The poster who goes by CB Coach wrote in and challenged me to accurately pick the 25-man Opening Day roster, and I responded -- with just the right amount of good-natured sarcasm -- that he should have asked me to do something easier, like pick the right numbers for the next MegaMillions drawing.

Then I started studying the 40-man roster and decided it's probably not that hard. There are a handful of obvious variables, as you will certainly see when you look at my list, but there really aren't that many permutations. (Yes, I could have used the word "combinations" there, but permutations makes me sound more intelligent.)

Here's my projected roster:

Starting rotation

1. Jeremy Guthrie
2. Braden Looper
3. Koji Uehara
4. Mark Hendrickson
5. David Pauley (right)

Bullpen

LH Closer -- George Sherrill
RH Closer -- Chris Ray
RH Setup -- Jim Johnson
LH Setup -- Jamie Walker
RH Middle -- Dennis Sarfate
LH Middle -- Wilfrido Perez
RH Long -- Hayden Penn

Catchers

Gregg Zaun
Chad Moeller

Infielders

1B -- Aubrey Huff
2B -- Brian Roberts
SS -- Cesar Izturis
3B -- Melvin Mora
Utility -- Ryan Freel
Utility -- Chris Gomez

Outfielders

RF -- Nick Markakis
CF -- Adam Jones
LF -- Felix Pie
LF/DH -- Luke Scott
LF/DH -- Lou Montanez

Obviously, I'm doing some guessing here. I think the likelihood of Braden Looper signing here is maybe 40 percent, but that's probably more likely than Rich Hill coming over and solving his command problems. And I chose David Pauley over Hayden Penn for the final rotation spot, but still think Penn makes the team. My bullpen sleeper is Perez, though I admit it's a total hunch.

If Looper signs elsewhere, I would upgrade Penn to the rotation and bring Danys Baez back into the bullpen mix, but that's a blog entry for a different day.

One more thing: If you're wondering why Matt Albers isn't listed, I believe he will make the club if he's ready, but feel that he'll need a little more time to get up to speed and probably will start the regular season in either Norfolk or extended spring training.

Getty Images

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 1:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (112)
Categories: Just baseball
        

The likely trade for Chicago Cubs pitcher Rich Hill, which was reported by Baltimore Sun reporters Jeff Zrebiec and Dan Connolly yesterday, would add still another player to the Orioles' roster who is out of minor league options. That means the club has to keep him in the major leagues or put him through waivers to send him to Triple-A Norfolk.

It probably won't be a particularly tough decision, since Hill is a talented guy who has lost his command and will either get it back under familiar coaches Rick Kranitz and Alan Dunn or be considered no great loss on waivers. But he will be far from alone in that roster predicament when he reports to Fort Lauderdale with the other pitchers and catchers on Feb. 14.

The Orioles have seven players with less than five years of major league service who are out of options, including Brian Bass, newly acquired pitcher David Pauley, Hayden Penn, Dennis Sarfate, Scott Moore, Felix Pie and even Jeremy Guthrie.

Of course, Guthrie's option count is not an issue. Pie and Sarfate aren't going anywhere either. But the club could have some difficult decisions late in March. In addition, utilityman Donnie Murphy is out of options, but is not on the 40-man roster.

The club also has four players with just one option left -- Brad Hennessey (not on the 40-man), Alfredo Simon, Brian Burres and Matt Albers.

Radio, radio: Former Baltimore Colt Stan White will join me for a Super Bowl preview tonight on Sportsline on WBAL (1090 AM). We'll also talk Ravens, break down the Rich Hill deal with Orioles beat reporter Jeff Zrebiec and take a ton of your calls. If you're out of signal range, go to WBAL.com and click on the "Listen Live" icon.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 4:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (51)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Let's get one thing out of the way up front. I'm a big fan of Kevin Millar, who made my job as a baseball writer and columnist easier every day and made three lackluster Orioles seasons a lot more entertaining than anybody had a right to expect. But I've got to admit that there is some method to the Orioles' reluctance to bring him back for one more season, and it has nothing to do with his personality or production.

Kevin, at 37, still has something to offer on the field and in the clubhouse of the right team, but the Orioles are truly going in another direction. They want to put Felix Pie in left field every day and they want to get Luke Scott as many at-bats as possible in the DH slot and they're going to play Aubrey Huff at first base full-time. Millar might not get 100 at-bats in that equation, or he might play just well enough to tempt the team to put him back him in the lineup.

Now, that might seem on the surface to be an OK problem to have, but the O's obviously don't want to get in a position where keeping Millar gives them a ready excuse to deviate from their blueprint for 2009.

If you want to take the issue into the clubhouse, you could make the case that it's time for the leadership mantle to pass to the club's younger stars, particularly Brian Roberts -- if he stays -- and Nick Markakis, who just signed a six-year, $66 million contract that makes him the face of the new Orioles generation.

Of course, since I'd personally like to see Millar come back, I could probably come up with a pretty good argument for that, too.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (48)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Talked to Kevin Millar tonight on my WBAL show and he confirmed that he has been told the Orioles definitely are going in a new direction and that he will not be coming back in a reserve role.

Not that it's a big surprise. It was fairly apparent that page had turned, but the Orioles had publicly left open the slim possibility they might invite him to spring training.

"Yeah, the bottom line is, obviously, they want to go in a different direction,'' Millar said from his home in Beaumont, Texas. "Now, what that means, I don't know. Are they going to win games this year? No. Obviously we know that going in. You've got to be realistic.

"I told Dave Trembley (with Millar at right) a month and a half ago, 'Listen, I'm 37 years old. I'm ready to make that transition and do whatever I can do to help the young guys. If that means playing against left-handers, coming off the bench, whatever.' I told him I'm ready to do whatever I need to do. They decided to go in a different direction, which is surprising to me. I'm not talking about this to sell myself. I'm low risk. I'm a one-year deal. I haven't been on the disabled list in awhile. I get along with everybody.

"To me, when a team says that, it's a little frustrating. I mean, what direction are the Orioles going in differently? If they sign Ty Wigginton tomorrow, or they were talking about Richie Sexson early on ... those guys are great players, too, but you have a guy who's already comfortable and knows the personnel inside, so what different direction would you go?

"Obviously, Aubrey Huff will play first base and they'll DH Luke Scott and whatever happens in the outfield. They didn't need me because they had Aubrey Huff and he said he's willing to play first base, and he deserves that job because of the unbelievable year he had last year, and I understood that. Was I frustrated? For a second, yeah, because I enjoyed my time in Baltimore and I enjoyed the group of guys."

Millar acknowledged that his struggles at the end of the season probably contributed to the team's decision not to bring him back for a fourth season.

"It gets tough,'' he said. "We lose every night. The last eight weeks it was tough to keep a good attitude. It's tough to maintain that mental toughness and what happened, I struggled my butt off the last eight weeks and I was at fault for that and that left a bad taste in my mouth and in management's mouth. I understand that it's a big-boy world and I have to move on."

So, where to now? Millar is believed to have at least a spring training invitation from the Toronto Blue Jays and has gotten some interest from the Giants and a couple of other teams. He said he's just waiting for more of the free-agent dominoes to fall and clear the way for him to find a job.

Associated Press photo

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (76)
Categories: Just baseball
        

I've gotten lots of requests to explain how draft choice compensation works, including this post from somebody who calls himself "Fang man."

Fang man's take: Could someone explain how the MLB draft works in terms of free agents lost (or signed)?

In other words, why would signing Sheets cost us a second round pick? Why not a first round pick? Or a third round pick?

Additionally, someone pointed out that we waited a whopping 123 picks after picking Wieters two years ago because we signed Baez and Bradford. Why such a long wait? (And just as an FYI, wasn't Arietta the guy we finally got?)

My reply: Good question. Free agent players are classified by the Elias Sports Bureau based on their recent past performance as Type-A, Type-B and unclassified players. Type-A free agents who are offered salary arbitration by their original clubs require the signing team to cede its first-round draft pick to the team that loses the player -- unless the signing team is in the bottom half of the majors in winning percentage the year before, in which case it must give up its second-round pick. Teams losing Type-B free agents who have been offered arbitration get a supplemental pick between rounds of the draft, but no direct compensation from the signing team.

Quick plug: Former New York Mets and Orioles exec Jim Duquette will join me in studio for Sportsline on WBAL (1090 AM) tonight. Popular former O's first baseman Kevin Millar will jump in at 7 on the phone and Washington Post columnist and all-time best-selling sports author John Feinstein also will join in at 7:30 to talk about the Maryland basketball controversy. If you're out of signal range, you can go to WBAL.com and click on the "Listen Live" icon.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 5:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (12)
Categories: Today's featured comment
        

Though I realize that hundreds of blog posts can't be wrong, I'm still going to take issue with the popular notion that free agent pitcher Ben Sheets would be a smart gamble for the Orioles at this point in the offseason.

Here are some issues that are not in dispute and would argue for taking a chance on Sheets:

1. Sheets is a very talented pitcher who had a 3.09 ERA in 31 starts last year and has a terrific walk/strikeout ratio.

2. The Orioles still have a gaping hole in their starting rotation, if you can even call it a rotation when there currently are only two pitchers who appear certain to be in it.

3. The O's can probably afford to do whatever they want, since they have sliced a number of well-paid players off the payroll the past couple of years.

Here are the reasons why it doesn't make nearly as much sense as some might think:

1. He's been on the disabled list five times in the last four years and has made 30 or more starts in only half his major league seasons.

2. He had a great ERA last year and still won only 13 games for a playoff-caliber team. His career ERA also is very good (3.72) and yet he's only three games over .500 for his career.

3. He ended the year with a torn forearm flexor, which remains enough of a question that he is still on the market with two weeks left before spring training.

4. The Brewers offered him arbitration to retain draft choice compensation if he signs elsewhere, but are not seriously bidding for him now.

5. He's still holding out hope of getting a two-year deal at about his 2008 salary ($11 million).

Here's my opinion:

Now, I realize that it's not your concern whether the Orioles cough up $20 million or so on a dare, but I'd like you to try to imagine the reaction they would get if they sign Sheets and he undergoes elbow surgery in May and is lost for 1 1/2 of those two seasons. I'm pretty sure a lot of the same people who think he's such an obvious choice would be lining up to blast the O's for another brainless, short-sighted move.

But that's not even the best argument. I don't care whether the club makes money or not, but committing an eighth of your annual payroll for a guy who has never won more than 13 games in a season doesn't make any sense to me at all. Heck, Garrett Olson won only four fewer games in five fewer starts with a 6.65 ERA on a bad team.

Yeah, yeah. I realize he's got a great WHIP and he has elite talent. He might end up being a 20-game winner on a good team if he can stay healthy. I'm just trying to make the point that he likely would be a 12-game winner here if he stayed healthy and you can have all the 10-game winners you want for half the price.

I would look at the situation differently if the Orioles were on the cusp of contention, because the potential upside from that kind of gamble would be much higher with a higher quality team, but you've got to get this guy for one year and a club option for about $7 million for there to be any logic in it for the Orioles.

Now, here's your challenge: Change my mind.

Getty Images

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 12:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (145)
Categories: Just baseball
        

The Orioles and free agent pitcher Braden Looper haven't signed anything yet, but Orioles fans have reason to hope that club president Andy MacPhail will take advantage of the receding free agent market to fill one more hole in the starting rotation.

The only certain members of the starting rotation are Jeremy Guthrie and Koji Uehara. Looper would fit into the No. 3 hole and left-hander Mark Hendrickson likely will open the season in the rotation because, well, he's left-handed, which would leave just one rotation slot open to competition from the team's stable of young pitchers.

The Orioles still must convince Looper to choose Baltimore over Pittsburgh and Milwaukee, so don't get your hopes up just yet, but the market for free-agent pitching has softened to the point where Jon Garland -- who originally was seeking a multiyear deal worth $13 million per season -- just accepted a one-year deal (with a mutual option) reportedly worth $6.25 million to play for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (83)
Categories: Just baseball
        

It isn't often that a reader actually sits down and writes a song for you, so I'm going to be the first to publish these lyrics from a poster who calls himself "the associate." He read my item about missing the Super Bowl Media Day and was struck by a muse. I certainly hope that didn't result in a concussion, but it did result in his version of the Super Bowl Blues:

Woke up this morning, had me them Super Bowl Blues
Said I woke up this mornin', had them Super Bowl Blues
Why oh why Ravens, did you have to lose

Come this Sunday, I'll be watching on my teevees
I guess this Sunday, I'll be watching on my teevees
No friends for company, just a can of aerosol cheese

Sung to the chords of "Statesboro Blues" by the Allmans

Tonight's radio dogma: We're going to take a look at the Maryland men's basketball situation on WBAL's Sportsline tonight at 6 p.m. Baltimore Sun sportswriter Jeff Barker will join me by phone during the first hour and Tony Pente of OriolesHangout.com will jump in at 7 to size up the Orioles player development situation going into spring training. If you're out of the WBAL (1090 AM) signal range, log onto WBAL.com and click on the "Listen Live" icon.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 4:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)
Categories: Today's featured comment
        

When I woke up this morning and read some more of the reports from Super Bowl Media Day -- my favorite day on the entire sports calendar -- it just made me want to go back to bed until Monday.

It still rankles me to think that I could have been that guy dressed as a woman trying to interview Kurt Warner. This was the year I was planning to go full lunatic and join Hand Puppet Interview Guy and Pick Man (Nickelodeon is still my favorite cable channel) and, of course, dazzling Latin beauty Ines Sainz from TV Azteca, who's there every year to show what serious sports journalism is all about.

But no, I'm sitting here wearing a T-shirt that says "All my friends went to cover the Super Bowl and all I got was this lousy ice storm." So far, the highlight of my week has been jumping into the icy Chesapeake Bay on Saturday to benefit the Special Olympics, and that actually was last week, but special thanks to those of you who donated about $1,200 in my name just the same.

I'm not expecting any sympathy, of course. I'm sure you wanted the Ravens to win so you could either go to the Super Bowl or -- at the very least -- post thousands of gloating comments on the Steelers message boards. We're all in this together, this being the two days of snow and ice, the collapse of the Maryland men's basketball team and me having to do a couple straight weeks of "Sportsline" on WBAL. Feel free to call in between 6 and 9. It's not like you're going to be out jogging or anything.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 12:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (16)
Categories: Just football
        

The Orioles are down to one salary arbitration case, and George Sherrill will get his day in salary court on Feb. 19 in Phoenix if the sides don't compromise on a figure between his salary demand of $3.4 million and the club's offer of $2.2 million.

Sherrill saved 31 games last year and made the All-Star team, but struggled with a tired arm down the stretch. He earned $900,000 for his first season with the Orioles and is looking at a win-win situation, since the worst he can do is a 144 percent raise. If I had to guess, I think the club has the advantage here, both on the merits and on the perfect arbitration track record of Orioles attorney Russell Smouse.

Smouse is 6-0 in cases that go to a hearing and the club is 8-1 in its last nine cases dating back to 1994. I'll throw a guess out there and predict that the thing gets settled at $2.7 million before Sherrill has to fly to Arizona during the first week of pitcher/catcher workouts.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (37)
Categories: Just baseball
        

The Vegas oddsmakers already are looking past this week's Super Bowl to the probabilities for next season, and the Ravens -- at 11-1 -- are listed as the sixth-most-likely team to win the NFL title.

Here's the link to a story on the Detroit Free Press Web site that contains the entire list from the Las Vegas Sports Consultants, a firm that advises casinos on betting lines. The New England Patriots, presumably with Tom Brady back at quarterback, are the Super Bowl favorite at 6-1, with the Pittsburgh Steelers close behind at 7-1.

I'm not surprised. The AFC again figures to be the dominant conference, with four of the top six teams. The Ravens have some questions to answer, but the progress of Joe Flacco and the prospects of retaining most of this year's defense will make it hard for them to sneak up on anybody next season.

The reason the future odds were of such interest to the people in Detroit is because the hapless Lions again will have the longest odds or winning the Super Bowl at 150-1.

Shameless plug alert: I'll be hosting Sportsline tonight on WBAL (1090 AM). If you're outside of signal range, you can log on to WBAL.com and click on the "Listen Live" icon.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 4:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (14)
Categories: Just football
        

Don't assume that the Orioles will keep Jamie Walker on the 25-man Opening Day roster just because he's guaranteed $4.5 million in the final year of his contract. If the club could dump the remainder of the Jay Gibbons contract, you can bet Andy MacPhail will have no problem going younger if Walker (right) struggles through the exhibition season.

I don't think that's going to happen. Walker is a wily lefty who, at 37, is not particularly old for a left-handed situational guy, but his arm clearly wasn't sound last year and that was reflected in his horrible hits-to-innings ratio and his 6.87 ERA. He would be the first to admit that 2008 was the worst season of his major league career, but if he's healthy this spring, he'll get left-handed hitters out and make the team.

What if he doesn't? Then the Orioles have to find somebody to take his place on a roster that doesn't have a lot of options. Depending on the way Dave Trembley handles the closer role, George Sherrill could be called in for key lefty-lefty matchups, but I'm guessing he ends up being the predominant closer. It's also possible that Jim Johnson will be overpowering enough in a setup role that Trembley won't have to go left-left that often.

There is another name you might start to hear in late February. Minor league left-hander Wilfrido Perez has had more strikeouts than innings pitched in each of his four professional seasons and impressed the Orioles' player development types with the way he jumped up to Double-A Bowie last year and didn't miss a beat (2.31 ERA, 1.03 WHIP).

Associated Press photo

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 1:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (48)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Could it be that the New York Yankees actually care how much they spend on players? They withdrew their one-year, $10 million offer to Andy Pettitte while they were on their Mark Teixeira/CC Sabathia/A.J. Burnett spending spree, but came back this week and signed him for one year at a modest $5.5 million guarantee.

Of course, there's more to it than that. Pettitte has reachable incentives that could take the deal up to $12 million, but it still seemed curious that they were playing hardball with one of the best pitchers in their recent history.

Pettitte was doing the same. He originally scoffed at the $10 million deal because it represented a $6 million cut in pay from his previous contract. He eventually got real when he figured out that he wanted to play what might be his final season with the retooled Yankees instead of the iffy hometown Houston Astros. He made the right call.

Trouble is, the Yankees now have what looks like the best rotation in the American League East. If A.J. and CC can stay healthy, they might have a relatively easy ride back to the top of the standings this season.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (17)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Orioles pitching prospect Jake Arrieta has been invited to major league spring training, but don't get ahead of yourself. He probably isn't a candidate to make the team this year. The Orioles just want to get him some innings against major league competition.

Arrieta pitched for Team USA last summer, which limited his minor league innings. This will give the organization an opportunity to better evaluate him before re-assigning him to the minor leagues.

Though I might also look at this as an indication that the team is not going to add another pitcher, club officials still contend they will view the remaining free agents on a case-by-case basis.

Radio, radio: I'll be filling in this week on WBAL's Sportsline from 6-9 p.m. We'll have new Ravens defensive coordinator Greg Mattison on live, and Stan White will be in studio to talk Ravens and Super Bowl. If you are out of WBAL (1090 AM) signal range, go to WBAL.com and click on the "Listen Live" icon.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 5:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (20)
Categories: Just baseball
        

The Ravens held a news conference at their training facility today at 2 to announce coaching changes related to the departure of defensive coordinator Rex Ryan. The new defensive coordinator will be linebackers coach Greg Mattison, who has a long history with the Harbaugh coaching family.

Mattison coached under Jack Harbaugh at Western Michigan in the early 1980s and was on the same staff when young John Harbaugh was learning the family trade. He has never been an NFL coordinator, but was co-defensive coordinator for three years at the University of Florida.

The Ravens also announced they have promoted special teams coordinator Jerry Rosberg to Assistant Head Coach and that Vic Fangio will coach the linebackers.

Here's a link to the news story in The Sun.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 12:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)
Categories: Just football
        

If you couldn't stay up long enough to watch the entire NHL All-Star Game (and I sympathize, since it lasted until almost 9:30), the East beat the West 12-11 on a shootout goal by our local hero Alex Ovechkin.

12-11???

Just an aside, but I've always suspected that they juice the baseballs for the MLB Home Run Derby, ever since one of the home runs in 1993 hit the Domino Sugar sign across the harbor. Now, I'm thinking the NHL is sewing the pucks a little tighter for All-Star weekend.

Before somebody writes to tell me that there are no seams on a hockey puck, let's look ahead to this week in baseball. I mean, there's really nothing else going on the sports world this week, is there?

I'm sure a lot of people are hoping that Brian Roberts comes home from his honeymoon early to get a contract done with the Orioles. I have no reason to think anything will happen this week, but I still believe the O's and Brian need each other and will figure this thing out. Other than that, I have to think that free agent speculation will start to heat up again, if only because time is running short before pitchers and catchers report to Fort Lauderdale.

Don't have a real handle on the pitching situation, but I was kicking it around last night with Jeff Zrebiec and we came to the mutual conclusion that left-hander Mark Hendrickson (right) almost has to end up in the rotation. The Orioles cast him as a potential swingman when the club signed him, but the departure of Garrett Olson leaves him as the most logical lefty to insert into the middle of the pack.

The other candidates, barring a late acquisition, are Brian Burres, Chris Waters and maybe Troy Patton, though it appears the club wants to slowplay Patton after he was set back by injury last year. Right now, the only sure bets for the rotation are Jeremy Guthrie and Koji Uehara. That leaves three spots to fill and you have to assume Dave Trembley will want to have at least one left-hander.

The way I see it -- and there are still 2 1/2 months for things to change -- the rotation will be Guthrie, Uehara, Hendrickson, Hayden Penn (barring a skateboard accident or something) and an ad hoc No. 5 slot that could feature Radhames Liz, newly acquired David Pauley, Waters and maybe even Danys Baez.

Getty Images

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (31)
Categories: Just baseball
        

In my quixotic quest to become a knowledgeable hockey fan, I'll be in front of the TV at 6 today for the NHL All-Star Game. The television broadcast will be on Versus, the sports channel for people who hate ESPN and can't find the new MLB Network.

I've tried to spend more time around the Washington Capitals this year, even after nearly cracking my skull at their Media Fantasy Camp a few months ago, but my lofty intentions were pre-empted by the surprising success of the Ravens. I wouldn't even be able to watch tonight if they had beaten the Steelers in the AFC Championship Game, because I would be on a plane to Tampa right now. (Do I sound bitter?)

Oh well, Alex Ovechkin and friends await. Check it out.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 5:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)
Categories: Schmuck being Schmuck
        

For those of you who find the New York Yankees and their annual antics as entertaining as I do, there's a book coming out on Feb. 3 by Sports Illustrated writer Tom Verducci that reportedly goes into the greatest detail yet about the final years that Joe Torre (left) managed the team.

Here's a link to the New York Daily News story about the book, in which Verducci writes that some Yankees teammates referred to Alex Rodriguez behind his back as "A-Fraud" and Torre dishes on his unpleasant parting from the team he led to four world titles.

I'm sure after we all read it, we're going to count our blessings that the Orioles don't go in for high-strung superstar players, fascinating subplots and exciting big-money lineups that take you right up to the playoffs and then let you down. I know I will.

Getty Images

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (13)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Nice to see a lot of you at the Maryland State Police Polar Bear Plunge today, though -- in the future -- some of you should follow my lead and leave your shirts on. It's not like you're Michael Phelps and it's going to slow you down.

I apologize for the false link in the previous entry (which has been fixed). Got in a rush putting that item up early this morning. Didn't get a lot of sleep last night. Somebody interrupted me. My kids were up late and making a lot of noise. But I don't make excuses.

It promises to be a quiet rest of the weekend. Andy MacPhail is probably trying to catch up on his sleep and Brian Roberts is still on his honeymoon. (Confidential to the O's ticket office: There goes the twentysomething female demographic). Next week, maybe they'll get down to business.

The Plunge, which benefits Maryland Special Olympics, was a huge success. The organizers are estimating they will raise more than $3 million. My contribution, other than raising the water level in the Chesapeake Bay for a minute or so, was negligible, but I had a great time.

My thermal hat was off to former Oriole B.J. Surhoff, Adam Terry of the Ravens and new congressman Frank Kratovil, who took part in the Super Plunge and dunked themselves in the icy water once an hour for 24 hours.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 4:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)
Categories: Schmuck being Schmuck
        

Please excuse my blog-related laziness this morning, but I'm at Sandy Point State Park getting ready to jump into the icy Chesapeake Bay. I'm joining the thousands of loony Marylanders who come here each year to take part in the Maryland State Police Polar Bear Plunge to benefit Special Olympics.

So, in lieu of a live Orioles post this morning, I've linked my column from today's Sun, which encourages the Orioles and Brian Roberts (right) to take the plunge, so to speak, and get together on a long-term contract extension. Here's the link.

If you're up early, you can watch me make a fool of myself live on WBAL-TV. I'll be going into the water hand-in-hand with WBAL producer Jared Ruderman, as is my custom, to make good on the pledges that have been made in my name at the WBAL.com website. It's a great cause and, believe it or not, it's great fun. I just hope Captain Ahab doesn't show up while I'm in the water.

Later in the morning, I'll be doing live updates on WBAL Radio (1090 AM) with Steve Rouse and taunting Clarence Mitchell IV for not having the nerve to get wet. That is, if he doesn't oversleep again this year.

Getty Images

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (32)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Jayson Stark of ESPN.com did a Q&A with baseball commissioner Bud Selig this week, so I thought I'd throw up a link. Jay asked the questions that you would ask if you had an audience with the Commish, including the one about what baseball can do to keep the Yankees from taking over the world.

Talk a look right here

If you expected Bud to call for a salary cap in response to the latest Yankees spending spree, you're going to be disappointed. He tried the salary cap thing in 1994 and you know how that turned out.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (14)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Orioles hitting coach Terry Crowley (left) has played a big role in the career of Nick Markakis, and he couldn't have been happier to hear the news that the club had locked Markakis into a long-term extension.

"Andy (MacPhail) is a great evaluator of talent,'' Crowley said by telephone last night, "but I've got to say, this one wasn't too hard. Nick is the cornerstone of the progress we're going to make.

"There's nothing he can't do. He can hit for power, hit for average, run, throw and catch the ball. He's absolutely the complete package. We're fortunate to have him for the next six or seven years."

It was Crowley who shepherded Markakis through the tough early months of his major league career. Nick eventually got his feet under him and finished his rookie season with a .291 average. He batted .300 or better in each of his next two seasons. Crow echoed MacPhail's comments during yesterday's news conference that Markakis still has a lot of upside and won't be spoiled by his early success or his big contract.

"I'm sure he'll be the same terrific guy,'' Crowley added. "He's just a great kid. One of the best teammates you could every have."

Listen up: If you can't stand the thought of not listening to me spend three hours wise-cracking on WBAL's The Week in Review, I suggest you tune in at noon because I am going to be on my game. If you're out of the listening area, go to WBAL.com and click on the "Listen Live" icon.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (26)
        

There's isn't much left to say about Nick Markakis' new contract, other than to repeat that it was the key transaction of the offseason for the Orioles and might help them get Brian Roberts excited about sticking around a few more years. Andy MacPhail said afterward that he feels Brian is sincere in his desire to sign an extension, but I guess we'll know soon enough.

Markakis said during today's news conference that Brian is one of his best friends and he hopes he can help convince him to stay, so O's fan have that going for them. Which is nice.

There has been some head-scratching (even on my massive melon) about the decision to designate Oscar Salazar for assignment to make room on the roster for Gregg Zaun. Beat writer Jeff Zrebiec poked around a little bit and this is the impression he got from some conversations at the warehouse.

Salazar is out of minor league options and he's 30 years old, so the Orioles were going to be faced with a decision at some point in the next two months. Club officials apparently feel that he has a better chance of clearing waivers and remaining in the organization by going through now than during spring training.

There's some logic in the notion that first base is a position where supply is more likely to outweigh demand than in some other areas, which might explain why the Orioles did not designate one of their marginal pitchers. There are some second-division teams that are already heavy with infielders, but I would not be surprised if somebody -- maybe a team like the Pirates -- takes a flyer on Salazar.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 3:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (30)
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The past 24 hours has been something of a whirlwind, what with the Nick Markakis signing yesterday and the Roch Kubatko Roast at Rams Head Live last night, but the fun really never stops.

The Orioles made their signing of catcher Gregg Zaun official. We've all been speculating about this since, I think, May or June, so it's no great surprise. Be good to see Gregg again in February when pitchers and catchers report. He was fun to have around the first time.

Rick Dempsey, Gregg's uncle, was the Master of Ceremonies at the roast, and confirmed that Gregg is fired up to be coming back and helping to mentor Matt Wieters. We'll see how fired up he is when Dave Trembley starts giving Wieters some of his playing time, but we'll cross that bridge when the time comes.

In just a couple of hours, Nick Markakis will appear at a news conference in his honor at the Warehouse. I'll drop in a few comments here this afternoon and our baseball beat guys will give you a full report on the Web site and the print edition. Really, I'm just going there for the free soda and, if the Orioles really want to put on the dog, pretzels.

The roast was a blast. Roch took his beating in good humor and there was plenty of collateral damage, not all of it fit for a family newspaper Web site. I don't think Dempsey or Tom Matte are talking to me anymore. You know what they say: Comedy, especially when performed by amateurs, isn't pretty.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (16)
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Not that there was any doubt, but the Orioles have officially announced the six-year, $66.1 million contract extension that has made Nick Markakis the second-highest-paid Oriole ever in terms of total guaranteed money, and third-highest in terms of average annual salary. Only Albert Belle ($13 million) and Miguel Tejada ($12 million) made more per year than Markakis will make through the 2014 season.

The total may be a little high for this market, but it was important for the Orioles to lock up the guy who has a chance to be the face of the franchise for a long, long time, especially in light of the possibility that they will not be able to sign Brian Roberts.

The deal also has escalator clauses that could add $7.5 million, a limited no-trade clause and a two-way option for the 2015 season at a salary of $17.5 million. If the O's want out of the extra season, they have to pay Markakis a $2 million buyout, but he also will have the option of becoming a free agent after 2014.

If you're wondering what an escalator clause is, it's an incentive structure that increases a player's salary for the remaining years of the contract if he achieves certain goals -- in this case, All-Star appearances. And, since Markakis may be the club's biggest star through the duration of his contract -- and there has to be at least one representative from every team -- he figures to make his share of All-Star teams.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 5:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (33)
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Today's featured comment comes from Section 34, who isn't surprised the Orioles are still trying to finalize a spring training deal after all these years:

Section's take: Here's an area in which Peter Angelos has nobody to blame but himself. In fact, I'd like to see a Sun story detailing the Orioles' long, fruitless search for a spring-training facility. Why, when other teams are able to make deals all the time, are the Orioles still training in a facility the Yankees abandoned that's distant from almost every other team training in Florida?

My suspicion is that Angelos thinks he's such a hot-shot that he keeps making demands until the Florida town in question says, "Forget it." But I'd like to see a well-researched story on the topic.

My reply: Wouldn't take a lot of research. Back when Florida and Arizona were building facilities for everyone in the 1990s, the pre-Angelos Orioles backed away from a project in Naples because they couldn't find anyone to pay for the land in exchange for naming rights.

Since then, the O's have had a couple of opportunities that were eventually co-opted by other teams. The Orioles turned down half of that beautiful Jupiter complex and missed out on the Disney complex in Orlando because they wanted to get something in Fort Lauderdale. Then, when Fort Lauderdale started to look like it wouldn't be the best option, they spent a couple of years negotiating with West Palm Beach. That didn't work out, so they resumed with Fort Lauderdale, but ran into trouble when the FAA wouldn't commit to cheap rent forever.

In each case, the priorities were all wrong. It was always about where the team's minority owners had waterfront homes or where the fans might be most likely to visit. The last thing anybody seemed to care about was the best competitive interests of the team, which explains how the minor league camp has been a 2 1/2-hour drive from the major league camp all these years.

Now, they have three possibilities and two of the cities involved are already sick of negotiating with them. For 19 years, they've asked for too much or been too indecisive or just have been incompetent. So they end up with hand-me-downs from the Yankees and now maybe the Red Sox.

The bottom line, in my opinion: The aforementioned misplaced priorities and an ownership structure that makes it almost impossible to make a major deal because Peter Angelos and his sons are afraid somebody, somehow might take advantage of them, so they always have to make the deal too one-sided in their own direction to get an agreement. Maybe this time will finally be different.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (26)
Categories: Today's featured comment
        

Here's an article from the Fort Myers News-Press that seems to indicate that the Orioles are close to closing a long-term agreement to move their spring headquarters to City of Palms Park when the Red Sox move out in three years.

Don't know why I'm so skeptical of the optimistic comments from Lee County deputy manager Bill Hammond, who claims a deal is not done, but is "as close as you can get." Maybe it's because the Orioles seemed to have a deal with Vero Beach for the recently vacated Dodgertown facility and also fell out of negotiations with Sarasota for the former Cincinnati Reds camp.

If the Orioles made a deal with Fort Myers, they'll still have to train somewhere else in 2010 and 2011. They can extend their year-to-year agreement with Fort Lauderdale or move into one of the other vacated camps temporarily, but any option except Sarasota would also keep them in the disadvantageous-but-longstanding position of having their minor league players far removed from the major league facility.

The three-year window also creates the possibility of the Orioles coming up with a better offer between now and then, so the Lee County people had better have every "i" dotted and every "t" crossed or they might find out what Vero Beach already knows. The O's have never been afraid to pull out of a deal.

Keep in mind that the search for a permanent, all-purpose facility has only been going on for about 20 years now.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (11)
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My friend Roch Kubatko, who will be savagely roasted at Rams Head Live tomorrow night (tickets still available), reported a little while ago that the Orioles have designated Oscar Salazar for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster for catcher Gregg Zaun.

It's a curious move, considering the team has been seeking right-handed balance and Salazar just had a big winter league season. The guy has to go through waivers, so there's no guarantee the Orioles will be able to sign him to a minor league contract.

If I was a conspiracy theorist -- and who says I'm not -- I would be wondering if this move is an indication the O's are close to signing somebody like Ty Wigginton. Otherwise, I -- like Roch -- would have suspected that one of the many marginal pitchers on the roster would have been designated instead. Stay tuned.

One more selfless plug: I'm going to be wicked funny tomorrow night at the roast and you can come down for a mere 25 bucks and hang out with me and Roch and even some real sports celebrities. To buy tickets from the Cool Kids Campaign, email Sharon Perfetti at SPerfetti@comcast.net or go to the Rams Head Live website.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (25)
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Orioles outfielder Luke Scott is probably pretty happy with his nearly $2 million raise today, but he clearly has some reservations about being a full-time designated hitter. Let me put his mind at ease.

While I believe the plan calls for Felix Pie to get the Adam Jones treatment this year -- a full-time role in the outfield no matter how he swings the bat -- Scott might have gotten fewer at-bats overall if the O's had not acquired Pie.

Chances are, Ryan Freel would have played left field when the O's faced left-handed starting pitchers, and the 25-man roster likely would include one more right-handed hitter who might compete with Scott for the remaining DH at-bats. This way, Scott figures to be the full-time DH, especially if the team starts the season with a 13-man pitching staff.

I suppose if Dave Trembley goes with a 12-man staff, Lou Montanez could get some looks as a right-handed DH, but those lost at-bats would probably be offset by the limited number of games Scott still figures to play in the outfield. Either way, he is more likely to get his 500 at-bats in this scenario than the one in which the O's would have signed or traded for a more established right-handed hitter.

Associated Press photo

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 2:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (17)
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Here's the team-by-team list of major league players who hope to participate in the World Baseball Classic, compliments of MLB.com. Keep in mind, however, that not all of these players will end up on the final rosters of their various national teams.

I've broken out the Orioles list here. Go to the link for the players from the other clubs and some more specifics:

Costanzo, Mike (ITALY)
Fiorentino, Jeff (ITALY)
Flagello, Clifford (ITALY)
Guthrie, Jeremy (USA)
Izturis, Cesar (VEN)
Montanez, Lou (PR)
Mora, Melvin (VEN)
Ricardo, Dashenko (NED)
Roberts, Brian (USA)
Salazar, Oscar (VEN)
Sherrill, George (USA)

It's possible that none of the three O's candidates end up on the USA entry. There are 45 players on the USA roster right now, but it will be cut down to 28 before the tournament. Guthrie is considered something of a longshot because of the team's right-handed rotation depth and there are some top-flight closers who committed ahead of Sherrill. Roberts probably has the best chance to make the team.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 1:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
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Orioles beat writer Jeff Zrebiec just chimed in with the news that Luke Scott has agreed to a one-year contract worth $2.4 million, avoiding arbitration. That's nearly a $2 million raise over his $430,000 salary last year.

The O's have just two players remaining who are eligible for arbitration, George Sherrill and Nick Markakis, and Markakis is just a physical and signature away from a new six-year, $66.1 million contract.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 12:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (15)
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Here are some insights both from and about Orioles center fielder Adam Jones, compliments of Orioles beat reporter Jeff Zrebiec:

O's center fielder Adam Jones said he was excited when he heard about Nick Markakis’ imminent six-year, $66.1 million contract extension, simply because he felt that his teammate was deserving of the money and commitment shown by the Orioles, but said it didn’t even cross his mind how Markakis’ situation may affect his own.

Like Markakis, Jones is one of the key parts of the Orioles’ young nucleus and -- after Brian Roberts, of course -- is also viewed as the next logical Oriole in line for an extension, but that day is likely a good bit down the road for a player who doesn’t have two full years of service time yet.

"I’m not really thinking about anything like that," Jones said yesterday. "I’m just thinking about the upcoming season. All I can do is go into spring training with the same mindset that I’ve always had; just give it my all and try to improve. Our roster is a lot different than last year. I still think we can make some noise in the [American League] East. Honesty, I really do."

Jones hopes he’ll be a main reason why. He has spent the offseason working out at Athletes Performance Institute in Arizona – the same place where Roberts works out - and said that he has added significant muscle to his frame. Jones, who was listed at 210 pounds in the Orioles’ season wrapup media guide, says he is up to 235 pounds.

"I didn’t put on any fat," Jones said. "My body fat is still 10 percent. Working at API, that [stuff] is hard. I’m bigger and a lot stronger, too. I’ve been pushing myself, running the extra mile, running the extra sprint. This year is going to be a challenge. It’s the big leagues. But it’s going to be more comfortable than it was last year. I’m just excited. Whatever happens, happens. I want to do big things. That’s the name of the game. I want to help out the team any way I can."

One of the guys in Jones’ workout group at API is Brian Matusz, the Orioles first-round pick in this past year’s draft.

"He’s a great guy, a real nice dude," Jones said of Matusz. "And he’s getting strong as hell."

Associated Press photo

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (45)
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Here's a story from Saturday's Atlanta Journal-Constitution in which former Orioles pitching coach Leo Mazzone talks about the biggest mistake of his career -- bolting the Atlanta Braves to become pitching coach for the Orioles under old friend Sam Perlozzo.

Leo (left) shouldn't regret it too much. He made a lot of money here, including a real nice salary to take the 2008 season off. Now, it appears, he's trying to lay the groundwork for a return to the Braves.

Associated Press photo

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 2:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (116)
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Though the Orioles remain coy about the Nick Markakis contract negotiations, it appears that the deal is essentially done and awaiting Nick's arrival in Baltimore this week for a routine physical.

Why does he need a physical when his health wasn't an issue last year? Because the team has a right to make sure he didn't have a motorcycle accident or something during the offseason before it commits to what could be the second-largest guaranteed contract in club history. He'll likely be in midweek to see the team docs and have some kind of news conference as soon as everything is official.

It could be a busy week for the medical staff. Catcher Gregg Zaun is expected to undergo his physical on Tuesday. And the way things have been heating up the past few days, Andy MacPhail might be lining somebody up for Friday, too.

If team officials could have had their way, they would have held off on announcing the Felix Pie/Garrett Olson deal and commenting on the Markakis negotiations until early this week to steer clear of the Ravens big game last night against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Now, unfortunately for local football fans, the Orioles can take the stage for good.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (31)
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Jeff Zrebiec, the Orioles' beat writer for The Sun, spoke to Garrett Olson today. Here are his thoughts on the trade.

First reaction to trade: "It was a surprise. I didn’t look at anything online. I hadn’t been paying attention to any trade talks. I just tried to ignore that this offseason. I got the call from [Andy] MacPhail this morning and it did catch me by surprise. It kind of hit me strange. It is exciting, a new challenge. But part of me is also sad to be leaving. It’s like a family in Baltimore. It was always awesome to play there and I’ll never forget that. But I’m also forward to going to Chicago. They’re rich in tradition. I grew up watching games on WGN. It will be an adventure because I really don’t know anyone there."

On whether he thinks he still may be headed to San Diego in potential Jake Peavy deal: "I don’t believe in looking way ahead to see what the possibilities are. I really believe that whatever you’re given, that’s what you have. Right now, I plan on being a Cub. It’s out of my hands. That’s something that hasn’t been talked about. When I talked to [Cubs general manager] Jim Hendry today, that wasn’t an option. He didn’t even bring it up to me. If that’s going on, that’s up to them."

Were you surprised because Orioles have so much uncertainty in rotation: "It kind of hits you by surprise. I've been up and down the last year and a half. I figured I had a great chance to come in and contribute this year. But I’m sure it will work out better for both sides. I think [Felix] Pie was somebody Andy has been trying to get for a while and he had to sacrifice something. I understood that and didn’t take it to heart. I’m sure it will work out for both teams. Going to the Cubs, I realize that there aren’t as many opportunities in the rotation. I feel like I have to prove myself again. But either way, I’m ready to go. I see the pros and cons in both. I think it will be a good change."

Did you get enough of an opportunity as an Oriole: "I feel like I was given plenty of opportunities and I feel like I did what I could. I’m grateful for it. I’m very proud to say I put in time with the Orioles. It was an amazing time. I felt like it made me a better pitcher and person. I feel like this is a new chapter to my career. What I got from developing and growing up in that organization, I feel like I can use that always."

Associated Press photo

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (33)
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Before everybody starts talking about what a great season it was in spite of tonight's loss, I'm going to wallow in it for a minute. Cam Cameron's offense did very little and the defense had very little margin for error, yet it still may have come down to one very stupid personal foul that deprived them of a chance for a short drive and a lead-changing field goal in the waning minutes of the game.

Don't think that's much consolation for the Ravens fans who were dreaming about Tampa when the Ravens appeared to get the ball back at their 40-yard line after the second Willis McGahee touchdown.

Joe Flacco (and the rest of the team, for that matter) exceeded all expectations this year, but he's still got some growing to do, no matter how cool he looked for a rookie. The guy he has often been compared to, Ben Roethlisberger, showed how much experience counts.

The Ravens also need to come up with a big-play receiver by next season. Mark Clayton made some big plays this year, but all you had to do was watch Arizona's Larry Fitzgerald in the earlier game to see how one guy can make a huge difference. That's an extreme example, of course, since he and Cardinals QB Kurt Warner are borderline unconscious right now, but you've got to have someone to go up and get the ball when Flacco throws the ball up for grabs down-field.

That has to be a priority this offseason if the Ravens are going to build on their surprising 2008-09 performance.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (166)
Categories: Just football
        

Sun baseball writer Dan Connolly conducted a phone interview with Felix Pie this afternoon. Pie is still in the Dominican Republic. It’s been a struggle recently for Pie, whose mother died last Monday.

Reaction: "I am a little sad, because that’s my first team in Chicago. It’s gone now, I am traded to the Orioles and I am happy to be with the Orioles. I think it is a good decision for my career.

On knowing Orioles President Andy’s MacPhail interest: "I know Andy MacPhail from Chicago, from a long time ago. He called me and talked to me. He said he is happy I am now an Oriole and now I am going to have more opportunities."

On his knowledge of the O’s: "Whenever you have a new team you have to do your job, (but) it is a little easier for me (because) I know those guys. I don’t know anything about the Orioles. I know Andy MacPhail, the pitching coach and the manager a little bit and that’s a little easier for me."

On his opportunity as the starting left fielder (he’s only played three big league games in left field and he doesn’t think any in the minors): "It’s great. I think I am going to be OK in left field. I get an opportunity to play now. I’ll be in spring training and I know my situation and I’ll help my team win. "It will be a little hard. When you work hard every day, I think I will get it. I (will) work every day to take ground balls and fly balls from the machine and I think I’ll get it."

On any surprise that he was traded: "I’m not a bit surprised because I know there was not opportunities to play in Chicago. The outfield is full. I knew a trade (was possible). I did not know what team. I am happy to go to the Orioles and to play every day."

What went wrong in Chicago: "I had the opportunity to play every day in the minors and everybody knew me in the minors. In the big leagues, it was a little different. It was up and down and up and down, and I didn’t get a chance to show people that I can play every day and I can be a superstar. Now, I can show everybody what they’re getting from me. (With) the opportunity to play every day maybe I show I can be a superstar."

What O’s fans will see: "My energy, a young guy that will play hard every day and help my team win. I’ll go to the field every day and focus on playing every day."

How he describes his game: "I can bunt, I can run, I can steal a base and play defense and I can hit. Late in the game you need to steal a base, I can do that. I have a lot of things I can bring to the game. Now I can play every day and make adjustments."

The transition to another team: "It’s a little tough for me but I think I’ll be OK over there. Now I am an Oriole. I’ll go play with the Orioles and I’ll be fine over there."

On the Cubs: "This team needs to win, this team can’t wait to see if a guy can play and give him time. (The Orioles) can do that."

On Baltimore the town: "I don’t know anything about Baltimore. I think it can be a great team. I’ll go see."

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (40)
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The AFC Championship Game is just two hours away and I'm getting ready for some serious multimedia fun. I'll be on the Ravens pregame show on WBAL Radio (1090 AM) in about an hour -- doing my usual Reporters Roundtable with Steve Davis and Pete Gilbert, then will host a live chat on the Baltimore Sun site on Twitter throughout the game.

I'll also be blogging during and after the game (this may require more than two hands, so don't try it at home) before joining Davis to co-host the postgame show on WBAL. Of course, if you're a Ravens fan who is living out of radio range, you can log on to WBAL.com and click on the "Listen Live" icon.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 4:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
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The Orioles announced minutes ago that they have agreed to a deal with the Chicago Cubs that would send pitcher Garrett Olson and a minor league prospect to the Windy City for big-potential outfielder Felix Pie (left, standing). The trade was first reported by former Sun columnist Ken Rosenthal on the FoxSports.com.

It's not a total surprise. The O's discussed this kind of swap as part of a bigger deal involving San Diego pitching ace Jack Peavy earlier in the offseason, but Andy MacPhail seemed doubtful at the time that he could get it done as a stand-alone trade. The other player in the deal is Class-A pitcher Henry Williamson, a 23-year-old right-hander who was 2-6 with a 4.00 ERA as a starter and reliever in two low-level minor league seasons.

Makes a lot of sense for the O's. Pie, based on a conversation I had a few months ago with an O's official, probably will get the Adam Jones treatment. He figures to start every day in left field and get a chance to make good on his untapped talent. Luke Scott would move into the designated hitter role, pushing Aubrey Huff to first base full-time.

That would pretty much set the Orioles lineup going into spring training next month, since the O's are about to finalize the Gregg Zaun signing. It probably doesn't bode well for bubble outfielder Lou Montanez and bubble first baseman Oscar Salazar, but spring training lasts a long time and other dominoes could fall that would make them more viable, including a solid pitching acquisition that would allow the O's to go with a 12-man pitching staff.

Associated Press photo

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 2:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (78)
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The imminent signing of Nick Markakis to a six-year extension has, understandably, generated a lot of excitement among Orioles fans, but it has also generated dozens of comments with the same question:

What about Brian?

Will there be a similar news flash next week proclaiming that Brian Roberts has signed a long-term extension? Inquiring minds want to know, and they're pressing me for a prediction because I was boasting about being soooo right about the Markakis situation.

If I had to make a prediction on this situation, I'd say that Brian will not start the season with a new contract, but will start the season with the Orioles, because the market for him right now is pretty soft. The proof in that is free agent Orlando Hudson (left), who is basically Brian without all the stolen bases and is still waiting to be signed.

Why would anyone give up a package of young players for Brian, who has to be signed beyond this season? The same team could sign Hudson for less than Roberts wants without having to give up more than draft choice compensation.

Perhaps the market situation -- and maybe the Markakis extension -- will encourage Brian to re-sign here, but I suspect he'll report to spring training with the Orioles and play here until something happens that makes him more valuable in a trade, such as a key injury on a contending team.

For the record, I would like to be wrong this time. I believe the Orioles need to sign him to mollify the fan base and, more practically, to maintain solid up-the-middle defense for the sake of the young pitching staff.

Selfless plug: Like to see everyone come out to Rams Head Live for the Roch Kubatko Roast on Wednesday night. The roast, which promises to be a lot of fun at Roch's expense, starts at 8 and benefits the Cool Kids Campaign. For tickets, you can email Sharon Perfetti at Cool Kids (sperfetti@comcast.net) or go to the Rams Head Live website. I'll be taking my best shots at our old Baltimore Sun deserter and so will a lot of actual celebrities.

Associated Press photo

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 12:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (15)
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OK, everybody can now exhale. Take a look at Dan Connolly's story and read between the lines. (You won't even have to squint.) The six-year Nick Markakis contract extension is all but done and probably will be announced early next week, not that I'm the least bit surprised.

I told you over and over that the Orioles would sign Markakis to an extension this month, and nobody wanted to believe it. How many comments on this blog insisted that he was going to play through his three arbitration years and bolt the team when he became eligible for free agency?

Did I not tell you that the risk/reward equation for Nick made the likelihood of that happening very slim. The Orioles were offering $60 million for six years when both sides took a timeout in the negotiations. Many baseball people considered that number too high after American League MVP Dustin Pedroia signed an extension with the Red Sox worth almost $20 million less, but he's a special homegrown player and the Orioles really need him to be a happy camper for the next few years.

If you recall, I predicted that the thing would get done in late January and the guarantee would be $63 million. The talk is that the deal is worth about $65 million plus incentives. Not bad. Hope I'm as close with my Ravens prediction tomorrow.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (77)
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Good to see I'm not the only Baltimore Sun columnist getting under the skin of Steeler Nation. Kevin Cowherd took some light-hearted shots at Pittsburgh's famous Primanti Brothers sandwich, and one of the local Pittsburgh television stations fired back. Here's a link to the video.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 1:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (12)
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I'm pretty impressed with the response from Steelers fans to my good-natured (at least I thought so) entry poking fun at them and their city. For the record, I'm actually a big fan of Pittsburgh, particularly PNC Park, which has the most striking city views of any ballpark in the majors.

If you read to the end of the jokes, you could see that I was also poking a little fun at Baltimore at the same time, but passionate Pittsburgh supporters didn't see it that way. I'm just glad they took the time to chime in. Check out the comments, some of them -- on both sides -- are hilarious.

Steelers fans also made a solid early effort to hijack The Sun's poll asking if the Ravens will beat Pittsburgh tomorrow night. For awhile yesterday, the No's were carrying the day by a wide margin, but Ravens fans have stepped up to push the number of Yes votes into the 80 percent range. That's why I love this rivalry.

Schmuck media blitz: Tune in at noon today for The Peter Schmuck Show on WBAL (1090 AM) and WBAL.com. I'll also be part of pre and post-game coverage of the Ravens broadcast on the radio tomorrow and will be doing a live Twitter chat on the Baltimore Sun site during the AFC Championship Game.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (10)
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Here's a little more Orioles info from Jeff Z:

Orioles ace Jeremy Guthrie will be named next week to the provisional 45-man roster of the American team in the upcoming World Baseball Classic. Twenty eight of those players off that roster, including a mandatory 13 pitchers, will be named to the final U.S. roster, which will be set by Feb. 24.

It’s unlikely that Guthrie makes the final roster with right-handed starters Jake Peavy, Roy Oswalt and John Lackey having already committed to the club. But Guthrie acknowledged today that it’s nice to be even considered.

"Certainly it’s an honor," Guthrie said. "It’s great to be considered regardless of what happens."
The rest of the provisional roster will be announced on Monday. Shortstop Cesar Izturis and third baseman Melvin Mora are the only two Orioles who are expected to participate in the World Baseball Classic, which begins on March 5.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)
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Here's a guest entry from Orioles baseball writer Jeff Zrebiec:

The Orioles continue to have conversations with their three arbitration eligible players in hopes of reaching agreement on deals before both sides file salary figures on Tuesday.

Outfielders Nick Markakis and Luke Scott (right) and reliever George Sherrill all filed for arbitration on Thursday. Page Odle, Scott’s representative, said that he has been in negotiations with the Orioles on Scott’s 2009 contract.

"We had an offer from the Orioles on Tuesday and Luke has had me counter back with an offer [yesterday]," said Odle, who has been negotiating with Wayne Krivsky, special assistant to club president Andy MacPhail. "At this point, we’re having some pretty positive dialogue. I don’t know if anything is going to get done before exchanging numbers or even after exchanging, but we’re having some pretty positive conversations. I feel like they’re trying and I know we’re trying on our end. We’re just allowing this process to work itself out."

Odle said that he is also in discussions with the Orioles about another of his clients, free agent left-handed reliever Will Ohman. A member of the Atlanta Braves last season, Ohman, 31, went 4-1 with a 3.68 ERA in 83 appearances. Ohman, who held left-handers to a .200 average last season, is also receiving interest from the Braves, Arizona Diamondbacks, Cleveland Indians and Texas Rangers. He has two contract offers on the table, but the Orioles have yet to extend an offer.

"We’ve just been talking," Odle said of his conversations with the Orioles. "No offers have been made, but there is interest. We’re having meaningful conversations. They are staying in contact."

Getty Images

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 5:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (36)
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Of course, I'll be saving my best material for the Eagles fans at the Super Bowl, but I've got to get some things off my chest about the Steelers faithful. I mean, have you ever seen so many people who don't know the proper use of a towel. You'd think by now that somebody would have added a "Terrible Bar of Soap" to the ensemble.

Pittsburgh is a gritty town. I'm not sure I believe this, but somebody told me the city's official bird is soot.

I'll say this. Steelers fans have a reputation for traveling well. There are thousands of them for every road game. This should not come as a surprise. If you lived in Pittsburgh, wouldn't you find any excuse to dress up in dark clothing and sneak out of town? Think I'm joking? One of the big stories this week was that the mayor doesn't even use his real name.

There also seems to be a huge number of Steelers fans living in just about every major city, which says even more about their hometown. People used to joke that the city's marketing slogan was, "Cleveland, only better."

If Baltimore's motto used to be "Believe," Pittsburgh's should have been "I can't believe I'm still here."

C'mon, what kind of sports town can it be if all anybody cares about is the football team and the major league baseball team is a total joke. Oops, never mind.

Confidential to Steelers fans: I'm awaiting your Baltimore rips, but nobody gets on the blog if the post includes any variation of "You're a Schmuck" or "Your name really fits." Not because I'm sensitive -- I'm not -- but because readers of The Schmuck Stops Here, regardless of their fan affiliation or hometown, are way more clever than that. Bring it, but bring it good and I'll feature some of the best comebacks.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (196)
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The Orioles announced their spring training non-roster invitations today. I'm sure they arrived on very nice gold-embossed stationery and required an RSVP.

The pitchers: LHP Alberto Castillo, RHP Scott Chiasson, RHP Fredy Deza, RHP Brad Hennessy, RHP Ryan Keefer, RHP Andy Mitchell, RHP Chris Tillman and RHP Ross Wolf.

The catchers: Adam Donachie, Robby Hammock, Chad Moeller, Guillermo Quiroz, Jose Reyes, Guillermo Rodriguez and Matt Wieters.

The infielders: Craig Brazell, Jolbert Cabrera, Blake Davis, Chris Gomez, Donnie Murphy, Brandon Snyder and Justin Turner.

The outfielder: Justin Christian.

Fourteen of the 23 have previous major league experience. We'll have to wait and see how many have future major league experience.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (31)
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Whether the Ravens advance to the Super Bowl with a victory on Sunday night or lose to the Steelers and complete their surprising season, the team is requesting that fans do not try to meet them at BWI Airport or the Ravens facility when they return from Pittsburgh.

The team, bowing to a request from airport officials, will not come through the terminal upon their return, so the team is tentatively planning to have the buses stop at the Owings Mills Mall on the way back to the facility so fans can greet the team. Fans who wish to greet the team should assemble outside Boscov's department store (right off the Red Run Blvd. entrance to the mall), where a special area will be set up for that purpose.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 4:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
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Orioles reliever George Sherrill (right) has some experience playing alongside Japanese players from his time playing with Ichiro Suzuki and Kenji Johjima with the Seattle Mariners, and told Jeff Zrebiec that the arrival of Koji Uehara and his contingent of foreign media will add some excitement to spring training and the regular season.

"It’s going to have like a New York road clubhouse type of feel to it,'' Sherrill said. "I think it’s good that we’ll have spring training. Once that’s done and the season starts, you’ll be used to it, and it will be out of your mind and you will not think a second thought.

"Obviously [Uehara] doesn’t have the star following that Ichiro does, but just because [Japanese players] are so few and far between here, [the media] does follow them pretty heavy. He’ll have his little following. We had an interpreter for Johjima and for Ichiro as well and all the reporters that come through. But all in all, it wasn’t bad. It’s something you get used to. After a while, it’s like they're not even there."

Sherrill said that Uehara will fit in very quickly with the Orioles. There is a language barrier, of course, but the Japanese and American players get along well because they have baseball in common.

"They are accepted right away because they are part of the team, part of the family. It gets a little taxing at times talking through an interpreter, going back and forth. But having Ichiro and Johjiuma as teammates was incredible. Both of them are really good ball players and really good people. I didn’t learn a lot of Japanese words, but it was fun getting to know them."

Associated Press photo

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (15)
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Following the Koji Uehara news conference at Camden Yards yesterday, Andy MacPhail held court with a group of reporters and addressed a few of the issues facing the front office over the weeks leading up to the opening of spring training. One of those that seems to be of interest to a lot of posters on this blog is whether he'll consider a big bat such as Adam Dunn to anchor the offensive lineup.

He didn't specifically rule that out, but did not sound particularly interested in making a big expenditure on a veteran hitter (or pitcher) who might only be here for the developmental part of his rebuilding plan.

“There are some guys that while they may help you win a couple more games in 2009, are they really going to help you advance the goal in the big picture?" he said. "So that’s one of the things we have to balance.”

He continues to look for help at first base, but apparently not because of any reluctance to assign the position to Aubrey Huff.

"I am absolutely open to Aubrey being that guy,'' he said. "He has an interest in doing it. He had an outstanding season for us last year. We are fortunate we have that internal option. But it even goes beyond Aubrey being able to play first. He can play third and he can DH. We are not in no way shape or form relegating it to like we had to find a catcher. We did have to find a catcher. We don’t necessarily have to find a first baseman, because we have a perfectly, very attractive alternative in Huff. But there are a lot of moving pieces to that puzzle and we have time."

Associated Press photo

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (34)
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O's president of baseball ops Andy MacPhail was asked after today's news conference whether the team will continue to pursue pitching help in the free-agent market. His answer doesn't really clarify the situation much, but it does include his rationale for not going after several free agents to fill the openings in the starting rotation.

“We’re going to have to monitor the market and see what evolves now within a month of the reporting date for pitchers and catchers,'' he said. "We’re going to have to balance any veteran innings eaters with trying to find out about those young pitchers we had last year, whether it’d be Olson or Liz or Waters or whatever. So I don’t know that we are going to want to get so veteran-loaded that we preclude ourselves the opportunity to give some innings to those young guys who have been viewed as prospects here in the past.

“But at the same time, if things that make sense to you open up -- opportunities that might evolve in the market to reach its final stage -- we are obviously going to have to be very cognizant of that and balance the two.”

In other words, if a real solid option is still dangling out there when everybody is down to one-year, incentive-laden deals, the Orioles might try to swoop in and add another starter during the final weeks before the opening of training camp.

Catching up: MacPhail all but confirmed the O's are about to finalize a deal with free agent catcher Gregg Zaun, perhaps fulfilling a prophecy from Monday that something would happen very soon after the Koji Uehara news conference.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (35)
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There are only a few things I think are truly sacred. My faith, my family, Easy Cheese (of course) and the sanctity of a strange last name. That's why I'm up in arms over the decision by Pittsburgh mayor Luke Ravenstahl to ceremonially change his name to Luke Steelerstahl until after the AFC Championship game on Sunday.

I bet J.J. Putz would feel the same way if he ever decided to pronounce his own surname correctly. Distancing yourself from your heritage is, in my mind, a sign of poor character, so I'm shocked that a politician would choose to turn his back on his family to make political points with a bunch of grimy football fans.

When I say "grimy," I'm referring to Steelers fans, not football fans in general. Pittsburgh is a tough, gritty town, and the reason the football fans there wear black jerseys is so they won't show the dirt.

Mayor Ravenstahl issued a proclamation temporarily changing his name after he was taken to task by a local radio station for having Raven in it. I think Pittsburgh should just consider itself lucky that its mayor doesn't have more important personal issues to worry about.

Haven't heard what the two mayors are going to wager on Sunday's game, so all I can do is speculate. If the Ravens win, Ravenstahl would probably send some of those weird sandwiches with the french fries in them. If the Steelers win, I'm guessing we'll just give him something from Best Buy.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 5:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (14)
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Orioles public relations guy Jay Moskowitz sent out an e-mail giving the breakdown for the media and others attending the Koji Uehara media conference. There were 50 attendees and 25 of them were from the Japanese media.

There were 12 different Japanese media outlets represented, five local television stations (including MASN), nine print publications and one radio station. There also were representatives of Uehara's management company, American agent Mark Pieper, and representatives of the Embassy of Japan.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 3:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)
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The Koji Uehara news conference was an interesting event that showcased the 33-year-old Japanese star's sense of humor and allowed the Orioles an opportunity to make the most of a positive publicity day.

Uehara and his translator took questions from both the English-speaking and Japanese media, and Koji played off the back-and-forth by answering one Japanese question with a well-timed "Yes."

He explained that he's actually looking forward to less media coverage in Baltimore. The Yomiuri Giants are the Japanese equivalent of the Yankees, and the large media contingent there is very competitive. So, here's how he dealt with the issue of his relationship with the American media -- and I'm translating a bit loosely for comic effect.

"Are you going to come to my house?'' he said in Japanese. "If you don't come to my house, we'll get along just fine."

Andy MacPhail and the Orioles' director of international scouting, John Stockstill, also took part in the media conference and did some interviews afterward. I'll drop in a few comments from Andy in an upcoming post.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 2:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (17)
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The Orioles will hold an introductory media conference for newly signed Japanese pitcher Koji Uehara (now pronounced ooh-eh-hara) at noon today. I'm heading out to find a Japanese copy of Rosetta Stone and then I'll be there with my friends from the traveling Japanese media.

I'm not being sarcastic. I'm a big fan of the Japanese writers who basically live over here all season to cover their star players. It's been a pleasure to get to know some of them, and many have joined the Baseball Writers Association here. On nights Uehara pitches, I'm guessing there will be as many or more Japanese media members as those from Baltimore. Please welcome them to Charm City.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (19)
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Orioles closer George Sherrill already is throwing regularly and apparently experiencing no significant discomfort in the sore left shoulder that hampered him at the end of the 2008 season. He told Jeff Zrebiec yesterday that he's itching to get to Fort Lauderdale and get started.

"It’s been pretty positive," Sherrill said. "[This Monday] was my fifth day of playing catch [from about 120 feet], and it’s feeling pretty good. It doesn’t feel like I’m pressing or trying to force it to get it there. It feels pretty good, pretty strong. I’m looking forward to getting to spring training and getting some bullpens going. I’m a reliever. I don’t need too much time to get ready."

If both Sherrill and Chris Ray (reconstructive elbow surgery) are ready to go on Opening Day, manager Dave Trembley would have a decision to make, but Sherrill doesn't seem too worried about it either way.

"It’s going to depend on how I look, how he looks, that type of stuff," said Sherrill, who saved 31 games last year before being slowed by the shoulder soreness. "He’s coming off a whole year off, but before that, he was a hell of a closer. Whether I’m closing or whether I’m setting up Chris, it doesn’t matter to me. I’d obviously love to close, but I just want to win. I know he can do it. They have two pretty good options whatever way they go. I just think they need to name one. If it is me, and I’m not doing the job, then go with him."

The Orioles and Ray, by the way, avoided arbitration yesterday when Ray agreed to a one-year contract.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (28)
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Orioles beat writer Jeff Zrebiec was nice enough to spoon-feed me a couple of things today, so I'll pass them along to you. The Orioles remain interested in Ty Wigginton (right) as a possible option at first base, but he apparently is holding out for a multi-year deal and the club does not want to lock into more than one season. Still, he seems like the most logical free-agent option because he can also play other positions, so don't rule him out just yet.

There are other veteran free agent possibilities. The Orioles dallied with the agent for Richie Sexson, but Sexson no longer appears to be in serious consideration. Nomar Garciaparra also is out there, but the O's might be uneasy with his injury history.

And, while we're on the subject, keep in mind the team really would rather have somebody who can play somewhere else, too, since Aubrey Huff figures to get significant playing time at first.

The O's signed another player to a minor league contract. He's an outfielder named Justin Christian and he appeared in 24 games with the Yankees last year before being non-tendered. He had 40 at-bats and batted .250 with seven stolen bases in eight attempts. Sounds like he'll fit right in at Norfolk.

The O's did finalize that two-year contract with Koji Uehara, which means that he got through his physical without any of his limbs falling off. That reminds me of a scene from Monty Python and the Holy Grail but I'll leave that to your imagination. Either you saw it or you didn't, and if you didn't I wouldn't be able to do it justice.

Associated Press photo

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 1:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (80)
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There have been a number of questions on this blog and a lot of discussion on the various sports talk shows about the Hall of Fame selection process and, more specifically: How Jim Rice can be a Hall of Famer in his 15th try when he wasn't in the first 14? Thought I'd chime in, because it's a question HOF voters deal with every year.

I guess the best way to handle Rice (right) is to put his candidacy into a broader perspective. When he became eligible for the Hall 15 years ago, we lived in an entirely different baseball world. Rice's cumulative numbers were considered borderline -- even though the steroid era was just getting underway -- which probably explains why he didn't make it on the early ballots, and the landscape quickly turned hard against him.

The home run glut of the late 1990s and early 2000s dwarfed his power numbers. He hit 382 home runs in his 14-year career. There was a six-year period since then during which Sammy Sosa hit 332 and the 500-homer standard gave way to 600 as the benchmark for the modern slugger.

Of course, we all know now why that happened, and no one from the previous generation of big hitters should be penalized for the sins of the steroid scandal, which brings us to one of the first pre-steroid sluggers to get his numbers evaluated in their proper context. It's possible he even benefitted from the post-steroid sensitivity.

I still feel Rice was a borderline candidate -- and his 76 percent vote total probably confirms that -- but he was the scariest hitter in the game for a 10-year period, so I'm glad he finally got in.

Don't know if that answers the core question. If he is a Hall of Famer now, it's fair to ask why he wasn't a Hall of Famer on the first ballot. But the voting procedure was designed so that it's possible to see a bigger picture through the prism of history. Overall, I think the Baseball Writers Association of America has done a fantastic job over the years watching the gate at Cooperstown, and I've got no problem with the way this particular situation was handled by my fellow baseball writers.

Full disclosure: Of course, I'm probably prejudiced, since I was the national president of the BBWAA a couple of years ago.

Associated Press photo

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (23)
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The Orioles announced their minor league and international coaching assignments today, as well as some new scouting hires and promotions. Here's a quick rundown:

Norfolk Tides: Gary Allenson returns as manager. Mike Griffin moves up from Bowie to be the pitching coach. Dallas Williams returns as field coach.

Bowie BaySox: Brad Komminsk returns as manager. Larry McCall will serve as pitching coach. Moe Hill returns as field coach.

Frederick Keys: Richie Hebner returns as manager. J.D. Cannon returns as field coach. Kennie Steenstra moves up from Delmarva to serve as pitching coach.

Delmarva Shorebirds: Orlando Gomez will manage the club. Blaine Beatty will move over from Frederick to be the pitching coach. Ryan Minor will return as field coach.

Aberdeen Ironbirds: Gary Kendall will be back as manager. Scott McGregor will return as pitching coach. Cesar Devarez and Jesus Alfaro will be the field and bench coaches.

Bluefield O's: Einar Diaz will manage the rookie-level club. Troy Mattes will return as pitching coach and Jim Saul will return as field coach.

Gulf Coast O's: Ramon Sambo will manage the club and former O's pitcher Calvin Maduro will serve as pitching coach.

Dominican Summer League: The O's Dominican team will be managed by Miguel Jabalera. Robert Perez and Dionis Pascual will serve as pitching coaches. Benny Adames, Ramon Lubo and Francis Nunez will be the field coaches.

Minor league coordinators and instructors: Brian Graham returns as coordinator of instruction for the minor league system and Dave Schmidt is back as minor league pitching coordinator. Larry Jaster returns as minor league pitching coordinator for Florida operations and Julio Vinas returns for his fifth season as minor league hitting coordinator. The club's three roving instructors will again be Don Werner (catching), Butch Davis (outfield and baserunning), Denny Walling (hitting) and Alex Arias (infield). Len Johnston returns for his 18th year as minor league camp coordinator. Dave Walker returns as minor league medical coordinator. Joe Hogarty returns for his second year as minor league strength and conditioning coordinator. Jaime Rodriguez is back for his 36th season as minor league facilities coordinator. And the O's have added Manny Lopez as Latin American medical coordinator.

Scouting update: The Orioles have named Jim Thrift the club's new major league advance scout. Jim is the son of former O's GM Syd Thrift and has spent the last 15 years in the Cincinnati Reds organization. The O's also named former Cleveland Indians scout Matt Ruebel as the new national crosschecker and added Bobby Myrick to the professional scouting staff.

In addition, long-time O's scout Dean Albany has been promoted from amateur scout to regional crosschecker and the club has added Bob Szymkowski and Adrian Dorsey to their amateur scouting staff.

Last but not least, Tim Norris, Harvey Shapiro and Anibal Zayas have joined the team as part-time scouts.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (15)
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The Orioles have signed a couple more players to minor league contracts. Jolbert Cabrera, who is the brother of shortstop Orlando Cabrera, will compete with Donnie Murphy and Chris Gomez for a utility role and probably end up as Triple-A depth. Catcher Robby Hammock, who has spent all of this pro career with the Diamondbacks, has signed on to compete with Chad Moeller and Guillermo Quiroz for the backup role behind the plate.

The catching speculation presupposes that the Orioles sign a No. 1 guy, which figures to be Gregg Zaun and probably will get done some time after Wednesday's news conference at the Warehouse to introduce Japanese pitcher Koji Uehara.

Just want to remind everyone who is getting ready to write in and say how this is another example of the Orioles inability to sign good players that these are routine housekeeping moves that every team makes. The Dodgers signed 15 guys like this to minor league deals last week.

Former Oriole Jay Gibbons has signed a minor league deal with the Florida Marlins, which sets up an interesting situation. O's beat writer Jeff Zrebiec pointed out that since the Orioles and Marlins play each other a lot in spring training, the Orioles pitching staff could have a major impact on whether Gibbons gets back to the major leagues in April. I know he got caught with his hand in the cookie jar, but I like Jay and hope he does work his way back.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 4:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (38)
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Guess I'm back in the prediction business, since I correctly predicted Rickey Henderson and Jim Rice (right) would make it into the National Baseball Hall of Fame when the results of the election were announced at 2 p.m. today.

Wasn't exactly a stretch of the imagination. Rickey was a no-brainer and Rice's status as a borderline candidate probably had something to do with his horrible relationship with the baseball media during his playing career. In that case, time heals all wounds. I'm happy for him, though he was not a fun guy to be around in the 1980s.

To gain election, you have to be checked on 75 percent of the BBWAA ballots. Andre Dawson came relatively close again with 67 percent of the vote and Bert Blyleven was the only other candidate to be chosen on more than half the ballots (62 percent).

We'll see next year if they are able to get over the top the way Rice did this time. I would like to see both of them get in, but I still think Blyleven is the guy on the outside who most deserves to be in.

AP file photo

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 2:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (19)
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The results of this year's Hall of Fame election will be announced this afternoon, and you can bet the house that Rickey Henderson (left) will gain induction on his first ballot. Rickey is one of the greatest all-around players in the history of the game and he has the all-time records and cumulative numbers to be a 90-percenter.

I didn't vote for him, but that's only because The Baltimore Sun does not allow its employees to vote for postseason awards or for the Hall of Fame. I get a ballot every year and it makes nice reading or talkshow fodder, but it doesn't get sent back. That does not affect the voting percentages.*

The intrigue this year will be focused on the other deserving players who were on the ballot. This is the last year of eligibility for Jim Rice, who was one of the scariest hitters of his generation. And I always root for Bert Blyleven, who retired as one of the top strikeout pitchers in baseball history and came up just a handful of victories short of 300. He gets extra points from me because he was one of the funniest players I ever covered, but that doesn't do him a bit of good since I can't vote.

There are a handful of other players who could get close -- most notably Andre Dawson and recently overtaken all-time saves leader Lee Smith -- but I'm going to guess (and it's only a guess) that Rickey and Rice get in this time.

(*The reason some newspapers choose not to have their reporters vote is based on the notion that we should only report the news, not take part in making it. Since the major postseason sports awards and the Hall of Fame inductions are big news events, the idea is to stay at arm's length for the purpose of maintaining -- and projecting -- objectivity.)

AP photo

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (32)
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Japanese pitcher Koji Uehara landed at Dulles International Airport today and spoke briefly with a group of 25 Japanese reporters who were there to greet him. He made just a few comments after the 13-hour flight and, presumably, headed for Baltimore for his physical tomorrow.

One of the Japanese newspaper reporters passed along a comment from Uehara to Sun baseball writer Dan Connolly, who passed it along to me. Now I'm passing it along to you.

“I’m here for the medical check and to sign a contract,'' he said. "Thay’s my purpose. This is just a beginning. This is just a first step. I have to work hard to succeed now at this level."

It'll be a whirlwind week for Uehara, who flew in with his wife. He'll undergo the physical tomorrow and take part in a news conference at the warehouse on Wednesday. Then he's scheduled to fly home to Japan and hold a news conference there on Friday.

Unless the Orioles medical staff discovers that he's missing an arm or something, he'll report for spring training with the rest of the pitchers and catchers to the Orioles' Fort Lauderdale training facility on Feb. 14.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 5:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (20)
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Let's review: I picked the Giants to soundly defeat the Philadelphia Eagles today and you know how that turned out. Impressive performance by the Eagles defense. Solid game by Donovan McNabb (right). Bad call by me.

In my column today, I predicted that LaDainian Tomlinson would suck it up today and make a contribution against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He isn't even going to be active for the game. My crystal ball might as well be a bowling ball.

Though I thought Tomlinson would play and have a positive effect on the Chargers, I did pick the Steelers to win the game to set up a third head-to-head matchup of the year against the Ravens. Maybe that bodes well for the Chargers.

Getty Images

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 4:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
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There isn't a Ravens fan worth his or her purple salt who isn't going to be almost as interested in today's Steelers/Chargers showdown as the Ravens' 13-10 victory over the Tennessee Titans yesterday. I believe that makes seven victories in the last eight road games, by the way, which is a nice stat going into the AFC championship game a week from today.

Right now, however, it's time to make your choice for their next road stop. Do you want the Chargers to win today and set up a sun-and-fun showdown in sunny Southern California? Or head-to-head battle No. 3 this year between the Ravens and Steelers at Heinz Field?

Personally, I want the Steelers, even though they won both regular season games against the Ravens this year. Actually, not even though they won both regular season games, because they did. It's called unfinished business and the Ravens took care of some of that yesterday. It's also the thing unimaginative sportswriters like myself call "destiny." The road to the Super Bowl -- in my mind -- has to go through Pittsburgh.

Now it's time time for your thoughts. I'm going downstairs to watch the Giants dismantle the Eagles and fulfill their end of the bargain. They have to be in Tampa, too, in my perfect world.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (17)
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I suppose it's unfortunate that the Ravens' victory tonight will be viewed as tainted in Tennessee because of that highly questionable non-call when the play clock appeared to run out during the winning drive.

To be fair, I think the officials should have whistled the play dead, but it's not like the Ravens didn't have a few stupid ref tricks go against them during the regular season -- including that ticky-tack roughing penalty on Terrell Suggs that helped the Titans score their 13-10 regular-season victory at M&T Bank Stadium.

Guess what goes around really does come around, but I feel for the Titan fans tonight. Tennessee had a great season and overcame a lot to have the best regular-season record in the NFL. If I'm Kerry Collins, however, I'm probably pretty tired of losing big postseason games to the Ravens.

Collins did not play poorly. He moved the Titans up and down the field, but threw one interception and watched helplessly while teammates fumbled the ball away twice in the red zone.

The photo above is of a play that neither Ravens fans nor Titans fans enjoyed very much. Collins was brought down hard by Terrell Suggs, who sprained his shoulder on the play and missed the rest of the game.

Getty Images

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (44)
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The Orioles appear to be very close to agreeing to terms with free agent catcher Gregg Zaun on a one-year contract. Barring another team coming in with a late bid, they could finalize a deal early next week.

The Orioles already have signed free agent Chad Moeller, but Zaun would be the starter until top prospect Matt Wieters is ready to move into the lineup.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 5:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (42)
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Not exactly big news, but a source out of Japan passed along that new Orioles pitcher Koji Uehara is headed for Baltimore this weekend. He'll arrive tomorrow and take his physical on Monday. Gotta believe the Orioles will hold an introductory press conference later in the week.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 2:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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When the Orioles indicated that they would stand down in the pitching market after signing Japanese pitcher Koji Uehara to concentrate on their remaining position needs, I really didn't give it a whole lot of thought. But there's really no reason why a capable front office staff would have to compartmentalize like that. It's not as if you're talking to Gregg Zaun's agent 24 hours a day.

I don't want to give anybody too much credit, but when Brad Penny agreed to that one-year deal with the Red Sox, the thought crossed my mind that Andy MacPhail might have decided to lay in the weeds and see if the price of free agent pitching continues to drop. There is a pricing point where it makes sense to gamble on recently injured guys, and it's possible that the Orioles are keeping their powder dry.

It's also possible that MacPhail is just being true to the plan. He said at the outset that he prefered to develop or trade for pitching and fill holes with free agent position players. That's pretty much what he has done, though there are a lot of people -- including me -- who would like to see the Orioles step up and sign one quality run-producer to make the offense more exciting.

Radio, radio: Tune in today at noon for The Peter Schmuck Show. We'll be leading into the Ravens pregame show, so we'll be talking some football today. If you are outside of listening range, you can go to WBAL.com and click on the "Listen Live" icon.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (32)
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The signing of Chris Gomez to a minor league contract brings the Orioles' 25-man roster more into focus. Club sources have indicated that the team's lack of top-end pitching depth will likely force manager Dave Trembley to open the season with a 13-man pitching staff, which reduces his position options.

If that's how it plays out, and a lot can happen between now and early April, it would leave room for only three extra players -- probably newly acquired Ryan Freel, Gomez and whoever ends up being the No. 2 catcher. Since every starting position appears set except catcher and either first base or designated hitter, that would leave extra outfielder Lou Montanez and journeyman Oscar Salazar on the bubble -- or out of the major league picture if the O's end up signing a right-handed-hitting first baseman.

When the Orioles signed utilityman Donnie Murphy in November, he figured to make the club, but now he could be the odd man out with Gomez in the mix. Gomez's range at shortstop might be questionable at this point in his career, but he's a versatile player who will make a contribution at the plate. He's also a great clubhouse guy who was well-liked by the organization during his first go-round in Baltimore.

Debunking myself: Though I've speculated about the possible availability of Cleveland's Ryan Garko, a high-ranking industry source said this week that the Indians and Orioles have had absolutely no discussions about him.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 4:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (84)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Special thanks to Doug M. for forwarding me this story from Fort Myers, Fla., where the Orioles are working on yet another possible spring training site to replace the Fort Lauderdale facility they apparently will vacate after they break camp this spring.

Had a feeling it might come to this after negotiations ran aground in Sarasota and Vero Beach last month. The Red Sox are leaving City of Palms Park because its auxiliary fields are two miles from the ballpark.

If the O's take their place, they would essentially be doing the same thing they did when they moved into the old Yankee complex in Lauderdale -- taking another hand-me-down from one of the elite teams in their division. That said, the Fort Myers location would be a big improvement over the Orioles' current situation, with a much nicer stadium and three other teams (the Twins, Red Sox and Rays) nearby.

Lee County Commissioner Ray Judah claims that all the details could be worked out within 90 days, which is another way of saying he has no idea who he's dealing with. Like a lot of people who have spent the past couple of decades watching the Orioles stumble around Florida with their hand out, I'll believe it when I see it.

Radio dogma: Tune in at noon today for The Week in Review on WBAL (1090 AM) to hear me spar with Clarence Mitchell IV and and former Maryland first lady Kendel Erhlich over the issues and non-issues of the day. If you're not in listening range, go to WBAL.com and click on the "Listen Live" icon.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (40)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Still no official word on what role Mike Flanagan will play with the club this year. Sources have confirmed that he did have a sitdown recently with John Angelos to discuss his future, which could include a return to the broadcast booth as a member of MASN's Orioles crew. Mike's front office contract expired at the end of December.

Both Roch Kubatko and Dan Connolly beat me to the correct pronunciation of Koji Uehara's surname. It is, according to the Orioles, pronounced Way-a-hara. Glad that's settled.

Shortstop Juan Castro, who helped stabilize the Orioles' middle infield after the Luis Hernandez experiment went awry last year, was one of 15 free agent players signed to minor league contracts by the Dodgers this week and invited to major league spring training. That group includes another Japan-born pitcher who will be 34 on Opening Day, but his name is pronounced Steven Randolph.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 5:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (14)
Categories: Just baseball
        

New York Jets quarterback Brett Favre (left) isn't going to rush into his next retirement decision. He said this week that he's going to wait several weeks before informing the Jets whether he wants to play another season. Here's the ESPN.com version of the story.

That's great. The Jets don't even have a coach yet, so they don't really know whether they're going to need an aging quarterback who ran out of gas down the stretch and basically got the last coach (Eric Mangini) a new job in Cleveland.

What he also promised he isn't going to do is hold another tearful news conference that everyone can throw back in his face if he changes his mind again. I think that's a mistake. The one thing we still want to see him do is cry.

It's sort of like that hilarious Cheers episode where Norm gets promoted into a job where he has to fire people, but can't seem to do it without bursting into tears. When he finally gets control over his emotions, the employees who are getting fired start to demand that he cry during each of their termination meetings. I'm feeling the same way about Brett. How about you?

Getty Images

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 1:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (22)
Categories: Just football
        

Here's all we really know about the first base situation: The Orioles want a right-handed hitter or a switch-hitter to fill the opening at first base left by Kevin Millar, who apparently will not get the opportunity to fill it himself.

The Orioles are leaning away from Millar, even though he seems amenable to a part-time role and he's fun to have around. The free-agent names that have been afloat are Ty Wigginton, Richie Sexson and Rocco Baldelli, and club officials were not totally ruling out any of them yesterday, though it now appears Baldelli will sign with the Red Sox. There also are some interesting trade possibilities, including Cleveland's Ryan Garko or one of the Royals' first basemen -- either 22-year-old Billy Butler or 28-year-old project Ryan Shealy.

Several readers have written in to inquire about the possibility of the Orioles acquiring Nick Swisher, who appears to be extra baggage in New York now that the Yankees have brought in Mark Teixeira. The O's showed interest in Swisher before the Chicago White Sox dealt him to the Yankees, so it wouldn't be a surprise if they inquired about him again.

What would be a surprise would be a significant trade between two longtime division rivals, though it's possible the Yankees don't consider the O's enough of a threat right now to worry about a deal coming back to haunt them in the AL East standings. He's a switch-hitter who has averaged 25 home runs over the past four seasons, so he probably wouldn't come cheap if there is any chance of him coming here at all.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (93)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Just a hunch, but I'm getting the feeling that the Orioles are going to sign a veteran catcher in the next several days. I can't tell you exactly who that would be (or I'd have to kill you), but here's some video of the two top candidates -- in order of likelihood -- in case you haven't seen them lately:

GREGG ZAUN

IVAN RODRIGUEZ

YouTube

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (13)
Categories: Just baseball
        

The news that just-fired Jets coach Eric Mangini (left) already has agreed to a four-year deal to coach the Cleveland Browns was met with great enthusiasm in the home of Baltimore attorney Ron Shapiro, who happens to be Eric's father-in-law and now will have another excuse to hang around the Cleveland area.

Ron's son Mark (right), is the general manager of the Cleveland Indians, so the Shapiro extended family now is helping to steer two of Cleveland's three major professional sports franchises, and it doesn't stop there.

"A friend just called me and said, 'All you need now is the Cavaliers.'" Ron said. "We don't have an actual son there, but we're close. One of the assistants to (Cleveland Cavaliers general manager) Danny Ferry lived in our house for awhile. Mike Winger worked for me at the Shapiro Institute and when Danny took over the Cavs, he asked if he could have Mike. So we have all three teams covered."
Photos: AP and Getty Images

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 7:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
        

When Ravens offensive coordinator Cam Cameron was asked today if young quarterback Joe Flacco and the rest of the offense fully grasp his system yet, his answer was pretty interesting. He basically said "no" and that he doesn't expect them to ever have a total handle on it.

"It is ongoing,'' he said. "The system is never-ending. You never just know it. You are constantly learning."

That includes Cameron himself. He says the offensive scheme is more about evolution than creation.

"I don't have it mastered,'' he said. "Defenses don't allow you to master it, per se."

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Just football
        

New Orioles pitcher Koji Uehara spoke to a group of Japanese reporters yesterday and had this to say about apparently reaching a two-year deal with the Orioles:

"Right now the negotiations have reached a concluding phase. And they are still working on details. I have nothing more to say now."

Obviously, a man of few words, and you wouldn't understand them anyway. Can't wait for the introductory news conference. I hear Dave Trembley is out looking for the Japanese version of Rosetta Stone as we speak.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (35)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Finally, there is incontrovertible proof that Andy MacPhail and the members of his front office staff can walk and chew gum at the same time. MacPhail signed Mark Hendrickson during his Florida vacation and obviously kept negotiating with both of the Japanese pitchers in this year's free-agent market, finally getting Koji Uehara to agree to terms yesterday.

While the quest to sign a veteran catcher and a right-hand-hitting first baseman has moved up on the club's priority list, the O's also have been working the market to fill the utility infield role. The trade for Ryan Freel gave them added versatility, but club officials still feel they need a reserve infielder who is a dependable understudy at shortstop.

There was talk earlier in the offseason about former Oriole Jerry Hairston, but he reportedly just agreed to a deal with the Cincinnati Reds. The Orioles have had several conversations with the agent for our old friend Chris Gomez, but are concerned about his range at this point in his career. Willie Bloomquist might be another possibility.

The O's signed former Royals and A's utilityman Donnie Murphy to a minor league contract in November, but have not stopped pursuing a better option.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (56)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Now that the Orioles have signed Japanese pitcher Koji Uehara and journeyman Mark Hendrickson, they're expected to step up their pursuit of one of the remaining free agent catchers. Much of the speculation has centered around former Oriole Gregg Zaun, but Ivan Rodriguez apparently is not out of the question.

Have to admit I brushed off questions about I-Rod earlier in the offseason, but interest in him has been light enough that somebody may be able to sign him to a short deal. If that were the Orioles -- and that has been discussed -- they could conceivably bring him in to start the first half of the season, then move him to a contender in July and turn the position over to top prospect Matt Wieters.

The O's also still need a first baseman and could be interested in Shelly Duncan, who was designated for assignment by the Yankees today to make room on the club's 40-man roster for Mark Teixeira. Duncan is a right-handed hitter who had good power numbers in the minor leagues but appeared in only 57 games at the major league level over the past two seasons before becoming expendable.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (41)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Give some props to Sun baseball writer Dan Connolly for breaking the news that the Orioles have agreed to terms with Japanese right-hander Koji Uehara pending some contractual details and a physical.

I'm sure there is about to be a wave of criticism for this move, because Uehara struggled last year in Japan and even spent some time in the minor leagues, but there's way more to this acquisition than meets the stat sheet.

Frankly, I don't know if the guy is good enough to be a capable No. 3 or No. 4 starting pitcher, but the Orioles are finally trying to think outside the box. Uehara will be the first Asian-born player in O's major league history, but the point is for him not to be the last. The Orioles have had little presence on that side of the Pacific Rim and they needed to sign at least one of the two Japanese pitchers available this winter to establish Baltimore as a potential destination for future crossover players.

The Orioles had fallen way behind some other organizations in the scouting and acquisition of foreign talent, so Andy MacPhail created a new position for John Stockstill to try and close the international scouting gap. This is the first concrete step in that direction.

I have no idea how it's going to play out, but spring training just got a little more interesting.

Photo ID: If you were wondering, Uehara is on the far right of the accompanying photo receiving congratulations from teammates after closing out Japan's 6-1 victory over Taiwan in the Beijing Olympics last summer.

Getty Images

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 5:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (51)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Sounds like the Orioles won't be sending Brian Roberts to the White Sox for pitcher Gavin Floyd anytime soon, though that rumor seems to have more legs than the Rockettes. White Sox general manager Ken Williams made a statement yesterday through a spokesman that he hasn't talked to anyone from the Orioles about anything since November.

Though many O's fans think that Floyd would not represent fair value for BRob, the White Sox apparently feel that a 17-game winner with several years left under reserve is a pretty valuable commodity.

If they didn't, you'd think Williams would use the trade rumor as a pretext for contacting the Orioles to bat the idea around, since Roberts would be a nice fit in the White Sox lineup. Don't hear much about this coming from the warehouse either, but -- to be fair -- you'd be hearing even less if something was going on.

I haven't forgotten about the Mark Teixeira news conference in New York today. I'm just trying to block it out of my psyche. The guy didn't want to come back home to play in Baltimore -- except for the occasional three-game series -- so I've decided to just treat him like any other Yankee. Didn't write anything about the C.C. Sabathia/A.J. Burnett news conference either.

Isn't there a relevant NFL playoff game this week?

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 2:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (50)
Categories: Just baseball
        

I'm sure all of you share my sadness at the recent death of Alfred Shaheen, who was basically the Henry Ford of the Hawaiian shirt. Shaheen became the first manufacturer to mass produce the blousy and colorful shirts that became a post-war fashion statement and eventually the last sartorial refuge of millions of moon-shaped men like myself.

Here's a story about him from yesterday's Chicago Tribune. Shaheen (left) passed away at 86 on Dec. 22 in Southern California, hopefully still resplendent in a bright silk "Aloha" covered with tropical flowers.

Rest easy Alfred. Nice shirt.

Associated Press file photo

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (15)
        

Mike Flanagan was executive vice president of baseball operations until his contract expired at the end of the year, so it's fair to ask what he's going to be doing now. It's also fair to ask what exactly his role has been for the past year or so.

Nobody is willing to say anything publicly about this apparently sensitive situation, but sources have been telling us for a couple of months now that Flanny probably will return to the broadcast booth. Calls to Mike by O's baseball guys Jeff Zrebiec and Dan Connolly have not been returned, but sources said he's expected to meet with John Angelos soon to discuss new duties with the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network.

Hope Mike's okay with that, because I think a lot of Orioles fans will be. Mike does solid color commentary and conveys his pitching acumen well to the average viewer. I'd be surprised if the Orioles didn't want him to stay in the organization and I'd be just as surprised if he doesn't want to remain involved with the team on some level. Pretty sure, however, that's not going to be in a baseball operations role anymore.

Associated Press file photo

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 5:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (67)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Orioles pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report to training camp in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Feb. 14, which means the front office still has 40 days to figure out who exactly they are going to be.

That's still plenty of time for Andy MacPhail to fill some more holes in the starting rotation and sign another catcher, considering how slowly the free agent market has evolved this offseason. Most of the biggest names are gone, but dozens of free agents remain available and the O's just might end up in a position to pick up a bargain or two. Things should start heating up soon now that most baseball executives are back after the holidays.

Don't hold your breath waiting for Derek Lowe to see the light and decide that Baltimore is the place to be, but I've got to think that the Orioles either sign Japanese pitcher Kenshin Kawakami and/or reel in one of the Paul Byrd types. They are holding off on finalizing some minor league invitations to major league camp, so MacPhail obviously believes he'll be bringing in some more pitching from outside the organization.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (32)
Categories: Just baseball
        

The lines are out for the next round of the NFL playoffs and the Ravens are listed as a three-point underdog on the road against the Tennessee Titans. That's not surprising, considering the Ravens lost to the Titans at home during the regular season and the Titans are the top-seeded team in the AFC, but it doesn't mean all that much.

Considering that the home-field advantage is factored in at about three points and the Ravens are one of the best road teams in football, the game is something of a tossup from the perspective of the oddsmakers. It is the tightest line of the four Divisional Round games coming up this weekend,

In case you were wondering, the Giants are posted as a four-point favorite over the Eagles. The Steelers are a six-point favorite over the Chargers. The Carolina Panthers are the heaviest favorite, giving 10 points at home to the Arizona Cardinals.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)
Categories: Just football
        

In what must have seemed like an act of shameless self-promotion, I reminded everyone in my previous post that I called Ed Reed's two interceptions in The Baltimore Sun's midweek Ravens predictions. I meant the "personal pat on the back" as something of a joke, since I didn't get the score right and I wasn't exactly the Lone Ranger picking the Ravens this week. For that matter, it was no great act of clairvoyance to predict Reed's two interceptions, since he had two picks in each of the team's previous three victories.

The great thing about predictions is that nobody -- including me -- remembers them when they're wrong and everyone -- also including me -- is quick to remind you of the ones that are right. I didn't even remember my Wednesday prediction until somebody pointed out that Roch Kubatko predicted the same score (23-9) in his blog, but we both would have been pretty puffed up if the Ravens had settled for a field goal at the end instead of Joe Flacco's QB draw for a touchdown.

I'll try to do better next week.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (25)
Categories: Just football
        

The most impressive thing about today's 27-9 victory over the Dolphins was the five forced turnovers. The Ravens intercepted Chad Pennington four times and recovered a fumble against a team that had turned the ball over just 13 times during the regular season. The Dolphins led the NFL in fewest turnovers, but also lost the regular season game against the Ravens in part because of a pick six by Terrell Suggs.

The road doesn't get any easier. The Ravens now have a short week before facing the AFC's top seed, the Tennessee Titans, but they've proven week after week that they are not affected by the difficult logistics they have faced since losing their bye week early in the season.

Personal pat on the back dept.: If you go back to Wednesday and read the advance staff picks for today's Ravens game, you'll find I missed slightly on the score (23-9) but hit the nail right on the head with my prediction. If Ed Reed can just hold onto the ball after each of his two INTs, the Ravens should be able to win for the second time this year at Dolphin Stadium. If you don't believe me, you can check it out here.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 4:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (32)
Categories: Just football
        

Just as they did in the Cowboys game, the Ravens created their own adversity in the early minutes of today's playoff showdown with the Dolphins. Le'Ron McClain turned the ball over during a promising first drive and the Dolphins drove back to score the first points of the game on a 19-yard field goal.

But that drive was a harbinger of things to come. The Dolphins had a second-and-goal at the Ravens 1-yard line and failed to get in. The defense took over at that point and got a pair of interceptions, the second returned for a touchdown by Ed Reed, who was nice enough to hold onto the ball for the entire run.

Time for kickoff. See you after the game.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 2:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Just football
        

There were a lot of people who already had the Indianapolis Colts in the Super Bowl, but they went one and out last night in a first-round playoff game the San Diego Chargers seemed determined to lose until the final minutes of regulation.

When Darren Sproles fumbled the ball into the end zone from the 2-yard line in the third quarter and quarterback Philip Rivers followed with a disastrous end zone interception on the ensuring possession, I was sure the Colts had dodged enough bullets to get them all the way to Tampa. Instead, the Chargers made a great defensive stand deep in Colts territory with two minutes to go in the final period and drove back for a game-tying field goal to send the game into overtime.

Which, of course, led to the most decisive play of their season -- the overtime coin toss. The Chargers won it and took advantage of a couple of Colts penalties to get in position for Sproles to sprint 22 yards for the game-winning score.

The Ravens aren't looking beyond today's first-round matchup against the Dolphins, but I doubt any of them are heartbroken that the Colts are out of the picture.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 7:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (19)
Categories: Just football
        

I've waited a respectable amount of time before commenting on the report that the Orioles and White Sox have talked about a deal involving Brian Roberts and Gavin Floyd. That's not because I don't believe that those conversations occurred. Roch Kubatko reported it in his blog at MASNSports.com and I don't have any corroborating information, so it was only fair to let him go to town with it.

If there turns out to be any fire under that smoke, I'd be all for it. It's becoming more and more apparent that Brian wants to go somewhere he can win sooner rather than later, and the Orioles need starting pitchers. Floyd is coming off a 17-win season and he's another local guy, which magnifies the attraction.

Still, all the talk that the Orioles need to get somebody else in the deal is a little far-fetched. Even if you don't like the stats underneath Floyd's won-loss record, he's a former high first-round draft choice who won 17 games for a good team while Roberts -- barring a quick contract extension -- can only be valued as a one-year rental. If I'm the White Sox, I don't make that deal straight up. I also need a prospect and a decent one at that. If the O's want an infielder, then it would have to be expanded further.

Now, for the really bad news. Even if those talks were very advanced, the deal would remain a longshot because of the contract considerations. The White Sox still would have to have some real hope of re-signing Roberts to make the trade, which means they'd probably want a window to try and get him to sign long-term or some future consideration if he doesn't. That kind of thing gets done once in a great while, but it's very complicated so the deal almost always evaporates.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 12:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (73)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Today's featured comment comes from Shoreman, who agrees with me that the current BCS system ought to remove the C from the acronym so there would be truth in advertising:

Shoreman's take: Pete, I'm in favor of a playoff system also. But how is an eight-team system going to work? There are 11 conferences and 4 independents at this level in college. Some proposals want to use the top eight BCS teams. Under that system you might get as many as 4 teams from one conference. To me the BCS ranking system is part of the problem and should not be part of the solution. Others propose using the 6 conference champions from the BcS conferences and 2 at larges. (Pac10, Big 12, Big 10, SEC, ACC and Big East). This could leave conference champions from the other 5 conferences out of the playoffs. Since UTAH plays in the Mountain West, they might not get in. I think its going to take aleast a 12 game playoff with 11 conference champions and one at large bid. This would take 4 rounds with 4 teams getting a 1st round bye. It could easily be expanded to 16 teams and eliminate the byes. I think an 8-eam system would only lead to a 12 or 16-eam system. I like that system but what do think?

Pete's reply: I think we all have to accept the fact that no matter how many teams are involved, there will be controversy on the fringe. If it was eight teams this year, there would still be a Boise State-type team sitting at No. 9. I think eight is the most workable number if you want to keep some of the traditional bowls, and I would still go with some kind of poll formula since the point is to end up determining the best team, not the best of the conference champions. I would also prefer just going back to a straight Bowl-and-Poll system to what we have now.

Radio Somewhere: Apologies for the upside-down Springsteen reference, but I'll do whatever it takes to get you to tune in to The Peter Schmuck Show on WBAL today at noon. It is, after all, the only mainstream radio talkshow in America with Schmuck in the title, which should count for something. If you're not in listening range, go to WBAL.com and click on the "Listen Live" icon. We get calls from all over the country, so don't be shy.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)
Categories: Today's featured comment
        

Undefeated Utah put a solid beating on No. 4 Alabama last night and became the latest team from a non-BCS conference to poke a big embarrassing hole in the BCS system. Don't know how, if you're the NCAA, you can defend the status quo when the only remaining undefeated team in Division I is not even under consideration for the national championship.

Say what you want about the schedule Utah (13-0) played this year, they just spanked the team that was ranked No. 1 in the AP Top 25, USA Today Coaches Poll and the BCS rankings for five of the final six weeks of the college football season.

If this isn't the best argument yet for an eight-team playoff to determine an undisputed national champion, please write and tell me what is or why not.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (17)
Categories: Just football
        

There is a report circulating that the Orioles have made their final offer to Japanese pitcher Kenshin Kawakami. Several days ago, a Japanese network reported that the O's were concerned about the health of Kawakami's shoulder and had offered agent Dan Evans a take-it-or-leave-it, incentive-laden contract.

Though it all sounds plausible, industry sources have indicated that there is little substance to the report, and there also appears to be little logic to support it. Andy MacPhail has no history of negotiating that way, and there hasn't been a whisper out of the O's front office that Kawakami is viewed by the club an injury risk. There also, however, is no indication that the club is on the verge of signing him.

Depending on the price, Kawakami still makes sense for the Orioles for a variety of reasons, including the simple necessity of identifying the club as a possible destination for future players coming out of Japan.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 4:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (37)
Categories: Just baseball
        

If you can't imagine going the whole afternoon without a dose of my peculiar wisdom, join me and Clarence Mitchell IV at noon for The Week in Review on WBAL (1090 AM). If you're out of listening range, go to WBAL.com and click on the "Listen Live" icon.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)
Categories: Schmuck being Schmuck
        

So, New Years Day is over and there still is one more full week of college football bowl action. I recently re-read The Federalist Papers and I just don't think this is what the founding fathers had in mind.

My college football season officially ended at halftime of the Rose Bowl. Southern Cal was up 31-7 and appeared to be poised to make an end run at the Associated Press national championship, but the Trojans let up on the gas in the second half and Penn State salvaged some self-respect by closing the gap to just 14 points in the final minutes.

Now, we have to wait until next Thursday to find out who will win the BCS title, which is fine since I really don't care whether it's Florida or Oklahoma. I just hope they quit moving the championship game back before it butts into spring training.

In a perfect world, they would have some kind of playoff system, but in a perfect world, Mark Teixeira would be an Oriole, Willis McGahee would have a sock in his mouth and the Yankees would have to sell Alex Rodriguez to pay for their new stadium.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)
Categories: Schmuck being Schmuck
        

If you read the "Rewind 2008" feature in today's Sun sports section, you know that my most memorable in-person moment of the year was the congressional hearing on Feb. 13 in which Roger Clemens made a desperate attempt to save his allegedly steroid-tarnished reputation.

The interaction between Clemens and personal trainer/accuser Brian McNamee left you to decide who was telling the truth. I left there thinking both of them were sleazy and wondering if anyone -- including the requisite grandstanding legislators who embarrassed themselves by turning a baseball hearing into a political football -- was really interested in the truth.

Here's my column from that day.

Now it's your turn. What was your most memorable sports moment of 2008, and I'll make it a little easier. You didn't have to be there.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (30)
Categories: Schmuck being Schmuck