New Poll: Grade the offseason

Not in an attempt to be mean-spirited, "C" is supposed to be average.  They did what it took to stock the bullpen, and they even put out offers to top-shelf guys like Schmidt and Lee.  But they lost on Schmidt, Lee, Gonzo (no big loss there) -- and PA apparently meddled enough to kill off at least one LaRoche trade.  So it's not a disaster, but it ends up as more of the mediocre water-treading that we're used to.

Mediocre, in that I haven't particularly liked anything they've done, but they also haven't done anything absolutely ridiculous either. Payton is probably a bad idea, but it doesn't come at a huge cost. But we've avoided disastrous free agent signings, and we haven't traded away any decent prospects for Jose Vidro.

I think they were looking for a relatively cheap and conservative way to make an improvement, and concentrated on the dismal bullpen. I'm a bit puzzled as conventional wisdom seems to be to not overspend on a bullpen. The plan certainly looks to be pray hard that Loewen and Cabrera make big strides, while Penn takes some steps, perhaps in an already overloaded bullpen? They'll carry the team due to the lack of offensive fire power.  I'm tired of the constant excuses that the big name FA's won't come to Baltimore. That's a cop out. The FO needs to make some trades to acquire young talent (Shealy last year, LaRoache this year). They sure look downright incapable when it comes to evaluating and trading for talent. I'm holding out hope that the bullpen arms are trade bait in July. If past history is an indication, we'll have the same roster come Aug. 1.

At this point in time I'm frustrated. I expect more of the same, which is hanging out in fourth place. The starting pitching should be better but erratic. The bullpen will save more games. Perhaps the excitement will be we'll come to the home stretch and the O's have a shot at .500 or only be a couple games out of third place. 2007 is a wash, so I'm hoping for the Loewen/Cabrera/Penn advancements and that the O's actually pull a trade to get young (repeat young) talent, that positions them for some excitement come 2008. If they do so, I'll need to upgrade the C-.

I see a fair amount of improvement from the FO this offseason, so I'm curving my grade a little. When you've had several seasons of Cs and Ds, significant action pushes you into B territory.

Like The Sicilian and Ven6 above, I think the way the FO attacked the bullpen issue was great. It served, really, three purposes: 1) fixed a crappy bullpen; 2) sent a strong signal to other teams and FAs that the Os would not be like other years and would make some changes; and 3) gave us some possible trade bait.

It was the right way to start the offseason. The fact that no major terrific acquisitions occured thereafter can honestly be explained by a seriously weak FA class, and a seriously overpriced market. The Os took there shots here and there; they didn't pan out. I don't think it was sheer incompetency or cluelessness on their part as I have thought in the past. I am really glad we are not overpaying Soriano or Lee or Gary Matthews, for chrissake. There will be lots of great sluggers available next year. Hopefully, the market will come down to earth by then; and if Cabrera and Loewen actually do develop, players may be interested in coming here again.

I still am disappointed in the lack of taking risks à la Frank Thomas; and it's extremely disheartening to here that Angelos still kills deals because he has a man-crush on some players (as long as that can still happen, this team will never compete; not really). But I do think the FO has made good strides this offseason.

Personally, I don't expect a lot else to happen between now and July 31. I think .500 ball is an achievable goal this year, and I'd be happy with that. Apart from the lack of more offensive pop, my biggest concerns going into this season are the development of Cabrera (and to a lesser degree, Loewen) and the development of Perlozzo. Sam has had his honeymoon year. I hope to see much better managing from him in 2007.

Middle relief and backup guys are useful...to teams that have already adressed their bigger problems.

I really like the BP repair/upgrade. It gives good damage control for the rotation as well as some potential for trades. The starting rotation got an small upgrade in Wright. I say upgrade in assuming Wright helps push Lopez's useless ass out the door. Would still like to see the FO take a shot on Mulder if he isn't too pricey.

I would've liked to seen a good offensive acquisition like the rest of us, but since the list of suitors was small and overpriced, I am content with how its played out.

All in all it is pitching that keeps you in the game if your weak offensively. So the FO is doing something right for a change.......so it seems......