2014 Offseason: Bad to Worse

The Orioles offseason has been pretty miserable so far. To their credit, they made a great signing in Ryan Webb. Then they set to doing what they do best: sitting on their hands.

Yes, I’m calling out the Orioles for inactivity, and I’m sick of being told to wait until later in the offseason to do it. No, I didn’t want a player like Bartolo Colon. Yes, I think the money free agents are getting this year is stupid.

But the Orioles cannot win in the AL East or in the playoffs without making moves to improve their team. They don’t have a solution in left field. They haven’t answered any questions in the starting rotation. Their DH situation is dubious. They’re probably going to lose Matt Wieters to free agency next year. Davis might go, too.

Could this offseason get any worse?

Given Roberts’ injury history, #Yankees would not necessarily be comfortable with potential Roberts/Kelly Johnson combination at 2B/3B.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 17, 2013

Oh, right. That.

This is a difficult one. We here at Bird’s Eye View love #TheBrianRobertsWatch, but I’ll try to be even-keeled about this. Brian Roberts still feels like he can play baseball, and the Yankees are (reportedly) going to give him a chance to do that. He’s going to make more money. How do you say no to that? With so little sand in the hourglass of his career, why not go with a club that’s got a great chance to make the playoffs… you know, one that makes the moves necessary to stay competitive? Remember, Roberts is a player, not an O’s fan. We feel like he should have an aversion to going to the Evil Empire. But that’s our game – not the players. 

And on the other side, the Orioles are not convinced that Roberts has anything left in the tank. If they’re going to move forward in getting other players, they can’t throw guaranteed money away at a player who spends more time on the 60-day DL than the clubhouse. Roberts is no longer a sure thing, and his skills have diminished with age. Internal candidates may not be All-Stars, but they’re more consistent and dependable for who they are. They think it was time to cut bait.

There, how was that?

This is bullshit, all around. If the Orioles are not going to do anything to field a real team, the least they could do is the make the effort to bring back a fan favorite. I guess they couldn’t find the loose change necessary with that Jim Johnson trade. You want to shut me up? Do something. Something real. Give me a reason to hope that the Orioles can win other than the fact that Manny Machado might be ready, and the Orioles brain trust saw fit to bring back Nolan Reimold and (Who the Hell Is) Steve Pearce.

And Brian Roberts… the Yankees? The God. Damn. Yankees. Anywhere but there. Your legacy (such as it is) belongs in Baltimore. They’ll eat you alive if you fail there. You will never be remembered as a great Yankee – but you still have the opportunity to be remembered as a turncoat. Was the only offer the one in New York, or did you want the chance to stick it to the team that didn’t resign you? I don’t want to see you 19 times in pin stripes. My emotions can’t handle that. I hope you buy that beautiful wife of yours something nice with those 30 pieces of silver.

Who’s working harder to break my heart, here? Doesn’t matter. IF this this signing goes through, the damage will be done.