Who really controls the checkbook?

[JTrea81]

It is terrible - terrible - to sign a free agent with the FULL KNOWLEDGE that you will be wasting their peak years, just so that you can have their riskier, older, more injury-prone, less productive years under contract.

You would only be "wasting" one peak year as I've explained. And Holliday is a moot point now. Prince Fielder however is an option and he has several prime years left as he is only 26.

We'd look a whole lot better entering the 2010-2011 offseason with him on the roster...

[carolinaoriole]

Spend the money on who.

I think it was a wise decision not to spend to much in last offseason.

There was not anyone to spend it on that was a match for the Oriole teams.

Only dreck like Holiday and Bay.

If Macphail had signed either one this forum would have been upset that he had wasted money on them especially with the bad starts to the season that they both had.

[JTrea81]

Spend the money on who.

I think it was a wise decision not to spend to much in last offseason.

There was not anyone to spend it on that was a match for the Oriole teams.

Only dreck like Holiday and Bay.

If Macphail had signed either one this forum would have been upset that he had wasted money on them especially with the bad starts to the season that they both had.

Yeah that .892 OPS and those 11 HRs really stink...

And there were options available for trade like Miguel Cabrera, but again MacPhail refused to act. He did not take advantage of the payroll room advantage we had over other teams, and now that advantage no longer exists as more teams will have more money to spend, and we'll have even more competition for the targets we seek. And we'll have a worse record and even be less attractive as a destination for FAs, so we'll have to overpay that much more to land anybody.

That is what happens when you do not act on the opportunities that present themselves. By not acting last offseason or the offseason before, MacPhail has now made it that much more difficult to acquire the talent needed to compete.

Waiting has made things much worse.

[carolinaoriole]

Yeah that .892 OPS and those 11 HRs really stink...

And there were options available for trade like Miguel Cabrera, but again MacPhail refused to act. He did not take advantage of the payroll room advantage we had over other teams, and now that advantage no longer exists as more teams will have more money to spend, and we'll have even more competition for the targets we seek. And we'll have a worse record and even be less attractive as a destination for FAs, so we'll have to overpay that much more to land anybody.

That is what happens when you do not act on the opportunities that present themselves.

I think that some of the opportunities that you speak of are figments of your imagination.

And the rest are well known poor options for the Orioles.

That is what happens when you let an agenda control your judgements.

[TiredofLosing20]

And there were options available for trade like Miguel Cabrera, but again MacPhail refused to act.

So you say.. My guess is that if Cabrera were truly being shopped he would have been moved.

[waroriole]

So you say.. My guess is that if Cabrera were truly being shopped he would have been moved.

Plus, he has no idea what the demands were for Cabrera (if he was even shopped) yet he is ready to lay the blame on AM for not getting him. Yeah, no agenda at all.

[mcgraw238]

Step away people...Don't get pulled into the same garbage.

[TiredofLosing20]

But that's 5-6 more wins we'd have next year (and the year after etc.) that we wouldn't have to find so maybe we turn a 75 win team to an 80-81 win team in 2011 and an 85 win team to a 90-91 win team in 2012.

It's called being proactive. Crawford will be out of our reach, and isn't as complete a player, and Werth is older and will have more suitors than Holliday did.

There is no Holliday this offseason, just like there is no Teixeira. You have to acquire the talent when it is available, otherwise you keep passing up opportunities to improve your ballclub and ramp up your talent to a competitive level.

Getting this back on subject, it's going to be up to Angelos to force MacPhail to make sure we stop passing up on opportunities that present themselves.

Assuming there is no drop off and assuming that the young guys progress because frankly (and this is the part you seem to miss) if the young guys don't progress we are screwed either way.

I will not argue with you on Tex I wanted to sign him as he was a special circumstance. But to me the other FAs you have advocated (Holliday, Lackey, Figgins) all seem like pricey, risky fan appeasers.

It is has been said over and over again we have tried building this organization by buying FAs and it has resulted in 70-75 win seasons that were forgettable. We need to build the organization and then sign FAs unless there is a special circumstance. Matt Holliday was not a special circumstance.

As you said back to the point of the thread. The minute Angelos is "forcing" the GM to do anything then this organization will be right back where it started and it will have made no progress.

When you are an asbestos attorney and own a baseball team, you provide a budget and then you hire baseball people to make baseball decisions. You don't "force" signings or block trades or meddle. You give your baseball people the opportunity to do what they know. Anything other than that tends to lead to multiple losing seasons, say 13 or so.

[SrMeowMeow]

But can't you trade away these guys for prospects or wait until they leave via free agency and cash in the extra draft picks? Why do nothing and wallow in losing year after year?

Yes, we could wait until, what, 2016, and hope Holliday is worth draft picks. And most players who sign as marquee free agents aren't very tradeable after that. Can you imagine a team acquiring C.C. Sabathia right now? And he's a FA that's done well. What do you think the trade market is like for Burnett? Or Lackey? Or Figgins? Etc.

Matt Holliday will not be a free agent for a long time. That chance has passed. But there are always 4+ win players available. There's no reason to strike before we can optimize the use of their production.

[Johnny]

You would only be "wasting" one peak year as I've explained. And Holliday is a moot point now. Prince Fielder however is an option and he has several prime years left as he is only 26.

We'd look a whole lot better entering the 2010-2011 offseason with him on the roster...

I love Prince and would send a lot to get him. Luke, Snyder (as PTBNL b/c he's on the DL), Bell and Tillman would be a good core to start with and could land him outright.

We can and should be showcasing Bell for a big trade like this. Believe it or not our organization is deep at third (Bell, Guzman and Waring and Rowell -I know- in the system. We also have the inside track on Renden).

However, there is a quote from the owner of the Brewers on Mlbtraderumors.com that suggests he wants Prince around. Just because there is speculation that a player may be available doesn't in fact mean that player is actually available. Same re: Cabrera.

[LookitsPuck]

Angelos controls the checkbook. How is this even a question? He's the owner. Good lord.

[Sports Guy]

I love Prince and would send a lot to get him. Luke, Snyder (as PTBNL b/c he's on the DL), Bell and Tillman would be a good core to start with and could land him outright.

We can and should be showcasing Bell for a big trade like this. Believe it or not our organization is deep at third (Bell, Guzman and Waring and Rowell -I know- in the system. We also have the inside track on Renden).

However, there is a quote from the owner of the Brewers on Mlbtraderumors.com that suggests he wants Prince around. Just because there is speculation that a player may be available doesn't in fact mean that player is actually available. Same re: Cabrera.

Deep at third? Bell is the only player worth anything.

And the Brewers have no need for Bell.

[waroriole]

I love Prince and would send a lot to get him. Luke, Snyder (as PTBNL b/c he's on the DL), Bell and Tillman would be a good core to start with and could land him outright.

We can and should be showcasing Bell for a big trade like this. Believe it or not our organization is deep at third (Bell, Guzman and Waring and Rowell -I know- in the system. We also have the inside track on Renden).

However, there is a quote from the owner of the Brewers on Mlbtraderumors.com that suggests he wants Prince around. Just because there is speculation that a player may be available doesn't in fact mean that player is actually available. Same re: Cabrera.

Not even close. Would you trade Fielder for Luke, Snyder, Bell and Tillman? I know I wouldn't.

[LookitsPuck]

Getting this back on subject, it's going to be up to Angelos to force MacPhail to make sure we stop passing up on opportunities that present themselves.

Or, rather, Angelos will have to spend MORE than HE was WILLING to originally. Angelos sets this teams budget NOT MacPhail. What part of that don't you understand?

Your constant BS and tirades that you go against MacPhail while giving Angelos a complete pass is absolutely ridiculous.

[Johnny]

Not even close. Would you trade Fielder for Luke, Snyder, Bell and Tillman? I know I wouldn't.

What about adding Patton and/or Erbe? Brewers are looking for organizational depth at pitching, which we have. Adding Tillman and Patton would send them two starters who could produce next year. We have the depth with Britton still waiting in the wings and a slew of other pitchers

Bell would be a good fit for the Brewers and IMO he is about ready to come up. Luke could tear it up in the NL central and Snyder would give them a little depth at 1B.

These are just shots in the dark. Personally I wouldn't trade Prince unless it involved a king's ransom.