What's coming in 2021?

A new year always conjures up old memories of poor judgement while waiting for the ball to drop in Times Square. A second countdown pertaining to how long a stomach is going to cooperate before beginning to reject everything inside it.

The ball is lowered and your dinner comes up.

Here's hoping that none of you are experiencing such misery. Like the time decades ago when I thought tequila was the perfect nightcap. And the morning of Jan. 1, 2012, when my friend stood at his front door as I rested my head on my windshield while scraping the ice, smiled and yelled, "Man, that looks like it sucks."

It did.

I kept my blogging streak intact in my dark bedroom by typing a sentence on infielder Ryan Adams, going back to a prone position, then rising for the next sentence.

Eight paragraphs that took about an hour to write and must qualify as the shortest entry of my career. Also one of the latest with a 12:12 p.m. posting.

I spent the rest of the day cradling a canister of Utz Pub Mix like a football, and never would have left my bed if I kept a box of Depends next to it.

(Adams, a former second-round draft pick, made his major league debut in 2011 and batted .281/.333/.326 with four doubles, seven RBIs, six walks and 25 strikeouts in 29 games. The Orioles outrighted him on Sept. 14, 2012, the same day that they released reliever Kevin Gregg, and he never returned to the majors.)

I did a quick search and found the story, which shockingly failed to win any awards.

The 2020 Orioles didn't earn any awards, either, but maybe there's a Rookie of the Year or Comeback Player of the Year in the near future.

Outfielder/first baseman Ryan Mountcastle picked up a third-place vote from David Ginsburg of The Associated Press. Ginsburg is retiring next month. Mountcastle is retaining his rookie status.

Pitchers Keegan Akin and Dean Kremer are expected to break camp as starters, giving them a shot at the award. And other rookies will join the roster, whether for opening day or later in the summer.

Royals catcher Salvador Pérez was named the American League's Comeback Player of the Year after missing the 2019 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery and the start of summer training camp after testing positive for COVID-19. Trey Mancini didn't play in 2020 after his diagnosis of Stage 3 colon cancer, surgery and chemotherapy treatments that ended on Sept. 21.

Mancini should be the favorite for the award the minute that he steps on the field for opening day.

Of course, he needs to sign a new contract after the club tendered one. The deadline for teams to exchange figures with their arbitration-eligible players is Jan. 15.

What else can fans look forward to in 2021?

Hopefully, access to games rather than teams again playing in front of cardboard cutouts and empty seats.

The vaccine is a huge step toward eliminating the piped in crowd noise, but there's still a long way to go before the gates are open to everyone.

Adley Rutschman's promotion to the majors isn't assured, but it's anticipated after an initial assignment to Double-A Bowie. The countdown will prove more entertaining than many of the games. Maybe most of them.

Of course, it will be done with an invisible timer. The Orioles aren't going to announce a date in advance. News will break as it did with Mountcastle.

How manager Brandon Hyde aligns his outfielders is going to be an interesting storyline. Whether Austin Hays or Cedric Mullins is the primary center fielder. Whether Mountcastle is in left and Anthony Santander is in right, with Mancini getting most of the starts at first base. And what happens when Yusniel Diaz and Ryan McKenna arrive.

The Orioles are expected to unveil their coaching staff by next week, finally introducing Tony Mansolino as third base coach and infield instructor. They already told us about Chris Holt becoming pitching coach/director of pitching and Darren Holmes having his title changed from bullpen coach to assistant pitching coach.

A shortstop will be acquired before spring training, whether via free agency or trade. The former is more likely.

A starting pitcher also remains on the shopping list, though the Orioles have a tendency to finalize deals at spring training. My story on Tommy Milone includes a Sarasota dateline.

Other moves could be made to increase depth in the minors. And we'll find out about non-roster invites to spring training. The team's last press release on the topic was issued on Jan. 28, 2020 with the names of 23 players.

There will be bullpen competitions, with Rule 5 picks Mac Sceroler and Tyler Wells trying to make it rather than be exposed to waivers. And competition for utility roles. But it would be nice if Major League Baseball set the roster number, which obviously is going to influence these battles.