Home from Dallas and fans are wondering about O's moves

Even with the Orioles not making many moves and not generating many rumors, somehow the Winter Meetings still seemed very busy for those of us on the MASN team covering the Orioles and Nationals in Dallas the last few days. It's nice to be home. I hope the readers here enjoyed the coverage and videos that we featured in this blog the last few days. I was sitting in the press room between Roch Kubatko and the Baltimore Sun's Peter Schmuck. Yes the barbs were flying fast and furious with a few sent in my direction. Those dudes can type fast, I can tell you that. As for the Orioles last several days, some fans were stirred up. The Orioles spent four days in Dallas at the Winter Meetings and all they came away with was Ryan Flaherty and Dana Eveland? You have a right to question that, but remember, you still have the whole offseason to make additions. It's not a race to sign the most players the fastest. But as most of the local media had speculated, the Orioles, it appears, don't have too many big moves in them. That comes as terribly disappointing to many and I clearly and totally understand. The club can't spin these moves as anything to convince the fans that 14 years of losing is over and they won't even try, but they did add a pitcher that will battle for a rotation spot in spring. Eveland is a pitcher with poor career numbers but coming off a decent 2011. Buck Showalter remarked that Albuquerque is one of the most hitter friendly parks in all of the minors and when Eveland got his major league shot in September with the Dodgers last year he put together a 3.03 ERA. The Orioles clearly hope he is on an upward swing and can help them in the back end of their 2012 rotation. They had the worst starting pitcher ERA in all of baseball last year and this small move could provide an upgrade in an area where any upgrades are needed. Please don't say Steve is selling Eveland to us. No I am not. I am very skeptical of someone with a career ERA of 5.52. At best, he may be a fourth or fifth starter. That would help but this is no significant pickup unless Eveland performs much better than his track record. Rule 5 pick Ryan Flaherty is "a left-handed hitting version of Matt Antonelli," according to Dan Duquette. He is another possible candidate to compete for the third base job in camp and someone that can play second or help out there some if Brian Roberts can't go. Last year the Orioles added Mark Reynolds and J.J. Hardy at the Winter Meetings. This was not even close to that. But if Duquette wasn't going to trade core players, young pitchers or his very best prospects, what did he have to bring something top shelf back in return? Duquette said a couple of times in Dallas, "We've got a lot of work to do." He surely has and it's just begun. I am going to give him more time to see where it all leads.