There has been much lamenting the loss of Jeremy Guthrie and a lot of head scratching regarding the return on the trade, but the fact is that Jason Hammel and Matt Lindstrom are Orioles now, so let's cross our fingers they play well and that Dan Duquette knows something we don't.

Andrew Fisher from Purple Row, the SB Nation Rockies blog, was kind enough to send us a few observations on the two newest Orioles. First up, Jason Hammel (Andrew's comments are in block quotes, mine are not):

Hammel is one of my favorite players to ever put on a Rockies' uniform. In a field where athletes are likely not even conscious during interviews, Hammel provides unique dry wit and self-deprecating honesty in interviews. His dorky humor is enough to make a fan chuckle even after a tough loss. When he pitches well, he says so. When he pitches like dog excrement, he says so. When he pitches well and is undone by rotten luck, he says that too. (He has one memorable quote about being undone by a 27-hop home run...an inside the parker that was grounded down the 1B line.)

If there is one thing we like here at Camden Chat, it's dorky humor. Hopefully we'll be laughing along with Hammel instead of throwing things at our TV.

He's a fascinating player to analyze, as his 2009 and 2010 seasons rank #1 and #2 in Rockies' franchise history in terms of K/BB rate. He hit a home run off Zack Greinke. As a fan of baseball analysis, he has been an ideal case study to parse through. His 2009 and 2010 were nearly identical seasons in every statistical way...except for an ERA of a half run higher in 2010. And yet in well over 700 IP, his career ERA is much much higher than his FIP/'xFIP etc.

If his career ERA is much higher than his FIP then he's basically the opposite of Jeremy Guthrie, who always performed better than his FIP. I guess there's hope that Hammel might even out here in Baltimore. I mean, we have to hope for something, don't we?

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As you have by now read on this site and elsewhere, Jeremy Guthrie was traded by the Orioles to Colorado. In exchange, the O's received a starter, Jason Hammel, who is 29, and a reliever, Matt Lindstrom, who is 31. At 12:30pm today the O's had a conference call for the media with Dan Duquette and also the two newest members of the O's. Yours truly had the opportunity to listen in. The conference lasted about half an hour. There's a lot of stuff that gets asked and answered that I get the feeling is boilerplate stuff. Here are some of the highlights:

* Duquette cited several times that both Hammel and Lindstrom can be under team control for 2013 as a reason in favor of making the trade.

* He was asked if, while exploring trades, he had the opportunity to get young and upcoming prospects instead. "We didn't have any offers of young prospects."

* Duquette likes calling everyone "a dependable pitcher"; he referred to Guthrie this way as well as Hammel and Lindstrom. Then he mentioned Hammel's past 3 years of 177, 178 and 170 IP. Is that where the bar is set for dependable? Hammel doesn't seem to have spent time on the DL. He makes starts, just doesn't average 6+ IP.

* At one point, Duquette cited K/BB ratios as being a strength of the players acquired. He described them as having ratios "approaching" 3:1. Hammel's career K/BB is 2.01. Lindstrom's career K/BB is 2.12. Guthrie's career K/BB is 2.06. I am not sure that is how I would deploy the word "approaching."

* This fact was not referenced on the conference call (probably because the players themselves were also listening), but Guthrie has settled for $8.2M with Colorado. The combinination of the salaries of Hammel and Lindstrom is $8.35M.

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It's being reported by the Baltimore Sun, MASN, and Jeremy Guthrie himself on Twitter: our defacto ace and fan favorite Jeremy Guthrie has been traded to the Colorado Rockies for pitchers Jason Hammel and Matt Lindstrom.

Ok, so the first thing is that I understand the front office doesn't have the luxury of thinking like a fan when it comes to making trades. As a fan, I'm sad that Jeremy Guthrie is gone. He's a good baseball player and a nicer human, and he's been good to the city of Baltimore in his time here. But even I know that he most likely wasn't going to be on the next good Orioles team, so if a good deal could be made for him, it should have been.

The question is: is this a good deal?

Jason Hammel is 29 years old and started his career with the Devil Rays, but has spent the last three seasons in Colorado. He's pitched about 170 innings in each of the last three seasons, and in 2009 and 2010 was pretty good, putting up an fWAR of 3.9 in each of the years. His ERA was inflated quite a bit over his FIP in those years, but took an opposite turn in 2011. After a poor showing in the rotation, Hammel was demoted to the bullpen on August 20th and made seven appearances for the rest of the season.

Hammel isn't a horrible pitcher, that's for certain. He'll be getting out of Coors Field which could help him, and he could conceivably be productive for the Orioles this year. Will he be as productive as Guthrie? Sure, maybe, if he can pitch like he did a few seasons ago. And he won't be a free agent until 2014 so there's an extra year than the O's would get from Guthrie.

The other piece of the trade is Matt Lindstrom. When the season begins, Lindstrom will be 32 years old. He is a serviceable bullpen arm and nothing more. His current contract has a $4M option for 2013, or else he'll be a free agent after this season.

So, is it a good deal? I think as far as strict exchange of talent goes, it's not awful. But that's not what the Orioles need. If this deal ends up making the Orioles a better team, it will only be a marginal difference and it will be short term. The Orioles need to make changes that will help them down the road, not maybe for this season. I have no way of knowing if a Guthrie trade could bring back something that would help the Orioles long term, but if it's determined that the best you can do for him is this deal right here, then I wish they would have just let Guthrie stay an Oriole.

We don't have much as Orioles fans, but we have a few players we love to root for. Guthrie is one of them, and getting rid of him for this return just doesn't feel right.

Hope everyone had a joyous Super Sunday and is weathering their Monday in a dignified fashion. Wait, was I just talking about the Super Bowl and dignity in the same sentence? Again? Yeesh.

A's, Orioles may have interest in Koji Uehara - MLB - Sporting News DD, don't let Brad Pitt outfox you on this one!

2012 projections: top 10 catchers | HardballTalk Nice offensive bump predicted for Matt Wieters here. Considered one of the best BEFORE factoring in for defense.

Camden Depot: What does Manny Ramirez offer the Orioles? Crawdaddy tries to sift through the garbage and make sense of it all.

On this day in 1895, Babe Ruth was born in Baltimore.

Happy Birthday to Bowser herself today!

And apparently, there's one more football game. Don't know why they're bothering, the season ended two weeks ago. Sheesh, NFL, try and keep up. Honestly, there's not much in the way of Orioles news. To say there's slim pickin's would be an insult to this guy. But here's what's happening:

Orioles Unload 'Everything But the Crab Cakes' into Ed Smith Stadium - Sarasota, FL Patch
"Spring Training is getting closer, as the Baltimore Orioles unload a van full of supplies into its Baseball Operations Center and Ed Smith Stadium on Saturday. "We've brought everything but the crab cakes," said Laura Williams, Orioles director of Florida Operations." Oh, and there's video.

Ernst: Orioles' promise of youth facility looks hollow | HeraldTribune.com
"Just tell them what they want to hear. It's a surefire strategy in most cases, and we can see how it was used to perfection in the Sarasota County Commission's dealings with the Baltimore Orioles baseball team." Seems the O's haven't made everyone happy down in Florida.

Orioles' Taiwanese starter called best investment: LA Times - CNA ENGLISH NEWS
"A three-year baseball contract the American Baltimore Orioles signed with Taiwanese pitcher Chen Wei-yin was one of the "smartest" investments in Major League Baseball (MLB) recently, the Los Angeles Times said in its Saturday edition."

Short and sweet today, folks. Happy weekend!

School of Roch: Should Manny be Manny in Baltimore?
Roch says NO.

Oriole Rotation Projected to Improve | Dempsey's Army
I can't imagine they could get any worse, can you?

Some Orioles notes on Manny Ramirez, roster additions, Jeff Larish, Jeremy Guthrie - baltimoresun.com
The O's signed Jeff Larish to a minor league deal, could work out a deal with Jeremy Guthrie before they go to a hearing on Monday, and they had better not sign Manny Ramirez.

Happy Friday, folks. Edwin Jackson and Casey Kotchman are no longer our concern, but Manny? Yeesh. As I write this I remember now that I had a dream about the 2012 Orioles last night and Brian Roberts was playing. Huh.

A’s, Orioles Emerge As Leading Suitors For Manny Ramirez | SI Tracking Blog – Appropriately enough, this rumor resurfaces on Groundhog Day. Would you oppose a minor league deal?

School of Roch: Jackson's off the board (Kotchman too) Anybody want a Lannan?

Baltimore Orioles: When do we start outthinking ourselves? I wonder how common this view is?

Steve Melewski: Dan Duquette on arbitration cases and recent trade talk (update) Dan Duquette exhibits his sparkling public personality.

Talk about "Protect this House", on this day in 1900, physical confrontations ripened into a tense standoff over possession of the Union Park Grounds in Baltimore.

It's the birthday of Fred Lynn.