MacPhail talks about Krivsky's Departure
MacPhail thinks the pilfering of all the O's FO members is a sign they're doing something right. -Stacey You could also say it's rats leaving a sinking ship. I'd rather think Andy is right, personally. -duck
MacPhail: No timetable to replace Krivsky -- baltimoresun.com
The Orioles will be short one lieutenant at baseball's winter meetings next week and for the foreseeable future now that special assistant Wayne Krivsky has left for the New York Mets. -zk
Jury's out on '09 Draft for Orioles
Orioles.com staff writer Lisa Winston takes a look at how the 2009 draft class fared. Everything's sunny and all did great, apparently. Yeah. Right. -duck I don't know, duck, the title is JURY'S OUT. -Stacey
Melewski's Minor League All-StarsI would have gone with Britton as the starting pitcher (if we're not counting Matusz), but that's just me. Steve Melewski and I agree: Zach Britton is awesome. -Stacey
Renowned Cuban umpire defects to United States Nelson Diaz , who worked the Orioles-Cuban National Team game in 1999 in Baltimore, defected with his wife and two daughters yesterday. He was selected to work the 2009 World Baseball Classic, but wasn't allowed to attend by Cuban officials. They thought he might defect. Looks like they were right. -duck
More news stories below the jump...
Financial Darwinism and the Economics of the AL East "The Blue Jays were the only team of Tampa, Baltimore, and Toronto to even finish second in the past decade, in 2006." Aside from Tampa's miracle run in 2008, none of the other three have come close to winning the division in the 2000s. Michael Silver expands on a theme also broached by Steve Melewski in yesterday's Bird Droppings links. -duckO's don't plan offering arbitration to any eligible for it
Roch says: "The Orioles won't be offering it to Melvin Mora, Mark Hendrickson, Danys Baez or Chad Moeller." Expect Moeller and Hendrickson to return after much cheaper offers are made to them. -duck
Orioles interested in Bedard; should Mariners be as well?
"No use going over that trade's history once again, but the Mariners do face an interesting dilemma now. Should they also be interested in bringing back Bedard at a reduced rate, or did the Mariners see enough of the injury-prone lefty in the last two seasons?" Sorry, but I'm going to continue to revel in the effects of this trade for years. Decades, even. -duck
Baysox Announce Coloring Contest
"The Bowie Baysox announce today Louie's Winter Warm-Up Coloring Contest. Baysox fans ages 3-12 can print a winter-themed picture of the Baysox lovable mascot Louie at ww.baysox.com, color it and mail it back to the team." Great idea, but what is it with MiLB tams and their press release writers? You feel the need to write "announce today"? When else would it have been? And a misspelled web address? Really? -duck
Dempsey and Markakis light up the season
Check out Nick as he lights the Washington Monument in Mt. Vernon. Will they ever get new music for that? If Rick Dempsey is more your style, he'll be hanging out at the Fells Point Old Tyme Christmas celebration and will light the Christmas tree in Broadway Square. -Stacey
Guthrie and Bergesen to take part in tennis challenge
Pam Shriver is hosting the 24th annual BCF Tennis Challenge at first Mariner Arena on December 9th. The event will be televised on MASN and the celebrity doubles match will feature Jeremy Guthrie and Brad Bergesen. I guess this means Bergy's leg rehab is going well. Should be fun to watch. -Stacey
Say ‘o’ for Baltimore Orioles Tickets!
Put this in the WTF? department. This guy who's trying to hustle online tickets has written a piece that is RIDDLED with factual errors, and also contains some outright fabrications; such as "There’s a reason why Baltimore Orioles tickets are still in such great demand.". Or, "[saying 'o' during the national anthem] is done to highlight the Baltimore accent....but in recent times it has become almost non-existent at games, , mainly due to recent patriotic concerns." Um, WHAT THE HELL. Just goes to show you that you can't believe everything you read on the internet.-zk
ZAUN! - TSN Canada
Gregg ZAUN is a big CFL fan. Also, he expects to sign with a team before the end of this week. -zk
Fitch Rates Sarasota County, Florida's 1/2 Cent Sales Tax Bonds 'AA'; Upgrades CST to 'AA'
Want to invest in the Orioles? The bonds which are funding the renovations to Ed Smith stadium got a AA rating. -zk
Local News | M's offer arbitration to Beltre, not to Bedard | Seattle Times Newspaper
By not offering arbitration to Bedard before Tuesday's 9 p.m. PST deadline, the Mariners will not be entitled to receive draft picks as compensation next June if the free agent signs with another team after two injury-filled seasons with Seattle. -zk