How much leeway will we give Atkins?

[Mike B]

If by "we" you mean the Hangout, about 34 minutes.

Heck, Hank, 34 minutes is a long honeymoon with some hear. I really do not like drawing a date in blood , but I would say 250-300 AB's. I really think he is here for the year, which will irritqate some early on and spike about 40 Atkins needs to go threads, with the first starting April 15th.

Some of the experts were crushing Felix Pie, after 41 AB's and they disappeared rapidily as he started to produce. Now he is the people's choice.

JMO, but Atkins 2009 was real bad, but his 2007 and 2008 years were more than acceptable. I want to see the guy do well because he is an Oriole and many here are waiting to pounce.

Go Get em Garrett.

[Arthur_Bryant]

Heck, Hank, 34 minutes is a long honeymoon with some hear. I really do not like drawing a date in blood , but I would say 250-300 AB's. I really think he is here for the year, which will irritqate some early on and spike about 40 Atkins needs to go threads, with the first starting April 15th.

Some of the experts were crushing Felix Pie, after 41 AB's and they disappeared rapidily as he started to produce. Now he is the people's choice.

JMO, but Atkins 2009 was real bad, but his 2007 and 2008 years were more than acceptable. I want to see the guy do well because he is an Oriole and many here are waiting to pounce.

Go Get em Garrett.

This perception accounts for the difference between the Atkins optimists and those who are already down on him. Because most of the latter are not just down on him for 2009; they're also underwhelmed by his two seasons before that as well. And with good reason.

Atkins's OPS-Plus --OPS adjusted for park and league--for 07 and 08 was 113 and 96. This means that for 07 he was a small cut above average for all hitters, and for 08 he was actually a tick below average for all hitters. That might be "more than acceptable" for a slick-fielding middle infielder, but not for a guy with mediocre defense playing the most offense-oriented position in the game. At least it isn't for me, or for most others, I think. Because finding a 1Bman who can do that really isn't tough. In fact, the O's probably already had at least one guy on the 40-man roster who could play D and put up a an OPS+ of 96 (Aubrey).

There's a good chance that Atkins will improve enough to match his 08 production. But that alone won't quiet the criticism. Nor should it. Because that's an incredibly low standard for a guy who was a major FA target.

[Sports Guy]

BTW, i disagree with the Eaton/Atkins comp....Eaton never had a chance of being anything but a huge flop.

Atkins at least has some upside.

[byrdz]

Because that's an incredibly low standard for a guy who was a major FA target.

You think he was a major FA target? :scratchchinhmm:

[JTrea81]

You think he was a major FA target? :scratchchinhmm:

For the Orioles he was. They pursued him very aggressively, which is somewhat strange given the other options available...

[Orioles West]

There's a good chance that Atkins will improve enough to match his 08 production. But that alone won't quiet the criticism. Nor should it. Because that's an incredibly low standard for a guy who was a major FA target.

I think a "major FA target" is a player signed for a long term solution. I didn't see this beyond being a placeholder signing until one or more of our corner prospects are ready for MLB play.

It could be a fairly low risk, decent reward move, or simply the stopgap measure it seems to be. A midrange FA target at a midrange price and two years tops fits the description a bit better.

I've seen him during his better days, and if he gets anywhere near there, he will be a very key right handed bat helping a young team try to win.

I do agree with fans that wonder about trying to find more AB's at first for Scott, but I also see the hopeful reach for a RH bat.

-Don

[byrdz]

For the Orioles he was. They pursued him very aggressively, which is somewhat strange given the other options available...

Well in a environment like baseball free agency, where players regularly get 10's of millions, he's not a "major" FA. He's not even major by AM's standards when you look at the contracts he's dealt out. He's a stop gap and nothing more. I don't think AM or anyone else is expecting him to be the next Pujols.`

[DrungoHazewood]

For the Orioles he was. They pursued him very aggressively, which is somewhat strange given the other options available...

Well in a environment like baseball free agency, where players regularly get 10's of millions, he's not a "major" FA. He's not even major by AM's standards when you look at the contracts he's dealt out. He's a stop gap and nothing more. I don't think AM or anyone else is expecting him to be the next Pujols.`

Well, of course he's not a major signing. He's on a 1/4.5 deal. They gave more in years and money to Jay Payton and Danys Baez. They'll pay more for Nick Markakis or Brian Roberts by mid-June. He's a reclamation project on a short, relatively cheap deal.

A few years ago the O's signed JR House only a few days after the end of the World Series, on November 13th. I guess their aggressive pursuit of him meant that he was a huge free agent target slated to be a major piece of the future.

[Satyr3206]

I watched a little video of Atkins hitting yesterday, ( small sample ), and I can see a few flaws. Tends to uppercut, raises lead shoulder too much, Shoulders not at correct angle at impact. Think Pena light.

We'll see if he can correct these issues but they look pretty straightforward. I find it hard to believe someone loses the ability to hit at his age. I think he developed some bad habits he needs to change.

[NewMarketSean]

BTW, i disagree with the Eaton/Atkins comp....Eaton never had a chance of being anything but a huge flop.

Atkins at least has some upside.

They are both filler signings with little chance to work out.

I'd even be willing to say the Atkins signing has potential to be worse since there are internal options for 1B. Eaton filled an empty spot in the rotation when there weren't any other options.

[Sports Guy]

I think a "major FA target" is a player signed for a long term solution. I didn't see this beyond being a placeholder signing until one or more of our corner prospects are ready for MLB play.

It could be a fairly low risk, decent reward move, or simply the stopgap measure it seems to be. A midrange FA target at a midrange price and two years tops fits the description a bit better.

I've seen him during his better days, and if he gets anywhere near there, he will be a very key right handed bat helping a young team try to win.

I do agree with fans that wonder about trying to find more AB's at first for Scott, but I also see the hopeful reach for a RH bat.

-Don

Well in a environment like baseball free agency, where players regularly get 10's of millions, he's not a "major" FA. He's not even major by AM's standards when you look at the contracts he's dealt out. He's a stop gap and nothing more. I don't think AM or anyone else is expecting him to be the next Pujols.`

Well, of course he's not a major signing. He's on a 1/4.5 deal. They gave more in years and money to Jay Payton and Danys Baez. They'll pay more for Nick Markakis or Brian Roberts by mid-June. He's a reclamation project on a short, relatively cheap deal.

A few years ago the O's signed JR House only a few days after the end of the World Series, on November 13th. I guess their aggressive pursuit of him meant that he was a huge free agent target slated to be a major piece of the future.

He isn't a major FA but he was a major FA TARGET...There is a difference there.

The Orioles were more aggressive for him than most guys they have signed in the AM era.

Now, we can play the semantics game here with the word major but he was clearly their #1 choice and they jumped on him when he got non tendered.

[Orioles West]

He isn't a major FA but he was a major FA TARGET...There is a difference there.

The Orioles were more aggressive for him than most guys they have signed in the AM era.

Now, we can play the semantics game here with the word major but he was clearly their #1 choice and they jumped on him when he got non tendered.

But is a #1 stopgap choice "major"? That was my point. I don't think everyone in the O's front office was doing the happy dance when they got a player signed to temporarily fill space on a roster for a year or two.

And again, I am not suggesting the Birds didn't chase him down, it just seems to be overblown as a key cog in the wheel FA signing, when it was a low risk move to get some right handed offense.

-Don

[Sports Guy]

But is a #1 stopgap choice "major"? That was my point. I don't think everyone in the O's front office was doing the happy dance when they got a player signed to temporarily fill space on a roster for a year or two.

And again, I am not suggesting the Birds didn't chase him down, it just seems to be overblown as a key cog in the wheel FA signing, when it was a low risk move to get some right handed offense.

-Don

He was certainly a major target...in that he was made available and the orioles aggressively and immediately(for whatever poor reasoning) jumped on him.

So in a way, yes, he was a major target even if he wasn't a major FA.

Again, its a semantics thing but i don't think it is poor to say he was a major target.

[Sports Guy]

We really are playing with words here. It jumped out at me when I saw Atkins referred to as a major FA target. I disagreed with that terminology as well. So if the Orioles had been interested in Andino for a couple of years would you call him a major target? It's silly. Major & FA should not be combined in any sentence regarding Garrett Atkins.

Atkins was brought here to play everyday, at a power position and was brought here because the Orioles felt they could get him back where he was.

Andino was brought in as a back up UTI IFer and was dealt for a guy who had no options left and the deal was struck in about 20 minutes in a conversation that wasn't really planned.

The situations are very different.

But I still get your overall point.

[waroriole]

We really are playing with words here. It jumped out at me when I saw Atkins referred to as a major FA target. I disagreed with that terminology as well. So if the Orioles had been interested in Andino for a couple of years would you call him a major target? It's silly. Major & FA should not be combined in any sentence regarding Garrett Atkins.

Garett Atkins, a major league baseball player, was a free agent this offseason.