Orioles' pieces starting to fall in place Thursday, November 26, 2009 by Buster Olney 原文網址： http://insider.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=4691627&name=olney_buster It was in the middle of the afternoon, the day before Thanksgiving, and yet Orioles president Andy MacPhail was at his desk, answering his phone. That's what happens after your team finishes 64-98, MacPhail said dryly. But MacPhail -- like a lot of rival talent evaluators -- likes the progress he sees in the Orioles, who have developed a tremendous core of young talent, from Nick Markakis to Matt Wieters, to young pitchers Brian Matusz and Chris Tillman. I mentioned to him that another GM had said that in two seasons, Baltimore has a chance to take long strides of progress in the way that the Rays did in 2008. "The improvement in the standings, like Tampa Bay showed, can come overnight," MacPhail said. "We are starting to get that critical mass of guys who are prospects." Now the question, MacPhail said, is how many of those prospects have a major impact. Some other thoughts from MacPhail: 1. Given the tremendous supply of first- and third-base candidates available on the market, MacPhail thinks the Orioles will do fine in procuring their needs at those positions. It figures that Baltimore will get a right-handed hitter at either third or first base. According to Cot's, here is the list of possible free agents at those positions, listed according to whether they are Type A or Type B free agents: First base Hank Blalock TEX Russell Branyan SEA Carlos Delgado NYM (B) Nomar Garciaparra OAK Jason Giambi COL Ross Gload FLA Aubrey Huff DET Nick Johnson WAS (B) Adam LaRoche ATL (B) Kevin Millar TOR Robb Quinlan LAA Matt Stairs PHI Mike Sweeney SEA Jim Thome LAD Chad Tracy ARZ Third base Adrian Beltre SEA (B) Geoff Blum HOU Craig Counsell MIL Joe Crede MIN Mark DeRosa STL (B) Pedro Feliz PHI Chone Figgins LAA (A) Troy Glaus STL (B) Jerry Hairston Jr. NYY Mike Lamb MIL Melvin Mora BAL (B) Juan Uribe SF 2. Miguel Tejada played four seasons for the Orioles, averaging about 25 homers and 190 hits a year; he also was linked to a couple of PED-related investigations -- first, in the aftermath of Rafael Palmeiro's 2005 suspension, then in the Mitchell Report. There is no bridge burned to the Orioles, however; MacPhail is open, theoretically, to the idea of Tejada's returning to Baltimore. Tejada could, theoretically, be a fit at third base. But keep in mind that Tejada has indicated that he'd like to go back to the Astros, and the Astros would like to have him back, so long as he is willing to take a large pay cut from his $14.8 million salary last season. 3. MacPhail thinks the market for late-inning relievers will develop slowly, but sounded confident that in the end, the Orioles will have a chance to get some help. And MacPhail does see value in a strong closer. "I still think the impact the closer can have on your club is underrated," said MacPhail. "I don't know why it took the writers a long time to put them in the Hall of Fame. ... Those guys are invaluable, and they have an impact on the psychology on the game." The Orioles have a lot of young, developing starting pitchers, who would have a greater chance of being rewarded if Baltimore has a shutdown closer. Some of the closers on this year's market are Type A free agents, meaning that if those pitchers are offered arbitration by their 2009 teams, the Orioles would have to surrender a second-round pick in order to sign them. MacPhail indicated that if the circumstances were right -- if the Orioles had a shot at the right pitcher, for the right price -- this is something he would be willing to do. In recent drafts, the Orioles have spent money in later rounds, and if they surrendered their second-round pick, this is something they could do again in an effort to make up for what they lost. Billy Wagner would seem to be one possible fit for the Orioles, depending on the cost. "He's on our radar, as are other closers," said MacPhail. -- 我的Grenoble日記 http://www.upsaid.com/hao27/ Lucifer's Gaze http://www.flickr.com/photos/hao27 Lucifer's Playground http://hao-27.blogspot.com 他的靈魂已經接近了許多死者棲息的地域。 他對他們反覆無常飄飄呼呼的存在，意識到了，卻不能理解。 他自己的身子正在向一個灰色的不可捉摸的世界隱去； --

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