The Orioles have largely been the laughing stock of the American League for the last decade. Sure the Royals might have been worse, even though they did scrape together a winning season in the last ten years, and the Pirates and Nationals may have been more embarrassing but the Orioles have been larger jokes.  Why?  Well the Orioles have been like the untalented little cousin that wants to play basketball with you and your brother at Thanksgiving.  He can't really run, shoot or jump but you have to let him play because he is family.  Maybe if he were playing with kids his own age and height he would be fine but as it stands it is just embarrassing.

The Orioles struggles, much like little cousin's struggles, have always been thrown into stark relief because of the division they play in.  Having to play the two most popular, richest and media-visible teams as many times as the Orioles do a year makes you look bad.  Having those team's fans invade your home-park 18 times a year makes you look really bad.  Getting completely walloped 30 out of 36 times a year makes you look clueless.

And really who can blame them.  The rest of the league does not have to play these juggernauts nearly as many times.  Hell the AL Central is nearly homongenous when it comes to market-size and talent level (outside of Kansas City anyway).  So, over the last decade the Orioles have enjoyed a very public beat-down year-in-year-out at the hands of their rich relatives from the north.

It has been embarrassing.

But the Orioles have largely deserved it as well.  Mismanagement, poor meddling ownership, horrible trades and signings, a minor league system devoid of any meaningful talent despite drafting so highly year after year after year.  Between Cal Ripken Jr. and Brian Roberts the Orioles did not produce a single homegrown everyday posistional player.  That is about two decades of minor league busts.

New General Manager Andy MacPhail has begun to right the ship however, and national baseball press is beginning to take notice.  Most recently from Yahoo! Sports' Jeff Passan.  Passan heaps praise on the Orioles and MacPhail praise that I have not seen coming from a national sportswriter in quite some time.

"The praise, almost universal.... Scouts love the Baltimore Orioles. They want to peg them as baseball’s great darkhorse of 2010, the latest team that can turn homegrown talent into long-term success."

Of course Passan points out what most Oriole fans already know.  As he calls it that pesky "seven-word postscript"

"if only they weren't in that division"

According to Passan, and believe me this is not the first place I have heard this, baseball loves what the Orioles have done and are doing.  The fact that in a relative short amount of time the Orioles have completely recharged their minor league system and stocked their major league roster with a lot of really talented young players that they control for years.  It should be the beginning of the great Oriole renaissance.  Hail the coming of the second great Oriole Empire, long may it reign.  But - if it weren't for our division.

I am not going to sit here and bemoan the Orioles the AL East as the sole source of the Orioles woes.  The Orioles as an organization have largely dug their own grave.  But one can not deny the fact that playing in the monstrous conditions of the AL East makes the Orioles brand of rebuilding that much more difficult.  Yes Tampa Bay did it with one magical season, but they were unable to repeat after the Yankees broke the bank.  And you can make the argument that the Rays success was buoyed by a down and injured Yankee team that year.  In 2008 the Rays played near-perfect baseball, they had a good year in 2009 and were still 19 games behind the Empire.  When you look at that it truly reveals the size of the mountain the Orioles must climb and it is very disheartening to think that the Orioles could suffer the same fate as the Rays: Do everything right for one great season only to see the richer team's wallets open and bust you back down to third place.

But, in a way, that is what makes the way the Orioles are doing things better.  Everything is an unknown.  We just don't know if Brian Matusz will be the next Mikle Mussina.  We just don't know if Matt Wieters will be our Joe Mauer.  We just don't know if Adam Jones and Nick Markakis will become 2/3 of the best outfield in MLB.  We just don't know.

But you know what I DO know.  Watching this team grow together is fun.  Watching and rooting for an organization that seems to have exorcised its demons is fun.  Rooting for a club that is finally doing things the right way is fun.  Finally getting a little respect from the national media is fun.  And 2010, a full year of Markakis, Jones, Matusz, Tillman, Reimold, Wieters, Pie, Roberts, Gonzalez, Hernandez and Millwood - will be very fun.

Congrats to Andre Dawson for finally getting into the Baseball Hall of Fame. For some reason, Roberto Alomar -- in his first try -- was sadly not given entry into baseball immortality, as well as Bert Blyleven. They both narrowly missed entry.

I would think despite being a complete player in his prime, Alomar was probably denied entry this year to the Hall of Fame because his incident with umpire John Hirschbeck in Toronto's SkyDome in late 1996. As most fans, know when Alomar spat on Hirschbeck during an argument following a called third strike. It sounded like over the years, both men made amends with one another and moved on with their lives.

Still, I believe, just based on merit and his sheer numbers alone, Alomar should have been elected to the Hall of Fame on his first try. If there's any solace to the results this year, both Alomar and Blyleven should make the Hall of Fame in 2011.

NEW YORK (SI.com) -- In one of the tightest elections ever, Andre Dawson was the only player elected by the Baseball Writers Association of America to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Dawson received 77.9 percent of the vote, just above the 75 percent needed for enshrinement. Bert Blyleven got 74.2 percent, missing election by just five votes. Roberto Alomar, widely expected to be a shoo-in, finished third with 73.7 percent. Jack Morris and Barry Larkin were the only other players to top 50 percent.

Dawson was the 1977 National League Rookie of the Year with the Montreal Expos and the 1987 NL MVP with the Chicago Cubs.

Former Oriole Melvin Mora may have work soon -- but not with the Orioles and he may have to wait until the market settles itself out. The Baltimore Sun reports that three teams - two in the NL, and one in the AL - have interest in Mora.

One would think the teamould perhaps re-sign him to a lesser deal and he serve as a backup. However, who knows what the relationship between Mora and the team might be considering some his blow-ups his decline, also friction with manager Dave Trembley last season.

Despite it all, Mora has been on a downward trend number-wise at the plate, but he was a solid defender at third and a solid member of the community.

It's too bad that he more than likely may not play for Baltimore again and perhaps both sides have moved on.

***

Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated/CNN believes that the Orioles are still in the hunt for Holliday despite reports to the contrary last week.

It is believed the Cardinals at one point offered a seven-year deal for Matt Holliday, and one league source pegged that bid at $16 million per year, making the proposal worth $112 million. But Holliday appears to be shooting for at least $18 million annually, the figure the Cubs paid Alfonso Soriano two years ago. Cardinals people are expressing faith they will be able to re-sign him. The Orioles have been in the bidding despite comments by their people downplaying their interest and involvement, as one person familiar with their situation says they are "laying in the weeds.''

However, this morning, it looks from reports that Cardinals are inching closer to a deal with Holliday.

Well, tonight, Holliday did indeed re-sign with St. Louis. According to ESPN, the deal is for seven years and between $119 million and $120 million with a team option at the end of the contract.

***

As well, one of the Orioles' third base targets this offseason, Adrian Beltre, signed a one-year deal with the Red Sox a guaranteed $10 million in 2009. I'm also surprised he got that much money, but he's one of the top glove men in the game and he's got a potent bat that should improve considering the dimensions of Fenway Park. Who knows what will happen to Mike Lowell, but one had to consider that he'll be traded before Spring Training.

Happy 2010 everyone. The start of Spring Training will be here sooner than we know --  a mere six or seven or so weeks away -- and right now, the Orioles have done well in some areas; meanwhile, they need to improve in others.

Going into 2010, the Orioles definitely have improved their rotation with the addition of Kevin Millwood as perhaps the team ace. As well, Jeremy Guthrie should be probably be able to build on a sad 2009 season hampered by a lack of preparation and the World Baseball Classic. Also, don't forget the youngsters Brian Matusz -- who finished 2009 strong -- Brad Bergesen, Chris Tillman, David Hernandez, as well as a collection of arms in the minors.

Still, I do think that the Orioles do need another veteran to bolster the rotation just in case of one young arms don't look to be ready. There are still a lot of low-risk, high reward guys out there for the taking. Do the Orioles necessarily need one now? Maybe not; however, I so think the more arms in an organization, the better.

The offense despite the addition of Garrett Atkins obviously needs some work. It's unknown whether Atkins will play first or third, but meost everyone knows that another bat is critically needed at the corner positions. The Orioles have slugger Josh Bell and touted youngster Brandon Snyder in the minors, but temporary reinforcements might be needed until one or both men are ready for the majors.

Also, when it comes to the offense, one has to look how well Matt Wieters can progress in his second full season (he really started crushing the ball in August and after) along with the progress of Nolan Reimold. One also has question if Adam Jones can take his game to another level and is the player who was an All-Star in the first half of the season, or a guy who barely hit around his weight in Aug-Sept.?

One also has to ponder if Nick Markakis will get the ample protection he needs in the lineup? Looking back, the trade of Aubrey Huff definitely left Markakis vulnerable and his numbers suffered greatly because of it. Nick 'The Stick' ended his 2009 season with strong numbers; however, fans hope he can regain some of his power stroke and exercise more patience at the plate.

The bullpen looks to be also improved with the addition of Mike Gonzalez -- who will probably close -- and Jim Johnson, who was excellent as a setup man, but struggled as a closer. Baltimore's bullpen may not be complete yet, but one can expect Mark Hendrickson to re-sign, and some of the younger arms plus mainstays to compete for a spot. Perhaps the Orioles can also again take a another look at the free agent market to improve the 'pen; however, I think Gonzalez might be the only big ticker signing when it comes that.

Hopefully, the team in Spring Training and throughout the 2010 season will work on cutting down their mistakes -- the baserunning, execution at the plate -- that angered many, especially fans.

As much as I'm waiting for 2010, it's still amazingly galling that the Yankees -- with their crazy payroll the GDP of a small country -- the Red Sox have been able to improve using their resources. Most of us know and see that Andy MacPhail is indeed working on rebuilding the organization for the long haul and not only in the next year or two, but it is still frustrating to know that the Orioles are on paper still a second division team.

The Orioles should probably finish better than the Jays in 2010, but if they can finish a solid third and somehow upend a good Rays' team, most would be happy with that.

Speaking of next season, it looks like Danys Baez has a new home. He has moved from the basement to the penthouse as he signed a two year deal with the Phillies. As we all know, the Phillies have won their division the past two seasons and are the 2008 World Champions. Baez looked solid coming off of injury last season, and while he got hit hard at times, he certainly looked to be back to form. I'm amazed he got a two-year deal, but if you can get the work, you take it.

Finally, it looks like the Orioles are looking in the past to improve their organization from the bottom up. Last week, the organization signed Mike Bordick to be a coach in the minor league system, and now they've added Mike Deveraux. He will serve as a field coach for the Shorebirds according to Roch on his blog.

On Wednesday, many fans within Birdland who had access to the Internet read in a report by FoxSports' Tracy Ringolsby that the Orioles are indeed interested in slugger Matt Holliday.

Although most feel that Holliday will just re-sign with the Cardinals, seeing his name in the same paragraph as the words "Baltimore Orioles" raised my eyebrows.

Now reading the news that the Orioles offered Holliday a hefty contract to play in Baltimore made me warm and tingly inside albeit with a dose of heavy skepticism.

Baltimore, meanwhile, did make an eight-year, $130 million offer to Holliday, and general manager Andy MacPhail did discuss the possibility of arranging a meeting between himself, Orioles owner Peter Angelos and Holliday in Austin, Tex., where Holliday is living in the offseason.

It didn't take long for the Orioles to refute the report (as James mentioned in a previous post). Team officials led by Andy MacPhail basically called today's news as more or less a falsehood (which was confirmed by Peter Schmuck and Roch).

That led me to think about Scott Boras.

Could Boras be once again playing the media and a selected team or two to drive up interest for his client -- Holliday -- and in turn drive up his price?

He's a master in this game, despite few a failures over the years. However, in the eyes of most people in the sport, it looks like the market for his client is fairly thin.

This evening, Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated/CNN reports the Cardinals offered Holliday a lucrative contract (but not as much as Baltimore's alleged amount).

I think Holliday still ends up in a Cardinal uniform, though the Evil Empire can jump in at any moment and swoop him. Plus, let's not forget about Boston -- the Evil Empire 1A.

The Orioles signed former shortstop Mike Bordick today to be a Minor League Offensive Coordinator.  His job?  To work with Orioles prospects on fundamental baserunning and contact situational hitting.  This move fits in nicely with the team's desire to refocus on the above-mentioned fundamentals after an atrocious 2009 in those aspects.

Bordick is listed as a minor league coordinator, but I don't think it is a stretch of logic and reality to think that he will be leading clinics and refresher courses for the big boys in Sarasota this February.  Bordick was always a class act and a more than solid player, known more for his defensive ability Bordick was a solid situational hitter and knew his role on the team.

This team was atrocious on the basepaths last year and manager Dave Trembley has been adamant that this will change in 2010.  The addition of Bordick is a great step in that direction.

Also, news broke today that the Orioles offered Matt Holliday an eight-year $130 million dollar contract - or did they?  As soon as the report from Fox Sports broke the internet went all a twitter.  And the story was then quickly crushed with dual postings from MASN's Roch Kubatko and the Baltimore Sun's Peter Schmuck both quoting Andy MacPhail saying of the had "NO validity".

Kids, the Orioles are not getting Matt Holliday, it is not happening.  I think he will price himself out of the market.  Now, stranger things have happened so let's play pretend.  What do the Orioles do if they get Holliday?  Well, Holliday automatically becomes the starting left-fielder so where does that leave Riemold?  Riemold would most logically move to DH - pushing Scott either out the door or to firstbase, or Riemold goes to first and Scott remains DH.  Either way, we do have room for Holliday and it would be a big bat in the heart of the lineup.

Holliday worries me a bit because outside of the NL, and Coors Field, his stellar high .900's OPS into a very good high .800's OPS.  Now, that is great having another Markakis (with more power) in the lineup is never a bad thing and the thought of an outfield of Holliday/ Jones/ Markakis makes me kind of giddy.  But I really can't see it happening, I just can't.  Maybe it is the years of broken dreams, maybe it is the cynicism of age setting in - maybe I just believe MacPhail when he says that the offer has no validity the point is I wouldn't get my hopes up if I were you O's fans but it is fun to dream.

It looks one of the premier free agents on the market, Jason Bay finally has a new home. It's not in Boston, but he wind up in New York -- however,he won't be a Yankee.

Jason Bay is now a Met.

The Mets offense was anemic in 2009 and they are hoping their big ticket item helps them this upcoming season.

From Sports Illustrated/CNN: The Mets have reached a deal to bring All-Star outfielder Jason Bay to New York pending a physical, SI.com confirmed.

The news was first reported by Mike Francesa of WFAN, who added that the announcement will come early next week.

The physical is expected to be extensive. It is believed the deal will be for about $66 million over four years plus a vesting option for a fifth year. Bay was looking for a six-year deal originally, and most recently a five-year, $80 million offer.

Now that Bay is off the market, I'd like to see who Matt Holliday ends up with.

I don't seriously expect him to become an Oriole, but stranger things have indeed happened.

I have really liked what the Orioles have done to improve the squad, getting some bonafied major leaguers to mix in with the young up-and-comers with the Orioles. It looks like the future is now promising in Baltimore, but more can be done. Anyhow, I don't see the team being done quite yet wheeling and dealing.

Considering what the Yankees and Red Sox have to done to fortify their teams, one would hope the Orioles could be more agressive. Therefore, many want a big bat and an impact player.

There's one guy who may be ready -- or not -- for the taking.

Some want the Orioles to go for the jugular and get Adrian Gonzalez (that would be amazing), but at what cost? He's relatively affordable and is still under contract for the next years; however, one must wonder what would the team have to give up for him? From most reports in the media, the situation in San Diego is in flux as the owner is mired in a divorce and is looking to cut costs where he can.

Then again, should San Diego trade their star player and risk pissing off their fan base? Also, who should the Orioles give up? A young arm or two, or three? A combo of Reimold, Pie?

Plus, one must think that Padres want a ton of prospects to replenish their minor league system, or even close to major league ready players.

As much as I want the Orioles to go out and get Gonzalez, it may not be a smart thing to do so while the organization rebuilds. If the Orioles had won 85 games in 2009, I'd say let's go for it; however, now is not the time to make a big trade when there's far more pressing issues to fix.

There simply is not a lot going on right now.  Nothing, nada, nil, the null-set - it is a slow news day.  It will be a slow news week as the calendar changes to a new year you have to wonder about the future - so let's take a look at some early predictions for 2010 not only for the Orioles but around the league:

with apologies to Conan O'Brein

In the year 2010...

The Orioles will have an above average offense without making any other completely significant moves before Spring Training.  Andy MacPhail has made his desire for a "Big Bat" well known, and the Orioles could use one.  But the problem is that the biggest bat on the market is Matt Holliday who has dubious numbers outside of Coors Field has already, reportedly, turned down some pricely long-term deals to stay in Colorado at the beginning of last season.  Moreover, the Orioles don't need another outfielder, unless you want to trade Pie, move Reimold to DH and trade Scott.  Now all of those things could be done, and done easily I'm sure but is that worth Holliday?

Markakis had a weird season.  Power vanished, but his average and doubles were fine.  His walks went away too.  Give Markakis a legit bat to hit in-front of and I believe you will see a nice rebound from him.  Jones needs to show he can put two good halves together and stay healthy and Wieters needs to hit like September 08 for most of the season.  Wieters is the big question mark here.  For once it is not just Orioles fans hyping up their own prospects he has been called the "switch-hitting Jesus" by national sportswriters he needs to let that out in April and never look back.

If those things happen the Orioles will have a solid, above average offense next year.

In the year 2010...

There will be no fewer than two-hundred jokes made about Minnesota's decision to play baseball in an open-air stadium in April.  The average high in Minneapolis in April is 57 degrees, the average low 36.  For comparison's sake Baltimore's averages are 68 and 48, respectively.  Goodbye "Homer-Dome" look for Minnesota to be playing as an extreme pitchers park for the first few months of the season until things warm up in the Land of a Thousand Lakes.

While we are on the subjdect of Target Field, it truly is a beautiful park though it looks like the offspring of Nationals Park, PNC Park and Citizens Bank Park.

In the year 2010...

Brian Matusz will rise up as the ace of the Baltimore Orioles staff.  I have high hopes for this guy, obviously, and I say this not underestimating the other fine young arms the Orioles will throw out there next year but I think Matusz is the best.  I think he has the best stuff and the most talent of them all and while all have room for improvement I feel Matusz will hit the ground running at the beginning of the year and not look back.  Look for him to have a sub 4.20 ERA.

In the year 2010...

Stephen Strasburg will struggle.  The Nationals need to be careful with this kid.  They need to let him mature in the minors a minute and should not, repeat NOT give into the fans demands and rush this kid.  If he is truly ready, he will be ready and that is one thing.  But rushing Strasburg doesn't do you or he any favors in fact you are setting him for nothing but struggles and early career heartbreak if you put him on the fast track.

Strasburg will probably be good enough to fly through the minors on his own but don't for a second expect him to be Nolan Ryan on day one.  Wieters proved to everyone that there is a learning curve in this league.  For every Evan Longoria there are two hundred Jeffery Hammonds and thousands of players that fell somewhere in between.  Strasburg may be the greatest thing since sliced bread but mishandling them could simply doom a franchise already on the precipice of complete irrelevance.

In the year 2010...

The Orioles will get off to a hot start and have a decent April.  With the Orioles sitting near the top of the division at the second week in May the fans will be divided into two factions: The ones who are wondering when the fall will occur and the other who actively running pools and taking bets on the precise start of the fall.

Of course, none of us want the fall to happen.  In fact that has been the one thing that Orioles fans continue to point to as the most frustrating thing over the last decade or so - the annual August swoon.  it seems to have become an tradition in Baltimore that the late summer is met with buying school supplies and extended losing streaks.  There are multiple reasons for this happening but they all come back to the Orioles not being able to compete day-in-day out with the beasts in their division and seeing as how August and September we always get a healthy dose of the Yankees and Red Sox we see extended periods of losing.

This year does have a chance to be different as I do feel that this Orioles squad is one of the most talented teams the Orioles will be fielding in recent history but will it be enough to compete with the New York International Baseball Corporation (NYIBC) and Boston?  Right now that does not look too likely.

In the year 2010...

The Orioles will make significant improvements in the win-loss column, fan attendance and the standings.  Despite all of that I think he Orioles will still take some pretty solid steps this year.  I don't think .500 is out of the question, then again it never is out of the question in December.  I think we will be better than the rapidly rebuilding Blue Jays and I think the Rays will take another half-step back to the pack.  Third place?  Maybe.  Right now the Orioles just need to concentrate on getting better - developing and setting loose the dogs, or in this case birds, of war.  Andy MacPhail has said that he wants to see real improvement this year and Dave Trembley has said he will not be as reluctant to drop the hammer on his team if he feels they are under-performing.  I am looking forward to seeing all of this implemented.  The Orioles have a lot of young, hungry players.  They want aren't grizzled vets collecting a paycheck and playing out the string, they want success, they want to win and they want to do it in Baltimore.

So let's get started - in the year 2010