Friday Bird Droppings

Hernandez prepares for 2010 season
Steve Melewski caught up with David Hernandez. He hopes to get a spot in the rotation. I say that if he does something will have gone horribly wrong. Part 2 of the interview is here. -Stacey

Haitian earthquake hits home for Orioles' Pie - baltimoresun.com
Although born and raised in the Domincan Republic, Felix Pie's parents are Haitian. His extended family still lives there but thankfully far away from Port-au-Prince. And if you think hearing that Pie was in "deep sadness" didn't almost make me start crying, well then you don't know me very well. -Stacey

Crede at top of O's list
Per Roch, Joe Crede is the O's top choice FA to play 3B, which I suppose would move Garrett Atkins to 1B? I don't know, man. -Stacey

Orioles gearing up for this year's FanFest | MLB.com: News
It'll be baseball goodness on January 23rd when over 70 former, current, and future Orioles come together at the Baltimore Convention Center for Fan Fest. -Stacey

'Not a done deal': Lee County says it's still in the game to land the Orioles" Naples Daily News
Thanks to the Sarasota lawsuit, Fort Myers has dreams of snatching the Orioles away. -zk

MLB pitching in for devastated Haiti | MLB.com: News
MLB has donated $1M to help fund the relief effort in Haiti. The Yankees have also given $500K. -Stacey

And in Hot Stove news: the Tigers signed Jose Valverde to a 2 year, $14M contract, the Marlins extended Josh Johnson for 4 years, $39M, and the Diamondbacks snatched up Adam LaRoche for 1 year, $4.5M. 

If anybody asks you if in you in this game, you tell 'em you in it for life, a'ight?. You play it hard, you play it tight, and you make sure Open Threads know you gonn' stand by your people. No loose talk, no second thoughts and no snitching. Play it like that.