Over a week ago the O's were reportedly "aggressive" in the free agent market...

[Hank Scorpio]

Yep it seems GMs once again are slowing the offseason down because there's a 1-5% chance somebody won't be offered arbitration.

MLB should have moved the Winter Meetings into November and moved the dates up even more.

My GOD, no. January and February suck enough as it is.

What's the benefit of moving the dates up even more? To entertain you?!?!!

[Sports Guy]

Why is the response to these types of things...well, hardly any teams have done anything?

Why do people care what other teams are or aren't doing?

[JTrea81]

My GOD, no. January and February suck enough as it is.

What's the benefit of moving the dates up even more? To entertain you?!?!!

That is the point of MLB - to entertain.

[Peace21]

What has really happened for ANY team? Uggla, Rajai, Miranda...

I mean, I know the offseason is not ever really great for the O's but few teams have done much of anything yet.

Why is the response to these types of things...well, hardly any teams have done anything?

Why do people care what other teams are or aren't doing?

Its how it works every year.

[SrMeowMeow]

Come on...seriously? Nothing has happened yet. I get that people are all feisty right now, but good lord. I guess MacPhail could have swooped in and overpaid for Joaquin Benoit even more than the Tigers did, or...traded for Rajai Davis or David DeJesus for our sixth and seventh outfielders or Dan Uggla for our second 2B, or...competed with the Mets to hire some more managers...

I get being tough on MacPhail. Everyone's frustrated. But why are you holding him to a higher standard than every single other GM? That's not just dumb, it's unfair.

[Stotle]

That is the point of MLB - to entertain.

Right. It's not like organizations and players would benefit or enjoy several weeks of down time before they have to worry about the off-season. They should push up all the winter activities so FA is wrapped-up by the first week of December. Also, every team should be forced to sign a minimum number of players and make at least one trade so their fans have something to talk about.

Then, after the holidays, MLB should put on a nightly variety show through January so that baseball fans have something else to watch and follow before pitchers and catchers report -- I mean, that's their job, right? Maybe homerun derbies one week and a highest velo contest one night for pitchers. Fielding competitions, etc.

Your not asking them to entertain -- you are asking them to be dancing monkeys for your amusement...

[JTrea81]

Right. It's not like organizations and players would benefit or enjoy several weeks of down time before they have to worry about the off-season. They should push up all the winter activities so FA is wrapped-up by the first week of December. Also, every team should be forced to sign a minimum number of players and make at least one trade so their fans have something to talk about.

Then, after the holidays, MLB should put on a nightly variety show through January so that baseball fans have something else to watch and follow before pitchers and catchers report -- I mean, that's their job, right? Maybe homerun derbies one week and a highest velo contest one night for pitchers. Fielding competitions, etc.

Your not asking them to entertain -- you are asking them to be dancing monkeys for your amusement...

Imagine how entertaining it would be though if just about all offseason transactions occured before Christmas. By drawing things out, it gets tiring and boring. The offseason should be exciting. The Winter Meetings seems to be the peak of excitement and then it's all downhill.

MLB needs to make the offseason more entertaining and interesting to follow and instead of drawing it out, you could make November and December even more exciting than certain months of the season in some respects.

And with the increased excitement, so will there likely be an increase in merchandise and season ticket sales before Christmas. MLB could really make a lot of cash if they were to speed things up even more IMO.

[CompuCoach]

That is the point of MLB - to entertain.

The off-season is not part of their entertainment. The season is the show.

Maybe you take an interest in all of this extra administrative stuff, but the vast majority of fans don't - they turn their attention to other sports that just so happen to pick up when baseball bows out.

MLB is not going to bend over backwards to compromise the way they do business to accomodate the 1% armchair GM demographic. If you can't cope with a lack of baseball news, that's your problem.

[Hank Scorpio]

Why is the response to these types of things...well, hardly any teams have done anything?

Why do people care what other teams are or aren't doing?

Because that directly impacts agents sense of urgency. Once other teams holes start getting filled, their options start waning.

[Hank Scorpio]

That is the point of MLB - to entertain.

The offseason isn't entertaining.

It's long, cold, painful and most times, disappointing.

[Sports Guy]

Because that directly impacts agents sense of urgency. Once other teams holes start getting filled, their options start waning.

Agents have nothing to do with trades.

[Stotle]

Imagine how entertaining it would be though if just about all offseason transactions occured before Christmas. By drawing things out, it gets tiring and boring. The offseason should be exciting. The Winter Meetings seems to be the peak of excitement and then it's all downhill.

MLB needs to make the offseason more entertaining and interesting to follow and instead of drawing it out, you could make November and December even more exciting than certain months of the season in some respects.

And with the increased excitement, so will there likely be an increase in merchandise and season ticket sales before Christmas. MLB could really make a lot of cash if they were to speed things up even more IMO.

Or, fans could just take a two or three week break from obsessing and check back in at the beginning of December. There is AFL baseball to follow in November, prospect season from the major publications, plenty to keep even the die hard fans interested. Teams are not going to want to move from the season right into making all of the big off-season decisions in a matter of days.

[Agent0]

Why is the response to these types of things...well, hardly any teams have done anything?

Why do people care what other teams are or aren't doing?

Because the same dynamics that affect everyone else affect us. There's not going to be a whole lot of movement until after the arb deadline. We'll find out who will get comp picks...we'll find out who will be non-tendered. Until then, the best players are going to lay back and see who frees up money and roster spots via non-tenders. It doesn't make any sense for us to be aggressive about 3rd tier free agents in the meantime.

[Hank Scorpio]

Or, fans could just take a two or three week break from obsessing and check back in at the beginning of December. There is AFL baseball to follow in November, prospect season from the major publications, plenty to keep even the die hard fans interested. Teams are not going to want to move from the season right into making all of the big off-season decisions in a matter of days.

God forbid these guys take a week or two off.

[hoosiers]

Isn't there a RANT section for posts like this. What's to discuss?

Really. It's a bit odd when the editors starting dragging down the attitude on the board.