Rumor East

With pitchers and catchers reporting in six days, perhaps it's time to post our favorite Orioles rumors from the off-season. It's my way of getting nostalgic for the hot stove season. You could choose anything related to Matt Holliday. There must have been a dozen of them. My personal favorite is how the Orioles were arranging a meeting in Texas with the free-agent outfielder, president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail and majority owner Peter Angelos. I never did get the name of the caterer, though. We also were told that the Orioles made a strong push for Padres first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, offering a truckload of young pitching prospects in return. Nobody was untouchable. That one began in the lobby of the Marriott hotel in Indianapolis. It only takes one link to start a chain. This rumor might be forgotten by most fans, but we also had the tweet from the winter meetings that the Orioles offered Felix Pie straight-up for pitcher Kevin Millwood. I supposed that's close, since Chris Ray also has five letters in his first name and three in his last. (My brain's firing on all cylinders this morning.) Remember when the Orioles were going to trade for Dan Uggla and move him to third base? What the heck am I supposed to do with this Uggla jersey? Maybe I'll hang it next to my Kouzmanoff jersey. Most recently, we were told that the Orioles had interest in free-agent pitchers Jarrod Washburn and Chien-Ming Wang, which brought an instant denial from the front office. Washburn's price would have to tumble significantly, and he'd suddenly have to decide that the Orioles were perfect for him. Keep in mind that he reportedly turned down a $5 million offer from the Twins, supposedly because he wants to sign with the Mariners. I'll give it some more thought. I'm almost positive that I'm missing an obvious one. Shameless plug alert: I'm scheduled to do a phone interview on The Scott Garceau Show on MASN, if anyone can get to the studio and turn on the lights. My segment is tentatively set for 3:25 p.m.