Anyone Have Any Idea Why AM Won't Add the Desperately Needed Big Bat?

[RShack]

To many including some very responsible posters, it has become an article of faith that the 2010 season should be, to some significant degree, sacrificed in the interest of information gathering.

IMO, that's kinda like saying people are suggesting that your backyard crop of April tomatoes should be sacrificed so you can a good crop in the summer. April tomatoes just aren't happening in Baltimore backyards, just like the things some folks wanted him to do (like signing expensive OF'ers and long-term SP's, who don't match up with the needs and who weren't coming here anyway) don't make sense for Baltimore either. AM is not Santa Claus, he's the GM...

[Three Run Homer]

This wasn't a great year to be looking for corner infielders, and we had no need to sign Matt Holliday or Jason Bay, the closest things to impact bats on the market.

Still, there were and are still options out there that would have been a meaningful upgrade to the offense--Troy Glaus, Carlos Delgado and Adam Laroche. There's still time to sign one of them, but it's not looking likely.

And if we don't sign anything more than (say) Atkins and Blalock, then that would have to qualify as a front-office failure, and fans would have every right to question the organization's commitment to winning games in 2010.

[Since66]

The young team we would be going to war with if we make no more moves could gel quicker than expected. If they mature a bit more as expected and we get a few breaks that all winning teams always seem to get in droves, we could tickle .500 this year. Forcing another piece into the puzzle will not speed up the results we all crave. The pieces that are available most certainly won't. In fact, depending on the contract, we could be sitting a piece away in 2011 with no money to aquire one.

[24fps]

IMO, that's kinda like saying people are suggesting that your backyard crop of April tomatoes should be sacrificed so you can a good crop in the summer. April tomatoes just aren't happening in Baltimore backyards, just like the things some folks wanted him to do (like signing expensive OF'ers and long-term SP's, who don't match up with the needs and who weren't coming here anyway) don't make sense for Baltimore either. AM is not Santa Claus, he's the GM...

Well if the conversation is now about spring tomatoes and Santa Claus, let me simply say that like Santa, GM Andy MacPhail also has the option to be proactive and we've all been good, patient little boys and girls. As far as tomatoes are concerned, that's easy. Oriole fans don't grow tomatoes in their backyards, everyone knows they grow them in foul territory.

[Mike B]

Are we banking on our younger players to get us over the hump? Until we win more games, top flight free agents will not come here. Signing Vlad or Delgado would be the same risk we took with Atkins. Keeping the status quo and buying stop gaps will not increase the wins in this division.

I think that is exactly what we are banking on. If our young guys do not come through, especially the pitchers, signing a Matt Holliday will do no more than increase our win total to 72 -74 wins. It has to be the young guys that put us over the hump. By the end of the season we should have a good idea on some of these guys, then we should be aggressive in bringing in top talent. JMO

[JTrea81]

I think that is exactly what we are banking on. If our young guys do not come through, especially the pitchers, signing a Matt Holliday will do no more than increase our win total to 72 -74 wins. It has to be the young guys that put us over the hump. By the end of the season we should have a good idea on some of these guys, then we should be aggressive in bringing in top talent. JMO

So haven't we gone "all in" with the young guys already? We've made the commitment to younger players so it's important to give them the support to succeed.

If they tank, we are pretty much toast anyway, so why not try to go for it now? It's not like things can get any worse...

[RShack]

Well if the conversation is now about spring tomatoes and Santa Claus, let me simply say that like Santa, GM Andy MacPhail also has the option to be proactive and we've all been good, patient little boys and girls. As far as tomatoes are concerned, that's easy. Oriole fans don't grow tomatoes in their backyards, everyone knows they grow them in foul territory.

OK, I concede... you got me fair and square ;-)

[Since66]

OK, I concede... you got me fair and square ;-)

Wouldn't that be '"foul" and square?

[RShack]

Wouldn't that be '"foul" and square?

Damn. Good catch!

[billwine76]

Did you watch Vlad play last year. The warm weather and rock hard field may help him next year but Vlad looked old and slow last year. I think AM is waiting to see who develops and where. I really was not a big fan of any of the so called big bats that were free agents this year. Would you have given 120 million plus to Holliday??

I think we will see a different approach if the pitching takes hold this year. If Matusz and Tillman develop into big league starters and we are not more active next year then I will join you in griping. Until we can pitch we will lose.

Your exactly right. If the pitching doesnt improve we are still gonna lose a ton of games, even if the big bat is added.

I think that has alot to do with why MacPhail will not trade the young arms away for the big bat at the moment. You gotta have good pitching to win, and we dont have that yet.

[Sanfran327]

I would imagine it's because he thinks he already has it. We can upgrade our offense just by getting capable offensive players at 1st, 3rd and SS. Scott can be a cleanup hitter if he can play more consistently. Jones, Reimold, Weiters, and Pie offer nice choices to bolster the offense as they should progress (Snyder and Bell will follow soon).

I wouldn't necessarily be in a rush to spend $100M on a bat unless it was "THE" bat, and we could get said player at a decent price.

[osfan83]

I took JTrea's questions to be rhetorical, not some indication of genuine misunderstanding. I agree with his premise that a big bat can just as easily be a building block as a final piece. If anything the recent news about Beltre's categorical refusal to consider the Orioles altogether lends even more weight to the notion that a large move or two should be made sooner in the interest of team credibility if nothing else. I don't agree with JTrea's assumption that a 'window' is a static thing. The competitive window for a successfully run team should be long in duration if not ongoing.

Here's another rhetorical question: will there ever come a time when the team's needs are, to use your words, exactly clear? I don't think such a thing is possible, and while risk/reward calculations are essential, it's just as essential to remember they take place in a dynamic environment not some static, linear one these wait-and-see philosophies seem to be rooted in.

To many including some very responsible posters, it has become an article of faith that the 2010 season should be, to some significant degree, sacrificed in the interest of information gathering. Perhaps they'll be proven right, but IMHO all articles of faith should be questioned vigorously and often and in that regard I welcome JTrea's point of view.

Well said. Mark my words, one year from today we will have as amny questions as we have now. More informatiion will always be needed.

[RShack]

Well said. Mark my words, one year from today we will have as many questions as we have now.

No way. We'll know more about lots of stuff...

More informatiion will always be needed.

True, but that's not the same thing... the point is that AM will have more clarity about key slots...

[jmmarvel]

Well said. Mark my words, one year from today we will have as amny questions as we have now. More informatiion will always be needed.

I disagree completely. 3 scenarios are possible:

1. Our current young players regress - this means its time to look at alternative options (inhouse or outhouse. hehe, outhouse).

2. Our current players show little to no gains - this also means it's time to explore alternative options. Moves that I was against this offseason, I'd be game for next offseason.

3. Our current players show big gains - few big moves need to be made.

We will always have some questions. Very few players have careers where they put up the same numbers year after year. So you have to go into every season w/ as much depth and ability at each position as possible. Players get hurt, players have junk years, and some players step up. That being said, our OF is stacked and the biggest names in the FA market this offseason were OFers and some good pitchers - which we may still make moves on. So it's hard to be too disappointed in our signings this offseason.

[Mike B]

So haven't we gone "all in" with the young guys already? We've made the commitment to younger players so it's important to give them the support to succeed.

If they tank, we are pretty much toast anyway, so why not try to go for it now? It's not like things can get any worse...

If they tank we are screwed but adding a Holliday would have minimal effect on how Matusz, Tillman, Britton, Arrietta perform. It is on them and guys like Reimold, MW etc. to get us to respectable. At that point we will Know more about the pitchers and maybe even Snyder and Bell and then if we do not spend to augment the team, I will join you in complaining. Until then, I will be patient a little longer.