Orioles eyeing Vlad

Vlad might be falling right into the O's lap at this point with Manny and Damon going to the Rays.

Only other suitor, so it seems, right now is the Angels.

I just had the same conversation with my roommate...Vlad is the odd man out...and the Orioles say "hey Vlady, we will scoop hyou up"  I doubt he goes to Anaheim again...

If the O's sign Vlad they have one of the top 5 offenses in the league...

Brob (S)
Markakis (L)
Lee (R)
Vlad (R)
Luke (L)
Reynolds (R)
Jones (R)
Wieters (S)
Hardy (R)

No easy outs.

Adam Jones is doing a Nike commercial and Griffey and Torii Hunter are also in the commercial... They had good things to say about the O's

"I think the other guys [in the lineup], with the added protection of [Derrek] Lee, [J.J.] Hardy, [Mark] Reynolds, [Luke] Scott, I think it will take a lot of pressure off. Personally I put a lot of pressure on myself, and if there's any pressure [Nick] Markakis puts on himself, I don't know if there is, but it will take some off."

And Jones isn't the only one who believes the new additions are a step in the right direction. Count fellow Major Leaguers Torii Hunter, Ken Griffey Jr., Ryan Braun and Andrew McCutchen as fans as well.

"They are all excited about our team," Jones said of the group, whom he's sharing the Nike spot with. "They're like, 'You guys have made some real good moves for the first time in a few years.'"

"Griffey Jr. and Hunter were letting me know how good of a teammate Lee is and how he's going to try -- well not try, he's going to change our team."

I like that lineup JPero...as far as the comments; i tend sit back when marketing is involved...let it play out on the field.

https://api.twitter.com/JimBowdenXMFOX/status/28670852690092033

Vladimir Guerrero could be one of the best FA bargains for one-year deal of off-season....getting close to accepting humbling deal w O's

I told Sparky in 3 years that the O's would be competitive and to watch out and he called me a complete idiot....

I hope this deal gets ironed out and Vlad become an Oriole....

Oh how I would love that to happen to give Sparky some humble pie and maybe even send him so crow to eat.

And if this happens it will make it all better because I am pretty confident the Yankees don't even make the playoffs this coming up year.

I told Sparky 3 years... 3 off seasons ago to clarify my first statement.

Yeah, Sparky is like most people, just not going to think when determing the Orioles this season, people have to realize that things change in baseball, especiallhy after a decade and teams like the Orioles who are capable of being a big market club ...no offense to him, because everyone seems to think that way

I do not think people realize that this the best Orioles roster since 1998 ... i guess the eyes will open when we are up in AL standings come May...I do not think my statement would be belligerent at all in saying that we have a club  that will run toe to toe with the Yankees and Rays.....I think the Red Sox will b e the elite team thyis year in the AL

You have got to be kidding me. Top 5 in the league? Lets start with no easy out Mark Reynolds who hit under .200 last year and is a lock for 200+ K's every year. Is there possibly an easier out in the league then this bum? I say no.

Markakis every year you hear how this guy is going to " take the next step ". Bottom line he is what he is. A .295 hitter with NO POWER who hits in the middle of your lineup.

Wieters, Hardy not easy outs? Make a lineup a top 5 in the league? How can you say that? Hardy is a complete bum who cant ever stay healthy and Wieters did nothing last year to make you think this year he all of the sudden is going to good and ready for the bigs. Potential is there obviously.

I really like Scott. Good power hitter. Roberts is a good leadoff hitter but health is a concern again post his PED's. Do you really know what your going to get from Derek Lee? On top of age you have the switching leagues angle.

What in the world has Adam Jones done in this league? Still young but another one its wait till next year he will breakout. I wont hold my breath waiting.

At least they are trying and had a good off season. I think they will have a good year as well and improve greatly under new coaching. I think its just a little crazy to say top 5 offense in the league. Red Sox, Yankees, Reds, Rockies, Twins, Rangers, Tigers, White Sox, Braves in my opinion all have better offenses off the top of my head.

Reynolds was injured last year, hand injury, that really caused him to struggle at the plate. You over look the fact that he is a career .250ish hitter and choose to use his injury plagued year. Yes he strikes out but its and out... He has only grounded into 20 DP in his entire career. Think about that for a second. He has some of the best raw power of any player in the league and has played in pitchers parks and now comes to one of the most hitter friendly leagues in the whole MLB. He is much, much better than anything the O's have had at 3rd and will provide .800 OPS with a league average defense.

Lee also had injuries last year that he had to deal with but posted a nice 2nd half. He is not going to be the player he once was but he will be much much better than the production that O's got at 1st base last year. An OPS 780-800 is very conservative and over 100 points better than what the O's had last season not to mention his GG defense he provides at 1st.

Hardy had injuries last year also but has been one of hte better offensive SS previous to last year. He also provides some of the best defense at SS. If he puts up a .725-740 OPS which is very realistic he is already about .200 points higher than what Caesar gave the Orioles.

Markakis has the most doubles of any player in the MLB over the past 3 years. He is also the only player to post 3 consecutive 45+ doubles. He has had ZERO protection in his career in Baltimore. ZERO, NILCHE, NADA and he is still able to bat .300 with 45 doubles 15 HR and 90 RBIs while walking at a great rate. He gets no pitches to hit and if you watched you would realize this. He gets pitched around consistently as pitchers know he is the best hitter in their lineup and refuse to allow him to beat them. Becuase of that he gets pitched, away away away and he must go with the pitch and punch in to left field instead of being able to use his power to pull the ball. That is why he doesnt hit for power and gets so many doubles. With this new lineup he will finally have protection for the first time in his entire career. He will have a very good year this year, IMO, and finally get an AS nod.

Wieters hasnt done anythign yet but he has shown flashes. He hasnt worked on his offensive game AT ALL. He has been focused on his defense and managing the pitching staff. This has translated inot him becoming one of the best defensive catchers in the league in just a year and half. This offseason he has worked solely on his offensive game for the first time since becoming an  Oriole. He should have a breakout season and the talent will start to emerge.

Jones just needs to lay off the down and away slider and work on his pitch recognition. He has been very streaky and never walks. Once he able to better recognize pitches and take a walk his offense will continue to get better. He had a pretty good year last year and has made strides in each of the past 2 years. I see him as a Torii Hunter type offensive player. He will never have a high BA, or walk much, but will hit for 25 HR and play good D in center.

Roberts is the catalyst for the offense and missed last season. He almost has his career ended when his arm was almost ripped off in that injury in 2005. That is when he took PEDs to recover from that gruesome injury. Since that point he has only been one of the best leadoff hitters in the game while batting around .290 and postin an OPS around .800. He is not going to steal bases like he once did but he can still see pitches and make them work which conversely helps the rest of hte hitters since they get to see the pitcher throw more pitches. The offense struggled last year becuase he was absent and when he came back it was no surprise they started performing better.

If Vlad is signed thats another OPS .800 player and Luke Scott gets moved to LF where he is an .800 OPS player. That would make 6 players of being .800 OPS type players out of 9 while the other 3 would be be in the .725-780 range.

That is a top 5 lineup. They would not hae the Votto or Pujols or Tex type bat but the overall lineup from 1-9 would make them a top 5 lineup.

Markakis hits #2 in the lineup... SInce when is that middle of the lineup

2010 OPS by postion:

SS: .549 OPS
3rd: .668 OPS
1st: .625 OPS
2nd: .693 OPS (minus Brob)

2011:

SS: .725-740 OPS
3rd: .780-810 OPS
1st: 780-800 OPS
2nd: 770-800 OPS

If you cannot understand those improvements over last year then I am sorry.

1yr  $3-5 M contract on the tab le from the Os

Vlad is not happy, thinks Orioles are low b allin him ... not much more will b e offered around league...think vlad is pulling the hanky over bs.

O's make final offer. Somewhere around $4.5-5 mm.

Vlad's agent claimed last night Vlad had an $8mm offer on the table. Ya ok. If that is true he would have taken it. No one is falling for that BS.

McPhail has played this situations right. Called his bluff and put out a contract that if Vlad takes, great and if not then oh well they will move on with no regrets.

Yeah, Vlads agent is floating a trial balloon and someone has to stick a pin in it. McPhail ought to tell him "final offer, off the table at 5PM Monday." His phone isn't ringing off the hook with offers for his client. This ought to be settled soon.

It would have b een nice to see him signed b y fan fest, today.  He just wants more money, the Orioles have it and they know it.  Going into the off-season he said he was looking for a 16M contract, that clearly has gone way down.  Vlad hit very well at Camden Yards throughout his career....McPhail rarely fails to get his man.

update (not much of one):

It's Groundhog Day and Vladimir Guerrero appears to be waking up to the same reality as the day before: there is little to no chance that the veteran designated hitter will land a multi-year deal.

The latest team to publicly pass was the Tigers, with GM Dave Dombrowski saying Tuesday that Guerrero was "not a fit for us."

According to various reports, the Orioles offered a one-year deal worth $3 million to $5 million last week. But Dan Connolly writes in Tuesday's Baltimore Sun that the Orioles have had "no significant conversations" with Guerrero's side since team president Andy MacPhail told a crowd at Saturday's FanFest that the team wants the power hitter but does not know when he'll make a decision.

ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney tweeted Saturday that the Orioles are willing to give Guerrero a one-year deal for between $4.5 million and $5.5 million, but won't budge beyond that.

With few if any teams willing to pay notable dollars for a designated hitter, Guerrero has seen his options dwindle to where the Orioles have plenty of leverage.

MAYAGUEZ, Puerto Rico -- Veteran slugger Vladimir Guerrero agreed to a one-year, $8 million contract with the Baltimore Orioles on Friday, a source told ESPNdeportes.com.

 

Orioles gonna be good this year, especially with Buck at the helm.  too bad they are playing in that division though..pitching will hold them back

I'm skeptical its $8mm.

I think its probably $8mm with the incentives.

Very true JPero...we will see what the 'contract' says...