I'm telling you...Matsui.

[ejf1025]

That's going to be our "big" sign.

I believe he is only a Type B; also think I read he is really good friends with Koji. He is preferable at DH but could take on 1B and be used in the OF in a pinch. Plus, he is familiar with the AL East and he actually hit lefties better than righties.

[NewMarketSean]

I'd take him as a DH on a cheap 1-year deal...although I doubt he'll sign a one year deal on a last place team.

That also still leaves a hole at 1B. We pretty much already have Reimold as our DH in 2010.

[JTrea81]

I'd take him as a DH on a cheap 1-year deal...although I doubt he'll sign a one year deal on a last place team.

That also still leaves a hole at 1B. We pretty much already have Reimold as our DH in 2010.

Matusi has said he's open to playing 1B.

A 1 year deal with a vesting option could take us until after 2011 when the premium bats supposedly will hit the market.

[MikeAD]

If he is our big sign than we are more years further away from the basement than I though.

[ejf1025]

If he is our big sign than we are more years further away from the basement than I though.

Eh...sounds like you are a bit of a dreamer then.

2010 always struck me as too soon.

I would much rather have Matsui then some longterm commitment to overly-paid players like Figgins, Holliday and Lackey.

We could do a lot worse than 1-3 yr committment to a career .852 OPS coming off of a .275/.367/.509 season....

IMO, he's got a much better shot at living up to the contract he signs than almost anyone else.

[MikeAD]

Eh...sounds like you are a bit of a dreamer then.

2010 always struck me as too soon.

I would much rather have Matsui then some longterm commitment to overly-paid players like Figgins, Holliday and Lackey.

We could do a lot worse than 1-3 yr committment to a career .852 OPS coming off of a .275/.367/.509 season....

IMO, he's got a much better shot at living up to the contract he signs than almost anyone else.

I'm not saying anything about us going far in 2010, never have, in fact I've always said I didn't expect to do much in 2010. But if we sign a guy like this, even to a one year deal, it shows we are building for 4th place again and not building for the future. I'm not saying to go out and get long term deals, but if you're going to make it deal make it be for long term improvement, not short term nothingness.

[ejf1025]

And don't underestimate him only being a Type B....

***pretty sure this is true per Cots...hopefully will avoid some egg.

[ejf1025]

I'm not saying anything about us going far in 2010, never have, in fact I've always said I didn't expect to do much in 2010. But if we sign a guy like this, even to a one year deal, it shows we are building for 4th place again and not building for the future. I'm not saying to go out and get long term deals, but if you're going to make it deal make it be for long term improvement, not short term nothingness.

Wow.

I wholeheartedly disagree.

The plan should be to develop our own younger players, locking ourselves into foolish longterm deals is counter-intuitive (especially Type As).

Short-term nothingness can still win you more games, you can even still flip the contract.

How one concludes that signing Matsui means we are "not building for the future"--while looking Wieters, Matusz, Tillman, Jones, Reimold, Pie, Bergesen, Mickolio, Hernandez, Snyder, Bell, et al in the eye--is beyond me.

This team is CLEARLY building for the future (the question is whether people agree/disagree with what they are doing)....signing Matsui (or someone of his ilk) is also CLEARLY a means to improve the club without blocking or giving up young talent.

[Three Run Homer]

The lists I've seen show Matsui as a type B guy, not a type A. That makes a huge difference.

I'd rather have Delgado than any of the other free agent first basemen (by far), but if we can't get Delgado, Matsui is probably the next guy I would target, and we would have a reasonable shot at landing him because of Koji's presence on the team. He was a third baseman in Japan, so I don't see why he couldn't make a smooth transition to first.

If we're signing him, though, it had better be as a first baseman. Signing him to play DH makes no sense. We already have Luke Scott, who is younger and likely to be roughly as productive over a full season as Matsui.

Come to think of it, if Scott was willing and able to play 1B, there'd really be no point in going after any of the available free agent 1B options except for Delgado--nobody else on the free agent 1B market is a clear upgrade offensively over Luke Scott.

[ejf1025]

The lists I've seen show Matsui as a type B guy, not a type A. That makes a huge difference.

I'd rather have Delgado than any of the other free agent first basemen (by far), but if we can't get Delgado, Matsui is probably the next guy I would target, and we would have a reasonable shot at landing him because of Koji's presence on the team. He was a third baseman in Japan, so I don't see why he couldn't make a smooth transition to first.

If we're signing him, though, it had better be as a first baseman. Signing him to play DH makes no sense. We already have Luke Scott, who is younger and likely to be roughly as productive over a full season as Matsui.

Come to think of it, if Scott was willing and able to play 1B, there'd really be no point in going after any of the available free agent 1B options except for Delgado--nobody else on the free agent 1B market is a clear upgrade offensively over Luke Scott.

I have a feeling Luke Scott won't be an Oriole past this winter.

He's our most valuable/realistic trade piece.

[Moose Milligan]

Going from the Yankees to the Orioles would be like...going to Ruth Chris, eating half your steak and then going to McDonalds for a quarter pounder.

In other words, fat chance.

[MikeAD]

The lists I've seen show Matsui as a type B guy, not a type A. That makes a huge difference.

I'd rather have Delgado than any of the other free agent first basemen (by far), but if we can't get Delgado, Matsui is probably the next guy I would target, and we would have a reasonable shot at landing him because of Koji's presence on the team. He was a third baseman in Japan, so I don't see why he couldn't make a smooth transition to first.

If we're signing him, though, it had better be as a first baseman. Signing him to play DH makes no sense. We already have Luke Scott, who is younger and likely to be roughly as productive over a full season as Matsui.

Come to think of it, if Scott was willing and able to play 1B, there'd really be no point in going after any of the available free agent 1B options except for Delgado--nobody else on the free agent 1B market is a clear upgrade offensively over Luke Scott.

This is roughly my line of thinking on Matsui. If he comes as a 1B, then maybe its a good pick up. But in that scenario, he isn't the number one guy I target. If he is coming as a DH/part time RF then we have no room for him. He takes ABs away from an already too full set of Scott/Pie/Nolan. And I'm convinced that Scott, and possibly Reimold can play 1B. Which is why I say this move doesn't build for the future. The only time you take at bats away from your future core players is if it really puts you into contention, and this doesn't.

[Going Underground]

We are getting Milton Bradley not Matsui. Also getting Beltre and Kerry Wood. Harden as a starter.

[ejf1025]

Going from the Yankees to the Orioles would be like...going to Ruth Chris, eating half your steak and then going to McDonalds for a quarter pounder.

In other words, fat chance.

Money talks.

[ejf1025]

We are getting Milton Bradley not Matsui. Also getting Beltre and Kerry Wood. Harden as a starter.

Given the jettisoning of Bedard/Tejada/Mora (all "attitude" guys, supposedly)...plus Angelos' well-known concerns over health...

Do you really see us allowing Bradley/Wood/Harden anywhere near our roster?