There ain't no light at the end of that tunnel...
Why even waste your time being an Oriole fan?
"I just thought that Brian [Roberts] should stay an Oriole, not that the front office didn't think so. They were looking at it from a standpoint of improving the ballclub," Angelos said Sunday, confirming that he nixed an offseason deal for slugging first baseman Adam LaRoche. "And they may have been totally right. I looked on it as the retention of a player that came through our system and who is of such great value to the club for all the things that he does out there with the public and in the hospitals and so on.
"This is a special kind of player, just like Cal Ripken was for the Orioles. And the kind of player you want to keep as part of the organization. And so there's an area where one might say that I have interfered, but I felt impelled to do that from the standpoint of keeping a player that I thought was critical."
If you let that sink in, it just gets better.
They were looking at it from a standpoint of improving the ballclub? And they are wrong for that? Shame on them...I mean, who has ever heard of actually trying to improve a baseball team? Look away if you get nauseous easily.
Imagine having to sit across of that while negotiating? That would seriously be a reason to not sign with the Orioles. He looks like a cross between Grendel, Joe Torre, and Macaulay Culkin with a sprinkling of cancer spots. He looks like the type of person that is continually spitting while he talks."It's just another Angelos story to add to the list," one baseball executive said. "He affects everything they do. They may never overcome him. Why would they want a first baseman when they can overpay for middle relievers and have four DHs?"
It's funny being a Met fan or a fan of any other team for that matter, but truly disturbing for Oriole fans. Extremely exasperating reading that stuff about a team you root for.
Labels: Orioles
posted by michael o. at 11:36 PM
35 Comments:
You are the man, mike. Where did you dig out gems like this?
It chilled my spine when I saw that picture.
This is the creature who costed us Oswalt. I wanted to hurt him so much then again after seeing this photo I realized that there is no more damage I can do to this guy.
I read Coop's blog because I don't want to be forced to read Phillips' columns. Never mind Hillary's speeches, Phillips alone will do me in.
It's so comforting to see Feliciano doing well so far. We need him badly.
12:24 AM
As a Mets fan transplanted to Baltimore for 4 years for college, it's saddening to watch a team collapse like the Orioles have. They had such a great home fan base and their stadium is one of the best in the majors, yet management continues to shit the bed and make bad moves and bad signings (hello Stephen Trachsel).
I'd like to thank you for posting the picture of Angelos tonight. I am now going to vomit up all those beers I consumed at the bars down town tonight.
A final note -- Michael Pelfrey BROUGHT IT tonight. Gotta show him some love. Welcome to the rotation pal. 72 Pitches over 5 innings, one earned run, and pitching against a pretty decent O's hitting squad tonight ... to quote this blog -- "Swellicious."
Keep up the good work man.
T.C.
1:36 AM
To pick up on MetsDynasty from last night. Pelfrrey is a completely different pitcher, in a word, mature. It's really hard to believe that the Mets would even consider sending him to AAA beyond say the first two weeks of the season. Just watching him last night, you can see that he's become a major league pitcher. The Wang analogy above is probably a good one to start, but pitching in the NL, I would expect that the current Pelfrey should strike out three or four a game. If it was a real game, ole' "John" would have pitched through the seventh no problem.
Which brings me to the next point, strkeouts are of less importance if Pelfrey continues to generate ground balls and broken bats. While I do expect he'll develop into a stirkeout pitcher, we'd be best served by low pitch counts and seven inning starts. As it is, Pelfrey is looking like a sure six innings. That counts a lot given some of the five inning alternatives the Mets currently count on.
Smith also looked like a major league pitcher last night. The team would be fools to send him down, even if he turns out a strictly right handed specialist (akin to how Bradford was used in the playoffs say).
I'd consider taking the three lefties, Heilman, Park, Smith with one more among the promising, confounding choice of righties. You could make an argument for heaving Sosa to NOrleans for a regular rotation spot and using Burgos in the manner that Jorge Julio was at the beginning of last year. That means, closing out blow outs or mopping up. Places the Mets can continue to ogle his stuff while not getting hurt by it - kind of like major league extended spring training. Adkins is unimpressive, and Park is worth keeping (and better suited for relief).
The O's are a sad case, a vanity team. How can anyone compare Brian Roberts, who is a fine ballplayer, to Cal Ripken? And this belongs in the Oliver Hall of Fame: "He looks like a cross between Grendel, Joe Torre, and Macaulay Culkin with a sprinkling of cancer spots." Man, I wish I could get some italics when posting.
8:38 AM
Angelos tanked the team to hurt DC's chances of getting a team. He is a lousy human being and a worse owner. He has too much pride to let an ownership group led by Ripken buy him out, when this would be the right thing to do. I wish nothing but misery upon him, while still feeling really bad for Orioles fans, who are in fact good and knowledgeable fans. And Camden Yards is the best new-age ballpark in baseball, there is a reason everyone after it copied its formula.
The problem with Pelfrey and no strikeouts is that shit happens when the ball gets put in play so often. He is going to have outings where he suffers from dink and dunk and gives up 5 runs in 6 innings and only 2 balls were hit hard. This happens to our buddy Glavine all the time. He sounds like a baby a little when he whines about it afterward, but I feel his pain.
Smith has NASTY stuff. It's sick. How the hell did he fall to third round with that deception, velocity and movement? And he has a clue against lefthanders now...
Feliciano terrified me all last year. I kept thinking he would come back to earth. But he pounds the corners and keeps the ball down. His command is remarkable, really. He's not even a LOOGY, he doesn't deserve that moniker.
I would prefer to have Gaby and Ramon Hernandez as well if we could do it over again. I feel like a Yankee fan saying this, but I do love PLD's fiery disposition and how that fits with this team. It's a good fit with a bunch of guys that are either quiet (Beltran), happy-go-lucky (Reyes), corny (Wright), old and wise (Franco), and intellectual (Delgado). Paulie is like the crazy friend who you never know what he is going to do when you're out with him, so he always keeps you on your heels. I think that is good for this team.
9:01 AM
I actually like Brian Roberts. I would have preferred him over Adam LaRoche. Although Angelos is a compelete dumbass and all that other fun stuff, I think the Orioles lucked out on that. However, the fact that Angelos is interferring with thier business is just... no good.
I can live with an argument for Paul Lo Duca being in the #2 spot. What I CANT live with are the stupid reasons for it. Some fans argue that Lo Duca lets Reyes steal, that he sees alot of pitches. BULLSHIT! Wright sees alot more pitches per at bat than Lo Duca. He'd give plenty of time for Reyes to steal.
People complain that Wright wouldn't be knocking in runs, he won't be getting his share of RBI's. I think they're wrong again, the case study would be Soriano, on that horrible Nationals club last season batting leadoff he had 99 RBI's. Wright said he would NOT change his approach if he bat second. Wright will be fine...
People say "he's willing to give himself up" REALLY!? Are you fucking kidding me? Since when is giving up outs such a positive thing? I'd MUCH rather have Reyes at first base with Wright batting and 0 outs, than Reyes at 2nd with Beltran and 1 out.
Wow Mike, that technician story is the only scenario in life that I can imagine myself just going "GULP".
9:07 AM
Oh, and regarding Shawn Green, someone somewhere was making fun of Joe Torre for talking about how Mientkiwiecz (Eyechart) was hitting hard groundouts and talking about how he was turning it around at the plate (Eyechart is having a terrible spring offensively, shocker). I feel like we are doing that with Shawn Green now.
"Oh, but he hit that one pretty hard to the second baseman!"
If he doesn't hit well in the last week of spring training, he doesn't deserve to start. He probably still will get the nod for obvious reasons, but he will not have earned it.
And I scoff at the person who tries to compare Green's spring to Alou's.
9:07 AM
Actually, I forgot to give DG credit for that one. He's written my blog the last two days...he sent me the article. I cannot take credit for the picture. I CANNOT!
9:11 AM
Man, go ahead. I have a six hour advantage on the news, that's all. Plus, I know what kind of stuff we all like commenting on. You get the credit. You put it together.
And it takes true inspiration to post that picture!
9:26 AM
Yeah regarding that Angelos picture, I'm going to quote Dave Chappelle:
"SHIT'S GROSS!"
9:49 AM
Pedro is a stud. No two ways around it. Pedro y Pedro y Carlos y Carlos.
Tommy, what’s really crazy is how much Angelos could have helped his team by trading Tejada, who won’t be around after his contract expires and their young pitching might be hitting their stride. Imagine this….they do trade for LaRoche, they swapped Tejada for Oswalt and then spun Oswalt to the Mets for Milledge, Heilman, and whomever. Then they have Bedard, Penn, Loewen and Cabrera to build around in the rotation with Heilman and Ray in the bullpen, and Milledge, Markakis, and LaRoche in the field. I don’t know, they could have been in a much better shape with tons of youth and tons of upside. Now? Not so much.
Pelfrey is getting harder and harder to deny from the rotation. Spring stats or not, we all know he has a big league arm.
Emad, dead on with the Petit/4th start assertion. The guy can start in the bigs for sure, but in the Joe Blanton mold. Lots of hits, might drop a good year on you, should eat innings….The Delgado deal is brilliant, but I think 99% of us felt that way the day it went down.
I’m not complaining about Gaby for LoDuca anymore. Gaby would just be in line behind a lot of guys and LoDuca has all those intangibles!
I think they give Adkins a shot. I mean, he pitched decent last year. You have to defer to that and give him a shot rather than lose him. With no Duaner, they should be able to fit both and it’s looking like Burgos goes to AAA to work on stuff.
I’d like more K’s too from Pelf. To throw mid to high 90’s with not many K’s is scary. Contact rate is a good indictor of performance. Not many guys can succeed with K rates under 6.00. I think they come though, he’s just figuring himself out.
Oh we all know Green sucks. He has a few good at-bats in spring and people talk like he’s turned the corner and 25 again. Ideally, he’s the bench/backup 1b with Milledge or Johnson starting. However, we have Franco and Green is starting.
I think LoDuca can hit over .300 again in the two spot. When you have Beltran, Delgado, and Wright behind you with Reyes on base in front of you and you possess NO power, you get a lot to hit. Whoever is in that two spot is one lucky SOB. Paulie ballgame’s performance was largely due to that. But he did perform as he needed to do. Plenty of people might not have. This team will score runs no matter how they are configured.
DG, Pelf might be a groundball machine, but historically speaking, only a few truly succeed like that. He might be that guy, but we need more of a sample size. Until then, most will be skeptical. My thing is, he has a great fastball with great sink, but it’s not Webb or Lowe sinker. Which is why I believe he needs to be a more in well rounded pitcher with better secondary stuff. I could be wrong and maybe he is that guy, but I also think he can overcome that and get to 6.00 k/9.
RE: Bullpen…three lefties, Heilman, Park, Smith, and Adkins to start the year is fine with me and let Adkins prove himself to save his job before Duaner comes back.
And this belongs in the Oliver Hall of Fame: "He looks like a cross between Grendel, Joe Torre, and Macaulay Culkin with a sprinkling of cancer spots." Man, I wish I could get some italics when posting.
This was a tough one for me. With a world of possibilities, I didn’t want to drop the ball and I felt I did. I’m glad you liked it.
Smith has NASTY stuff. It's sick. How the hell did he fall to third round with that deception, velocity and movement? And he has a clue against lefthanders now...
Did we all complain with a ROOGY getting drafted in the 3rd? Maybe it Holdzkum….maybe we were behind Smith because Bradford was so awesome. I don’t remember, but I’ll look up what I though.
I guess Ramon H. with Gaby H. is optimal, but it’s not huge. That’s all. The good thing about Gaby on the Mets would be that he would be taken along sloooowwwwly. Which is always ideal for pitchers whereas he might be rushed there.
Benny…LarRoche in that park = scary. Roberts does not. Maybe scary is too strong of a word though…but he would productive. 40 homers is a possibility.
And way to lay the smack down on the Wright in the 2-spot argument.
Danny…furthermore on Green…when was the last time he was good! Guys don’t usually turn it around at this stage and he was NEVER this skinny. Not that I’m suggesting he took roids and shrunk, I have no idea what happened. But he is a twig. He cannot have any power.
9:54 AM
Fox ought to serve their fact checkers better Koolaid, or was Dayn Perry supposed to correct Ken Rosenthal on this one?
Righty side-armer Joe Smith, the team's 10th-round pick in last June's amateur draft, also is making a strong bid for a bullpen role.
3rd Round. This shit is too easy to get wrong!
10:36 AM
Strawberry was that skinny! Not that I'm making a case for Shawn being Darryl. Just sayin'...
Smith could not have been taken higher. No reliever goes higher unless he's a potential closer, but the Mets always said he could come fast. So did Baseball America.
10:45 AM
10th rounder? Wow. Just wow. The only way they would have put 10th is if they guessed. Go to the baseball cube and you can find out in under 30 seconds. I guess they were trying to make it a feel good story.
I agree with DG. No reliever goes that high unless they are a potential closer. Even then, guys like Joey Devine might have gotten selected a bit high. Hansen…Street…Cox…those guys are 1st to sandwich picks. Others are 2nd/3rd rounders.
RE: Straw. Straw was 6’5” and ripped. He has muscles man. Green? Not so much. They are not even in the same ballpark in terms of muscle mass and sheer sized. I can see Greens RIBS! He looks like he’s from a third world country. The man does not look healthy.
10:50 AM
Is Joe Smith not a potential closer? He was a closer in college. The value of college closers has skyrocketed in recent drafts. It was UNHEARD of 5 years ago for a college closer to go in the first round. It happens every year now. I know he didn't come from a big school, but he was a closer and wildly dominant his final season at Wright State. And his stuff is sick, so he projects.
I wonder how many college closers went in the draft before him.
11:03 AM
It’s not that Joe Smith isn’t good. After how everyone felt about Bradford last year, I think the general consensus is that he will be valuable. That being said, he got hit by lefties pretty well last year. Over .300 I believe at the higher levels and being a sidearmer and not at least a 3/4th guy, he will always have questions against lefties until he just goes out and does it over a large period of time. While he doesn’t have to hold lefties to a .200 BA, .300 won’t work. Remember Looper?
That’s not to say he will never close, but he certainly might not be top choice for a contending team. You’d like your closer to be really effective against both sides and not just really, really, really effective against one and mildly effective against the other side. A .275 BAA against one side of the plate is not going to cut it against good teams with a deep bench. You can pick his spots better setting up and really, aren’t set up guys more important than closers getting higher leverage innings and getting simply more work?
12:10 PM
IMO, Adkins doesn't belong here. All of his pitches are average or below average. He has virtually no upside. The Mets are building a first class bullpen and he simply doesn't have enough talent to be considered. I know he doesn't have an option but we gonna lose him anyway once Sanchez returns.
Lino Urbaneta, on the other hand, has much better stuff. He reminds me of Roberto Hernandez. Even though Lino is not quite there yet, he has the upside to be very very good. Why not take him north instead of Adkins before Sanchez returns? Adkins has no future with this team.
Perez and Urbaneta will pitch tonight. I suggest met fans check out Urbaneta's stuff.
I can't wait.
12:14 PM
Did we all complain with a ROOGY getting drafted in the 3rd? Maybe it Holdzkum….maybe we were behind Smith because Bradford was so awesome. I don’t remember, but I’ll look up what I though.
No, I don't think we "hated" the pick of Smith. We laughed at his generic-ness but the one we hated with a passion was the HOldzkom pick, ugh. CHeck the archives though, it'll be fun.
1:02 PM
Tonight will be the first game I’ve checked out all spring. Frankly, I’m a bit concerned about my ability to watch games this year.
I want to see Lino bad, but in no way can you condone taking him north. He should be in AAA working on things. Period. Adkins was a good reliever last year. He may not be overwhelming, but relievers don’t have to be to be effect…Dan Wheeler, Dave Weathers, and many others have succeeded with high 80’s to 90 mph stuff and no real big kill ‘em all pitch. He can relieve on this level. I just think you give him some more time and he has to perform or he’s out.
1:35 PM
Except that if your reliever offers nothing new in the mix of relievers, why bother? That's why I was arguing earlier for Burgos on Julio time; that allows him to continue to work with Peterson without him truly fucking up games. Then again, the minors may well be what Burgos needs psychologically, but the Mets may just as well trade Adkins for a lower level prospect who doesn't need to be kept on a 40 man. Adkins really has no place on the team over the course of a season given the returns of Mota and Dirty Sanchez.
2:06 PM
I agree that Adkins can relieve but I just don't think he has a place in the dominating pen that the Mets are trying to build.
He can probably be a decent arm for a team with a poor bullpen like the Redsox.
Wheeler actually has much better stuff than Adkins. Weathers is a good comparison. As for keeping an insurance, I much rather keep Park or Sosa than wasting a spot on Adkins.
You are probably right about Lino's chance of making the team. This team is better off stockpiling starters than experimenting with unproven relievers. However, it won't surprise me if we see Lino pitch for the Mets at some point this season.
2:19 PM
RE: Burgos learning on the job could be doing more harm than good. I'm not against rushing the right guys that can handle it, but here is clearly some debate whether or not he's that guy.
If the minor league coaches are not good, why not send every good arm up the bigs to work with Peterson? Rick implemented a plan from the top down and they should be doing just fine jobs. Obviously if they were as good as Rick, they'd be in the bigs, but the professor can give them homework assignments. Lino and Ambriorix should be at AAA.
3:19 PM
And if Adkins makes the team and pitches well in April, maybe the Mets can get something out of him in a trade, as opposed to unceremoniously waiving him at the end of spring training to make room for someone with options like Urdaneta.
As for Joe Smith, Mike, I don't think he will ever close for us, I was just making the point that college closers with great stuff are getting picked in the first round these days, and Smith has great stuff and deception to boot (though his lefty splits last year were certainly troubling and the one thing that probably dropped him down people's draft boards). Devine has neither, it seems.
3:22 PM
just so everyone knows i topped my hamilton pick in my other draft by snagging o-pea in the last round, and this was after the boston domination. much easier to get mets in that league. problem is half the mets are first round pics nowadays.
anyway he better not make me look stupid tonight and come real games i want and expect cy young performance.
mike, you must really be a bad ass approaching chuck norris to have people compliment your decision to post angelos' mug. there is nothing good about that image unless you like the taste of your own puke.
what if reyes hits 35 homeruns? how will he still top 50 stolen bases?
3:30 PM
also, can we please top talking about the orioles and AAA in the same posts. every time i drive by harbor park i feel like swerving into oncoming traffic.
"Lino and Ambriorix should be at AAA...." -- just two more kicks in my nuts.
3:33 PM
last comment --
mike i am just dumbfounded that you might not be able to watch games. for reasons of work or play? just hard to fathom why not.
worst case scenario, you're going to need tivo and/or mlb.com (where you can also watch the games after the fact) and maybe satelite radio.
also i don't think we should have to wait more than 24 hours for frest posts.
not to bust your balls or anything.
3:36 PM
Danny, I’m in agreeance with you in regards to college closers in the first, but it’s still kind of rare and will only be the special guys. It will not be a yearly occurrence for sure, but it does happen more and more with the way pitchers specialize in their roles nowadays.
problem is half the mets are first round pics nowadays.
Omar is a genius! Oh, and whomever was the scout that said get Wright.
there is nothing good about that image unless you like the taste of your own puke.
Line of the day!
Yes, Reyes can steal 50 and hit 35. He’s that good. 35 won’t come this year, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see that before he’s 30. 40/40? Not going to happen. I think he’ll be a 25 homer guy, but everyone has those anomaly years.
Sorry about the AAA talk Jake. Things will get better.
mike i am just dumbfounded that you might not be able to watch games. for reasons of work or play? just hard to fathom why not.
Well, you’d be right to kick me in the ovaries for saying though. However, longer hours and other after work obligations coupled with an active social life leaves me with little time. However, once the season starts, I’ll make a more concerted effort…i.e. DVRing games, making sure I’m at bars watching them…etc. But if I get home and then drive to watch a game at a bar, it would probably be 8:30 before I sat down with my first beer. I might have to invest in an XM roadie or something. I’m also looking to move closer to the city so my commute is shorter leaving me more time for the games. However, my 70 pound pitbill is complicating my move. When I was in Hoboken, life was easier. I’m working on it Jake…I’m working on it.
4:43 PM
Also….don’t forget I go boarding twice on the weekends unless I have something else that I cannot miss, like St. Patty’s day. So once that ends, I’ll have time on the weekends to absorb the games and catch up on all things baseball for sure…that is unless I finally take up surfing this year.
4:45 PM
mike, benny, or anyone else - interested in doing another fantasy baseball league? it will be 12 guys - i'm looking to fill 7 slots. it will be the standard 5x5 rotisserie league. email me at angryeverett@yahoo.com if interested. thanks.
5:05 PM
your new job sucks. but you'll figure it out between dvr and xm. just need to tighten up.
speaking of surfing and st. paddy, check out this link to get you motivated:
http://surfline.com/surfnews/photo_bamp.cfm?id=8384
5:27 PM
Jake, thanks for the pep talk..AE, I'll email you later and would be more than happy to return the favor.
I might be able to get a friend to do it as well since he is pissed about his last draft.
5:40 PM
Gotta love that the station that covers the Dodgers game tonight is Channel 9, KCAL. Californians are way too calorie conscious!
Funny, if I can offer any consolation, Mike, I would note this. I've got game access while I'm in Europe but the meat of the summer when I'm in the States, my house is too rural to get any games whatsoever. My wife laughs because I listen to WFAN in the car in the dark as it fades in and out of reception.
Now question why am I up watching a ST game for a second night in a row?
Reyes has stolen three bases and it's only the top of the 3rd! No velocity gun on the pitchers but Ollie looks like he's throwing pretty hard.
Dodger pitcher is very wild tonight. 4 wild pitches, 4 walks, and he nearly took Delgados head off, ... twice!
8:04 PM
Ollie does not have his best stuff tonight, getting hit harder, given up a few walks through 3, but he's surviving.
8:18 PM
DG - I can't watch the game here, but from the looks of it he gave up two hits and two walks. NOT BAD I WOULD SAY.
My man OHHHHHHHHH PEEEEAAAAAAAAA
8:49 PM
Hey's not as good as the other night. People making contact and occasionally hard but at people. Struck out two in the bottom of the fifth and a run has finally scored in the 6th mostly thanks to David Wright's two base error (that came after a great, reaction stab of a line drive). Sacrafice hit brought him home. He looked to be throwing hard tonight.
Jose Reyes is a monster tonight! Only reason I'm still up is to see if he scores for the forth time in four at bats. He's on third with no outs!
And Freddy Garcia, the acquisition that supposedly made the Phils the new Met-beaters (at least in their minds) left a game tonight with a bicep problem.
9:17 PM
He scored on a Beltran double. Goodnite!
9:18 PM
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