The 2012 Orioles Winter Thread

Boston is making some very solid pickups in my opinion. First Napoli, Now Victorino.

Solid, but not spectacular.  3 yrs for Victorino is a lot.  Napoli is a dead pull hitter.  Great for Fenway, but most pitchers know to keep the ball away from him.  Still, Napoli > Loney (although devil might not agree) and Victorino > ???

Looks like the Twins have contacted the O's about Morneau.  If that happens than the right side of the infield would be recovering from concussions (provided Roberts can play) OR it would be fomer Twins.  Neither would provide a lot of confidence. 

As much as I am disappointed that the Orioles haven't made an impact trade or significant free agent signing, I must admit that I'm a little surprised by the dollars being thrown around.

Shane Victorino's contract with the Red Sox (3 years $39m) is, IMO, excessive. Ditto for the Nationals and Dan Haren (1 year $13m). Both are very good players when healthy, but these contracts have now set the bar. The second level non-pitching free agents like Nick Swisher, Mark Reynolds and the like, will now get multi-year contracts worth at least $10M+ annually. And, the value of the players available for trade has skyrocketed.

Again, IMO, for the O's to stay in a payroll range between $90m and $100m, they will need to take advantage of the pre-arbitration years of their best prospects, and supplement the team with pricey stars with shorter contracts. If Kevin Gausman, Tsuyoshi Wada and Dylan Bundy are as good as advertised (and you must go on that premise until proven otherwise), then adding a top tier pitcher is not necessary. With Jason Hammel, Wei-Yin Chen, Chris Tillman and Miguel Gonzalez still in Baltimore and penciled into four rotation slots, and with Steve Johnson, Zach Britton, Brian Matusz, Tommy Hunter and Jake Arrieta still available, it makes no sense to add arms if there is no place to put them. Especially after considering arbitration years and options left. Its possible that Matusz and Hunter are part of the seven player bullpen, but that's twelve potential starters.

Now, if you re-sign Joe Saunders or another middle to lower end starter, you certainly can trade a few of those arms for an impact bat. And, there's some serious potential out there in free agent land too. Included among those are John Lannan, Jair Jurrjens, Brett Myers, Kevin Correia and Jeff Karstens. Any one of them may present the team with value. Especially if you can sign them to a minor league deal.

If the O's go the trade route, and that is what the media and club are saying, there are some good opportunities out there. IMO, the Indians Shin-Soo Choo and his lifetime .381 OBP would be the player I would want via trade. Certainly over free agent Nick Swisher. And if Washington re-signs Adam LaRoche, Michael Morse would also be a good addition (especially if it would cost only relief pitching to acquire him). If the Nats don't re-sign LaRoche, I hope the O's do. Another solid bat and gold glove.

If the O's could come out of the winter with Morse or LaRoche, Choo (or another comparible via trade), a re-signed Saunders, a reliever like Uehara and a couple of pitchers to compete like Myers and Jurrjens, the team will be upgraded.

Even if the O's did nothing, the additions of some of their own prospects for the entire season or even a partial season, along with the team's returning wounded will make them better. Players such as Manny Machado, Wada, Bundy, Gausman, Roberts and Reimold will make them better just by playing. Even Nick Markakis missed alot of time last season. I'm not advocating not making impact deals or signings, I'm all for it. I'm just saying that the team will be better with them available.

And this team has already improved with lesser additions, albeit in a reserve role. With Alexi Casilla, Trayvon Robinson and Wilson Betemit on the bench, the O's have three switch hitters who collectively (not individually) can play small ball, steal bases, are defensively solid and can hit with power. This bench gives Buck Showalter a ton of flexibility.

My only concern is that the team needs to replace the power bat of Mark Reynolds. Reimold is not that guy. There is no one on the roster that can. However, if the team goes the small ball route like re-signing Nate McLouth and moving Chris Davis to 1B (and signing another OBP type guy and rotating the DH role), that may work too. I'm in favor of giving up some power for OBP. Afterall, the lineup still has a half dozen guys with 20+ homer potential without Reynolds and Jim Thome.

And, of course, as soon as I hit the post button, the Orioles re-sigh Nate McLouth. I like it!

Great move and low cost too! It's a one year deal worth $3M, which definitely beats paying Swisher a rediculous amount of money. I also love the move because he is a great leadoff hitter. We don't know if Roberts will be fully healthy and ready, so it's great to see the O's re-sign their best playoff hitter (whoa sounds weird saying O's and playoff hitter in a sentence). 

Shane Victorino's contract with the Red Sox (3 years $39m) is, IMO, excessive. Ditto for the Nationals and Dan Haren (1 year $13m).

Victorino - agreed.  Haren might be a bit excessive, but for a 1 yr it's not a bad deal.  Much like they did with EJax. 

With Jason Hammel, Wei-Yin Chen, Chris Tillman and Miguel Gonzalez still in Baltimore and penciled into four rotation slots, and with Steve Johnson, Zach Britton, Brian Matusz, Tommy Hunter and Jake Arrieta still available, it makes no sense to add arms if there is no place to put them.

There's only one thing missing from that group.  That's an innings eater.  Hammel can't seem to stay healthy (even in CO), Chen tired towards the end of last year.  Tillman & Gonzalez are still unproven.  This is where someone like Saunders, Myers, Karstens or Correia might be a bargain.  I also would not "pencil" in Gonzalez just yet.  He had a great year last year, but he's still very unproven AND can he make the necessary adjustments? 

There is one more pitcher I would look at for a starting spot and that is Troy Patton.  I think he might just be the missing link in the rotation, especially with Matusz showing his value in the bullpen and Wada who should start off there (just like the Braves did with Medlen). 

My thinking is that Arrieta, Johnson, Britton and possibly Tillman are the only real movable pieces and besides Tillman, I don't believe other teams value them at all.  Chen would be also, but I don't think a team wants to give up as much for him as the O's would ask.  
    

Choo would be a geat addition (if he can stay sober), but where would you put him?  Would you move Markakis to 1B or possibly DH?  Maybe move him to LF and make McLouth the DH and Davis the 1B?  I guess it would be intriguing. 

There's only one thing missing from that group.  That's an innings eater.  Hammel can't seem to stay healthy (even in CO), Chen tired towards the end of last year.  Tillman & Gonzalez are still unproven.

No argument here, however, I think Miguel Gonzalez had the look of an innings eater. He certainly is going to be part of the rotation going into 2013, and hopefully, unlike Jake Arrieta, he continues to develop and make those adjustments necessary to stay there all season long.

There is one more pitcher I would look at for a starting spot and that is Troy Patton.

I thought that too until about the all-star break last season. I think he is too important to the bullpen for the Orioles brass to make a change. Many people have probably forgotten that he was the centerpiece of the Miguel Tejada to the Astros trade. Not Luke Scott. In matter of fact Matt Albers was the secondary player.

With Brian Matusz returning to the Brady Anderson academy (Wei-Yin Chen is there too), perhaps he finally puts his head together with his God given talent and finds his way into a productive starting role. In reality, Matusz, Patton and Jim Johnson all wanted or still want to be starters.

Choo would be a geat addition (if he can stay sober), but where would you put him?

Well, I did write that last response before the Nate McLouth re-signing announcement. However, I'd still find a place for him. Maybe a rotation of DH, 1B and RF with Nick Markakis and Chris Davis. I guess Choo may not be a realistic option now.

Asked whether the Orioles are now focused on acquiring a first baseman, Duquette replied, "Did you see where Buck (Showalter) said he was going to engage Chris Davis at first base in the spring? If we have McLouth in left, (Adam) Jones in center, (Nick) Markakis in right and Davis at first, that's pretty solid. They're all quality major league players."

What about designated hitter?

"Wilson Betemit can DH against right-handed pitching," Duquette said. "Danny Valencia is a .316 hitter against left-handed pitching.

This came from DD via MASN's School of Roch. If Danny Valencia makes this team as a 3B/DH, and shares the DH role with Wilson Betemit, there is no place on the roster for Nolan Reimold unless the team releases Trayvon Robinson. Robinson is faster and a better defender, and I doubt that the O's will waive a guy that cost them Robert Andino in return. My thought is that Reimold is still questionable for the season due to his neck injury, or he is part of a trade package.

In addition, the incentives that are in the Nate McLouth contract calls for at least 500 at bats. With Adam Jones in CF and Nick Markakis in RF, each likely to play in all 162 games if healthy, there is absolutely no at bats for Reimold.

My thinking is that Arrieta, Johnson, Britton and possibly Tillman are the only real movable pieces and besides Tillman, I don't believe other teams value them at all.

I agree. I think Jim Johnson has alot of value, not so much for Steve Johnson. Brian Matusz has value because he is left handed, proved he could be a lefty bullpen specialist, and still may get a good look as a starter.. Jake Arrieta has some nasty stuff. He, like Tommy Hunter, would be more valuable to a team's bullpen. Zach Britton could be very successful or no more than a left handed journeyman. He is tough to read and his time is running out. But collectively, Steve (not Jim Johnson), Britton, Matusz and Arrieta wouldn't net an impact player like Billy Butler.

I still think the O's will sign two FA pitchers from a group that includes Kevin Correia, Joe Saunders, Jair Jurrjens and Brett Myers. Myers would be my first choice because he can start or close. Then Jurjjens because he is extremely talented. The O's have a rotation spot and a bullpen spot at the MLB level to compete for. And, there could be other openings if the team trades from its pitching depth.

 

Actually the Mclouth deal is only 2 Million. I think they could do much much better, and still might, but for 2M plus only a possible 500k in possible bonuses for AB's, you really can't go wrong witha former all-star who played his way back into a lineup last year.

I personally do not consider many of those names OTM mentions as "potential starters". Actually I gues what I mean to say is that if they ae starters, we are in trouble. Still don't really get the hope in Wada. he hasn't thrown a pitch for us and is not expected to be healthy enough to star the season. he signed a two year deal and may never throw a pitch. And coming off of sufgery he certainly is not going to start. Gaussman and Bundy are late season call ups if they do well at AAA. Tommy Hunter proved he is no starter either. Arrieta is an enigma and though I guess he could come around he nas had every opportunity. Brings us to Matusz who had about a dozen good innings at the end of the year and everyone wants to say he has turned a corner. First off I am not buying it just yet though he did look better.

Tillman I am more inclined to believe because he started and looked confident doing it. HE may have actually found something with Rick Peterson. Gonzalez is another one that just sisn't look like he was getting guys out, but he was. Those guys scare me a little as I keeo thinking they are one innign away from gtting bombed. he really did not much anywhere before getting here either which also scares me, but for now he is probably in the rotation. Chen is the real deal. if he can figure out how to save 10 pitches a game to get him into the 7th, he is an all star top of the rotation pitcher. Hamel I hope is healthy and rehabbed. Even though he didn't do much before coming here, i believe him when he is on the mound. They say he learned an extr pitch before laat year and I believe that is what he needed, and to get out of Coors field of course.

Steve Johnson deserves a shot I think. He also is not over powering in any way, but he seems to just know how to pitch. Almost forgot Britton. He had some rookie success, but since then has been completely inconsistant and not healthy. He probably has the highest return in a trade of the young guys, and I would trade him. Though I am sure it can be trained out of him, he shows too much of the ball in his wind-up, or at least that is the way it looks to me, and then he has a very long delivery.


It aggravates the crap out of me that LaRoche spurned us last time around and now maybe we court him again, but he is a very solid glove and fits in with the potential 25-30 HR power almost the rest of the tem does have. I would not mind seeing him. I will be very surprised if he or Morse is not available, but you never know with that GM. He is pretty good and just may hold onto them both and make a deal later or look like a genius when one of them gets hurt and the other one takes over and kills it. I would like Choo alot better if Reynolds were still here, but he is still a good on base guy and with th enumber of HR we hit last year even with Reynolds having an off year for him, we should have scored  lot more runs. I would rather have him to leadoff than Markakis.


I am tired and rambling. Sorry. I just do think we need to be looking for another starter and not depending on one of the guys that hasn't done it before, even if that guy is Bundy or Gaussman. And I still think there is not room in the lineup for a guy that can't field any position and that is Betemit. I would like to still see us pursue an OF and a DH that can play one of the corner spots. I am on the record with Roberts. He is done. I completley believe he did a lot more steroids than anyone knows and when he went off them he was ruined. Every injury is a typical long time steroid injury. Even if he was healthy last season he was scrawny and literally was barely hitting the ball out of the infield. He is an emotional spark because everyone likes him, but he is a shell of his old self. I hope I am wrong, but I don't think so. 


I really hope at this point if he does not earn his way onto this roster that they just pay him his 10M and say goodbye and good luck, but again I don't think that will happen. I think he plays for a couple months this time before some minor injury sidelines him and he spends the rest of the year i nand out due to various ailments as an excuse to play someone else because he is not his old self.         

With McLouth being signed that means he's likely the starting left fielder, Davis is at first base and Reimold is at DH. Betemit is a utility infielder who can pinch hit against righties and can be a credible replacement in case of injuries. Given he'll start the year on the bench it's hard to complain. Roberts is of course at second until he inevitably gets injured and Casilla will be on the bench. Teagarden has been resigned as the backup catcher. That only leaves one bench spot remaining and no lineup spots, so if Valencia, Robinson or Avery make the team as the fourth outfielder then that's your offensive roster. When Roberts gets hurt, the Os can go internal by calling up Flaherty. Wouldn't surprise me if Roberts is on the roster so that the Os get insurance money. I imagine they lose it if he gets cut and then goes elsewhere and makes it to the bigs.

It could be that the Os will find a true heart of the order bat to be the DH although if he can play another position to give others a breather that's ok and that Reimold, Valencia and Robinson are fighting for a spot. But what I think happened is that the Os wanted to get an outfielder in FA and discovered they were too expensive. They knew the pickings at second base were limited so they didn't even try. Then the Os tried to trade for a heart of the order bat and found that their young pitchers (old cavalry) had limited value and that they'd need to trade Bundy or Gausman to get one which made them pass. When they saw the writing on the wall, they moved to their Plan C and went after McLouth because it didn't look like they'd get the upgrade they want. Now they can continue looking but if they don't find one, they don't find one.

Thing is that JJ, Ayala and O'Day are free agents next year. If Britton, Matusz and Arrieta aren't able to make it into the starting rotation this year (whether it's because they're ineffective or because Tillman, Gonzo and whoever do so well) then they can always help shore up a bullpen consisting of Hunter, Strop and Patton.

I'm not so worried about the loss of Reynolds. He had power but he only had 153 appearances at the 3, 4 or 5 slot while in Baltimore. He was never considered a middle of the order bat and even without him we would have been ninth in MLB in HRs and top five in the AL. We don't need another guy who can hit forty home runs but rather a few guys to get on base so they can be knocked in. Davis is perfectly capable of hitting forty home runs and Jones, Hardy and Wieters can each hit thirty. Kakes, Reimold and Machado should have twenty home run power. They may not all reach that but they could.

I don't see much happening the rest of the offseason. Probably a starter for the rotation in February from the leftover pile. Perhaps a veteran reliever. Probably one or two pitchers on minor league deals. Probably a position veteran or two for AAA. That's about it.

The Os selected T.J McFarland in the Rule V Draft today. He's a left-handed pitcher in Cleveland's AAA affiliate. The interesting thing about him is his splits:

2012 vs righties: K%: 11.8; BB%: 7.4, HR/9: .61, BABIP: .291
2012 vs lefties: K%: 20.9; BB%: 5.1, HR/9: .45, BABIP: .398

He definitely isn't a starter. The question is whether his bad BABIP against lefties in 2012 was bad luck or if it's a sign that lefties struggle to hit his stuff but when they do it's hit hard. I suspect that it was probably bad luck and that McFarland is a legitimate LOOGY candidate. Depending on how he does perhaps middle reliever is also possible. I like the pickup.

As a rule I don't like rule 5 pickups. They usually are not worth a roster spot on a good team. on a bad team they are a good idea because you are playinf for the future anyway and they are cheap. as long as you don't waste a roster spot with a guy that isn't helping you, and if it comes to that yo uare ok with letting him go back where he came from, then it's ok. I really hated that a roster spot was taken up by Flaherty last year. he didn't kill us by any means, but I would have rather seen our own guys up here getting thsoe reps than him. He may ultimatley proveme wrong and I hope he does of course, but in general I don't like them. It would be better if they changed the rule to allow you to send them to AAA. Maybe you have to pay 100k to the other team or something but it is tough to keep a AA/AAA player on the major league roster all year. 

Damn, the Red Sox signed Koji to a one year deal. What really sucks is we get to face all the time now. I was really hoping the O's would try re-signing him and get a valuable lefty back in the bullpen, but I guess he wasn't a top priority.

koji is a right handed pitcher, not a lefty.

Flaherty didn't really have a role because there wasn't one thing he could do well. He wasn't a particularly good hitter, runner or fielder. He was selected because the Os think he has potential. Depending on how you look at the numbers, McFarland does one thing well and that's getting out left handed batters. You can make an MLB roster if you're good at just that one thing. He's not like Flaherty who was useless. He has an actual chance to help and we didn't really have a LOOGY on our AAA roster except for perhaps Matusz.

I don't know about all of this starting business but he definitely has a chance to add value to this club.

If you can send guys to AAA it would mean a lot more talent gets moved each year. I think that this is better. It's just a way to make sure that players aren't left in the minors longer then they should be due to a grudge or something. If they're not ready for the bigs, then they can't complain about being in the minors.

Very disapointing offseason so far. I was hoping that they would be a tad bit more aggressive in some moves having that taste of the postseason last year. I understand what they did last year and this year so far is mirroring that but they wont sneak up on anybody this year  like they did last year.

The O's never really have big offseasons anymore and it's now just expected. It would be nice to see them take a run at Zack Greinke and get a frontline starter, but once again, it's the O's.

The O's never really have big offseasons anymore and it's now just expected. It would be nice to see them take a run at Zack Greinke and get a frontline starter, but once again, it's the O's.

As was mentioned in an earlier post (by OTM I believe) the salaries being offered so far are really rediculous, especially because the Yankees aren't making a run at anyone.  Even the 1 yr/$13 mil deal for Haren and offer for Youkilis are way beyond their worth at this point. I wanted the O's to take a run at Jeff Keppinger, but even his deal was a little overboard for a career bench/utility player. I believe this will also be the reason the O's don't re-sign Mark Reynolds.  DD is too smart to overpay for mediocre/over-the-hill talent and with a projected budget of $90-$100 mil for next year, it would not be prudent to have 1 player (Greinke or Hamilton) take up 1/3 - 1/4 of your payroll.  

If you look at the teams that are making runs at the big name FA's it's the Dodgers and Rangers.  The Nationals and Phillies who were both supposedly in on Bourne, had traded for their CF's (Span and Revere).  The Braves signed Upton and let Bourne go.  The Red Sox made some nice moves to fill holes, but nothing spectacular (although I was really hoping for a reunion with Koji).  Look at the names still out there...Hamilton, Greinke, Swisher, Bourne, Sanchez.  Who's bidding on them?  Rangers (Hamilton & Greinke), Dodgers (Greinke and possibly Sanchez), Mariners/Brewers (Hamilton), Indians/Pirates and possibly Mariners (Swisher).  Haven't heard anything on Bourne.  

Trades and building through the farm system are coming back in style over signing FA's with overpriced contracts (knew it would come back to bite Bor-a$$ in the azz).  Besides the BIG trade (Marlins/Blue Jays) Yunel Escobar was just traded (again), Denard Span, Ben Revere (which makes me wonder who the will play CF for the Twins as I don't think Kirby Puckett is available), Jason Hanson, and a few oither fill-the-hole trades.  The O's tried to make deals, but as was stated, other teams don't value anyone not named Bundy or Machado.  The Twins even offered Justin Morneau.  I don't klnow what they wanted for him, but obviously DD thought it was too much.        

As for Rule V draft picks, I agree with both skins and odawg.  Looking at McFarland's miL record I see a AAAA pitcher.  But I also see a pitcher who is only 23 y.o. which means he was drafted right out of H.S. (not every HS pitcher is/can be Dylan Bundy).  He has a similar build to Chris Tillman (6'6", 205 lbs) which means that he might have needed to "grow" into his body and his mechanics, also much like Tillman.  

I was looking at MLBTR before the Rule V and there were 2 1B available (can't remember their names) that were young (under 25) and looked like they could be ready to bust out.  I was hoping the O's would have chosen one of them as 1B is one position the O's need more depth. Maybe they will sign them as miL FA's if thier teams let them go.  

Then again, they did sign Connor Jackson to a miL contract.  I really hope he can get his head on right.  He was a very good player before he developed Valley Fever (a fungal infection that can last more than a year and infect the joints, lungs, and other symptoms.  The fungus literally lives just beneath the surface of the desert and is stirred up when the wind blows).  He has supposedly been over it for a couple of years now, but it really affected his him physically and mentally.

Signing Greinke or Hamilton, or Bourne, or even Anibal Sanchez would have been nice and might have given the O's that one final piece to make the jump from playoffs to WS, but after you sign one player for $20, $25, or $30 mil, what do you do with the players already on the team that are/will become arb elligible in a few years.  Even if the O's would have signed Greinke or Hamilton to just 3 yr deals worth $20-25 mil, that sets the bar for players like Wieters, Machado, Bundy, etc (well you signed them for that amount, how about us).  Maybe they will be worth that amount when their time comes and will get their payday from the O's.  But do you want to take that chance now and set the precedent?  It's a decision that every owner/GM has to makew.  The Yankees always made the FA decision, and now with A-rod, Jeter, Tex and Co. getting older/are old, they don't have a very strong farm system to back them up.  The Tigers and Angels made that decision last year, but the Angels still have some young players like Weaver, Trout, Bourjos, Aybar, etc that they will be able to replenish their farm system by the time these players become FA's.  The Dodgers, if they keep spending and trading their top prospects, will be like the Yankees in 5 years.  

It's funny how we all complained last year becasue, after all, it's the Orioles and they did nothing spectacular in the off-season, but they still would up in the playoffs.  I do wish they could have upgraded the starting pitching, but who knows.  Maybe this is the year of Matusz, Britton and/or Arrieta.  I guess we'll see.         

I agree 100%. Many here have been saying for years that we needed to overpay to get people here, while others like myself said that is never good business and we couldn't do that. We still can't just because we won 15 more ione run games than we thought we could. I also wanted Keppinger but he went too high. I think the Haren deal could end up to be a good deal actually. We are entering a new era in FA with the Dodgers getting all this money. Very soon baseball wil lhave to have a salary cap, or a better way to redistribute funds. When teams go from a few hundred million in revenue to a billion it upsets everythign else.

I still think we will make a 10-15 million dollar deal with someone, but I also think they believe they are better from within and off the injury list. Who knows, maybe they are right. Still it would go a long way to fill one weak position with a known commodity. DD will continue to bring in under the radar players and prospects and some of them will eventually pan out I am sure. I also figure he will dip back into the international market after the first of the year.

Maybe Bundy and a couple others are closer than I think, and maybe they are just waiting for a few other things to pan out before offering someone ao Christmas present. I still would like to have Bourne so i am glad he was the odd man out in Atlanta.

You are right about the money also. but one good thing about resigning those guys is that the money is already scheduled to come off the books when Markakis bloated contract is done this year and of course Roberts. That is 27M bucks a year right there. I also think that is a reason you really need to be prepared in advance for Markakis to leave. He is not going to want to take a huge paycut without exploring FA, and somebody will pay him. That is why I really didn't want us to settle for bringing back McLouth. Also why I wanted to keep Reynolds for one more year. That way Davis would be free to play RF if Markakis left, and you could see if Reynolds defensive play and second half offensive comeback were a change or just a fluke before really having to pay him or getting something ov value for him at the deadline. 

I am not sure that deal is quite dead yet anyway. I believe they think as someone else on here does that he can be had for less than what we paid him last year at 7.5M. 

One more "BIG" trade talk, the Justin Upton talks.  Trying to get 3-4 teams involved.  If the Rangers can get Upton, that takes them out of the Hamilton sweepstakes.  This is what the Mariners are hoping for, but that also takes out another top revenue team.  

Supposedly the Yankees are looking at Hamilton, but I also read that Steinbrenner won't let Cashman spend like he used to (a far cry from daddy, wouldn't you say).  Don't know if it's true or not.  Either way, with all the trade talks, the BIG stars are being left holding their crotches and waiting.  It doesn't look  as if any of them will get what they are asking for (year + money).  Most teams are willing to offer a higher salary for less years, but I don't think we will see any more, or at least as many, 10 year $180 mil + deals like Tex, Pujols, A-rod, or A-gon received.  The only team I see doing that would be the Dodgers as they are signing/already signed a $1 billion deal w/ Fox Sports.  That's just outrageous.    

Times are different.  A while back, everyone was criticizing Peter Angelos for being cheap.  But then the Rays starting "being cheap", but for them is was called being smart.  Now most of the teams are following their example.  Angelos is no longer cheap. Now, with the help of DD, and not meddling like he used to, he's smart.  

Let's also remember that the O's have both Buck and DD, a manager and a GM who specialize in bringing dead teams back to life.  So far, I really like what DD is doing.  Like I said, I do wish for a starting pitching upgrade, mainly an innings eater, but if the O's go into the year with what they have, it will be primarily the same team that took them to the playoffs.  The only difference would be I just don't see the O's winning the 1-run/extra inning games they did last year.  Even Buck and DD know that would be just about impossible.         

Would like to take a moment to remember all those wonderful men and women who gave up thier lives in that dreadful attack on Pearl Harbor 61 years ago today. And to all those who continued the fight, with many of them also losing their lives, not just in WWII but during all conflicts through today. Thanks to them, we have the freedom to debate MUCH smaller issues than those that they faced head on.

FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART, THANKS A MILLION!