Pete,

Regardless of whether or not Wang should come to Baltimore, the most appropriate line you typed was.....

'The Orioles are not believed to be one of those teams...'

If that doesn't DEFINE the Baltimore Orioles, nothing does.

I mean we could use it for almost anything, not just FA's..... for example.....

The SUN reports which teams have come out of the winter meetings with their eye on winning. The Orioles are not believed to be one of those teams......

This can be fun.....

As spring training approaches, teams are making a last minute push to make their club competitive for the 2010 season....

The Orioles are not believed to be one of those teams.....

As the last weeks of free agency approach, there are four or five teams rumored to be looking to throw millions of dollars down the toilet on broken down, has been free agents.
The Orioles are not believed to be one of those teams.

A new study from MLB showed that teams with the flexibility to raise their payroll in 2010 have been quick to jump on free agents and trades...

The Orioles are not believed to be one of those teams.

A recent study shows that teams with a good mix of veteran starters and young arm's will reduce the injuries on the younger pitchers and build their confidence levels. Providing knowledege and leadership BUT The Orioles are not believed to be oneof those teams.

Since 1998, 28 of 30 MLB teams have posted a winning record.
The Orioles are not believed to be one of those teams

Some teams have billionaire owners who reward their fans' loyalty by putting a quality product on the field year after year.

The Orioles are not believed to be one of those teams

the only type of player that andy wants to sing is over the hill has beens

JeffW wins. Game over.

To be fair, only over the hill has beens have the practice and training to sing properly.

Major League Baseball announced that even with the economic downturn they enjoyed record setting crowds in 2009, and that attendance is expected to go up even further in 2010.

The Orioles are not believed to be one of those teams.

in a recent study, fans from less competitive teams want their teams to buy all the Free Agents, trade away all the prospects before they have chance to succeed or fail, and over-reach on injured players, just to win a couple more games.

the Orioles are not believed to be one of those teams.

In this rough economy where people are struggling to get by, many companies are reducing prices, hoping to lure more customers back into buying. The Orioles are not one of those companies.

This thread has a lot of potential. I can envision many more clever and witty threads from posters in addition to the ones listed already.

CSB Jack is not expected to be one of those posters.

Sad, but understandable, that most fans (and Schmuck bloggers) jump on any reason at all to bash the Orioles. Ten plus consecutive losing seasons give you that right I guess.

I'm taking the high road. I like where the team is going and agree with all the moves made this year. We are still a few years from seriously competing. But we are in the zone for where the team could be a nice surprise this year or next. I like that position after the hopelessness of the pre-Andy years.

The worst names for a plyer must include Bob Walk, the former Pirates pitcher, and former Expo "Boots" Day. The best name I can currently think of is Athletics pitcher Josh Outman.

Thinking I should start a website devoted to Chien Ming headlines... the best of course being:

"A-Rod Goes Deep, Wang Hurt"

http://www.holytaco.com/12-unintentionally-funny-sports-headlines

man, schmucker. i haven't laughed at my desk in a long time. thanks for this post.

little pissed off myself...
getting sheets(off all last yr), bedard(164 IP last 2 yrs), and wang(132 IP last 2 yrs) in here for about 20m this year would have been the smart thing to do, really would have taken the load off of the young arms,but no...

and can you believe that they let jim edmonds get away-he signs a stinking MINOR league deal with the Brewers. Now that guy is great!! Better than anybody they have here!!!

C'mon Os, get it together...
it's only 20m and you got tons of cash to waste...oh i mean pay out to difference making free agents

I think jimmy jazz post on another thread pretty much sums it up. 2010 is a critical year as it could affect the Orioles fortunes for the next 5 years after that. If the young players show success and progression 2011 could be the a year that the Orioles could try to compete if the front office is willing to spend the money to patch up the remaining holes holes.

If many the young players regress or fail it may be back to square one with"the plan".

That is a sobering thought

Shut up jim66.

I've always loved the "only 'x' millions dollars" argument. I doubt all of the posters here have made 20 million dollars COMBINED.

So sheets, bedard and wang. Three injury prone pitchers?!?! Really. Sheets wasn't "off" last year. its not like when you take a personal day or vacation from work. He wasn't ready to start the season, and ended up sitting out that last 2 months. So you want to throw 20 mil on that? Come on... The O's have made smart moves. Tejada one year deal. Millwood for peanuts. Garrett Atkins on a short term deal. And the closer from the Braves on a smart short deal (due to the unreliability on closers, see Baez, D). We have a top 10 farm system, despite graduating Tillman and Wieters. Did you want to spend money on (subpar) players this year just because, when there is a better free agent crop next year? Or throw money around both years? We are moving in the right direction, it takes time. Be happy..

Peter,

Best golf course closest to O's spring training complex in Sarasota is... ?

jim66: that comment about jim edmonds was hilarious

Ray: agreed with everything.

Some fans still think this team is the Detroit Lions and fail to see the improvement and direction of the team. They're exactly the type of fans that will be totally bandwagon when this team starts winning.

What about Fukadome?

Facing a tough economy and attendance projections indicating a likely continued decline in overall baseball attendance, many MLB owners are concerned with their projected 2010 net profit. The Orioles are not believed to be one of those teams.

Another winning season for Peter Angelos.

We already have Johnson pitching for us. Why do we need Wang?

Repeat: If we hire veteran big-brother type pitchers, I want ones who are ready to go from the start, even if they may not have enough innings in their arms to go deep into September. If the young pitchers need these veterans, doesn't it make sense that they'd need them more at the beginning of their first full year in MLB, rather than after they've made it through half a season without the help?

A Schmuck writing about signing a Putz . . . I love it.

Any prospects named Knucklehead that we can trade for?

Ray...

I detected a liiiiitle sarcasm in Jim66's post. Good points though.

How about this headline if Wang pitched for the Orioles and got shelled in the first inning 3 times in a row....."Trembley Repeatedly Jerks Wang."

We should sign Wang and trade for Kouz.

Peoplepeoplepeople,

No one says spendspendspend!

All any reasonable person is asking is for them to spend 'some'..... Even if they spend middle of the pack they'd be spending LESS than what they should as per their market size.

THAT SAID........

MLB, when threatening the Florida Marlins, thanked other teams for spending, at minimum, according to their market size....

The Orioles are not believed to be one of those teams!

Peter:

I just need to rant for a minute.

What little excitement I had for the 2010 Orioles season was just snuffed out by the news that Peter the Great is filing a class action lawsuit against St. Joseph's Hospital. Not really surprising news. But my wife works there, and here's the O's owner taking steps that could potentially take money off our table, food out of our mouths, jeopardizing our livelihood. I would imagine there's a lot of St. Joe's employees, and their family members, and former patients and their family members, who are now feeling a little bit reluctant to put a few more bucks in Angelos' pockets by buying tickets to O's games. I for one, will not.

Gil...... lol!

Even in the very best years that the Os have had, they've picked up great free agent help. Just because a team is building it's youth core, it doesn't mean it shouldn't take a chance on free agents, injury prone or not.

Many MLB teams possess knowledgeable, caring devoted fans, those who see the team through thick and thin, posting informative, fact filled questions, and statements, questioning what they think is wrong, but never venomously criticizing their beloved team.
The Orioles are not one of those teams.

Go O's!

Pete--It would only make sense also to consider bringing Randy Big Unit Johnson out of retirement and adding to the coaching staff Dick Pole.

Actually, I would take a chance on Wang. Before his injuries, he was the Yankees' #1 starter, twice racked up 19 wins, and is 55-26 lifetime.

Took me a moment to get what you were driving for here :)

Great Hoosier, I've always loved the 'through thick and thin' fan. Next we'll hear 'In Andy we trust' or 'i chose to stand by my team' or 'something magic happens, every time you go'. Don't mind me though, if I would like for my beloved team to make an attempt to be competitive.

In many cities, fans are allowed to hope and expect more from their professional sports teams. Most proud sports franchises even welcome such passion.

The Orioles don't seem to be one of those teams.

Dirk is right. You can have a Johnson or a Wang, but not both. Given the choice, I think the Orioles finally got one right. Wang will just have to hang around awhile longer, although teammates say he's a stand-up guy. Avoiding long balls and better support would no doubt lengthen his career, but durability has always been an issue. His detractors point out that short relief is out of the question, since he has problems finishing. Most agree Wang has really grown since he hit the bigs, as has his pinpoint accuracy. His yearbook bio notes that when he retires he plans to move to Viagara Falls.

I would like to agree with Ray...Listen, I understand that as Oriole fans people are frustrated (and have been for a long time; believe me I am one of them) but the fact of the matter is you can't be mad about this offseason...I mean are you people serious? Did someone say we should have signed Sheets, Bedard, Wang and Edmonds? Thats just horrible, seriously one of the worst things I think I have ever heard and honestly sounds alot like the formula we have followed for several years past which if you have been paying attention, doesn't work. We are not going to the World Series any time soon guys even if we had all those guys (because they would all be hurt by the All Star Break), but we are building a SOLID core of young players who, if you are true fans and know anything about baseball, should make you very excited about this year and the next several to come. Stop hating just because you're bitter and look at the bigger picture...I salute Macphail for doing what we should have done 7 years ago which is blow up the team full of overpaid veterans (traded Tejada, Bedard, Sherrill, etc.) and get some talent/value in return...Look at our roster this year, it's full of guys who we traded for and guys we developed...That's the sign of a good team, and a sign that we are headed in the right direction...LET'S GO ORIOLES!!! Prove these idiots wrong...Soon they'll all be on the bandwagon...

I would like to agree with Ray...Listen, I understand that as Oriole fans people are frustrated (and have been for a long time; believe me I am one of them) but the fact of the matter is you can't be mad about this offseason...I mean are you people serious? Did someone say we should have signed Sheets, Bedard, Wang and Edmonds? Thats just horrible, seriously one of the worst things I think I have ever heard and honestly sounds alot like the formula we have followed for several years past which if you have been paying attention, doesn't work. We are not going to the World Series any time soon guys even if we had all those guys (because they would all be hurt by the All Star Break), but we are building a SOLID core of young players who, if you are true fans and know anything about baseball, should make you very excited about this year and the next several to come. Stop hating just because you're bitter and look at the bigger picture...I salute Macphail for doing what we should have done 7 years ago which is blow up the team full of overpaid veterans (traded Tejada, Bedard, Sherrill, etc.) and get some talent/value in return...Look at our roster this year, it's full of guys who we traded for and guys we developed...That's the sign of a good team, and a sign that we are headed in the right direction...LET'S GO ORIOLES!!! Prove these idiots wrong...Soon they'll all be on the bandwagon...

now stop that both of you, jim66 and jim67...don't make me tell your father

sorry my typing error in a previous post. i meant sign not sing. this is quite a surprise the orioles signing wang. hoope he isn't on the shelf very long

Everybody wang chung tonight!

leonard,

They didn't.

Shan,

No, it's not about signing those fools. There have been plenty of solid fa's the past couple years though. Players that would fit in with the developing players. And by the way, I would worry about there being a bandwagon anytime soon.

wayne, i feel your pain.

shan is calling me an idiot!!

thugs! damn thugs is all they are.

I'm now thinking, instead of posting the same crap under different names(like i suppose some may do, I have no evidence just a guess but real evidence not required), I will post totally opposite opinions under the same name.

I can then be villified by both sides all at once, establishing a two-sided martyrdom. Yes, a double-timing martyr is what I'll be...

i miss read the article. it would be nice if the orioles did sign wang, but i am not holding my breath

Shan,

No, it's not about signing those fools. There have been plenty of solid fa's the past couple years though. Players that would fit in with the developing players. And by the way, I would worry about there being a bandwagon anytime soon.

Shan,

No, it's not about signing those fools. There have been plenty of solid fa's the past couple years though. Players that would fit in with the developing players. And by the way, I would worry about there being a bandwagon anytime soon.

What's that about? Is that Jim66 or Chris from Hawaii attempting to be funny? Whoever it is, you're a gutless jerk. I have my right to an opinion just as much as anyone else.

shan=bf=shamrock

=jim66=pathetic

It was me. That's why I used my name in there. I never said you didn't have a right to an opinion. I just thought you might like to see your post yet again.

Sorry to hurt your feelings.

i guess I don't get the humor - sorry!

I must have missed the blog on this. What happened to a pursuit of Erik Bedard? Is that over and are we finished with the offseason?

Alright, pathetic is a good start toward martyrdom here.

c'mon though, i got lots of catching up to do.

larry, what do you think about people who post under Anonymous?

Bandwagon?

Where is this wagon? How does one get a ticket? Can you just sign up for a ride? Is there a band on the wagon?

WHERE THE HELL IS THIS WAGON?

Oh, it's a term for fairweather fans who will jump on board when the O's start winning?

So in other words, there is no such wagon?

Then WHY THE HELL DID SOMEONE BRING IT UP?

Jeeez!

This team is one big slugger away from being a player in the AL East. AM knows that which was why he attempted to sign Holliday. This team needs to push hard for AGon next offseason (Britton, Arrieta, Snyder and a 4th prospect probably gets it done) or sign Pena as a FA next offseason. If the bandwagon has not started yet, I am then the first one on it.

There are a lot of teams with terrible minor league depth and no hope for the future. he Orioles are not believed to be one of those teams......

This team is one big slugger away from being a player in the AL East. AM knows that which was why he attempted to sign Holliday. This team needs to push hard for AGon next offseason (Britton, Arrieta, Snyder and a 4th prospect probably gets it done) or sign Pena as a FA next offseason. If the bandwagon has not started yet, I am then the first one on it.

There are a lot of teams with terrible minor league depth and no hope for the future. The Orioles are not believed to be one of those teams......

Ben,

So they're building the bandwagon?

And by prospects, do you mean players that didn't make mlb's Top 50 list (like the one's you mentioned)? Or like the many teams that have multiple players on the list while the O's have one?

How big is this wagon they're building by the way?

Pete-
Good point. Or how about (in no statistical order):
Davis
Garland
Harden
Myers
Penny
Pineiro
Sheets
Wolf

The broader point is that AM got off to a great start, and then just backed off and watched. I really don't understand all these one year deals. The salary market is down, so why not lock in a couple of spots at low market / high value.

You can never have too much pitching. The Yankees always seem to have 6-7 solid starters going into spring training. It breeds competition and provides depth if someone goes down.

I'm not saying the O's can afford to purchase all the pitchers like the Yanks can, but what's the matter with locking down the top 3 spots with quality vets and creating real competition for 4 and 5? If a vet goes down to injury, then you have depth from your young guys. If a young guy is knocking down the walls in AAA, then one of the vets becomes a nice trade piece at the trade deadline when everyone is always looking for pitching.

Ben -

I have to laugh at the suggestion that Andy MacPhail "attempted to sign Holliday."

Seriously?

Let's see some proof. Because all I've seen is that Holliday had a few one year offers on the table before he accepted the seven year deal from the Cards.

wayne -

You can continue to bash the O's big league team as much as you want, but the fact is, there's some great organizational depth. Not that it helps at the big league level...

Anyways, let's ignore Jonathan Mayo for a minute. I'm not even sure how he got to be the "prospect guy" at MLB.com...

Keith Law listed the O's as the 6th best organization in the game. And Law's list of the Top 100 Prospect included Brian Matusz (11), Zach Britton (25), Josh Bell (61) and Jake Arrieta (90).

Scoutingbook.com has Matusz at 14, Arrieta at 19, Bell at 44, Britton at 64 and Brandon Erbe at 67.

I don't have subscriptions Baseball America or Baseball Prospectus, but I'm sure those guys, a bunch of other publications, have our top guys in their Top 100's as well.

MLB50 list - How many did we have last year that have now graduated from the list? Was it 4 or 5?

A rough cut, if it's a list of 50 and there are 30 teams, the avg team should have about 1.5 players on the list. So roughly, last year we had 3x that amount, which is statistically phenomenal.

Those guys have graduated, so now we have one. You can't have half a person, so it's pretty much on average.

There was also a top 100 list of which we had 3 or 4 players I believe? Same math 30 teams /100 positions = an average team would have 3.3 players on that list. So that would seem to also show we're on average pace there.

There are many things to complain about with the O's, but because of last year's bumper crop, I don't think returning to the average is bad. Unless we stay there for years at a time.

nb,

the point is.....and you know this, prospects are just names! Names that have around a 20% chance of becoming good major league players.

Dave Johnson said it the other day, scouts say it all the time...... but most of all, history prove such time and time again.

So when Bell and Snyder are at the corners in 2011, where is AM going to spend money on bats? Where nb?

Of course I'm for organizational dept. But until this team surrounds the developing players with proven and (yes - expensive) FA's, they will never compete.

Matt,

Now look up the teams that had multiple names on the list last year, graduated a few, and still have 3 and 4 names on the list this year? And oh by the way....these same teams all won more games than the O's last year... some, many more.

Don't get caught up in the prospects game. Other teams have them as well.

The list means nothing!

wayne -

Like I said, keep complaining about the big league team as much as you want. Until Andy proves you and me and everyone else wrong, that's your right.

But I wasn't talking about the big league team. I was talking about the wealth of prospects in this organization. And sure, every team has prospects, but, at this point, the guys who know best are saying that our prospects, and our depth of prospects, are among the best in the game.

I'm not saying that our prospects are all going to be big league stars. I'm not saying that our prospects should stop Andy from bringing in big league talent. All I'm saying is that, compared to other organizations, the one in Baltimore has a ton of talent in the minors.

And I can say that I'm just as concerned as you are about the future spending. This offseason, apparently there was no reason to spend on Holliday because of Reimold. So what if Snyder comes up in 2010 and has a nice run of 300 at bats? Will that mean there's no reason to spend on Carlos Peña or Adam Dunn? What if Arrieta comes up and tosses seven or eight nice starts? Will that mean that there's no reason to spend on Cliff Lee or Josh Beckett? Unfortunately, I think we all know how Andy would answer those questions.

Crap. I got sucked in to this thing again...

And if Bell doesn't turn out to be the star that spme people project him to be, the Orioles will continue on their usual course. They will say that Wiginton is servicable and Tejeda will be back for yet another year.

same course as always. They will say Wigginton is a servicable player and sign Tejeda for another year.

not brooks- hear what you are saying, but the Orioles are waiting for all the stars to line-up before spending anything and taking a chance on player if there is the remotest possibility that one of the 'prospects' works out. With low payroll and buyers market that exists, they have no excuse if they don't even try to bolster the line-up.

Completely with you JP.

Great minor league depth and a few top prospects shouldn't preclude any team from doing anything and everything possible to improve the product on the big league field through FA and trades.

The O's have absolutely no excuses for such a low risk, low reward offseason. And, as I said before, if they weren't willing to add impact players in this year's buyers market, they're not going to be wiling to do so in the winter of 2010-11.

NB, what impact players? I agree that there's no excuse to not try to put the most competitive team on the field every year, but Matt Holliday was the only impact hitter on the market, and although you'll almost always give 2 too many years to get a stud free agent, I don't that I'd have done it...not to say there weren't hitters out there that could improve the lineup. I'm thinkin JP is correct in the 'stars lining up plan' and the Os need to make a move that pushes the stars closer to alignment faster.

cush -

By impact players, I meant players that would be a big improvement over the guys we had.

Holliday was there. Bay was there. Beltre was there. LaRoche was there. Chapman was there. Damon's still there.

From what we've seen, the O's didn't even consider any of those guys. And while Damon's suitors are dropping like flies, we haven't heard a peep about the O's being interested in a guy who's going to be cheap and would instantly provide a huge boost to the top of the lineup.

Not Brooks, Cush

I think the offseason was a glimpse of the future with Andy Macpahil. He passed on Laroche over money and those are pretty much his words. Pretty much the same with Kouzmanoff. We know he didn't think twice about Holliday. So we ended up with some serviceable place sitters and a panic signing of Tejada because Macphail was smart enough to know that signing Crede meant torches and pitchforks.

Frankly, I think Macphail is dreading the day, if it ever comes that he needs to act "when the time is right " to go after a big name free agent or two, so that the Orioles could make a run for the pennant

Keeping Markakis and Roberts was a no brainer, they were already here and they were a bargain.

One thing the Orioles really lack is overall team speed, and that is going to cost them runs this year. Macphail could have done a better job in that respect.

So, a Peter suggests we get a Wang when we already have a perfectly good Johnson? I dunno.

So, a Peter suggests we get a Wang when we already have a perfectly good Johnson? I dunno.

Hector, that's a pretty flaccid joke.

"No one says spendspendspend!"

wayne | January 29, 2010 2:35 PM

"But until this team surrounds the developing players with proven and (yes - expensive) FA's, they will never compete."

wayne | January 29, 2010 5:51 PM

hum. wanna try again and not be so hypocritical.

have you figured out yet that the O's batted .255 against Lefties last year and .276 against Righties?

And that Atkins and Tejada hit Lefties better than Figgins and LaRoach?

I think Andy knew that when he passed on the guys that you claim were going to make the O's a winner (Figgins and LaRoach). Thank God for Andy being a GM and not wayne...

paulie,

The spendspendspend reference was framed towards top mlb payroll spending.

I've said over and over and over and over that the O's first just need to get to the middle of the pack in spending. Currently, they're #26. You see that, right? You understand that, don't you paulie?

So No, no one's saying spend like the big dogs, but Yes, a team in a market the size of baltimore needs to spend alot more than they are now.

Come on paulie, you're better than this. More is expected from you!

wayne,

so just "spending" is the requirement over talent?

paulie,

Are you being serious now? That's a serious question?

Ok... Again - You augment developing players with necessary spending.

Dave Johnson said on the radio just yesterday - 'I'll take a proven player over a prospect every day of the week'. And this guy works for masn and 1057.

I don't want to rid of the young developing talent paulie. As they continue to grow however, REAL teams, WINNING teams, COMPETING teams, also have to spend money on proven, quality vets.

Are you not embarrassed over the losing paulie? Even a little bit? And having lost for so long, are you not embarrassed that the team is # 26 in mlb payroll?

Anyway, you can keep asking the same questions over and over if you'd like. The problem is, you don't need me to answer you.... You need PA, JA and AM to give you answers.

last year, the O's were 23, not 26. At least get you're facts right.

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/salaries

Anonymous.....

Talking about now! Come on, do better than that......

Even if I were talking about last year, #23 would be fine with you?

Nevermind - it probably would be!

How can you judge payroll before salary arbitrations are set and ST is a month away?

Show your source.

Anonymous -

Regardless of what happens with arb raises and any other additions, the O's aren't going to jump into the middle of the pack (12-18 or so), which is where they should be.

So let me see if I can follow the last couple of days. First, the O's really have no prospects, because they only have one of the top 50. Never mind, that last year's crop, Weiters, Bergeson, Reimold and Tillman were not eligible this year, but a little math will tell you that the average would be about 1.5 per team for the top 50 and 3 per team in the top 100.

Then, it seems that every player the O's might pursue is a terrible decision, Bedard has a bad attitude, (which no one that has actually played with him or coached him has ever supported) and is hurt too much, yet shame on the O's for not pursuing Wang. Interesting because Wang has been a disaster the last two years and Bedard, when healthy (admittedly not much the last two years), has been very effective.

Finally, the O's have missed major FA's this year that would have made them immediately competitive with the Yankees and Red Sox. Other than Holliday and Lackey, who did I miss this year? LaRoche - yes, better than what they have right now, but a pretty average long term solution, Bay - I'll take Reimold etc... I know they'll be 20 responses with guys that might be marginally better than what they have, but what difference makers were out there?

As I and several others have said before, 2011 is the real test for AM and Angelos. If Weiters, Reimold, Jones and the pitchers step forward in 2010, they will have to look for 2 major signings next year to finish the job.

No Bell and Snyder may not be the long term answers, but part of building an organization is developing players (and the reputations) so they can be part of trades as well.

No, 75 to 80 wins is not good enough, but I rather see 78 wins with young improving players, than 83 with a bunch of 32 year old low ceiling FA's. If folks stop complaining long enough we might actually enjoy some watching some of these young guys - for instance, maybe Weiters, Jones and Reimold each go for 25 and 90 this year. Bergeson and Matusz should be double digit winners, and the bullpen will be better (albeit still in need of a legit closer).

If all that happens and next year AM does nothing, then Wayne can say I told you so. BTW guys - Adam Dunn, seriously? Maybe Dave Kingman will come out of retirement.

Jeff -

Dave Kingman's lifetime OBP was .302. Adam Dunn's lifetime OBP is .383.

Kingman averaged 40 walks per season. Dunn averages 109 walks per season. (First year excluded for both players).

Dunn would step into the cleanup spot in Baltimore and instantly make the lineup a whole lot better.

In other words, yes. Adam Dunn. Seriously.

not brooks
I was joking with the Dave Kingman comparison, but I just think Adam Dunn is a one-dimensional (one tool) player and if and when the O's decide to spend some big $ on a major FA or move some prospects in trade there will be better long term options. At least I hope so.

Who cares about walks and on base pct from your clean-up hitter. He hite .267 last year, but in alternating years has hit in the .230's. He hits 40 HR's per year, yet has a slg pct just over .500 and the his highest RBI total is 106. Fielder by comparison .600 slg and 141 RBI, Gonzalez .551 slg and 119 RBI. In 2006 Dunn hit 40 and drove in just 92 - that's hard to do. I think that's the year he didn;t have one Sac Fly. As a DH batting 6th or 7th on a contender team, he'd be interesting, be he's not a legit clean-up hitter for a team that wants to contend.

Since Wang won't be ready to come back from surgery until a couple months into the season he would be a perfect fit for the Orioles. Since they usually go start breaking out the golf clubs by the All Star break, he can come in and win some games post all star break.

I would advocate an Adam Dunn signing. A 40-home run hitter serves a dual role by both making a direct impact on 1/4 of your games and providing every day protection to your #3 hitter. Ryan Zimmerman took off this past year as a result of Dunn's presence in the lineup and he could provide similar protection to someone like Markakis.

Do the strikeouts hurt? - sometimes, but they are better than double plays and the walks allow hitters later in the order to pick up the slack. Also, don't forget the modern hitter has moved away from sacrifice flys and moving runners over. The Orioles were particularly hapless in those situations in 2009... Dunn couldn't do any worse.

Many commenters do things like bring up new and relevent material to their posts.

wayne is not one of those commenters.