Orioles Fans: Chill Out About Quiet Winter Meetings

Come on, Orioles fans. I can’t believe I’m writing this post. I’m writing a post where, despite the fact that I am frustrated the Orioles came back relatively empty handed from the Winter Meetings, I have to defend the organization’s approach to a vocal segment of the fan base. Nobody wants this. You don’t want to hear it, and I don’t want to be called an apologist.

But here we go.

First, I get it. I understand the frustration that all the other teams are getting flashy new toys, and we got socks in the Rule 5 Draft. Nothing about that is fun. Nothing sexy. I feel ya. I do. Don’t believe me?

Orioles’ activities during the Winter Meetings: pic.twitter.com/Dx1SueOd18

— Bird’s Eye View (@BirdsEyeViewBal) December 11, 2014

Orioles Winter Meeting Review: *Great hotel buffet *San Diego is pretty *Scott Boras is shorter in person *Toronto job offer [REDACTED]

— Bird’s Eye View (@BirdsEyeViewBal) December 11, 2014

Rule 5 – Really excited for the Orioles’ Winter Meetings to start.

— Bird’s Eye View (@BirdsEyeViewBal) December 11, 2014

Yeah, I feel you. I wanted the Orioles to come away from the Winter Meetings with an answer that would make me feel better about fan favorite (and leadoff hitter) Nick Markakis walking away. I wanted them to be linked to a bat who could come close to replacing Nelson Cruz. I wanted them to surprise me by acquiring an arm to bolster a good-but-not-great rotation, or do something about the void Andrew Miller left behind.

I wanted the Orioles to do something about the fact that the Blue Jays, Red Sox, and Yankees are all making moves to get back into the AL East race. I want that bad, if for no other reason that it’s a lot more fun to talk about a winning ball club than a losing one. But the real reason is that I’ve tasted the playoffs, and I want more. That ALCS loss haunts me. In a bad way. I want this team to get back there, and more.

But…

Put the pitchforks down. This is not a bad team. In fact, it’s very similar from the one that won 96 games and swept the Detroit Tigers in the ALDS. As noted above, there have been some departures. But this largely intact team won those 96 games without Manny Machado and Matt Wieters. They won those games in spite of Chris Davis’ terrible season. They overcame an abysmal Ubaldo Jimenez. This is a team that will benefit by returning All-Stars, and players whose 2015 seasons cannot be worse than 2014, without ripping a hole in the time/space continuum.

Yes, there are questions. Will Manny Machado’s knees ever let him play a full season at the all-world caliber with which we’ve been spoiled? Will Matt Wieters produced like the switch-hitting Jesus we were promised all along (and briefly saw in 2014), or will we get the middling offensive production he’s provided over his Oriole career? Can Steve Pearce handle more at bats, or was last season a mirage?

But here’s a secret: all teams have questions. Even good ones. Even the ones that made headlines in the Winter Meetings. Yes, they’ve addressed some of their glaring needs, but only the season will answer the most important question: will these moves work out? The Padres may regret acquiring Kemp. Jon Lester might not be worth $155MM over the length of that contract. The Tigers may wake up and realize they got the wrong Alfredo Simon. Boldness may be rewarded, but it’s not a given.

The Orioles have some work to do. I will be very disappointed if the outfield consists of De Aza /Jones/Pearce on opening day. But April isn’t here yet, so let’s not pretend that the Orioles’ failure to win the offseason during the Winter Meetings means that they’ve already given away the regular season.

‘Tis the season of hot takes. We lash out on social media when we don’t get our way. I say “we,” because the Bird’s Eye View twitter is a wasteland of tantrums, stats, and bad puns. But we have our fair share of tantrums. But every now and again, we try to use our heads. Starting with this: Dan Duquette has earned the benefit of the doubt. After three winning seasons, I’ll wait and see before freaking out. If he shops at the thrift shop in February, and it works, I don’t care. It’s not how I would have done it, but I’m not a Major League GM. After 14 years, the Orioles are on the right side of the “put up or shut up” discussion.

They’ve put up, so maybe we should shut up.