The Convention Center was awash with orange today and by any account, Orioles FanFest was a whopping success.
I was there from 12 noon until 1:15 or so and the place was mobbed with baseball fans, nearly all of them sporting some kind of O’s jersey, hat or shirt.
Personally, I’d be fibbing if I said I wasn’t just a tad proud each and every time I saw someone wearing a gray “BALTIMORE” away jersey. I’ll leave that alone though and just move on to the event itself.
The people who ventured downtown today are the real fans who should be featured in the “This is Birdland” TV commercials. Forget hiring those actors. Put the camera on the die-hards at the Convention Center this afternoon. They’re real.
For one day, no one cared about raising ticket prices…or failing to sign Chone Figgins or Adam LaRoche…or losing for 12 years in a row. All the people in that building today were unfazed by the bad and buoyed by the potential for good.
Including me.
I assume the (recognized) media was allowed in the place for free, but I didn’t ask. I had a $10.00 ticket and entered the door like the rest of the great unwashed.
For one day, I forgot about the unreturned phone calls, the lack of cooperation from the club and the overall poor treatment I’ve received from the team over the last 3 years or so.
I just milled in with the rest of the 10,000 or so who were there and enjoyed the afternoon.
In all fairness, the Orioles should do two or three of these kind of fan interactive events in the winter…but this one, today, was an absolute grand slam. The O’s did an excellent job putting together a winter baseball festival that will keep the fans cozied up to the Hot Stove until April rolls around.
I had a great time at FanFest.
That is, until around 1:30 or so when I got the WNST.net text message about the signing of Miguel Tejada.
I may or may not write more about this next week when I’ve had time to digest it all, but for now, I will quickly point out that it’s indeed a sad day when the team reunites with a player who lied to the government two years ago and was later found guilty of perjury and lying under oath.
He can still hit for average, Tejada can, but his power numbers have (mysteriously) dropped over the last few years and he’s only driven in more than 90 runs one time since 2006. He was, at one time, an outstanding defensive player who diminished to “serviceable” later in his career, and there’s no telling how he’ll handle the switch to third base.
The Orioles are going to move him to third base, a position he’s never once played in the big leagues, and his salary reportedly checks in at $6 million, a far cry from the $14.8 million he made each of the last two seasons in Houston.
My, how the mighty have fallen.
I was a huge Tejada fan when the O’s signed him for the 2004 campaign. He represented the team’s initial “return to competiveness” effort and was the high dollar signing fans needed to see to accept the fact that the O’s were once again trying to win.
But three years into his six-year deal, Tejada had sniffed out the truth. The team wasn’t trying to win anymore. And it burned him up. His “what a great country” attitude changed and he was no longer the light of the locker room. By the time Sam Perlozzo was fired midway through the 2007 campaign and Dave Trembley was brought on board, the end of the road was in sight for both Tejada and the Birds. The day after the O’s dumped him off to Houston in December of ‘07, word came out that Tejada was in The Mitchell Report and all of us who suspected he was a steroid user had all the confirmation we needed.
And now, he’s back.
Only this time, I’m not on board with Tejada, The Sequel.
Questions have arisen about his age (an ESPN report two years ago disclosed that Tejada was really born in 1974, not 1976).
The Orioles - because he’d sign for one year and take a nearly-9-million-dollar-pay-cut - will shift him to third base and occasionally let him DH. I would rather go into the season with a “real” third baseman, but I guess this is all you can get when you’ve lost for 12 straight years.
And what’s it say, honestly, about a guy who wound up hating Baltimore so much in his last go around because they were losing 6 out of every 10 games…and now he comes back and signs up for more losing and a one-year cup of coffee at $6 million bucks?
Lastly, what’s it say about the Orioles, honestly, when they bring a guy into the fold who perjured himself to Congress and lied under oath? Then again, there are still probably hundreds of players making a living in the major leagues who either did or still use steroids or HGH.
And what ever happened to spending money on players who actually play the position you’re signing them for? They’ve now added Tejada (a shortstop by trade) and Garrett Atkins (mainly a 3rd baseman) in the off-season and neither one of them will start the year at their natural position. Why not just spend the money a TRUE first baseman or a third baseman? I know…I know…I’m just being negative.
So why bring Tejada back now?
What’s the message there?
As great as FanFest was today…and it really DID feel like spring in Baltimore inside the Convention Center…the news of the Tejada signing was a downer for me.
I just can’t get past this: Miguel Tejada: Lied to the government. Plea bargained his way out of jail time. Set to make $6 million in 2010. Playing a position he never played before.
None of those are low blows, either. They’re all facts.
It certainly is a great country.
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January 23rd, 2010 at 3:15 pm
Didn’t RayRay lie to the police? I didn’t see you complaining about that when the Ravens resigning him last year. I think you are just showing your hatred for the Orioles. (DF: I don’t think the Ray Lewis story is even remotely close to the Tejada story. They’re unconnected…unrelated…etc. You must not have read the first eight paragraphs of the blog where I shared my “hatred” for the team by talking about how great FanFest was. Some of you goofs amaze me.)
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January 23rd, 2010 at 3:31 pm
I don’t care about any of that stuff. The Gov’t lies to us all the time, bribes unions, kickbacks to senators,etc. The bottom line is can he still play and the answer is no. We now have a 3B who hasn’t played that position and a 1B who hasn’t played that position all because we weren’t willing to spend the money on guys with track records at those positions. Must all be part of the plan, in the small print I suppose.
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January 23rd, 2010 at 4:19 pm
Whos next, Rafael Palmeiro?
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January 23rd, 2010 at 4:46 pm
I hope he will be passing out gift cards this time instead of needles. As much as I am gettng more excited about this young team, and trying to convince my 14 yr.old yankee lovin son, that, the orioles are DEFINETLY headed in the right direction, Andy pulls a “BRAIN FART”
and signs Tejada. Bad Move McPhail, I hope i am wrong, BUT?????????
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January 23rd, 2010 at 5:27 pm
The Ray point is a great comparison. Both points are against the integrity of the athlete. Both did essentially the same thing. Regarding 3rd, a lot of shortstops make the transition to 3rd and apparently Tejada was preparing himself for this at the end of last year and during the offseason.
Plus, every player seems really pumped for him to be back.
(DF: First of all, I wasn’t on the radio in 2000 when Ray had his “issues”. Second, Ray did 60-some odd days in jail for a crime he was never tried for…and didn’t commit. Tejada is a steroid user and someone who lied to the government - and to the fans - when questions were posed to him about his role in steroid use in baseball. In the case of Ray, even as recently as 2009 when he re-signed, the Ravens couldn’t really do much better than him - on the field. In the case of Tejada, the O’s could have done better. They just didn’t want to…because to do that would have cost the team more money.)
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January 23rd, 2010 at 5:47 pm
Is security that bad at the Convention Center? I guess you pay your $10 bucks, you can badmouth all you want. Tejada’s not a bad rental by the way but I guess there’s no pleasing some people. (DF: Another nitwit heard from…I write a blog in which I compliment the team out the ass about how great FanFest was — and make an observation about a player signing and give my opinion. Somehow, the good is overlooked. I shouldn’t be surprised coming from you. A confirmed hater.)
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January 23rd, 2010 at 6:27 pm
Drew, your headline says it all. FanFest was great and the O’s did whiff on Miggy. What’s the story there? You bring a guy back after kicking him out two years ago? And it’s not like he’s 25 or 27. I enjoy your work and only agree with you about 50% of the time but that’s what sports and sports talk is all about I guess. On this one though I agree with you 100%. This is a bad signing by MacPhail. I’m disappointed. (DF: At least you read the entire blog. FanFest was GREAT. Signing Tejada NOT GREAT. I don’t get it either. Well, I do get it. He’s cheap. And he signed for one-year. Other than that, it doesn’t make sense.)
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January 23rd, 2010 at 7:04 pm
drew… this fanfest was a horrible mess… the place seemed packed.. but let me explain.. they had 4 areas designed for autographs… they announced which players would be where on the hour… heres the problem.. people were lining up 6 to 700 deep in the lines… they were only taking 250 people for each session. people were lining up to get ( anybody ). let me explain more.. once you got in this line.. you had no idea who was even going to be there by the time you moved up.. the line at 11am was already 700 deep.. even if you got in line, you were’nt even going to get a signiture until the 2 or 3 o’clock hour!!! let me explain further.. the only player i wanted all day was mike cuellar from the old 70’s team. however.. the players signing were in groups of 3, so mike cuellar may have been mixed with brian roberts and felix pie! this was a horrible set-up… i have no problem with the 250 limit… or 1st come 1st served.. but they should have had individual players at seperate tables.. if i was lucky enough to have gotten in a line for mike cuellar… i would have by-passed the other 2 guys… simply because i was’nt there for them… however, i would have taken a spot from someone else just wanting roberts… the turn-out was better than expected.. kudos for that… but the autograph part was a total mess!! dave white marsh
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January 23rd, 2010 at 7:17 pm
How much did LaRoche sign for? I believe for about 1 mil more and he plays 1st. Miggy will probably hit for a better average but I don’t think he is a speedy guy on the bases, where do you bat him? At least he is only here for a season. Hopefully, I’m proven wrong and the team is not mathematically eliminated from playoff contention by the Aug trade deadline. (DF: Careful with all that pessimism…you’ll lose your media credential.)
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January 23rd, 2010 at 7:22 pm
I don’t have a problem with the tejada signing because it’s only for one year. He is purely a stop gap between mora and josh bell. This move assists the orioles in being competitive this year and potentially play 500 ball. If they were going to sign a guy like crede, they would most likely have to commit to a longer term deal. Now the orioles add offense for a season, while still being committed to the rebuilding process. This certainly isn’t a great deal but in the end I think it puts a better product on the field. (DF: Well, one thing Tejada and Josh Bell have in common. Neither have ever played a game at 3rd base in the major leagues.)
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January 23rd, 2010 at 8:35 pm
If only Drew Forrester was the GM, front office staff, manager, batting lineup, rotation, bullpen, and bat boy, the Orioles would be a perrenial World Series Champion. But too bad for the city of Baltimore he’s just a pessimistic radio host on an AM radio station. (DF: Perennial is spelled with one “r”, not two.)
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January 23rd, 2010 at 9:32 pm
drew,
the whining gets old, we get it, you would run the o’s different, anyone who disagrees with you is a nitwit, you love the team, they did you wrong, just like the rest of us, get over it. (DF: That’s excellent advice. I’ll just ignore all the crazy stuff they do like raise ticket prices and sign guys they kicked to the curb two years ago. Wait, remind me once again why I should ignore that stuff?)
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January 23rd, 2010 at 10:17 pm
Drew, it just gets old after awhile. For once it would have been great to read the good stuff, without using it as justification to rail against the club one more time. Two separate posts…two distinct thoughts. I’m glad you enjoyed Fan Fest. It was nice to read a couple of paragraphs of actual compliments to the team.
The Tejada signing, well the proof will be in the pudding. If he performs as he did last year, then he is a good one year stop gap until the Bell is ready to play every day in the big leagues. Were there better players available? Yes. There always is.
If your post was more balanced and maybe raised a few positive reasons the club may have made this move, it would have felt less like whining. I think maybe baseball season will be a good time to switch the dial.
(DF: The thoughts would have been separate had they both not occurred at the same time. I know what you mean about “it just gets old after a while.” I feel the same way about the baseball team. Losing for 12 years in a row. Telling people they’re going to spend money and then not doing it. Watching the other teams in our division get the best players while we get the crumbs. I’m totally with you on that one. My blogs are as balanced as the situation dictates. When the Orioles do something good, I’m always there to applaud them. Always. You should be a little more balanced in your coverage of me.)
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January 23rd, 2010 at 10:41 pm
Drew i’m impressed that you would give the Orioles credit for anything. I couldn’t make it down to fanfest today, so I will have to rely on folks like yourself who actually went. Good job Orioles! As for the Tejada signing, I like it as the stop gap deal that it is. I think him moving from short to third isn’t an unconventional move or uncommon. Cal moved from short to third, A-Rod has done it, as well as others. As far as the lying to Congress, it’s been dealt with let’s move on. I would much rather have to deal with Miguel Tejada in the clubhouse for one year then to have the circus that Mark McGwire is going to star in, in St Louis. (DF: I think Tejada can still play. If you read the blog, you noted that. I’m a little surprised, though, that the Orioles would allow a guy who brought same to baseball - and them - back in their clubhouse. And lastly, I give the Orioles credit anytime they deserve it. I’m the fairest guy around when it comes to covering them. When they do something good, I applaud them. When they do something wrong, I criticize them. It’s simple, really.)
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January 23rd, 2010 at 10:45 pm
Pardon me, Mr. Forrester. I thought this was a Baltimore sports blog, not an English class. (DF: Now that was nicely done. You can move back to your original seat near the window.)
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January 23rd, 2010 at 11:18 pm
I could go on for hours about this one. But in short, it’s a joke, absolute joke. He wanted out, he got out, went to an equal stink team, nobody else wants him, so now he’s back. Let me get on the phone and order my season tickets. I rather watch grass grow. Dumb signing, makes no sense to me. Maybe we can get Cal to come back, he’s better than Izturis.
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January 24th, 2010 at 12:52 am
It isn’t a bad signing at all. His offense will hopefully makeup for any defense woes. It is a 1 year deal which will allow him to be flipped at the trade deadline IF Bell can get the whole switch hitting thing figured out. I prefer this over overpaying for Beltre or Figgins who would most likely block Bell in the organization.
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January 24th, 2010 at 12:56 am
” I had a $10.00 ticket and entered the door like the rest of the great unwashed.”
WTF? $10.00 to a self-promotion? That loser ballclub should be paying $10 to people willing to show up! What exactly does one get for $10? A bunch of bought-and-paid-for blowhards screeching about how great the 2010 season will be, while they charge $2 more for walk-ups? I’m surprised at you, Drew. As a champion of Oriole hate, I would think you’d be the last person to pay $10 for this crapola.
Wake me up when Angelos is 6 feet under and this franchise starts to resemble a baseball team. Until that happens, Angelos will not get a single cent of my hard-earned money. Screw him, and everything Orange.
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January 24th, 2010 at 8:17 am
Drew, did you meet any ballplayers past or present? Were you wearing black and orange?
Also, the steroid thing is a stain on all of MLB. I don’t think players should be blacklisted because of it. Tejada was “outed” and paid the price in terms of public opinion. Tejada fits the bill of what they were looking for in terms of keeping the seat warm for Bell. I wouldn’t want them to pass just because of that and that alone, not when he is now legally in the clear.
Personally, I think Tejada will benefit on the field from the paycut and from not being the highest paid player on the team. He should put up good numbers in terms of hits and RBI, and I don’t think 20 HR is out of the question either. It will be interesting to see how he handles third base.
(DF: I waved to Dave Johnson. He’s the only person in the organization who still says “hi” to me. I own a gray Baltimore away jersey but it’s at the cleaners. After sleeping in it all winter, it was starting to reek a little bit.)
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January 24th, 2010 at 12:25 pm
Glad to hear FanFest was a success, and you’re right, maybe a couple more through the off-season would help in the marketing of the team. But, first they have to define marketing. Baby steps.
At this point, however, I don’t mind the Tejada signing. If this was the beginning of the winter and you told me we would sign Tejada instead of LaRouche I would have been livid. But they screwed that up, and I am at least glad they made this deal instead of putting Wiggy at 3rd for a whole season. My main concern is at 1st because I don’t believe Snyder is the answer, where I am at least optimistic about Bell.
On Saturday morning this was one of their best options. Too bad they didn’t start looking for their better options sooner.