I was an O's fan...

[miragv]

I was an O's fan but now i am indifferent. the hype of the offseason was nothing more than hype, it has not materialized into anything special.

Also with the chance of DC getting a team heating up, I am drifting into the boycott the O's until DC gets a team camp. I love the Skins and hate the gayvens, so its fitting that I love the Dc baseball team and hate the O's.


BRING BASEBALL TO DC!!

[dblsldyllwlne]

no one expected the o's to be playoff contenders...the best the o's can hope for right now is to get out of the 4 spot in the al east...that is an excellent start to a rebuilding team....and right now their aquisitions are producing tremendously...all hitting over 300....people are actually feared of the heart of our order now!!!! im pretty excited about that...and the fact that the o's have a whooooole lotta cap space next yr to bring up a couple of more marquis players....im holding my assasination plans on peter angelos on hold until the end of this season to see if they can knock off the blue jays then we can start worryign about contending w/ the bo sox and the yanks....which in a couple of yrs...w/ a lot of pitching prospects in the minors and a lot of cap space...i honestly think the o's can b a contender

[AJWatson3]

HYPE?!?!?!? Try living between Boston and NYC.

and both our GM's said we are building a team to be a championship contender in three to four seasons. them being above .500 is very impressive right now. and unexpected.

[ajgnydc722]

Originally posted by dblsldyllwlne
no one expected the o's to be playoff contenders...the best the o's can hope for right now is to get out of the 4 spot in the al east...that is an excellent start to a rebuilding team....and right now their aquisitions are producing tremendously...all hitting over 300....people are actually feared of the heart of our order now!!!! im pretty excited about that...and the fact that the o's have a whooooole lotta cap space next yr to bring up a couple of more marquis players....im holding my assasination plans on peter angelos on hold until the end of this season to see if they can knock off the blue jays then we can start worryign about contending w/ the bo sox and the yanks....which in a couple of yrs...w/ a lot of pitching prospects in the minors and a lot of cap space...i honestly think the o's can b a contender

Well there is no cap in MLB, it's how much the owner is willing to spend, but I agree with most of your points. The O's need to accquire 1 superstar pitcher in the offseason and sign a few more good pitchers to go along with Ponson if they expect to contend with Bos and Nyy.

[TheDoyler23]

Ponson is not nearly the most talented pitcher on their roster. He just has the most experience. Pitchers like Matt Riley and DuBose both have better stuff, they just need a year or two to prove themselves. They also have some top pitching prospects in the minors like Maine.

As for a 'salary cap,' no, it doesn't exist, but many of the Orioles free agent signings have been complete disasters. People claim that Angelos made his team bad intentionally and don't look @ the track record of free agents that signed here and stunk.

[AJWatson3]

the best pitcher that would have been available next seasons has alrady resigned with his club: Kerry Wood. the next best available would be Pedro and he isn't worth the kind of $$ he's asking for at his age.

not a whole lot of guys available now. i really think that sinkerballer Derrick Lowe (BOS) would be a great addition to BAL and he wouldn't break the bank, allowing us to pursue one of these guys:

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=neyer_rob&id=1791458

my preference is an OF: either Beltran (already a Yank) or Mags
or maybe they could go after Delgado as a 1B/DH...

ps: brad radke could also be a good value. he isn't going to get a contract that pays him $10 million anymore. i'd bet he could get a 5 year $25 million though. would be a nice vet addition to our staff..

also: in the unlikely scenario that the yanks don't sign javier vazquez he would be a sweet addition, and worth the $10 per year or so he'd command.

[TheDoyler23]

Beltran would be awesome for the Orioles, but the yankees are gonna offer him 120 million since Williams is on the way out....

[AJWatson3]

how disgusting will it be when NYY sign Beltran. i was thinking about this the other day and wondering if the Commish would step in and use the "best interest of baseball" clause.... if you don't know about it that much check this out:

Friday, June 18, 1976
"Friday, June 18th
IN THE NEWS: Commissioner Kuhn voids the A's sales, totaling $3.5 million, of Joe Rudi and Rollie Fingers to the Red Sox, and Vida Blue to the Yankees, saying they are "not in the best interest of baseball." A's owner Charlie Finley files a $10 million damage suit against Kuhn, and will refuse to use any of the three players until June 27th."
http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/chronology/1976JUNE.stm#day18

[CowboyzSuckAzz]

Originally posted by miragv
I was an O's fan but now i am indifferent. the hype of the offseason was nothing more than hype, it has not materialized into anything special.

Also with the chance of DC getting a team heating up, I am drifting into the boycott the O's until DC gets a team camp. I love the Skins and hate the gayvens, so its fitting that I love the Dc baseball team and hate the O's.


BRING BASEBALL TO DC!!

Ya know, I almost bought a Montreal Expos hat today to show my support for a DC team. I have to agree with you. I am starting to pull away from the O's in hopes for a DC or NoVa team. Especially since Angelos is totally against the whole idea (at least, in public). I hate Peter Angelos. What an Azz!!

[TheDoyler23]

From the Baltimore Sun (which is owned by the Washington Post)

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/baseball/bal-sp.schmuck30may30,0,1259235.story?coll=bal-sports-baseball

Numbers pitched by D.C. boosters aren't adding up

Peter Schmuck -- On Baseball

"The debate over the relocation of the Montreal Expos has boiled down to one basic point of disagreement between the Orioles and the potential ownership groups that want to buy the team and put it in Washington or Northern Virginia: The proximity of the Washington Expos - or whatever the transplanted team would be called - will either hurt the Orioles in a significant economic way, or it won't.

That's the way the issue has been articulated by baseball commissioner Bud Selig, and that's the way it has been cast in both cities as Major League Baseball gets ready to make an announcement on the future of the Expos later this summer.

Orioles owner Peter Angelos commissioned a study in the 1990s that supported his contention that a major portion of his team's revenue comes from the nation's capital and its surrounding suburbs.

The Washington and Northern Virginia groups have their own studies to demonstrate that the effect would be much more subtle and that the Orioles would do just fine without the modest economic input of the Washington area.

If that's true, however, isn't it the best argument of all against putting a second team in the region? The contention that only a relatively small number of Washington and Virginia baseball fans are willing to drive 50 miles to see the Orioles - a cornerstone American League franchise that plays in one of the most popular, fan-friendly ballparks in the country - might be the most tangible indicator of the level of true, sustainable baseball interest in that area.

No doubt, the arrival of the Expos would create an initial buzz and probably appeal to the hard-core baseball fans who have felt disenfranchised by the Orioles, but Major League Baseball needs to know that the team won't again become a financial burden on the rest of the sport.

The Expos would need to draw about 2 1/2 million fans a year to be successful, yet D.C. baseball advocates contend that only a small fraction of that number is willing to put out any effort to see the team that's already in the region.

That ought to tell you something."