It has been a tough few months for now former Orioles pitcher Bob McCrory. After pitching in good health most of the 2009 season between Norfolk and Baltimore, he felt some pain while pitching for the O's in September and underwent labrum surgery October 2nd at Johns Hopkins hospital. Several weeks later the O's out-righted him to Triple-A and he was removed from the 40-man roster. He became a minor league free agent.

A friendship with a member of the O's public relations department and a Little League coaching dispute have combined to lead former Twin Denny Hocking to the Orioles organization. Hocking will be a first-year pro coach when he serves this coming season as Frederick Keys' field coach. Hocking, who played in the Majors from 1993 to 2005, has known Jeff Lantz, the O's media relations manager, for a long time.

Mike Bordick played six seasons for the Orioles and had a reputation as a smart and very solid defender at shortstop. But it's the smarts he also used with his bat that he'll use in his new role as O's minor league offensive coordinater. Bordick, a career .260 Major League hitter with 1,500 career hits, served as roving infield instructor for the Toronto Blue Jays last season.

The Orioles began the offseason with 22 of their own players that qualified as minor league free agents. While the club has not officially announced any signings yet, the O's have re-signed five of those players: pitchers Josh Perrault, Ross Wolf, Chris George and Alfredo Simon and third baseman Scott Moore. Perrault is a 27-year-old right-hander the O's selected in the 2008 Rule 5 minor league draft from the Nationals' organization. In 2009, between Bowie and Norfolk, he went 1-4, 2.13...

I don't understand why some fans want to move Nolan Reimold to first base. I know the O's have an opening at that position. But they still might acquire someone to play there - plus they have three first basemen on the 40-man roster in Brandon Snyder, Rhyne Hughes and Michael Aubrey. If the O's had any designs at all to put Reimold at first base, we would have heard more about it by now.

That might be the title of a Meryl Streep movie. It could also be a phrase used when talking about Mark McGwire and his admission that he used steroids. McGwire should score some points with fans and media for admitting his mistake. He should lose some points for the fact that it took him this long. But he has at least admitted using steroids. Anyone expecting to hear a similar confession from Barry Bonds and/or Roger Clemens, who many assume also used steroids?

After making 19 starts for the Orioles on the mound last year, right hander David Hernandez is quite aware that he is not assured a rotation spot in 2010. But right now he has other important issues to deal with. When I spoke with David by phone Wednesday afternoon, he was speaking from his new house in Elk Grove, California. He and his wife Rachel were awaiting the birth of their first child, a son, that could come at any time. For now, at least for Hernandez, thoughts of the 2010 season...

Earlier here I presented a story and interview with O's pitcher David Hernandez. He talked about his winter workouts, his outlook for the coming season and his goal to improve his control for 2010. Here are some more quotes from that interview.

So what makes a leader on a Major League baseball team? Do all teams need a leader and in what ways does it help to have a strong leader? In a game so filled with statistics, we can't put a number on leadership. And we can debate whether it's important or not.

The Orioles recently announced their minor league coaches and staff for the 2010 season. Here are some comments from the man that put the staff together, the O's Director, Player Development, David Stockstill, about this year's staff. Click here to check out the staff for 2010. Of your seven U.S. affiliated teams, five managers return to the club they managed last year. The other two managers return to the organization. How important is continuity like that for the minors? "Very pleased...