Some comments on the responses from Bob on facebook:
Let’s get it straight , I still love and support the Orioles and still purchase my season tickets unlike many who have dropped theirs. Bob, I know you still must have your tickets as well.
Patience–how many years have we lived with a team way below .500. When was the last significant game we played in September–after August 15?
The real problem I have is the structure of MLB that allows the AL East to be a joke. How can the Orioles ever compete. Sure a baseball genius like MacPhail can piece something together where the O’s can challenge for a few years but what happens when our budding superstars reach free agencey—the Yankees await. The O’s can never compete with the Yankee TV dollars. We are just in the wrong division.
I would like to hear from the readers as to how they feel about what I am saying. If you think I am wrong tell me!!!!
http://PhillyGameday.com
I could not agree more. Can we make a swap with the Phils for divisions. And remember all this Weiters love will be HATE when the future Boras client is covered in pinstripes.
freddy from boca
the orioles have money to compete against the yanks, red sox, etc. they haven’t spent a lot of players recently but go back several years and the orioles were among the leaders in payroll. i have no doubt once the young pitchers start to settle in and show a little consistency the money will flow. angelos is not cheap. with the added revenue masn produces and the enormous amount of money teams make from mlb.com the money is there and you’ll see in a couple of yrs the payroll will be around 100 million which is plenty.
Ryan
Competitive Balance is a joke, but the way things are, will never change. So you have to adapt. The O’s are in NO way a poor team. We are in the 5th largest market in the USA. They could afford a $98 million dollar team12 years ago, but the can’t do the same over a decade worths of inflation later? lol. That’s total BS!
Doesn’t anyone remember when the O’s had the highest payroll in baseball just 12 years ago? They just made so many mistakes.
They are turning it around. Which will be evident when BaseBall America puts out its ratings on Farm Systems. Last year the O’s were #9, but I am extremely confident that they will jump into the top 5 this year.
The big problem isn’t lack of a salary cap, but the way the draft is set up.
MLB HAS to extend the draft to cover every player, National, and International. And there HAS to be mandatory slot limits.
What happens is, players will put their demands out there. So, teams with the top 10 picks let them pass because they can’t afford them. So, the winning teams (those teams with money) end up drafted top 10 talent later in the draft.
Then what happens is, the top international talent, 35% of the league, those same teams can sign them for huge contracts. Robinson Cano, Mariano Rivera, Inoa, etc.
So, the best way to fix this, is to do it like football. You have 1 draft for EVERY amatuer player, and you make their contract amounts fixed.
Player #1 can get a max of $8 Million. # 2 7.5, #3, 7.2, #4 7, etc.etc.etc.
That is the way to restore competitive balance.
Then it is up to each team to be able to resign their talent, and hold on to it. And to make smart trade.
freddy from boca
rivera was signed for a $3,000 bonus. i don’t think a $3,000 bonus is really extravagant. maybe the yankees scouts are better at identifying talent than scouts from some other organizations