Pete
I just curious to see if Owner Angelos and GM MacPhail have seen the message that the empty seats have sent them OR

if their heads are still buried in the sand

MacPhail has given me confidence that the team is on the right track and has made me interested in following the team closely.

I'm excited that the rotation could be:
Bedard
Guthrie
Bergesen
Tillman
Matusz

This would be a pretty strong rotation (with lots of promise) if healthy.

I think people recognize that there is a plan. People like a plan. We don't know if it will deliver any hardware, but it gives us hope.

Incidentally, I think if they can have a .500 season in 2010 the attendance will come rocketing back in 2011. People miss Camden Yards, but the on field product has been downright depressing until recently.

Pete,
It's because this is more exciting than the actual games. Trades and FA signings are the only things that we have a chance at winning. If we have enough wins in the Hot Stove league, eventually the games may be worth watching!

Pete,
Being an Orioles fan since birth, and after witnessing the greatness of the late 90s (I'm 28), I have hope. The offseason has recently been the only time that I have hope. I hope we can land a big free agent. I hope that we can get involved in a trade that actually works in the O's favor. I hope that our prospects actually help the major league club. So I, like many other people, are glued to the winter meetings this year because we have hope. We do care. I just HOPE that this year I still care when Ravens' training camp begins.

I have lived in Maryland my entire life and have always been an O's fan. I am just hoping that we pull the trigger on some deals this year instead of letting the guys walk like we have been for the last almost 5!

I think that O's fans are some of the most loyal fans you will find in any town or any sport. Granted we might not show up at the yard in September when we are losing 80-90 games a year but all you need is to breath some life into the team and get a winning attitude going for the people to start flocking to the yard. Andy McPhail's plan has been playing out and the fans and national media see that something special is on the verge in Baltimore and it will take a few more right decisions but we are getting closer to the light at the end of the tunnel. We have a nucleus of pitchers as well as a solid catcher, 2nd baseman and, maybe the best young outfield in baseball.

We are still here and we are hungry for something to cheer about.

Not to burst the bubble, but I keep thinking of how people slow down because they can't help but look at a horrific car wreck...

"...count the consecutive losing seasons on the fingers of two hands." Haha...good one....

Now lets gets some help before I have to use up both of my feet..... :)

O's Fan FOREVER!

Prior to leaving Baltimore, I was at 10-20 games a year. Now that I live in Indiana, I have convinced my wife to allow me to get the games on DirecTV. I also try to get to games here in Chicago each year. I have always been an O's fan and will be so. If I lived closer I would probably have tickets to the games.

I am excited to see that the O's are making moves that will make the team better. I like the prospects of having Bedard back and getting Millwood or Lowe and Soraino. I think that this team is well on the way. While PA has been a thorn in most O's fans side for a while, I like that he has handed the reins over to AM. I think that we are well on our way.

Just for the record - I'm mentally engaged about dem O's and I showed up at OPACY 16 times last year. The kicker, I went 12-4 in those games.

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Pete's reply: Can you pitch?

100 Ls this season

I'm deployed to Afghanistan and I still check this blog every single day for updates. I sleep on an Orioles pillow my sister made for me before deploying. Yes, I still care.

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Pete's reply: And we are glad you do. Thanks for being there.

When I first became an Orioles fan, they won EVERY year, so I guess I'm just naturally optimistic that they can win again.

For the first time in years, the Birds have a true core of talented young players, so this offseason is one of the most critical in a long time. If AM can add the right pieces, this team can really start to come together in 2010 and can be very good in the foreseeable future. I think that's why there's so much interest in the hot stove.

I'm sure a statistical analysis will show that website hits increase with every Ravens loss. If the Mighty Men in purple drop one to the Lions on Sunday, look for Pete's blog to be filled with cry to accelerate pitcher/catcher report date to December 26.

Dear Peter

Could Andy have more money for Christmas the team really needs it. We don't wanna be a doormat to the rest of the league. Please help us out as us fans our due for a more competitive team.
Thank you

let's hope that this wave of interest will spur the mgmt team into making one of those deals into a reality.

Fans can turn up or down in a flash and the disappointment of no news can have a big impact on (season) ticket sales.

weather it is Hernandez or C Ray for Millwood, whichever the O's believe has a lower upside or less impact on the team. Or some deal for Kazu or Soriano, or any one of the other big holes in the O's lineup.

to preserve and utilize this good vibe a deal is a must, and soon.

It is as simple as "If you build it, they will come".

The offseason is when you can build a winner. Put a winner on the field, and the stands will look like Opening Day through out the entire season.

I live in Berkeley, Ca (Oakland) and go to all the O's visiting games and one or two v the Angels and Mariners every year but certainly can understand why Balmur fans would choose to go down the Ocean or do various other things w their money. Yes, Andy is doing a bang up job but the team more closely resembles a good minor league team than even a mediocre major league one and without a real commitment this off season, meaning the addition of a bonafide top of the rotation guy, or two (Millwood and Bedard would be just fine by me) or (Vasquez and Millwood), plus a bonafide, proven, right handed slugger, not Delgado, he's busted and left handed (look at our record v lefties, ATROCIOUS!) plus a solid third basemen, Pedro Feliz will suffice though he has major holes in his swing, plus a closer... yeah, that's asking alot, but we need alot. Unless these players materialize in Oriole Orange and Black then this team will continue to be whack. Need I remind you, thru Oakland last summer a bunch of beleagured, dead dogs, starting a journeymen third basemen at 2nd in place of a tired BRob, a waiver wire minor leaguer at first base and a rushed rookie behind the plate. I watched Matt holiday hit the farthest ball ever hit here (which is quite a feat considering the bash bro days) off our supposed Ace, who belongs more in the 3 spot of a rotation, I could go on, but ya'll know the story. We got swepted miserably by a team outfitted just a little better than us. It was ugly and the body language of the team told the whole story before the first ball got jacked. WE AIN'T EVEN TRYING to WIN! So why expect fans to pay to see an inferior product?

James C.,

The Millwood deal is an example of how deliberate Macphail is and how thorough a Lawyer Angelos is.

In additon to Millwood taking a physical at the Mayo Clinic, Peter has requested a complete background check, fingerprints, TSA clearance, Dental records, his facebook password,his elementary school immunization records, and the five favs on his cell phone.

You never can be too sure.

I have to give you a great deal of credit, because you know just what to write when you want to stir up interest in your column. I take it as a compliment to all the fans like me who constantly complain about the lack of movement by andy.Even with all our many differences i never have said that you weren't shrewd, point being your 30 some years in the business.

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Pete's reply: Shrewd? I like the sound of that.

can't wait for a big year out of Mauer with Power and Ken Griffey Jr Jr in centerfield.

It can only get better this year.

should change my screen name from SHAMROCK to ETERNAL OPTIMIST

Peter, thank you for all the hard work. Good to see some excitement in the O's fan base! It would be nice to grab a couple pitching vets to help us next season and maybe get Soriano from Atlanta?? Who knows maybe our offense gets better and the vets surprise us and there is some excitement in the sunmer months!!

SHAMROCK,

Let me guess, today is your company's Christmas Party.

Gil...

things have to get better, don't they?

no chirstmas party , but I am pretty tired today, maybe that is taking its toll

ETERNAL OPTIMIST,

I suppose you are right. Losing 98 games again would be pretty hard to do.

It is depressing that I am 20 years ols and can't remember the last time my O's had a winning season, but I/we keep coming back for more. If you love the O's you love the O's, regardless of their record.

Pete -

Between winter meetings and spring training, we get excited, giddy like a child awaiting Santa Claus bringing a new train set.

Opening Day through May, we're hopeful. Grass is growing, birds are chirping, beers are cold and glad they are.

Come June, the reality of being 12 games under .500 will sink in and we'll all be complaining to you about why Radhames Liz's 3.85 ERA with San Diego is proof that the MacPhail plan is not working.

By September, we're hot all the time, crabs are sparse so the price is too high, and the O's are 20 games out of it. We start talking to you about the Ravens making the playoffs.

Which brings us to now. The Ravens appear out of the playoffs, Santa can't afford a train set, so we hang our hopes on Millwood!

One man's mental engagement is another man's insanity.

I have been a die hard O's fan all my life. I used to go to games 3-4 times a year growing up and now that I attend a local college I go to 15-20 games a year and watch almost every game on TV. I believe in Andy and we are moving in the right direction
LET'S GO O"S!!!

Baseball is the perfect sport for optimists. Even though it's the proverbial "game of failure," just the fact that you can't run out the clock, take a knee, stall at the end of games makes spectacular comebacks possible, not just in one game, but for a season. "Hope springs eternal in each human breast" is that great line from "Casey at the Bat," the best sports poem ever penned. So, Bird fans, get excited, be vigilant, hope for some deals to keep the flames flickering. A small flicker may turn in to a roaring conflagration!!

Go O's!!

Gil,

I think you're on to something. The lack of marquee free agents could be tied to the mandatory body cavity search that's part of that package as well.