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The "they don't want to come here" excuse

JTrea81

By JTrea81
in Orioles Talk

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Woody Held Major Leaguer Rising Star

Woody Held

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"They don't want to come here" can be overcome by money and a good recruiting effort for the most part. I don't think that Baltimore is #1 on a premium FA's list by any means, but other teams have managed to overcome this in the past and have been able to land that premium talent despite a FA not wanting to play for them as their first choice.

The Orioles just plain use it as an excuse though when they aren't making the effort needed to do so.

If the Orioles were to offer 4/68 for instance and they are the highest offer, and Beltre turns that down - then you can say that he didn't want to come here.

But for just about any premium free agent the Orioles have been after, they have never made the highest offer or made the effort recruiting wise - and yet they still use that "they didn't want to come here" excuse when it was more like "we didn't want to make the effort neccessary to change their mind."

It's time to stop using that excuse or call it what it really is.

Why would you want to offer a guy that Had two seasons that justify that salary(both in contract years) that type of money? You really think he is the answer?

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TGO Hangout Grand Counsel

TGO

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In times like these, I go back to The Dugout. http://dugout.progressiveboink.com/archive/b8.html

MoraTheSame: The Orioles have a losing mentality. We don't even have whole fans in the stands anymore. Yesterday I was rounding second and saw some dude's severed leg propped up against a seat.

MoraTheSame: It [ticks] me off! I get [ticked] when I go home and my wife is all, "lol yer an oriole," and then I have to [hug] her in the mouth and call her a [lady].

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allstar1579 Hangout Grand Counsel

allstar1579

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People forget that professional athletes are people too. If you think money and recruiting can overtake personal opinion and bias, then you are too easily manipulated.

We can look at it from a geographic point of view. A ton of these guys, by the time they hit FA are family men, and have to think about either being away from their family for 10 months a year, or they have to take them with them. If you were thinking about your family and looked at a city with a reputation like Baltimore, wouldn't that knock it down a couple pegs before you even thought about other factors? (assuming you aren't from the area)

Money isn't everything, look at Cliff Lee, perfect example. He knew where he wanted to be and he went there, leaving 30-50m on the table depending on who you ask. $200m wouldn't have got him in Bmore. There are plenty of people like that.

Then there is the organization itself...the owner has a rep, it's gotten around the league by now, he's not very popular with the players. Back when a bunch of us were enjoying the mid-90's run, we had a new stadium and it was an offensive haven, if you wanted to put up big offensive numbers you came here or COL, that was it. Those big numbers translated into even bigger contracts later. Now there are plenty of spots around the league to put up big numbers, you don't have to come here to do it.

Sorry for the rant, there are just a lot of things that figure into signings and most fans can't wrap their heads around anything other than wow offers and wining and dining.

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Tony-OH Hangout Grand Counsel

Tony-OH

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People forget that professional athletes are people too. If you think money and recruiting can overtake personal opinion and bias, then you are too easily manipulated.

We can look at it from a geographic point of view. A ton of these guys, by the time they hit FA are family men, and have to think about either being away from their family for 10 months a year, or they have to take them with them. If you were thinking about your family and looked at a city with a reputation like Baltimore, wouldn't that knock it down a couple pegs before you even thought about other factors? (assuming you aren't from the area)

Money isn't everything, look at Cliff Lee, perfect example. He knew where he wanted to be and he went there, leaving 30-50m on the table depending on who you ask. $200m wouldn't have got him in Bmore. There are plenty of people like that.

Then there is the organization itself...the owner has a rep, it's gotten around the league by now, he's not very popular with the players. Back when a bunch of us were enjoying the mid-90's run, we had a new stadium and it was an offensive haven, if you wanted to put up big offensive numbers you came here or COL, that was it. Those big numbers translated into even bigger contracts later. Now there are plenty of spots around the league to put up big numbers, you don't have to come here to do it.

Sorry for the rant, there are just a lot of things that figure into signings and most fans can't wrap their heads around anything other than wow offers and wining and dining.

Pretty hard to argue with anything here. It's the depressing truth. Add in years of a ridiculous spring training situation, the fast that these "rebound" players have to put up numbers in the AL East while playing Boston and New York 38 times a year, and you don't have a good situation to attract free agents without giving them a texpensive deal that could set your franchise even further back.

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ccbird Hangout Grand Counsel

ccbird

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People forget that professional athletes are people too. If you think money and recruiting can overtake personal opinion and bias, then you are too easily manipulated.

We can look at it from a geographic point of view. A ton of these guys, by the time they hit FA are family men, and have to think about either being away from their family for 10 months a year, or they have to take them with them. If you were thinking about your family and looked at a city with a reputation like Baltimore, wouldn't that knock it down a couple pegs before you even thought about other factors? (assuming you aren't from the area)

Money isn't everything, look at Cliff Lee, perfect example. He knew where he wanted to be and he went there, leaving 30-50m on the table depending on who you ask. $200m wouldn't have got him in Bmore. There are plenty of people like that.

Then there is the organization itself...the owner has a rep, it's gotten around the league by now, he's not very popular with the players. Back when a bunch of us were enjoying the mid-90's run, we had a new stadium and it was an offensive haven, if you wanted to put up big offensive numbers you came here or COL, that was it. Those big numbers translated into even bigger contracts later. Now there are plenty of spots around the league to put up big numbers, you don't have to come here to do it.

Sorry for the rant, there are just a lot of things that figure into signings and most fans can't wrap their heads around anything other than wow offers and wining and dining.

Yup. It is sad and depressing but it's the truth.

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