Nanner
12-17-2003, 09:06 PM
I love this whole image of the benign Orioles swooping down like predatory birds and snatching their prey.
:D
12/14/2003 9:05 PM ET
Singer: The Birds strike
Tom Singer
http://orioles.mlb.com/images/2003/12/14/Wwfykbo6.jpg
The 28-year-old Tejada has 122 homers and 465 RBIs the last four seasons. (Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)
In 2002, Alex Rodriguez batted .300 and chipped in 57 home runs and 142 RBIs.
The same season, Nomar Garciapparra batted .310 and drove in 120 runs with 24 home runs.
Both play shortstop in the American League. But neither was crowned the league's Most Valuable Player -- although the award did go to a shortstop.
Oakland's Miguel Tejada made a compelling case to be chosen valedictorian of arguably the best class of shortstops in history, in which Derek Jeter is also enrolled.
And for the next six years, he will be playing shortstop at Camden Yards.
At this point, we would like to welcome the Baltimore Orioles back to the jungle. The American League shapes up as a wilder melee than any tag-team match ever caged up by the WWE.
This division is so tough, if it were a talent contest, American Idol's Simon Cowell would be the first one voted off the stage.
Tejada's new contract will take him to the end of this decade, which informally is being called the 'Naughts.
The Orioles are determined to stop being one of the AL's have-naughts.
Tejada represents the long-anticipated first strike in the Birds' carefully mapped outreach for respectability. Co-GMs Jim Beattie and Mike Flanagan are known to also be courting many of the big-name offensive free agents left on the market.
This isn't the first time Baltimore has taken a major dip in the free-agent pool. Rather, the Orioles have been among the most active hustlers on that market during Peter Angelos' ownership.
However, Baltimore needs for the current foray to work out a lot better than recent signings. That litany includes David Segui (175 games played and 309 missed:eek: since a four-year, $28 million deal in 2001), Aaron Sele (who couldn't even pass his physical after inking a four-year, $29 million deal in 2000) and, of course, Albert Belle.
Belle broke down and retired two seasons into the five-year, $65 million pact he signed on Dec. 1, 1998. Although insurance has been covering a large share of the money still due him, his removal from the roster at last freed up some of the funds the Orioles now have to invest.
If, as they intimated, Tejada's signing was just the opening blow, the Orioles may be asked to give up their fourth-place reservation in the AL East -- where they have finished for six straight seasons since winning the division title in 1997.
"This is the first piece of what we're trying to accomplish," Beattie said.
"We're not looking for a quick fix. We want to put a core of players together to get this franchise where we want it to be," Flanagan said.
Beattie and Flanagan make up MLB's only two-headed general manager, but it's not what you might think, a spinoff from Stuck on You, the current hit comedy.
Beattie and Flanagan function quite independently which, come to think of it, gives them an unfair advantage in doubling up on the guerilla conversations that hatch results at the Winter Meetings.
Beattie did allude to their unique relationship in hesitantly stepping forward to announce Tejada's signing.
"We often fight over the mike to make announcements like this," he joked.
They got to make this proclamation because Tejada got "stuck" on the idea of continuing Baltimore's legacy at his position.
The market did not go as bonkers as Tejada (and his agent) would have liked over a 28-year-old fielding marvel with 122 homers and 465 RBIs the last four seasons. But he did have a wide range of choices, from being a trophy catch in Detroit to staying home in the AL West with Seattle.
By the time the bidding between t he Mariners and Orioles reached a fever pitch, Tejada knew he would be a happy camper somewhere come February. To help make sure that would be in Florida, the Baltimore GMs dropped some names on him.
Luis Aparicio. Mark Belanger. Cal Ripken.
"We're tickled pink to have Miguel continue the tradition of great Orioles shortstops," said Flanagan, the former left-hander who spent 1975-87 in the O's rotation watching both Belanger and Ripken turn many of his mistakes into outs.
"He steps into some big shoes," Beattie echoed.
"He becomes an integral part of the Orioles' traditional philosophy of having a strong defense," Flanagan added. "And he does add a bat to the middle of the lineup, which was another of our goals."
The Orioles -- who in 2003 ranked 10th in American League scoring and had only two players with more than 15 homers -- can afford such goals because, since the All-Star break, their GMs have pared more than $40 million off the payroll.
There was never any hesitation about putting that money right back on the field. Not for a club with a loyal fanbase that had averaged 3.1 million in the six seasons since the Orioles last had a winning record.
Because of that commitment in one of MLB's prime showcases, remaining free agents such as Vladimir Guerrero and catchers Javy Lopez and Ivan Rodriguez obviously have Beattie-Flanagan's ear.
"We did want to get some bats in the middle of the lineup, and you can't do much better than Miguel Tejada at this point," Beattie said.
"This is a great first step. But we still have a lot to do."
Tom Singer is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
:D
12/14/2003 9:05 PM ET
Singer: The Birds strike
Tom Singer
http://orioles.mlb.com/images/2003/12/14/Wwfykbo6.jpg
The 28-year-old Tejada has 122 homers and 465 RBIs the last four seasons. (Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)
In 2002, Alex Rodriguez batted .300 and chipped in 57 home runs and 142 RBIs.
The same season, Nomar Garciapparra batted .310 and drove in 120 runs with 24 home runs.
Both play shortstop in the American League. But neither was crowned the league's Most Valuable Player -- although the award did go to a shortstop.
Oakland's Miguel Tejada made a compelling case to be chosen valedictorian of arguably the best class of shortstops in history, in which Derek Jeter is also enrolled.
And for the next six years, he will be playing shortstop at Camden Yards.
At this point, we would like to welcome the Baltimore Orioles back to the jungle. The American League shapes up as a wilder melee than any tag-team match ever caged up by the WWE.
This division is so tough, if it were a talent contest, American Idol's Simon Cowell would be the first one voted off the stage.
Tejada's new contract will take him to the end of this decade, which informally is being called the 'Naughts.
The Orioles are determined to stop being one of the AL's have-naughts.
Tejada represents the long-anticipated first strike in the Birds' carefully mapped outreach for respectability. Co-GMs Jim Beattie and Mike Flanagan are known to also be courting many of the big-name offensive free agents left on the market.
This isn't the first time Baltimore has taken a major dip in the free-agent pool. Rather, the Orioles have been among the most active hustlers on that market during Peter Angelos' ownership.
However, Baltimore needs for the current foray to work out a lot better than recent signings. That litany includes David Segui (175 games played and 309 missed:eek: since a four-year, $28 million deal in 2001), Aaron Sele (who couldn't even pass his physical after inking a four-year, $29 million deal in 2000) and, of course, Albert Belle.
Belle broke down and retired two seasons into the five-year, $65 million pact he signed on Dec. 1, 1998. Although insurance has been covering a large share of the money still due him, his removal from the roster at last freed up some of the funds the Orioles now have to invest.
If, as they intimated, Tejada's signing was just the opening blow, the Orioles may be asked to give up their fourth-place reservation in the AL East -- where they have finished for six straight seasons since winning the division title in 1997.
"This is the first piece of what we're trying to accomplish," Beattie said.
"We're not looking for a quick fix. We want to put a core of players together to get this franchise where we want it to be," Flanagan said.
Beattie and Flanagan make up MLB's only two-headed general manager, but it's not what you might think, a spinoff from Stuck on You, the current hit comedy.
Beattie and Flanagan function quite independently which, come to think of it, gives them an unfair advantage in doubling up on the guerilla conversations that hatch results at the Winter Meetings.
Beattie did allude to their unique relationship in hesitantly stepping forward to announce Tejada's signing.
"We often fight over the mike to make announcements like this," he joked.
They got to make this proclamation because Tejada got "stuck" on the idea of continuing Baltimore's legacy at his position.
The market did not go as bonkers as Tejada (and his agent) would have liked over a 28-year-old fielding marvel with 122 homers and 465 RBIs the last four seasons. But he did have a wide range of choices, from being a trophy catch in Detroit to staying home in the AL West with Seattle.
By the time the bidding between t he Mariners and Orioles reached a fever pitch, Tejada knew he would be a happy camper somewhere come February. To help make sure that would be in Florida, the Baltimore GMs dropped some names on him.
Luis Aparicio. Mark Belanger. Cal Ripken.
"We're tickled pink to have Miguel continue the tradition of great Orioles shortstops," said Flanagan, the former left-hander who spent 1975-87 in the O's rotation watching both Belanger and Ripken turn many of his mistakes into outs.
"He steps into some big shoes," Beattie echoed.
"He becomes an integral part of the Orioles' traditional philosophy of having a strong defense," Flanagan added. "And he does add a bat to the middle of the lineup, which was another of our goals."
The Orioles -- who in 2003 ranked 10th in American League scoring and had only two players with more than 15 homers -- can afford such goals because, since the All-Star break, their GMs have pared more than $40 million off the payroll.
There was never any hesitation about putting that money right back on the field. Not for a club with a loyal fanbase that had averaged 3.1 million in the six seasons since the Orioles last had a winning record.
Because of that commitment in one of MLB's prime showcases, remaining free agents such as Vladimir Guerrero and catchers Javy Lopez and Ivan Rodriguez obviously have Beattie-Flanagan's ear.
"We did want to get some bats in the middle of the lineup, and you can't do much better than Miguel Tejada at this point," Beattie said.
"This is a great first step. But we still have a lot to do."
Tom Singer is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.