Houston Making Significant Offer for Tejada

[Sports Guy]

So says the guy who was screaming for Nelson and dissing Drew on draft day.

BTW, I agree with coughing up the extra coin for the top draft prospects, and there is currently an excellent "AskBA" on Baseball America's web-site that talks about paying the extra coin to top players who slip v. over-drafting players with pre-draft deals. The recent history appears to suggest that paying the super-prospects on draft day is a better play.

I didn't diss Drew...I just felt he would be a very tough sign.

If we had a good owner and FO who would deal with Boras, i would have been screaming for them to sign him.

However, knowing that that isn't the case, i asn't as high on Drew because i never felt we would sign him(same with Weaver)

[twoBshorty]

Unrelated question: How long is this offer on the table? I mean, the trading deadline is in 1 week and 43 minutes, so Houston probably needs to know about this, as I would assume some of these prospects are trade bait for other scenarios as well. Might we get bit in the butt again by waiting around too long? Or maybe that's what we're trying to do.

[YardBirds13]

Unrelated question: How long is this offer on the table? I mean, the trading deadline is in 1 week and 43 minutes, so Houston probably needs to know about this, as I would assume some of these prospects are trade bait for other scenarios as well. Might we get bit in the butt again by waiting around too long? Or maybe that's what we're trying to do.

That's our specialty, apprently.

However, I think holding out at least until Friday or Saturday can't hurt. To me, it's more important that we trade the Lopez'es, Hawkins, Conine even Benson than Tejada. If this deal gets a little sweeter, or the Angels come flying in with a deal we can't turn down, then we go for it. If not, so be it, we keep Miguel around.

I'm convinced we can compete next year with or without Tejada, depending on the other moves that are made.

BTW, we may be able to eliminate one team from the Tejada sweepstakes, as apprently the White Sox are "extremely close" to getting Soriano, per ESPN and Kurkjian. This has to make the Angels really interested in Tejada, one would think.

[DrungoHazewood]

No doubt about it...I know i would rather get a Drew or Weaver instead of getting the Conine's of the world(or several other guys we have signed). Use the money on talent.

Unfortunately there's a strong sentiment that you shouldn't pay guys who've never "proven" anything in pro ball. The Giants are notorious for signing crap players like Michael Tucker specifically so they'll lose their first-round pick and won't have to pay for them.

What folks don't think about is that the players actually have some leverage here. Not as much as if there wasn't a draft, but high schoolers can go to college, and most college players can go back to school if they don't like the offers they're getting. And they'd do well to get as much money as they can, since the next time they'll have any leverage at all is when they hit free agency (if they're among the small minority who make it that long) nearly a decade in the future.

[geschinger]

What folks don't think about is that the players actually have some leverage here. Not as much as if there wasn't a draft, but high schoolers can go to college, and most college players can go back to school if they don't like the offers they're getting. And they'd do well to get as much money as they can, since the next time they'll have any leverage at all is when they hit free agency (if they're among the small minority who make it that long) nearly a decade in the future.

Within reason I'd agree. But for every Drew and Weaver who get the big bucks by using their leverage to the tilt there are guys like Harrington whose financial future is absolutely destroyed because they unwisely believed they had more leverage than they did.

[davearm]

No doubt about it...I know i would rather get a Drew or Weaver instead of getting the Conine's of the world(or several other guys we have signed). Use the money on talent.

One thing that needs to be asked here is, did Team A pass on Player X because they were worried about whether or not they would be able to sign him, or did they pass on Player X because they knew precisely what it would take, but didn't feel he was worth it.

The latter is totally understandable/defensible; the former is simply ineptitude.

[birdtown]

Back to the Astros, they have a few prospects who are on the hot list:

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/hotsheet/261998.html

[Sports Guy]

Back to the Astros, they have a few prospects who are on the hot list:

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/hotsheet/261998.html

And those are 2 of the guys we need to get.

[Sports Guy]

Let's trade Tejada and Javy for Ausmus, Patton, Hirsh, Pence and Estrada.

Then, deal Gibbons, JJ Johnson and Hawkins for Aybar, Kotchman and Donnelly or if Gibbons is too much of a question mark, try and get Aybar for a pitching prospect and then get Shealy for Hawkins and Birkins.

[erb8472]

One thing I'm suprised hasn't been mentioned is that by adding some good young pitching talent in a trade for Tejada we build further on our depth of talented young pitching prospects.

That will only make it easier to trade one for a young bat in the off season or even at the deadline.

[Boca Bird]

Give it up.

11 teams passed on Jared Weaver due to signability issues. He was the concensus best college arm in the draft. Easy top 5 pick if all else were equal.

14 teams passed on Stephen Drew due to similar signability issues. Easily the best college hitter that year.

You don't just give money out like it's yesterdays newspaper. Some draftees are difficult negotiations and considering other talent, it IS smart to go the route of least resistance.

Townsend was a mess. Drew or Weaver would have been similar messes. To say the should have drafted _________ is pure Monday morning quarterbacking.

You give it up. I don't care if 29 other teams passed on him, since I'm an Orioles fan. I care what the Orioles do, this another instant of Angelos meddling and cheapness that cost us good players. Sorry, if you can't see that for what it is.

"You don't give out money like yesterday's newspaper" (whatever that means?) but you have to spend it somewhere. If not on free agents, than from building through the draft on your dradt picks.

Debating who we should've drafted is one of the joys of baseball. What shoulda been is the cornerstone of baseball discussion. That's why your football analogy "monday morning quarterbacking" is irrelvant to a baseball discussion. They don't call it monday morning managing for a reason. "What if" is what baseball is all about

[hoosiers]

You give it up. I don't care if 29 other teams passed on him, since I'm an Orioles fan. I care what the Orioles do, this another instant of Angelos meddling and cheapness that cost us good players. Sorry, if you can't see that for what it is.

"You don't give out money like yesterday's newspaper" (whatever that means?) but you have to spend it somewhere. If not on free agents, than from building through the draft on your dradt picks.

Debating who we should've drafted is one of the joys of baseball. What shoulda been is the cornerstone of baseball discussion. That's why your football analogy "monday morning quarterbacking" is irrelvant to a baseball discussion. They don't call it monday morning managing for a reason. "What if" is what baseball is all about

When you throw out the context of what happened on Draft Day 04, you are distorting the situation. It is not appropriate to act like the Orioles operate in a vacuum. Besides, you may have valid criticisms regarding Angelos' interference, but the fact of the matter is that our FO was prepared to draft Nelson - which makes your point irrelevant since in this instance, the meddling owner saved $ and has a better prospect (Olson) than Nelson.

[Boca Bird]

When you throw out the context of what happened on Draft Day 04, you are distorting the situation. It is not appropriate to act like the Orioles operate in a vacuum. Besides, you may have valid criticisms regarding Angelos' interference, but the fact of the matter is that our FO was prepared to draft Nelson - which makes your point irrelevant since in this instance, the meddling owner saved $ and has a better prospect (Olson) than Nelson.

I'm not "throwing out what happened on draft day" nor am I saying that the Orioles operate in a vacuum. I'm saying what I said. I don't know why other teams passed on Drew or Weaver. I highly doubt that the TIgers regret taking Justin Verlander. Anyone with a shred of intelligence knows that the real reason the O's didn't sign these guys was because of Angelos' childish feud with Scott Boras; a dumb reason not to accumulate talent and yet another impediment to Orioles success.

In the first round of the draft that I'm speaking of the Orioles drafted Wade Townshend, whom they did not sign, even though ironically he was supposedly more signable

Why are you talking about Olson ? I'm talking about the 1st round of the 2004 draft. Are you talking about the right year? If you're going to call my point "irrelevant" please have the courtesy to make sure you are discussing the right year when doing so.

[geschinger]

I'm not "throwing out what happened on draft day" nor am I saying that the Orioles operate in a vacuum. I'm saying what I said. I don't know why other teams passed on Drew or Weaver. I highly doubt that the TIgers regret taking Justin Verlander. Anyone with a shred of intelligence knows that the real reason the O's didn't sign these guys was because of Angelos' childish feud with Scott Boras; a dumb reason not to accumulate talent and yet another impediment to Orioles success.

In the first round of the draft that I'm speaking of the Orioles drafted Wade Townshend, whom they did not sign, even though ironically he was supposedly more signable

Why are you talking about Olson ? I'm talking about the 1st round of the 2004 draft. Are you talking about the right year? If you're going to call my point "irrelevant" please have the courtesy to make sure you are discussing the right year when doing so.

I'm not sure why he wouldn't bring up Olson. Olson = what we got for our 1st round pick in the 2004 draft. If we didn't fail to sign Townsend we wouldn't have had the pick which became Olson.

[section18]

Every deal rumored with the Angels had Santana coming to us with two or three top prospects. The Sox and Tigers rumored deals involve one starter plus 2 other players. Why are we not asking for a proven starter from Houston. I check stats for all of these players rumored and nobody matches up as well as the Angels and the Sox. Please check stats before suggesting deals. The Orioles aren't stupid. Why would they trade an all star player for prospects that don't have major league stats to show us they can produce on the major league level. Look at Lastings Milledge with the Mets. What is so great about this guy? Super minor leaguer with the following numbers with the Mets.......batting .233, 2B -3, HR - 3, RBI - 12, .287 OBP, .154 batting vs. lefthanders, 4 walks and 23 strikeouts in 24 games. Has anybody seen these stats. Why is he untouchable?

Those of you with rumored warehouse connections should tell Mike and Jim to tell Houston to put a major league starter in the deal or they are going to stop talking to them. Tell them to tell the Angels we want Santana and everybody's favorites for Tejada or they are dealing with the White Sox when they come in this weekend. By the way...Uribe hit his 13th home run tonight for the Sox.....he and Podsednik are not junk as someone said earlier today. Would it take Garland, McCarthy and Uribe to get it done? I know McCarthy is rumored the key player in the Soriano trade rumor tonight. Unless Guillen knows Soriano and he has told him he will sign with them they would have to be stupid to rent Soriano for 2 months. McCarthy doesn't go in a rent-a-player deal.