AM – you have a credibility problem

[Sports Guy]

How does having a talented young pitching staff not help us long term?

What does this have to do with anything?

We need more than just good pitching.

[olehippi]

Is it fair to assume that the $20 Million he was willing to pay Tex is still available to one player since they haven't spent it? Is it fair to assume they have resources from many years of penny pinching? I think it is!

Why would we "assume" anything when it come to Peter Angelos and the Orioles? In fact, I'd say assumptions about what the Orioles are or aren't doing are the main cause of threads like this.

[olehippi]

At what point do people get past the idea of "we are better off now than we were before AM got here"?

When do the results matter to you guys?

Do/did you honestly believe AM could convert this team from Pittsburgh to Tampa Bay in 3 years? Seriously?

[Sports Guy]

Do/did you honestly believe AM could convert this team from Pittsburgh to Tampa Bay in 3 years? Seriously?

I didn't say that...But we should be a lot better off long term than we are now IMO.

We also should have been winning more games.

The target was 80-85 wins in 2010 and contention in 2011. Yes, I think that is where we should have been.

[LookinUp]

However, if AM says he's going to buy the bats, exactly how much credibility does he have? Do you all believe that he'll "buy" a difference-making bat? If he doesn't, do you believe his plan will be good enough to put us over the top? Doesn't that raise some serious doubt about whether he's the man to lead us to championships, and doesn't that mean that his credibility as the right GM for this team is in doubt?

I absolutely think he has a credibility problem - not an integrity problem, a credibility problem -, and he will until he shows many of us that he understands what it takes to win in the AL east and he does what it takes to get us there.

I can't help but notice that nobody responded to this part of a previous post of mine.

Do you guys BELIEVE he will get the bats we need, or do you just hope he will?

[Hank Scorpio]

What does this have to do with anything?

We need more than just good pitching.

You don't think good pitching has anything to do with sustainable winning?

Okay I'll stop here, then.

That's not the end all and be all, but it's imperative and difficult to assemble in a 3 year span of time.

[NattieO'sHon]

I can't help but notice that nobody responded to this part of a previous post of mine.

Do you guys BELIEVE he will get the bats we need, or do you just hope he will?

Who are the bats we need?

[Bradysburns]

The Orioles like to point out that they have spent a lot of money in the draft...And that's great..we all like that.

But, are they spending enough? That's the question.

Internationally, it is improved but still poor.

The Orioles should have an amateur budget of 15-20 million set aside every year to get International and domestic amateur talent.

Good post. But even if they do spend more, I wonder about the structure and performance of their scouting department.

It seems like we can spend all we want on guys like Loewen and Hale and Snyder (who was supposed to be a catcher). The question is, are we spending that money on players who will contribute to the MLB team sooner rather than later? That's one area where I would like to see AM get more aggressive - restructuring the scouting department.

[Roll Tide]

Who are the bats we need?

Without naming names

We need a cleanup hitter. We need a solid run producer at the other corner IF position. We need a upgrade at LF. We need a SS that much better than Izturis.

If we cant add em in free agency we need to trade for them. Stop gaps are not wanted.

[waroriole]

Good post. But even if they do spend more, I wonder about the structure and performance of their scouting department.

It seems like we can spend all we want on guys like Loewen and Hale and Snyder (who was supposed to be a catcher). The question is, are we spending that money on players who will contribute to the MLB team sooner rather than later? That's one area where I would like to see AM get more aggressive - restructuring the scouting department.

It's interesting that the players you mentioned were drafted long before AM.

[Bradysburns]

I can't help but notice that nobody responded to this part of a previous post of mine.

Do you guys BELIEVE he will get the bats we need, or do you just hope he will?

I believe he will do what's "prudent" in the context of his job description and Peter Angelos' pocketbook. So, no, I don't think he'll get any premium bats. I do think he'll get some solid bats and keep touting our young pitching to the high heavens... and pray that we repeat the Giants' success.

The problem with that is, every team is different. So I am getting tired of my own thinking that keeps wanting us to emulate this or that team. We are not the Rays. We're not the Giants. We're not the Yankees. We need to find our own way, and I think it should include some serious FA battage.

So I hope I'm wrong, and that AM does get a serious hitter like Konerko this offseason to jump start things.

[LookinUp]

Who are the bats we need?

There are numerous of combinations at 1B, 3B, SS and LF that could result in a major leap in runs createdm and many of those guys would probably result in runs saved on defense. There's no sense in listing all of the names again. They are plentiful.

[LookinUp]

I do think he'll get some solid bats and keep touting our young pitching to the high heavens... and pray that we repeat the Giants' success.

This is exactly what I fear.

[Satyr3206]

I think the offense needs to be addressed also but there is a situation no one has really addressed. Part of the grow the arms strategy was to use surplus pitching to trade for hitters. Besides Britton there really isn't anyone else close. I'm talking starters by the way, not relievers.

[Bradysburns]

Is there a point where, regardless of how "difficult" a job is, you get graded on results? Maybe you disagree with the tone, but I have a hard time picturing a more comfortable set-up than being allowed to operate for four years with rock-bottom expectations and little to no accountability as measured against the success of your competitors in various areas (international scouting/acquisition, ML record, minor league progression of players, organization of developmental staff across minor league levels, breadth of areas covered on amateur scouting side, etc.).

Since coming on board, can we point to anything that MacPhail has done better than the rest of the AL East? I agree that the job is incredibly difficult, and it is not an easy task to make ground -- particularly in the AL East. At the end of the day, however, BAL plays in the AL East and the PoBBO needs to operate within that framework. If BAL is looking-up from last place four years into MacPhail's tenure, isn't he accountable for something? How about after five years? Six?

Such a good post - wish I had written it. Time to turn up the heat on Andy! He might respond, he might not. But it would be nice to see us OBVIOUSLY do SOMETHING better than our competitors. I would start with scouting. Just put so much into building our scouting and player development (especially overseas) that the competition can do little but shake its head at our boldness.