We Have The Right GM

[Mackus]

I've been reading this on here for years, and yet Jeter, Posada, and Rivera just keep on going. When those three are done, they will be able to go out and buy Mauer, Reyes, and the best closer on the market.

Yeah, those guys will eventually all decline. And the Yankees will have to eat some big time salaries, which they'll do without blinking, and then sign some new super talent, which they'll also do without blinking.

What they likely won't get, is the 6 years of cheap production from superstars like they got from Jeter, Mo, Pettitte, Williams, and Posada. I'm not so sure they need that sort of efficiency of spending, I think they have enough revenue to literally spend FA prices for every WAR they get an even eat the contracts of aging, declined stars on top of that.

The Yankees are always gonna be there. We've got to build to be able to beat them.

[TonySoprano]

I think everybody, including MacPhail, agrees with this.

Yea..People keep forgetting that the Rays had some good pitching in place before they started getting some of their guys up there.

We don't really have any established talent yet...I would say 2011 is our "DRays year"....But AM needs to acquire more talent in the mean time...real talent, not this mediocre stuff he is bringing in thus far this offseason.

MacPhail has never stated what year we can expect a winner, let alone a "DRays" year.

[Stotle]

The other fallacy is that they will always win 100+ games.

It may very well happen in 2010...Doesn't mean it is going to happen in 2011 and beyond.

We still need to get into that 93-98 win range.

I agree, but I'd say (and have said) the realistic goal for BAL should be to be a consistent 83-87 win team. In good times, you are in a position to make a trade or signing, or benefit from a particular collection of young talent, to project to low-90s. You should never again be in a position where things have fallen apart to the point where you are well below .500 (barring injuries, etc.).

Once BAL is at that level, there may be enough money in the area to sustain an increase in payroll -- I honestly have no idea. But 83-87 as a baseline is the level I think the team should be building to. That includes consistently having some young, unrefined talent on your team, as well as an occasional stop gap that does his "job" but isn't the best option. It's attainable and puts BAL in a position every year to "catch lightening in a bottle" while building for big push years.

Just my opinion, and I acknowledge I'm no expert on team building.

[Mackus]

MacPhail has never stated what year we can expect a winner, let alone a "DRays" year.

Of course not, but he obviously has a year in mind. He thinks wins matter this year more than in previous years. Maybe he thinks we put things together for 2012 more likely than 2011, but the time when we need to be a competitive, relevant team is rapidly approaching. If we're not there in 2011, I'll start being dubious of our ability to ever get there. Heck, if we're not at or near .500 this year I'll start being dubious of the rebuild. If we're not competitive in 2012, then I'll want MacPhail replaced with someone who can finish the rebuild.

[Frobby]

Unless Tampa builds a new stadium...They could see revenues go up then.

Is it realistic to think that could happen sometime soon? I haven't followed that issue at all. However, with the state of the economy, the fact that the existing stadium is not that old, and the general lack of local enthusiasm for the team, I have a hard time imagining the local populace being in a hurry to pay for a new stadium.

By the way, the Twins' attendance has been on a pretty steady rise over the last decade....1,782,000 in 2001 to 2,416,000 last year. They've been in the 2.2-2.3 mm range for the last 3 years before this one. A lot better than Tampa.

As to the O's, I have little doubt that if they were contenders for 2 straight years, attendance would approach 3 million in Year 2.

[El Gordo]

How would this team,this system,and front office look if we kept Beattiegan or Duq and Flanny as the GMs? I say this because I believe we would be still the laughing stock of MLB. If AM has changed anything its that. I have spoken to several people that are involved with the game and say the Os are serious and doing it right with AM. So if that's the case then why are his own team fans not happy with what he has done?

Simple. Paper plastic. He's too slow, deliberate and conservative. He's a bargan basement hunter. He looks like a milk toast. He's boring. He's never spent $100 mil+ on a P:puke: FA. He didn't make the WOW to Tex. He's purposely holding the O's to an 85 W team so that when he gets to be Commish he can use it as a reason to move towards parity. He is a tool od PA to keep the costs down so PA can pocket more $$$. All those good reasons and many more.:rolleyestf:

[Stotle]

Is it realistic to think that could happen sometime soon? I haven't followed that issue at all. However, with the state of the economy, the fact that the existing stadium is not that old, and the general lack of local enthusiasm for the team, I have a hard time imagining the local populace being in a hurry to pay for a new stadium.

By the way, the Twins' attendance has been on a pretty steady rise over the last decade....1,782,000 in 2001 to 2,416,000 last year. They've been in the 2.2-2.3 mm range for the last 3 years before this one. A lot better than Tampa.

As to the O's, I have little doubt that if they were contenders for 2 straight years, attendance would approach 3 million in Year 2.

Agree with this. The BAL fanbase is not an issue. If the Orioles win, people will come to the stadium and I would assume (but know no particulars) that advertising at the stadium and on MASN will balloon, rapidly.

[RShack]

Personally, I'm hoping Jeter has one more really good year left in him so that the Yankees will sign him to a new 4 year deal for, say, $90-100 mm next offseason, following which he can drop off the end of the earth.

No kidding. They can't dump him, since he's a True Yankee ™. At some point, they're likely to get stuck with him making too much money, not hitting as much, and doing what? DH'ing?

[JTrea81]

I agree, but I'd say (and have said) the realistic goal for BAL should be to be a consistent 83-87 win team. In good times, you are in a position to make a trade or signing, or benefit from a particular collection of young talent, to project to low-90s. You should never again be in a position where things have fallen apart to the point where you are well below .500 (barring injuries, etc.).

Once BAL is at that level, there may be enough money in the area to sustain an increase in payroll -- I honestly have no idea. But 83-87 as a baseline is the level I think the team should be building to. That includes consistently having some young, unrefined talent on your team, as well as an occasional stop gap that does his "job" but isn't the best option. It's attainable and puts BAL in a position every year to "catch lightening in a bottle" while building for big push years.

Just my opinion, and I acknowledge I'm no expert on team building.

You do realize low 90's isn't going to cut it any more until baseball does something about the spending of those two AL East giants. Boston and New York have raised the bar to a whole new level and will keep it up there indefinitely.

Basically what you are saying is you'd have no problem with missing the playoffs year after year as long as the Orioles were a winning team.

[Sports Guy]

You do realize low 90's isn't going to cut it any more until baseball does something about the spending of those two AL East giants. Boston and New York have raised the bar to a whole new level and will keep it up there indefinitely.

Basically what you are saying is you'd have no problem with missing the playoffs year after year as long as the Orioles were a winning team.

LOL...Boston and NY aren't doing anything more right now than they have been doing for the last several years.

[Satyr3206]

Since the Yankees and Red Sox have raised their WAR from 50 to 60 in less than 2 months I figure by spring training it will be 80 to 90. Might as well break out the white flag and give up. They are obviously going to win 130 games apiece.

[Frobby]

You do realize low 90's isn't going to cut it any more until baseball does something about the spending of those two AL East giants. Boston and New York have raised the bar to a whole new level and will keep it up there indefinitely.

Basically what you are saying is you'd have no problem with missing the playoffs year after year as long as the Orioles were a winning team.

You need to realize that if the O's were winning 92 games, chances are good that we'd be winning 5-10 more games against the Yankees and Red Sox than we have been winning the last couple of seasons, and that results in the Yankee/Red Sox win totals going down. I don't think there have even been three teams winning 92+ games in the same division since divisional play began.

[Great 2BA FL Gator]

Is it realistic to think that could happen sometime soon? I haven't followed that issue at all.

As far as the Rays getting a new stadium.. Recently, I haven't heard anything, but before the economy tanked there were plans to build one on Tampa Bay. I think sometime in the future they want to build a new stadium yes. The Trop stinks.

[Frobby]

I've been reading this on here for years, and yet Jeter, Posada, and Rivera just keep on going. When those three are done, they will be able to go out and buy Mauer, Reyes, and the best closer on the market.

No doubt the Yankees will go out and buy new, younger high-priced talent. Still, you have to realize that these guys are pretty rare. I wouldn't count on Reyes and any closer you'd care to name being as consistently productive as Jeter and Rivera have been. Posada has been defying gravity for a long time, I don't know how he has done it. My gut tells me the Yankees won't land Mauer. If they do, it will be an upgrade, and an expensive one.

[JTrea81]

You need to realize that if the O's were winning 92 games, chances are good that we'd be winning 5-10 more games against the Yankees and Red Sox than we have been winning the last couple of seasons, and that results in the Yankee/Red Sox win totals going down. I don't think there have even been three teams winning 92+ games in the same division since divisional play began.

We won't be winning more games against the Yankees and Red Sox until the whole organization loses that defeatist attitude toward those two teams.

From the owner to the GM to the players, there's a major inferiority complex against both of those two teams.

And we can start to end that by actually trying to challenge them and not back down when we are competing against them being it for talent or in actual games. We've got to be willing to play with the "big boys" if we want to win.