The Rawlings Gold Glove Awards probably will be announced early next week, and there are rumblings that Adam Jones is about to become the first Orioles outfielder to win a Gold Glove since Paul Blair back in 1975.

We've made some inquiries to try and confirm that, but the best info anybody has at the moment was a MySpace entry by Adam's brother Jonathan the other day saying how excited he was about his little brother winning a "Golden Glove 4 his Baseball Team, the Baltimore Orioles."

If it's true, and I don't think that would surprise anybody who has watched him glide around the outfield the past two years, Adam would be the first Oriole to win a Gold Glove since Mike Mussina in 1999 and the first Orioles position player since Roberto Alomar and Rafael Palmeiro each won one in 1998. The Orioles are currently tied with the Yankees for the most American League Gold Gloves all time. Blair won eight of them during his reign as the league's best defensive center fielder from 1967-75.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 2:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (44)
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Now that the Yankees are world champions for the 27th time and all is right with the world (Sasrcasm alert!), we can get on with our lives -- and our offseason. If there is a bright side for the Yankee haters, it is that -- for the first time since 2000 -- there will be no postseason panic period in the Big Apple, which has generally been followed by an attempt to corner the free agent market.

The bad news, of course, is that the free agent market isn't really worth cornering, but there are players that could make a difference for the Orioles, especially if they are willing to consider moving Nolan Reimold to first base.

Sorry, I'm not sold on getting somebody like Nick Johnson, who wouldn't even replace the run-production potential of the departed Aubrey Huff. If it were my money and my team -- oh yes, it will be mine -- I would take the best bat possible in either the free agent or trade market and figure it out from there.

Not that anything's going to happen real soon anyway. There's still the free agent filing period to wait out before the Orioles can make any offers, if that's the direction Andy MacPhail decides to go. He can talk trade any time, but the end of the World Series is sort of the traditional time to start doing that kind of thing.

Make no mistake. Though the landscape isn't terribly promising, the Orioles have to make some significant moves to keep people interested. That doesn't mean throwing the youth movement under the bus, but it will require some flexibility if MacPhail wants to do anything dynamic. I said this in a column last week. MacPhail has delivered on the foundational aspect of his rebuilding program. The time has come to start the next phase in earnest.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (98)
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I've been concerned that I might be putting the whammy on the Ravens by hanging around town during the football season, so I decided to play it safe and fly to the West Coast yesterday afternoon. Sure enough, the Ravens rolled over the previously undefeated Broncos, so I'm going to stay away through next Sunday. I realize the game is in Cincinnati, but you can't be too safe with the team's playoff future in the balance.

If you recall, the only Ravens victory I've been in town for was the the opener against the Chiefs, who were without starting quarterback Matt Cassel and still somehow made it interesting. Then I went overseas and the Ravens beat the Chargers on the road and hammered the Browns at home. I returned to join the team in New England and you know what happened from that point on.

After the Ravens defeat the Bengals, I think it will be safe to come home. Even a Jonah like me can't jinx them badly enough to lose to the Browns.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (20)
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I'm sure a lot of people would like to see the Orioles boldly go where they haven't gone before and pony up the big money it will take to sign Cuban left-hander Aroldis Chapman, but I wouldn't hold your breath.

There are several indicators that point in the opposite direction, which likely means that the club's meeting this week with Chapman and his agent is more public relations than aggressive international player development.

Don't misunderstand. I'm not saying the Orioles weren't really interested in talking to the guy, but when you consider what it could cost to sign him -- some say $40 million or more -- it's hard to imagine the Orioles really being in the ballpark with some of the other teams that have shown interest.

The club wants to have a solid international presence, but came up about $1 million short on promising Dominican infielder Miguel Angel Sano when the competition for his services was relatively light and he signed for only $3.15 million. If they would balk at Sano at that price, what makes anybody think they'll be a real player at $40 million for Chapman?

The Orioles did pony up $10 million for Japanese pitcher Koji Uehara last winter, but they aren't exactly bragging about that acquisition anymore...and we're not hearing a lot of chatter about their new emphasis on international player development like we heard at this time last year.

Hopefully, the team is still just as committed to a global approach, because the O's are going to have to keep every avenue open if they are to have any chance of competing with the Yankees and Red Sox on a yearly basis. They probably will never be able to out-spend them, so they're going to have to out-scout them, both here and abroad.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 12:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (88)
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This is the lull before the storm. This is the time when major league front office people tie up loose ends, take a few days off and catch their breath before offseason begins in earnest following the World Series.

That's why the biggest baseball headline in The Sun today is about negotiations with reliever/swingman Mark Hendrickson, who almost certainly will re-sign with the Orioles -- which is fine because he's a versatile role player on the pitching staff, but it's not really news when you consider he's from nearby York and not many other teams will be beating down his door this winter.

The Orioles had an extended conversation with Cuban defector Aroldis Chapman yesterday. That's an interesting development, but we all know that he's going to end up in Boston or New York. The thing that's most significant about the meeting is that it signals that owner Peter Angelos no longer has strong reservations about negotiating with Cuban players, though I guess we should have figured that out when the Orioles gave all that money to Danys Baez.

The biggest story of the week was the official decision to decline the option on Melvin Mora, which was no surprise to anyone. Melvin told us he wasn't coming back a couple of months ago when he publicly blasted manager Dave Trembley.

Basically, this is roster crunching time, and the Orioles have moved a bunch of players off the 40-man roster, including pitcher Rich Hill. Seems like a long time ago that the O's were hanging tough with Hill because they were afraid someone would take him off waivers. His 7.80 ERA pretty much took care of that. The club also outrighted Alfredo Simon, which means they can monitor his recovery from surgery and bring him back later if they think he's still got some promise.

Frankly, this is such a soft news period that it might be time for another warm weather vacation.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (11)
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Most of you probably know this already, but I thought I'd clarify the Chad Moeller situation for anyone who didn't get to the end of Jeff Zrebiec's story on the subject. The Orioles declined his $850,000 major league option yesterday, but that does not mean he will not return as Matt Wieters backup next season. In fact, I would guess that his return is fairly likely.

The option was declined to free up room on the 40-man roster in anticipation of the finalization of the club's reserve list. The O's have to determine by Nov. 20 who will be protected in anticipation of the Rule 5 draft in December. That's also why several players were outrighted yesterday and a few more may be today.

The club has told Moeller that it will basically honor the terms of the option that was declined if he later accepts a minor league deal and then makes the major league roster out of spring training. He has the option of accepting a guaranteed roster spot from another team in the meantime, but the Orioles want him back and he is open to coming back if somebody doesn't offer him a more secure situation.

Moeller isn't an impact player, but he bonded well with Wieters last season and seemed to have a positive effect on his development. He's also a terrific guy who is well-liked in the clubhouse, though that's not an important reason to keep him.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (29)
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Jeff Zrebiec has already posted stories on the long-expected decision by the Orioles to decline Melvin Mora's option for 2010 and also the choice of former Indians coach Jeff Datz as the new O's bench coach.

The club also declined the $850,000 option on catcher Chad Moeller and outrighted some guys to free up room on the 40-man roster. It's probably still possible that Moeller could be re-signed. Doubt there's any chance that the Orioles will try to bring Melvin back for less.

The only surprise, really, is the selection of a relatively unknown coach to replace Dave Jauss. I think a lot of O's fans were hoping for somebody more familiar, but Datz apparently came well-recommended by some of the people Dave Trembley consulted around the major leagues.

I'm sure he's a fine coach, but I'm pretty sure there are going to be some people who will view Datz as a guy who was chosen because he will not pose an obvious threat to Trembley's job security the way a Bob Melvin or some other former major league manager might. I'm pretty sure that's not the case -- because Dave knows that this is a do-or-die year for him no matter what-- but I'll leave you all to your opinions.

What do you think?

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 4:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (44)
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Cliff Lee's performance in Game 1 was so impressive, I'd like to change my World Series prediction to the Phillies in five, but I won't because that would just give me a chance to be wrong twice.

You don't see all that many complete games in the postseason in the era of bullpen specialization, but Lee tamed the Yankees lineup so completely that he'll be very much in their heads when he comes back around in the rotation. Meanwhile, A.J. Burnett has to go to the mound tonight carrying a lot on his eighty-million-dollar shoulder.

If he struggles with his control in the early innings -- and that would appear to be a possibility since he has walked 10 batters in 18 1/3 innings in this postseason -- the Phillies are going to smell blood.

Now that I think about it, I probably doomed the Yankees when I picked them in six before the start of Game 1. I don't think I've guessed an outcome right since I gave the points in the presidential election.

Associated Press photo

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 1:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (24)
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...will be over by Thanksgiving -- I promise -- but the Yankees and Phillies might cut it close if this fall continues to be as rain-soaked as it has been the past few weeks. I'm particularly sensitive to that because I've spent the day with a caulk gun filling cracks around the foundation of the house and tearing out a bunch of soggy carpet padding in the basement. Please forgive me, but I'm getting a bit nostalgic for Southern California, where they don't have either rain or basements.

If anyone has any advice in this area, I'm all ears, but I'm going to take a break from proving I'm a Renaissance man to give you my quick take on the World Series, which begins tonight at Yankee Stadium.

First off, if I knew the Yankees were going to play host, I wouldn't have rooted for the American League in the All-Star Game, because I think the home-field advantage probably will be enough to put the pinstriped pariahs over the top. Both teams have star power and both teams can hit the ball out of the park, but the Yankees may be able to neutralize the Phillies' advantage at Citizens Bank Ballpark because they have nine players who can hit a long fly ball -- and you know what happens to long fly balls in Philly.

Yankees in six.

Sorry. I don't like it any more than you do. If the Phillies win and prove me wrong, I'll promise to root for the Eagles a couple of times this year.

Personal note: I'm heading over to Chipotle Grill before the game. I have a friend who won that promotion where you get to bring nine friends for a free meal. I'm guessing not one member of the current Orioles roster shows up, but I feel an obligation to be there.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)
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President of baseball operations Andy MacPhail and his staff are getting their ducks in order for a very important offseason -- and the team needs to make some significant moves to be more competitive next year -- but the winter landscape seems forbidding.

If you want to read more about that, check out today's column here and let me know whether you think the O's have a real chance to improve with the right offseason trades and free agent acquisitions.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (69)
Categories: Just baseball