Sammy Sosa says "cosmetic cream" is the reason his skin tone is lighter. That doesn't happen on the clear days. Now that the Gold Glove winners in the American League have been announced and dissected, I find it amusing that so many people are ripping the voting process because they deem Adam Jones as being undeserving. Are these the same folks who railed about the Orioles' first-year players having no shot at Rookie of the Year because they're stuck on a last-place team that doesn't...

The FOXSports blog from the general manager meetings in Chicago includes mention of the Orioles and Giants as the clubs in strongest pursuit of Marlins second baseman Dan Uggla. Click here to read it. Both teams would move Uggla to third base. The Orioles have an opening, and they need a right-handed power bat. It does make sense, though Uggla hasn't played third in the majors. His range is limited, so better to keep him away from second, where he committed 29 errors the last two seasons....

Brandon Snyder has taken his last swings in the Arizona Fall League. Snyder returned home to attend a wedding this weekend, and he won't rejoin the Phoenix Desert Dogs. He batted .354 with five doubles, one triple, three homers and 18 RBIs in 17 games. Brandon Waring is starting at first base tonight, but this will be his last game, too. He also has a wedding to attend and will be removed from the roster. The final AFL game is slated for Nov. 19. The league doesn't play on Sundays. "It...

Josh Bell went 2-for-5 with a double and RBI last night in the Phoenix Desert Dogs' 12-3 win over Scottsdale. He's batting .317. Matt Angle (.278) was 1-for-3 with an RBI, walk and two runs scored. Brandon Waring (.257) was 0-for-4 with an RBI in his final game in the AFL. I placed a call to Orioles first base coach John "T-Bone" Shelby yesterday because it seemed appropriate to get his thoughts on Adam Jones winning the Gold Glove. Shelby has been working with him since spring training...

Major League Baseball announced its Silver Slugger Award winners. No Orioles on the list, but congrats to Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman. American League: 1B - Mark Teixeira, New York Yankees 2B - Aaron Hill, Toronto Blue Jays 3B - Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay Rays SS - Derek Jeter, New York Yankees OF - Ichiro Suzuki, Seattle Mariners OF - Jason Bay, Boston Red Sox OF - Torii Hunter, Los Angeles Angels C - Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins DH - Adam Lind, Toronto Blue Jays National League: 1B -...

Josh Bell went 2-for-5 with three RBIs yesterday for the Phoenix Desert Dogs, leaving his average at .324. Josh Perrault tossed a scoreless inning, allowing one hit and striking out two. Former Oriole Adam Loewen went 1-for-5 with an RBI and four strikeouts. He's batting .179. Special thanks to Jay Cutler for those five picks last night. The guy who took San Francisco -3 appreciated each and every one of them. But he could have done without that final drive. Not good for his blood...

A story has moved on the AP wire that quotes Orioles majority owner Peter Angelos as expressing interest in again staging exhibitions against the Cuban national team in Havana and Baltimore, as he did back in 1999. Click here for the story. "Hopefully as next spring approaches, both governments will see clearer to improve the relations and make it rather easy for there to be a reciprocal arrangement," Angelos says in the story. "Personally, I think the relations between the two countries...

One of my loyal readers unearthed a portion of the Orioles' 2010 spring training schedule on 4sarasota.com. Plenty of dates still need to be filled, but you can check out the rough draft. The Orioles apparently will open at home - and that's Sarasota, in case you've been away for a while - on March 4 against the Tampa Bay Rays. We'll also see the Pirates, Tigers and Phillies (oh my!), so it won't be the same batch of opponents that were forced down our collective throats all these...

Here's a rarity in the hitter-happy Arizona Fall League: A 1-0 game. Matt Angle homered in the second inning to provide all the scoring in the Phoenix Desert Dogs' 1-0 win over Peoria Saguaros. Angle, starting in center field, went deep for the first time in the AFL. Josh Bell was 1-for-3 with a double and walk. He's batting .320. Stephen Strasburg allowed one hit, walked two and struck out six in 3 2/3 innings. He improved to 4-1 because you don't have to go a minimum five innings to...

If I see one more advertisement that includes a talking pothole or dogs that save Christmas, my head might explode. But at least I can be reminded every 12 minutes that I need to buy diamonds or I'll die alone. With the winter meetings coming up in three weeks, I find my thoughts drifting back to a few names that were tied to the Orioles at last year's gathering in Las Vegas. Braden Looper drew their interest, and we kicked around the pros and cons of adding him to the rotation. He went...