masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgOrioles executive vice president Dan Duquette joked about bringing extra security to last night’s Babe Ruth Museum benefit at Dempsey’s Brew Pub, where he served as the guest speaker and took questions from the audience.

Duquette turned and pointed to a long table against one of the walls, where his wife Amy, their children and the kids’ friends were eating dinner.

I saw what he did there.

“I brought half the neighborhood here tonight,” he said.

As the event ended, fans stood and…Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette joked about bringing extra security to last night’s Babe Ruth Museum benefit at Dempsey’s Brew Pub, where he served as the guest speaker and took questions from the audience.

Duquette turned and pointed to a long table against one of the walls, where his wife Amy, their children and the kids’ friends were eating dinner.

I saw what he did there.

“I brought half the neighborhood here tonight,” he said.

As the event ended, fans stood and applauded Duquette. They may not be happy with losing Nelson Cruz, Nick Markakis and (soon) Andrew Miller, but they didn’t form a mob. Torches and pitchforks were kept in the trunks of their cars.

delmon-young-runs-black.jpgTwo remarks from Duquette that jumped out at me – though not like an angry mob – were the club’s dialogue with free agent outfielder Delmon Young and the desire to sign another catcher.

Young may need to accept a one-year deal if he’s going to stay in Baltimore. No need for him to rush into a decision.

I’d recommend trying to hold onto Young as a designated hitter/pinch-hitter. He could make the occasional start in left field, but manager Buck Showalter is much more comfortable using Alejandro De Aza, David Lough or Steve Pearce.

I’ve written how the Orioles would like to re-sign Nick Hundley if he can’t find a team that might give him more starts, but Duquette’s comment last night showed that catching is a higher priority than I realized. It also makes me wonder whether the Orioles also are covering themselves in case Matt Wieters isn’t ready for opening day.

Wieters started a light throwing program and the Orioles remain cautiously optimistic, but we know how that’s worked out in the past.

“From what I understand, Manny (Machado) should be ready to go at the start of spring training,” Duquette said. “We’ll have to see how Matt comes along with his throwing program.”

Showalter is preparing as though Wieters won’t be ready. It’s easier to go in the other direction when you start with lower expectations.

Here’s how Duquette explained why the Orioles didn’t offer Markakis a qualifying offer:

“When we extended a qualifying offer to Nelson Cruz, we were willing to pay a one-year salary of $15.3 million and if he accepted it, then we’d have a signed player. If he turns it down, then of course he becomes a free agent. So we took a look at the production of Nelson Cruz and saw that he gave us an opportunity for specific offensive capabilities and specific defensive capabilities.

“And based upon the evaluation system which we use to value that contribution to the team in our market based on our fans and the size of our market and the revenues that an incremental win will bring in for the team, we decided that Nelson Cruz’s production gave us a good opportunity to get a return on that $15.3 million, so we made a qualifying offer to him. If we didn’t make a qualifying offer to a player, then we weren’t comfortable that we could get that kind of return on that investment.”

duquette-showalter-chat-sidebar.jpgMeanwhile, FOXSports.com reported last night that the Orioles, Rangers and Padres are among the teams still involved in the trade market for Braves outfielder Justin Upton.

Upton, 27, is signed through 2015 and has $14.5 million remaining on his contract. He’s batted .267/.348/.478 with 61 doubles, four triples, 56 home runs, 172 RBIs and 332 strikeouts in two seasons with the Braves. He won a Silver Slugger Award this year.

How much would the Orioles give up for a potential rental?

The Orioles need to replace Cruz’s power and Markakis’ on-base capabilities, and Upton can do a little of both. But Markakis totaled 160 strikeouts the past two seasons.

I’ll end this morning’s entry with a humorous exchange last night between Duquette and a fan pertaining to Adam Jones’ angry tweet immediately following the Markakis news.

The fan asked Duquette whether he sought Jones’ opinion.

“Well I’m going to tell you, whether I consulted Jones or not, I got his opinion, right?” Duquette replied.

“I think that’s a natural reaction because they spent so much time together. In Jonesy’s case, his teammate is right next to him in the field. For the last several years, it’s been Nick Markakis. So those personal relationships, they mean something. It takes a while to respond to change. That’s a human reaction, which I understand, and I think that’s a normal reaction.”