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Baltimore Orioles: Is Dan Duquette mismanaging assets?

By Domenic A. Vadala

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Each year various players come across the radar of Dan Duquette in terms of potential Baltimore Orioles players. Heck, allegedly the Los Angeles Dodgers were willing to trade outfielder Carl Crawford to Baltimore last week, only to have the Orioles back away because of Crawford’s injury problems. And how could we forget how they turned Grant Balfour away almost two years ago now, and what a problem that caused.

And it’s not just regarding trades; Duquette has to decide each year whether or not the team should sign or re-sign someone. Last season it was Nelson Cruz and Nick Markakis (might as well throw Andrew Miller‘s name in there as well). This coming season it has to potential to be Darren O’Day, Chris Davis, Matt Wieters, and a few others – including the newly acquired Gerardo Parra. 

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    • Courtesy of Bob DeChiara-US PRESSWIRE

    The Orioles have proven over time under the stewardship of Duquette that they aren’t willing to overpay. Not a dime. My personal opinion would be why should they? In theory, shouldn’t the price be the same for the Orioles as it is for any other team? And the answer to that is a resounding yes. For the record, the price is the same for the Orioles – they’re just not always willing to pay it.

    However there are some fans that would argue that the O’s flat out don’t want to spend money, and are willing to relegate themselves to losing if it means keeping a certain profit margin. I would submit that at the end of the day, that might be more important to most owners than anything else. The exception would be a guy like Ted Leonsis, who operated the Washington Capitals at a loss for ten years or so.

    But the point here is whether or not Duquette is ultimately doing himself and the Orioles a disservice by not being willing to pay a dime more than a player is worth…? To answer that question, let’s put it in terms that are easily understandable. If there’s one can of coke left on the shelf and someone’s willing to pay the required $1 for the soda, it’s his – right? Well imagine that our system was more of an auction type of system as opposed to someone taking something off the shelf and paying for it. That same can of Coke is still worth $1, right? But what if someone else is willing to pay $10?

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    Could we really blame the merchant for selling that can of Coke for the $10? I know I wouldn’t. The original customer doesn’t have his soda, but he does know that he didn’t waste $10 on a $1 soda. And the same is true with players. The Orioles can’t be in on every free agent. However there comes a point where the player in question becomes over-valued. It’s easy to say that Atlanta wanted Markakis more than the Orioles. But if you’re being honest with yourself, you have to know that’s not true. The Orioles just didn’t want to be played for fools, and that’s smart business.

    Next: Orioles upward stats pump Davis dollar outlook

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