I was a bit shocked to see Brian Roberts' demands for a deal. While I do think Roberts if a fine player -- by the time he's done with the contract he wants, the second baseman will be in his decline phase. I was frankly surprised to even see that he and his agent were negotiating with the team and that dialogue was still open.

Does anyone think that he may be holding a gun to the team's head to get more money because he's the one the premier faces of the franchise and wants to be compensated for it? Again, I thought he would be traded --- however, does it show that winning isn't paramount for him like I thought?

I would think the Orioles would want to keep Brian on the team; however, wouldn't the prudent thing to do is trade him to a contender and get young talent to help the rebuilding process?

Baseball is a business, and now it seems like Brian Roberts and his agent is treating it as such.

If someone told me last month that John Smoltz would ever leave Atlanta and consider the possibility of playing in another uniform, I would have laughed at you.

Now it looks like one of the mainstays of those great Braves teams is now moving north to Boston. The Braves have seemingly given up on John Smoltz, due to his injuries and recovery from shoulder surgery. It looks like he will be joining the Red Sox in 2009. no comments

After seeing this, do YOU really think he wanted to go anywhere else but New York? He completely used every other team as bait to get a deal, and he'd rather be a piece of with a team - Boston or New York, rather than a focal point of a lineup - everyone else. He may have wanted to be a Yankee, and is saying the right things -- almost too perfectly -- but, he wants to win and the paycheck is definitely worthwhile.

I also think it's nice he listened to his wife, and she helped him come to a decision. Again, this does not make it any easier to stomach that he bypassed everyone else for a chance to wear pinstripes.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Continue Reading

ESPN's Keith Law has his take on the newest Oriole pitcher, Koji Uehara.

Uehara tends to work around the plate with good command of average stuff and, like many Japanese pitchers, throws his fastball in the upper half of the zone, which will make him susceptible to the long ball. This combination was the main red flag on Kei Igawa, and Hideki Irabu and Tomo Ohka were also extremely homer-prone in the U.S. Uehara's advantage is that his command is better than that of any of the other three pitchers, and he does pound the strike zone, issuing just 195 walks in 1,549 career innings in NPB

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

If this is true about Giles, there's a place in hell reserved for him.

Well, perhaps the talk of Brian Roberts going to the Chicago White Sox may have been overblown. Here's the latest from Baltimore Sun columnist Peter Schmuck...

From the Baltimore Sun: Sounds like the Orioles won't be sending Brian Roberts to the White Sox for pitcher Gavin Floyd anytime soon, though that rumor seems to have more legs than the Rockettes. White Sox general manager Ken Williams made a statement yesterday through a spokesman that he hasn't talked to anyone from the Orioles about anything since November.

Though many O's fans think that Floyd would not represent fair value for BRob, the White Sox apparently feel that a 17-game winner with several years left under reserve is a pretty valuable commodity.

The big news of today in baseball was the unveiling of Mark Teixeira as a Yankee. We all know the details, and we know he didn't want to come to Baltimore; alas, seeing him in pinstripes was a little surreal after all that took place this off-season.

Mark said all the right things in his press conference, and only spoke glowingly of his new employers, but I'll be interested to see the reaction when comes back to his hometown for Opening Day.

Well, the other news that really intrigued me was that Carl Pavano found work in Cleveland. His deal is worth $1.5 million plus heavy incentives which he could earn an additional $5.3 million based on starts and innings pitched. The Indians got a pitcher on the cheap -- mostly because of his adventures in New York -- however, if he can be a .500 pitcher or better, he'll help them out greatly.

Now onto Baltimore...

I just read this online, but longtime Minnesota Twins owner and billionaire, Carl Pohlad passed away today at 93.

From what I know of him and talking with some Twins fans over the years, they have called him cheap, greedy and demonize him for his part in the attempted contraction of the team.

In light of it all; however, you cannot discount the success that's he had in life and the Minnesota organization.

Rest in peace, Carl Pohlad.

With spring training fast approaching, it looks like some more chips have come off the table as both Pat Burrell and Milton Bradley have found new homes.

The Tampa Bay Rays got the right-handed bat they needed as they signed Pat Burrell to a two year, 16 million dollar deal (a freaking bargain for a slugger); meanwhile, the Cubs have signed Milton Bradley to a three year, 30-million dollar to add yet another power bat to their stable of mashers.

With that being said, only about five-plus weeks remain until Spring Training, and one has to think what will the Orioles do? Right now, it looks like they have interest in Japanese pitchers Kenshin Kawakami and Koji Uehara per Roch Kubatko. no comments