The Words of Melvin Mora; Does He Stay or Go?

Well, as the chatter is heating with the Orioles and players who potentially could be dangled, we have another entry: Melvin Mora.

In a rather candid interview with the Sun's Jeff Zrebeic, Mora seems want to stick with the organization; however, he publicly stated that he might be open to trade to a team on the east, especially if the Orioles go through an extended rebuilding process or keep losing. Always outspoken and willing to say what's on his mind, his words are pretty much "no-holds barred".

Here are a few of his thoughts from the article:

"I want to see what they say, and when [president of baseball operations] Andy MacPhail calls me and calls my agent, we'll go from there," said Mora, an Oriole since 2000. "I can't tell you right now what I'm going to do. But I want to be on a winning team. I don't want to be like, 'Let's make the fans wait six more years and then we're going to try to start winning again.' You don't want to deal with that.

"I'm an Oriole. I want to win with the Orioles, but I have to see what moves they make. We need to bring in some good players - young players, veteran players. It doesn't matter. You can win with young players. But I have no idea what they are going to do."

also...

However, Mora stands in the way of any trade that the Orioles would design to add prospects to an organization in dire need of them. He insisted on the no-trade provision when he signed a three-year, $25 million deal with the Orioles in May 2006.

"I'm already prepared for it," said Mora, who said he wants to play only on the East Coast. "The good thing about this is I can choose if I go or if I don't go. When I signed the contract, I left a lot of money on the table so I can make that decision."

also...

"The problem is you have people that have been in the big leagues for five, six years, and they think they own the Orioles," he said. "They need to fix that problem. I treat everybody the same, and it's something that I can fix if they let me fix it."

and...

"I don't want to leave Baltimore. I'd die for the Orioles," he said. "But sometimes you also have to move on. I can't control that, but I can control where I go. I'm a Baltimore Oriole unless Andy MacPhail wants to change that."

Well, it's pretty obvious that the losing has strained Melvin Mora and frustrated him. He wants to still remain with the team and be part of the process, but he's also looking for a way out if the losing continues.

Most fans feel that he's gone into decline and would be the perfect candidate to be traded on the team. I think he's a decent player, and very much productive; however, I think that he is certainly not playing up to the value of his contract & the Orioles gave him a longer deal than he should have been given.

Alas, he said more in his interview with the Sun.

About he being benched in September for Scott Moore:

Mora maintained that he was "cool" with Dave Trembley but said he felt disrespected when the manager sat him several times in September to get a look at recently acquired Scott Moore at third base.

"I don't want to make it seem it was Moore's fault. This kid was hungry to play," Mora said. "But I've been busting my butt for seven years in the organization. I'm a two-time All-Star, I've won a Silver Slugger [award]. I don't deserve that. If I have to take that crap, I'd rather go somewhere else."

As well, it looks like he has taken Trembley to task in the media:

He was also disappointed in the manager's public criticism of enigmatic starter Daniel Cabrera. Trembley called Cabrera "unprofessional" after the pitcher threw behind the head of Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia, nearly inciting a brawl.

"What Cabrera did was wrong, and I told him that. I told him, 'You could have killed that guy.' But what [Trembley] said to the media wasn't right either," Mora said. "This is the one guy that I want to have on my team. We have five starting pitchers, and Daniel is the only guy to stay healthy and throw 200 innings. But nobody says anything about that."

Trembley denied a rift with Mora, saying, "He's done everything that I asked of him."

And this quote stunned me:

"I don't want to play those games," he said. "I'm one of the best third basemen in the American League and in baseball. If you are going to move me, you have to make the team more competitive."

Are you freaking kidding me? I think you are more talented at the hot corner than I ever gave you credit for, but are you one of the best third baseman in baseball? No.

I think he's got a large ego and it's kind of been bruised with the losing and everything else, but I think he should have taken a little tact and perhaps kept his mouth shut. He's speaking like he's a guy expecting to go into the Hall of Fame, rather than what he is -- at this point, an average, but serviceable player. It's not like he's an All-Star aymore.

The bottom line is that Scott Moore played in the late fall because the Orioles needed to see what they have in the lower levels and with their prospects; alas, some athletes need to learn that things do not stay the same forever, and change with everything in life is inevitable.

The Orioles were well out of contention; thus, what would be the point of Mora playing if to not only pad up his numbers?

After everything he said, could he be dealt? I think at this point, he's another one who could use a change of scenery professionally, but he's more or less set up roots with his family here and from what I have heard in the past does not want to leave the area.

But at this point, who knows?

The floor is now open...