Excellent pre-spring training filler! And thanks for reminding us all how chaotic and ridiculous AM's idea of spring training was last year. In retrospect, we're all idiots for not seeing the 64 wins coming at us a lot sooner.

Kind of plays into his record over the past 16 years. maybe?

BUCKLE UP BALTIMORE! ITS GONNA GET BUMPY!!

SP1 Kevin Millwood
SP2 Jeremy Guthrie
SP3 Brian Matusz
SP4 Jason Berken
SP5 David Hernandez
CL Mike Gonzalez

DH Luke Scott

1B Garrett Atkins

Pete,

Why worry about the snow? It will be gone by the time you get back from spring training.

Excellent pre-spring training filler. And thanks so much for reminding us how absurd and ridiculous last years ST really was. In retrospect, we were all idiots for not seeing the 64 wins coming our way a lot sooner.

Maybe helps to explain AM's record over the past 15 or 16 seasons? Maybe?

wayne,

Same pre-spring training drivel. Pete has to write to get paid. You don't even have an excuse as to why all you do is bemoan the same thing over and over again. I have little cousins with more maturity about not getting the things they want.

James C,

First of all, Pete doesn't have to write to get paid.... not for this dumb Blog anyway.

Second, I do have an excuse! Guys like you!

Pete,

If you write this blog for free, I stand corrected.

wayne,

You've never convinced me of anything. All of your whining, negativity, name calling, pointless assertions, and gap filled logic has done NOTHING. It will do NOTHING. Just like you did when you had the chance to cancel your season tickets or when you had the chance to ask a question at FanFest.

There are people who agree with you and they love you and it's cute. It really is. I just see through it. You only comment because misery loves company. You're a miserable person who enjoys that you've found other people to be miserable with. I get it. That's fine. Be miserable with everyone who just wants the team to lose so they can say "I told you soL to anyone who will listen.

There are people who disagree with you though and some may be fakes. I don't know, I don't even care. Repeating yourself over and over will never change someone's mind, nor will it add anything to the discussion. When you speak, it's wasted space on the Baltimore Sun server.

There are times when you say things that are relevant, but you're constantly condescending to people who are ultimately Orioles fans even when you do have a valid point to make. You're no better than a single person here. Quit acting like it.

Oh and if you want to keep questioning Pete's motives for anything, you should call him out on being ready to banish you at one point only to embrace you once the comments spiked, not because his paper receives revenue from the Orioles.

Anonymous, aren't you forgetting Bergesen?

You should concentrate on finding a good place to eat at Spring training and submit the tip to www.springtrainingtips.com
Sarasota is going to be a new experience not only for the players but the writers as well

Anonymous, and what about Tillman?

James C,

Now who's cranky?

Let me translate for Wayne and his leadoff post: It was apparent that when the team broke camp to head North last spring the pitching staff, although many in numbers, lacked a true identity.

As fans, we probably should have readjusted our expectations even lower in light of the quality of the starting staff in April.

Andy Macphail made a calculated risk that there was safety in numbers, however, the season proceeded and ended in a manner that certainly was not representative of one of Macpahil's finest as a Baseball executive. I think even Mr. Macpahil would agree with that analysis.

And Tillman.

James - Good luck trying to reason with wayne. You probably won't get any more than a "Whatever dude! It's all good!" response and lame excuses as to why he still financially supports an owner he despises and why he didn't even attempt to ask a question at FanFest after a week of talking about his chance to do so.

Wayne. Unless you've been sleeping in a shed and not paying attention, the starting rotation will look something like this:
1. Millwood 2. Guthrie 3. Matusz 4. Bergesen 5. Tillman. Berken and Hernandez will both be coming out of the pen and spot starting. I like this rotation and like the direction this club is going. Things will be changing soon.

I actually think that this spring will be a little more exciting than last year because I predict the Orioles will have a much more competitive team. Here's a few blogs for you Pete and I wont charge you this time:

Who is winning the race to bat cleanup in this lineup? You can call it "The Power Struggle"

Where will Guthrie pitch in the rotation?

Who will be the 5th starter? "The Arms Race" is kind of cliche

Tejada at 3rd!

Hernandez vs. Berken - The battle for the bullpen!

The Orioles baserunning lessons. You can call it "Running Scared" or "Run Baby Run"

Trembleys new approach that he is supposed to have with the team... "The Emperors New Groove"

Let me know if you need anymore. I'll be in Sarasota a few times this spring!!!

Agree with James C...

Let me translate Wayne's next post, which he abbreviated due to time constraints:

Mr. Schmuck is a celebrated local and national journalist with many venues and sources of income. He actually does this blog for his love of baseball and not necessarily for the financial remuneration. Since the blog flows more as a stream of consciousness, Mr. Schmuck is allowed the journalistic freedom not to have to proofread every thought that he posts, thus his preparation requires minimal attention.

The blog is a meeting place for all diverse fan interests and on occasion, extreme differences of opinion are expressed, resulting in unfortunate exchanges between people who would otherwise be friends.

@Wayne

for some reason you did not put Bergeson nor Tillman in the starting rotation. Bergeson will be a top of a rotation guy, while Tillman will prob fit in at a 4 or 5. To be honest, once the season starts it really doesnt matter where you are in the rotation, beacause theres days when the #1 will face a #4.

1. Millwood- although i think Bergeson should be the number one after last season
2. Bergeson
3. Guthrie
4. Matusz
5. Tillman

Matusz has all the tools to be top of a rotation guy

...looking at the SPs above, I can see why 'Anonymous' is a real good blog name.

@Wayne

for some reason you did not put Bergeson nor Tillman in the starting rotation. Bergeson will be a top of a rotation guy, while Tillman will prob fit in at a 4 or 5. To be honest, once the season starts it really doesnt matter where you are in the rotation, beacause theres days when the #1 will face a #4.

1. Millwood- although i think Bergeson should be the number one after last season
2. Bergeson
3. Guthrie
4. Matusz
5. Tillman

Matusz has all the tools to be top of a rotation guy

That seems to even out. O's not ALL STARS at every position and the Baltimore Sun not having any ALL STAR REPORTER in the sports division. Sounds like a perfect wash out.

Orioles direction = lateral

Lateral: adjective 1. of or pertaining to the side; situated at, proceeding from, or directed to a side: a lateral view.
2. pertaining to or entailing a position, office, etc., that is different but equivalent or roughly equivalent in status, as distinguished from a promotion or demotion: a lateral move.

Boy Wayne, you sure love to stir the pot. Unfortunately, you're not a very good cook! :)

There is actually a fellow named Will Startup? Thought it was someone's joke! How about Will Shutdown?!

There is a Will Shutdown. His name is Bedard.

By the by, here are MLB's top stories from various websites...

ESPN.com
- Armed To Deliver - Rockies starter Jeff Francis is hoping to return from shoulder surgery
- [Twins owner Carl] Pohlad reiterates Twins' desire to retain [Joe] Mauer

MLB.com
- MLB, [Curtis] Granderson join anti-obesity effort
- Cashman: Jeter, Mo, Joe will have to wait [for new contracts]

Red Sox MLB.com page
- [Mike] Cameron changes outlook of Sox outfield
- Red Sox announce non-roster invitees

Yahoo Baseball
- Better Late - [Rafael] Soriano gives Rays a viable end game
- [Twins owner Carl] Pohlad reiterates desire to keep [Joe] Mauer

In short, everyone is posting "filler" at this point.

Gil,

Your contributions to this blog are priceless (and always so thankfully civil). In particular when you do Wayne Translations, that is hilarious.

Hey Anonymous,

You forgot Daniel Cabrera, Adam Lowen, and Rhadamis Liz in the rotation for this year.

Pete,

Is there any word on the Mark Hendrickson signing ever becoming official?

>Andrew

more filler = more space to sell banner ads on = the sun staying in business for another day.

The sun is screwed in car dealerships ever figure out banner ads don't boost their business

Gil,

I'm all for saying McPhail didn't deliver a Type A free agent. I'm even all for pointing out that he's lost more years than he's won. Anyone can say anything about Peter Angelos or whoever else, I'm not tied to any of them.

My initial point to wayne was that Pete is probably not doing the blog for free. In fact, I'm sure his continued employment in times of insane cost cutting is tied to the fact that he is doing both print and online content. If he ceased the blog, they'd have to hire someone else and why hire someone else to just do a blog when you could just hire someone else to do both?

It's just always negative with him though. Everything. Even when he posts two sentences, one is about "this dumb Blog." It's completely unecessary. Do the last 10 posts from Pete need to be opened with comments about how they're filler? It's like walking down a cancer ward and saying "hey, you've got cancer" to every person. Is it something that really has to be said out loud? Is it really something that has to be said every time other than for selfish self-gratifying reasons?

I just remember when we'd have actual discussions about the team and not just rants and questions of intelligence all the time. You, me, not brooks, cb coach, etc. We could all discuss the team in very rational and civil ways. Some people say we should demand a winner, but when is anyone really going to stand up for a blog community that's civil again?

James C,

I'm generally with you on this one. But you gotta let it go re: wayne. A lot of the folks who have been posting on this blog for a long time just don't bother with wayne anymore. it's just not worth it. there really is no point. you're not gonna make him stop doing what he does. there is no chance. no matter what you say that it will change anything for the better. but by goading him on, you can definitely make him worse...

James, well said. I live in Tampa and this blog is my main source of info for the O's. You just have to remember that people are going to bitch no matter what's posted, when its posted and whether or not its relevant. I've watched the Rays vault into contention first hand and the O's are on the right path. A few more pieces and they're going to the give "big 3" at the top a run for their money.

James c, i couldn't agree with you more, wayne thinks his stupid *ss negative comments make him "cute" and he feels as if he has carved out some kind of niche in this blog, he is a fat, negative loser that can't get laid, so he dogs the orioles every chance he gets, anyone who thinks AM is doing a poor job is nuts, this guy has made great strides with little coin to work with, end of story, wayne, keep sitting on your fat *ss and run up those cholesterol numbers, then you can tell the likes of roberto clemente and thurman munson how much they suck and we'll be done with you, loser

Pete, one FA I read about is Kiko Calero. I don't know much about him, but he seems reliable out of the pen. LH hitters had a .187 average last year, and all his stats look good. Sign him, and send another pitcher to Norfolk (Berken, Gabino, etc.) to get more development. Price looks right too, made $500k last year. 1-year contract, $750k, what's the downside here?

It amazes me how many people know who so many other people are in here. I couldn't tell you the name of one writer on these blogs other than Peter, who writes them, and myself, who sends in pieces of pure brilliance from time to time.

Meanwhile, even though he was lousy, he always tried hard and never trashed the team for not supplying him with wide receivers. And now Kyle Boller is marrying this gold digger person and we, the fans, are doing nothing to prevent it. She is going to buy her way into Fox News, just as that creepy Palin woman did, and then she'll dump poor Kyle.

If Anita Marks shows up back here all of a sudden begging for her job back, we'll know that it was a contest for poor Kyle and that Anita lost. There is no beating phony religious fanatics. Especially good looking silicone ones.

I hope, but doubt, that the club will give Michael Aubrey a shot at first base on a platoon basis. I would like to see Aubrey at 1B and Atkins DHing against righthanders, with Atkins playing first and Wigginton DHing against lefties. See if you can find a trade partner willing to take Luke Scott in spring training, possibly for bullpen help or a minor league shortstop prospect, to create the roster spot for Aubrey.

I follow the O's from afar as well Rich, up here in New England, and you are right. On any blog, on any subject, there are folks who love nothing more than getting people riled up and angry. I guess some folks find trading insults and rants to be fun, fine let them. I choose not to join in.
I come here because I've been an Oriole fan for more than 40 years and I like to try and stay current with them. I have my opinions on the team and enjoy friendly discussions about how to proceed, but baseball is not my life and I don't spend every spare moment looking up statistics. Getting into heated arguments with name calling and insults just isn't my idea of having fun talking baseball. My only real criticism of the blog is that Pete seems to have pretty much stopped responding to anyone except for his semi-regular callouts to Wayne.
I thought the strength of the blog format was it's more conversational aspect.

Mr. Schmuck: You're afraid you'll have to start making things up by March 1? Dave Trembley will have to start making things up on April 6, then do it 161 more times.

I agree Roy. It was more enjoyable when Pete interacted with the posters and offered his own insight. I think that's what's helped contribute to less baseball talk and more personal attacks. Come back Pete!!!

James C,

Wayne is really a composite of the angry, frustrated Oriole fan who obviously has become jaded and sarcastic after supporting a losing team for all of these years. He does not believe anything Angelos says, does, or hires and with some justification. He views the organization as a cheating wife who can never be trusted again.

As I posted once before, Wayne is going to keep posting that the Orioles are losers until they start winning, no matter what pronouncements from Angelos or Macphail,or the media. Since it is impossible to disprove a negative, Wayne is technically correct until when and if the Orioles do start winning. He will instantly squash or rip anyone who says something postive about his"cheating wife".

You know what my thoughts have been since Macphail was hired. I am all for rebuilding the farm system but I thought he would add a marquee player or two along the way to stimulate more fan interest and to make the club competitive sooner.

nb,

i've never said 'whatever dude'!.

James C,

Which part bothers you the most? The part about AM's record over the past 16 years...... the part about the disgraceful spring training parade last year.... the part about people giving him credit for players he had nothing to do with.... the part about 64 wins... the part about another losing season this year? Just trying to find out where I'm wrong. And again, i don't blame Pete for the filler. The O's give him nothing to work with.

mike d,

Not fat and no problem in other departments, but you're right about one thing... I'm an O's fan, thus I am a loser!

whoever,

I never listed an O's rotation. Thanks for yours though!

Gil,

Thanks for the translation. Saves me a ton of time.

Pete,

You're welcome!

To those I left out... Sorry! Please know though, I'm not the one who is convincing anyone of anything. The O's, AM and PA do that task for me. Just look at the team, as well as individual executive records. I'll let people like not brooks convince you of stuff. He has the stats, he has the research. All I'm talking about is the end result. Losing!

You know what, gil? I had given up on this blog, you know, after the same old same old. I even told wayne that on another blog.

But after reading your post above, the one about abbreviating wayne's next post, I must admit I've changed my mind. Your last paragraph was one of the most sensible and astute things I've read on here.

Good job.

Not sure that the backup catcher and situational lefty roles are the only position battles going into training camp. How about:
-Rest of the rotation outside of Millwood and Guthrie - 5 candidates for 3 spots (Tillman, Matusz, Berken, Bergesen, Hernandez).
-Bullpen picture needs to be cleared up - do 2 of the 5 mentioned above make the cut in the bullpen or down to Norfolk for full time starting duty?
-Can Tejada handle the hot corner, or will it be a long year at 3B
-If Atkins doesn't get off to a descent start, who can pick up the slack at 1B (Aubrey, Wigginton, Scott, Snyder or Rhyne Hughes)?

gil,

I just read your most recent post, and again spot on. That's the gil we've all come to know and respect.

And I suspect you are right about wayne. The part you left out is that we are ALL upset and frustrated about the direction of this team after the 1997 season. Be honest, did anyone back then see this coming? Twelve years of futility? I didn't and my guess is not a lot of people did either.

The problem is, during the past 12 years, the team tried many different ways to get back on track. There were the signings before 2004 of Tejada, Lopez and Palmeiro. The great reliever debacle of 2007. They tried, at the beginning of the decade, bringing in a name manager who had great success elsewhere . All that did was get us a 4-36 finish.

Whatever you think of MacPhail, and yes, sometimes it is very hard to defend his overall record, his way right now seems to be working.

This is a results oriented business and the results have been slow in coming. The difference is, people like me believe the team is on the right track and as the youngsters get the experience and gumption, they will be winners. Unfortunately, it won't be this year, and likely not next year. That's the price to pay for a young, developing team. I just hope I'm alive to see the end results(I've got cancer).

Trust me, I understand wayne's frustration and seeming lack of patience and I sympathize. All I can say is, we will have a young, hungry team out there, they will be exciting and many times exasperating as the young pitchers get better and Wieters, Reimold, Pie, Bell, Snyder and Waring get their OTJ training. I've said it, they deserve our support.

Can't wait to break out my bright orange, "Blame it on the Wayne" custom t-shirt for spring training.......I will be wearing it to the Tigers game on mnday, March 28th......hope you will come say hello , wayne...

Ken,

I'm sure you will be around when the world Championship flag flys over Camden Yards.

I wanted to bring up the a subject that I did over a year ago and got ripped for from all sides. I blame a lot of MLB's prblems, and the Orioles to some degree on one man... Donald Fehr. From the work stoppages, to the PED scandal that he helped proliferate by
fighting fiercely against testing, to the catastrophic salary increases, all of the worst parts of the game bear the fingerprints of Donald Fehr.

a lot of posters last year said I was nuts and that the owners don't have to pay the salaries,and could have stood up to the union. I think so many things swirled around that Peter Angelos could not decide on a single consistent theme on how to build and maintain a winning team. He felt it took a lawyer to deal with all of the labor issues and got too involved.

Anywasy, I'm sure I will get ripped again, but I really feel that Donald Fehr hurt the game and the fans deeply.

what's amazing the orioles have limited spots on their roster and they lost 98 games last year and the guys they picked up in the off season aren't what you would call "premium" players. what am i missing here? first base, 3rd base, utility players, bullpen staff, dh, all should be wide open races. pitching wins games and i sure hope the younger guys improve dramatically off of last year. may the schmuck be with you. 79 here today however tomorrow nights low will be around 47. that's cold!

nick,

Great, I'll absolutely say hi. When will you be down there?

sorry, i see you said March 28th. I may be back up north by then, but if I'm there, I'll sign your shirt for ya.....

Its all my fault. When I interfered and tried to catch Jeter's homerun in the playoffs when Tarasco was going to catch it, the O's haven't won since.

not brooks,

pete doesnt need an intern so get your tongue out of his rectum

74 wins is 10 more wins than 64!

that macphail is a genius

gil,

I agree. About Donald Fehr, that is. My cancer is inoperable and all I can hope for is that my family's health history will work in my favor. My grandparents all lived into their 80s and 90s and a great grandparent, I'm told, lived to be over a hundred. I'll do my best to stick around. The only fun I get anymore is harassing wayne.

Anyway, about Fehr. I've said all along that one reason for the problems is the greed of the players. I have no problem with anyone making as much as he can, it is the American way, but when is enough enough?

Some great baseball markets are being left out for the simple reason that they are not in New York. Pittsburgh, Kansas City, Oakland, for example, all are historically strong baseball cities that don't have the resources in today's game. It's all St Louis can do to keep one of their better players and next year, it might mean they lose one of baseball's true all-time superstars.

I agree with wayne when he says Baltimore is not a typical small market, OPACY is a cash cow, MASN could be worth billions and Angelos himself is a billionaire many times over. But where is the sanity when the better players all think they are entitled to nine figure contracts? It automatically leaves many teams out and unless they can draft and develop astutely, its NYY and NYM, ChiCubs and Sox, the LA teams and maybe Boston. Do we really want the same seven teams doing all the winning and the rest just hanging on? That's where we are heading.

My earlier prediction was 74 wins. Now the roster seems to be set ... still 74 wins.

As can't contain said above with the same prediction, that's ten more wins than last year. It's also 16 more wins than I predicted for last year. My prediction last year got derailed by the unlikely 6-2 start despite a 6.50 or so ERA and a 4-0 finish.

The depth is still lacking. There are no difference makers.

What's worse, while I was chastised and even offered lunch for my 58-win prediction last year, I did say the Orioles would be better with the route they are going in 2010. I still believe that. Hence, the 74-win prediction.

However, the Orioles have done little again since the Bedard and Tejada trades. Trading for Millwood was nice but quite mild. Since the Orioles are set in letting the young players develop with little veteran leadership, even less depth, and no studs, there is absolutely no reason to believe the trade deadline will be silver-lined or their will be any prospecting for gold starting in October 2010.

Therefore, I must conclude on projecting long term the Orioles will flatten out with their 74 wins in 2011.

It will be interesting to see how some of the players develop. It is doubtful it will be exciting.

Ken,

The agreement expires in two years and the owners should hold out for a salary cap but probably won't. A couple of years ago my wife and I I had the honor to sit next to Brooks Robinson and his wife connie at a Christmas social gathering in York. It was a great time and we talked baseball. At one point Brooks said" Can you imagine what Frank Robinson, Boog Powell and Jim Palmer would be worth today?". He humbly did not include himself. Brooks said that the money has ruined the game. I asked him why he wasn't more involved with the team and he did not blame Peter Angelos. He said "They want a lot more of my time than I am willing to give at this point if I was to get more active with the team, and I understand that". I am happy to do what I do" Maybe someday we can work something out".

Hey Wayne,
Are you a betting man? Would you like to put your money where your mouth is? You come up with what you think is a fair over/under win number for the team this year and you tell me what you want the bet to be and I'll take the over. For some reason if I win I think you'll welch out on it but hey, I thought I'd throw it out there anyway.

Thanks for the reinforcement on seeing past some of the negativity. It was just to the point where something had to be said.

ken,

Very humbling words. They put a lot of things in to perspective for me and I've gone from being ready to just stop reading the blog as well to refreshed and anxious to spend this season together with guys like you and seeing how it all pans out.

Gil,

Very good points all around as always.

I couldn't agree more about Fehr by the way. Union presidents all around are finally having to face some of the realities they created through their blind pursuit of the best deal for players. You documented baseball's woes well, but the NFL is looking at a lockout and the NBA isn't far behind as owners look for a salary rollback in their next CBA because the league can't afford to do business as usual. It'd be nice if they could see the big picture includes more than just max contracts.

James C -
Thanks for the kind words. Besides, I can't very well leave wayne here to run rampant all by himself. wayne's a funny guy(strange, not ha ha) who probably couldn't see the beauty in a little puppy, the beach at sunset, or a rotation featuring some of the best young pitchers in baseball, but I like him, he makes me laugh.

Even with guys like wayne around, hey wayne,, who loves ya, baby? it should be fun watching this team develop. No matter what the naysayers say, this team has some outstanding young talent, and even though it is to much to ask that they all come thru, more will than won't. Whatever MacPhail's shortcomings, he has put the Baltimore Orioles back on the map.

I THINK IT'S JUST GREAT THAT THE ROOSTER IS ALL BUT SET.
THE CHICKENS HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR A LONG TIME NOW AND DESERVE TO HAVE ALL THEIR HARD WORK REWARDED.
THE ROOSTER IS A LONG AWAITED RELIEF AND EVERYONE SHOULD BE HAPPILY ANTICIPATING HIM DOING WHAT HE DOES BEST........

(oh........ you say it's not "rooster" but "roster" that's all but set...???)

NEVER MIND.

Schmuck without a barbecue? That's like a dog without a bone; the Lone Ranger without Tonto; the Captain without Tenille; Tiger without a bimbo; Sheila Dixon without a gift card; McGwire without a needle; Joan Rivers without plastic surgery; Aubrey Huff without a Love Sponge; Bud Selig without an excuse; Brett Favre without a clutch interception; Felix Pie without a brain cramp; Wayne without a nasty comment; Bill Belichick without a sweathsirt from Goodwill; Pepe LePew without aroma; the Ravens without a personal foul penalty; the Dali without his Llama; Dolly Parton without fun bags; George Foreman without his...well, without his grill. It's just not right.

Somebody give that man a Weber!

D,

Absolutely! 81 wins! Because the ONLY thing that matters is not having a losing record. So if you want to take the over (I'll even give you the tie), you can have it. You name the bet.... Anything!

ken,

I love puppies, sunsets, and all the good things in life. I just don't like organizations that constantly lose, and then lie to their customers at every turn.

And I don't believe in all the young arms like you do. I believe AM got incredibly lucky with Bergesen last season, and I believe the league will adjust . I don't think Tillman is close to being ready, and I believe Arrieta took a step backwards. Mat has a a shot at being the real deal. Hernandez and Berkin? Please!

I also get embarrassed being an O's fan, when I see SI name our teams owner as the worst in the game - every year! And I get upset when I see a GM (or whatever his title is) with a record that proves he hasn't been able to build a winning major league club over the past 16 years, only to have the media and certain fans fall over all the guy.

Without being funny, I can not for the life of me understand how anyone can ALWAYS accept it not being about this year? I mean when does that get crazy? When does the 'it'll be fun watching the youngsters play' get old to you all?

When did people get so use to, and then learn to accept, losing?

@Wayne

How could someone with such a cool name be so stupid?

Barring injury, neither Hernandez (#2) nor Berken (4) makes the team--both will be starters at Norfolk, along with (1) Arrietta, (3)Patton, and Erbe (5).