Nick Markakis has had four very solid seasons as the O's right fielder. Before he put the 2009 season to bed, he shared some thoughts on the year and the club's future. He believes the current crop of young players is solid and the club's future is bright.

Not long after he finished up a monster game at the plate in the Arizona Fall League, Brandon Snyder was on the other end of the phone line. He was talking about his 7-RBI day on Wednesday. But before long the conversation shifted to the 2010 season. If the O's have an open competition for their first base job, Snyder is determined to emerge the winner and first base starter come opening day for the Orioles.

It was a bit of a mystery from the Orioles minor leagues during the 2009 season. How could Brandon Snyder hit so well at Double-A Bowie and go on to struggle when promoted to Triple-A Norfolk on June 19th?

While fans in the United States were taking stock of pennant races in the Major Leagues in September, three O's minor leaguers were raising their stock by performing well in baseball's World Cup in Europe. Paco Figueroa, who hit .305 this year in 62 games at second base for Bowie, went 17 for 34 for Spain and led the entire 20-nation tournament in hitting. Paco batted .500 with a homer, 8 RBI, 10 runs and four steals in ten games, helping Spain advance to the second round.

Three Oriole prospects in the Arizona Fall League have been hitting so well to date it makes you wonder about the quality of pitching they are facing. Plus, the Phoenix team has ten .300 hitters at this early stage. But still, of the club's four .400 hitters, three are Orioles with Josh Bell at .464, Matt Angle at .406 and Brandon Snyder at .400. Snyder leads the club with 15 RBI, Bell with four doubles and Angle is tops in runs and steals.

When the Orioles acquire a player, should they consider the character of that player? When looking to add a player through trade, free agency or the First-Year Player Draft, is it mostly about talent, or should character come into play? Do fans care about having a team full of good guys or do you just want hits, homers and wins? It's a complicated question and one that probably provokes different answers for different players.

...Jason Berken. I have respect for anyone good enough to ever put on a Major League uniform. But during the Orioles' 2009 season, I gained a ton of respect for pitcher Jason Berken. As the losses mounted for Berken, so did speculation that he'd soon be headed back to Triple-A. For a while there, his fate seemed to hang on every pitch. And some of those pitches hung as well, ending up in the left field seats.

You have to admire Bob McCrory's positive outlook. The Orioles' right-handed reliever has been mostly hit hard in 15 games covering 13 2/3 Major League innings the past two seasons. Now he's had a second major surgery in four years, yet he remains upbeat. He thinks he can be ready for spring training next year and wants to prove to the club that he can pitch in the big leagues.

New Orioles' bench coach Jeff Datz already had one of the most special days of his baseball life in Baltimore. Now he hopes for more after joining the O's coaching staff Thursday. "I'll never forget I got my first Major League hit in Baltimore in 1989 and was able to hand that baseball to my mom and dad. "Being from south Jersey I had about 30 family members there. I was a September callup of the Tigers in '89 and got a base hit off Gregg Olson. I only got 10 at bats that year and...

In this space yesterday we presented a story on the O's new bench coach, Jeff Datz. The 2010 season will be Datz's 29th in pro ball. During last eight years he's been a coach with Cleveland, spending about four years as bench coach for the Indians. He played professionally, mostly in the minors, as a catcher, from 1982-90. In 1989, he saw his only Major League action as a September call up for the Tigers. He went 2 for 10 at the plate, getting his first big league hit in Baltimore off...