That was an extremely long reach. My apologies.
The White Sox non-tendered closer Bobby Jenks and his facial hair, making him available on the free-agent market. The Orioles will kick the tires on him at next week's winter meetings, if their leg hasn't already swung.
Jenks' save total has dropped from 41 to 40 to 30 to 29 to 27 over the past five years. The two-time All-Star was 1-3 with a 4.44 ERA, 18 walks and 61 strikeouts in 55 appearances covering 52 2/3 innings this season. He...
Is everyone refreshed after venting last night over the Adam Dunn news and, hopefully, getting a good night's sleep?
There's still plenty of time to patch the holes in your walls and apologize to the cat.
If you're waiting breathlessly for the Orioles to reveal their minor league coaching staffs, it probably won't happen until the middle of next week. A few openings might remain, but most of the names will be in place.
At least three affiliates will have a full-time extra coach, while...
The Orioles declined to offer a contract to reliever Matt Albers, allowing him to become a free agent.
Removing Albers from the 40-man roster lowers the total to 34.
Albers went 11-12 with a 4.60 ERA in 146 games with the Orioles after they acquired him from the Astros on Dec. 12, 2007.
The Orioles can re-sign Albers, but he's free to seek a deal with another organization.
As expected, the Orioles offered contracts to their other arbitration-eligible players: Jeremy Guthrie, Jim Johnson,...
For those of you who aren't attached to mlbtraderumors, it appears that the White Sox have reached agreement with free-agent first baseman Adam Dunn on a four-year, $56 million contract. Multiple reporters are tweeting it.
Sounds like a nice deal for the White Sox. Nothing that sends up red flags or makes me wonder if there's a gas leak at U.S. Cellular Field.
According to this tweet, some Chicago players believe Paul Konerko will re-sign with the White Sox.
You'd have to assume that...
I've been awake since 5 a.m. May as well fire up the blog again and go back to bed later, where I'll do a little more tossing and turning. That'll be my cardio workout for the day.
I'm still waiting for the Orioles to announce their minor league coaching staffs, but manager Gary Kendall is definitely moving up from short-season Single-A Aberdeen to Double-A Bowie, where he'll be joined by pitching coach Kennie Steenstra and new hitting coach Denny Hocking. Gary Allenson is back at...
Longtime Orioles umpire attendant Ernie Tyler is being transferred to a rehabilitation facility and continues to progress well after undergoing surgery to remove a benign brain tumor.
Tyler's son, Jimmy, passed along the news to an Orioles official.
Ernie had been hospitalized at the University of Maryland Medical Center since Oct. 2 and underwent the surgery four days later. Continue to hold a good thought for him.
A member of the Orioles' Hall of Fame, Tyler worked 3,819 consecutive home...
Well, here's your latest rumor:
The Orioles have made a "significant" offer to free-agent first baseman Paul Konerko, according to a tweet from former executive Jim Bowden.
This wouldn't be a huge surprise, since the Orioles chased Konerko in the winter of 2005 and watched him take less money to re-sign with the Chicago White Sox. They need a first baseman with power. He's a first baseman with power.
He's also been viewed as a guy who would rather go someplace else, as he's shown in...
It's with great joy that I can finally proclaim, without fear of contradiction or late signing, that the ship has sailed on Miguel Tejada.
Nothing against Tejada, but I wasn't ready for another reunion. How can I miss him if he doesn't leave?
He's gone, having reportedly agreed to a one-year, $6.5 million deal with the Giants last night.
I didn't think the Orioles would re-sign him to play third base, but at least that temptation has been removed.
And all that fuss over Ryan Theriot...
Once again, I find myself promoting the MLB Network's Prime 9 program that airs tonight at 8 p.m., but only because of another Orioles connection.
The top 9 third basemen in baseball history will be featured, and yes, Brooks Robinson is included. As if he could possibly be omitted.
I don't know where he's ranked, but he'll be joined by Mike Schmidt, George Brett and Alex Rodriguez, among others. Rodriguez also made the Top 9 for all-time shortstops (I believe Cal Ripken ranked...
Is Gary Allenson disappointed that he's not part of manager Buck Showalter's coaching staff?
"That's an understatement," he says.
Allenson was bypassed for the job of third base coach and catching instructor, losing out to former Pirates manager John Russell. He accepted the offer to return to Triple-A Norfolk as manager, assuring that he'll remain in the organization for one more season.
Allenson contacted new Pirates manager Clint Hurdle about the possibility of joining his staff,...
The 2011 Hall of Fame ballot has been released, and former Orioles first baseman Rafael Palmeiro is on it.
Working in his favor: Palmeiro, Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Eddie Murray are the only players in baseball history with 3,000 hits and 500 home runs. Aaron, Mays and Murray are in the Hall of Fame.
Working against him: That failed test for performance-enhancing drugs in 2005.
Palmeiro could have been a first-ballot inductee, but not anymore. He might not make it at all.
Your...
The Orioles might announce their minor league coaching staffs this week.
See, I just copied a past entry and inserted the words "minor league." No heavy lifting.
It appears that they're waiting to hire a manager at short-season Single-A Aberdeen, with Gary Kendall moving up to Double-A Bowie. Former Baysox manager Brad Komminsk will serve as hitting coach at Triple-A Norfolk, where Gary Allenson will manage again after replacing Juan Samuel as the Orioles' third base coach.
Got all...
Who bats leadoff if Brian Roberts is injured again?
It's a question that keeps popping up here, and I've been responding that the Orioles could turn to whichever player is acquired as a backup. Felix Pie also would be an option if his anger management classes let out early enough.
It's impossible to know for sure in late November, but the Orioles need to find a utility infielder with lots of experience at second base.
Robert Andino will compete for a utility job, and he made a pretty...
Video of Felix Pie's meltdown in a Dominican Winter League game is surfacing all over the place, so I may as well join the party and post it here, in case you've missed it.
Pie was called out at first base on a pickoff and had to be restrained by an Estrellas coach as he attempted to jump into the umpire's chest and take up residence.
As tantrum's go, this one is an instant classic.
A rumor spread that Pie had attacked the umpire, which isn't quite true. He never made contact. But boy,...
Major League Baseball announced today that the Chiba Lotte Marines accepted the Minnesota Twins' bid for middle infielder Tsuyoshi Nishioka.
Various reports place the Twins' bid at $5 to $5.3 million.
The Orioles scouted Nishioka and had some interest, but decided against bidding on him because of the cost. The Twins have 30 days to sign Nishioka. The millions currently invested only give them the right to negotiate with him.
The Twins could trade or non-tender shortstop J.J. Hardy, who...
The bad part about cooking up a steak for dinner yesterday is I don't have any leftovers this morning. Cold stuffing is one of my favorites.
I hope everyone has recovered from their food binge and enjoyed their time with family and friends. If your ears are chilled, it's from sticking your head in the refrigerator one too many times. I've been there, done that.
I loved the cranberry stories that were passed along to me yesterday.
We could have run a white meat/dark meat poll. Dump enough...
I want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. Please be safe if you're traveling or reaching for another drumstick. Those candles can burn pretty hot.
Let me know if, about three-fourths of the way through your meal, someone at your table blurts out, "The cranberry sauce!" and races for the kitchen. I've seen it happen.
I'm thankful for my loving and supportive family, a daughter who will forever be my pride and joy - I'm never more proud than when I wake up every morning knowing that...
Major League Baseball places a limit on the number of uniformed coaches that each team can carry, but manager Buck Showalter indicated that the club might add someone who could assist in breaking down any potential language barriers.
Showalter wouldn't specify whether this coach would be an eye-in-the-sky, saying that he didn't want to get ahead of himself.
"That's one of the things we talked about, a way to do that if there was going to be a need," he said. "You have to make sure...
The Orioles made manager Buck Showalter available on a conference call earlier this morning.
Now he can change his phone number.
Showalter conceded that the process of building his staff took much longer than anticipated. It's the elephant in the room. You can't ignore it.
At least you don't have to clean up after this one.
"I think 'process' is a good word," he said. "It's kind of like when I came in in August. I didn't come in with any preconceived notions. I hadn't really...
I'll begin my morning with my annual rant about how this business has changed for the worse, and how it becomes most evident this time of the year.
Multiple reports state that the Yankees made an offer to free-agent Cliff Lee. Someone else tweets that it's not true. One person can't confirm it, but still runs with it. Someone else tweets that it's not true.
I remember the days when you had to be 100 percent positive or you couldn't print it. Editors would have climbed your butt like a...
