Part 2 of the AL East Roundtable focuses on the 2nd half of the season. I expect I might take some heat on my opinion of the outfield defense, but I will say that recently I feel that Adam Jones has picked up his defense and I wish I'd mentioned that in the discussion. See the entire thing below the jump.

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I recently had the pleasure of participating in a discussion of the AL East with bloggers from Bluebird Banter, DRaysBay, Over The Monster, and Pinstripe Alley. Below is part 1 of that discussion, focusing on the trade deadline. You probably won't learn anything new from what I had to say, but there is a lot of good stuff from the other guys. Special thanks to Sky Kalkman of Beyond The Boxscore for moderating.

Sky Kalkman (Moderator): Which teams, under which circumstances, will be buyers over the next three weeks? How about sellers? If there are any undecideds, what will be the tipping point?

R.J. Anderson (DRaysBay): I think the Rays could buy and sell. If someone comes along with an enticing offer for Carl Crawford or Scott Kazmir, I fully expect the Rays to listen. At the same time, seeing them acquire a cheap catcher wouldn't shock me either.

Daniel Hugo (Bluebird Banter): Historically, the Jays have been quiet in July in terms of deals - not buying or selling. This season could be somewhat different. Of course everyone has heard the Roy Halladay trade rumours but I have to say, I don't think it's particularly likely he gets dealt before next year's trade deadline, though you never know. Scott Rolen could be interesting to some teams, but the Jays would likely need to get back someone who could play third base next season. Lyle Overbay has slumped lately but he is still having a solid season and could be a useful piece. And if anyone needs a shortstop short-term, Marco Scutaro will be a free agent after this season and is having a very fine season on both sides of the ball. The Jays would be looking to get young position players back, particularly in the infield, as only Aaron Hill is signed after the 2010 season. They could also be looking for a young power hitter. The Jays would love to trade Vernon Wells, of course, but his deal makes that very difficult, even without the no-trade clause.

Stacey Long (Camden Chat): There is no question that the Orioles should be sellers this year. They aren't going anywhere in the standings and they have a number of free agents to-be who could provide value to contending teams. Danys Baez has seen a career revival this year after missing all of last season. He's a FA next year and I can't imagine the O's bringing him back unless he takes a considerable pay cut. Aubrey Huff, also an upcoming FA, has dropped off after a great 2008 but still provides left handed power and has proven himself much more adequate at 1B than could have been imagined. Some O's fans want Aubrey to be re-signed (or at least offered arbitration after the year) because the Orioles don't have an immediate solution to replace him in 2010. Plus Huff has really endeared himself to fans and has publicly stated that he wants to remain an Oriole. He has regrets about leaving the Devil Rays just before they crossed the line into contending, and he's scared to miss that boat with the O's as well. Other possible trade pieces for the Orioles include George Sherrill, Jim Johnson, and Luke Scott. I think the O's may make a few trades, but Andy MacPhail is nothing if not methodical. He won't trade just because it seems like he should and he won't give away anything if he doesn't get substantial value in return. It seems that he prefers to operate in the winter when there is more flexibility, and he's very, very deliberate. But his patience did bring us Luke Scott, Matt Albers, Troy Patton, Adam Jones, Chris Tillman, George Sherrill, and more, so for now I'll defer to his wisdom.

Randy Booth (Over The Monster): The Red Sox will be "buyers," if you even want to call them that. They're certainly not sellers as the team with the best team in the American League. Even though the Red Sox have been inconsistent, they may not necessarily need to trade for anything. They have a few guys like Jed Lowrie coming off the disabled list that will instantly shore up some holes (of course, that's if he stays healthy). So for another year under Theo Epstein, the Sox might not make a huge splash -- unlike last year, when that guy named Manny, I think, was traded.

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More photos » by Michael Dwyer - AP

My old friend Bruce Chen. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

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As has been discussed several times in the past days, I was in Boston this weekend to take in a game at Fenway Park vs. the Kansas City Royals. In the past, when I've been to baseball games that don't feature the Orioles, I generally root for the home team to win. But I just couldn't do it. I couldn't root for the Red Sox. Having been to Kansas City last summer and in possession of a KC Royals t-shirt, I decided that I'd play the part of traveling Royals fan for the day. Two of my other friends also donned the royal blue and so it was that three "Royals fans", one Red Sox fan, and fellow Camden Chatter 2632 (dressed in neutral colors) took a trip together to Fenway. 

Should you ever decide to pose as a Royals fan in Boston, there are two things you need to know:

1. Red Sox fans are SUPER friendly to Royals fans. Friendly to the point that it made me feel a little bad about being a giant liar.
   
2. It's a lot tougher pretending to be a Royals fan when the Royals are the away team than it is in Kansas City. It's especially difficult when you run into people who are actually from Kansas City. 

We didn't start out with the intent to be liars. We really didn't. But once people started engaging us in conversation it seemed like it'd be really douchey to say, "Actually I'm an Orioles fan and these two are Yankees fans so we're cheering for the Royals."  Mostly we received well wishes from Red Sox fans who wanted us to enjoy our time in Boston and give us props for sticking with the Royals through the tough times. The first actual lie came when an older man asked us, "Is your dad a Royals fan?" After a moment of hesitation my friend responded, "He is!" which allowed the man to speculate that our father had told us tales of George Brett and that it was those stories that gave us the wherewithal to maintain our Royals passion over these tough years. We also heard a story from one woman about how her friend is from Kansas City and they go to games when she visits KC and isn't it a lovely stadium? We were asked a lot of times if we were visiting just to see the Royals. Technically we were even though I think the Red Sox fans were most impressed at the idea of us coming all the way from Missouri.

Then we encountered a Royals fan. A 20-something fellow in a KC hat spotted us as he walked past our seats. Looking thrilled, he high fived us and then said, "Do you live around here now or are you visiting?" We answered that we were visiting and he followed up with, "Where do you live?" Instead of just saying, "New Jersey," my friend Katie pipes up, "Lee's Summit!" The guy thought that was great, shared his hometown, and moved on. We looked at Katie like, "Lee's Summit? WTF?" She said, "I have a friend who lives in that town!"  So at that point we were pretty much full fledged liars. Our lying became a bit tricky when, after the game, some guys in Royals gear stopped us and, like the guy before them, asked where we were from. Confident from actually knowing the name of a town in Missouri, Julia says, "I'm from Lee's Summit!" And then you won't believe what happened. This kid says, "Really? What year did you graduate from high school? I went to Lee's Summit High School! Class of 2000!" SERIOUSLY! What are the odds? Of all the towns, THIS kid went to high school in the town from which we pretended to hail? Now trapped, Julia says, "Class of 98" and the kid starts asking her if she knows this person and that person. She managed to wriggle out of the conversation and escape, and from then on we made sure we didn't get close enough to any Royals fans to engage in conversation. It was hilarious and ridiculous. We clearly didn't think our plan through. We just didn't expect it. Even at the rest stop on our way home we got some folks telling us to, "Stay strong, Royals fans!"

Anyway, Fenway Park. I know a lot of you describe the place as a dump and have no desire to go there (ever again or for the first time), but I was excited to visit. I love other ballparks, especially those that have history and character. Fenway Park has both. Yeah, it's old and therefore kinda dirty, but I didn't find it bothersome. I actually thought it was pretty cool to see the field, the Green Monster, all the things I've seen on TV when the Orioles are getting soundly beaten over and over. The atmosphere was as I expected, although a bit laid back given the opponent and the score of the game. It was really just a great place to see a game, I thought, and the weather was perfect as well. A good day at the park.

As for the actual game, well, it's fair to say that the Kansas City Royals are not good at baseball. I don't know who made me sadder, Bruce Chen or Tony Pena, Jr. Josh Beckett pitched a complete game shutout on just 94 pitches. After 6 innings he had only 60 pitches. The Royals managed to get a few runners in scoring position but could never get the hit they needed. The Royals pitchers appeared to be terrified of Jason Bay given that his final line was 3 BB and 2 HBP. Our good friend Bruce Chen lasted three innings plus two batters. He only gave up three runs but it was actually a miracle it was that few. The game could have easily been 10-0. Oh well, us Royals fans are used to the let downs.

Tonight was MASN Orioles Blogger Night at Camden Yards and I was joined by Duck and Jonny Pops in representing Camden Chat at the event. Other Camden Chatters in attendance were Brotz13 (Orioles Card "O" the Day, NumerOlogy), thewaywardO (The Wayward Oriole), and RoarFrom34Blog (Roar From 34). Also present were representatives from The Loss Column, Oriole Magic, Dempsey's Army, Baltimore Sports and Life, and Baltimore Sports Report. The whole group was treated to a lovely evening courtesy of MASN, especially Todd Webster and Kristen Hudak. So if you guys are checking in on us, thanks again!

The evening began when Duck and I met at Pickles for a pre-game beer before heading over to the home plate gate where we met Jonny Pops, Brotz13, and a number of other bloggers. Once inside the doors we were all issued press passes (see me showing mine off in the pic). I found the entire thing to be terribly exciting. We whooshed up the elevators to the press level where we briefly got to meet Amber Theoharris. She was on her way down to the field so couldn't talk for long. Jonny Pops suggested she stop by later and do a story on us, but she politely declined (hee).

Gary Thorne and Buck Martinez spent a few minutes detailing their day and how they prepare for the game, including talking to players on the field, going over the game notes, the usual. Gary also joked that when there's a good hockey game on they always keep it on during the game. As you all know, Gary has that great voice, and it was even more booming in person. Those of you who pay attention to Buck when he's on camera know that he's always giving that twinkly winky eye to the camera, and as I was in his line of vision I felt like he was giving it directly to me the entire time. The question was asked if Buck and Gary read any sports blogs, and they said that they didn't, since between all of their various jobs they just don't have the time. So feel free to continue saying whatever you like about Buck and Gary here, they won't ever know :-)

After our meet and greet with Buck and Gary we were led down to the bullpen area where we watched a bit of Orioles Xtra with Jim Hunter and Rick Dempsey, then we went to the MASN Suites where we'd watch what turned out to be a fine Orioles game.

I'd never been in a suite at Camden Yards before and I felt especially fancy. There was plenty of good food, a refrigerator stocked with beer, soda, and water, AND celebrity visitors! Gregg Zaun had his entourage there, and Rick Dempsey spent a good deal of the game in the suite with us. Duck was especially geeked to get his picture taken with the Demper. Jim Hunter also stopped by for a bit and Al Bumbry was hanging around as well. The entire thing was just so...cool. Perhaps the greatest celebrity run in was when Roch Kubatko stopped in and Duck introduced himself as being from Camden Chat. I'll let Duck tell the story as I wasn't there when it happened, but the bottom line is Roch wasn't amused about the time that a story was written about Roch challenging a Camden Chatter to fisticuffs. Sadly I did not even see Roch as I was outside cheering on the O's.

We also got to visit the MASN HD truck where a hundred monitors and like twenty people were working super hard recording the game, deciding what gets shown, putting together highlight packages, and tracking pitches. Honestly I didn't understand half of what was going on in there but it looked very important.

Perhaps the finest part of my evening was just getting to sit around and shoot the breeze with my fellow Camden Chatters. We all interact on this blog on a regular basis, but meeting in person really gives you a chance to get to know the people behind the screen names. It was a real treat to meet the guys.

Also, I'd be remiss if I didn't get MASN the proper credit on this evening. We've had many discussions here about the changing face of media, how the internet changes things, and how blogs often aren't taken as seriously as they should be. By reaching out to the Orioles online community, MASN is proving that they do get it.  They showed great respect for us and our work, and for that I'm very thankful.

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The Orioles have announced the schedule and Opening Day festivities for Monday, as detailed by WJZ. This will undoubtedly be another long season, but Opening Day is always a day to celebrate as far as I'm concerned.

Schedule of events:

• 1 p.m. Gates open
• 1:25 - 2:25 Orioles batting practice
• 2:25 - 3:05 Yankees batting practice
• 3:05 - 3:25 Field Prep
• 3:30 Opening Day ceremonies
• 4:05 PLAY BALL!

The WJZ story also reveals a list of new food to the ballpark this year, the most interesting in my opinion being the lobster corn dog. WTF? It's only on club level, so I'll probably never know exactly what that is. Advice to the Orioles concessions stands: work on keeping the nacho cheese hot this year, thanks.

The opening ceremonies will include the usual orange carpet and all that jazz, but will also have a demonstration of the upgraded sound and video system, which I'm excited about. Too often in the past few years has the PA system sounded like it was being run by an adult in a Charlie Brown cartoon.

I am so happy that Opening Day is almost here! I don't think I could have taken one more week of Spring Training. The weather forecast is cloudy with a 60% chance rain (boo!), but at least it's supposed to be 61 degrees. Our plan for Opening Day is to have lunch at Faidley's followed by beers at one of the nearby bars (probably not Pickles/Sliders...just too crowded for me) before getting inside for the ceremonies. Our tickets are in section 362, so if you're in the vicinity and you see a chick wearing these awesome shoes, that's me.

How many of you are going?

I was lucky enough to be in attendance at Saturday's Yankees-Orioles game, the 2nd to last game at Yankee Stadium. Despite the final outcome, the day was a lot of fun and I was glad to have the chance to see the O's play there before it closed. The picture above was taken with my camera phone from our seats (I forgot my real camera). We were in the 2nd level, very last section in left field, with seats right on the aisle at the end. We pretty much overlooked the Orioles bullpen, which was fun, and which allowed us to know the outcome of the game before it happened because we could see Jamie Walker warming up before anyone else.

Just prior to the game starting we watched Brian Burres warming up in the bullpen and toward the end of his warm up, Luke Scott jogged into the bullpen with a bat and stood in the batters box while Brian threw. It was funny to me that he came all the way out to do that since he wasn't swinging or anything, just standing there holding a bat. It seems like any of the 10 or so people milling about the bullpen could have done that. But I didn't mind because it got me really close to Luke. I could have spit on him if I wanted. Instead I just leaned over the railing and "LUUUUUUUKE"d him. He looked up from the bullpen and waved and gave that big grin of his. That was pretty much the highlight of my day.

Honestly, though, the Orioles weren't the main reason that we were there. Early in the season my dad told me he'd like to go to Yankee Stadium before it closed. He'd never seen a game there and really wanted to before it was gone. We weren't planning on going to see the O's and we weren't planning on going the last series ever. It just turned out that way based on the tickets we could get and the weekends we were both available.

Look, I'm not going to lie: I like Yankee Stadium. I know people call it a dump and it does have its drawbacks. The concourses are like caves, the bathrooms look like they were created for people 4 feet tall, the ramps are a little too steep, the floor is old and sorta slippery. But it's Yankee freaking Stadium. And the first time I ever went there, when I walked out of the tunnel and saw all the blue seats and fences, the familiar facade, I loved it. Yankee Stadium feels like history to me. Love the Yankees, hate the Yankees, you have to acknowledge the team and this stadium's place in history. So I was happy to be at the game and at Yankee Stadium one more time. The fact that the O's were there was just a bonus.

I actually felt like something of an outsider. Everyone at the game was most likely at their last game ever at that stadium, a stadium that a lot of them had been going to for their entire lives. Even if you ignore all of the media love fest that has been going on for that stadium this season, there is that. I don't really remember Memorial Stadium closing. I mean, I remember when it happened, but I was 11 years old and it didn't really mean much to me. Camden Yards will not close down in my lifetime, but if I take the time to imagine it were happening, I'd probably be very, very emotional. It's a place where I've grown up and watched teams I've loved and teams I've hated. I know where to find my favorite vendors and the best place to sit to avoid having sun in my eyes and which lower box sections have ushers that will let you sneak down. I saw Cal Ripken play there and went to playoff games there and sat right by Palmeiro his first game back from his suspension and heard him get booed by O's fans. I  made friends there and iIt holds a special place in my life, and if I was told I'd never be able to go there anymore I don't know what I'd do (and it's only been open 15 years). And that's what Yankee fans are facing today. And it's a little sad.

At the game I was at a little beer stand during last call that was being manned by two old ladies. Two girls about my age were at the stand asking them where they'd be located at the new stadium and the ladies didn't know. One of the girls says, "But what if I can't find you? I've seen you every Saturday home game for three years!" And then they took a picture of them and hugged them goodbye. I found it really sweet and sort of sad and appropriate. Because the Yankees and their fans will continue to be obnoxious and everyone will continue to hate them, but from now on it'll never be quite the same.

I went down to Wrigley Field with a couple of Cubs fans yesterday, and I thought I'd share my day with you, dear Camden Chatters.

First of all, game time was 1:20 CT, so 2:20 here in civilization. I live on the very brink of civilization in Saint Joseph, Mich., and friend #1 is in Michigan City, Ind. Friend #2 is in Valparaiso, Ind.

We also had to pick up the tickets in Sutton's Crossing in Hoffman Estates, Ill., which is the damnedest place, and a fair ways past Chicago. So here was the trip:

Traffic was awful.

Anyway, this Sutton's Crossing place. It's 120 acres of land within Hoffman Estates that is going to be some sort of big shopping center or some such. It's like a modern day version of a mining town, as if someone found silver there and now everyone is storming in to put up a business.

The traffic and the fact that we got rolling a bit later than we should have meant we missed most of the first three innings, so we saw exactly zero of the Cubs three runs. We had seats up in aisle 523, which are upper deck reserved and not bad seats at all. It's behind home plate at a slight angle, up under the broadcast booths.

What did I actually get to see? I saw Jay Bruce's homer, and then the ball that Joey Votto sent out onto Sheffield, which was then impressively chucked back from the street into the middle of the outfield. Nice arm, buddy.

I also got to see Paul Bako flail away, which was a hoot to experience live. Kerry Wood overpowered Patterson, Bako and Javier Valentin to get the save in a 3-2 Cubs win. There was no real drama, because those three weren't going to do any damned thing. My favorite part of the game was probably when the baby behind us took a wicked dump in the ninth inning and its mother did not think this was a foul enough stench to, like, get the baby away from everyone else.

We got out of our right-by-Wrigley $40 parking and then went over to Seminary and School (two streets, in fact) to park and walk around and find something to eat. We decided on the very not-busy Ian's Pizza by the Slice. We were warmly greeted and asked if we'd ever been there before, as if there was some great mystery to figure out. I'm a very polite person and realize most people don't really get humor, so I didn't say anything smart-assed. But, like, it's a pizza joint called Ian's Pizza by the Slice. Let me guess -- I order pizza by the slice?

I got a BBQ chicken and pineapple and a pepperoni/mushroom slice, and with a couple of Cherry Cokes it came to $10, which isn't bad at all. Pizza was good, but not great. Then we got to hear the workers talk jive to the other customers that came in after, such as Michael Jordan's visit on their grand opening day (this is a non-descript place in Wrigleyville, not something you'd much notice) and the fact that it was "the best pizza in the f---in' world." I'm not even sure it was the best pizza on that block.

All in all, a quality trip into Chicago, one of my very favorite cities. Those Cubs fans this year are a whole different breed. They're rocking the attitude that they're going to win.

The seventh inning stretch featured Dan Plesac, so I sort of felt shortchanged there.

So that was my O's off-day. How was yours?

As most of you know, I was lucky enough to spend Thursday afternoon watching the O's beat the Cubs 11-4 at Wrigley Field. It was my second game in five days, having just watched the O's take on the Brewers Sunday in Milwaukee. Fortunately for me, Thursday's game had a happier ending.

I have a different history with the Chicago Cubs than I do with the Brewers. Like some of you, I spent many an afternoon watching the Cubs on WGN growing up, so I always had more familiarity with the team than with other National League teams, most of which I barely pay attention to. In addition to the WGN connection, I also have Cub fans in the family. A number of aunts, uncles, and cousins live in Chicagoland and have been die hard Cubs fans since birth. My stepfather grew up on the north side of Chicago and I've spent more than a few days listening to him talk about Cubs teams past. My brother has lived in Chicago since 2003 and tried to make the Cubs his second team given our family connections, but has actually begun following the White Sox a bit since he couldn't quite get used to NL ball.

I was in Chicago for nearly a week, and when I'm there I like to make my brother do touristy things with me. During the week I noticed something going on in Chicago. There was a lot of orange around town. I spent all day Monday at my aunt and uncle's house in the 'burbs, but early Tuesday we went downtown to go on the greatly anticipated Gangster Tour. Standing on the corner waiting for the tour bus, I see walking before me four people dressed in orange. I was shocked. Four guys, three O's hats, 2 Adam Jones t-shirts, a Markakis t-shirt, and an orange polo with the bird on the breast.  Not ten minutes later we're on the tour bus and just a few rows ahead of us sat two guys in O's hats. After the tour I dragged my brother to Michigan Avenue where we saw two more groups of people dressed in their O's gear. The next day, sitting at a red light, another group of Orioles fans crossed the street right in front of us. My brother joked, "I haven't seen this many O's fans in one week since the 90s." 

Finally game day arrived. We took the bus from my brother's neighborhood and as we approached Wrigley Field, we passed a coffee shop that appeared to be completely filled with Orioles fans. As we got closer, we saw even more O's fans mixed in with the thousands of Cubs fans crowded around the stadium. I was really in shock. There were a few O's fans in Milwaukee, but nothing like this. It got me super excited.

Our seats were in the upper deck between home plate and third. Quite good seats, really. I had been bummed they were in the upper deck, but from our perch we had a great view of the entire field. Wrigley Field really is beautiful. I've been there a few times and I always think so. I love looking out at the city beyond center field, I love the old scoreboard, I love it all. It's cliche, but it does sort of take you back to another time, especially when compared to Miller Park with its steel facade and home run pump.

With our view from the upper deck it was easy to pick out the groups of O's fans sprinkled throughout Wrigley Field. The largest patches of orange appeared to be in the bleachers, where instead of 1 or 2 orange shirts, there were groups of O's fans clustered together in multiple places. In the lower deck there appeared to be couples in orange scattered throughout. Don't get me wrong, this was no Oriole Invasion. This wasn't the Red Sox in Baltimore. But it was definitely more than I was expecting. It made me feel proud of our fans.

The game itself was quite a pleasant surprise. When the O's won the first game, I actually thought to myself, "Damn. Guess we'll see a loss." Not much faith in our team, I'm sorry to say. Luckily the boys didn't share in my lack of faith because they gave a solid butt kicking to the National League's best team.

After the game we joined the many heading out to the nearby bars. The concentration of Orioles fans seemed even greater out on the street, perhaps because so many Cubs fans had left in the 7th and 8th innings. Or maybe it was because the O's fans were so happy. Strangers felt like friends because they were in orange. 

All in all, Thursday's game was the perfect end to my vacation. The Cubs are probably headed to the playoffs and the Orioles are probably headed to another losing season. But on that one day I got to see the Orioles kick some ass and win a series against a first place team. It made it easy to imagine a time in the future when the O's are the favorites and Camden Yards is as packed as Wrigley on Thursday.