Good for Jake. Best of luck to him this year. Olympics must be quite a experience.

Pete -

This is way off topic, but has there been any talk of the O's signing Pedro Martinez?

He can't cost too much after a few years of injuries and mediocrity, and those two things may be reason enough to avoid him, but another live arm in the race for the rotation can't hurt.

And who knows... If the O's sign him, maybe Pedro finds a bit of his old form and proves to be a solid stopgap before Arrieta, Tillman and Matusz hit Baltimore.

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Pete's reply: I've never heard his name here.

Jake made the right choice. He's going to be in the majors at some point in his career (probably 2010 or 2011), but will he ever get the chance to participate in the Olympics again? Probably not.

Look,this is a throw away year anyway,why not just let the kids fill out the rotaion and gain experience going forward.Everybody wants to praise all of McPhail's look busy moves this off season but he didn't get any quality players except Wiggy and even that a stretch.We could have had Abreu in LF with 90 RBI's but instead scraped the bargain bin for Pie.

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Pete's reply: How do you figure "we could have had Abreu?" The guy signed with one of the best teams in the league. I suppose if the Orioles had offered him $15 million per year, they could have had him, but obviously he wasn't worth that.

Pete,

Quick a couple of things:

First when all this Michael Phelps thing started I ask for some Baltimore sports writer to stand up for this wonderful hard working national treasure. You all stood up like wimps and let the man young man down. Maybe your job would be on the line, and that makes it understandable. But still not right. Rush Limbaugh takes straight herion in pill form with illegal prescriptions and is still on national networks spouting off his hate. It's not right. Stand up for this kid. He has broken no laws. Rush should be serving 5 to 10. No more Kelloggs in my house.

And #2

Ravens please get the contract to Michael Vick. Can you imagine the Ravens and M&T stadium with Vick at Q-B. You can pick him up for a song. He is another one who got screwed by our backstabbing whistleblowing system known United States of America.

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Pete's reply: Well, first off, I wrote a couple of columns standing up for Phelps, so I guess you don't read me very often. Second, he did break a law if he smoked marijuana in South Carolina. And, third, if you think Michael Vick got railroaded after he beat and tortured several animals, we don't have much more to talk about.

John,

Please explain to me how adding a 34 yr old OF at the latter stages of his career helps this team in the long run. Look I get the guy can hit, no one is questioning that. But this team really isn't ready to make a move yet. Rebuilding teams look to the future. And let's face it, if you are going to a chance on a player like Pie, now's the time. If Pie fails, we fall out of last place? If the light goes on for this kid, then adding him over Abreu is a smart move. And let's face it, guys like Abreu aren't taking discounted deals to spend the end of their career trolling the bottom of the division. Pet's right, he was never going to consider coming here, and the O's were correct to steer away from chasing down players with little interest to come here.

How can ANYONE defend Vicks despicable behavior . There is nothing more cowardly than harming defenseless animals. Before someone spouts off about pit bulls, if they are raised in a good home, they are no more likely to harm anyone than a golden retriever and that is a statistical fact

Pete, can you do us all a favor? When clowns like "John" post garbage somehow justifying Vick and then try to rationalize other illegal behavior, can you please just not post it? It is highly offensive to people who have morals

Hi Pete,

I didn't expect such a sharp reply. But that's ok; lets go from the top. I do read your columns and you half assed it in Michael's defense. Although you did stand taller than the rest. Like I said your job might be on the line if you went any further. Second you say he broke the law "IF" he smoked... "If its and buts were candy and nuts what a wonderful world it would be".... Well "if" is not breaking the law. And 3rd, yes Michael Vick made a terrible mistake and should have been punished. But to destroy a college educated, football playing, millions of dollars making, and tax paying citizen seem a bit extreme. Vick could have served the youth of America much better from outside the prision walls while servng his sentence. Also I see you ignored the rush Limbaugh comparsion. On that I am puzzled. Keep up the good work. Your a good guy. I have read your columns since you arrived. Vince, Steadman etc. before you.

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Pete's reply: I'm not sure what I was supposed to say to support Michael other than noting that people are condemning him for acted like hundreds of thousands of other 23-year-olds. We're you asking me to come out in full support of smoking marijuana? And there's no "if" here. Michael copped to it. What he did was illegal. Let's not be ridiculous about that. As far as my job is concerned, why would what I write about Michael have anything to do with my job? Did he buy the paper while I was away? Don't know the relevance of the Rush Limbaugh thing. He did wrong, but I don't think getting hooked on pain medication is quite in the same ballpark as torturing and killing animals. It is, however, worse than getting photographed with a bong, if that's what you're getting at. I'm not mad, but you're all over the place here.

Ahhh, I just feel so sad about Michael Phelps. He's trained so hard for so long, and has earned all his success. And of course he is one of our own. I am sure he will land on his feet. Thanks for the feedback.
I still think with our current coaching staff Michael Vick is a exciting possibility.

Ahhh, I just feel so sad about Michael Phelps. He's trained so hard for so long, and has earned all his success. And of course he is one of our own. I am sure he will land on his feet. Thanks for the feedback.
I still think with our current coaching staff Michael Vick is a exciting possibility.

what do Phelps & Vick have to w/baseball. Limbaugh? For crying out loud. Chastise the radio guys on the radio! Pete`s avaiable there. O.C. Scott you are a Putz. Maybe the stimulus? bill can rehab your guy Vick
Didn`t expect such a sharp reply? Good lord!!!!