Now that we've diverted our eyes from Vladimir Guerrero for a few minutes, we can focus on the Orioles' latest acquisition. They reached agreement late Sunday night with pitcher Justin Duchscherer on a one-year contract that could pay up to $4.5 million in salary and incentives based on number of starts.
The Orioles had become the overwhelming favorites in a relatively short amount of time. They offered him a major league deal and a chance to start. He wanted a major league deal and a...
An Orioles source confirmed tonight that the club has offered free-agent pitcher Justin Duchscherer a major league deal for the 2011 season.
The Orioles are one of the finalists for Duchscherer and could learn of his decision early this week.
Duchscherer threw for an Orioles scout Friday in Arizona and obviously made a strong impression.
If he signs, Duchscherer will compete for a spot at the back of the rotation. He's also been a reliever in his professional career, but the Orioles aren't...
I'm hoping to provide at least one Justin Duchscherer update every day, just so I can learn to spell his name without having to look it up.
It's J-U-S-T-I-N.
Seriously, I did the same thing with Scott Kamieniecki. Not sure why I kept calling him "Justin."
Anyway, FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal speculates in this tweet that the Orioles made a major league offer to Duchscherer. ESPN's Jerry Crasnick tweets that the Orioles and Nationals are among four finalists for Duchscherer.
President of...
Good morning to everyone. I'm nursing my FanFest hangover this morning, and it has nothing to do with alcohol.
That was quite a scene yesterday at the Baltimore Convention Center. The crowd exceeded 10,000, but fell short of the 12,000 that poured into the facility last year. Members of the media, and some Orioles officials, agreed that it seemed like more people were in attendance - probably because the venue was smaller. But I can vouch for the long line that wrapped around the building...
I should have just combined the Josh Bell and Jason Berken entries. I'm working on the same theme here.
Berken said he's lost about 30 pounds this winter by increasing his training, running more and eliminating certain foods from his diet.
Fellow reliever Jim Johnson provided the first dose of motivation after the season by advising Berken to cut out fried foods. Berken also stopped drinking sodas and pulling his car into fast-food lanes.
"It was really important for me to utilize my...
Josh Bell looks noticeably thinner since he's been working out with former Oriole Brady Anderson. He can't tell you how much weight he's lost, but he brought a different body to FanFest.
"I haven't jumped on a scale yet," Bell said. "I'm going to wait to surprise myself. I feel great. I'm running well. Everything's stronger."
Bell started his winter in Arizona and has since relocated to Florida and California. He's spent the last two weeks with Anderson in California.
Bell is...
Mark Connor has spent his winter getting acclimated to his new pitching staff. He's been watching videos that the Orioles supplied for him.
No sense waiting until spring training.
"I had the video coordinator (Michael Silverman) make up some DVDs of all these guys, as much as you can get - good outings, bad outings - just to kind of wrap my arms around these guys and see what they're all about from a physical standpoint," said Connor, who replaces Rick Kranitz as pitching coach. "You...
Brad Bergesen says he's been going online for the first time this winter to check on the Orioles' offseason moves. He laughed when I asked which sites he checks.
I was serious, but anyway...
Bergesen has joined the ranks of the excited. He's expecting much better results from the Orioles in 2011.
"I've been paying attention because there's been so much activity," he said. "I'm on the computer almost every night, just doing a quick search, seeing if anything's new. Obviously, I...
Shortstop J.J. Hardy and second baseman Brian Roberts stepped behind the stage to meet with reporters a few minutes ago.
Hardy is impressed by today's fan turnout.
"This is pretty good," he said. "I don't know how many people it is. They said about 10,000. It sounds like everyone is pretty excited."
That includes Hardy.
"This offseason, I didn't know what was going to happen," he said. "I felt like I was going to get traded. I didn't know where. With all the moves that the...
President of baseball operations Andy MacPhail said he received a positive report on free-agent pitcher Justin Duchscherer, who threw for their Arizona-based scout yesterday.
The Orioles retain interest in Duchscherer, but MacPhail warned again that you can't read too much into a pitcher's winter bullpen session.
"We're pleased with the way he's come along at this point," MacPhail said. "As I mentioned before, that is not an uncommon occurrence for us. We have seen this year three or...
President of baseball operations Andy MacPhail and manager Buck Showalter are taking questions from season-ticket holders at the first forum of today's FanFest at the Baltimore Convention Center.
Showalter received a rousing ovation and chants of "Buck, Buck Buck."
MacPhail told the crowd that the Orioles have interest in bringing back Kevin Millwood, saying the idea hasn't been ruled out "by any stretch," but the hindrance in signing any of the remaining free-agent starters is the...
The Orioles have added another candidate for their second utility infield job, agreeing to terms with veteran Nick Green on a minor league contract with a spring training invitation.
There's your big FanFest announcement.
OK, not really. But he did agree to the deal.
Green will compete with Robert Andino and Brendan Harris for the chance to join Cesar Izturis on the bench.
If this sounds like a repeat, the Orioles almost had a deal done with Green last month, but he was hoping to land a...
The Orioles' search for a left-handed reliever won't lead them to Joe Beimel. He's apparently decided to sign with the Pirates, according to this tweet from Troy Renck of the Denver Post.
Beimel was born in St. Marys, Pa. and pitched at Duquesne. He spent his first three major league seasons in Pittsburgh. Sounds like he wants to go home.
We'll find out later how much the Pirates are paying him for that warm and fuzzy feeling.
Yes, they beat out the Orioles. They also beat out the Red...
After making another round of calls today, I can pass along the following nuggets on a few of your favorite free agents:
The Orioles have, indeed, made an offer to Vladimir Guerrero this week, and it falls in the $3 million to $5 million range. They most certainly did not exceed $5 million. I'd say it's a lot closer to $3 million.
Also, team officials don't expect a FanFest announcement similar to what transpired with Miguel Tejada last winter. In fact, while they understand that the...
FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal, citing a major league source, says the Orioles have made an offer to free-agent designated hitter Vladimir Guerrero.
Rosenthal estimates that the offer falls in the $3 million to $5 million range.
If this is true, the offer must have come this week, because the two sides hadn't been in negotiations.
The Orioles always left open the possibility of signing Guerrero, but only at a discount price. Guerrero has sought a multi-year deal, but he can forget it. And...
I was watching the MLB Network's "Top 50 Most Incredible Collisions" last night, and No. 8 was Bo Jackson plowing into Rick Dempsey and almost sending the former Orioles catcher flying into the dugout. I counted three backward somersaults.
When I texted Dempsey, he replied, "Well, I've got that going for me."
Which is nice.
Dempsey, in his only season with the Cleveland Indians in 1987, missed the last six weeks with a broken left thumb. And get this: A proctologist in Kansas City set...
Clay Rapada will compete for a left-handed relief role with the Orioles, but the Triple-A Norfolk Tides will gladly welcome him to Harbor Park if he's reassigned.
Rapada, 29, is a Portsmouth, Va., native who pitched at Virginia State University. He won't hurt attendance.
Rapada posted a 4.00 ERA in 13 games with the Texas Rangers in 2010, his third team since the Chicago Cubs signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2002.
The Tides put out a release with more information on Rapada, in...
Welcome to another morning of "What the heck am I going to write about?"
I really need a sponsor. And some news.
I had a brief conversation with a team official last night, and we discussed left-hander Clay Rapada, who agreed to a minor league deal with a spring training invite. Rapada will be given a chance to win a spot in the bullpen as the second southpaw, joining Michael Gonzalez, but here's my guess: He'll be Mike Hinckley, who lost out to Will Ohman last spring and pitched at...
Mike Napoli was traded to the Blue Jays. Then he was traded to the Rangers.
I believe 12 minutes passed between deals.
When the music stops, grab a team.
The Blue Jays appeared to be out of the running for free-agent slugger Vladimir Guerrero after sending Vernon Wells to the Angels for Napoli and Juan Rivera. Now they might have an opening after sending Napoli to the Rangers earlier today for reliever Frank Francisco.
Rangers president Nolan Ryan stated yesterday that he retained interest...
I was getting my hair cut this afternoon when I received an e-mail from the International League, announcing its Hall of Fame class. I opened it when I got home and discovered that former Rochester Red Wings third baseman Cal Ripken is being honored.
The accolades just keep pouring in for baseball's Iron Man. And you really should try his Power Shred jerky.
Ripken will join Steve Balboni and Wade Boggs as members of the Class of 2011. All three players starred in the International League...
