Hot Stove Roundup: the Feeling Out Stage
First, forgive me if I’m not around quite as much as normal for the next couple of days. I’m going to be up-and-back from PA for some family stuff. I’ll still be here, but if news breaks I might miss it.
Not a lot of Hot Stove action to discuss so far, which is normal enough. Things don’t figure to really get rolling for at least a couple of weeks. Of the news that has trickled out, here’s that portion of it which is germane to our conversation.
According to Danny Knobler at CBS, the Orioles will be making moves on both Teixeira and Burnett, and will look to solve the shortstop problem via trade. Interesting…I wonder who he spoke to.
The Yankees are, it seems, preparing an insane offer for Burnett. Howard Megdal at the New York Observer thinks that’s a bad idea, and I hope Burnett agrees.
The O’s made a couple of organizational depth moves, prompting fitful cries of “outrage!”
Right? No? See item #4, first hot stove post.
The Giants appear to be in play on both Teixeira and Furcal. I mention them because for some reason it feels like they’re a team with similar needs as the O’s, and that they could play spoiler once or twice.
With that, we wait.
I’m banking on sci’s buddy that said AJ said he was coming here because no one is outbidding 5 years and $80 million. Didn’t AJ say he didn’t want to go to NY, though?
I’m banking on the Orioles having some integrity and spending the money they said they were going to spend back in 2006 when they kick-started MASN under the theory of “in order to compete in the AL East, you have to have a regional sports network that can help generate the revenue necessary to afford the larger salaries…”
As Ted Knight said in “Caddyshack”…
“Weeelllllllllllllllllll, we’re wait-ing.”
Man, I love spending other people’s money.
Except it’s NOT other people’s money.
It’s YOUR money.
You – and me…and everyone else reading this just about – fork over $2.65 a month for MASN, about $2.00 and some change of which goes directly into their pockets.
So, you are funding the team. It’s not “other people’s money”…it’s YOUR money that will go to the free agents they sign (or don’t).
I wish you people were more educated on this stuff.
I just want them to spend OUR money on good players.
I don’t think that’s asking too much, is it?
I want to see the O’s spend some money sooner rather than later. I want to see them make actual efforts towards getting some of these guys…but there is no way that I’m agreeing that we should offer Burnett 80 million dollars. Regardless of our payroll, that’s a contract that almost instantly becomes an albatross…he absolutely cannot play up to it (I call this “The Posada Effect”…although I might rename it soon to “The Varitek Effect”).
Like I’ve been saying, my ideal winter shopping list (in no order):
Koji Uehara
Mark Teixeria
Carl Pavano
Jon Garland
Khalil Greene (or Furcal, but Furcal will probably also be waaay overpaid and not worth it)
Nick Markakis
Make all of those guys sign in orange ink and I think we instantly become a much better team that hasn’t pulled our financial muscles too much and torn something.
I too won’t be around too much the next couple weeks. I’m heading down to Ray Rice’s hometown for a few days tomorrow and then back to southern PA (Drew’s dreaded Shrewsbury monster that the Orioles have respected too too much in recent years)…I’ll pop in when I can and hopefully I should still be up on top of things free agent wise (Dempster signed for 4 years 52 million dollars…which is a little less than what we should bid on Burnett (I’d say 4/55 or so)). Hopefully Dempster sets the market on reasonably good pitcher who are big injury risks. Hopefully.
Rocket Scientist: “I just want them to spend OUR money on good players.”
Gosh, just on GOOD players!?! …Really?, No Pavano’s, Soriano’s or Zito’s for you, huh?
Rocket Scientist: “I wish you people were more educated on this stuff.”
Apparently its all sooooo simple for the “educated” … sign GOOD players! Somebody oughta educate them Giants, Cubs and Yankees! (Not to mention the 70% of all contacts that are regretted when you “are educated” and think it’s as simple as spending money in baseball)
The rumored (NYPost) 5/80 for Burnett? No thanks. There is no way on earth he fufills that even remotely close to “value”
I’ll take Garland and Byrd and take a Flyer on Pavano or Willis, or something of that sort.
And get Punto as a one year stop gap at SS, like this week. There is no longterm afordable answer at SS for this season. Sign Punto and he becomes the super Utility when we get a real SS the following trading deadline, or offseason.
and since we all are “uneducated” here, here is another “uneducated” opinion…
Sign Tex. 20m is worthwhile. Not only his age and position back up the notion that he will produce… it also sets us up for the NEXT signing we’ll need to make the following year on a bigtime 3B or SS hitting the market. The financial dam needs to break around here to prove it can happen…when it makes sense
Don’t let the Haterade get to you. That’s just what Drew does. Let him rant about “the charlatans in the Warehouse”, “Stuffy the Bird”, “Uncle Petey”, or us “cats, [we] crack [him] up”. I seriously doubt that any of us would disagree with what he’s saying underneath the insults: the Orioles need to do something to fix this team this winter, or we will be worse next year than we were last year.
Luckily, despite the amount of time it took last winter, we had a pretty darn good offseason and there’s little real reason, as of right now, to think we won’t have a decent one this year.
Lol… I’m always a fan of the Two Dollar MASN Rant.
Hot Stove!
I love the “feeling out” stage.
Baseball hot stove is cool too.
I agree Andrew. AM has done nothing to disappoint me so far. And If he decides the bidding is too high on AJ… fine with me.
Let me take an “educated” guess here…. AM decides the price tag is too high for AJ. and Angelos overrides him and signs him with “OUR” money anyway…
I bet the “educated” one screams and needs his diapers changed.
And that’s not a low blow…it’s just a fact.
What does everyone think of the Punto idea I had?
Its a stopgap, but is that the way to go for ’09? Or do we go hard on Furcal?
I think if Khalil Greene or Jack Wilson can be had in trade, that’s the way to go. Neither of them are probably long-term options in the sense of 4-6 years, but they’d both be fine for at least 2-3.
I like Andrew’s shopping list a lot, actually, but it’s probably asking a bit much.
I think I wasn’t very clear about the “educated” line.
I wasn’t talking baseball education. You guys all know who the good players are…you know which teams are successful and, unfortunately by watching games in Baltimore for the last decade, which teams aren’t. You are all very educated when it comes to baseball.
When I wrote “I wish people were more educated”, I was referring to being educated on the scam that is being pulled on me, you and everyone else in town, vis a vis MASN.
This isn’t about players. I don’t really give a shit if they sign Tex or not. Or Burnett. If they sign Garland, great. If they get a shortstop, great. I’d like to see them sign Orlando Cabrera, but if they spend their money on Renteria instead, that’s fine. I mentioned on the air three weeks ago I’d be OK if they signed Pavano for a song and some free deodorant, but I hear from people in NY he’s a raging asshole as a person (which might actually be a good fit here at OPACY) so if they pass on him for that reason, that’s fine too.
You guys can sit around and play closet GM and that’s cool because that’s what baseball kooks do…look at how many of us maniacs are playing Sunday GM in fantasy football, for instance.
Five years ago when the crowds started to dwindle because they were mismanaging the organization, they decided the only way out of it was to “generate more revenue” and because they weren’t selling enough tickets to do that, and knowing that a team from DC was entering the markeplace, they went the path of “regional sports network”. And they did that specifically and entirely to generate revenue for player salaries. They said that, not me.
So based on the fact that I’m partially subsidizing the organization, all I want is for the Orioles to do what they said they were going to do – and that’s spend the money they’ve made since 2006.
They’ve pocketed well over $90 million in the last 3 years and no one seems to care about that. Except for me, I guess.
Hence, the “educated” reference.
I wasn’t talking about anyone’s knowledge of baseball.
I think you all (even Richard) know baseball.
But you’ve allowed the team to scam you and, evidently, you’re OK with it.
I allowed them to scam me for a while – but I’m not OK with it anymore.
If they sign Burnett for $80mm (whether Angelos steps in or not) I don’t care. God Bless ‘em.
Just spend the money you’ve made off of us like you said you were going to, that’s all.
Really, it’s that simple.
You started the network to pay for players.
Three years later, you haven’t spent the money yet.
This off-season is the time to do it.
Greene for DCab Neal?
Definitely Greene for DCab, if the Padres will take it. One reclamation project/batch of unfulfilled potential for another. I have a feeling Greene just needs a fresh start, and the same might be true for Cabrera.
I’d take Greene and drive Cabrera out there myself.
That leaves a spot for more pitchers that they can spend our money on, which is cool.
Orioles just signed 24-year old ex-Cubs catcher Jose Reyes.
Also added Bergesen, D. Hernandez, W. Perez, Reimold and Spoone to the 40-man.
Neal,
I think we are going to be suprised at the level of interest/value on DCab. There is no doubt in my mind the NL will help him, and his stuff is too inviting for someone to not take a chance on. And change of scenery, IMO, could be one of the hurdles he needs to cross, and he’ll “find it”. Daniel could easily be a “steal” for someone for next season.
Idiots might want to drive him somewhere, but I’ll wait and let people come get him.
Actually, Greene for DCab makes a lot of sense. If the O’s don’t get any pitchers, we’ll still need the DC Cab and his horrendous aim, but other than that…it’s basically a salary dump for the Padres, as Greene has like 13 million for a year on his deal. Trade one of Penn, Cabrera, or Waters and ask for Greene and like 4 million or so and it’s not a bad deal, in my opinion.
Drew, my only retort, because I basically agree with you (Hey, you wanted my money, now use it instead of pocketing it!), is this: I had read that they put a lot of the money they had on hand to improve international scouting (which was a sham until MacPhail got here) and the informational systems the players use during the season to scout themselves and their opponents (which may or may not have been a FORTRAN programmed abacus two years ago). I don’t think that the money is just being pocketed.
Greg, thanks! Where are you seing this?
D-Cab’s best option realistically is San Diego. National League Hitting + HUGE park = confidence booster for the guy? I hope so, I just don’t want to see him in our Bandbox anymore.
International scouting and informational systems…they SHOULD be investing in that stuff if they want to be worth a hill of beans.
Again, they have the money. They have money for all of that stuff.
Their payroll went down from $90mm to $65mm last year. Where did that $25mm go…to International scouting and informational systems? $25 million? Holy cow.
You can defend them on a lot of things and be courageous in doing so (and right, even, on occasion), but their lack of spending on players is indefensible based on the fact that they have the money via MASN and it’s basically a cash cow that no one is milking.
But we do have Brad Hennessey.
I went and saw the Binghamton Mets once…Jose Reyes was the catcher then. It made me laugh. I hate fuckin’ Binghamton.
Link with some of the 40-man info
And I just shit on their Holiday 4-pack offering at WNST.net, so I thought I’d go ahead and be up-front about that before you guys got pissed.
Why give them a nickel for a ticket for ’09 when they haven’t signed anyone yet?
Charlatans…
That signpost we just passed read “Entering the Realm of Self-Parody”
I didn’t see that sign…
Where was it? At the corner of Last Place Street and 395?
…thank god DCab didn’t get in the car with him
Some of it went to the Jay Gibbons memorial fund. The payroll reduction came basically from shipping out Tejada, Gibbons, and Bedard. The O’s built a brand new Dominican facility. They built a new jumbotron. They gave out a bunch of stuff at games, reduced ticket prices from time to time. They bought a brand new computer system for the entire organization. It’s nothing to sneeze at. Yeah, it probably doesn’t totally the 15 million they saved by dealing Bedard and Miggy “Throw me out stretching a single into a double” Tejada, but who knows? Maybe we have that much more money now. Maybe there was enough left to offset the lost revenue from the lower attendance. I dunno what the team budget looks like. You don’t know what it looks like. None of us know what it looks like…so I guess what I’m saying is, if we don’t know, how can we say anything about it?
“But we do have Brad Hennessey.”
I don’t think MacPhail signed Hennessey, Murphy and Reyes as a way to say to the fan base “Hey look what I just did!”. I think he just needs to replace Bynum, Santos and Aquino because they are free agents now.
would making a joke about angelos’ tranny habit get me sued for libel?
Who paid for the new scoreboard? The sponsors. Think the marketing deals for Budweiser, Toyota and UnderArmour were the same in ’07 as ’08? Think The Sun spent LESS money in ’07 than ’08? Not a chance.
They “gave out a bunch of stuff at games”. Of course they did. Thanks to Southwest Airlines, PNC Bank, Carroll Fuel and all the other sponsors who paid for those shirts, hats, bobbleheads, etc. You think the Orioles paid $2.30 per-bobblehead for 25,000 bobbleheads? No way. They charge the sponsor $150k for the year, then spend $55k of the sponsor’s money (out of that $150k) to buy the product and put their logo on it. And there’s nothing wrong with that all. Every team in every league does it. I bought 3,000 soccer balls one year at $4.50 per-ball and charged Leaf, Inc. $20,000 for that and the advertising I did to sell tickets to the game.
They reduced ticket prices in September to try and somehow magically get to the 2 million mark in attendance but even that ploy didn’t work. They only made one section of seats available at the $1.00 price. 385 tickets, basically.
Of course no one knows what the team budget looks like. Peter Schmuck asked them to open their books 5 years ago and they wouldn’t. They never would, of course. Which, unfortunately, is why everyone is left to guess on stuff. One thing we know for sure.
Their ’07 payroll was $90mm and their ’08 payroll was $65mm.
And we know they roughly generate about $150mm a year in MASN revenue (6 million homes x 12 months x 2.00 per-month…plus some advertising revenue and other fees to reach $150mm).
We also know they won 68 games and finished in last place.
Or was it 69?
I lost count.
Drew you need your own sitcom, man. “Charlatans!” That could be your catch phrase, sort of like “Newman!”
petition for drew’s nickname on the site to be charlatan fisk
1. Big Ben’s Motorcycle
BBM: not unless he can prove in a court of law that your comments caused him loss of revenue, property or personal misfortune…
That said, he IS a high-profile lawyer. And, he wins. A LOT.
I like it and aren’t feeling too merciful on him right now.
2. Andrew
3. Neal (+1 extra as the site owner)
From dictionary.com:
char·la·tan (shär’lə-tən)
n. A person who makes elaborate, fraudulent, and often voluble claims to skill or knowledge
4. dtm
yeah i’m pretty sure angelos doesn’t read the loss column. but just in case:
http://www.catalinasmbay.org/names/kidding.jpg
BBM: Petition approved!
I love it. Change made.
hahahahaha yes
I owe you a Patron for that one, BBM.
Nominations closed? ….”Crampy McSaggyDiaper” anyone?
3. Some Facts
In a related move, the O’s just announced they’ve signed CARLTON Fisk to a 2-year deal, pending a physical. lol
See, Dre – I mean, CF, I love a guy who can take some ribbing. Now I almost want to take my name off the petition. Okay, final argument from me: the Orioles will probably spend money this winter, and if they don’t, you and I and they know that attendance is going to drop again and that guys like Roberts and Markakis aren’t going to sign extensions. The team needs improvement and we have a proven guy who’s done nothing but good here running the show nowadays in Andy MacPhail. So, on the strength of last winter, which I defy anyone to say was a bad offseason for the Orioles (Steve Trachsel signing excluded), I will sit back and say “something good will happen this year and I will approve”.
Gotta 4:30 appointment to get ready for…
Have a good day guys.
We’ll talk tomorrow and revel in the signing of Tex.
Later.
“CF”
I don’t think I could help but see a Drew rant in the future and not post “CHARLATANS!” after it.