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70 Comments
- Fleagleman, on 01/23/2009, -1/+14It's an improvement from the Orioles' previous face...
...which was 'losing'. - flowingsphere, on 01/23/2009, -1/+12Sorry to say, Baltimore sucks and will continue to suck in the AL East until they get a new owner or actually spend some cash. Or develop any semblance of a minor league development system.
- necbone, on 01/23/2009, -0/+11Baltimore needs help.... I love the Orioles, but our ownership is embarrassing.
- Mwing09, on 01/23/2009, -4/+14you probably dont watch much baseball then. He was in the top 10 in the AL in all major offensive categories except home runs last year.
- kimbo34019, on 01/23/2009, -0/+9He's still pretty young. He's a solid player.
- deeboe, on 01/23/2009, -0/+8Markakis is a stud and would be more of a household name if he played for a better team.
- inactive, on 01/23/2009, -10/+17no offense to baltimore fans
but i have no idea who nick "the face of your franchise" Markakis is - shawtanic, on 01/23/2009, -0/+7Markakis is a beast. Watching him progress has been one of the few bright spots the last few seasons. The O's are building for the future right now(they have been for 10 years really but it's different with MacPhail), and we have a lot of young talent and enough playing time to go around so that the talent can actually develop.
- enkay2, on 01/23/2009, -0/+6he's young, in his prime. Orioles need him.
- Blinker1315, on 01/23/2009, -1/+7WHAT?
- spaceshipsix, on 01/23/2009, -0/+6I agree. The Orioles will crack under the extreme hot and colds of the 162 game season.
- armynixon, on 01/23/2009, -0/+6As a Blue Jays fan, I would contend that the Orioles will have some company in the race for the bottom of the difficult AL East. Oh, and $11M for a player like Markakis is good value (relatively speaking). After all, Gil Meche makes that kind of money.
- Yabanci89, on 01/23/2009, -0/+6As an Orioles fan, I think it's definitely worth it. The O's haven't had a franchise player since Cal left, and need someone in the long run to help out in the middle of the lineup. Not only is Markakis great on offense, but he led MLB in outfield assists last year. He definitely has future All-Star and Gold Glove potential. Last year, offense wasn't the problem, it was pitching. But the O's have a few good young arms in the minors that they either drafted or got from the Bedard/Tejada trades, and Matt Wieters should be available sometime this year as an everyday catcher and is being hailed as one of the top prospects in all of baseball. The O's may not have a winning record this upcoming season, but they may start having some good seasons in a couple years.
- hatepaste, on 01/23/2009, -0/+6Then why are you reading an article about baseball?
- hatepaste, on 01/23/2009, -3/+8Wow. You must know nothing about baseball. Maybe stick with your household names like Ichiro Suzuki and Derek Jeter. But Markakis had better years than both of them.
- inactive, on 01/23/2009, -0/+4IM GOING TO HAVE MY TESTICLES LAMINATED!
- mrcoldcow, on 01/23/2009, -0/+4Great player for fantasy baseball
- vanza001, on 01/23/2009, -1/+5Actually... All of those things are required... none will happen unless all happen.
- inactive, on 01/23/2009, -0/+4I also like turtles
- backseatchris, on 01/23/2009, -0/+3I work in Baltimore and my friends and I regularly go to the games. Despite the fact that we have a horrible team, the stadium seems to have no problem filling up on the weekends.
Definitely some of the most dedicated fans come out to the park for a good time, win or lose.
Although it is unfortunate that the Orioles dont have as large of a budget as the Red SOx or Yankees. We tend to lose a lot of players to these teams, even hometown players - shawtanic, on 01/23/2009, -0/+3ever heard of Erik Bedard?
- Tegurit34, on 01/23/2009, -0/+3Nick Markakis top 10 most similar batters through age 24:
Ben Grieve
Ellis Valentine
Enos Slaughter (HOF)
Vernon Wells
Carlos Beltran
Chet Lemon
Steve Kemp
Ellis Burks
Bruce Campbell
Kent Hrbek
Most of these guys had some very good careers, and all but Vernon Wells and Carlos Beltran were much worse defenders. The only guy who didn't have a good career -- Ben Grieve -- was a "can't miss prospect." If history shows anything, these kinds of hitters do well through their 20s, which the Orioles have just inked Markakis for.
At an average of $11 million a year, that's a real good investment for any ballclub. - m4digg, on 01/23/2009, -0/+3I love the O's, but it is tough being a fan. Markakis is a solid player and worth the dough, but they need a hell of a lot more. And with Angelos at the helm I just can't see them getting out of the basement.
- flyskimmy, on 01/23/2009, -0/+3This is big news for the slumbering Orioles fan base, but I have no idea how it's on the front page of digg.com. Markakis is a very good young player that would be a prize on even the best teams, so it's a nice step in the right direction for the O's. Hopefully there will be something cheer about in the coming years as their young players continue to mature.
- Mystlyfe, on 01/23/2009, -0/+3Markakis, Jones, and Pie/Scott/Reimold/Montanez/Freel. That's one hell of an outfield (and a crowded one too).
- krahzee, on 01/24/2009, -0/+2You also have an owner who does not know what pitching is. Every year that guy buys bats as the rotation remains a cluster *****. I have to say though, John Maine has been pretty good for us given the price we paid for him (Kris Benson)
- spittle, on 01/23/2009, -1/+3"Baseball is dull only to dull minds." - Red Barber
- brownsound00, on 01/23/2009, -0/+2true. but the orioles have the same players as last year, and they don't show too much promise
- lepetitmousse, on 01/23/2009, -5/+7nick markakis is your best player?
im so sorry - Tegurit34, on 01/24/2009, -0/+2McPherson and Marte were never #1 on anyone's list, and even if they were #1 on somebody's crazy list they still don't touch Wieters. McPherson and Marte were never the best offensive prospect in the Minors, nor the best defensive -- Wieters is easily the best bat and if he's not the best defender he's in the top 5. McPherson and Marte both had crazy swinging strike problems in the high minors which is what stops most offensively-minded prospects from going from "Quad-A" to true Major Leaguer -- Wieters has his in check and actually walks more than he strikes out.
Within 3 years, Matt Wieters could very well become the best player in the Major Leagues. Seriously, how many #1 prospects have ever even been praised with that possibility? Justin Upton, Griffey, A-Rod, Bonds, Andruw Jones, Darryl Strawberry, Roger Clemens, Doc Gooden, Eric Chavez, Adrian Beltre, JD Drew... This is an extremely elite company in regards to talent level and ability -- even the disappointing names on this list became keystone players at one point, and there isn't one bust.
Twenty-one year old catchers who OPS 1.100(!!) at Double-A and have scouting reports with highly praised defense have refined Major League tools right now. However, catchers are tricky to bring up to the bigs so it's not like they can just catapult him to Baltimore from spring training like they could with, say, an outfielder has the same offensive Double-A performance.
But make no mistake -- Matt Wieters is mind blowing. - arcticsoft, on 01/23/2009, -0/+2Didn't they think TB would be last in 2008 before the season as well? Young players can come out when you think they are down.
- inactive, on 01/23/2009, -0/+2I'm not an Orioles fan, and aware that Nick Markakis is an excellent player. Good deal for the O's.
Unlike some of the other ignorant posters above... - frofox, on 01/23/2009, -0/+2Markakis is easily a top 10 OF, and the argument can be made that he is a top 5 OF.
Of course, I wouldn't expect a typical digger to have any clue who he is. - Tegurit34, on 01/24/2009, -0/+2@ homesnatch:
They also just graduated young players to the Majors to sink their farm rankings: Adam Jones and Jim Johnson. The collection of talented pre-arbitration eligible players in baseball is one almost every organization would trade theirs for. Jones-Markakis-Wieters is a core everyone wants to have, Tillman and Matusz are on the brink. In addition the Birds have the #5 pick in a very crowded draft class, and before you say they've always had high picks, only since their new GM and his fantastic draft coordinator have they been actually willing to spend money on their picks -- evidenced by huge money on Matusz and Wieters.
The strides the Orioles have been making in the last 2 years should not go unnoticed. They just happen to be stuck in what is by far the best division since the divisional era began in 1994, so it just may never pan out for them. But holy hell do they have a lot of true star talent close to the Majors. - frofox, on 01/23/2009, -0/+2Varitek? I hope you're kidding. Dude hit .220 last year.
- krahzee, on 01/23/2009, -0/+2Good signing for Baltimore.
Still need pitching to be taken seriously though, especially given the strength of the other rotations in the division. Sure it's possible some of these young guys can end up being pretty good, but that's a "can be" not "are".
This was a move designed to keep costs down later when they do try to add pieces. By signing him now and getting him to give up years of free agency ahead, and the leverage it would bring, they know what they owe him going forward. That amount is significantly less than if he had continued to put up these numbers over the next few years.
The Mets did the same thing with Wright & Reyes a few years ago. Wright got $55 over 6, Reyes got less over 4years - DjOverEZ, on 01/23/2009, -0/+2Excellent point McColdcow! Fantasy will be the only way to get a great player like Markakis off of a not-so-great team like the Orioles.
- Firstaidguitar1, on 01/23/2009, -2/+4Markakis is actually a really great ballplayer, it's just hard to compete in such a hard division. Put him on a solid team (Cubbies or maybe even Anaheim) and he will get a lot more respect than he actually does. I'm just about 4 hours south of Baltimore so I see all the games on TV...Markakis is up there with a Soriano and Varitek.
- Tegurit34, on 01/23/2009, -0/+2Thanks to Markakis' awesome offense + defense combo, I present to you: Outfielders better than Nick Markakis:
- Carlos Beltran
- Matt Holliday
- Grady Sizemore
That's it. Notice how two of them are center fielders, and the other is a good defensive corner outfielder. JD Drew and Carlos Quentien would be very close if they could stay healthy.
Notable outfielders about on par with Markakis going into 2009:
- Josh Hamilton
- Ryan Braun
- Carlos Quentin
- watch out for BJ Upton, IMO
Notable outfielders worse than Markakis:
- Manny Ramirez
- JD Drew
- Adam Dunn
- Magglio Ordonez
- Ichiro
- Plenty others that I'm forgetting
I think ranking them numerically doesn't really do Markakis justice, though. It's more like 1) Sizemore 2) Beltran 3) Holliday 4) Markakis/Upton/Braun/Quentin, 5) Hamilton.
He was easily a top 5 last year, but in 2009 with some rebounds from Quentin and Upton I think he'll have to fight a bit harder for that honor. And before you digg me down, how about you have the balls ask me why Manny does crack the top 5? (Not directed at you, frofox.) - brownsound00, on 01/24/2009, -0/+1Ah yes... excuse me for that. I forgot about Pie! Yeah, you are right, they actually might surprise quite a few people this year. I hope they don't... cuz that'll put my jays into last lol
(note: no sarcasm there, i agree with you) - rrc589, on 01/23/2009, -0/+1Markakis is a good player.
I wish Baltimore were a better team though overall.
I feel bad for their fans.
Camden Yards is such an awesome ballpark and that whole surrounding area in the city was a lot of fun to visit when I went down there a few years ago to see a Red Sox/Orioles game. - kozmokramer, on 01/24/2009, -0/+1Why does digg have a sports section, the readers are way to f***ing nerdy to know anything about baseball.
DEAR DORKS,
THIS IS A FANTASTIC MOVE FOR THE ORIOLES. - flowingsphere, on 01/24/2009, -0/+1One guy doesn't make the difference first off. Second off, #1 in the minors doesn't necessarily translate into major league ability.. ie. Dallas McPherson, Andy Marte. Third off, I'm a Sox fan (and not one of those bandwagon post 2003 fans). And I do think it's sad that Orioles season ticket holders hold walk outs and still get no response from ownership. It'd be nice to see them return to prominence.
- hatepaste, on 01/24/2009, -0/+1That's 10th overall which is still better than most. And it was probably low 20's a year or two ago. So it has improved remarkably in a short time.
- devfeed, on 02/11/2009, -0/+1Thanks a lot! I've heard about this month ago, but I can't remember where exactly. http://homemasters.info
- PhilliesBlunt, on 01/23/2009, -0/+1Sidney Ponson... Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life son.
- backseatchris, on 01/23/2009, -0/+1LUUUUUUUUUKE!
(pretty sure only Orioles fans will get it) - GabeUtsecks, on 01/24/2009, -0/+1Using the best (widely-accepted) statistic to measure individual offensive importance, On-Base Percentage, he was 9th in the major leagues and 3rd in the American league (which has significantly better pitching) last year.
In EQA -- which is actually better but less commonly used -- he was the 16th best hitter in baseball last year. 26th in VORP.
Also, he's about average defensively, with one of the best arms in all of baseball.
Altogether, he is undoubtedly one of the best players in baseball, and he's 25 - mgadalsky, on 02/11/2009, -0/+1This post rocks! It makes me bored. http://drinkster.info
- backseatchris, on 01/23/2009, -1/+2Just realized i have an Orioles avatar lol
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