6 replies to this topic

[SportsGuy]

Right now, we have a GM who obviously is concentrating on international talent, upgrading scouting and player development.

These are all crucial, long term needs. These are things that have to happen and it appears he is going to be allowed to do what he wants in these areas.

HOWEVER, I do not believe for a second that he can do what he wants with the ML team. Buck is the GM of the ML team and of course, we are headed up by the worst owner in sports.

Right now, we have heard that the payroll will be similar to last year. This team already has about $47M committed to Gregg, Wada, Markakis, BRob, Reynolds and Hardy. We need to fill out the rest of the roster(19 players) and spend no more than 45ish million. That's going to be tough to do if guys like Jones and Guthrie are not dealt. Those 2 will probably cost around 13 million combined...So now, you are at 60 million and still need 17 players...and you have other arb eligible guys.

We have also heard DD(likely driven by Buck) say that he views Jones, Nick, etc...as the core and he wants to build around them.

However, Jones is a guy who is gone in 2 years, is offensively limited and average at best defensively. You are going to build around a 3ish WAR player who will be gone in 2 years barring signing him to an extension...an extension you admit you haven't discussed or even looked at the numbers?

Oh and on top of all of this, you have a publicly stated goal of finishing 500 or better.

So, how on earth are you going to accomplish that?

I just don't see it. This offseason shouldn't be about 2012...It should be about 2012 AND BEYOND. You have to think long term. This team has an awful farm system outside of their top 3. There is some potential there but most of it is a ways away and you just have no idea how things will turn out.

You have pieces to deal...Deal them. Get some more depth and talent in this organization and build for the long term.

Buck is in now mode but he doesn't have a team capable of being in now mode. I am not sure why he doesn't see this.

[BSLShaneBauer]

I agree. As of right now, it appears that the major league team doesn't have much of a direction. This isn't the first time, though. I feel like this organization is stuck in between contention and rebuilding every year. Since their plan isn't to spend a boatload of money to make a run, it makes sense to rebuild using chips this team has. Unfortunately, that doesn't seem likely right now.

Honestly, I've already accepted that this off season is going to be disappointing. Hopefully the international market changes will help us out in the future.

[SportsGuy]

I agree. As of right now, it appears that the major league team doesn't have much of a direction. This isn't the first time, though. I feel like this organization is stuck in between contention and rebuilding every year. Since their plan isn't to spend a boatload of money to make a run, it makes sense to rebuild using chips this team has. Unfortunately, that doesn't seem likely right now.

Honestly, I've already accepted that this off season is going to be disappointing. Hopefully the international market changes will help us out in the future.

Right...That is the frustrating thing. We are essentially content with riding the fence.

People always say, I don't want to see us go through ANOTHER rebuild. My response is simple. Let me know when we go through the FIRST rebuild and then we can talk about another rebuild.

This team just doesn't get it. They just don't seem to understand how to do things properly, no matter who is in charge.

I will say this though and maybe I am wrong but I believe that if DD was allowed to do whatever he wanted, that you would see a guy like Jones being dealt.

He wants more depth and talent and has to know that is the only way it happens.

[You Play to Win the Game]

The team's direction?

To not have a losing season for the first time in 14 years and potentially trick the casual fans into thinking this team is trending up when by accomplishing a "winning" season would almost assuredly come at the expense of having a better team in 2013 and beyond.

The short sightedness here is appalling and honestly has be as hopeless as I've ever been as a fan of this team. It's particularly crushing given the recent wave of elite minor league talent that just graduated out of our system (mostly pitching). This was supposed to be the return of the O's, but now we're just stuck in the middle, again, with no end in sight.

[PD24]

The whole Buck/Duq thing is totally calculated. Duq knows this team sucks right now. He'll appease Buck with smaller moves and maybe Buck can lead a charge towards .500.

Duq is doing his thing as far as the minors, scouting, development, etc.

My issue is with the length of the deals. Buck is only signed for 2 more years, meaning 1 before his lame duck year. He's never been known to stay in one place for a long period of time.

So why should a guy who is likely to be gone 3 years from now be calling ANY shots in an organization that should so obviously be looking towards the future?

Of course, Duquette may be gone 3 years from now as well...so basically, who knows.

[SportsGuy]

The whole Buck/Duq thing is totally calculated. Duq knows this team sucks right now. He'll appease Buck with smaller moves and maybe Buck can lead a charge towards .500.

Duq is doing his thing as far as the minors, scouting, development, etc.

My issue is with the length of the deals. Buck is only signed for 2 more years, meaning 1 before his lame duck year. He's never been known to stay in one place for a long period of time.

So why should a guy who is likely to be gone 3 years from now be calling ANY shots in an organization that should so obviously be looking towards the future?
Of course, Duquette may be gone 3 years from now as well...so basically, who knows.

Particularly one who isn't a GM. He is a wannabe GM, big difference.

[PD24]

The whole Buck/Duq thing is totally calculated. Duq knows this team sucks right now. He'll appease Buck with smaller moves and maybe Buck can lead a charge towards .500.

Duq is doing his thing as far as the minors, scouting, development, etc.

My issue is with the length of the deals. Buck is only signed for 2 more years, meaning 1 before his lame duck year. He's never been known to stay in one place for a long period of time.

So why should a guy who is likely to be gone 3 years from now be calling ANY shots in an organization that should so obviously be looking towards the future?
Of course, Duquette may be gone 3 years from now as well...so basically, who knows.

Particularly one who isn't a GM. He is a wannabe GM, big difference.

Right. I feel like Buck knows 2 things. A) He wants to manage and win. B) the organization, as a whole, sucks.

So, Buck is here to deal with A, and he is comfy with Duke dealing with B.

Too bad A and B can't co-exist, and even if they could, it's not the right recipe for success.

There is absolutely no point in trying to contend this season. None. It's not happening. All the focus should be on a full scale rebuild.

I like DD and think he is doing a lot of the things we've all wanted for so long. However, he's going fail in the end IMO because he's going to get caught between his philosophies versus what Buck wants, which is to make a half-hearted run with this core of AJ, Nick, and Hardy.

2 years from now, AJ will be gone, and Nick and Hardy will have 1 year left...and then what?

All 3 of them should be traded, but if that were to happen, there's really no point in Buck staying here. I'd be fine with him leaving, but he's not going anywhere...so we're kinda screwed.