Orioles plan on making noise at Winter Meetings

[JTrea81]

Baltimore, which finished near the bottom of the American League's ERA chart, is looking to add one impact bat and several arms to add to its existing stockpile of talent. The pitching part of the equation is considered crucial, as depth in the starting rotation and bullpen became a major factor down the stretch last season.

...

Baltimore hasn't been this intent on making noise in the offseason since it signed Miguel Tejada and Javy Lopez following the 2003 season. The Orioles signed Ramon Hernandez before the 2006 season and Aubrey Huff the following winter before sitting out of the big-money acquisition game last offseason.

This year, the Orioles have been linked to ex-Toronto arm A.J. Burnett, who makes his offseason home in nearby Monkton, Md. Baltimore may also be interested in veteran pitchers like Derek Lowe and Jon Garland, dependable innings-eaters who could ably take the ball and buy the Orioles time to develop the rest of their staff.

The Orioles are also interested in talking to Mark Teixeira, the two-time Gold Glove-winning first baseman who figures in as this winter's top free-agent bat. Baltimore is expected to attempt to leverage Teixeira's local ties to the community into a signing, but the pitching appears to be an even bigger part of the wish list.

http://baltimore.orioles.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20081201&content_id=3696439&vkey=news_bal&fext=.jsp&c_id=bal

So there you have it, pitching and Tex are on the agenda, and the Orioles expect to use hometown ties to sign Tex...

[waroriole]

Not a knock on you JTrea, but I thought everyone thinks Spencer Fordin is a hack. Funny how things change when he says what you want to hear.

[Fan4Life]

Let's see them walk-the-walk before we start getting excited.

[JTrea81]

Not a knock on you JTrea, but I thought everyone thinks Spencer Fordin is a hack. Funny how things change when he says what you want to hear.

Fordin doesn't know much about the team IMO, but he still reports news. And this is news that needed reporting...

[mikezpen]

How many dozen times have we heard that over the years. If just half of these sugary rumors had come to pass, the Orioles would be three-time defending World Champions now.

[JTrea81]

Also thought I should point this out from the last paragraph:

Baltimore is attempting to move out of the rebuilding phase and into the light of contention

Which is music to my ears. Rebuilding of the ML team doesn't have to take years if you have the proper resources. Let's hope the O's put them to good use.

[OregonBird]

I'm probably restating what most people already believe but unless they plan to overpay by 10, 20, 30%, I don't see an impact FA signing here until the O's can get above a winning record on a consistent basis.

Money is nice but losing sucks. Anybody who has competed in anything can relate to this.

Personally I think the O's have a long ways to go to re-establish the Orioles brand.

[Frobby]

Nothing really new here. By the end of next week there will have been a lot of action, and as our fearless leader says, "actions speak louder than words."

[waroriole]

Fordin doesn't know much about the team IMO, but he still reports news. And this is news that needed reporting...

I don't know if it's as much news as it is recycled quotes and speculation. I think we all know we are at least talking to Tex and AJ. Whether we sign them is anyone's guess right now. This doesn't tell us anything we didn't already know. With that said, I'm still in the camp who believes Tex signs here.

[Dwight Schrute]

How many dozen times have we heard that over the years. If just half of these sugary rumors had come to pass, the Orioles would be three-time defending World Champions now.

But this time, it will "literally come true."

[waroriole]

But this time, it will "literally come true."

Hello, Mr. Poop.

[JTrea81]

I don't know if it's as much news as it is recycled quotes and speculation. I think we all know we are at least talking to Tex and AJ. Whether we sign them is anyone's guess right now. This doesn't tell us anything we didn't already know. With that said, I'm still in the camp who believes Tex signs here.

This is the part that is news:

Baltimore hasn't been this intent on making noise in the offseason since it signed Miguel Tejada and Javy Lopez following the 2003 season.

That is huge. The Orioles are going to be the most talked about team at and after the Meetings IMO...

[nadecir]

Nothing really new here. By the end of next week there will have been a lot of action, and as our fearless leader says, "actions speak louder than words."

Agreed. Even the quotes from MacPhail and Trembley were old quotes from months ago. If you are going to write an article about the winter meetings like this one, at least try to find something new to write.

[clapdiddy]

Nothing really new here. By the end of next week there will have been a lot of action, and as our fearless leader says, "actions speak louder than words."

I was going to post this myself! It seems to me as if we've heard this song and dance every year.

[Belkast]

I'll say it again....PGA wants to win NOW!