So, there's 4 remaining Type A free agents on the market...

[centralpaosfan]

Ok Mr. Orange you broke me. I changed my mind. I now have no desire for the Orioles to sign type A free agents or any big free agent for that matter. I now want this organization to continue signing has beens or never will be. I now have faith that we can get this organization where it needs to be through our ace scouting department. Thanks for enlightning me!

[Crazysilver03]

Ok Mr. Orange you broke me. I changed my mind. I now have no desire for the Orioles to sign type A free agents or any big free agent for that matter. I now want this organization to continue signing has beens or never will be. I now have faith that we can get this organization where it needs to be through our ace scouting department. Thanks for enlightning me!

Do you lack maturity on how to respond to a post?

The Orioles missed their chances on the Type-A free agents that matter (Dunn, Martinez, Konerko). Of the remaining choices, only Beltre and Soriano would be worth giving up a draft pick for, but we are not in a position to make it worth giving the pick up.

With Beltre, if he has no intention of coming to Baltimore, the only way to get him to come is to completely over pay for him. But at the same time, we have already acquired Reynolds for 3B. Would it not be cheaper (in terms of talent and money) to go get a Derrek Lee or LaRoche to put at 1B?

In terms of Soriano, we are already paying $10M to two closers. What would be the point in adding another one, especially at the price listed, and when a closer is not the last piece we need.

[maybe2050]

"should invest millions upon millions in a weak FA market?"

Since when did it become weak? Konerko , Lee, Lee, Laroche, Gonzalez, Dunn, Beltre, Martinez, Manny, Vlad, Werth, Crawford, or did you mean after these guys were signed? Funny thing is, why is it always perceived as weak when it's time for the Orioles to shop? Or is it that they only decide to shop when the shelves are empty?

[Crazysilver03]

"should invest millions upon millions in a weak FA market?"

Since when did it become weak? Konerko , Lee, Lee, Laroche, Gonzalez, Dunn, Beltre, Martinez, Manny, Vlad, Werth, Crawford, or did you mean after these guys were signed?

Gonzalez wasn't a free agent.

This year's class is very weak compared to previous years. Only LaRoche, Dunn, Beltre, Martinez, Werth, and Crawford are not in their mid to late 30s, but most will be when their contracts run up, meaning that they probably won't live up to their contracts.

Most teams are not letting their young talent hit free agency after six seasons and are locking them up, thus the premium free agents aren't out there.

[centralpaosfan]

Do you lack maturity on how to respond to a post?

The Orioles missed their chances on the Type-A free agents that matter (Dunn, Martinez, Konerko). Of the remaining choices, only Beltre and Soriano would be worth giving up a draft pick for, but we are not in a position to make it worth giving the pick up.

With Beltre, if he has no intention of coming to Baltimore, the only way to get him to come is to completely over pay for him. But at the same time, we have already acquired Reynolds for 3B. Would it not be cheaper (in terms of talent and money) to go get a Derrek Lee or LaRoche to put at 1B?

In terms of Soriano, we are already paying $10M to two closers. What would be the point in adding another one, especially at the price listed, and when a closer is not the last piece we need.

Nope. Just get tired of all the internet GM's who know everything and everyone else cannot possibly be right. Rather than getting personal and insinuating that he in unable to comprehend things which was directed at me, I simply use a mocking tone.

[El Gordo]

"should invest millions upon millions in a weak FA market?"

Since when did it become weak? Konerko , Lee, C.Lee, Laroche, Gonzalez, Dunn, Beltre, Martinez, Manny, Vlad, Werth, Crawford, or did you mean after these guys were signed?

These two were worth throwing MM's at; the rest are question marks of age and decline, that makes their value problematic. Only 13 more to go.

[MrOrange82]

"should invest millions upon millions in a weak FA market?"

Since when did it become weak? Konerko , Lee, Lee, Laroche, Gonzalez, Dunn, Beltre, Martinez, Manny, Vlad, Werth, Crawford, or did you mean after these guys were signed? Funny thing is, why is it always perceived as weak when it's time for the Orioles to shop? Or is it that they only decide to shop when the shelves are empty?

I didn't realize the O's have access to a time machine? Right now, the only guys left from the ones you mentioned are D. Lee, LaRoche, Beltre, Manny and Vlad.

Manny is going to be 39 years old next year. Vlad turns 36 in February and hit .278/.322/.426 with 9 HR and 40 RBI during the second half of his "bounceback" 2010. The other three have been discussed to death.

And centralpa...to rephrase my question (again): if the O's are so bad at every other aspect of scouting and player development, WHY do you think they'd be good at FA signings?

Why is it that, in your mind, the O's CANNOT and WILL NOT get better at scouting, drafting and developing players, but they DEFINITELY could improve by throwing money at free agents right now? Why would the FO's decision making in re: free agents be any better, in your estimation, than scouting and drafting?

One, final time: it's absolutely absurd to argue, on the one hand, "the Orioles are terrible at X and Y" while, on the other hand, agitating for the Orioles to do "Z"...as though "Z" will be some kind of magic bullet cure-all.

[Stotle]

I think Beltre is the only one on the list worth signing for the price of a draft pick. I also think Beltre would be a positive asset for BAL along with the young core currently in place. I'm doubtful BAL would sign him, though I think the lofty contract numbers thrown around as requisite to lure him to BAL (5/90) are silly. I don't think BAL would go as high as 5/70 for him, which I think could get him here if you build in some player options.

[centralpaosfan]

I didn't realize the O's have access to a time machine? Right now, the only guys left from the ones you mentioned are D. Lee, LaRoche, Beltre, Manny and Vlad.

Manny is going to be 39 years old next year. Vlad turns 36 in February and hit .278/.322/.426 with 9 HR and 40 RBI during the second half of his "bounceback" 2010. The other three have been discussed to death.

And centralpa...to rephrase my question (again): if the O's are so bad at every other aspect of scouting and player development, WHY do you think they'd be good at FA signings?

Why is it that, in your mind, the O's CANNOT and WILL NOT get better at scouting, drafting and developing players, but they DEFINITELY could improve by throwing money at free agents right now? Why would the FO's decision making in re: free agents be any better, in your estimation, than scouting and drafting?

One, final time: it's absolutely absurd to argue, on the one hand, "the Orioles are terrible at X and Y" while, on the other hand, agitating for the Orioles to do "Z"...as though "Z" will be some kind of magic bullet cure-all.

I understand your point. However, have you never heard of someone in the working world that may be terrible at one or two things but is good at another? For instance, let's say you own a manufacturing business. You have a new employee and you put him on the assembly line...he's terrible. You then move him to quality control...again he is terrible. You then move him to shipping and he is great at it. It is possible for someone to stink at something and be good at something else.

The track record has been established for this organization when it comes to scouting and selecting draft picks. It has also been illustrated at length how much of a joke our international system is. However the ability to bring in legitimate free agents and see what impact they have on the organization hasn't even come close to being established. Instead this organization continues to bring in the retreads year after year. That is why I say it is worth trying their hand at the FA market because everything else has been a collassal failure.

[olehippi]

The poll question wasn't Which of these free agents do you think we will sign. To have so many people not have even an interest in the Orioles persuing Beltre or Soriano is a joke.

The fact that a player openly states he doesn't want to play in B'more doesn't seem to deter the Lee supporters one bit.

Just curious.......:scratchchinhmm: Are you maybe2050's brother, first cousin, or something?

[El Gordo]

I think Beltre is the only one on the list worth signing for the price of a draft pick. I also think Beltre would be a positive asset for BAL along with the young core currently in place. I'm doubtful BAL would sign him, though I think the lofty contract numbers thrown around as requisite to lure him to BAL (5/90) are silly. I don't think BAL would go as high as 5/70 for him, which I think could get him here if you build in some player options.

I think he wants to play for the LAAA. They have offered 5/70 MM, but you think if the O's offered 5/70 MM with some options he would sign here? According to Bowden the other day on XM, Boras wants 5/90 MM and has a mystery team to use aginst LAAA to get them in that vacinity. Bowden said he expected Beltre to sign soon, but he wouldn't be surprised if it was the mystery team. I'd be surpirised if the mystery team was the O's offering 5/70 MM with player options.

[El Gordo]

Just curious.......:scratchchinhmm: Are you maybe2050's brother, first cousin, or something?

Beat me to it. I had the same question.:laughlol:

[MrOrange82]

I understand your point. However, have you never heard of someone in the working world that may be terrible at one or two things but is good at another? For instance, let's say you own a manufacturing business. You have a new employee and you put him on the assembly line...he's terrible. You then move him to quality control...again he is terrible. You then move him to shipping and he is great at it. It is possible for someone to stink at something and be good at something else.

The track record has been established for this organization when it comes to scouting and selecting draft picks. It has also been illustrated at length how much of a joke our international system is. However the ability to bring in legitimate free agents and see what impact they have on the organization hasn't even come close to being established. Instead this organization continues to bring in the retreads year after year. That is why I say it is worth trying their hand at the FA market because everything else has been a collassal failure.

And why in the world should that be viewed differently than repeated failures to bring in quality, amateur talent? Marty Cordova, David Segui, Raffy part II, Javy Lopez, Sidney Ponson part II, and several others - along with the seemingly innumerable "retreads" - seem to paint a pretty clear picture that the Orioles are, in fact, pretty lousy when it comes to FA acquisitions.

I understand and share everyone's frustration with this team. I'm in no way confident that the O's will repair their minor league and international scouting mechanisms while MacPhail and Angelos steer the ship, and I don't see the team being major players for FA's anytime soon. BUT I'm not going to look at the preceding and reach the conceptual conclusion that the O's should start throwing money at every type A, especially since I don't think they will, regardless. IF I'm going to argue "conceptually," I'm going to argue for strong pushes for very specific FA's (like I did with Dunn) AND argue that the O's should invest heavily in revamping scouting and player development. I'm NOT going to allow desperation to take over my thinking and grasp for hope-straws by agitating for the O's to dive into the bidding for FA's with major question marks and limited future usefulness (and outside of Beltre, that applies to everyone who's left on the market right now).

[centralpaosfan]

Beat me to it. I had the same question.:laughlol:

Yes, because there are two people who think differently than the lynch mob they must be cousins or brothers.

[Stotle]

I think he wants to play for the LAAA. They have offered 5/70 MM, but you think if the O's offered 5/70 MM with some options he would sign here? According to Bowden the other day on XM, Boras wants 5/90 MM and has a mystery team to use aginst LAAA to get them in that vacinity. Bowden said he expected Beltre to sign soon, but he wouldn't be surprised if it was the mystery team. I'd be surpirised if the mystery team was the O's offering 5/70 MM with player options.

It doesn't matter what I write -- you had your mind made up on the matter four weeks ago with no chance to change it. If you had it your way, BAL would never sign a top tier FA because you would never want any risk that they'd be overpaying or stuck with a contract that was not productive at the end.

But, you listen to XM MLB Radio so you are certainly qualified to list the estimated demands and signing levels of various high-priced free agents. I've appreciated your service this winter, as it has helped me not to hold the Baltimore front office to any kind of standard with regards to their signings.