{"id":4566,"date":"2013-10-07T23:15:58","date_gmt":"2013-10-08T03:15:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.broadstreetbelievers.com\/?p=4566"},"modified":"2013-10-07T23:15:58","modified_gmt":"2013-10-08T03:15:58","slug":"where-do-we-go-from-here","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/?p=4566","title":{"rendered":"Where Do We Go From Here"},"content":{"rendered":"

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For many of my fellow Orioles fans last season was a dream, fifteen years of watching Rodrigo Lopez, Matt Riley, Eric DuBose, Jerry Hairston Jr, and Larry Bigbie (just to name a few of the classics) and the Orioles finally made it! \u00a0Not only did they make it but they won\u2026.a one game playoff against the Rangers but for most of us it felt like a World Series win. \u00a0Of course most of us know the end of that story…god damn Yankees. \u00a0Anyway, for the first time it brought hope and inspiration to Orioles fans that this season was going to be even better. \u00a0Unfortunately, for most of our newer fans and for the guys who knew that we had a lot of questions to answer from the previous season, like the strength of starting pitching and the magic of one run wins, this season just wasn\u2019t quite enough. \u00a0Either way it was a great season but it leaves the question of, \u201cwhere do we go from here?\u201d<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

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What will follow from here will probably have most Orioles fans shaking their head at their computer or saying things like, \u201cwho is this asshole?\u201d but I would like to think some of these ideas are valid\u2026.maybe.<\/p>\n

As I sit here and watch what looks like the Red Sox three game sweep of the Rays I sit and think about what the Orioles have to do this offseason to improve and make a run at a championship. \u00a0Obviously the first thing that comes to my mind, and probably most others, is starting pitching. \u00a0Look at the teams in the playoffs this year, the Rays (Price, Moore, Cobb), the Sox (Lester, Buchholz), the As (Parker, Gray, Colon) side note: if you didn\u2019t watch Game 2 of the As\/Tigers shame on you because Verlander and Gray both pitched a classic, do yourself a favor next time that kid Gray pitches tune in, he is filthy. \u00a0Anyways, you follow up these teams with the Tigers (Verlander, Scherzer, Fister, Sanchez) clearly starting pitching gets you to where you need to go.<\/p>\n

Looking at the Orioles starting pitching what do they really have? \u00a0In my opinion, Tillman is a one. \u00a0As he grows, he is only going to get better. \u00a0He should have been a 20 game winner this season and he pitched fantastic. \u00a0He is a bulldog on the mound and he constantly fights. \u00a0When you look at an ace, to me two things come to mind; innings pitched and ERA. \u00a0Well the good news here is that Tillman went over 200 innings, 24th in the majors, and had an ERA of 3.71, 50th in the majors…not too bad for a 25 year old kid. \u00a0I don\u2019t see any reason why this guy slows down from here on out, and if he is going to improve on those numbers, especially the ERA, he is going to be pretty damn good, so to me I think you have your ace. \u00a0Where we lack, a number two. \u00a0The Orioles don\u2019t currently have a number two starter, now I think Gausman is going to get there eventually, but I think he needs a little more time. \u00a0Moving on I think you have Chen and Norris who will fight to be the #3 guy, the loser will be our #4 and for me I like Gausman to be the #5 and take a season to learn. \u00a0So to recap, next seasons rotation for manager Grossnickle (what an awful ring that has) goes:<\/p>\n

1. Chris Tillman<\/p>\n

2. TBD<\/p>\n

3. Bud Norris<\/p>\n

4. Wei-Yin Chen<\/p>\n

5. Kevin Gausman<\/p>\n

So who goes in the two hole? \u00a0Do we sign somebody? \u00a0Looking at some of the names out there I am not sure who we would even target. \u00a0The problem with most of the free agent starting pitching market is that there is a ton of old blood out there. \u00a0So to give sort of a quick rundown of all the guys you have heard of, let\u2019s say 34 years is a pretty healthy aged starting pitcher? \u00a0Ok, take a look:<\/p>\n

Johan Santana (34), Roy Halladay (37), Barry Zito (36), AJ Burnett (37), Bronson Arroyo (37), Hiroki Kuroda (39), Chris Carpenter (39), Tim Hudson (38), Ryan Vogelsong (36), Roy Oswalt (35)<\/p>\n

Do any of these names entice anyone? \u00a0Not me, most of these guys have even had trouble staying healthy, that being said there is some serious talent left out there, but I am not sure we can afford them.<\/p>\n

1. Tim Lincecum (30) 2013 salary: $22,250,000<\/p>\n

Simply put, no thanks. \u00a0This guy made a name for himself in 2008 as the pipsqueak with the quirky delivery that his dad taught him that just baffled hitters and for four seasons it was awesome. \u00a0The problem is, the last two seasons have been ugly and riddled with injury. \u00a0The last two seasons 2012: 186.0 innings, 5.18 ERA. \u00a02013: 197.2 innings, 4.37 ERA, the two highest ERAs of his career. \u00a0So to recap the reward for the Giants after giving the Freak a 2 year 45 million dollar contract was that, not the kind of guy I want the Orioles investing serious dough in, let him go disappoint the Yankees.<\/p>\n

2. Jon Lester (30) 2013 salary: $11,625,000<\/p>\n

We certainly have seen plenty of this guy, as most know an Orioles killer. \u00a0This powerful lefty has been a pain in our ass for years, and also a pain in the Red Sox. \u00a0Now I am not going to throw a bunch of the numbers out to you about how good or not so good he has been the past few years, but from what I have seen he hasn\u2019t been the same. \u00a0In the past two or three seasons he has a guy who has been unreliable and from a consistency standpoint he has frustrated the hell out of the Sox. \u00a0Three seasons ago this guy looked like he was going to be the American League Clayton Kershaw, nobody could hit the kid and he was a damn bulldog on the mound just constantly attacking. \u00a0Over the past couple of seasons, and definitely this season he hasn\u2019t even been the best in the Red Sox rotation. \u00a0For me personally, the juice of somewhere around $11 mil a year just isn\u2019t worth it. \u00a0On a side note, Lester is currently under a team option so if the Sox do let him walk…shouldn\u2019t that be a hint at something anyway.<\/p>\n

3. Ricky Nolasco (31) 2013 salary: $11,500,000<\/p>\n

This is a guy I really wanted the Orioles to make a move for during the trading deadline, instead we went after Feldman who ended up being decent but I personally thought Nolasco was a better move. \u00a0Well now he is a free agent and he has pitched great since being with the Dodgers…2.07 ERA good, which means old Ricky is going to get paid. \u00a0Unfortunately for the Orioles this season and in future seasons we didn\u2019t trade for Ricky. \u00a0The Dodgers have the type of money to pony up to what Nolasco will be asking for, personally I don\u2019t think he moves, but if he does I hope the Orioles are talking.<\/p>\n

4. James Shields (32) 2013 salary: $11,000,000<\/p>\n

This will be short and sweet. \u00a0I would love to see Shields in Orioles black and orange. \u00a0The problem is the Royals were actually in the mix this year and they don\u2019t have to worry about re-signing a bunch of guys. \u00a0Currently, Shields holds a $12 mil club option and I can\u2019t see any way that they don\u2019t pick that up, but if they don\u2019t he would be on the tops of my list as the semi-affordable type of pitcher the Orioles should target.<\/p>\n

5. \u00a0Matt Garza (30) 2013 salary: $10,250,000<\/p>\n

Initially this was a guy I didn\u2019t have much interest in but after re-evaluating the numbers, this guy is not bad at all. \u00a0The biggest question mark with him, is the healthy can he get back to the guys the Rays had and the Cubs paid big bucks for, a guy who eclipsed 200 innings two of his three seasons with Tampa and never had an ERA over 4.00. \u00a0I am not sure at this point that this guy is worth $10 mil a season but if you could work him down to $7-$8 a season, I think he would be a great addition and a solid number two to compliment Chris Tillman.<\/p>\n

These are the top guys other than that, there is really not much else out there unless we are considering bringing guys like Feldy back. \u00a0Can we afford any of these guys? Sure. \u00a0Do we think we are going to make a move at one of these guys? \u00a0In my heart of hearts I would say it is looking like Garza or bust. \u00a0So then what do you do if you don\u2019t get Garza. \u00a0My opinion, time to trade Matt Wieters. (I can already hear most of the swearing as you all read that sentence)<\/p>\n

Listen, I love Wieters. \u00a0I think what he does for that rotation, how he controls the game defensively is second to none. \u00a0However, we cannot just pay this guy whatever he is asking. \u00a0Now, if Wieters was hitting .285 and drawing a boatload of walks with the power numbers he currently holds I would say he is worth every bit of $150 million, but the bottom line is he\u2019s not. \u00a0It\u2019s great that he\u2019s the best defensive catcher in the game but does that warrant a contract like Mauer, Posey or Molina? \u00a0No, it doesn\u2019t. \u00a0Those guys are monsters in both aspects of the game and if Wieters is the number one defensive catcher in the game, Molina is 1a, he\u2019s damn good watch him in the playoffs. \u00a0Molina got a 5 yr $75 million dollar deal last season, $15 a year, is Wieters worth that much? \u00a0Molina has hit over .300 his past three seasons, been 32nd, 18th and 56th in the majors in OBP the past three seasons and has been right there defensively with Wieters. \u00a0On the other hand Wieters hasn\u2019t hit over .265, never hit 25 HRs in a season and his OBP numbers in the past three years…133rd, 84th and 94th. \u00a0I get Wieters is our golden boy, I totally understand he is the guy that we want in black and orange until he hangs up the mask but that does not mean you pay what he doesn\u2019t deserve. \u00a0If Molina is getting $15 mil a year, from those numbers alone I can\u2019t see how you pay Wieters more than $11 mil a year. \u00a0If you offered him a 7 year, $77 mil type of deal I think that was fair, hell even go 7 years $80 mil and I am on board, but this talk of $120 million is crazy. \u00a0Not to mention, why wait until we have to make a move and then not get anything for him. \u00a0If we wait until Wieters is a free agent, here is the problem, if we want to keep him that badly at that point we will have to pay him whatever he wants, and didn\u2019t we just see that sort of situation with another guy in town who ended up with $120 mil. (I am a Flacco guy by the way).<\/p>\n

By the way for those of you saying just give Wieters whatever you want, go ahead, because then you will watch Chris Davis walk out the door. \u00a0Both of these guys are Scott Boras guys and if Davis has any type of season he had this year, he will be another guy getting paid, either way we aren\u2019t keeping both of them.<\/p>\n

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Now that we have traded Wieters what are we going to get in return. \u00a0To me, that is the $120 mil dollar question. \u00a0I think Wieters stock is at an all-time high now that the Orioles are relevant and he is one of the faces of that team. \u00a0Who do we want? \u00a0I would think if we are shipping Wieters somewhere we would want some sort of big time arm. \u00a0If I am Dan Duquette and I really want to spend the money and I am looking to pay a guy 12-15 million a year, I am calling a team that can afford Wieters that would want to add another bat to a lineup that could take control of a somewhat shaky rotation and a bit of a suspect bullpen. \u00a0That\u2019s right I am calling the LA Angels and seeing how interested they are in shipping off the 31 year old Jered Weaver. \u00a0This guy has a career 3.24 ERA he just got a contract and now that he has hit 31 and Wieters is still only 27 years old, I think it may be a spot that the Angels would be willing to talk a little. \u00a0Now obviously to land a guy like Weaver I think we would have to attach a piece (maybe Matusz?) but I think they might talk. \u00a0Now obviously, I am as big a homer as anyone so maybe I am valuing Wieters and Matusz too high, but maybe I am not due to Weaver being 31. \u00a0I still think that gives Weaver a good six or seven years and let\u2019s face it if he was the ace and won us two World Series in seven seasons it be well worth shipping off Wieters.<\/p>\n

There it is, the ramblings of a mad man. \u00a0I am sure I will put this article out there and the Orioles will go in a completely different direction, but hey, it is fun to put on my GM hat every once in a while…regardless of how ugly and stupid looking it is. \u00a0Coming soon my opinions on what kind of additions we need to make lineup wise, expect most suggestions as shitty as this one.<\/p>\n

Gross<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For many of my fellow Orioles fans last season was a dream, fifteen years of watching Rodrigo Lopez, Matt Riley, Eric DuBose, Jerry Hairston Jr, and Larry Bigbie (just to name a few of the classics) and the Orioles finally … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4566","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mlb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4566","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4566"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4566\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4567,"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4566\/revisions\/4567"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4566"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4566"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4566"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}