His postseason performances should be required viewing for every young pitcher how throws under 93 mph.

What should be also required. Is that the Orioles do everything in their power to try to sign Cliff Lee. In fact, Andy MacPhail should throw a parade and then take the stage and sing this song!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgd46QiHz4I&feature=related

This would convice Cliff Lee is our Man!

That's what I would do if the Squirrel were GM. And it certainly would give the City of Baltimore to think about.

Lastly, it would give Brad Bergesen someone to look up to!

My free agent wish list:

1) Cliff Lee - ace of staff
2) Victor Martinez - 1B
3) Adrian Beltre - (Wigginton your Utility)
4) Carl Crawford - (Pie your 4th OF)

For the forseeable future the O's have no position players worthy of a contender.

No team makes it in the playoffs without an ace.

In the spirit of Tuco from the Good, the Bad and the Ugly: "If you're gonna shoot...SHOOT."

My free agent wish list:

1) Cliff Lee - ace of staff
2) Victor Martinez - 1B
3) Adrian Beltre - (Wigginton your Utility)
4) Carl Crawford - (Pie your 4th OF)

For the forseeable future the O's have no position players worthy of a contender.

No team makes it in the playoffs without an ace.

That was a clinic Peter, can you imagine what our young staff could become with Lee at the head of it? Pitching is regaining it's traditional importance again in the post -steroid era and the O's have an opportunity to build a truly dominating pitching staff that could last for years. They proved down the stretch just how competitive you can be if you have good pitching, even with a pretty anemic offense.
Do whatever it takes to get Lee, then shore up the offense wherever you can.

The Orioles are fine the way they are. They don't need free agents and they don't need the likes of Cliff Lee.

Matusz will win 23 games next year and Weiters will go yard 30+ times. Bank on it. Meanwhile, guys like wayne will XXXX over over this team even though everyone knows they're now one of the best teams in baseball.

And Pete, I have to say that you are now disappointing. All you do is talk about the loser Ravens. This is a baseball town Pete. If you don't like it, you should leave.

..............................................................................................
Pete's reply: First off, watch you're language, or you'll be voted off the island. And, I'll be staying and writing about whatever I please. I guess you didn't notice that this is my blog.

You are a clown And Cheese. You're the kind of poster that actually makes wayne look smart. You have many names and you say things that never can come true. It's your type of mentality that has kept this team from ever climbing out of the gutter.

So why don't you just go away and leave people like Pete alone. He's doing his job! And since you don't know it, this is absolutely a football town just as much as is is baseball. Thank goodness we've had the Ravens to root for all these years, especially since the Orioles have been so terrible.

I'm wishful while you're just a clown. Please go away!

Hey, leave "And Cheese" alone.

His post makes readers not notice my double posting mistake.

Don't mean to be the pessimist, but until Andy actually does something different, there's absolutely no reason to expect anything different this off season.

That said, I'm expecting Derrek Lee, Jake Westbrook and Brandon Inge.

Here's hoping Buck has a lot of pull in the player personnel department.

Oh what a Jester he's :-)

Hopefully, MacPhail has learned from his past failed free agent signings and he doesn't try to squeeze another year out of guys hitting the downside. I would put Derek Lee and Jake Westbrook in this category.
I hope he puts a major offer out there for Carl Crawford who can do pretty much everything. While he isn't a 30-40 HR guy, he can hit you 20,run, hit for avg. field etc.
What will it take to bring him on board-15 mill per year?
It's probably better to pay that type of coin for one guy than pay 3 mediocre/sub par players 4-5 mill each.
Let's say that Crawford comes on board-we still have gaping holes at 1st and 3rd and there doesn't appear to be much out there at those spots, other than Beltre who will likely want a long term deal around 12-15 mill per.
I'd like to see the O's sign both Crwaford and Beltre-hey it's not my $$$! But in all reality we would be lucky to get one to sign.
Brandon Inge hits for a low average, strikes out a lot but can field and overall he would ba an upgrade at 3B over Josh Bell. He is like a 'poor man's' Carlos Pena but if he hasn't figured out how to be a consistent hitter by now, he likely won't.
Inge could be a gamble ala Atkins but maybe give him a shot if he's still around and no one else steps up.

My wish list for the offseason: Sign Cliff Lee and Carl Crawford. Throw in Carlos Pena for good measure.
Trade Adam Jones and Tilman for David Wright, re-sign Izturis and pray Roberts is healthy next year.
Am I asking for too much?

Big Al,

I like your sense of style.

But I would trade Adam Jones for Billy Butler of the Royals. I don't want Carlos Pena! Andy Mac lacked vision when Carlos was cut by the Tigers a few years ago. I would have given him a shot then,not now. The word on the street when the Orioles played the Tigers in the season finale that the Tigers liked Luke Scott. If true, I would trade Luke for Jhonny Peralta straight up. I would love to see Crawford in Left and Pie in CF. As for 3B I am not sure. Can Andino play 3rd? He does have the arm strength.
Beltre would be interesting, but he's inconsistent

David Wright is an interesting name that might be available, but I wouldn't give up Jones to get him.

A little more awareness of the strike zone and Jones could break out. I'd like to see him go through a spring training with Buck at the helm before I'd give up on the guy.

Not that I'm knocking Crowley, but a fresh set of eyes could help Jones, he's a classic case of a hitter that needs to try easier. Once he started to take what was pitched he did a much better job.

I've been beating the Crawford drum for weeks, my opinion is he's the guy that you go all in for. Cliff Lee would be the second guy that I'd force to take less money some where else if he doesn't want to be an Oriole.

Wiggington did a great job at 1b once he got to play on a regular basis. I think he could do the same at 3b given the job fulltime. Bring back Izturis at SS and Andino could be the utility infielder. Bell needs a full yr of AAA ball. He was brought up too soon.

I'm not completely sold on his D, but Dunn's a better first baseman then Scott, and I think he's the most signable 1b/cleanup hitter out there this winter. I don't see the Nats going to the mat to sign him. They're looking down the road 2 yrs, they could wait and make a major play for Prince after next year and pocket a year of Dunn's salary.

I'd bring back Koji to solidify the Bullpen on a two yr deal until some of the youngsters can step up.

Dear Mr. Angelos,
Everybody but the players think you don't do enough for your O's. Actions speak louder than words. Sign Cliff Lee and either Adrian Beltre or Paul Konerko. You can then put Wigginton at the other corner. You're then guaranteed to have a great pitcher and corner infielders who will hit 20+ homeruns. Doing this will ensure the O's win at least 81 games next year.

For all the people who think the Orioles should sign Adrian Beltre: Adrian Beltre is over 30 years old and before this season, he had not had a good year since 2004. Beltre would be a horrible signing. Paul Konerko and Derreck Lee are both well in to their 30s and are alrerady on the decline. I sincerely hope that Lee, Konerko, or Beltre is not the 'big signing' this offseason. The Orioles should be aggressively persuing players like Cliff Lee and Carl Crawford this year and Prince Fielder and Adrian Gonzalez next year. The Orioles have been making a lot of money for a very long time and could easily increase the team payroll significantly, but I doubt that Macphail will bring in any big free agents during his time in Baltimore (which has so far been a failure), because all he really cares about is the bottom line, and winning is secondary for him. Crowley needs to be replaced immediately- that alone would be a huge upgrade for the Orioles. Wieters is flirting with becoming a bust. Why can't he hit anything like Buster Posey can hit? Why can't he hit anything like Joe Mauer and Mike Piazza could hit at the same points in their careers? Wieters is one of the most overhyped players I can remember, and he has been nothing but mediocre so far at the plate. I don't think Wieters can be counted on to be a star hitter anymore. I just hope he at least turns out to be a good hitter. To sum it up, the Orioles still have many gaping holes in their everyday lineup:
LF: Pie is awful. Terrible OBP, mediocre BA, mediocre slugging %, incompetent base stealer.
1B
SS
3B
Even though the Orioles have so many glaring weaknesses in their lineup, they should not sign any player over the age of 29 (with the exception of Cliff Lee) to a contract longer than 2 years, because they have no chance of being competitive in the AL East until 2012 or 2013.

Even though Konerko had a great rebound season this year, it would be foolish to count on him continuing to replicate the success he had this season, because he is well into his 30s and had been declining before this season.
In addition to being an unproductive hitter and a mediocre fielder, Felix Pie also suffers from the inability to stay healthy. The Orioles need a new player in LF.

Pete,

Cliff Lee's performance was unbelievable. Masterful craftsmanship all night long. Just amazing that he kept guys off balance all night with a Curve and a Cutter.

His pace of pitching was noticeably messing up the Rays hitters. That Cutter of his he was working in in in in in in in...than away. Honestly, it reminded me of Bedard back in the day. A Lefty throwing a Cutter on the toes and then the Curve away for the K.

thanks Pete...now you got me all misty-eyed thinking back to Bedard. Hey, is he gonna be available??...nevermind.

so Eric, I'm guessing you're under 30, huh...

It's OK if any O's fan/Yankee hater roots for Texas in the ALCS, but bear one thing in mind. . .

LONGEST AL PENNANT DROUGHTS
1. Rangers - never since starting in 1961 (Wash Senators II before 1972)
2. Mariners - never since starting in 1977
3. Orioles - 1983

Thus if Rangers beat Yanks, our once-proud O's will then be only a Seattle Mariner pennant away from officially becoming 'the Cubs of the AL"!

Why do people think the O's should trade Adam Jones? He finally played basically a full season and was pretty solid through much of it. He had a bad start, but so did everyone on the team.
I don't think we should be trading anyone who is young with an upside like Jones.
I feel like Scott is the only decent trade piece without giving up future talent. Scott had a great year and I really like him, but if other teams can offer us someone more consistent, or someone young with more potential then he should be traded.
Otherwise we should keep what we have and improve on the corners and the pitching staff.
When are we going to get a offensive SS?

People, just as recently as 2009, Mora had more RBI in a season than Beltre. He does well in contract years, then gets fat, literally, and lazy! Sick of all the hype steroid boy Bautista is getting on MLB trade rumors, what a joke!

If the Mets are stupid enough to trade David Wright for Adam Jones straight up or even with a 'throw in', the O's should do it.
Ty Wiggington had a decent season but he is not an everyday player. He showed his flaws defensively and at the plate.
Beltre has a history of putting up big numbers in his walk year but can he do it over the 5 years he'll likely want(and get)? Some team will bite and then get a couple of good years, followed by a rapid decline.
Personally, I'd rather see the O's go hard after Carl Crawford for the same money.
I don't think we need the so-called veteran starter as the most of the current ones can match or exceed the numbers of the likes of Millwood, Westbrook or whoever else of similiar background comes on board. We are dreaming if we think aces like Lee are even going to sign with a rebuilding team like Balt. The only way I see that happening is if somehow Texas wins the World Series, thus satisfying that career goal AND the O's pay him an outrageous amount(18-20 mill per) over 4-5 years.
There's no doubt that the O's will be aggressive over the winter but let's get it right this time! Sign at least 2 big ticket/impact players rather than a bunch of mediocre ones.