dc. Posted January 18, 2009 Posted January 18, 2009 The Cubs have reached agreement with the Orioles on a deal that will send Pie to Baltimore for left-hander Garrett Olson and Class A right-hander Henry Williamson, according to major-league sources. For Olson and Williamson???? After demanding Roberts for 18 months??? Sign us up, Baby!!!! Pie-Jones-Markakis... Scott at DH. Huff at 1b. And Wieters coming on up! Quote
thundercleetz Posted January 18, 2009 Posted January 18, 2009 Sign me up too!!! What an defensive outfield. Here's to Pie and Jones reaching their offensive potential! http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3842286 Quote
thundercleetz Posted January 18, 2009 Posted January 18, 2009 Hey dc, what do you think McPhail needs to do next? Should we deal Roberts? He is most likely as good as gone after this season. I do not think we will see much more movement this offseason, but expect guys like Huff, Roberts, and Sherrill to be shopped heavily at the deadline. Of course, us being out of the playoff race is a given. Quote
ForceEight Posted January 18, 2009 Posted January 18, 2009 I think we missed the boat on trading Roberts for full value. However, I can't believe this happened, either. So who knows. :lol: Quote
dc. Posted January 18, 2009 Author Posted January 18, 2009 Hey dc, what do you think McPhail needs to do next? Should we deal Roberts? He is most likely as good as gone after this season. I do not think we will see much more movement this offseason, but expect guys like Huff, Roberts, and Sherrill to be shopped heavily at the deadline. Of course, us being out of the playoff race is a given. I've been quiet for a while because, like most, the Teixeira deal just killed me. I know it wasn't the O's fault, but I just fel deflated after that whole mess. Uehara hardly changed that. But this deal is giving me a little life. I think MacPhail is playing out his gameplan perfectly. I don't think we should deal Roberts. At least not now. Wait until mid-season and, supposing we haven't been able to sign him long-term, find a contender that's dying for a good lead-off guy. There are bound to be plenty of them. The Yankees might even be one because Damon and Cano certainly will not be cutting it. In terms of the rest of the plan? I have heard that MacPhail has put the free agent push into neutral. He thinks (and he appears to be right) that the prices of many players are falling fast because no one is looking to sign. Once signings pick up again (they have started a bit in the last week), MacPhail will probably slide in and grab one or two more guys - a pair of pitchers, nothing special. And I think that's where we want to be for this season. We aren't contending this year. The "big" signing doesn't HAVE to happen right now. It's probably more important for it to happen next year than this year, even. This year is going to be about continuing to groom Adam Jones and our younger pitchers, and starting to groom the likes of Wieters, Pie and others. So what's our next move? Continue to be patient. In Pie and Wieters, we now have the Baseball America prospects of the year from 2006-2008. Possibly 2009 if Wieters stays in the minors long enough. And then? Continue to be patient while Troy Patton, Chris Tillman, Brian Matusz, Jake Arrieta, David Hernandez, Brad Bergeson and Brandon Erbe all continue to grow. Look at that. I just named SEVEN MAJOR PITCHING PROSPECTS the O's have. Most of whom who have never seen time in the majors. And that doesn't include a few we have already seen and who might do good thins (Albers, Waters, etc). The first four I mentioned, even, are considered some of the best young pitchers in the game. We are a completely different organization than we were even 18 months ago. And in 18 more months, we're going to be basking in it. Quote
thundercleetz Posted January 18, 2009 Posted January 18, 2009 I think we missed the boat on trading Roberts for full value. However, I can't believe this happened, either. So who knows. :lol: You mean for Sean Marshall, Sean Gallagher and Ronny Cedeno? No thanks! I'd rather take the draft picks. Quote
thundercleetz Posted January 18, 2009 Posted January 18, 2009 I've been quiet for a while because, like most, the Teixeira deal just killed me. I know it wasn't the O's fault, but I just fel deflated after that whole mess. Uehara hardly changed that. But this deal is giving me a little life. I think MacPhail is playing out his gameplan perfectly. I don't think we should deal Roberts. At least not now. Wait until mid-season and, supposing we haven't been able to sign him long-term, find a contender that's dying for a good lead-off guy. There are bound to be plenty of them. The Yankees might even be one because Damon and Cano certainly will not be cutting it. In terms of the rest of the plan? I have heard that MacPhail has put the free agent push into neutral. He thinks (and he appears to be right) that the prices of many players are falling fast because no one is looking to sign. Once signings pick up again (they have started a bit in the last week), MacPhail will probably slide in and grab one or two more guys - a pair of pitchers, nothing special. And I think that's where we want to be for this season. We aren't contending this year. The "big" signing doesn't HAVE to happen right now. It's probably more important for it to happen next year than this year, even. This year is going to be about continuing to groom Adam Jones and our younger pitchers, and starting to groom the likes of Wieters, Pie and others. So what's our next move? Continue to be patient. In Pie and Wieters, we now have the Baseball America prospects of the year from 2006-2008. Possibly 2009 if Wieters stays in the minors long enough. And then? Continue to be patient while Troy Patton, Chris Tillman, Brian Matusz, Jake Arrieta, David Hernandez, Brad Bergeson and Brandon Erbe all continue to grow. Look at that. I just named SEVEN MAJOR PITCHING PROSPECTS the O's have. Most of whom who have never seen time in the majors. And that doesn't include a few we have already seen and who might do good thins (Albers, Waters, etc). The first four I mentioned, even, are considered some of the best young pitchers in the game. We are a completely different organization than we were even 18 months ago. And in 18 more months, we're going to be basking in it. Good analysis, I definitely agree. I love what Pie does for our team defensively. An outfield of Pie, Jones, and Markakis is most likely the best in the league. With Izturis at SS and Roberts at 2B, our defense up the middle should be excellent. Especially once Wieters comes up. I was killed by the Teixeira saga as well, but felt a little better after hearing he grew up a Yanks fan and wanted to be a Yank all along. No money was going to bring him here, the Yanks gave him a great offer, and at that point it became about the winning. I have a hard time believing that the Nats did not beat the Yanks offer, they went after him very aggressively. You are right, the big signing does not have to happen now. Quote
thundercleetz Posted January 21, 2009 Posted January 21, 2009 Hear are some articles on Felix for those who want to know what kind of person he is, and find that he is not another Corey Patterson. http://www.suntimes.com/sports/slezak/1386...carol20.article http://www.suntimes.com/sports/couch/44867...-greg29.article I love the guy's attitude and passion for the game. He should have a ball playing the outfield with Jones and Markakis. Quote
dc. Posted January 21, 2009 Author Posted January 21, 2009 He struggled a bit in parts of two seasons with the Cubs... really, he only had about 80 major league at bats... that's about how long it took Markakis to find his groove with this team. In the minors though... a 289 average, decent power, good speed... [sorry - 80 at bast last year, 140 the year before - Still, hardly half a season of ML time.] Quote
ForceEight Posted January 21, 2009 Posted January 21, 2009 It's kind of amazing how long he's been in the minors already. He's played at least a year in every single level... Quote
dc. Posted January 21, 2009 Author Posted January 21, 2009 Well, he was signed by the Cubs at age 16 and taken straight over... In a way, he's much like Garrett Olson, but younger. Both have proven, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that they have the skills... in every level of the minors. Both have struggled with the transition to the majors. Both, I think, will figure it out. Quote
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