Baltimore Orioles: Do opponents of the O’s have inflated ego’s?

For quite some time, Manny Machado, was one of the top prospects in baseball. From the moment he was drafted, he was the top prospect in the Baltimore Orioles’ system. However that’s never stopped teams from shamelessly asking for Machado and others like him in trades. Yes folks, I said shamelessly.

I would sut ever since then-GM Andy MacPhail absolutely fleeced Seattle in the trade that brought Adam Jones to Baltimore (in 2008) teams have been somewhat wary of the Orioles So needless to say, I was a little more than mildly interested when Buck Showalter said the following prior to last night’s 7-3 win over Atlanta (quote courtesy of Roch Kubatko, MASNsports.com):

"We’re kicking around a lot of things. Sometimes, the best moves are the ones you don’t make. I could tell you about three or four that we decided not to do in the last two or three years that if we have made them we would have really regretted. Of course, I won’t tell you about the other ones I wish we had made."

So…what exactly is Shoalter saying here? Are the Orioles letting trades go by the wayside?

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To answer that question, yes they are. Teams are offered trades everyday – and they turn them down. This leads me to believe that plenty of teams are interested in trading with the Orioles. However I would submit that they’re asking for too much.

This doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re asking for guys like Manny Machado in exchange for a rental. I believe that Machado is already established enough to where he’s probaby out of trade talks at this point (not to say that it’s impossible). However don’t be surprised if the likes of Schoop, Gausman, and perhaps even Bundy.

The point here is that before they’re accused of not being willing to spend or buy what’s necesary to win, it’s not through a lack of trying. Do fans really want the O’s to make a trade that’s going to have a negative ripple effect years in the future? At this point, I would say no. But that’s just me.

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Incidentally, I believe that the Orioles need to buy. And if that ends up being a rental, so be it. However the Birds also need to be smart about it. I’ll be honest; I think that Toronto overpaid for Tulowitzski the other day. I also think that Washington overpaid for Papelbon last night. Most fans will argue that if said team wins a World Series, it was then obviously worth it.

But that’s not true. Look at Philadelphia and Boston; they’re both in the cellar due in part to the fact that they bought somewhat recklessly over the years. The O’s found themselves in this situation in the early 2000’s also. Thus the point isn’t don’t buy. It’s buy smart. Don’t let other teams devalue your prospects and needle them away from you. If you buy smart, you can find yourself some diamonds in the ruff whcih don’t cost an arm and a leg, and don’t leave your franchise in peril in the future.

Next: Baltimore Orioles: How does the Troy Tulowitzski trade impact the O's?

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