Wieters

[rolliefingers]

If he can't be signed you just draft more carefully... Draft Rowellesque talent instead of Wietersesque talent and getting draftees signed won't be a problem.

Or Townsendesque over Drew- or Weaveresque. Chris Smithesque instead of Kotchmanesque. The list goes on...

[Dipper9]

If we can't sign Wieters, we might just as well admit that we're never going to draft the best players. Just the players we can sign on the cheap. That's a crappy way to run a team (just ask the folks in Pittsburgh how they feel about their ownership/management - or Kansas City).

I'm still hoping for the best, but I need to make sure I take my manic depressive medication for the next few days, that's for sure.

Yeah, I am fully prepapred to be drunk on Jack tomorrow evening before the deadline! :002_ssleepy:

[Lucky Jim]

So draft players who aren't as good? Rowell maybe an amazing talent potential but you don't pass up on players because they are "unsignable."

I'm so tired of the excuses that this front office gives for everything. I just want to win at this point, and our best chance to win is by signing a guy who, in the words of Peter Gammons, "has the potential to be a once-in-a-decade player."

If we don't sign him, I am writing my Congressman to begin a collusion investigation within Major League Baseball, becaus that is what slotting is: collusion.

Good luck. I mean, what with baseball having an antitrust exemption and all. Given to them by Congress.

And I disagree - you do skip "unsignable" talent if they're unsignable because of their demands ($$$) and those demands make it infeasible to sign other talent. I.e., skip player A if it precludes signing player see and get B + C (if B+C > A).

[Dr. FLK]

Yeah, I am fully prepapred to be drunk on Jack tomorrow evening before the deadline! :002_ssleepy:

Why do you say it like that's a negative thing?

[Lucky Jim]

Why do you say it like that's a negative thing?

Yeah, something like that rarely requires "preparation" on my part.

[Jshkrauss]

I was ecstatic when we drafted him. If we don't sign him, I'm done as an Orioles fan. Simple as that.

[geschinger]

Didn't our guys talk to Boras? If they felt his asking price was over the top, they shouldn't have drafted him this year.

Boras demands for Weaver and Drew were for over $10m and they signed for about 40-50% of what they demanded. Don't you think they talked to Boras before hand and though $10m was over the top? That didn't stop them from taking a caluclated risk. Now w/the new compensation rules, there is even less to lose when taking a risk like that.

[Dr. FLK]

Boras demands for Weaver and Drew were for over $10m and they signed for about 40-50% of what they demanded. Don't you think they talked to Boras before hand and though $10m was over the top? That didn't stop them from taking a caluclated risk. Now w/the new compensation rules, there is even less to lose when taking a risk like that.

A power hitting, switch hitting catcher is a lot to lose. Sure, we'll get another pick next year to make up for it. But, catcher isn't an easy position to fill. And, all signs point to this guy being able to fill it for a long time...unfortunately, those signs are starting to point away from Charm City.

[BIG R]

i can't believe anybody is defending not signing Wieters. There is no excuse for not getting this done. Give him $15M if thats what it takes. That'd be better than not signing him.

I guess I don't get it, why do we care how much we pay for Weiters? This guy is an impact player by every scout's account. We have NO player in our system of the caliber player of Weiters. It is not my money we are spending. The Orioles have wasted so many millions of dollars on proven crappy players(ie. Gibbons, Payton, Baez, etc.) why wouldn't you spend it some cash to sign big time talents to aid the organization and build back towards respectability??? Signing Weiters also helps the Orioles gain a bit of credibility around baseball. Everyone was shocked the O's drafted Weiters. We saw it as a sign the O's were actually starting to get serious about WINNING! If they do not sign Weiters, at whatever cost, the O's will be dealt a severe blow in their efforts to become relevant again. Agents, scouts, gm's, players will all the same thing....."typical loser Orioles, they will never get it."

[Dr. FLK]

I guess I don't get it, why do we care how much we pay for Weiters? This guy is an impact player by every scout's account. We have NO player in our system of the caliber player of Weiters. It is not my money we are spending. The Orioles have wasted so many millions of dollars on proven crappy players(ie. Gibbons, Payton, Baez, etc.) why wouldn't you spend it some cash to sign big time talents to aid the organization and build back towards respectability??? Signing Weiters also helps the Orioles gain a bit of credibility around baseball. Everyone was shocked the O's drafted Weiters. We saw it as a sign the O's were actually starting to get serious about WINNING! If they do not sign Weiters, at whatever cost, the O's will be dealt a severe blow in their efforts to become relevant again. Agents, scouts, gm's, players will all the same thing....."typical loser Orioles, they will never get it."

And, we aren't talking about the difference between signing Scott Williamson and signing Danys Baez here. We are talking about a few million dollar increase in signing bonus. That's not a big deal, is it? I just don't get it.

[PoorMike]

I guess I don't get it, why do we care how much we pay for Weiters? This guy is an impact player by every scout's account. We have NO player in our system of the caliber player of Weiters. It is not my money we are spending. The Orioles have wasted so many millions of dollars on proven crappy players(ie. Gibbons, Payton, Baez, etc.) why wouldn't you spend it some cash to sign big time talents to aid the organization and build back towards respectability??? Signing Weiters also helps the Orioles gain a bit of credibility around baseball. Everyone was shocked the O's drafted Weiters. We saw it as a sign the O's were actually starting to get serious about WINNING! If they do not sign Weiters, at whatever cost, the O's will be dealt a severe blow in their efforts to become relevant again. Agents, scouts, gm's, players will all the same thing....."typical loser Orioles, they will never get it."

I agree.

Again, if your scouts tell you that this guy will be a major league player this time next year, than you should pay him like one. Slotting in baseball makes no sense because you you might draft a high school guy based on potential, then another team might draft a college guy who might play after a few ABs in the minors, then you might give another high school guy a little extra money in order to convince him not to play college football/basketball. Each situation is different and each team has different needs.

[geschinger]

A power hitting, switch hitting catcher is a lot to lose. Sure, we'll get another pick next year to make up for it. But, catcher isn't an easy position to fill. And, all signs point to this guy being able to fill it for a long time...unfortunately, those signs are starting to point away from Charm City.

Hopefully (if we sign him of course). But he could also be the next Eric Munson too. He is not a sure thing like is being implied. His career as a catcher could take a Brandon Snyder type wrong turn his first summer as an Oriole.

Like I've said, I want him signed - he is a great fit. But he isn't so great a prospect as to give him a blank check and give him whatever Boras wants.

[hoosiers]

These risks cut both ways.

If things don't work out with the Orioles, Boras can probably cross off doing business with us again for a long time. And if he can't get something done with us, it sends a signal to about five to ten similar teams who might want to do business with him.

By going back to school, Wieters will risk something too. He risks injury, possible performance decline, the possible delay of future free agency by a year and the possibility that some team could take him in next year's draft and offer below slot or he'd have to sit out another year.

These negotiations have other aspects in play - besides the Orioles-related issues of losing seasons, passing on a top talent, etc. At least we'd have a top pick in next year's draft as compensation. It's certainly leverage and it would be silly not to let Boras/Wieters know we are prepared to let it play out that way.

If Boras/Wieters are sitting at $9.5M in the Mark Tex neighborhood and not budging, IMO, Wieters might as well get a head start on heading back to campus.

[geschinger]

Correct me if I'm wrong. Both teams signed those players.

Yes, because both teams were willing to lose them. I stand by my belief even after the turn of events in Detroit that if we offer him more than Weaver/Drew got and said it's a take it or leave it offer at about 11:55 tommorrow night he'd be an Oriole.

[Dr. FLK]

Hopefully (if we sign him of course). But he could also be the next Eric Munson too. He is not a sure thing like is being implied. His career as a catcher could take a Brandon Snyder type wrong turn his first summer as an Oriole.

Like I've said, I want him signed - he is a great fit. But he isn't so great a prospect as to give him a blank check and give him whatever Boras wants.

But how much of a difference are we talking? A $4 mil increase in signing bonus? Honestly, that's barely more than a season of futility from Captain Popup. It's nice like we're offering someone a 4/30 contract and they counter with a 10/130. This difference seems like peanuts in the big picture.