Reports have surfaced that the Tigers are close to inking catcher/first baseman Victor Martinez to a four-year, $50 million deal. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets - ugh - his confirmation right here.
The Orioles, according to Ignacio Serrano of El Nacional, offered Martinez $48 million over four years. I just got confirmation on it from an industry source, but not someone within the organization.
Assuming it's true, that's not bad for November. It also demonstrates how badly president of...
So, does anyone else think that Brian Billick is the obvious choice to replace Brad Childress in Minnesota? He was the Vikings' offensive coordinator from 1992 to 1998. They set the NFL record for most points scored in one season in '98. He's got a history there.
Billick isn't good at developing quarterbacks, but that's fine. The Vikings don't have one.
I won 10 games picking against the spread, including last night's Chargers-Broncos tilt. Finally, a decent showing.
I also bet that...
Giants first baseman Aubrey Huff, who didn't have a lot of suitors when he filed for free agency last year, placed seventh in the voting for the National League's Most Valuable Player.
Reds first baseman Joey Votto received 31 of a possible 32 first-place votes to easily win the award. One writer gave Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols the other first-place vote and chose Votto second.
Phillies outfielder Jayson Werth, a first-round draft pick by the Orioles in 1997, finished...
I'm not expecting much to happen this week because of the Thanksgiving holiday. Not that our heads have been spinning from all the activity up to this point.
We might get an announcement on the coaching staff, but how many times can I pull back the football and watch you flip in the air and land on your back before I start to feel the pangs of guilt?
The Pirates reportedly will hire Ray Searage as their pitching coach, so the Orioles won't lose Rick Adair to them. The Mets named Terry...
It's a sleepy Sunday in the Kubatko household, mainly because I didn't get home from the Maryland-FSU game until 2 a.m. That tailgate traffic leaving the stadium is brutal, and I wasn't even tailgating.
Maryland officials wouldn't let me fire up the grill in the press box.
I'm not going to reveal my breakout spring training player at this early date, but you have to wonder whether Kam Mickolio is just teasing us with that 0.75 ERA in the Arizona Fall League, which he posted before...
The Scottsdale Scorpions defeated the Peoria Javelinas, 3-2, for the Arizona Fall League championship.
Please don't overturn any cars.
The Orioles didn't contribute much to the win. Kam Mickolio had the most value to Scottsdale with a scoreless fifth inning. He allowed one hit.
Greg Miclat was a late replacement at second base and didn't bat. Caleb Joseph struck out in his only at-bat after moving behind the plate. Xavier Avery was a defensive replacement in center field and also went...
Before heading to the gym and, later, the Maryland-Florida State football game...
It's become a yearly tradition that the Orioles consider pursuing free-agent pitcher Jon Garland. I think we're up to three straight where his name comes up and talks are held at the winter meetings.
Garland priced himself out of Baltimore two winters ago. He went 14-12 with a 3.47 ERA for San Diego this season and has logged 200 innings or more in six years. He also has totaled 196 2/3, 192 2/3 and 191 2/3 in...
There's a good chance that the Orioles will finalize their coaching staff by Monday or Tuesday.
The club has four of the coaches under contract: Jim Presley, Mark Connor, Wayne Kirby and Rick Adair. John Russell is close. It's just a matter of completing some paperwork.
It still hasn't been determined whether Russell will serve as bench coach or third base coach. Again, it depends on the last hire.
I'm told that the Orioles are waiting on unspecified "deadlines" that the candidates...
I'm typing this entry over the sound of my dishwasher, which seems to run for hours on the normal cycle. I can't imagine how long it would go on "heavy wash." I'm thinking days.
The Orioles aren't likely to bid on Japanese infielder Tsuyoshi Nishioka, despite reports coming out of Japan.
Don't believe everything you read - and that includes the translated stuff.
Again, the Orioles aren't completely sold on Nishioka and don't think the cost will be worth it. At this time, there are...
Did I really take Miami - 1 ½ with Tyler Thigpen at quarterback?
There must be a gas leak in my house. That could explain the chirping smoke detectors.
I was hoping to clean out my notebook this morning, but there isn't much left that we haven't already discussed.
I was told late Monday night that the coaching situation could be resolved by the end of this week. Well, today's Friday. The weekend is bearing down on us.
I'm ready for the announcement. I'm wearing my...
Reliever Armando Gabino and first baseman Rhyne Hughes cleared waivers and were outrighted to Triple-A Norfolk.
Gabino appeared in five games for the Orioles, allowing seven earned runs in 4 2/3 innings. He went 7-0 with a 2.37 ERA and two saves at Norfolk.
Hughes hit .213 with four RBIs in 14 games with the Orioles, and .258 with 10 homers and 39 RBIs in 104 games with the Tides.
The Orioles have 32 players on their 40-man roster as they attempt to make room for players who must be...
At this hour, the Orioles still don't have a signed contract from John Russell, who would serve as bench coach or third base coach, but they don't anticipate any snags that would still leave two vacancies. This one should get done.
Willie Randolph and Bobby Dickerson remain two of the strongest candidates to fill the final spot. The last I heard, Randolph was regarded as the favorite.
President of baseball operations Andy MacPhail is flying back to Baltimore today after attending the GM...
These mornings roll around much too fast in my household. The Thanksgiving holiday can't come soon enough. School's are closed for the entire week. I shall rejoice.
Reports keep surfacing that the Orioles are actively pursuing Rockies left-hander Jorge de la Rosa. Troy Renck uses the word "aggressive" in his tweet.
I'm aggressively trying to avoid using the word "tweet," but it's unavoidable.
As so often happens, I'm left to ponder how De la Rosa would fit on this club. Is he the...
Ron Gardenhire has been named the American League's Manager of the Year, finishing ahead of Ron Washington by 27 points.
Buck Showalter didn't receive a single vote. He was a little late jumping into the pool.
Here are the results:
Ron Gardenhire, Minnesota Twins 108
Ron Washington, Texas Rangers 81
Joe Maddon, Tampa Bay Rays 44
Terry Francona, Boston Red Sox 13
Cito Gaston, Toronto Blue Jays 5
Joe Girardi, New York Yankees 1
Bud Black edged Dusty Baker by one point...
If you play Japanese Fantasy Baseball, former Orioles pitcher Hayden Penn remains eligible for your draft. He re-signed with the Chiba Lotte Marines.
Penn was victimized by more bizarre physical setbacks than any player I've covered. Three immediately come to mind: Sprained ankle while carrying boxes down steps at spring training, appendectomy, impaled by piece of broken bat.
He wasn't attacked by sharks on Fort Lauderdale Beach, so his luck occasionally changed for the better.
Does...
Former Orioles reliever Dennis Sarfate is currently in negotiations with the Hiroshima Toyo Carp of the Nippon Professional Baseball League and could be taking his professional career in a new direction - one that leads outside the U.S.
No deal has been reached, but he's considering a move to Japan and a fresh start.
Sarfate became a minor league free agent and declined a chance to stay in the Orioles' organization after they failed to purchase his contract during the summer. He went 2-2...
Earlier today, Phillies right-hander Roy Halladay became the fifth pitcher to win the Cy Young Award in each league, and the 16th multiple winner.
Here's the final voting:
Roy Halladay, Philadelphia Phillies 224
Adam Wainwright, St. Louis Cardinals 122
Ubaldo Jimenez, Colorado Rockies 90
Tim Hudson, Atlanta Braves 39
Josh Johnson, Florida Marlins 34
Roy Oswalt, Houston Astros/Philadelphia Phillies 14
Brian Wilson, San Francisco Giants 7
Heath Bell, San Diego Padres 4
Mat Latos, San...
The National League's Cy Young winner will be announced this afternoon, so collect the rest of the money in your office pools and get ready.
The AL and NL Managers of the Year will be announced tomorrow, followed by the AL Cy Young winner on Thursday, the NL Most Valuable Player on Monday and the AL MVP next Tuesday.
Plan accordingly.
Following up on yesterday's discussion about John Russell and Willie Randolph, I received a phone call late last night - and by "late," I mean that I was...
John "T-Bone" Shelby has joined the Milwaukee Brewers organization as an outfield instructor/eye in the sky, according to a team press release. You can read more right here.
Shelby was the Orioles' first base and outfield coach for the last three seasons, but he'll be replaced by Wayne Kirby.
Shelby won't be in uniform for games. The eye-in-the-sky title, similar to the one Brian Graham held with the Orioles under former manager Mike Hargrove, dictates that you sit in the press box or a...
It looks like John Russell is the choice as bench coach, according to a few people I've contacted in the organization. But he hasn't signed a contract, so nothing is official at this point.
That would be too simple.
The Sun posted a report on its web site earlier this afternoon that manager Buck Showalter had selected Russell after meeting with him Friday at Camden Yards.
Russell was a late entrant, so it must have been one heck of a meeting.
Assuming that Russell sticks around and...
