Will you miss the "insider info" this offseason?

[Pedro Cerrano]

Yeah it was pretty obvious there was a ton of false info likely being purposely leaked to throw different outlets off. That's not the insiders' fault.

However, there were some good tidbits that the OH community got a scoop on before anybody else.

I will say it will likely be a little less exciting as we'll be looking at MLBTradeRumors and Roch's blog for the latest and greatest.

I will also say Roch will probably have a little easier offseason because there won't be as many rumors that he'll have to chase.

I do imagine however we'll be hearing the words "nothing is imminent" a ton.

Not everything that happens with this organization can be made into an Oliver Stone film.

[JTrea81]

Not everything that happens with this organization can be made into an Oliver Stone film.

Are you kidding? The CIA could recruit MacPhail to run their Black Ops when he's done with the O's IMO. All that was missing from the Bedard deal was the black choppers circling the Warehouse... :laughlol:

[Pedro Cerrano]

Are you kidding? The CIA could recruit MacPhail to run their Black Ops when he's done with the O's IMO. All that was missing from the Bedard deal was the black choppers circling the Warehouse... :laughlol:

True, I don't think the Orioles are the best at managing their affairs (and that may be an understatement) but I bet this sort of stuff happens with other big league organizations too...

[El Gordo]

Not everything that happens with this organization can be made into an Oliver Stone film.

Not every Oliver Stone film is about conspiracies. In fact I can only think of one.

[RevOlution]

I have to admit that I did look forward to the Belkast, BB and Sonny76 postings. Couldn't wait to open the thread to read "the breaking news".

I enjoyed thinking I was getting something hot off the press before the O's general public had knowledge.

I'll also admit though, that I was extremely disappointed when it didn't hold true, which was way more often than not.

It was kind of like riding a roller coaster....I'm going to miss the highs, but not the lows.

[ejf1025]

I just hope the lesson was learned across the board that "insider" information is just unreliable.

And not because the information was false or they are not connected, but simply because things become outdated so quickly.

There are too many principals involved...players, agents, GMs, owners, player families, other teams...offers and positions are constantly in flux.

EDIT: I will add, however, that while it was indeed annoying how seriously people took the information--and, in turn, how they took out their wrath on the "insiders" or the O's FO due to little more than online hearsay. The insiders also enjoyed quite a privileged and authoritative position here and, at times, revelled in it.

[threedaysrest]

Yes, I'll miss this insider information. Outside of those who run this site, cover the team, or know those with access to information the rest of us don't have, who knows how (in)accurate these posts were? And, things are so fluid inside all team offices, they can (and do) change like the shifting winds at the inner harbor. The insiders added a lot of excitement (and other things), and that'll be sorely missed. I think, too, that the insiders were unfairly pasted to the wall when their information didn't pan out--that's a situation that is not their fault at all.

[Peace21]

Where did they go?

[Flip217]

Where did they go?

Outside.

[LookinUp]

If people didn't pick and choose what they wanted to believe, the insiders wouldn't have been so maddening.

Every source in town, including one of the OH's own insiders, was saying that Tex wasn't coming here. One insider was hearing different, 80% of people decided to believe him and ignore the others, and then take it out on him when it wasn't true.

For me, I think the "informed speculation" is MUCH more entertaining than the types of uninformed guessing threads that are popping up around here these days.

One other thing that people should have but didn't understand was that no deal is final until it's final. Just because the "insiders" were hearing one thing and something else happens doesn't mean that what they were hearing in the first place was wrong. Things change, which is why announcements aren't made until something official happens.

[ShaneDawg85]

While it was fun reading the insider info, thinking about the possibilities, and seeing the board go apocalyptic, that was exactly the problem. This stuff brought out the worst in people, over stuff that was so stupid. One little phrase or tidbit comes out and people are ready to kill each other. We're better than that.

Roch is a good enough source. His columns will keep us updated.

[Dipper9]

While it was fun reading the insider info, thinking about the possibilities, and seeing the board go apocalyptic, that was exactly the problem. This stuff brought out the worst in people, over stuff that was so stupid. One little phrase or tidbit comes out and people are ready to kill each other. We're better than that.

Roch is a good enough source. His columns will keep us updated.

I agree with many of the thoughts in this thread and in this post. I fell into a trap last year of believing one person's source because I "wanted" badly to believe that source's info was correct. It wasn't the insider's fault. It wasn't the info that was bad. It was my own stupidity for believing something in my heart that my mind knew was impossible.

That said, I won't miss all the inside info that turns out to be false. I won't miss 100 page threads speculating on that false info. I won't miss not being able to log onto the Hangout because 1000 non-members are bogging down the site. (not that this occurs much anymore thanks to the OH staff!) I certainly won't miss the fights that always break out over the validity of the insider, their source, or their information. And I REALLY won't miss the "taking my ball and going home" stuff when some insiders get their feelings hurt that their source is questioned. All in all, I won't miss the insiders. (Though I DO wish they would post a little more on here as THEMSELVES and not as some informed "insider.")

All this said, did I miss the memo that said "No insider information allowed this year" or is it more of just a forgone conclusion that since MacPhail took over, our insiders are no longer insiders?

[Flip217]

I don't think I'll miss it, really, but I think that's because of the attitude I had towards it in the first place. I always figured there was a good chance that what the Insiders were hearing was only half-true, or even less, and that in the nature of things they were commenting on, situations could change rapidly.

I firmly believe they meant well and wanted to be the bearers of good tidings. I also think sometimes they needed thicker skin; they took a good deal of abuse, but they made themselves easy targets, too.

A rumor's just a rumor anyway and the Orioles don't benefit from a rumor. I think we'll make some more improvements to the team this offseason and I look forward to coming here to read official announcements of the changes.

[ejf1025]

I agree with many of the thoughts in this thread and in this post. I fell into a trap last year of believing one person's source because I "wanted" badly to believe that source's info was correct. It wasn't the insider's fault. It wasn't the info that was bad. It was my own stupidity for believing something in my heart that my mind knew was impossible.

That said, I won't miss all the inside info that turns out to be false. I won't miss 100 page threads speculating on that false info. I won't miss not being able to log onto the Hangout because 1000 non-members are bogging down the site. (not that this occurs much anymore thanks to the OH staff!) I certainly won't miss the fights that always break out over the validity of the insider, their source, or their information. And I REALLY won't miss the "taking my ball and going home" stuff when some insiders get their feelings hurt that their source is questioned. All in all, I won't miss the insiders. (Though I DO wish they would post a little more on here as THEMSELVES and not as some informed "insider.")

All this said, did I miss the memo that said "No insider information allowed this year" or is it more of just a forgone conclusion that since MacPhail took over, our insiders are no longer insiders?

Agree with most of this.

Particularly the fighting over it...while people certainly whined for no reason against the "insiders" a more than ample amount of people were right there ready to defend and scoff at anyone who questioned them...

As it turned out, the pessimist had reason to be pessimistic.

[Goop]

I'll miss it. It was nice to be able to get some different perspectives other than the normal outlets. And it was a good way to keep the offseason from getting stale.