1st choice: Millar eyes O's return

If they re sign Millar you can write off 2009 on opening day.Wouldn't surprise me though to see McPhail take the easy way out.McPhail only cares about cutting payroll,not winning.

John wrote:

If they re sign Millar you can write off 2009 on opening day.Wouldn't surprise me though to see McPhail take the easy way out.McPhail only cares about cutting payroll,not winning.

That is simply a preposterous statement.

Millar seems like a decent guy, fun to have around,etc. but bringing him back makes no sense. He is likely pushing to come back because he knows no other team is interested.
In all fairness, he hasn't quit on the season but if he's such a clubhouse influence, why hasn't he laid into the other veterans that have?

I always appreciated his grind it out at-bats that included his high number of pitches seen per at bat. I respect what he made out of being a replacement player during the strike and getting the very most out of his talent but we have to move on. At the very least next year Huff will handle the bulk of 1b with Scott and Ramon dh-ing. The two young kids (Mantanez & Reimold) can share left and help out with giving Adam and Nick breathers.

Millar says "I feel like everything is going in the right direction." I can think of 3.8 million reasons why that's true for him personally. The fact that the other people quoted in the article support retaining 37 year old veterans should be grounds for dismissal for the whole lot of them. Do they not realize a long term rebuilding is in order and these veterans will be long gone before competiveness is achieved? What a bunch of clowns.

They should keep all of the same players and hope for completely different results.

John wrote:

If they re sign Millar you can write off 2009 on opening day.Wouldn't surprise me though to see McPhail take the easy way out.McPhail only cares about cutting payroll,not winning.

John, you're clueless!......Millar is a great guy to have on the team, but if he's back next year, it should ONLY be as a part-time player/sub. We've gotta find spots for Huff, Luke Scott, Lou Montanez, and probably Reimold. And let's hope 1B is gonna be occupied by Tex!!

A guy like Millar is invaluable for the morale of a team that is getting pounded the way this one is. Keep him and get rid of the people responsible for the systemic breakdown of the franchise over the past decade. Angelos should be sued for gross incompetence, breach of fiduciary duty and malicious destruction. There is no worse owner in all of professional sports.

Miller s not an issue really. For 2009 the issues are SS and starting pitching. Thats it. The rest will be OK. The team is as close or as far away as the pitching and shortstop take them.

Quite a rebuilding program. Maybe by 2012 they will be .500.Considering they cant find a pitcher with control the rebuild will be a work in progress for the foreseable future. The ownership must be thinking the fans use play money to buy their tickets.

They should keep Millar for the next 10 years as part of MacPhail's dedicated "rebuilding" program.

After all, Millar does goofy things, and he makes it much easier to lose a lot of games.

It's really refreshing to see a GM willing to do what it takes to build a winner. Keeping around old hitters with .240 BA's will definitely lead to a great future.

If this team is rebuilding next year we should see many young players bringing enthusiasm to the field (and hopefully sticking for the longer term.)

I'm glad Brian Roberts likes Millar but Roberts is as likely to move on this post-season as anyone. That leaves maybe 6 or 7 players from THIS roster for the widely touted 2010 roster: 1 starting pitcher, a couple of relievers, 2/3 OFs and a DH. Touting Millar as key to team chemistry for this team that doesn't exist seems like an odd $3.8M investment.

My preferred goal in a rebuild is great defense and 30 HRs at 1st base -- not an a easy smile and great jokes.

Maybe Weiters, Tillman and Reimold tell great jokes. Maybe Andy MacPhail can find a shortstop who does standup instead of Cintron who performs physical comedy.

If they re-sign Millar for 2009, any "rebuilding" credibility goes completely out the window.

I don't think they should go after Tex, but there are multiple options available for 1B, and Millar is the easiest one since no one else will want him.

Mike Jacobs is a logical choice via trade. He's not as good as Tex, but he's more affordable for a cheap owner.

Ghost Results wrote:

They should keep Millar for the next 10 years as part of MacPhail's dedicated "rebuilding" program.
After all, Millar does goofy things, and he makes it much easier to lose a lot of games.
It's really refreshing to see a GM willing to do what it takes to build a winner. Keeping around old hitters with .240 BA's will definitely lead to a great future.

It would be a great idea to bring back a 37 year old that is batting 243. Andy i imagine will take the easy way out and bring him back because in addition to his everyday duties as a ball player he is a clown in the clubhouse and is great entertainment for the boy's.

Hermitaj1----

The only people "touting" the 2010 roster are insane people.

How can anyone be excited about a club which has NO ONE SIGNED FOR 2010?!!!!!

Let me see if I can summarize the enthusiasm for 2010:

1) The existing team is buried in last place. It needs up to 10 new pitchers. The franchise has been a loser for over a decade.

2) The team needs a new 1B, 2B, SS, 3B and DH for 2010.

3) The GM and owner don't like to spend a lot of money on free agents.

4) The minor leagues will fill NONE of the positional gaps, and possibly 50% of the pitching gaps (best case).

Therefore, the team will be competitive in 2010.

It's stunning that anyone could predict anything but last place for the Orioles.

No surprise there. Millar wants to come back every year. Why? Cause no other team wants him!

Enough 240 shiiing first basemen. Put Huff at first. I guess Millar would want to return here. Who else would want him at his price?

No no no! Hopefully the O's have bigger plans:

We need Teixeira...Sign the petition!
http://www.bringmark.com

Watch and see, position by position, the Orioles will field the same team next season and with the same results. The reasoning is "but these players are such a positive influence on the team we can't afford to lose them." I thought baseball was supposed to be about winning ballgames by putting the best talent on the field. Does anyone anywhere think Millar who can't run, has limited range at first base, and is hitting .240 is the future at first base for this team? If the Oriole management actually thinks this, then the Orioles are doomed to last place finishes forever.