thundercleetz

I love this pick. The guy was critiqued for taking plays off but he is mad coming into training camp. With our defensive line depth we do not need him to be an every down player. I could see Davis being a very effective part time player for us this year against the run.

The Travis Snider experiment needs to end.

It's going to be near impossible to keep both of them. The Pats signed Logan Mankins to a 6-year, $51M contract with $20M guaranteed back in 2011 when Mankins was 29-years old. Yanda will be 31-years old next offseason. He might not get as much as Mankins, but it will be close I'd assume. KO on the other hand, with a Pro Bowl-caliber season, looks to be in line to get near Mankins-type money. Comparable from the open market of guards who switched teams: In 2015, Mike Iupati got five-years, $40M with $15.75M guaranteed at age 28 from the Cardinals to leave the 49ers In 2013, Andy Levitre got six-years, $46.8M with $15M guaranteed at age 27 from the Titans to leave the Bills To keep both guys we would have to give near $90M with $35M in guaranteed money to two offensive guards. I do not see us allocating that much of our CAP at the guard position. There is a reason we have John Urschal, Robert Myers, and James Hurst as developmental guys.

Also, Bisciotti's comments about adding a retractable roof to M&T is interesting. I don't think it's a coincidence the team re-upped with M&T Bank on naming rights through the exact end of the lease. The team is posturing itself for a negotiation on a major renovation it seems like. If the stadium gets a roof, naming rights will be much more expensive because the stadium could then host more concerts and NCAA events. Therefore, if Bisciotti is not the owner, it may get ugly. However, hopefully by then retractable roof technology is more advanced and easier to implement, and the building and construction industry is in better shape than it is today (building costs are currently very expensive comparatively speaking).

Interesting stuff TBird, as always. As far as the O's are concerned, Angelos has two sons: Louis and John. Louis does not have any known roles within the organization, and allegedly doesn't have much interest. John is the President/COO of both the Orioles and MASN. He has had a positive impact on the organization. He has been instrumental in the MASN deal and pending lawsuit with the MLB, which has been a huge stream of revenue for the team. He also negotiated the O's new spring training home in Sarasota, which is widely regarded as one of the best spring training complexes in the entire league. While both sons are likely to have an ownership stake in the team, it appears John is the one who will take over. I don't think John would be any worse than Peter. At least John has been trained within the organization and wouldn't be thrown in cold like Peter was. John has also been open and engaging with the fans via Twitter and fan events. A stark contrast from his father, who rarely grants interviews.

http://russellstreetreport.com/2015/07/08/lombardis-way/a-look-into-the-future-of-the-ravens/ RSR did a great interview with Bisciotti. Interesting comments from Bisciotti about the future of the team.

http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/13250881/will-muschamp-auburn-tigers-top-defensive-mind-football-gus-malzahn-says It will be interesting to see how he does at Auburn in the tough division in college football. Auburn is paying him a lot of money, and from the link above, obviously have a very high opinion of him.

Yeah, what's the deal with those Florida players? Muschamp was a good defensive coach but only Carlos Dunlap and Joe Haden have had success.

Great series win but it means nothing if we can't build upon it. These next six games against the Yankees and Rays have the potential to get us some serious momentum or put us in a hole that will be very difficult to dig out of.

If he's not ready, I'd rather him start the season on the PUP to get his conditioning right and be ready down the stretch than him rush back.

That 2006 defense was my favorite defense to watch in Ravens history. Yes, the 2000 defense is considered the greatest of all time, but the 2006 defense was flashy with picks, sacks, defensive touchdowns, it had a lot of swag. Also, the '06 defense played in the passing era with QBs like Brady and Manning very much at the height of their success. The '00 defense was just before the league transitioned into what it is today. Maybe I was just young and don't remember as well, so someone please correct me if I'm off base. Looking back in Ravens history: 2011 and 2006 were years we should have won the Super Bowl. We had such complete teams those years and got so close. The what if game is fun, but I feel it evens out, the 2012 team had no business being in the Super Bowl.

I love the atmosphere at O's-Nats games. I wish the MLB had conferences and divisions based on geography that way we could get more games with the Nats, Phillies, and Mets while keeping games with the Yankees and Sox.

Here's a pretty good look at it: http://mlb.mlb.com/r/video?content_id=248135883 Pretty surprising considering the call on the field was safe. Nonetheless great throw by Wieters and positioning and tag by Schoop.

The other thing I love is their chemistry. In the post game interview Schoop said him and Manny are like brothers because of all the time they've spent together coming up in the minors. About Manny. I've noticed a lot more fire in him this season. He's usually a soft spoken guy but you've seen him be very vocal and animated this season. I love it.

The DP from last night: http://mlb.mlb.com/r/video?content_id=247855583

What a game for Schoop! Flaherty played admirably while Schoop was out, but Schoop is a special talent. Not only did he hit the walk off, but he is a wizard around second base when it comes to turning the DP. That DP he turned tonight on the Machado throw was a thing of beauty. He also made a spectacular play on the Wieters throw that got challenged and changed to an out. Played it perfectly straddling the base and applying the quick tag. Welcome back Schoop!

Not surprised at all. I doubt they were the only ones also. Take it for what it's worth but I talked to someone who works in the field who told me the government allegedly knew about climate change in the 80s as well. Some of the articles I've read believe we're past the point of no return. IMO our best hope is technological innovation. Either way I'll be long gone...

Hmm not sure if I agree with his rationale for not including Boller, Travis Taylor or Mark Clayton. Interesting list though lots of old names I hadn't heard in years.

Schoop hits a powerful HR in his first AB back.

Schoop is coming up, Flaherty is down. Our lineup needs a jolt and Schoop provides power. Snider needs to be on a short leash. He's providing a poor OBP, no power and is striking out at an alarming rate. There are rumors of the O's wanting to reacquire LJ Hoes who is tearing up AAA for the Astros. Hoes is an OBP monster. I'd give him a chance at lead off and drop Manny in the lineup to give him more RBI opportunities.

By the way Schoop is on fire in Frederick. Sure, it's only Single A, but Schoop says after working with Brady he feels stronger and faster than he ever has. He's ready. As serviceable as Flaherty has been, we need Schoop's power and defense.

I went to the game last night. Perfect evening for a game. The offense was quiet but it was extremely encouraging to see Gausman pitch as well as he did. I think Gausman and Tillman pitch better with Wieters behind the plate. Gausman's stuff looked really good last night. We have to keep him in the rotation and give him a fair chance to get into a rhythm. He is too talented to keep messing around with in and out of the pen, to and from Norfolk.

Interesting... I wonder if this is also a long-term move to see if Parmelee can be our 1B once Crush is a free agent. Christian Walker is struggling in AAA and hasn't taken the step forward we hoped he would. Parmelee obviously has a lot of talent as a former first round pick. He hit .355 over 76 ABs for the Twins back in 2011 at only 23-years old. He looked like he was going to be a star. He's only 27, so maybe there is a lot of untapped potential there.

Can anyone explain to me the logic of Crush in RF and Parmelee at first? I was under the impression Crush was a good defensive 1B and Parmelee is a natural right fielder? Just curious, seems to be working well.

First place! Huge rebound start by Tillman. Let's keep the Walking Dead topic going!