At this point, O's offseason has turned into one big maybe

With tomorrow approaching, some Orioles fans must feel like a kid that anticipated nice presents, but never got that Red Ryder BB gun. If you've never seen a Christmas Story you won't get that one, sorry. But I'm pretty sure the word disappointing comes to mind for fans with this offseason so far. Things can always change and get better, but right now, not so much. The word maybe comes to mind for me. Maybe, David Lough will be a solid left field acquisition. He did hit .297 with a .349 OBP and .808 OPS in the minors in his career. He hit .338 last year before Kansas City called him up in late May. Maybe, Tommy Hunter - if he winds up being the closer - will do his best Ricky Vaughn impression, bring the heat and start getting out left-handed hitters. Maybe, pitchers like Brad Brach, Kelvin De La Cruz and Edgmer Escalona will be more prominent pickups than you might think. Ryan Webb does look to be a solid addition for the bullpen. Maybe, Kevin Gausman will pitch like a top of rotation starter. And Matt Wieters and Nick Markakis will have bounce-back seasons. And Chris Davis will still hit like Crush Davis. Maybe, the Yankees will find out that, after all that spending, they failed to spend on the one player they could not afford to lose. Maybe, the O's will overcome the negative PR of the failed Grant Balfour signing. That one could take a while. O's fans may be tracking Balfour next year as much as any player on their team. What a bizarre situation. You certainly can't see any pitching injury concerns on Balfour's record. He's been real good for a real long time. But he won't be pitching here next season. Keep in mind that some of these maybes may very well come true and the Orioles are still a solid team. But they don't look improved right now on paper and they'll need some maybes to come through for that to be the case. Maybe, Dan Duquette is not nearly done working to improve the team. Better hope this maybe is true. What is it Buck Showalter says about something being "delayed but not denied." Maybe, that is right. I hope everyone has a joyous Christmas and Happy Holiday. No maybe about that. But as for the team, will they be good again in 2014? Maybe.