Orioles Discuss Ivan Rodriguez

I think I-Rod would be a good fit with the Mets...

This would make sense seeing as they just traded ramon hernandez to the Reds, I think the O's should pull the trigger on a 1 year deal if that's possible.

calling wieters an HOF with MILB stats.
that a bit of uneducated, wait tell him an allstar to start calling him bench. he has done nothing yet, nothing, he in the minors.
Bench is one in a million, start throwing out that comparsion
that has to by the most stupidest thing i never hear of

marlinsman-

That was obviously a big time projection on my part.

At no point did I ever say that I really thought Wieters was that good, yet, I was just saying that it seems like he has that type of ability.

I think we can all agree that Wieters is an extremely unique talent, and if he's in the HOF in 25-30 years, I wouldn't be shocked.

And also, I've read some really great things about Wieters as a person. Just stories about how he appreciates the fans and is always willing to sign autographs and such. It just really didn't seem like he came off as an arrogant prick.

I know Matt Wieters could end up being a huge bust, but if he was he'd end up being arguably the biggest bust in recent memory.

He has the potential to be a Johnny Bench-like player, regardless of whether he's that player yet..

Yeah..

I feel like Orioles fans kind of deserve to have a guy like Wieters, along with Markakis and Jones, after so many crappy seasons.

That core of Wieters, Markakis and Jones, as I have discussed before, is arguably the best three man position player core in baseball.

I honestly hope that the Orioles return to prominence..

Wieters is ready NOW. And he's going to be a great one, if he stays healthy. I don't know how long he'll remain a catcher given his size (6'5"), but he's going to be the next great player, no question. As close to a sure thing as there ever was. Great hitter for average, with power, a switch-hitter wo has patience, and he has solid defensive and leadership skills. The total package.

Marlinsman1120 learn to speak English before you try and shoot down Matt Wieters potential.

I hope it's just a ploy to get a different catcher interested. Weiters won't be impressed with a guy who had all the skills in the world (IRod) but decided to take the juice anyways, goes for the money whenever given a contract chance, is a total jerk, and makes selfish choices at every opportunity. And why do teams with less than pleasant alternatives always sign these bozo's that the Mets, Yankees, Red Sox, Angels, Dodgers and Cubs don't sign. Let 'em fry. Play your kids. Those teams can only afford so many players, and since there's no salary cap, let every team play cheap for a while and sign who WANTS to play there...and just say no to a'holes like IROD.

Haha, "Schmuck"

Fast note Orioles got some good pitching coming up. There minor league team is under the radar.

I-Rod is a jerk both on and off the field. Andy Mc is too smart to sign him. Let the "kid" play.
You might as well sign Carlton Fisk

I'm sure someone's mentioned this, but I didn't feel like reading the comments above: This makes ABSOLUTELY NO FRIGGIN' SENSE!!! Why would the O's trade away Ramon just to sign Pudge? The whole idea was supposedly to get Wieters into the lineup and now...? It's like driving in reverse the whole way home. The destination is the same, but you're going out of your way to complicate things. And you wonder why the Birds haven't sniffed the postseason- or .500- in over a decade! And I'M A FAN!

As for scribble's initial comment on Wieters...

Yes, the Bench comp is premature and perhaps a bit excessive, but anyone who's seen the kid or even knows a little about him will tell you the same thing... The tools are all there, as are the intangibles. Indeed, Bench might end up being an apt comparison! He's Mauer with power, according to some scouts and the raves just keep coming.

I'm an O's fan, so I'll confess to a measure of bias, but it all comes from the excitement Wieters brings to one of the most beleaguered franchises in baseball over the past decade-plus. Whether he turns into a Hall of Famer or not, it seems fairly certain- and believe you me, I'm rappin' on wood using that term- that kid is going to be special. By all accounts, he's got Gold Glove potential behind the dish and a bat that's liable to win him a few Silver Sluggers...if not MVP awards (won't be easy if the O's keep posting sub-.500 seasons). More to the point, Wieters is the type of player- much like Longoria last year- who can change the culture of a clubhouse simply with his presence. These aren't my words, but those of far better baseball minds than mine.

Scribble's also right about the foundation that could give us, with Markakis (assuming Andy GETS A FRIGGIN' EXTENSION DONE!) and Jones. If, by some miracle, we could nab a guy like Grant Green in the coming draft...a long shot to be sure, but the similarities between '09 and '07 are striking; down to Pittsburgh drafting one slot ahead of us...well, we could REALLY have something. The options seem to be there, whether Strasburg (OK, that WON'T happen), Green, Ackley, White, Gibson, Crow, or Matzek.

On offense, we don't have a ton of top talents coming up, besides Wieters. Reimold will be in Baltimore at some point over the course of 2009 and has a chance to be quite good. Montanez was something of a revelation last year. Both Brandon Snyder and Bill Rowell are former first rounders who have impressed at times, but hardly look like sure things (though the dismissal of Rowell is a bit premature given his age and the fact that he was the youngest player in the Carolina League last year). After that, there's a pair of raw 2008 picks with tools, but very little experience: Xavier Avery and LJ Hoes; the latter of which showed ridiculous plate discipline for his age in the GCL last year (too early- yes- but when a 17/18 year old hits over .300 and draws more walks than he strikes out, my radar goes up).

It's on the pitching front that the club's future really hinges, however. Whether the Orioles can truly compete in the AL BEast, will likely come down to how effective a pitching staff might be scraped together from amongst the likes of Chris Tillman, Brian Matusz, Jake Arrieta, Jeremy Guthrie, Brandon Erbe, Radhames Liz (tough rookie year and awful command, but a ton of talent), Garrett Olson (another tough rookie campaign), Troy Patton, Matt Albers, Zach Britton, Brad Bergeson, David Hernandez, Hayden Penn (sleeper), Chorye Spoone (out until mid-year, but a legit prospect), Tony Butler (like him in 2009), Bobby Bundy (keep an eye out), Justin Moore (ditto), Pedro Beato (awful last year, but virtually unlimited talent and rumors he was injured), and long(er) shots like Jason Berken, Sean Gleason, Tim Bascom, Pat Egan, Luis Noel, and Chris Salberg (old for his level, but sort of intriguing), plus relievers Jim Johnson, Kam Mickolio, Chris Ray (can he return to form?), Randor Bierd, Dennis Sarfate, James Hoey, Bob McCrory, Oliver Drake, Rick Zagone, Wilfrido Perez, Chad Thall, Luis Lebron, Cory Doyne, and whoever doesn't stick in the rotation (but makes it to the bigs) from the above group. Them's a lot of arms (and I apologize for reeling off...all of them)! If you assume Green is gone by the fifth pick next June (along with Strasburg), you also have to assume they'll be adding another top tier hurler from amongst Alex White, Aaron Crow, and Tyler Matzek too (unless it's Ackley)!

A lot needs to go Baltimore's way, but there's a shot amongst all that talent- which I figure places the O's somewhere in the 4-10 range among MLB farm systems behind Texas, Oakland, and Boston and alongside a few others- to finally turn the ship around. When you've been rooting for a perennial loser as long as I have, you gotta find the good somewhere!

...And one more thing (since no one has posted in over two hours). Just a thought: I'm not sure if anyone's mentioned this but how awesome is next year's ROY race shaping up to be! David Price vs. Matt Wieters (No. 1 vs. No. 5 in '07 draft). That should be epic; possibly historic!