You would have replaced Trembley with…some guy…(by the way it sounds like John Gibbons).

Then you would have signed Dunn – fine I think they should have too.

You say they should have signed, yet again, “some guy” better than Izzy to play SS…what guy?…who knows – some guy!

Then you wouldn’t have batted him second…which NEVER happened until injuries depleted the lineup…so…ok?

Wow you actually wanted them to dump Pie before they did??? One of the few. Not sure about you, but I’m pretty happy with how the Pie experiment turned out.

What makes you think that if they brought up Reimold earlier he would have done as well? Maybe he needed another couple months of minor leeague pitching.

Who would you have had in the starting rotation at the beginning of the season instead of Adam Eaton? Daniel Cabrera? Chris Waters??? It’s not like we were swimming in starter options at the time.

“replaced him with some guy who managed along the lines of Earl Weaver or Davey Johnson.”

NAME HIM. You don’t get to say “some guy” when you’re GM. You have to actually find a specific person.

“The free agent I would’ve prioritized signing is Adam Dunn. I would’ve put him at DH”

Adam was vehement that he would not be a DH. Wrong answer.

“The Orioles don’t have a first baseman or a third baseman in the farm system that I like, so I would’ve tried to trade for one.”

WHO?? Name names. And whom would you have given up?

" I don’t care if he did hit the cycle, he had a lousy year."

Take a look at his splits, especially for the last month he was in the lineup, and try again.

“starting Wieters in the minors was a waste of time.”

He hadn’t played a moment of AAA ball before this year. Making sure he progressed in a logical fashion actually made sense. And why in the world would you waste a year of his service time on 2009? That makes zero sense. We basically bought ourselves the 2015 season by delaying his clock. That was one of the smartest moves the O’s made this year.

And also I don’t think we’re telling you to shut up (as much as I’ve wanted to), we’re just trying to understand what the hell you’re even talking about. It’s IMPOSSIBLE to have an intelligent discussion with somebody about the O’s when they lump in this past season with all the years of losing previously and only talks about their W-L record.

but it’s nowhere near saying they are smarter!

I think that he’s very successful at his job, and for all I know Brian Cashman is a brilliant mind. What I do know is that when the only strategy you’re required to employ to be successful is “sign the biggest check.” it’s hard to get an accurate read.

I’d say that I think Theo Epstein is a better GM than Brian Cashman. Epstein doesn’t have as much money to give to players as Cashman, but he’s in the same league, at least, and look at the Red Sox. Jacoby Ellsbury, Dustin Pedroia, Papelbon, Lester, all came from their farm system. Beckett and Lowell were picked up in what turned out to be a great trade, etc. He refused to give Damon the years that he wanted and although he’s played well the past two years, he was playing way below his salary the first two years. He refused to give Pedro what he wanted and he’s been saddled with injuries ever since.

I think the verdict is still out on Andy MacPhail. He walked into such a giant cluster mid-year 2007 that it’s going to take time for him to work his way out of it. So far I think he’s done an admirable job, but we won’t be able to evaluate him until he’s finished. I think next year will be huge in determining Andy’s success as a GM, which is really what this post by drj was about in the first place.

Do you honestly think Andy MacPhail is better at his job than Brian Cashman is at his? What are you basing that on?

I don’t think Cashman is a bad GM. But as Stacey notes, many of things you said are simply wrong (“Cashman helped put together that team that won four World Series before he was 30 and ran it when they won three in a row. That team was built from their farm system and smart trades.”). If you look at the 25 man roster, many of the stars are holdovers from Watson as Stacey notes (e.g., Jeter, Rivera, Pettitte, and Posada) or simply bought for a lot of money (e.g., Teixeira, A-Rod, Damon, CC). Draft wise, Cano and Joba are his best acquisitions. And Melky and Hughes are turning into a nice complementary players. He made a nice move to pick up Swisher this off season. But there’s nothing to suggest that Cashman is some brilliant and innovative GM. I think I see him like I see Andy, a perfectly fine GM but nothing close to special. I much rather have Theo than Cashman or Andy.