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

[Mackus]

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.

That's a perfectly fine perspective. I preferred Smoak at the time as well. The only wrong opinion is the opinion that states that either Matusz or Smoak were the clear right choice there. Only a complete fool would try to argue that one of those guys was an obvious choice over the other. Either would have been fantastic picks, and fortunately we look like we got the slightly better of the two, at least in terms of immediate impact.

[Sports Guy]

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, you believe that unless we get a big bat at first, that we won't be able to contend?

[Pedro Cerrano]

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.

Nobody is convinced that Snyder WILL be the long-term solution. Most of us, however, are convinced that he CAN be and since 2010 is not a year where the Orioles have a realistic shot of winning the World Series, then there is no harm in seeing what the guy can do.

There have been plenty of players in the history of baseball who have exceeded expectations.

[Sports Guy]

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.

Smoak is excellent defensively as well..Could help get him to that 5 WAR.

I don't think Jtrea's opinion of him being a 5 WAR player is wrong.

What is absurd is that he has a double standard...He is saying he doesn't want someone that isn't established yet he will for his boy.

[JTrea81]

So, you believe that unless we get a big bat at first, that we won't be able to contend?

It will be harder IMO. I think we can live with Snyder if we were to upgrade elsewhere such as LF with Holliday and put a TOR like Lackey in the rotation.

[Pedro Cerrano]

So, you believe that unless we get a big bat at first, that we won't be able to contend?

You didn't ask me but I would have to agree that most championship-caliber teams have a big bat at 1B. I mean it's possible to be successful with a below-average bat at 1B but it's definitely something that needs to be addressed.

[JTrea81]

Smoak is excellent defensively as well..Could help get him to that 5 WAR.

I don't think Jtrea's opinion of him being a 5 WAR player is wrong.

What is absurd is that he has a double standard...He is saying he doesn't want someone that isn't established yet he will for his boy.

There's no point in getting a stopgap if you don't have a LT solution to replace that stopgap with IMO.

Since I don't view Snyder as a LT solution unless the previous conditions I've stated are met, I want us to go after a LT solution.

I think MacPhail is more likely to trade for Adrian Gonzalez or Prince Fielder than to sign Lackey and Holliday based on his MO.

[Sports Guy]

You didn't ask me but I would have to agree that most championship-caliber teams have a big bat at 1B. I mean it's possible to be successful with a below-average bat at 1B but it's definitely something that needs to be addressed.

Do most championship teams have well above average offense from second, C and CF?

[Sports Guy]

There's no point in getting a stopgap if you don't have a LT solution to replace that stopgap with IMO.

Since I don't view Snyder as a LT solution unless the previous conditions I've stated are met, I want us to go after a LT solution.

I think MacPhail is more likely to trade for Adrian Gonzalez or Prince Fielder than to sign Lackey and Holliday based on his MO.

Fine...Then start stating that as your opinion...Don't say it the way you have been.

You saying that you don't like Synder long term is fine...You saying that we have to have an established bat at first is wrong...There is a big difference in those statements.

[Big Mac]

You didn't ask me but I would have to agree that most championship-caliber teams have a big bat at 1B. I mean it's possible to be successful with a below-average bat at 1B but it's definitely something that needs to be addressed.

One of the comps I've used for Snyder is James Loney, although I think Snyder can hit for a tick more power. Seems to have worked out pretty well for the Dodgers.

[Satyr3206]

You didn't ask me but I would have to agree that most championship-caliber teams have a big bat at 1B. I mean it's possible to be successful with a below-average bat at 1B but it's definitely something that needs to be addressed.

I'm with SG on this. What Playoff team has above average production from Catcher, 2b, and CF? Please name them. The Orioles could easily take the chance on Snyder developing.

[Big Mac]

There's no point in getting a stopgap if you don't have a LT solution to replace that stopgap with IMO.

Since I don't view Snyder as a LT solution unless the previous conditions I've stated are met, I want us to go after a LT solution.

I think MacPhail is more likely to trade for Adrian Gonzalez or Prince Fielder than to sign Lackey and Holliday based on his MO.

It is complete against MacPhail's MO to trade multiple young, impact players, especially pitchers, for one high-priced veteran.

[Pedro Cerrano]

Do most championship teams have well above average defense from second, C and CF?

I suppose you would need to look back at all the recent championship teams. I am not as well versed in defensive prowess but I would imagine that it would be difficult to get well above average defense from all three of those positions.

[TiredofLosing20]

You didn't ask me but I would have to agree that most championship-caliber teams have a big bat at 1B. I mean it's possible to be successful with a below-average bat at 1B but it's definitely something that needs to be addressed.

I dont think anyone is arguing that we need to get better production from 1B than we have gotten, just some of us are willing to see if Snyder is that guy and also to willing to see what if we have better than average production from other positions to determine the best way to allocate resources for 1B. For example, if we are getting average to below average production from other positions then we may need to go after the "big bat". If we are getting better than average production out of say the cather and the CF then maybe we don't need to break the bank for 1B and can allocate those resources elsewhere. Either way, we need to figure out what we have and 2010 is going to go a long way to that end.

[Satyr3206]

There's no point in getting a stopgap if you don't have a LT solution to replace that stopgap with IMO.

Since I don't view Snyder as a LT solution unless the previous conditions I've stated are met, I want us to go after a LT solution.

I think MacPhail is more likely to trade for Adrian Gonzalez or Prince Fielder than to sign Lackey and Holliday based on his MO.

I would bet the farm against MacPhail doing either.