thundercleetz

TBird, yes you are correct, the MSA paid the Camden Yards rennovations. So I guess the O's have a different agreement worked out than the Ravens do in regard to upkeep. However, the O's lease is up within a few years of the Ravens. John Angelos mentioned he has ideas of giving Camden Yards an open concourse, and possible party deck areas. In regards to the NHL. I read Baltimore and Phildelphia were finalists for the Flyers expansion team. Philadelphia was chosen because the Civic Center's structure with the fixed stage did not lend well of hockey seating. Philadelphia promised to build a new arena (which lasted less than 30 years). Would have been cool since the Flyers and Orioles have the same colors. As far as the dome... We are lucky we didn't get one. The domes built in the 80s-90s are already outdated. The Colts, Rams and Oilers wanted a new stadium after less than twenty years or so in their domes. The original plan was for a BaltoDome, which the Colts and Orioles would have shared. Would have been terrible and horribly outdated. The Minnesota Twins, Houston Astros and Seattle Mariniers have already moved out of their domes. No one likes playing in Toronto for baseball. Each of those domes were built around the same time as the proposed BaltoDome.

Ironic timing with this topic. This article states Irsay was close to moving the Colts to LA back in 2002. http://www.wthr.com/story/31097612/kravitz-how-close-did-the-colts-come-to-relocating-in-la-closer-than-you-think

TBird, the state didn't pay for those upgrades you mentioned, the team paid for them.

As Spen mentioned, as long as the stadium has the footprint for luxury boxes, which most stadiums built beyond the mid-90s do, renovations are preferred over a new stadium. A lot of the old stadiums were bowl shaped and couldn't support luxury boxes unless you pretty much bulldozed the lower bowl (some colleges have done this with their stadiums given limited real estate). Further, real estate is just as important. M&T and Camden Yards are in prime downtown locations. Memorial was in a midtown neighborhood location. The Ravens or the O's couldn't find a better spot in the Baltimore area to put stadiums. Bisciotti already said he wants M&T to have major renovations to keep it among the best stadiums in the league. He and Dick Cass have floated the idea of a roof. Bisciotti has also said he would sell the team before getting to the point where he would have to threaten to move the team to get rennovations. In other words, this may be another owner's problem. We are a little ways away from that. The country is trending away from public subsidies of stadiums. And who knows where the NFL will be with concussions and TV deal revenues given cord cutting.

I completely agree, Spen. We ended up with a gem of a ballpark in Camden Yards and a fantastic owner for the Ravens. All I am saying is it would be cool if the Baltimore Colts history was part of the Ravens franchise. Indy can have the colors and name and records thereafter.

I have no doubt Elway would have sat out football for a year, played with the Yankees in the minors for a year, then re-entered in the NFL draft the next year. The Colts should have taken whatever picks they could on draft day and picked Marino. In fact, I read Johnny U told Accorsi to draft Marino but Accorsi was dead set on picking Elway. It's so hard to play the what-if game. I've read the O's were thinking of moving as well, but were waiting on the Colts first. If the Colts stay, and the state pays for the bare minimum for renovations to Memorial, maybe the O's don't get Camden Yards and move. I think the worst mistake was not fighting harder for the name, colors, and history. The state should have filed lawsuits against the team and NFL, and stalled them out as long as possible making it difficult.

TBird, did you see the 30 for 30 Elway to Marino? Major botch job by all involved on the Colts side, from Accorsi to Irsay. Accorsi was young and inexperienced. He regretted not accepting any of the multiple offers and taking Marino. Accorsi got plenty of sufficient offers. Elway's agent even brokered some great offers for him. Accorsi just couldn't pull the trigger. On draft day Accorsi had full autonomy. After draft day Irsay lost patience and intervened. Accorsi learned his lesson and did not hesitate to trade for Eli Manning in 2003. Whereas Elway hated Kush, Marino liked him. Kush coached Marino at the Senior Bowl and they both had extremely competitive personalities. Marino wanted a guy who would push him like Kush. The Raiders would have met Accorsi's insane demands for Elway, and the Colts would have drafted Marino. However, Al Davis was busy suing the NFL about moving to LA and had not had time to scout Elway. Elway was the perfect Al Davis player: athletic, flair, huge arm strength, SoCal kid. Davis couldn't pull the trigger because he hadn't done his homework. Of course, there were those that believe the NFL didn't want the Raiders to get Elway. Not only did Accorsi regret not getting Marino, Dan Rooney from the Steelers regretted passing on him big time. Marino grew up, went to high school and college in Pittsburgh. Steelers could have been a dynasty with Marino. Rooney said "when I get to the Pearly Gates the first thing my dad will say to me is 'Why didn't you draft Marino?'" Ironically Marino and the Dolphins beat the Steelers in the 1984 AFC Championship. As far as the Yankees and Elway. Steinbrenner loved Elway. Reportedly Steinbrenner in a management meeting penciled in Elway and Don Mattingly as starters for his 1985 team (two years from then) and said we are building around these guys. Steinbrenner didn't even make Elway return his $140k signing bonus. I have no doubt Elway would have taken at least a year off of football.

BABIP at Bowie was .408, iso-power was .227. Same numbers the year before at Frederick were .276 and .145, respectively. I don't think Mancini was ever advertised as a high OBP guy. He has always been a high contact guy. His new compact swing, that Brady helped him with, created more solid contact turning more of those outs into hits. Slugging percentage in Bowie was also very impressive. The new swing has led to more doubles and home runs. Walk rate at Bowie was a little higher, but strike out rate was about the same as the rest of his career numbers. I am very interested to see how he does at Norfolk this year. It's a big park so I'm guessing with his contact rate we'll see lots of hits and doubles.

DC, I've pretty much become immune to any hype with our prospects. I just don't have any sort of expectations. The practice of GMs saying their guys are undervalued is something every team does. On the flip side, the money we are spending internationally and in the draft are much higher than in the 2000s when our farm system was a barren desert. Basically, things aren't as good as Duquette tells us, but they aren't as bad as the pre-Showalter years. Jomar Reyes and Chance Sisco are two names to watch in the lower/mid levels. Reyes is a third baseman who will likely start in Frederick. Just about to turn 19 and is 6'3" 220+. Probably will be a first basemen/DH. Raw but massive power. Yes lots of strikeouts and not many walks. Sisco is a 20-year old left handed hitting catcher who finished the season in Bowie and will likely start this season there. He's moved up fast. In 95 minor league games last season, 42 walks and 55 SOs. Listed at 6'2" 192, power could come. As for Mancini. The walk numbers weren't terrible. 22 in 84 games at Bowie, only 58 SOs, he had a .395 OBP. Not an elite prospect, but on a different level than Christian Walker, Brandon Snyder, or any of the fringe 1B prospects we've had in the past.

Why didn't the state make more of a stink to keep the Colts history and name? I find it hard to believe they would drop a lawsuit in favor of a handshake agreement. I don't care that the Colts left, or that we lost out on an expansion franchise in the early 90s. We were saved from having either Irsay or Angelos as our owner. However, it would be cool to have the Colts history in Baltimore as part of the Ravens history. The Charlotte Hornets (formerly Bobcats) and the New Orleans Pelicans (formerly Hornets) of the NBA recently made a deal where Charotte got back the Hornets history when they were in Charlotte, and the Pelicans kept the Hornets history when they were in New Orleans. Seemed like a win-win for both cities and franchises. Of course, both cities have different owners now.

Btw I am very disappointed to hear we DFA'd LJ Hoes. I do not know anything about Efren Navarro. Apparently he plays good defense, has a good minor league career OBP, and of course, is a much needed left handed hitter that hits RHP well. Obviously I hope another MLB team picks up Hoes. But selfishly I would like to see him clear waivers and stay in the organization. I love his baseball IQ and plate approach and would like for him to get a chance with us eventually.

If we signed him I wouldn't be angry, I'd probably even warmup to it. However, I do not want to give up the 14th pick. I would much rather take a flyer on Latos and/or Fister than give Gallardo a four-year deal.

I don't like giving up such a high draft pick, but here are a couple of fairly older articles on Gallardo analyzing how he's become a ground ball pitcher. Could be a good fit with our solid infield defense. http://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/2015/6/28/8857891/yovani-gallardo-rangers-ground-ball-pitcher http://www.fangraphs.com/fantasy/the-new-yovani-gallardo/

Time for Tucker to get paid!

Thanks for sharing this, Spen. Bittersweet story. It made me angry reading how Frank was treated in some areas of the city, but I was happy to read how his neighborhood rallied behind him.

The team only had 1,478 yards total. I don't care if it was only one RB who got 1,300 yards of that, it is irrelevant and 1,478 total yards is pathetic. Buffalo got 2,000 yards with only three rushers. The statitics you are citing are not impressive.

Just finished shoveling my sidewalk here in Towson as well. Hopefully I timed it right!

Of course Joe would restructure his contract, it means a fat bonus check and added job security. While his cap number will go down, by no means is he taking a pay cut. It makes no sense commending Flacco on his willingness to restructure. This is an Ozzie problem.

PFF is the best in the business. https://www.profootballfocus.com/about/how-we-grade/

You can try to spin the numbers all you want but the Ravens were 26th in team rushing and had only 8 rushing TDs. Yes the Ravens were eighth in passing yardage, but we only had 21 passing TDs. Overall, Ravens were 25th in the league in scoring offense. These are the statistics that matter.

Legends of Tomorrow premiers soon on the CW. Arrow and Flash started back up too.

I agree with papa, not impressed. After 2014 with Kubiak, it's hard to find any positives in the run game. Last year was a regression to 2013. I do like our talent with Allen and West. Need to get back to 2014 level of play so the play action is more effective.

I like Cam a lot as well. I'll be happy if either the NFC teams win it all. Cam is a winner. The MVP will come down to him or Palmer. Maybe the better QB this weekend will win the MVP? I am pumped for this matchup! Two awesome defenses, two awesome QBs. The interesting stat that is going around is this is the first time two Heisman winning QBs face off against each other in the playoffs.

Point number one is the only one that matters. We have to get touchdowns instead of field goals. The second half defensive yardage stats were great, but the defense was still in the bottom quarter of the league in the second half for points allowed.

I'm pulling for the Cards. From everything I've read Larry Fitz is a great guy. His intensity last week was fun to watch. He deserves a ring. I also like Palmer a lot. He worked hard to come back from another ACL injury and IMO was the MVP this season. As a Ravens fan, I was thrilled when the Steelers fired Bruce Arians. The guy had our number and it seemed he always had a big play in his playbook that he would save for a decisive moment in the fourth quarter. Our fortune against the Steelers didn't seem to turn until Arians was fired. Arians is an awesome coach and an outstanding offensive mind. What I am saying, it would be really cool to see two guys the Steelers and Bengals got rid of win a Super Bowl together.