MacPhail is on TV tonight during the bottom of the 3rd, and he's talking about the Sherrill/Bell trade. He mentioned that the Orioles had been watching Bell over the course of six weeks, and that three different scouts all agreed he could stay at third base. That's probably the consensus view throughout baseball, but it is certainly not a unanimous opinion. Still, his value is clearly derived from his bat, and it appears to be a good one.
He also mentioned that getting Bergesen two weeks off in the long season isn't the worst thing in the world, and that there is currently a "vigorous debate" about who will take the rotation slot. When asked point blank about whether or not we'll see any of the other top prospects this season, MacPhail said, "Sometimes you have these things thrust upon you, whether you like it or not... You only have so many guys that you can put in there."
A few more quotes...
On whether the Orioles should start competing right now: "We need to set that mentality. I just shed them of their closer, and our starting pitching is not where we need to be to win in this division yet, but we are creating the nucleus on the field that is getting us closer to [winning]."
On how the Orioles can compete in the rough and tumble AL East: "We've been very fortunate. Everything I have asked ownership to consider, they have really come through for us, with the Sarasota thing being the last thing. Making some of the moves, some of the investments in amateur signing bonuses--I think we've ranked third or fourth in baseball over the last couple of years--we're starting to see the results of that. I think that's exactly the philosophy we need to continue to take. We just have to try to build the inventory of young, talented kids every opportunity we get and then there's going to come a time where we're going to take advantage of Major League free agency and maybe trade some of those young kids to add some proven winners to our young mix."
A very good interview. If you didn't see it and have the game on DVR, check it out.
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