Markakis, Roberts still high on O's to-do list

No real point to sign Roberts unless he wants to take a huge paycut below what he's worth to stay with the O's. The rest of the team won't be good before he's too old to be effective, so he's not really part of the longterm solution. The team has too many holes to field a contending team in the next couple of years, so keeping a blue chip player like Roberts on the payroll is pointless -- you need to sign YOUNG guys to longterm contracts, and trade the older guys to prospects. The Rays should be the model -- you homegrow youngsters, and if they mature at the same time, you have a contender team. You stay away from expensive oldies and stay away from the free market until you have a single hole or two to fill. So lose Roberts for whatever you can get, and double down with Markakis and other, comparably young guys.

"We know we have to eventually get ready to plan to think about getting around to talking about adding these things to our 'To Do' list."

A front office of ACTION, not words.

And Jono is correct.

In Andy I Trust.

It also looks like the old poker player in the Warehouse has some leverage down in Florida finally. I knew there was a reason why we haven't found a good permanent home yet, now with teams leaving Florida in droves we may get that city and facility worthy of us. This waiting game is Peter A's strong suit, too bad it wont play very well for most baseball decisions.

Joe, you crack me up.

"I knew there was a reason why we haven't found a home..."

Ummm...Joe. This hermit crab approach by Angelos has been going on for DECADES, in case you didn't realize it.

Yet again, the Orioles are on-track to fill the discarded shell of another team.

And that makes you happy. Funny.

You are correct about one thing. There is a reason. The reason is that the owner has no respect for the fans. While other teams continuously work to improve their facilities, Angelos applauds the gypsy approach to Spring Training.

The sooner the man assumes room temperature, the better. Everything about Angelos screams CHEAP LOSER.

I'm still trying to figure out why keeping Roberts is so important when they were so desperate to trade Tejeda.

Logic?

Roberts turns 31 in a couple of weeks. This is the O's commitment to "rebuilding"?

The front office has no real plan.

Ghost Oriole- You hit the nail on the head!!! Great comment!

Ghost Oriole wrote:

Joe, you crack me up.
"I knew there was a reason why we haven't found a home..."
Ummm...Joe. This hermit crab approach by Angelos has been going on for DECADES, in case you didn't realize it.
Yet again, the Orioles are on-track to fill the discarded shell of another team.
And that makes you happy. Funny.
You are correct about one thing. There is a reason. The reason is that the owner has no respect for the fans. While other teams continuously work to improve their facilities, Angelos applauds the gypsy approach to Spring Training.
The sooner the man assumes room temperature, the better. Everything about Angelos screams CHEAP LOSER.

I was never too happy about our Florida situation except my personal affinity for Ft. Lauderdale but you have to admit we are in a great spot to leverage a good deal. It needs to be in a spot that is much closer to other teams and that can house all of our squads. Angelos is local and has had our best interests at heart but he has been misguided, now it seems he has learned humility when it comes to baseball decisions and we should give him the benefit of the doubt unless he crosses the line again....I think he has learned his lesson.....Call me crazy but I think he has learned from his mistakes finally....

It's also very funny that "real O's fans" think that the team will be improved by keeping the same last place roster in place.

Signing Markakis is the right move, but Roberts must go.

Gosh, they should lock up all of the players who've led to last place.

Ummm...They've been trying to improve the current location for just about a decade, but the FAA or FAC or whatever it is won't let them because the complex is on their property and they apparently feel the Orioles paying out of their pockets to renovate a broken down, falling apart baseball complex would be bad in some way. A move to Dodgertown would be perfect. Class A accomodations, great playing surfaces, and in an area where people actually like to watch baseball. I don't care if it's a hand me down, it's 1000x better than Ft. Lauderdale.

I also don't really know why you people are still being so hard on Angelos. He's finally trying to right the ship and everyone is acting like he's digging a deeper hole because things didn't get better in one season. He's been spending money, tons of it, just on the wrong players, now that Flanagan isn't in charge to scrape the bottom of the over the hill vet bin, that money is starting to go to good use. I'd much rather have a rich owner like Peter than the owner of say, the Twins, the Marlins, or the Royals, where if the payroll gets over $60 mil or a player makes over $5 mil, it's time to clean house. I'd throw the Rays in that pile too, but they almost doubled their payroll from last year to this year, and they are going to have to increase payroll again, so they aren't really in that group anymore.

Ghost Oriole wrote:

I'm still trying to figure out why keeping Roberts is so important when they were so desperate to trade Tejeda.
Logic?
Roberts turns 31 in a couple of weeks. This is the O's commitment to "rebuilding"?
The front office has no real plan.

This will be a good litmus test, we dont have a need for an older second baseman in the long run. But he is the owners mascot, it should be interesting, he would/should be traded under my plan of competing in 2012 or later but maybe Andy thinks we can compete in 2010?

So Angelos continues to do the EXACT same thing he's done for years, but you see changes. Nothing has changed.

The Spring Training debacle is borderline crazy. No other MLB team has the never-ending drama of "where will we play next year? Where will we play the year after that?"

Let's just wait around for all of the other teams in the division to move to better facilities, and then we can use their inferior complexes! The hand-me-down approach is very dignified.

And Joe thinks that the O's will catch the rest of the division?

Jimbo wrote:

Ummm...They've been trying to improve the current location for just about a decade, but the FAA or FAC or whatever it is won't let them because the complex is on their property and they apparently feel the Orioles paying out of their pockets to renovate a broken down, falling apart baseball complex would be bad in some way. A move to Dodgertown would be perfect. Class A accomodations, great playing surfaces, and in an area where people actually like to watch baseball. I don't care if it's a hand me down, it's 1000x better than Ft. Lauderdale.
I also don't really know why you people are still being so hard on Angelos. He's finally trying to right the ship and everyone is acting like he's digging a deeper hole because things didn't get better in one season. He's been spending money, tons of it, just on the wrong players, now that Flanagan isn't in charge to scrape the bottom of the over the hill vet bin, that money is starting to go to good use. I'd much rather have a rich owner like Peter than the owner of say, the Twins, the Marlins, or the Royals, where if the payroll gets over $60 mil or a player makes over $5 mil, it's time to clean house. I'd throw the Rays in that pile too, but they almost doubled their payroll from last year to this year, and they are going to have to increase payroll again, so they aren't really in that group anymore.

I agree with you post 100%. Good points. Some of these fans don't seem to remember what it was like to have Irsay as an owner either.

Here. Let's recap the AL East Spring Training facilities:

Blue Jays: In 2002 Dunedin spent $12 million on a new spring-training complex for the Blue Jays, which include new training facilities, offices, new hitting cages, and five full fields at the Cecil P. Englebert Recreational Complex

Red Sox: The Lee County Board of County Commissioners this afternoon approved a motion today to move forward with an agreement to build a new Boston Red Sox spring-training stadium in southern Lee County, the Fort Myers News-Press reported on its Web site. The new proposal calls for a 12,000-seat replica of Fenway Park to be constructed at a still-to-be determined site between Daniels Parkway and Bonita Beach Road in that community, according to the newspaper.

Yankees: Steinbrenner Field is an example of money spent well. It's basically a miniature Yankee Stadium: the outfield fences are the same dimensions as those in Yankee Stadium, the grandstand has two levels and comprises most of the seating in the stadium, the decorative elements ringing the grandstand is exactly like those found at Yankee Stadium, a Monument Park honoring former Yankee greats is located behind the grandstand, and there are 12 luxury suites that are way too overbuilt for the Florida State League.

Rays: spring training will once again return to Port Charlotte in 2009 after the Tampa Bay Rays decided to relocate there after the team and county agreed to rebuild the stadium and bring it up to modern state-of-the-art standards. The $27.2 million needed to do so will be more than five times the original $5 million construction cost and when the extensive renovations are completed the Rays new spring training home will literally be new itself.

Orioles: no plan in place. They're trying to occupy an abandoned facility.

So, every other team in the division has a great new home in place, or close, and the Baltimore Orioles are still looking for discarded shells.

"And Joe thinks that O's will catch the rest of the division."
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In time, the Rays looked hopeless for years, things can change quickly. I do like the idea of three .400 + OBP guys* batting consecutively next year. You couple that with some progress from the arms on the farm, its not out of the realm. Its also not likely but we are not as far as you believe.*Markakis-Teixeira-Wie ters.

People love to call me negative.

The Spring Training travesty is probably one of the best examples of Peter Angelos's legacy for the Baltimore Orioles.

The ownership and front office continue to slap the fans in the face.

The last place Rays negotiated a $27 million new facility after being the worst team in baseball.

And Baltimore can't even secure a castoff home.

I told you the landscape is changing, Florida has lost many valuable teams to Arizona in the last decade, cities are now willing to make a deal with us, this will end well for us.

The cost of the stadium's renovations will be borne by three parties, the biggest chunk ($15 million) coming from the state of Florida. The Rays will contribute $4 million to the project and Charlotte County is responsible for the remainder. The county's share will come from a 1% hotel bed tax increase, which is expected to generate $450,000 per year for the life of the Rays' 20-year lease.

So, the Rays paid $4 million towards a new Florida complex. That's it.

Peter Angelos paid Jay Payton $10 million for 14HRs and a .250 BA.

Wouldn't a good owner spend some money on:

1) The fans of the team.
2) The development of minor league prospects.
3) His legacy.

Instead, the O's are trying to find THE CHEAPEST option.

I told you the landscape is changing, Florida has lost many valuable teams to Arizona in the last decade, cities are now willing to make a deal with us, this will end well for us.
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Joe, are you bothering to read these articles?

All of the other teams already have deals in place. Only the Orioles cannot get something done.

the "O" better keep these two.They don't have a lot going for them anyway.
Go see the BowieBays Sox or Blue Crabs.Spend some money not a fortune.But what do i know.I just grow tobacco.
Cal Ripken is running all around the Country.Cant the "O" use him here?????