I promise i am going to stay positive for the upcoming baseball season regardless of what happens. But i was thinking about something last night that i just had to bring up. Your latest blog read CABRERA NOT IN CAMP. I think what you should worry about is NICK THE LAST ONE IN CAMP. Sure buck wrote it off the best way that he could by saying it is what it is but you can bet that under neath his skin he is burning up. Everybody gave the golden boy a pass for last year making excuses after excuses why he only hit 12 hr's and why he only knocked in 60 runs. They keep telling us that he had 45 doubles and 187 hits well let me show you his stats from 2006 and it will show you what a truly down year he really had

2006 291 ba 16 hr 62 rbi
2007 23hr 112 rbi 43 doubles 191 hits

2008 306 ba 20hr 87 rbi 48 doubles 182 hits.

2009 203ba 18 hr. 101rbi 45 doubles
2110 297 ba 12 hr 60 rbi 187 hits 45 doubles.

Everybody kept telling me all year well he hit 45 doubles and walked alot. He had all those doubles in previous years and hit for way more power and drove in way more runs. Look people nick was one of the only ball players that didn't real;ly florish when buck took over. Since nick has gotten married and had 2 babies i think he has lost his focus and maybe a little of his desire to make himself a better balllplyer. Sure he is one of the best defensive right fielders in the game but it sure is funny after having such a down year he is the last orioles in camp. Don't tell me how great a guy nick is or how much money he donates to charity because there are many other orioles that do the same behind the scenes. You can all right his late arrival of as nothing but you can beleive buck isn't happy about what message this demonstrates.

Posted by: blancione

Back in my office-work days, I made a point of never being late. But the people who showed up early, and were already there when I came in? Maybe their bus schedule worked out that way. Maybe they dropped their kids off at school early. Maybe they really enjoyed chatting about the weather for a while before work. Whatever. I never cared why. And I never once felt like my arriving right on time reflected poorly on my work performance.

Uncle goose being early for work or being early for spring training doesn't help you bat over 300 hit 20 or more hr's or knock in over 100 rbi's , but when you are one of the elder statesman on this team, when you sign a huge contract extenstion and when you have a generally poor previous year it might show not only the new manager but the fans that you are eager to get started.

No wonder Melvin Mora went downhill. He had all those kids.

Bob, why didn't you discover this sooner?!? What if there were more kids conceived this off-season. Dear God!

We should just sterilize the team and we'll be all set. Probably shouldn't let anyone marry either.

We should have stopped this sooner. We were all on the right track in looking for a reason for Nick's drop in power, but we were just thinking of the wrong context when we said Markakis didn't have any protection.

In my best Rex Barney voice "Get that man..a condom."

I think the Lombardi rule may apply here. The great one had several sayings. One was "If you are 15 minutes early for a meeting you are 15 minutes late." In effect he was making the point that his standards called for greater effort than showing up at the bell. Of course Buck has to say that if they don't have to be here, they don't have to be here, because there is nothing he can do about it.

Is there a correlation between showing up early for spring training and having a successful year? As stats-mad as baseball people are, I'm sure someone can demonstrate this if it's true.

Wow, Blanchione. Find something real to worry about: global warming or religious extremists taking over Egypt or religious extremists taking over the USA, for that batter. But Nick reporting on time is a non-story. I taught school for 37 years, and by most any measurement stick you want to use, I ws damn good at it. I NEVER reported to school before the first day I was due. My vacation time was just that: mine. Certainly kids and wives and all that comes with them create a certain amount of distraction from any job. But if Kakes' problems are that he's being too attentive a Dad and husband, I say "bully for you, Nick." Too many pro athletes are horrible family men. Hugs your kids, kiss your wife, and hit .320 with 100 rbi's.