DALLAS - The Winter Meetings at the Hilton Anatole will be remembered for the free-spending Miami Marlins and the Albert Pujols contract, but there was plenty of other baseball talk: * After coming within a strike twice of winning the World Series, Texas manager Ron Washington likely will never hear the end of the second-guessing. It came up again in Dallas, when Washington was asked whether right fielder Nelson Cruz was playing too shallow when St. Louis' David Freese's two-out, two-strike...

DALLAS - The Nationals didn't make a pick in the major league portion of the Rule 5 draft Thursday morning, but they lost two players from their Triple-A Syracuse roster. With the 22nd pick, the Cardinals selected outfielder Erik Komatsu, who was acquired from the Brewers in the trade for Jerry Hairston Jr. Komatsu hit .277 with seven homers and 48 RBIs between Double-A Huntsville and Harrisburg in 2011. "We were prepared for the possibility that he would be (picked)," Nationals general...

DALLAS - As expected, the Orioles made a selection today in the Rule 5 draft. But it wasn't a pitcher. Picking fourth, the Orioles took infielder Ryan Flaherty, 25, from the Chicago Cubs' Triple-A roster. He was a sandwich pick in 2008 out of Vanderbilt. Flaherty batted .305 with 20 doubles, two triples, 14 homers, 66 RBIs and a .907 OPS in 83 games at Double-A Tennessee, and .237 with 11 doubles, one triple, five homers and 22 RBIs in 49 games at Triple-A Iowa. He's a utility infielder,...

DALLAS - Apparently, the Winter Meetings must, by decree of longstanding baseball law, include at least one full-out media scrum with super agent Scott Boras, a guy who frustrates the other 29 clubs that do not have a curly W on their caps. This year's happened last night, while Nats general manager Mike Rizzo was pondering exactly what Plan B - and the B doesn't stand for Buehrle - means for his team. Boras held court for a smaller-than-usual number of reporters, who still thrust tape...

DALLAS - And down the stretch they come ... I'm expecting a stampede to the airport today as the Winter Meetings break up. The last order of business for most teams is the Rule 5 draft - and we've been threatened with bodily harm here if we write Rule V - which begins at 9 a.m. Central time. The Orioles might not be finished, however. Executive vice president Dan Duquette indicated yesterday that he could make a trade or two, so the local beat reporters are on high alert. I'd just...

DALLAS - Baseball's Rule 5 draft will be held this morning at 10 a.m Eastern time and the Orioles will have the fourth pick. Any player selected in this draft must remain on the selecting team's 25-man roster for the entire big league season or be offered back to his original club. Players are eligible for selection in the Rule 5 draft who are not on their major league organization's 40-man roster and: * Were signed at age 19 or older and have been in the organization for four years; or *...

The Orioles didn't make any trades today, but they completed their coaching staff. That's another item to cross off the list. The holdup involved DeMarlo Hale, who had a year remaining on his contract with the Red Sox. He was invited to remain on manager Bobby Valentine's staff, but he wasn't sure in what capacity. And his longstanding relationship with Orioles manager Buck Showalter swayed him to leave the perennial contenders. Hale will coach third base for the Orioles after serving as...

DALLAS - Mark Buehrle was the guy the Nationals wanted. However, in the wake of the left-hander's decision to spurn a three-year offer for between $42-$45 million from Washington to sign a four-year deal with the Marlins on Wednesday, Nats general manager Mike Rizzo isn't too heartbroken that the deal never came to fruition. "We weren't - I wasn't - comfortable going four years on him as a starting pitcher," Rizzo said Wednesday night, less than two hours after finding out that weeks of...

DALLAS - The Orioles don't give the outward appearance that they're busy at the Winter Meetings. They haven't gone to the podium, though the Marlins are boxing out everyone like Karl Malone, and they haven't been featured in the hottest rumors unless you count the Prince Fielder stuff that is based on speculation and assumptions. But executive vice president Dan Duquette met with more executives and agents today and is convinced that a trade or two could go down before he boards his flight...

DALLAS - In today's one-on-one video interview with Dan Duquette, the Orioles executive vice president indicated he is getting closer to making one or more trades and it could happen before the Winter Meetings end tomorrow. "Well, I mean, we are a little further down the track on a couple of deals that we hope to close," Duquette said. "It takes a little time to get things together but hopefully we will have a couple more players to talk to the Oriole fans about by the end of the week. We...