MacPhail's frugality is hurting this team

[OsandRavens787]

Wieters is a Boras client and we got that deal done, a record deal for the O's if I remember correctly... albeit at the 11th hour, literally.

[Pedro Cerrano]

Hi I'm JTrea.

My fire Dave Trembley stuff failed so now I'm back to the good old "AM is too cheap" mantra.

His approach is wrong, but you have no idea whether his suspicions are right or not.

[JTrea81]

Wieters is a Boras client and we got that deal done, a record deal for the O's if I remember correctly... albeit at the 11th hour, literally.

Wieters had to get done as the Orioles would be in the position that Washington is now if they don't sign Strasburg.

And Angelos and to start Duquette got the Wieters deal done, not MacPhail.

[El Gordo]

Where does all this cheap stuff come from? We didn't make a big enough WOW! :mwahaha: :rofl:

[Echoes]

Ever since Andy MacPhail took over, the Orioles have regressed back to the days pre-Duquette in terms of spending on the club in all aspects.

Yet the Orioles revenue has kept increasing as far as MASN profits and revenue sharing, even as the attendance has been decreasing. However articles have shown despite the decrease in attendance, the Orioles remain one of the leagues most profitable teams before revenue sharing and MASN profits are even taken into account.

Since MacPhail took over the payroll has dropped overall and while our scouting and development have increased as far as outreach and effort, the budget seems to be about the same, or even less in terms of the amateur draft than when Duquette and Flanagan were in charge.

This year the Orioles will spend the least amount on the draft since Joe Jordan's first in 2005 as it appears now. Last year the Orioles spent $7.3 million. This year, it is going to be $5 million or less IMO.

The Orioles have also avoided all Boras clients in these two drafts under MacPhail unlike the draft held in 2007, when Boras clients were specifically targeted.

I find it interesting MacPhail said the Orioles are willing to sign premium draft talent with large bonuses, yet Jordan doesn't take anybody that would sign for much above slot with his picks. It's kind of easy to say that when you don't have to do it. And don't tell me Jordan only liked cheap players. I find that really hard to believe.

In the international scouting arena, while the Orioles are kicking the tires on Sano, they aren't expected to be serious players for him or any other top Latin talent. MacPhail has said he'd rather see Stockstill search for needles in a haystack than to go out and buy a package of needles when it comes to scouting top Latin talent.

The question is if we aren't willing to spend on top FA talent, top draft talent, or top international amateur talent, what are we spending this money on? Where is the money going that MacPhail is saving and why is he saving it?

Orioles fans deserve the right to know!

Andy MacPhail is the best thing to happen to this team in a DECADE, you're a friggin' moron.

[Flip217]

JTrea, I (sort of) get where you're coming from, but I think you're making too many assumptions and leaping -- nay, soaring -- to conclusions.

I'm not going to try and change your mind, as I have no desire to engage in a Sisyphean task (is that the right myth I'm referencing there?). But I think you might gain some peace of mind, and maybe even lower blood pressure, if you learned to accept some things that you can't control, and to consider that sometimes you may not even have all the pertinent information available to you.

God bless you for your passion; God grant you some perspective....

[lovetoaster]

Andy MacPhail is the best thing to happen to this team in a DECADE, you're a friggin' moron.

While I do not agree with his post, this is probably a little too harsh.

[wildcard]

I think all that most O's fans want is for the executive leading the O's to build them into a contending team that has a chance to win the World Series. They really don't care how he does it.

If MacPhail can do that and make money at the same time then great.

What I have seen since MacPhail has arrived is he has added quality players to the system, gone rid of lesser talent and attitude problems. He has kept many player with talent that were in the system. He has made several trades to get young and add player with ability to the organization.

That's about all I can ask for to this point. Now he has to get this team to start winning about 60% of their games. If he is able to that and he can do it for a dollar 98, more power to him.

[SrMeowMeow]

This thread really frustrates me. I didn't read the seven pages because I know what it's going to be, but honestly, JTrea, this thread is a parody of yourself. Could you have picked a more sensational thread title? You've said this so many times, and gotten everyone's full opinion and more on the matter. There is literally no reason to start this thread other than a disturbing need for attention. There are so many things wrong with your OP. The bias is just seeping out of your pores and honestly it is offensive. You insult the intelligence of the board with threads like these. On the first page alone I've seen people carefully dissect your post line by line and make insightful, balanced comments. You use strawman arguments to deflect some and simply ignore the rest, because you have no response! Like this one:

Being frugal and smartly using limited resources are two different things. The Pirates are frugal. They only sign cheap players, don’t extend their own good players, don’t sign free agents, and trade their expensive players.

We have shown that we’ll re-sign our young veterans, pay for premium young talent (Wieters, Arrieta, Bundy etc.) and are getting into the international market.

All of this while opening an academy in the DR, and increasing scouting in Asia. I’m not really sure what your beef is.

Save money while you can, and spend it wisely. I’d like to see an example of the organization being frugal other than the Hobgood pick, which is debatably about the money issue.

No response at all. Instead you mix it up with posters you know from experience you can bait, which I guess now includes me as well. I should know better, but I just get infuriated with your constant distortions.

The most frustrating part of all this is that I feel like I'm being harsh. But you have received so much, and I mean so much, in the way of polite disagreement, informed debate, and well-meaning attempts to engage in debate with you, and you just trample all over these posters to get the attention/notoriety you want. You have reached the point where I finally think that you are flat-out bad for this board and a troll. Please stop it.

[Mackus]

I almost hope that Trembley makes some god-awful decision that clearly and single-handedly loses us the game tonight, like pinch hitting Alberto Castillo for Adam Jones with the bases loaded and tied in the 9th, just so that this embarrassment of a thread dies amid all the ones calling for his head.

Those would be easier to read than this pile of garbage.

[Crazysilver03]

And the 2008 draft was the only one under MacPhail and it was reduced from the high of 7.7 million that was paid out in 2007 under Duquette and Flanagan.

We paid $7.7M in 2007 because Wieters and Arrieta cost $5M and $1.1M each. Matusz was only $3M, IIRC, and Hobgood will probably be $2.5M. It is these outliers that are skewing your numbers. I bet if you go and look at the overall spending on the draft minus the first round of the 2007, 2008, and 2009 drafts, they would be close or even higher now.

[Crazysilver03]

Hobgood isn't the issue if Jordan had him truly as the BPA

It's not going after guys like Stassi, Bailey and Krol in the later rounds and paying them above slot money to sign. There's no way those guys weren't rated highly as they were all seen as early round picks.

Signability reigned supreme over this draft more than any in the past since Jordan took over.

You fail at comprehension.

This post was in response to being told that Strasburg, Ackley, and Hobgood were the #1, 2, and 3 players on the Orioles board. So, the Orioles would have taken a Boras client, so your claim that they were staying away from Boras is just stupid.

[McNulty]

JTrea81's insanity is hurting this message board...

I almost hope that Trembley makes some god-awful decision that clearly and single-handedly loses us the game tonight, like pinch hitting Alberto Castillo for Adam Jones with the bases loaded and tied in the 9th, just so that this embarrassment of a thread dies amid all the ones calling for his head.

Those would be easier to read than this pile of garbage.

Genius posts.

[BaltimoreFan]

I see no problem with the original post.

Not spending on Tex was fine, but where is that money now?

Not binging on one guy in Sano is fine, but where are the other Latin prospects?

Everyone jumps on JTrea regardless of the content of his post. The O's, according to most major publications, passed on the superior talent. He is reacting to that.

[Crazysilver03]

I see no problem with the original post.

Not spending on Tex was fine, but where is that money now?

Not binging on one guy in Sano is fine, but where are the other Latin prospects?

We wont know until July 2nd at the earliest because they cant be signed for another month.