Comments on: MacPhail Says Orioles Will Be “Active”

By: dan the man

dan the man — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 06:21:37 +0000

My mancrush for MacPhail lives on and will continue to do so until he makes multiple blatantly bad decisions, and I really don’t see that happening. When I see that nerdy little smile, I confess to sort of melting in a completely asexual, but nonetheless genuine, way. But I digress..

I’m not sure anyone wouldn’t think it at least amusing to have Bedard back. For one, he can be had pretty cheaply (still), and he’s every bit as dominant when healthy. He’s almost more of a sure thing than Harden or Sheets, and he knows the organization. The one extreme change since his departure: the entrenchment of Dave Trembley and Andy MacPhail. The thing about when we dealt him was that, not only did we MacPhail need to come in and restock the farm, he also wanted to change the culture. And shipping out Bedard and his 6-inning cap and his purposefully snide media comments (multiple media guys have said he would go out of his way to be a dick and then laugh about it) and his injury history certainly was a big part of that culture change. Would Andy and Dave have him back knowing his personality and his penchant for wussing out on the mound? Or could DT keep him in check? One thing is for sure – I don’t think the team is worse with Bedard on it. It would sure as hell be fucking interesting and hilarious.

As far as the corners, there’s plenty of options, many of whom could put up 30HR, but exactly Zero of them are a sure thing. And that’s not Andy’s fault. The third base version of Tex isn’t out there and he’s not going to sell the farm for Adrian Gonzalez. It’s going to be real interesting for sure, simply because the time for “marked improvement” has coincided with one of the worst free agency crops in years. Go figure, huh?

But Neal makes a good point – the money currently invested in contracts is like pocket change. This is truly MacPhail’s team now. Mora, Miggy, Gibbons, Walker, Bradford, Baez, Bedard, Payton are all gone and not only gone, but off the books. It’s set up perfectly so that our young guys are just getting good when we have the money to help them out. So far so good.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:28:16 +0000

I could see Sheets or Harden, but Lackey isn’t going to happen, Bay isn’t going to happen, and Holliday isn’t going to happen. And big-time trades aren’t going to happen, either. I have absolutely no idea what Andy’s plan is for the corners, and I’m glad it isn’t my job to figure it out.

By: Kevin

Kevin — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:17:42 +0000

I like the idea of landing Bedard again. We already know what he can do agains the AL Beast, plus that would take a lot of the load off Guthrie. Any of the three would help but do you guys really see the O’s landing a “big name” pitcher in the off season?

By: neal s

neal s — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 04:26:41 +0000

I’d like to see Bedard come back because he is certifiably weird, and I love that. There’s always a concern about chemistry but he never struck me as a guy who caused problems in that area. I think he was a headache for the PR staff more than he was for his teammates and coaches.

If he does come we can count on above average performance when he’s healthy, and we can count on him not always being healthy. As long as he’s brought in to be a complimentary player and not an “ace” then I figure that’ll probably work.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 03:51:28 +0000

I’m on official record right now with this: I want Bedard back. He was my favorite player for that one year, and I believe he’s coming back. I’m not saying it’s the smartest move, but its the one thing I’m most comfortable saying.

How fucking ironic would that be – when my greatest fear was first that he’d leave us for New York and second that we wouldn’t get rid of him?