Saturday Bird Droppings

by Camden Chat on Nov 7, 2009 7:15 AM EST in Open Threads Comment 36 comments

Your Off-Season O of the Day: Chris Hoiles (Photo by Karl Merton Ferron/Baltimore Sun)

Rick Dempsey checks in
I love Rick Dempsey. I mean, sometimes when he's talking on the post-game I forget, but overall it's just impossible not to love the dude. -Stacey

Three O's executives to attend GM meetings
Andy MacPhail, Wayne Krivsky, and Matt Klentak will attend the GM meetings next week in Chicago. I had totally forgotten that Krivsky works for the O's. -Stacey

Arizona Fall League recap -- Nov. 6
The Desert Dogs fall to the Scorpions but Brandon Waring homered. -Stacey

Brian Bob wants Matt Holliday
Keep dreaming, Brian. -Stacey

2010 World Series favorites
"5. Orioles - We have to put one sleeper on here. Baltimore's rebuilding process could be done; its crop of young starters is ready to go at the major league level. Also look for breakout seasons from center fielder Adam Jones and right fielder Nick Markakis. The Washington Times made a funny! -Stacey

The 2010 MLB Power Poll
The O's rank 25th on the Sporting News 2010 MLB Power Poll, in front of the Padres, Royals, Nationals, Pirates, and Indians. Encouraging. -Stacey

Ranking Who in MLB Got the Biggest Bang For the Buck in 2009
The Biz of Baseball examines how much each team paid per marginal win. Check the article for the math, but basically it's how much they paid beyond the league minimum/player for each win above .300. Embarrassingly, the Orioles spent more per marginal win than the Yankees. -Stacey

Yankees fans seem content to punch the repeat button
A great article that almost perfectly explains the frustration I felt when my Yankee loving friend didn't really seem all that pressed about if she should go to the WS parade or not. -Stacey

F#*k Your Parade, Yankees
Did O'sFan21 get a guest writing gig at Deadspin? -Stacey

Hot Stove News

The Brewers traded SS J.J. Hardy to the Twins for CF Carlos Gomez. A win for the Twins, if you ask me.
The Diamondbacks picked up the $8.5M option on ace Brandon Webb. Webb underwent shoulder surgery but the D-Backs are banking on his healthy return.
The White Sox bought out Jermaine Dye's $12M option, making him a free agent. Dye, who will be 36 next seasson, hit 27 HR in '09 but his other numbers dropped significantly.
The Reds won't be picking up Ramon Hernandez's $8.5M option, but they'd like to bring him back at a lower price.
The Phillies picked up the no-brainer option on Cliff Lee for 2010, and hope to sign him to an extension.
The Mets have declined JJ Putz's $9.1M option. I find it bizarre that anyone would even think Putz would be worth that much in the first place. I wonder did Bill Bavasi give him that contract?
The Phillies have cut ties with Brett Myers.
There will be no Manny Ramirez drama this off-season as he has exercised his $20M option with the Dodgers.

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Chris Hoiles

I have season tickets, and right above and slightly to the left are these two very nice old lady named Pat and Kathy also season tix holders and they both love Chris Hoiles.

I now have a blog: http://justanotherbaltimoresportsblog.blogspot.com/

by BaltimoreSportsFan on Nov 7, 2009 7:33 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

I'd be more surprised

if there were season ticket holders who didn’t LOVE Chris Hoiles. I mean, com’on, even considering everybody all-time, he has to be a top ten favorite Oriole ever, right?

"I like baseball, movies, good clothes, whiskey, fast cars ... and you. What else you need to know?"

by Andrew @ TLC on Nov 7, 2009 10:49 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Let's see...

(in no real order)
Cal, Brooks, Eddie, Brady, Moose (#35 edition), Kakes, B-Rob, Surhoff, Hoiles, and maybe Raffy.

Yep, he’s in there.

Oh, and I’m pretty sure Wieters is gonna dethrone at least three of those guys within the next year. I figure he can be a differernt favorite player every time he changes his jersey number.

by daveh873 on Nov 7, 2009 11:02 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

...oh...i was gonna add guys like mike timlin and daniel cabrera in there

but that list works

by twistedlogic on Nov 7, 2009 11:03 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

That discussion we had

here on CC about least favorite Orioles of all time was the goods. Some of the names that popped up were just phenomenal…Steve Kline was my 2 cents, considering that’s all his punk ass was worth.

by sickuvitall on Nov 7, 2009 1:17 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Andy Etchebarren was my least favorite.

He was a real five tool player. Couldn’t hit for average or power. Couldn’t run (most catchers can’t); was a truly bad game caller and set passed ball records ; and made some of the strongest throws into center field when someone tried to steal. Paul Blair used to charge in as soon as a base runner took off. He was ready for the over throws. And ugly? Andy defined the mono-eyebrow look.

by fuddnelson on Nov 7, 2009 2:05 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Moose (#39 edition) is also one of my favorites

I don’t know about top 10, though. I’m impressed that Palmer and Frank Robinson didn’t make your list but Raffy did. I think I’d have to make two top ten lists. One that includes all of the awesome Orioles from before my time and one for the people I actually loved while they were playing.

Some Day, Matt Wieters Will Make The Cooperstown Crowd Laugh By Talking About The Time He Batted Behind Melvin Mora And Luke Scott. -Keith Law via Matt Wieters Facts

by Stacey on Nov 7, 2009 12:11 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Yea...

that last spot was kinda up for grabs. I never saw Frank or Jim play, and their personalities never really made me fall in love with them without having seen them during their careers. I never saw Brooks either but I just love the dude and i’ve always been more of a defense guy than offense. My other thoughts for that last spot were guys like Robbie Alomar, Jim Palmer, Devo, Frank Robinson, Mike Bordick… Raffy was just the name I landed on.

by daveh873 on Nov 7, 2009 3:03 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Perhaps I'm just old school

but Gus Triandos and Jim Gentile were two of my favorites and would have to be on my top ten list. Probably Dave McNally and even Cuellar, too.

by fuddnelson on Nov 7, 2009 1:58 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

John Lowenstein

would be at or near the top of my list.

"I doubt he could reach [second base]...mostly cuz his fucking arm was in Aybar's nuts." – twistedlogic

by zknower on Nov 7, 2009 2:18 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

THIS X 1 MILLION

"I would approve signing a pitcher that ate kitten tacos if he won 20 games a year." -BPinOK

by duck on Nov 7, 2009 8:42 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Gus Triandos

Hilarious mention in The Wire…

by O'sFan21 on Nov 7, 2009 3:20 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I’m trying to figure out how the Os spent more on a marginal win then the yankees
I keep coming up with Aubrey Huff and Melvin Mora both of whom underplayed. Is that enough to put us behind the yankees?

by OsandRoyals on Nov 7, 2009 1:12 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

I think the asnwer resides in the amount of wins.

We didn’t have a lot, therefore, we paid more for each one.

The stock market will never recover, our armies will never again be #1, and our children will drink filthy water for the rest of their lives - HST

by the fix is in on Nov 7, 2009 1:18 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Wow. ANyone seen this yet? I justn oticed it on the Yahoo Sports sidebar

Sammy Sosa – makeup or Michael Jackson’s disease?

The stock market will never recover, our armies will never again be #1, and our children will drink filthy water for the rest of their lives - HST

by the fix is in on Nov 7, 2009 2:36 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Yikes

Maybe MJ was on steroids? That is one scary pick of Sosa…

Librarians are hiding something

by dfa on Nov 7, 2009 3:08 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Sammy's wife seems to have changed over the years, too.

by BrianS on Nov 7, 2009 3:30 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

EGAD!

I now have a blog: http://justanotherbaltimoresportsblog.blogspot.com/

by BaltimoreSportsFan on Nov 7, 2009 5:32 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

the deadspin post is the greatest..

I especially enjoyed “Fuck George Steinbrenner. YOU’RE DYING, AND NOTHING CAN STOP IT NOW. Why don’t you go play another game of chess against a roll of scotch tape, you senile old prick?”

by GeoffreyA on Nov 7, 2009 3:29 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

on another note...

Why weren’t we interested in JJ Hardy?

by GeoffreyA on Nov 7, 2009 3:30 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Because he's declining rapidly

his glove is good, but his bat was weaker than izzy’s this year.

"I hate making excuses. If I suck, then I suck. And I suck. That's the way I'm playing. If you suck, you suck. You have to take responsibility in this game. Right now, that's the way I feel. Yes, I suck." - Jose Guillen/quote of the year

by getxstoked on Nov 7, 2009 3:34 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

He’s had one down year. In 2008, he posted an OPS+113. He’s under control for another 3 years. His glove is good. And he’s only 27 next year. If we could have traded Pie for Hardy, we should have done it in a heart beat. Hell, throw in one of our minor pitching propsects if necessary.

Vizzini: Let me put it this way. Have you ever heard of Plato, Aristotle, Socrates?
Man in Black: Yes.
Vizzini: Morons.

by birdman on Nov 7, 2009 3:53 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

2 years of Hardy is not worth 4 years of Pie.

by getxstoked on Nov 7, 2009 4:36 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Oops, yes it’s 2 years of Hardy, not three. That changes things quite a bit. Tough decision if the O’s could do Pie for Hardy straight up.

From fangraphs

However, he’s still one of the five or six best shortstops on the planet. His defense is as good as ever (+8.7 UZR) as he continues to be one of the top glove-men at the position in the game. Overall, in a miserable season for Hardy, he’s still been worth +1.5 wins in about 70% of a season. As bad as he’s been compared to his previous levels, he’s been a league average player overall this year.

I still would do Hardy for Pie. If he rebounds, then try to extend him at the end of 2010. Even in a down year, he’s still one of the five or six best shortstops according to Dave Cameron. Pie, in contrast, is still a work in progress.

Vizzini: Let me put it this way. Have you ever heard of Plato, Aristotle, Socrates?
Man in Black: Yes.
Vizzini: Morons.

by birdman on Nov 7, 2009 5:01 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

i probably would too

pie is a 4th OF and hardy would start. his bat is suspect, but i had him on my fantasy team two years ago and IIRC, he hit okay.

by twistedlogic on Nov 7, 2009 6:37 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

ugh

I hope we get John Lackey…it’s all I want from this postseason I think..

I know we need corner infielders but Lackey’s tenacity and postseason experience would be so valuable. I really think some of our young pitchers (I’m lookin in your direction TIllman)

by GeoffreyA on Nov 7, 2009 3:55 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Lackey isn't leaving Anaheim...

and he’s not worth the retarded ass amount of money it would cost to get him to Baltimore.

by getxstoked on Nov 7, 2009 4:39 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Hmm

I’d say lackey is worth 15-25 total wins next year for orioles. From his upgrde alone to his leadership to saving the bullpen work. Let’s go low end and say he’s worth +15 wins. What’s that worth to us?

O and I don’t think he’s too happy with scioscia so there’s a hancock to lure him…

by GeoffreyA on Nov 7, 2009 8:40 PM EST via mobile up reply actions 0 recs

15-25 total wins?

Really? Dude will only get 35 starts, and in a GREAT year, he’s gonna lose AT LEAST 8 of those himself, and the team will lose another 5-7. If Lackey wins 18 games, he’s 11 games better than the combination of pitchers that would be there.

11 ain’t 25.

"I would approve signing a pitcher that ate kitten tacos if he won 20 games a year." -BPinOK

by duck on Nov 7, 2009 8:45 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

well what I was lookin at is

Let’s assume he wins 16 games…so that’s 9.

Now we could guess he would save around 60 innings on the bullpen arms? I’d value that at 2-7 (depending on how you look at it, this could actually be a bunch more or less). I’d say his value is +1-2 wins/young pitcher in mentoring assuming hes any good at that since they all seem willing to learn. Assuming we got him and yanks/sox didn’t that could potentially be a 2 game swing in it’s own right either way. That’s where my rough guess of 15-25 came from….I know it sounds absurd.

All I’m saying is that the crop is thin this year..there’s no one after him really. Next year you can figure the few quality arms that MIGHT be available (Lee, Beckett, Halladay, Webb), will all be signed long term or in some cases just not be themselves anymore.

by GeoffreyA on Nov 7, 2009 10:20 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Weaver's Fourth Law: Your most precious possessions on offense are your twenty-seven outs.

by Vuff on Nov 7, 2009 5:33 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

It is going to be streamed online?

I don’t have MLB Network.

Some Day, Matt Wieters Will Make The Cooperstown Crowd Laugh By Talking About The Time He Batted Behind Melvin Mora And Luke Scott. -Keith Law via Matt Wieters Facts

by Stacey on Nov 7, 2009 5:46 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs