Am I the only one who thinks JJ Hardy's contract was actually a good idea?

by miskatonic86 on Jul 18, 2011 9:32 PM EDT

It's probably the one thing MacPhail actually got right.

Yes, he gets hurt a lot. And yes, he spent a month earlier on the DL. But will you look at the progress he's made since? 13 homeruns, only 2 errors (one of which can be judged as a miscall by Mark Reynolds) would be a good bridge to Machado, if he's all that. Let's face it, we probably won't see Manny Machado for at least another two or three years, cause I hear he's not doing well in Frederick and could potentially go back down to Delmarva. Still, J.J. Hardy, if he's healthy, which is a pretty big if, he can do well for the next three years. I know some people were arguing that he should be traded? Well, who are you going to put at shortstop? Are you going to put Robert Andino there once Roberts can play again? Please, I wouldn't trust Robert Andino with my life. J.J. Hardy is the only real bat that MacPhail has bought. He didn't have a prior career like Felix Pie, who recorded less hits than Vanilla Ice. Now if only we had a GM who actually can convince King Peter to open up his tight wallet and spend money on good, free agent pitchers.

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I don't think it was a bad idea

although I also wouldn’t have been opposed to a trade or draft picks. It was hard to go wrong with this one.

It goes with the hot dog, it goes with nachos, it goes with peanuts. Beer’s perfect. Beer never got mad at me because I didn’t call beer back. - JT

by Stacey on Jul 19, 2011 9:44 AM EDT reply actions

Not really a good idea, but not a bad idea either. We desperately need position prospects. If JJ couldn’t land any prospects in a trade, the draft picks (he’s a type A) are desperately needed to replenish the farm system.

Folksy literate type.

by birdman on Jul 19, 2011 12:48 PM EDT reply actions

I thought that the word was FA compensation was going to change with the new CBA

Don't forget - sometimes the light at the end of the tunnel is a train coming head on

by J(O's)elskIL on Jul 19, 2011 3:37 PM EDT up reply actions

could be, i doubt it would go into effect this offseason though.

Folksy literate type.

by birdman on Jul 19, 2011 3:54 PM EDT up reply actions

It isn't a bad deal

I just think that the market for Hardy would have been sufficient for us to well exceed the value of Hardy’s extension.

To be understood is to be a prostitute. ~ Fernando Pessoa

by James F on Jul 19, 2011 11:31 PM EDT reply actions

the more I think about it, the less inclined I am to agree with this statement

we can chat excitedly all we want about finding a cornerstone kind of talent for Hardy, a guy like Yonder Alonso (who I’m starting to suspect I’ve over-valued somewhat)…but I dunno. It seems like every year the really good prospects are getting harder and harder to pry away. And at the price we got for Hardy, it’s tough for me to be down on the deal at all.

But that’s after chewing it over for a few days. I’m still waiting patiently to hear where the Orioles intend to get their elite players from.

Remember, the greatest intangible of all is love. Number two is grit.

by Andrew_G on Jul 20, 2011 10:08 AM EDT up reply actions

What's an elite player?

by ahoque24 on Jul 20, 2011 10:20 AM EDT up reply actions

a cornerstone, a franchise player, a five win player

you get the idea. You look at the core of the 2011 Red Sox team and you see Pedroia (elite), Gonzalez (elite), Youkilis (elite). Or the Yankees: Granderson, ARod, Cano, Sabathia, Teixeira. All elite, cornerstone, premium players. That’s their core group of talent.

The Orioles core right now is Wieters, Hardy, and Adam Jones. That’s just not going to get the job done. They’re all good players. Real good players. They just aren’t the kind of guys who are realistically going to lead a team to the playoffs (well, maybe Wieters is).

Remember, the greatest intangible of all is love. Number two is grit.

by Andrew_G on Jul 20, 2011 10:43 AM EDT up reply actions

I was trying (and failing) to make a joke.

As in Orioles fans don’t know what an elite player is anymore. I think the FO still thinks someone from that core will be an elite player (maybe Wieters, but just maybe). And I get the feeling the FO is absolutely sure that Machado will be one. It feels like our FO is the only one that thinks all prospects turn into stars.

by ahoque24 on Jul 20, 2011 11:06 AM EDT up reply actions

I got the joke.

by IggesRule13 on Jul 20, 2011 12:34 PM EDT up reply actions

In summation:

In order to be an “elite” player, you have to be a huge douche bag tool. Or Adrian Gonzalez (who is currently just a small douche bag tool as he hasn’t had time to fully marinate in the juices of PHN)

"things like locig and prrofreading are actually valued here" - zknower

by daveh873 on Jul 20, 2011 2:24 PM EDT up reply actions

One thing...

why aren’t you including Kakes in that core? He’s been worth just a bit less than AJ this year, but AJ is having his best year and Markakis his worst. Kakes has the track record Jones doesn’t. That makes up for the .3 WAR deficiency in my eyes.

"things like locig and prrofreading are actually valued here" - zknower

by daveh873 on Jul 20, 2011 2:27 PM EDT up reply actions

well, you get the idea, anyway

we’ve got some real good complimentary pieces, and we need to find the big pieces for them to compliment. Otherwise everything we do is just wasting time and money.

Remember, the greatest intangible of all is love. Number two is grit.

by Andrew_G on Jul 20, 2011 2:51 PM EDT up reply actions

I wasn't trying to call you out for the omission

I was just wondering if you’d soured on Nick to the point where he was no longer even on a level with AJ.

"things like locig and prrofreading are actually valued here" - zknower

by daveh873 on Jul 20, 2011 4:20 PM EDT up reply actions

fwiw...

the awful defense of adam jones this year greatly limits his overall value to the point that markakis is worth quite a bit more, at least in rWAR.

"the secret to a happy ending is knowing when to roll the credits"

by j.q. higgins on Jul 21, 2011 11:15 AM EDT up reply actions

I’m still waiting patiently to hear where the Orioles intend to get their elite players from.

Not from trading JJ Hardy. Nobody gives up elite prospects for half season rentals unless it’s for a bona fide ace. I’m skeptical the Reds would have given up Alonso for JJ and Alonso isn’t even in the same league of Smoak and LaPorta (the two key pieces from the Lee and CC trades).

Folksy literate type.

by birdman on Jul 20, 2011 1:03 PM EDT up reply actions

I agree

like I said, the more I thought about it, the happier I was with the Hardy extension

Remember, the greatest intangible of all is love. Number two is grit.

by Andrew_G on Jul 20, 2011 1:36 PM EDT up reply actions

I dont think anyone thought we were getting elite players for Hardy

but if we are going to spend money on solid players like Hardy, we need to find some elite players to go around them or it’s just a waste of resources. I never thought we were getting a huge return for Hardy, but I figured what we got back might be able to help when this team is actually ready to use it. Hardy might just be a nice player on a bad team for the immediate future.

"things like locig and prrofreading are actually valued here" - zknower

by daveh873 on Jul 20, 2011 2:30 PM EDT up reply actions