First baseman Derrek Lee has passed his physical and signed a one-year contract, which could pay him up to $10 million, including bonuses. Lee, 35, will be made available to reporters in a conference call this afternoon. He's already returned home. Lee hit .260 with 19 homers and 80 RBIs last season before undergoing surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right thumb. In 170 career games against the American League, Lee has batted .311 (191-for-615) with 27 homers, 103 RBIs and a .530...

I'll begin today's entry by pointing out that Jami Gertz was on "Modern Family" last night and that did not make me unhappy. I'm a big fan of her ... work. Yes, we'll go with "work." Reminder that the Orioles will announce the Derrek Lee signing today and he'll be made available to reporters in a conference call. I'll pass along his comments later. Left-hander Mark Hendrickson has a unique way of distracting himself during the off-season and not obsessing over his free agent...

There are some things I just don't understand about the Hall of Fame voting process that elected Robbie Alomar and Bert Blyleven yesterday. How can a player like Blyleven not be good enough for election for 13 straight years, yet make it on the 14th try? Don't get me wrong, Blyleven deserves to be in, and this was long overdue. Clearly, some voters who didn't vote for Blyleven before did this year. Did he win 18 games last year and I missed it? At least, in his case, the voters eventually...

The Orioles have released details for their annual FanFest on Jan 29 at the Baltimore Convention Center. The event will be held from 11 a.m.-6 p.m., with early entry for Orioles season plan holders to begin at 10 a.m. In addition to FanFest activities, individual game tickets for the 2011 season will go on sale at 10 a.m. on the same date. Fans may purchase tickets throughout the day at the Convention Center or the Orioles' box office at the north end of the warehouse. Tickets also will be...

Made available in a conference call that ended a few minutes ago, former Orioles second baseman Roberto Alomar told reporters he was surprised that he received 90 percent of the votes this year after getting 73.7 percent last winter. "I didn't expect to get so many votes," he said. "I know last year was a little bit disappointing, but on the other hand, I feel happy with what happened this year and I'm real excited. It's a real exciting moment for me. "It's something that's out of...

Cal Ripken passed along the following comment regarding former teammate Roberto Alomar's election into the baseball Hall of Fame: "I was happy and excited to see that Robbie was elected to the Hall of Fame. He is one of the most talented guys I ever played with and against. He was great at the plate and in the field and made plays at second base that I never saw anyone else make. Congratulations to Roberto. I look forward to welcoming him to Cooperstown." For anyone who questions whether...

"We congratulate Roberto Alomar on his induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Although he spent just three of his 17 seasons in Baltimore, Roberto's accomplishments during his time here were significant. His performance during those years, which included three All-Star Game selections, two Gold Gloves and countless on-field heroics, helped the team make two playoff appearances and showcased Roberto's Hall of Fame credentials."

Former Orioles second baseman Roberto Alomar and pitcher Bert Blyleven will be inducted into baseball's Hall of Fame in 2011. Former Orioles first baseman Rafael Palmeiro, trying to be recognized through the cloud that remains from his failed drug test, didn't receive enough votes in his first year on the ballot. Alomar, a 12-time All-Star and 10-time Gold Glove winner, totaled 523 votes, giving him a whopping 90 percent. He fell eight votes short last winter. Blyleven received 463 votes,...

Making a big splash for the Nationals in September 2010 was shortstop/second baseman Danny Espinosa. The Long Beach State product smacked three homers and had 10 RBIs in his first five games, including a dramatic grand slam, getting the home crowd pumped for the future of an Ian Desmond/Espinosa double-play combination in the middle of the Nationals' infield. Espinosa followed up his September debut with an impressive run in Puerto Rico during the winter, hitting .281 with six doubles, two...

The Orioles today announced that they have re-signed INF Cesar Izturis to a one-year contract. Izturis, 30, batted .230 (109-473) in 150 games with the Orioles in 2010, his second season with the club. He was 2nd in fielding percentage (.985) and 5th in assists (382) and putouts (212) among AL shortstops last season. Izturis has batted .256 with a .619 OPS in 10 major league seasons, during which he has won a Gold Glove (2004) and was a National League All-Star (2005).