whatever... people in PA are all related. There are basically 6 last names and 6 spelling variations of each.

the Commonwealth is 20 year behind the times.

PA'nians also ask statements and state questions. "Going out tonight. instead of "Going out tonight?

people engage their turn signals as they begin to turn and the coppers think they are all TJ Hooker/Miami Vice.

Pittsburgh is also located in PA. that is actually strike 1 and 2!

And yes, I am qualified to make said comments living there and going to school there. hahhahahahaha!!!!

Dude, it's a regional franchise. Didn't you get the memo? Guess this kills your chances of landing with MASN the next time the Sun offers a buyout.

Question: Now that Phil Rogers is gracing the pages of the Sunday Sun, which day has been reserved for Tribune readers to get their Schmuck's worth?

Fire Wayne!

SHAM,

I've been up there for 20 years and you speak the truth.
Pa'ns also think that yield"signs" actually mean "stop" and vice versa.

I keep an aluminum baseball bat in the back seat of the car at all times. They come standard issue with a door rack on all new cars sold in York.

I bet you are responsible for instigating the attack by Grand Fenwick also, arent you Peter?

Pete,

You gotta give some love for Hanover, PA:

www.utzsnacks.com

www.snydersofhanover.com

Apology accepted, Pete. You're welcome in York anytime.

But as a point of correcton, we do not like to be referred to as Yorkies; the proper term is "Schmucks."

my first radio job was at WHVR in Hanover and i took many a drive past the pretzel factories...mmmmmmmm.

York Yokel,

My brother is probably going to Gettysburg College, and they have some smaller pretzel factories. I have to say we bought some pretzels I think from The Pennsylvania Pretzel Company but I'm not sure. I have to say, they were the best pretzels I have ever tasted.

I've decided that's the sole reason I'll visit my brother up there!

As someone from Western NY, I really have no way to weigh in on this situation, but as an out-of-Baltimore fan, I am curious about this whole "O-Zone" thing on the Sun sports page. Is this new? did I miss something here? Also, will this be part of a new, mountain dew-chugging-snowboard shredding-xtreme makeover of the sun? Will you start wearing baggy pants and dropping hip slang? I need to know.

Oh and Pete, ignore those comments about your physical appearance. You are as trim and sharp as Jeff Reboulet's fine mustache.

More love than one person deserves....

I want to thank everyone for the names and the threats. I also want to thank people for CONSTANTLY making my points for me... Seriously, good stuff!

Gil, Isn't it a little funny how some names have mysteriously gone away (i'm not talking about not brooks), yet new ones have arrived sounding so much like the old ones?

And don't worry Gil, for those making threats, I think it was Larry who indicated devices are easy enough to track down, no matter what names they go by.

I do understand people being upset though. Hearing the truth is very difficult, especially when one's home team is so bad. More than likely Gil, the warehousers are even getting fed up - as the FO just won't give them anything to work with.

Hey Doug, Any luck on getting Doug Flutie to appear on opening day?

I used to date a girl named Mea Culpa.

Gil... did you move up there after marrying a cousin? ha!

20 years ago in a land known as PA...

People still traveled b/w towns on train

Smokey and the Bandit wasn't just a movie, it was a way of life.

Many country roads were still being planned by the direction cows were hearded.

PennDot was invented.

The MAC machine was invented.

Leaded gas became a thing of the past.

No-good Japanese automobiles made a first appearance.

The Pirates (roughly) last had a winning season.

hahahaha!!! Stupid Pennsyltuckians and their backwards ways. Harley and CAT plants and lower taxes... wait a tick...

Wow...a lot of anger and resentment for PA from some of you guys. Sounds like '71, '79, and all of those years of the Steelers killing the Ravens has caused some really stupid stereotypes.

Pete, your comments didn't strike me as a shot. I enjoy visiting the area. (Yes, I read Dan Connolly many times when he worked for one of the York papers.)

As you may know, what's classified as the 'Harrisburg-Lancaster-Lebanon-York' TV market is now the 39th largest in the country (while Baltimore has slipped to 27) and, with the DC market now theoretically gone to the Nats, that Southern PA area becomes more important to the O's (although the portion east of the Susquehanna River is probably in Philly's orbit).

The area used to also be solidly in the Colts' corner back in the good old days - regardless of how the state line ran - but many switched allegiances to the Steelers while we were out of the NFL and have never switched back, which is too bad.

My impression of PA from various visits over the years can be summed up by 3 things:

Hills, Whores, and Liquor Stores.

Or was that Western Maryland......

SHAM,

Actually the big bank I was working for got bought by a bigger bank and the bigger bank had an affiliate in Harrisburg who offered me a job. When we moved up, I picked up the USA Today and York County was named the "fattest" county in the country.

When pumping gas I began to notice middle aged men with pony tails dismounting their Harleys wearing Mr. T starter kits and leather vests with no shirts underneath that read"Kill Them All and Let God Decide"

In the dead of winter I noticed people wearing shorts, work boots and flannel shirts walking about as if it were summer..

Do you know what Pennsylvania foreplay is?... "Get in the Truck"

All of my children were born in Maryland except the last one. I just dropped him off at the gym for baseball practice a few minutes ago and he was wearing shorts and a T-Shirt with a wind chill of zero.. He is one hardy SOB, a York County Red Neck all the way. YEEHAAA!

Hey Gil,

How do we know the toothbrush was invented in Pennsylvania?............

Because if it was invented anywhere else, it would have been called the "teethbrush".

(Actually a recycled West Virginia joke).

When my dad was younger, his buddy was dating (and eventually married) a girl from a town called Weedville, PA. They took many trips up there, and invented a new name for PA, pronounced something like "a-niv-el-a-snep"....... Pennsylvania spelled backwards!

Beautiful countryside, and the best potato chips in the business aside, Pennsyl-tuckians need to take a chill, stop dressing like its the 80's, and stay more often on their side of the Mason Dixon, both literally and euphemistically. At the very least, leave the Smuckster alone, he's our punching bag!

Jeff , that's Brunswick , Md .

Ahhhh, yes indeed, formerly jack, you are correct. I forgot what I had heard that quote referenced to.

Before I start getting death threats from fellow York Countians, we wouldn't have stayed up here for 20 years unless there were things that we liked. It was actually a good place to raise kids and after visiting my old home town in Laurel recently I'm glad we moved up here because if we has stayed we would have had to have learned four languages just to order food and pay for gas.,

btw, Pete, you had me with that headline title... I thought I was about to read the Orioles had actually decided to really go for it this year and had pulled off a trade for Zack Greinke! Giving the Royals Tillman, Hernandez, Pie, Scott, and Andino.

When the boy from PA told his father he was getting married and the best part was his fiancee is a virgin, his father retorted--"nope, if she ain't good enough for her own family, she ain't good enough for ours."

Mea Culpa!

I didn't mean to compare the O's 98 losses last year to the Pirates 99!

I didn't mean to say the O's came in last place again like the Pirates.

I didn't mean to compare the O's and Pirates payroll...

I didn't mean to say both teams have historic consecutive year losing streaks.

I didn't mean to suggest this will only be a better year because AM fielded such a bad team last year.

I didn't mean to suggest players who would have been better options at the corners.

I didn't mean to suggest it's irresponsible to have 3 rookies in the starting rotation.

I didn't mean to say AM has preached defense, yet his corners are both out of position.

I didn't mean to suggest attendance will decrease yet again (accept when the yanks and sox are in town).

I didn't mean to say raising ticket prices was possibly ill-timed.

I didn't mean to suggest winning was the most important thing in major league sports....

I'm sorry everyone......so very sorry!

York rules..bash it all you like, just stay out. We love our big little town

Top 50 prospect list

ONE???

Even if Weiters and Tillman went back on the list, teams like TB, KC, Tex, etc, etc, all have more...... and all had better records than the O's last year, some by far!

Even that OLD, OLD, OLD team in Boston has 3 guys on the list!

Where's Bell?
Where's Synder?
Where's Arrieta?

Just goes to prove that most teams have NAMES as well, and proves how the O's and media continually over-hype prospects, thus making everyone think the O's have a leg up on other clubs.... They don't!

Teams like Texas can look at the REAL improvement they made last year (see winning record), and they can boast that they have 4 players on the list.

The O's have ONE......

Now that's negative!

jeff , i used to live there ... it's all true . trust me .

I thought Mea Culpa was a utility infielder who played for several teams in the mid-60's--great hands but not much of a stick (that's what she said).

Wayne - get a life dude!!! (a tad self-indulgent don't ya think?)

Wayne -

Matusz, Bell, Britton and Arrieta were on the list

I think the order was something like 6, 30, 52 and 92.

wayne

My bad, you're talking about MLB.com Top 50. Sorry. There's so many other list saying so many other things that I lost track.

The list I was thinking of was Keith Law's Top 100 prospects. Baseball Prospectus and Baseball America has one with different names in different orders too. So whatever floats your boat, I guess.

Predicting a "top prospect" is a craps shoot anyway. So roll the dice!! :)

dave,

Fair enough!

The main point I've made 'all along' has been what you just said..... that top prospects are a 'crapshoot'!

In fact, Dave Johnson repeated today on the radio what most scouts say..... that only about 20% of 'top prospects' become better than average mlb players.

There must be a mix of top prospects and proven, productive veterans in order to consistently win. And you can't do that without spending some money (middle of the pack money at minimum).

Wow, I thought everyone would be bellyaching Erik Bedard is being reported as being first in line to be signed by Kansas City.

Well, not everyone. We all know he never really wanted to come here and we can't compete against the deep pockets of the Royals.

Oh, well. Maybe we can get his 83 innings in 2012 or 2013 when The Plan reaches fruition.

O's lose out on Sheets to Oak and EB to KC?

Cant outspend the A's or KC nor compete with their winning ways either I guess

Why can't Bedard pitch out of the pen?
What a closer, and you could limit his innings.

Why can't Bedard pitch out of the pen?
What a closer, and you could limit his innings.

Stop being an apologist ;-)

Hey Wayne,

Don't let the thugs get to you. You've made me look at some of the things this team is doing differently than I have in the past. At the end of the day, I can't see anything you've said that hasn't been true.

People make it appear as if the Orioles have all these great prospects. But you're right, other teams have just as many, if not more.

So what is everyone so excited about? If other teams have as many good young players, teams that are already better, why are people thinking the Orioles are somehow going to breakthrough in the next couple years?

I suppose we'll see soon enough. It will be interesting to see how you guys treat some of these bloggers after the Orioles get off to a bad start. Will most of you begin blaming it on Trembley? WIll he be the 2010 scapegoat?

Fire Bedard

Hey Wayne,

Don't let the thugs get to you. You've made me look at some of the things this team is doing differently than I have in the past. At the end of the day, I can't see anything you've said that hasn't been true.

People make it appear as if the Orioles have all these great prospects. But you're right, other teams have just as many, if not more.

So what is everyone so excited about? If other teams have as many good young players, teams that are already better, why are people thinking the Orioles are somehow going to breakthrough in the next couple years?

I suppose we'll see soon enough. It will be interesting to see how you guys treat some of these bloggers after the Orioles get off to a bad start. Will most of you begin blaming it on Trembley? WIll he be the 2010 scapegoat?

Posted by: larry
~~~~~~~~

Since your bull sh*t detector is obviously on the fritz, please allow me to enlighten . . . Wayno has been challenged repeatedly to provide an example of the O's overhyping their prospects but has failed to do so. In the same breath that he claims overhyping, he claims no communicatioon. So which is it Wayno? He just uses a scattershot approach to his criticism because his goal is not truth but his crusade of defamation. He contradicts himself, uses half truths and mischaracterizations and just plain makes stuff up.

This latest canard is typical. The Orioles brought up a rookie LF, rookie catcher, rookie 1B, four rookie starters last year most of whom showed promise in varying innings played so now he is whining that the number of top prospects is down. News flash! when you advance 7 rookies in one year, it is highly likely that the number of top prospects in your farm system is down . I know the logic is hard to follow but try to keep up. Also, arguably the best performance by an Oriole rookie last year was by Bergesen who never made anyone's top anything list, so the whole premise of your pseudo whine is flawed. Lastly, when Hobgood was drafted, he was decried as a cheap pick because he hadn't appeared on anyone's pre draft top 10 lists . . . but when BA said they blew it on him and now that he is on the O's top ten lists, no one gives any credence to the same writers who got so much love when they left him off their top lists. He selectively cherry picks the negative and ignores the positive. THAT is why he gets and totally deserves such derision, not because he points out the obvious that the O's are not a good team. We all know the O's aren't a good team, but some of us can see the good and the bad, not just the endless, relentless tide of sewage that comes out of this guy's piehole. Add in the hubris that allows him to demean and degrade anyone who disagrees with him but then play martyr when he receives the same derision, and you should now have a clear understanding of why he is treated with the lack of respect he deserves..

As for what people "make it " appear, Who are these "people"? Paid writers whose job it is to cover the minors? Anonymous scouts listed as sources? It wasn't fans that named WIeters the best prospect in baseball. It wasn't fans who hyped Matusz. It was paid baseball media. It was professional baseball scouts, ex players, coaches etc. People's whose whole lives are baseball anad who are paid to make those assessments. The exact same people you cite when whining that there is only one Oriole player in some guy's top 50!!! So that guy is right when he lists only one O in his list but wrong when he "hypes" several O's prospects? Which is it? You can't have it both ways. If the guy is credible when he supports your argument, he is credible when he doesn't support it too. And that is all anyone asks of Wayne. Honesty, credibility and to stop pretending he is god and anyone who disagrees with him is the devil.

Lastly for the record, what people are "excited about" is that VERY few teams can match the O' system's combination of depth AND prospects with high ceilings. If some team has more top 50 players fine, but as Bergesen proved sometimes it is the top 150 or 250 list player who rises to the top, and the O's are loaded with both types. And more importantly, which is often overlooked by the Waynes of the world is the improved organization which promises to KEEP bringing in these top prospects. Jordan's drafting record gives hope that the flood of prospects will be as constant as Wayne's badmouthing. That is something you cant see in last year's win loss record and something Wayne will never admit but it is there nonetheless and is vastly more important than one prospect more or less on the media's top 50 list or 10 wins more or less in any one year or whether we turn around the team in 3 years or 5 years of the plan.

half the people in Hanover and York are Baltimore transplants anyway.

Lucky Horseshoe,

Well put sir, VERY well put. I fear though, that if you're gonna use logic, Wayne's not going to chit-chat.

Go O's!

Add 7 rookies to your roster in one year, and it's pretty clear that you're not going to be a very good major league team. Of those 7, Berken was the only guy that seemed to be clearly overmatched in the majors. The rest played pretty well overall.

The O's finished with the 3rd worst record in all of baseball. What's also clear is that Jordan and his scouts have made the most of the series of early picks that the O's have had. They'll add another nice batch of players this spring too.

Be warned most of the top rated prospects in this draft are HS kids, so help at the major league level will be awhile in coming.

But this draft is more about fully restocking the minors, then short term gains in the majors anyways. The O's need to get back to the point where their minor league teams are winners, and kids have to fight their way up through the system.

Overall organizational depth is more important then if a team have one, two, or three players in the top 50 prospects lists. You can look at 5 of those lists and get 5 different versions anyway.

A lot is being made of the O's diminishing payroll, but remember just a few years ago they ranked in the upper 3rd in baseball and were still losing.

The O's have proven over and over again that just spending money isn't the solution. Spending it on a key players at at positions of need is. Holliday wasn't the guy to build a team around. That's not my opinion, that was the opinion of team's like the Yankees that have a glaring hole in LF.

If the O's don't make a major move this coming winter I'll be ready to agree that McPhail is being too conservative. Next winter the opportunities will be for trades and not so much in the FA market.

Prince Fielder, Hanley Ramirez, and Adrian Gonzalaz will all be names that could be in play. The O's will need a sack full of prospects to trade for any of the 3, and a trunk full of money to sign one of them longterm.

Hanley's the guy I'd really think they should target, maybe not as big of a HR guy as the other two, but as a SS he plays a position of longterm need.

Think bringing back Tejada, could have anything to do with going after his teammate from the DR?

larry,

I wouldn't call them 'thugs'. It's just when some have nothing to say, they resort to name calling, threats, etc.... It's to be expected when people are left to defend the defenseless.

Horseshoe,

Thanks for paying so much attention. However, please note that I've used Bergesen as an example, many times, of how the entire prospect concept is a crapshoot.

I've also noted how both Bergesen and Reimold were huge surprises to the organization, thus AM had nothing to do with 1) their signings or 2) their development. Now however, he's counting on both of them big time.

The only point is, as I've stated many, many times...... and scouts say this repeatedly...... bad teams are usually bad because they overrate their prospects. It's simply a common tale.

All I know is that players like Bell, Snyder and Arrieta are names people throw around these blogs as if they're going to help take this team to the playoffs in 2011. Truth is, maybe one will even make it as decent pro, much less be an impact player. That's baseball! It's proven!

Hanley Ramirez signed a 6 yr extension in 08 that expires in 2014 so you can count him off of your list

There is no way the Marlins trade him b4 they move into their new stadium in 2011 either. He is who tehy are building around. They just gave Josh Johson to a 4 yr extension and teh Marlins are expected to spend more money with the new stadium-- its hard to pack an open air stadium when you play during rainey season, so the retractable dome should assuage ppl's fear of getting soaked from may-sept

I suppose Gonzalez is possible but y not get him when he has 2 yrs left on his contract as opposed to 1 ?

Fielder will be available via FA, however he will cost much more than AM's previous contract (30 million to Hundley) and macphail seems uninterested in using FA as a tool to get elite players. He only shops at the discount rack and if he was still the GM at MN that would make sense.

He was criticized in CHicago for not taking advantage of his resources and sooner or later ppl will figure that out here too

I cant wait til next yr when ppl figure out that AM isnt going to spend next yr either. Im telling ya. IF teh Os do well, hes gonna say that there isnt anyonre out there thats an improvement on what we already have. IF we continue to stink it up, he'll just postpone spnding til "next yr when we're ready to compete"

Im looking forward to the reaction of the defenders when next winter passes with nothing but stopgaps and retreads

Ilana in DC:

South-Central PA is awash is Pretzel and other snack food producers, for better or worse.

It's a mixed blessing for those who worry about things like their waistlines. Still, "Pretzelvania" is a nice place to visit.

Jason,

You know what's going to happen...... it's as clear as it could possibly be.

Both Bell and Snyder are penciled in for 2011. Miggy is gone after this year, and there's no way Atkins will justify them picking up his option.

So in 2011, the year people say the O's will contend, they'll have rookies on the corners. Rookies not rated on mlb's Top 50 list.

And AM will get a total pass from spending money again. I mean what position would he go out and get? He'll hype the young talent, again, and the media and warehousers will grobble at his feet.

Meanwhile, the payroll will likely go down to about #27 of 30, and the O's will be headed towards year #14 of their losing streak.

It's a road map we can all count on.....

I've lived in Baltimore (27 years), York (7 years) and Pittsburgh (12 years) as well as Gettysburg and D.C., and "there ain't a dime's worth of difference" between any of them.

Big E,

You are far less likely to get shot at in Gettysburg. It is quite possible, however to be beaten up by an angry biker posse that you accidently cut off on rt. 30.

I've lived in Baltimore (27 years), York (7 years) and Pittsburgh (12 years) as well as Gettysburg and D.C., and "there ain't a dime's worth of difference" between any of them.

You can't tell a difference between DC and Gettysburg?