I accidentally deleted today's Bird Droppings when I was trying to delete a draft of another story. I am SO sorry! Crap! I'm gonna see if I can get it back since there were good comments in there.
I haven't heard back from the tech people about reversing my mistake, so at the very least let me re-post the links for anyone who shows up late. And Andrew's question of the day, as I remember it, is: Now that Andy MacPhail has proven his willingness to offer a competitive, market value contract to a big name FA (Victor Martinez), does that change the way you look at him as a GM?
School of Roch: Buck Showalter conference call
Buck conceded that the process of building his staff took much longer than anticipated. "It was probably a little longer that I had hoped or thought, but as we got into the process, I knew that with all the managerial changes and all the changes that went on in baseball, there was going to have to be some patience on our part." -zk
Jesse Crain targeted by nine teams | The Diamond Report
I don't know who the Diamond Report is, but they're reporting that the Orioles have interest in relief pitcher Jesse Crain.
American Chronicle | History Lesson: If not for Angelos, Mussina might've stuck around
It was on this week in 2000 that Mike Mussina signed with the Yankees. Cue duck posting his favorite photo.
Bob Ford: Gillick deserves enshrinement in Hall of Fame | Philadelphia Inquirer
A veterans committee for baseball's Hall of Fame will meet next week at the game's annual winter meetings to judge the merits of 12 candidates recently selected for approval by yet another committee.
O's have issues in luring free agents - baltimoresun.com
Won't someone please take our money? Also, it makes my stomach hurt when I see in print things like, "the Orioles may have turned the corner in the final two months of the season."
Red Sox Will Have No Margin for Error in Five-Team AL East Race - NESN.com
NESN points out that it'll be a tough race in the AL East in 2011 with all five teams improving.