who supposedly gave specific numbers)? Or Flanagan (who didn't give specific numbers)?

EDIT ADD:

I just found this:

I'll keep looking - not sure how reliable this is, and I want to find the actual newspaper account.

Flanny's words were something along the lines of (paraphrasing) "We discussed a contract offer with BJ but they never really got anywhere. I got the impression from him that he had his mind made up on making a run at a pot of gold." That "pot of gold" part is a direct quote, I remember that real well. I suppose he could have been leading us on, or perhaps even more likely though the offer they discussed was very fair when it was really a huge lowball, but I definitely believed him that signing BJ wouldn't have been possible for anything reasonable (3/$15M or so) prior to the '05 season.

Just to speak to Flanny's credibility from that evening, he did tell us the exact details of Mora's contract (which he said was a done deal and sitting on Mora's agent's desk for finalization) about a week before it became public.

[PlumOriole]

Bottom line..it would be a huge mistake for the O's not to sign him.

More fan base loss with this PR disaster.

Jordan would probably leave.

D & F would leave if they weren't already fired...not all bad

Another example of of lack of commitment to win - hurting FA perception

This is not the NFL. The O's can't right a blank check but they can't hardball them as much as the Ravens either.

[Mad Mark]

Just in case they don't get this deal done, I'm providing the following image for all of us...

scream!

[Dipper9]

Despite the job he's done in the FO, I still have a lot of respect for Flanagan, and was trying to be careful not to question his credibility. If (and this is a big IF) they offered 3/10, then maybe they didn't consider 3/15 to be reasonable. We'll never know for sure, so I try not to stress over it.

EDIT ADD:

Here's another reference to what is probably the same Baltimore Sun article.

Thank God. I was starting to think I was going crazy!

[utvolzac]

Not signing Wieters and Arrietta is unacceptable. Lets not forget we pissed way our 2nd & 3rd round picks on the bullpen.

Not signing Wieters and Arrietta gives us 1 freakin pick in the first 5 rounds. Cue Big Bird who assured me before the draft that we were willing to to spend more on our other picks to compensate for the loss of our 2nd & 3rd rounders.

Coming out of this season with No Wieters, No Arrietta and no 2nd & 3rd rounders would be a death blow to the Blow It Up crowd like myself who wish for a younger team with upside.

If I were Jordan I'd look for a new job since his talents are being wasted. And I'll be the first one with pitchfork in hand standing outside the Warehouse on Thursday.

[UMDTerrapins]

Absolutely not trying to make a point....just trying to refresh my memory. Did Jeffrey Hammonds fall to us in his draft because of signability issues (aka...expected money demands)?

Even if Weiters doesn't turn out to be the player everyone expects him to be, failing to sign him will be another slap in the face to Oriole fans. Boston pays $51 million just to negotiate with a guy, and we can't even sign our draft picks. And we only got one good pick this year due to our bullpen overhaul. Woops. Hell, our GM met with the pick's agent in person, prior to the draft. You don't think we knew what we were getting ourselves into by drafting him? What a joke. They have to get this done.

[Rex Thunder]

For what i have heard, this will be at the fault of MacPhail.

While I can't really argue that- it's tough to criticize him for standing tall against Scott Boras- who seems to think he owns the system. It's sad that due to Boras's own reputation of being hard to deal with- HIS client fell in the draft- and therefore really SHOULD lose him money. It's Boras fault- and he now will do whatever he can- as he alwasy does- to get the money he feels Wieters would have gotten in the number 1 slot- even though he wasn't selected there BECAUSE of his difficulty in dealing with.

The system really needs to change. I was a big fan of the show Arliss- but sports agents really ruin the game for me. It's their own greed, not that of the players- not to say that players dont want as much as they can get- but agents do get a take right?

For all the things Bill Bellicheck does that irk me sometimes- I respect how he stands firm and won't allow his team to be bullied in tough arm tactics and holdouts regarding contract restructuring.. it's the same principle.

Fact is- the Orioles are being strongarmed to pay a 6th round pick as if he were a once in a lifetime NUMBER ONE pick. It's not right- and I can't blame MacPhail, fully at least... and pardon this question- but was MacPhail even with the club during the draft? He had just started right?

Anyway- if the Orioles sign him to an inflated deal- Im sure just as many peopel on here will criticize them for that- saying they shouldnt have drafted him to begin with- and/or they just simply paid him too much for whatever reason is conventient at the time.

Fact is, the Orioles almost HAD to draft him- and hope for th ebest- but I don't want them selling their sould to Boras just because he's a dipwad and allowed his reputation to drop his client's draft stock. Boras should feel the loss, because it's his own cowardice and stubborness that is killing the FO, and backing them into a very disadvantageous corner.

We'll see what happens.. but I won't blame MacPhail if he doesn't get on his knees and cough for ths scumbag agent... or his client

[Rockbird]

As mentioned, its amazing they have no problem shelling out the bucks for mediocre has beens like Aubrey Huff or Jay Payton or Dany Baez who are "proven" in whatever regard and clearly on the downside, yet won't spend the same on a guy with the POTENTIAL talent to surpass them and certainly on the upside. This team is so short sighted. It's the place players wrapping up their careers come to get a nice bonus and a gold watch.

[Sports Guy]

While I can't really argue that- it's tough to criticize him for standing tall against Scott Boras- who seems to think he owns the system. It's sad that due to Boras's own reputation of being hard to deal with- HIS client fell in the draft- and therefore really SHOULD lose him money. It's Boras fault- and he now will do whatever he can- as he alwasy does- to get the money he feels Wieters would have gotten in the number 1 slot- even though he wasn't selected there BECAUSE of his difficulty in dealing with.

The system really needs to change. I was a big fan of the show Arliss- but sports agents really ruin the game for me. It's their own greed, not that of the players- not to say that players dont want as much as they can get- but agents do get a take right?

For all the things Bill Bellicheck does that irk me sometimes- I respect how he stands firm and won't allow his team to be bullied in tough arm tactics and holdouts regarding contract restructuring.. it's the same principle.

Fact is- the Orioles are being strongarmed to pay a 6th round pick as if he were a once in a lifetime NUMBER ONE pick. It's not right- and I can't blame MacPhail, fully at least... and pardon this question- but was MacPhail even with the club during the draft? He had just started right?

Anyway- if the Orioles sign him to an inflated deal- Im sure just as many peopel on here will criticize them for that- saying they shouldnt have drafted him to begin with- and/or they just simply paid him too much for whatever reason is conventient at the time.

Fact is, the Orioles almost HAD to draft him- and hope for th ebest- but I don't want them selling their sould to Boras just because he's a dipwad and allowed his reputation to drop his client's draft stock. Boras should feel the loss, because it's his own cowardice and stubborness that is killing the FO, and backing them into a very disadvantageous corner.

We'll see what happens.. but I won't blame MacPhail if he doesn't get on his knees and cough for ths scumbag agent... or his client

Of course you won't...The Orioles do no wrong in your eyes.

[Why Not?]

I think I saw that 12 first-round picks remained unsigned, including five of the top 10. I wonder how many first-rounders usually fail to sign (or signed right before the previous deadline)? It doesn't look like the Orioles are alone here.