ESPN.com - Orioles going down same road as Astros

[PC]

By Austin Swafford

Finding the balance between experience and youth can be a tricky line to walk in sports. A winning formula in baseball is often found in those teams that manage to have veteran experience in the right places and youthful energy in others. You don't want to be too old or too young, and experience just for experience's sake is no benefit. The Astros have done a very bad job walking that line and they can serve as a cautionary tale for teams trying to win right now.

There's certainly nothing wrong with trying to win right now if you have the right parts. But I have thought about the lesson that could be learned from the Astros as I have watched the Orioles since the end of last season. They closed 2010 on a good note. They hired Buck Showalter and, with him at the helm, went 34-23 to end the year.

So, naturally, they looked around at their very talented division and said, "No rush. We have a good manager, we're making good progress and we have young talent. We can be patient while that young talent develops." Right?

It'd be nice if that were the case, but instead of doing that, the Orioles got very involved in free agency, went out and got J.J. Hardy, Derrek Lee, Mark Reynolds, Vladimir Guerrero, Justin Duchscherer and Kevin Gregg. Average age: 31.8.

They're not all old and I don't dislike all of the signings, but why the urgency? Why the apparently desperate need to compete now when they probably won't?

Baltimore is in serious risk of getting mired in the same mud as the Astros since their surprising World Series run in 2005. The Astros haven't been bursting at the seams with young talent the last six years, but they spent four seasons taking what young talent they did have and dishing it to other teams to get veterans to try to compete now. They dealt Taylor Buchholz, Jason Hirsh and Willy Taveras to the Rockies for Jason Jennings. They shipped Luke Scott, Troy Patton and three others to the Orioles for Miguel Tejada. At the same time, they signed Carlos Lee as a free agent to the biggest contract in club history and patched together their rotation with guys like Woody Williams, Randy Wolf and Brian Moehler.

This not only cleansed the team of promising young players, but also suppressed the development of other young players, because if you're trying to win now, you can't be patient with a guy who struggles through the first couple of months of a season. Where a rebuilding team might recognize its ability to be patient and wait out the growing pains of a young player, a competing team can't afford to take the losses.

Houston spent four years suppressing the development of young players under the delusion that these poorly constructed teams loaded with not-so-good veterans might actually compete. Much like the Orioles, the Astros would go on good second-half runs that convinced the front office that they were just a piece or two shy of competing. Of course, they never even came close.

Much like the Orioles, the Astros finished 2010 on a good note. They had good second-half records, they have young talent and they both appeared to be heading in the right direction for the first time in a long time.

But the Orioles are in danger of falling into the same trap as the Astros. Let them serve as a cautionary tale that a good month and a half doesn't mean the team is a few overpriced veterans away from going to the World Series. Let them serve as a cautionary tale of what happens to a club when they refuse to develop young talent.

http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/7522/orioles-going-down-same-road-as-astros

[JCA-CrystalCity]

If the article identified blocked players or talent the Os shipped when bringing in vets, it would make its point better.  It is Josh Bell, Brandon Snyder, Feliz Pie, and Nolan Reimold that are purportedly blocked by Reynolds, Vladi, and Lee.  Hardy displaced Izturis (nothing to see there).  I forget how they got Reynolds.  David Hernandez?  Maybe they moved one hard throwing MR for all these veterans, and none of the contracts are so long term that if a Snyder or Bell did well in AAA, they could not displace a road block next year.  The article reflects about as much thought as my post, which is very little.

[Nat of the Living Dead]

Can we stop talking about the Orioles? They aren't going anywhere.

[NatsDad14]

If the article identified blocked players or talent the Os shipped when bringing in vets, it would make its point better.  It is Josh Bell, Brandon Snyder, Feliz Pie, and Nolan Reimold that are purportedly blocked by Reynolds, Vladi, and Lee.  Hardy displaced Izturis (nothing to see there).  I forget how they got Reynolds.  David Hernandez?  Maybe they moved one hard throwing MR for all these veterans, and none of the contracts are so long term that if a Snyder or Bell did well in AAA, they could not displace a road block next year.  The article reflects about as much thought as my post, which is very little.

This.

The Orioles basically had the worst production from 1B, SS, and 3B in the big leagues. Getting Lee, Hardy, and Reynolds is a huge upgrade. The only guy who can be considered a prospect that got blocked is Josh Bell but he is clearly not ready as evidenced by him having something like a 45:2 K:BB ratio.

[HalfSmokes]

Vlad pushes like Scott to left sending Pie to the bench (no bug deal) and Riemold to aaa (kind of tough to learn to hit major league pitching when you are in aaa)

[Vega]

The O's didn't give up anything of note to get these guys and there is no one significant being blocked. I don't see what's so bad about it. Sure, they probably won't contend, but they are showing that they give a damn by going out and putting together the best team they can this year with little to no negative consequences for the future. I cannot find any fault with that.

[Tyler Durden]

Agreed - they're at least trying.  They are still headed for last place, but they're not going the cheap route and stockpiling prospects while destroying the ML product like some other teams out there.  Some teams just give up completely on the ML product and to me, as a fan, that's unforgivable. 

[comish4lif]

Well, it in an ESPN article, so the point of it is, how dare anyone who is not the Yanks/Sawx pick up a few players who may help them win a game.

I see in the article that the Astros traded Taylor Bucholz, Wily Taveras and a 3rd nobody -Jason Hirsch. How did losing those 3 nobodies hurt them in the longterm?

[HalfSmokes]

Hirsch was pretty highly regarded

[Nat of the Living Dead]

I still can't shake the feeling that this is exactly like the year they pulled in Javey Lopez and Miguel Tejada and what really came out of that?

[JCA-CrystalCity]

I still can't shake the feeling that this is exactly like the year they pulled in Javey Lopez and Miguel Tejada and what really came out of that?

Tejada is a decent point.  Signed long term while on the decline.  I forget what year it was.  Year 5 of their losing season streak and a couple years post-Cal?  Before the NAts split the territory?  Tejada and Javy were good their first season or two here.  Now the blockhead move was the Astros picking up Tejada for some pretty decent talent. Scott alone makes that trade worth it, and it looks like Albers might have a few useful seasons as an MR.  Patton was a roll of the dice that did not work out.  So yes, the Astros are / were dumb, but MacPhail should be given the benefit of the doubt.  The only move I wondered a lot about was the Vladi signing.  I would have wanted to give Reimold a bit longer leash.  Up until last year, he was too good at every level not to.