Roberts Signs!

[dc.]

4 years for 40 pending physical...

 

WOOOOOOOOOO.

 

Alright, so between Roberts and Markakis resigning, trading for a pair of top-notch young players (Hill and Pie), picking up a few other little pieces, and have a solid draft... We have to give this off-season a grade of A. Even if we didn't get any of the big names that may have been on the radar.

 

And I almost forgot ditching the likes of Daniel Cabrera and Ramon Hernandez! And Jay Payton! (He wasn't too bad... just never a fan)

 

Roberts for 10 a year is a bargain. Not quite the bargain of Markakis for 11 a year, but still a bargain. And when Markakis is 31, he'll be asking for 15 a year... so yeah, it's a bargain.

[thundercleetz]

I like it. Roberts is worth a lot more to us than he is to any other team. I am glad to get this distraction out of the way. Hopefully we can turn this thing around.

[Spen]

Very happy with this signing. Its been small steps, but every move made this off season have been positive ones.

[83eh01]

Awesome!

[varaven45]

I like it. Roberts is worth a lot more to us than he is to any other team. I am glad to get this distraction out of the way. Hopefully we can turn this thing around.

 

 

It will take a few years to completely turn (or rescue) this Titanic around but Roberts is a step in a positive direction.

Still, we have to get some pitching...big time. I hope we consistently score 6 runs a game. :o

 

 

 

 

[dc.]

The pitching is here... it's just another year or two away. And I'm fine with that.

 

Again, Matusz, Tillman, Arrietta, Patton, Hernandez, Bergeson, Erbe... the list goes on and on... not to mention those we have already seen in the bigs (Ray, Sarfate, Johnson, Cormier, Albers)

 

Andy's philosophy is to buy bats and raise arms. So far we're raising both, which is hard to be unhappy about.

 

The bats are here now... and still coming (Wieters, Montanez, Pie, Jones, Snyder), the arms are on their way. We just need to hold on to them and get them to the bigs.

[varaven45]

The pitching is here... it's just another year or two away. And I'm fine with that.

 

Again, Matusz, Tillman, Arrietta, Patton, Hernandez, Bergeson, Erbe... the list goes on and on... not to mention those we have already seen in the bigs (Ray, Sarfate, Johnson, Cormier, Albers)

 

Andy's philosophy is to buy bats and raise arms. So far we're raising both, which is hard to be unhappy about.

 

The bats are here now... and still coming (Wieters, Montanez, Pie, Jones, Snyder), the arms are on their way. We just need to hold on to them and get them to the bigs.

 

Yep, like I said - as long as we score > 6 runs a game, we are good !

 

[thundercleetz]

I know this might be jumping the gun, but after the Roberts and Markakis signings and some of the smaller moves that McPhail has made, does anyone feel like this team is finally starting to turn around? I understand we are not going to be in the playoff race, but is .500, or a couple of game over .500, really out of the question? I do not think it is.

[Spen]

I know this might be jumping the gun, but after the Roberts and Markakis signings and some of the smaller moves that McPhail has made, does anyone feel like this team is finally starting to turn around? I understand we are not going to be in the playoff race, but is .500, or a couple of game over .500, really out of the question? I do not think it is.

 

Maybe not. I'd settle for some consistency and not falling completely apart after the all star break.

[83eh01]

I know this might be jumping the gun, but after the Roberts and Markakis signings and some of the smaller moves that McPhail has made, does anyone feel like this team is finally starting to turn around? I understand we are not going to be in the playoff race, but is .500, or a couple of game over .500, really out of the question? I do not think it is.

 

I'm not setting my belief that high just yet.

 

I believe Uehara, Hill, Hennessy/Pauley/Penn(maybe) can all contribute positively to the rotation behind Guthrie, but we need to watch and see if they actually do.

[cokedupwerewolf]

While I am very happy with the direction the O's are moving in and the steps they are taking to do so I can't see why this is anything more the a mediocre move at best. Brob is what 31 or 32? While I think this would of been a great move 2 years ago, now it does nothing for me. I don't even think my thoughts on this are affected by the fact I consider him a roid using cheater, I think it's just signing 30+ to a long term contract while rebuilding is somewhat worthless, we should be looking to have a new 2nd basemen within 2 years, not 4.

[dc.]

Listen to MacPhail talk about it, and you have to trust...

 

Roberts is getting older, but not especially older. History suggests that middle infielders are able to maintain, or even surpass, their previous success as they age into their mid-30's. 36 is not dead in baseball the way it is in football.

 

Especially when you consider that part of Roberts great benefit to this club is simply his ability to get on base... it's not just speed, it's not power... it's his eye at the plate and his contact. Contact hitters aren't exactly the type you think abotu fading quickly in their early 30's. Many contact hitters, in fact, get better at finding their pitch and avoiding the bad ones.

 

And when you talk about growing an organization from the ground up, you have to consider the type of people you want to be considered leaders in that clubhouse... and Roberts is certainly the type that I want leading a team.

 

Finally, next year Roberts would hit the market and, in my opinion, easily get this kind of money. And it comes down to whether we want him or whether someone else does. We have no viable other options to play 2b in the organization. And teams like the Yankees, Red Sox and other contenders would be all over Roberts come free agency... so how is it such a bad move for us? It's not overly expensive. It doesn't tie our hands down. It doesn't interfere with our ability to do anything else as a club. It's retaining talent that would otherwise find its way to another team.

[cokedupwerewolf]

He's now making the exact same amount of money or VERY close to it, as NMark.

 

I believe the O's did want him, but I do believe the caved to his demands, I promise not one person WANTED to sign him to THAT contract, and maybe you are right, and the signed him due to fear, not of having him, but of someone else having him, but I don't know if that's the best way to do business. I also don't know if thats what happened.

 

 

Also I can't tell you whether it ties our hands or not, if I'm correct our salary hasn't been over 80Mil, and if it has not in a while, so 10 mill of 70mill? Is a pretty big chunk, esp these days if Peter his hurting for money the way the rest of the country is.

 

 

One last thing, I never called it a bad move, just don't think it's anything to get happy about. WOOOOOOO?

[dc.]

I think it's worth being happy about. WOOOOOOOOOO.

 

Also, I don't know why you think that "no one wanted to sign him to THAT contract." Then why do it? MacPhail hasn't exactly been caving to anyone else. He hasn't exactly been scared of letting anyone else walk out the door. I didn't mean it was about fear of seeing him somewhere else. I meant that if every other team (or most) were going to pay him that kind of money, that's an indication that he's worth it and that maybe our own bargaining tools are wrong. Other teams want him and want to pay him for a reason...

 

As for making the same as Markakis... yeah, that's true. And part of it is because Roberts is 6 years older than Makakis. I don't like it, but part of baseball is that you are paid for your past work, not your future work. In 6 years, at 31, Markakis will be getting 15-18m a year, if not more, probably. Roberts, as a 31 year old veteran on this team, and a stellar lead-off man, is being paid as such.

[thundercleetz]

I understand Coke's point. A second baseman with similar credentials to B-Rob, Orlando Hudson, signed for 1-year, $3.38 million with the Dodgers. There was minimal interest in Hudson this offseason, despite the fact he is only 31 (like Roberts), plays Gold Glove defense, and posted an average OPS of .817 the past two seasons (B-Rob has an average .819 OPS in that span). In other words, it is doubtful that B-Rob would have received something close to a 4-year, $40 million contract next offseason. Although, Roberts is a lead off man, and does steal bases, so he certainly would have gotten a little more interest than Hudson.

 

I also agree with Coke's point when you have a $70 million payroll, $10 million is a big chunk of that. Is B-Rob worth that money? It is debatable, although I would say he is to this team. I would also say we did overpay for Roberts considering the second basemen market currently. It is certainly believable to say that McPhail over payed possibly to solve the problem of ongoing problem of B-Rob trade rumors, when the guy has been such a big part of our organization and community.

 

Either way a good outcome arose. We ended the lingering distractions if B-Rob was going to be traded and got some good PR by signing a loyal Oriole who is a fan favorite and will continue to be a large part of the community. Like dc said, Roberts is a stellar lead off man and was rewarded for such past production. With Roberts' work ethic, he should be productive for most, if not, all of the contract. Which is why I am not worried about it and do not believe that this contract will become a burden. And yes, I am excited that we were able to lock Roberts up. Like many others, Roberts is one of my favorite O's and I hope we will be able to turn this ship around with Roberts on board.

 

WOOOOOOO!!!!!

[dc.]

The Roberts-Hudson comparison is okay... but not perfect.

 

Briefly...

 

Hudson has never topped 100 runs in a season. In fact, he has never topped 90. Roberts has topped 100 three times and another at 92.

 

Hudson has a career high 166 hits. Roberts averages over 175 hits per season.

 

Hudson has a career high 34 doubles. Roberts FEWEST doubles in his last 5 seasons is 34 (50, 51, 45, 42).

 

Hudson has a career high 10 steals. In his last five seasons, Roberts lowest total is 23, with 126 steals in his last three seasons combined. Hudson has 42 career steals ... Roberts had 40 in 2008.

 

It goes on and on. They are close, but I give Roberts a significant edge. Even in fielding... despite the gold gloves... Roberts actually has a higher career fielding percentage, has been higher for the past few seasons (including compared to Hudson's most recent GG season) and has a higher range factor and has turned significantly more double plays. (More proof that gold gloves are a joke).

 

Meanwhile, what players are getting in this market is largely irrelevant. Roberts extension begins in 2010 and we should be comparing his contract to what players are signing for NEXT season. It's hard to predict. The market this year has been largely affected by the economy... any kind of rebound could provide a major boost next season.

 

We'll know more about the Roberts deal when we figure out what people are signing for next year. But 10m is hardly breaking the bank for this club and I think Roberts is worth it.

 

 

As for the percentage of payroll question... the O's payroll will probably be closer to 80 than 70 this year. Still a hefty percentage. But again, the 10m per season doesn't begin until next year. And we don't know the club's payroll then.

 

What we do know is that the contract is not at all backloaded... which is good. We pay the same in 2010 and we do in 2013, so we're not stuck with a growing salary. Additionally, the O's payroll is on the low side because of the shift to young players. It won't stay there, it doesn't have to stay there. It's simply where we have been for a while because we've had no major talents and bought nothing either. The team is willing and able to spend a significant bit more, I bet, when the time comes.

[thundercleetz]

The Roberts-Hudson comparison is okay... but not perfect.

 

Briefly...

 

Hudson has never topped 100 runs in a season. In fact, he has never topped 90. Roberts has topped 100 three times and another at 92.

 

Hudson has a career high 166 hits. Roberts averages over 175 hits per season.

 

Hudson has a career high 34 doubles. Roberts FEWEST doubles in his last 5 seasons is 34 (50, 51, 45, 42).

 

Hudson has a career high 10 steals. In his last five seasons, Roberts lowest total is 23, with 126 steals in his last three seasons combined. Hudson has 42 career steals ... Roberts had 40 in 2008.

 

It goes on and on. They are close, but I give Roberts a significant edge. Even in fielding... despite the gold gloves... Roberts actually has a higher career fielding percentage, has been higher for the past few seasons (including compared to Hudson's most recent GG season) and has a higher range factor and has turned significantly more double plays. (More proof that gold gloves are a joke).

 

Meanwhile, what players are getting in this market is largely irrelevant. Roberts extension begins in 2010 and we should be comparing his contract to what players are signing for NEXT season. It's hard to predict. The market this year has been largely affected by the economy... any kind of rebound could provide a major boost next season.

 

We'll know more about the Roberts deal when we figure out what people are signing for next year. But 10m is hardly breaking the bank for this club and I think Roberts is worth it.

 

 

As for the percentage of payroll question... the O's payroll will probably be closer to 80 than 70 this year. Still a hefty percentage. But again, the 10m per season doesn't begin until next year. And we don't know the club's payroll then.

 

What we do know is that the contract is not at all backloaded... which is good. We pay the same in 2010 and we do in 2013, so we're not stuck with a growing salary. Additionally, the O's payroll is on the low side because of the shift to young players. It won't stay there, it doesn't have to stay there. It's simply where we have been for a while because we've had no major talents and bought nothing either. The team is willing and able to spend a significant bit more, I bet, when the time comes.

 

Thanks dc, I feel a lot better about the contract after reading this. How much longer until you are writing for the Sun?

 

Speaking of payroll, we have A LOT of money coming off of the books next season:

 

Gibbons- $6.2M

Huff- $8M

Mora- $9M

Baez- $5.5M

Ramon Hernandez- $2M

Walker- $4.5M

Freel- $4M

Hendrickson- $1.5M

---------------------

Total - $40.7M

 

(http://forum.orioleshangout.com/forums/sho...ghlight=payroll)

 

McPhail really has this team in a good position financially where we are able to re-sign our own stars. Outside of Matt Holiday, next year's free agent class does not look nearly as good as this one. Nevertheless, I like the direction this team is in.

[dc.]

Thanks dc, I feel a lot better about the contract after reading this. How much longer until you are writing for the Sun?

 

Considering they and most other papers will be out of business within years? I dunno.

 

But if you wanna give me a recommendation and throw a line to the paper... I'm all for it. ;)