Snyder - "I WANT to be the every day first baseman"

[TiredofLosing20]

Face Trea - if it were Justin Smoak you would never dream of sigining some retread stop-gap guy. We have nothing to lose by letting these guys play.

In Trea's defense. Smoak is considered a much better prospect than Snyder. I think he (and I) would consider Smoak more of a sure thing.

[tywright]

I suspected not signing Tex would have some ramifications that would be tough to swallow...

But, I have to admit, I didn't think it would be felt most painfully in the daily erosion of any decent OH baseball conversation.

90% of threads have basically become intolerable. It's tough...at least for me.

I agree...I've taken a break from the O's major league board since September

[SilentJames]

In Trea's defense. Smoak is considered a much better prospect than Snyder. I think he (and I) would consider Smoak more of a sure thing.

Even though Smoak has been S T R U G G L I N G in AAA. To the tune of a .244 average, a 723 OPS and only 4 HR in over 237 PA?

Right now, Snyder is out-performing that.

[Lucky Jim]

Even though Smoak has been S T R U G G L I N G in AAA. To the tune of a .244 average, a 723 OPS and only 4 HR in over 237 PA?

Right now, Snyder is out-performing that.

At AAA? Are you joking?

[JTrea81]

In Trea's defense. Smoak is considered a much better prospect than Snyder. I think he (and I) would consider Smoak more of a sure thing.

Smoak is also more of a prototypical 1B man. He'll hit for power as well as drive in runs.

And SJ I'm not advocating signing stopgaps. I want players like Adrian Gonzalez, Prince Fielder, and yes Mark Teixiera.

That is the type of talent that it will take to compete in the AL East, not a Billy Butler, unless you want to upgrade another position like LF with Matt Holliday.

[JTrea81]

Even though Smoak has been S T R U G G L I N G in AAA. To the tune of a .244 average, a 723 OPS and only 4 HR in over 237 PA?

Right now, Snyder is out-performing that.

Smoak was just named MVP of the World Cup Tournament when he smashed 9 HR and drove in 22.

Keep in mind the talent level Snyder is facing in the AFL. He crushed AA pitching in Bowie in that short stint and he's seeing a mixture of AAA to A ball pitching.

Smoak was better than Snyder in AAA this year that's for sure.

The jury is still out if Snyder can hit AAA pitching on a consistent basis.

[Lucky Jim]

Smoak is also more of a prototypical 1B man. He'll hit for power as well as drive in runs.

And SJ I'm not advocating signing stopgaps. I want players like Adrian Gonzalez, Prince Fielder, and yes Mark Teixiera.

That is the type of talent that it will take, not a Billy Butler, unless you want to upgrade another position like LF with Matt Holliday.

His value over Snyder is going to be built on his superior discipline/patience, his better glove, and a bit more power.

There are legitimate questions about Smoak's power. He hit 10 HRs in 380 ABs this year.

[Frobby]

Smoak was just named MVP of the World Cup Tournament when he smashed 9 HR and drove in 22.

Keep in mind the talent level Snyder is facing in the AFL. He crushed AA pitching in Bowie in that short stint and he's seeing a mixture of AAA to A ball pitching.

Smoak was better than Snyder in AAA this year that's for sure.

The jury is still out if Snyder can hit AAA pitching on a consistent basis.

Let's not get into the debate about Snyder vs. Smoak. Simple question - if we had Smoak, and he had done for us exactly what he has done for Texas's minor league teams so far, would you be advocating that we go get a 1B for next season?

[TiredofLosing20]

Even though Smoak has been S T R U G G L I N G in AAA. To the tune of a .244 average, a 723 OPS and only 4 HR in over 237 PA?

Right now, Snyder is out-performing that.

Actually I think Smoak outperfomed Snyder at AAA but regardless it seems like a small sample size. Smoak OPS = 723 Snyder = 671. Couple that with this being his 1st full year of pro ball and I would say he is still a better prospect.

[Big Mac]

I suspected not signing Tex would have some ramifications that would be tough to swallow...

But, I have to admit, I didn't think it would be felt most painfully in the daily erosion of any decent OH baseball conversation.

90% of threads have basically become intolerable. It's tough...at least for me.

Completely agree here, it's gotten out of hand. Every single thread is about the same thing, no matter the title. Thanks JT, and I realize that a lot of us are at fault for responding to his BS.

It's become pretty bad, I'm thinking about taking a break from posting for a while and hoping that it dies down.

[TiredofLosing20]

Let's not get into the debate about Snyder vs. Smoak. Simple question - if we had Smoak, and he had done for us exactly what he has done for Texas's minor league teams so far, would you be advocating that we go get a 1B for next season?

This wasn't directed at me but no I wouldn't. But then I don't think we should do that now with Snyder. I am comfortable going into 2010 with Aubrey, Hughes and Wiggington and then letting Snyder pull a Reimold.

And to add.. I had a mancrush on Smoak and thought we should have drafted him instead of Matusz. I have since redacted such foolishness lol.

[Enjoy Terror]

It's pretty amazing how many Smoak fans on the OH have sort of brushed that under carpet.

[JTrea81]

Let's not get into the debate about Snyder vs. Smoak. Simple question - if we had Smoak, and he had done for us exactly what he has done for Texas's minor league teams so far, would you be advocating that we go get a 1B for next season?

I'd want a stopgap yes, but I'm convinced Smoak is a LT solution that will be on the level of Teixeira, Gonzalez, Youkilis, Fielder etc. A 5.0+ WAR player.

I'm not convinced Snyder is, hence why we need to get a LT solution on the level of a Gonzalez or Fielder.

Bell might be a LT solution for 3B, but he's got to be able to hit LHP much better.

[TiredofLosing20]

It's pretty amazing how many Smoak fans on the OH have sort of brushed that under carpet.

I will own up to it. Tho I still don't think Smoak would have been a "wrong" choice, I do think the Orioles made the right choice. At that point I really thought they missed out on something but I was wrong.

[Big Mac]

I'd want a stopgap yes, but I'm convinced Smoak is a LT solution that will be on the level of Teixeira, Gonzalez, Youkilis, Fielder etc. A 5.0+ WAR player.

I'm not convinced Snyder is, hence why we need to get a LT solution on the level of a Gonzalez or Fielder.

Bell might be a LT solution for 3B, but he's got to be able to hit LHP much better.

So even after Smoak struggled this year in the minors, you think he will be a perrenial .900+ OPS player.

He has an .856 career Mil OPS and .452 SLG. Don't get me wrong, I think he's going to be a very good player, likely better than Snyder, IMO. However, it isn't likely he will be on the level of the players you mentioned and the gap between him and Snyder is much smaller than you think.