Cliff Lee is out of the American League, and he took Zack Greinke with him - and dropped off the right-hander in Milwaukee.
This season should be a breeze for the Orioles. All they need is for Andy Pettitte to retire and they'll win 90 games.
Greinke reportedly has been dealt to the Brewers for shortstop Alcides Escobar, center fielder Lorenzo Cain and pitching prospects Jeremy Jeffress and Jake Odorizzi. The Brewers also will receive shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt and $2 million.
I don't...
Howard Megdal at mlbtraderumors.com posted the top five Phillies general managers since 1960, with Paul Owens placing first. I suppose we could do the same thing here with the Orioles. Feel free to submit your top five GMs in franchise history. Extra credit if you include the reasons.
Homework on a Saturday? That's so not fair!
The Orioles still haven't announced their minor league coaching staffs because they're waiting for a few contracts to come back. Should happen early next...
I received a call at 6 a.m. with an automated message alerting me that Carroll County schools are opening two hours late. I texted my daughter, who responded with a "Yes!!" and went back to sleep.
I had two dreams that I can remember: Rushing somewhere to conduct an interview for the blog, and co-hosting a sports talk show on MASN.
Not exactly an escape from reality.
I remember the days when I'd dream about Salma Hayek. What's happened to me?
(I'm sure my parents remember the days...
As the Orioles search for another left-handed reliever, they haven't given up on the possibility of bringing back Will Ohman. They've had talks with his agent, Danny Horwits, and Ohman said a return is "always a possibility."
"I'm not going to close the door, either," he said earlier today via cell phone. "I enjoyed my time there."
His time with the Orioles ended with the July 31 trade to the Marlins that brought pitcher Rick VandenHurk into the organization.
"It's a situation...
I'm still dealing with e-mail issues because AOL - yes, I know, so lame - keeps forcing me to change my password once or twice a day since the great virus attack of 2010.
AOL randomly decides that my password is invalid, which also prevents my BlackBerry from receiving e-mails. I can't get a technician to assist me because I don't pay for the service, and the AOL.com "chat room" didn't provide any solutions before I went to bed.
Maybe I entered the wrong room. I should have known when...
The Orioles have bigger fish to fry than a second utility player. A first baseman comes to mind. It jumps right into the boat.
I'm not overly concerned about a veteran starter, though I understand the team's interest in acquiring one. Manager Buck Showalter wants more options for the five spots. He's counting six right now, which doesn't give him much room if there's an injury or a young arm - we'll use Zach Britton as an example - isn't deemed ready. Rick VandenHurk, who's out of...
A team official confirmed this afternoon that the Orioles have reached agreement with former Blue Jays reliever Jeremy Accardo on a one-year deal worth $1.08 million.
The Sun quotes Accardo's agent, Damon Lapa of All Bases Covered Sports Management (catchy name.)
The deal is official pending a physical.
The Blue Jays non-tendered Accardo, making him a free agent. He's eligible for arbitration again after 2011, so the Orioles could retain his rights for another season.
Accardo registered...
Manager Buck Showalter believes that the Orioles traded for Mark Reynolds "at the perfect time." He considers Reynolds a "change of scenery guy," as he described the new third baseman earlier today.
Showalter doesn't care about the .198 average and the three straight seasons with 200-plus strikeouts. That's in the past.
Mark Reynolds stops by the MASNsports.com Web Studio for a one-on-one with Roch Kubatko
Reynolds made his first friend on the team when he shared a ride with pitcher...
It doesn't sound like the Orioles have a lot of interest in pitcher Joe Blanton, who's reportedly available after the Phillies signed left-hander Cliff Lee. The reviews seemed to be mixed in the organization and I'd be surprised if the club made a run at him.
The Orioles still want to add a veteran starter to provide more competition in spring training. Right now. you're looking at Jeremy Guthrie, Brian Matusz, Jake Arrieta, Brad Bergesen, Chris Tillman, Zach Britton and Rick VandenHurk....
Since I'm keeping tabs on the facial hair, I'll pass along that Jake Arrieta is sporting a full beard.
That's going to come off in Sarasota.
Arrieta says the concern over the bone spur in his right elbow was "kind of blown a little bit out of proportion."
"I know some people have my health as a concern, just with that bone spur, but it's been there for a long time," he said. "Kind of went away. It only kind of flared up for that one outing and then went away, so it's really not an...
Koji Uehara arrived at the Dave & Buster's at the Arundel Mills Mall with sideburns that are so long, the ends meet underneath his chin. And he wants to keep them that way as his new "trademark."
Not sure that'll be allowed under the club's facial-hair policy, but I'm rooting for him.
Uehara, speaking through interpreter Jiwon Bang - but also understanding many of the questions before they were relayed to him - said he's "really happy" to stay with the Orioles.
Asked for the factors...
I woke up to the shocking news that Cliff Lee has agreed to a five-year, $120 million deal with one of his old teams, the Philadelphia Phillies.
So much for the Yankees and Rangers fighting it out for Lee.
There's something about the Yankees not getting what they want that puts a smile on my face, even at this early hour.
Lee took a lesser deal to pitch for the Phillies again, but we're still talking $120 million. And the contract reportedly includes a vesting option for a sixth year that...
Cal Ripken knows a thing or two about streaks. He seems like the logical guy to comment on quarterback Brett Favre, whose NFL-record streak of consecutive starts ended tonight at 297 (only a few more than his record number of retirement announcements.)
Favre has been taking snaps since 1992, but a right shoulder injury didn't allow him to suit up for tonight's rescheduled game against the Giants. He was listed among the Vikings' inactives.
In a statement, baseball's Iron Man said the...
Koji Uehara passed his physical today and signed a one-year contract with a vesting option for 2012.
Uehara will receive a base salary of $3 million, with incentives that could raise the deal to $5 million.
President of baseball operations Andy MacPhail didn't declare Uehara the closer during the winter meetings. He said the reliever's role would depend on manager Buck Showalter.
If the Orioles sign Kevin Gregg, Uehara could slip into a setup role, though his pinpoint control makes him my...
I woke up this morning to a massive spam attack on my e-mail account and a video of Miley Cyrus taking a bong hit.
It's going to be one of those days.
My BlackBerry refused to accept anymore e-mails from my account after about 30 "undeliverable messages." Now that's a smart phone.
Meanwhile, my laptop held about 1,850 of them, plus another 241 in my spam basket. Had to change my password to log on, and I'm still receiving them and, apparently, sending them out to the innocent...
A few days ago, I wrote about outfielder Nolan Reimold's workouts with former Oriole Brady Anderson. You also can include third baseman Mark Reynolds on the list of Anderson's clients.
In an interesting coincidence, Reynolds contacted Anderson before the Orioles traded for him at the winter meetings.
"It was a nice circumstance that he's with the Orioles now," Anderson said.
Anderson had a lot of favorable comments about Reynolds.
"Reynolds is a stud," Anderson said. "I've...
It's much too early to break down the Orioles' 25-man roster. This team will need a first baseman - it's in the rules - or a new designated hitter. The bullpen is incomplete.
However, as I sat here last night, I thought about the potential composition of the bench. Cesar Izturis appears to have a spot as a reserve middle infielder. Brendan Harris and Robert Andino are expected to compete for another utility spot (Harris isn't on the 40-man roster, Andino is out of minor league...
Not much to report here, but I'm asked about the first base situation multiple times a day.
It happened again this afternoon while I was stuck in traffic on Rt. 32 and cars were blocking the Liberty Rd. intersection and preventing me from going the last half-mile to my house. (A Sun photographer captured the scene, which included my reddening face.)
A guy in the vehicle next to my rolled down his window, shouted out my name and asked if the Orioles were going to sign Adam LaRoche. I smiled...
No announcement has been made, but the Orioles have agreed to terms with infielder Cesar Izturis on a 1-year contract.
The deal will become official once Izturis passes his physical.
Izturis apparently will compete for the utility job along with newly acquired Brendan Harris, while J.J. Hardy is penciled in as the everyday shortstop.
Earlier this week, President Andy MacPhail stated after confirming the Hardy/Harris deal that he would continue negotiations with Izturis' agent.
Update: I...
I caught up with Brady Anderson a few days ago while covering the Winter Meetings in Orlando. He returned a call as I was transcribing quotes from president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail, and I ended the game of phone tag a few minutes later after hitting the "publish" button.
I knew that outfielder Nolan Reimold was working out with Anderson. I knew that Anderson was impressed with Reimold's progress after a disastrous 2010 season. I knew that Anderson offered up a favorable...
