A look at the O's strong braintrust, plus Adam Jones finds a pie he actually wants to eat

The Orioles are the only team in baseball that can claim this distinction: The current executive and manager of the year reside in Baltimore.

Dan will do it. In Buck we trust.

What Buck Showalter started when he changed the culture with the Orioles franchise, Dan Duquette enhanced it and took a step further as he picked up the ball left behind by Andy MacPhail.

Those three men changed a few things around here. Once the doormat of the division and a franchise that endured 14 straight losing seasons, the Orioles now lead the American League East in wins and playoff appearances the last three years.

It is clear that the Orioles braintrust has the fans' confidence. That is refreshing and still somewhat new for all of us.

There was a time when every offseason move by any team was met by O's fans with a response of, "Why didn't we get that guy?" Everything was questioned. Moves that were made and those that were not. Winning and two playoff appearances have changed that.

Sure, we still see and hear from some disgruntled and/or impatient fans. But to me, it seems like that happens once a week or less now, not once every five minutes.

There is a sense of urgency that runs through the organization. Nothing is too big or small to overlook, whether it is a minor league signing by the front office or a pitcher's ability to hold runners in the Gulf Coast League.

The urgency carries over to the clubhouse. Young players like Jonathan Schoop and Caleb Joseph told me about the first message they got from the veterans as soon as they arrived from the minors. They were basically told that from this minute forward, everything you do is about winning tonight's game. Then we do it all over again tomorrow.

The Orioles are respected again by their own fans. The Orioles are important again to their own fans.

Those fans never went away. They just wanted a reason to show their passion. While some fans are nervous about whether Nick Markakis or Nelson Cruz will be re-signed, they also have a feeling that the Orioles have a solid Plan B in place. With Showalter and Duquette, there is always a just in case.

Duquette and Showalter provide strong leadership and have formed a dynamic one-two punch - maybe even better then we had a right to expect.

None of this means the Orioles will win the AL East in 2015. But it means that most, if not almost all, fans have confidence that the Orioles will be solidly in contention and the two men running the show will turn over every stone as they try to get it done.

Is your confidence level high right now in the braintrust? What are their strengths and weaknesses?

Adam met Abby: Well, who doesn't like it when a ballplayer does something to put a smile on a kid's face? Check out this neat story from Fox 45 in Baltimore. Adam Jones met Abby and finally found a pie he would rather eat then smash in someone's face.

On the links: Giancarlo Stanton gets the big bucks and said he is now ready to take on the big responsibility of trying to make the Marlins franchise a winner.

The Red Sox made a contract offer to Jon Lester while also pursuing Pablo Sandoval.

The Toronto Blue Jays like new catcher Russell Martin's pitch framing and think he will help team chemistry. Now there could be more to come north of the border.

Stat of the day returns: Here are the 2014 AL leaders in intentional walks:

28 - Victor Martinez, Detroit
22 - David Ortiz, Boston
20 - Robinson Cano, Seattle
15 - Jose Abreu, Chicago

Chris Davis led the Orioles with nine to rank 12th in the AL and Nelson Cruz drew eight to tie for 13th.