When Dan Duquette talks these days, Orioles fans listen, but then they seem to voice skepticism about what he said. Right now, they are questioning the Jim Johnson trade, the payroll, the starting pitching and more. A few fans had a rather negative reaction via Twitter to one comment Duquette made last night when he said, "We've got a much stronger base to our pitching staff now than we've had the last couple of years." Fans can probably just about recite the stats which saw the...

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - When Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette talks these days Orioles fans listen, but then they seem to voice skepticism about what he said. Right now they are questioning the Jim Johnson trade, the payroll, the starting pitching and more. Several fans had a negative reaction via my Twitter account to one comment Duquette made last night when he said, "We've got a much stronger base to our pitching staff now than we've had the last couple of years." Fans...

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - While reporters, executives and other baseball people trickled into the Swan and Dolphin Resort here in the Orlando area throughout the day yesterday, the Winter Meetings officially begin today. Get pumped, people. Or don't. Either way. There might not be as much excitement about the Winter Meetings among Nationals fans as there has been in past years, largely because most of the major moves that general manager Mike Rizzo needed to make this offseason have already...

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - While the national media continues to float big names as possible fits for the Orioles, executive vice president Dan Duquette seems determined to lower expectations, even if that's not his intent. The Orioles have made offers to free agent starters, according to Duquette, but this quote clearly indicated that the Orioles aren't trying to reel in a big fish: "If we're going to be successful, we're going to have to develop additional starting pitchers to come up...

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - There wasn't much news to come out of tonight's media session with Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette. He went over the same shopping list that's been published here - starting pitching, closer, left fielder, left-handed bat - and he didn't bring up specific free agents despite his earlier appearance on MLB Network Radio. When I mentioned how Jim Duquette and Jim Bowden tweeted the Orioles' interest in Raul Ibanez, and their apparent lack of interest in...

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - After Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette met with the Baltimore reporters during a pre-Winter Meetings briefing tonight, he took a few minutes to answer a few more questions with MASNSports.com What is the top priority right now? "The Orioles are going to look to build their pitching staff. So that means we are trying to sign a starter and reliever, and we are also looking for a left-handed hitter." You mentioned that some offers have been made to...

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - Hello from the 2014 Winter Meetings, where the climate is slightly different than it is in the Washington D.C., area. I was lucky enough to make it down here with only a slight delay on my flight, but others leaving out of D.C. and other points north weren't so fortunate. People will still be rolling in throughout the night, meaning the crowd in the lobby at the Swan and Dolphin Resort isn't anywhere near its peak. I've got some minor news to pass along, which is...

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette and other team officials were on my flight to Orlando today. We made it out of Baltimore despite the heavy snow. Duquette will meet with the local beat writers at 7:30 p.m., but he already dropped a little information on his cousin, Jim Duquette, and former general manager Jim Bowden during an interview on MLB Network Radio. According to a series of tweets, Dan Duquette indicated that the Orioles are interested in Raul...

I'm sitting at Gate B-4 at Baltimore-Washington Thurgood Marshall International Airport, having decided it's better to arrive early for a 1 p.m. fight with a wintry mix in the weather forecast than to risk getting shut out of my Airport FastPark, my preferred long-term parking destination for business excursions. Better safe than sorry, right? My friends who are trying to fly out of Reagan National or Dulles bound for Orlando (and, eventually, Lake Buena Vista, Fla., site of the annual...

Well, here we go. The most hyped four days of the offseason officially begin tomorrow, and so for myself and the rest of the MASNsports.com staff, it's off to Orlando today, a day ahead of the start of the Winter Meetings. Don't let the location of the meetings fool you, however. If I see sunlight for a total of 30 minutes during the entirety of the Winter Meetings, I'll consider it a victory. This isn't exactly the trip you take if you're interested in working on your tan or hitting the...