Good points, Brad. My stand on the 3 is: Jackson; what Brad says above is pretty much how I feel. I think Jackson should probably be in the HoF, although proving innocence or guilt almost 100 years after the fact is probably impossible. Rose; He stays out until he swallows his pride and throws himself on the mercy of the court. I am willing to forgive him on that basis. Bonds; spectacular player who, unfortunately, has an abrasive personality and contempt for the fans. He cheated, everyone knows it, but he doesn't seem to care. I'm undecided about letting him near the HoF even if he admits all and begs forgiveness. Still, he did hit the Hr's and he was a MVP about 30 times, but that personality... -- Al
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Terp152
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Just read about that today. As you mentioned, an exceptional GM who obtained the players for the Orioles '79 and '83 American League Championships. Os went into decline after he was replaced in 1987. Chris
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Al, if Lance Armstrong admits to doping should he be admitted into the cycling HOF (if there is such a thing)? Rose and Bonds will probably admitted at some point. Public at large doesn't care about the rules, only the results and entertainment value of the sport. Chris
Hi Chris,
I'm a little bit hypocritical in regards to Armstrong and his cheating and the whole PED thing in baseball. Armstrong time and again denied wrong doing and even imposed his lies on his teammates, forcing them into covering up and even joining the 'program'. His is a much more egregious form of cheating because of his position as team leader and his influence on those involved with his team. The players involved with PED's in baseball seemed to have acted on their own, as individuals. They cheated, but to a 'lesser' degree than Armstrong in terms of influence and collateral damage. Does that make sense? Odd argument, huh? Big cheat vs little cheat? Like I said, hypocritical. An individual cheat vs a whole team cheating, and covering it up at the leader's behest. I can probably forgive Bonds if he admits it and asks mercy, probably not for Armstrong. -- Al
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Hi Al, playing devil's advocate with my question. :smile2: Like you, I'm a little undecided with Bonds, though I generally don't favor cheats. But not with Rose. There's that "leadership" issue again. One of the tragedies with these individuals is they probably would have achieved some level of greatness in their sport without having to rely on illegal or banned substances or practices. THey were naturally gifted athletes and did not need enhancements. Rose of course involved a different form of banned behavior. Chris
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Multiple sources are reporting that Dan Duquette may be leaving the Orioles to become the Blue Jays president.
Quite a turnaround for the Duke; fired as GM of the Red Sox, out of baseball for close to ten years, hired as GM of the Orioles and they turn things around and win the AL East.
Quite a turnaround for the Duke; fired as GM of the Red Sox, out of baseball for close to ten years, hired as GM of the Orioles and they turn things around and win the AL East.
This has been an ongoing point of speculation for a while. Not a huge surprise. I haven't watched the local Orioles show for several days so I am a little behind on this. If true, big loss for the O's. -- Al
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I get the feeling that the Giants are not going to do much to the roster. This ownership group tends to ride the good will of a championship as opposed to spending money in an attempt to repeat. Local radio is reporting that the interest in Lester was never serious, and since then they have not even attempted to sign anyone else.
Nats now have ticked me off, traded Tyler Clippard to the A's for Yunel Escobar. Clippard was a HUGE part of the Nats bullpen success for the last 7 seasons and now he's gone. Don't like the trade and it leaves a big hole in the pen. Still madder at the O's for letting Markakis get away but this is a close second.
-- Al
-- AlThis trade looks worse to me by the day. Escobar is now the third mediocre option the Nats have on the team to play 2nd base. Clippard was a very popular player within the clubhouse and with the fan base. Clippard has been a 'lights out' set-up man for the Nats for years (he was the 4th hardest to hit pitcher in baseball last season), who could also close, if needed. Why Rizzo felt the need to acquire a third option at 2nd base at the cost of a very good pitcher just escapes me. The Nats have now gotten rid of 3 pitchers from last season's very good bullpen without receiving a single replacement for them. The Nats have plenty of pitching but they are counting on this depth to replace their closer, set-up man, and a very good long relief/starter. Hope this all shakes out in the spring but I feel the Nats are going to miss Clippard regardless of who replaces him. -- AlNats now have ticked me off, traded Tyler Clippard to the A's for Yunel Escobar. Clippard was a HUGE part of the Nats bullpen success for the last 7 seasons and now he's gone. Don't like the trade and it leaves a big hole in the pen. Still madder at the O's for letting Markakis get away but this is a close second.
Brad, I don't know what the Nats are doing. Desmond is probably the best offensive shortstop in the game and the Nats are acting like they don't need him. I think they are afraid of his upcoming FA and the money he will demand so they are trying to get something for him before he walks. The attempts to trade him are not done. The Nats have already let LaRoche go (their leading HR and RBI man) and trading Desmond will gut their offense. I really can't see what Rizzo is thinking unless he is under orders to save money. There are still questions surrounding the starting pitchers Zimmermann and Fister as far as signing them. It is somewhat of a mess. -- Al
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Al:
From an outsiders point of view it all looks like cost savings. It does not appear to be a rebuild, especially when you look at the numbers of the guys they are letting go.
-Jason
Brad, Jason, it is about money. Oddly enough, since posting earlier, the Nats have now settled with just about everyone that were eligible for upcoming arbitration/FA. They settled with Strasburg (1 yr, $7.4 million), Fister (1 yr, $11.4 million), Storen (1 yr, $5.7 million), and 4 others for just about $9 million dollars for the 2015 season. This leaves Zimmermann and Desmond, arguably the 2 most important players of the group. I don't have a good feeling about the way they are going about it. There should be no hesitation on the part of the Nats but there is obviously a money problem. Zimm and Desmond will demand big money, especially Zimm who has proved to be one of the elite starting pitchers in baseball. The Lerner's will not want to pay him $120 million for 5-6 years, which is the going rate. Rizzo doesn't like those long contracts. I will be surprised if both of them stay with the team. -- Al
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Have they tried to move Werth?
That talk springs up every so often but Werth doesn't have much value at the moment, having just had shoulder surgery that will keep him out thru most of spring training. Why he didn't have that surgery the day after the season ended is beyond me so I can only assume it was a medical decision. The shoulder problem had existed for a while so it was no surprise. Werth is also 35 years old, due $20.6 million this season. Ain't going to be easy to move him.:rolleyes2: -- Al
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And now after all that they might be on the verge of signing Max Scherzer???????????????????