Josh Byrnes is likely bemoaning the fact Piazza got through.

"One slipped through my fingers! Curses!!!! My plan to block everyone has FAILED!"

Well, that's just silly. If he claimed Piazza, he'd have to leave at least one of Myers, Clemens, Manny, and Chavez on the table.

Oh sweet we can still trade off Piazza.

Why didn't the O's just let him go? The Orioles would be getting something out of that deal, they would be getting 30 million dollars.

Why didn't the O's just let him go? The Orioles would be getting something out of that deal, they would be getting 30 million dollars.

I don't understand this too. How valuable do the Orioles think Tejada is at this point. As well, I am surprised other teams didn't bite.

Why would the O's just let him go? Couldn't they get something for him?

Simply letting Tejada go could be a decent baseball move with what they could then do with the money (although, that's debateable), but it would most likely be a PR disaster.

Simply letting Tejada go could be a decent baseball move with what they could then do with the money (although, that's debateable), but it would most likely be a PR disaster.

I'm not even sure it would be a good baseball move. All it gets them is money, and so what? Their payroll is hardly high, so it's not like they need the money for someone else.

I'm not even sure it would be a good baseball move. All it gets them is money, and so what? Their payroll is hardly high, so it's not like they need the money for someone else.

Exactly. Plus Tejada may bounce back. His power has been down but it's not like he's old. I think Tejada is just having a down year and he'll bounce back. If the O's want to trade him then, fine. But I hate to see Tejada go when his value is down. Of course, you run the risk of his value plummeting even further but I wouldn't mind taking that risk.

I am intrigued by the idea of Byrnes rebuilding his entire 25-man roster, and quintupling his payroll, through August waiver claims.

Some team that's really wealthy and in a desperate race will try it one of these years. I thought the Yankees might do it this year.

I wonder how many mediocre (read: better than anyone they've got) relievers the Tigers could have gotten for nothing but money.

I still think the Mets should have claimed Piazza. He'd cost, what, $2M for the rest of the season and couldn't be worse than LoDuca.

Well he could be worse than LoDuca considering his shoulder injury prevents him from throwing...even as well as he used to.

Why didn't the O's just let him go? The Orioles would be getting something out of that deal, they would be getting 30 million dollars.

That's insane. Tejada might not be as valuable as he was a couple years ago, but he's still a SS with a 105 OPS+ and a reasonable contract. And he's only 31. How on earth would the Orioles be better off by just letting him go?

Simply letting Tejada go could be a decent baseball move with what they could then do with the money

How many relievers can they overpay for?

That's insane. Tejada might not be as valuable as he was a couple years ago, but he's still a SS with a 105 OPS+ and a reasonable contract. And he's only 31. How on earth would the Orioles be better off by just letting him go?

I was wondering about that myself.

He's having his worst year since 1999, but nobody with half a brain is going to use one year stats to determine Tejada's value. He's been pretty consistent with OPS+ between 117 and 133 the last 5 years. He is 31, so maybe we should expect about 115 for the next two years.

On defense, he's played pretty well this year, tops in zone rating for AL shortstops by the Hardball Times stats. He ranks #2 by STATS ZR. The AL group of shortstops seems vastly inferior to the NL guys on defense this year, but its hard to argue that Tejada is hurting his team with the glove.

A shortstop with a slightly above average glove and 115 OPS+ is worth about 4 wins over replacement. Using Tango Tiger's salary chart Tejada is worth 31 million over two years. That's last year's prices, inflation ups that to 34 million. He's worth his money.

Letting Tejada go for nothing would be just one more reason to bring out the pitchforks and run Angelos out of town. If they really want to be rid of Tejada and his contract they should at least wait until the offseason when they could probably get Brandon Wood for him.

I don't understand this too. How valuable do the Orioles think Tejada is at this point. As well, I am surprised other teams didn't bite.

Do the waivers start with the worst teams in baseball and go up? The White Sox are pretty bad, so not that many teams had a shot to claim him. Thats if I'm understanding the process correctly.

The Phillies were hot for Tejada as a 3B in the off-season. I can't imagine that the Os couldn't get something of value from the Phillies, especially since their closest to the majors 3B prospect is in AA and hasn't really been doing all that great. The Helms/Nunez/Dobbs connection has been really bad. Helms can't hit or field, Nunez can't hit and Dobbs is a 1B masquerading at whatever other position he plays on the field.
Now we all know that Tejada is overpriced for a 3B but he would likely be at least an average 3B and that would be a huge improvement over what they have now.

Tejada-Rollins-Utley-Howard.

That would have to be one of the best infields ever.

Steroid era player from latin america who has declining power numbers since the start of testing, who was publicly outed by another steroid user, why would you want to keep him? The PR hit can be handled, you simply start the whisper campaign about roids.

As good as the the Jones-Renteria-Johnson-Teixeira infield that lasted all of three games?

Steroid era player from latin america who has declining power numbers since the start of testing, who was publicly outed by another steroid user, why would you want to keep him? The PR hit can be handled, you simply start the whisper campaign about roids.

I don't care about the PR -- that's not the issue. From a performance standpoint, Tejada is still a valuable player, and replacing him wouldn't be easy. (plus, he does have trade value, so releasing him for nothing would be idiotic.)

Steroid era player from latin america who has declining power numbers since the start of testing, who was publicly outed by another steroid user, why would you want to keep him?"

You're kidding, right? As AROM has said, even though his power is down this year, he's still been an above average hitter and defender at a key defensive position. Dumping him for nothing would just be stupid.

What does the fact that Tejada is from Latin America have to do w/ the likelihood of his steroid use? That seems like a pretty careless comment IMHO.

My guess is it has nothing to do with steroids, but a separate issue, is Tejada older than his listed age? Most of the players who had birthday revisions were from Tejada's Dominican Republic.

To me its a non-issue. If Tejada is using a fake birthday, you'd think he would have been caught by now.

Do the waivers start with the worst teams in baseball and go up?

Correct -- it goes in reverse order of record for the same league (in this case, the AL), and then likewise through the opposite league (NL). The White Sox would have been only about the 4th team to have a shot at Tejeda. I'm guessing a fair number of the other 25 teams would have also put in a claim if given a chance, and/or be willing to deal for him outside of the waiver trade period.

Even if his value isn't what it used to be, and the O's aren't confident in him bouncing back next year, to let him walk for nothing would be ridiculous.

Speaking of birthdays, Arnie Braunstein mentioned that the Izturis brothers were born only seven months apart.

No one here believes in time travel, sir.

Thanks Spycake, I didn't know it started with the same league.

Steroid era player from latin america who has declining power numbers since the start of testing, who was publicly outed by another steroid user, why would you want to keep him? The PR hit can be handled, you simply start the whisper campaign about roids.

Why would you want to keep him? Because, you know, he's still productive? How exactly would it benefit them to "let him go"?

TOYNBEE IDEA
IN KUBRICK'S 2001
RESURRECT DEAD TEAM
ON PLANET JUPITER

Why would you want to keep him? Because, you know, he's still productive? How exactly would it benefit them to "let him go"?

It might benefit the O's in the long run if releasing Tejada is the final straw that gets fans to break down the doors of the owner's box and march off with the head of Peter Angelos on a pike.

It might benefit the O's in the long run if releasing Tejada is the final straw that gets fans to break down the doors of the owner's box and march off with the head of Peter Angelos on a pike.

Touche. I hadn't considered that angle.

Speaking of birthdays, Arnie Braunstein mentioned that the Izturis brothers were born only seven months apart.

Aren't they half brothers? Same father, different mother is my understanding.

Correct -- it goes in reverse order of record for the same league (in this case, the AL), and then likewise through the opposite league (NL).

I thought this changed at the same time that they changed the draft (i.e., it used to be Al and NL alternating picks in the draft, based on records within the respective leagues - now it's just record regardless of league)

Hey, that screws the NL over big time!
No wonder more jazzy players seem to end up in the AL. Apart from the fact that usually the Pirates are picking high for the NL