by Winslow Townson - AP

Your Off-Season O of the Day: Brian Roberts (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)

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Gonzalez ready to fight for closing job

Mike Gonzalez expects to be the Orioles' full-time closer in 2010, but he's taking the same approach he has had his entire career. He's prepared to fight for it. -duck

After flurry, Orioles likely to wait awhile
On Thursday, a team official shot down a report that the Orioles are pursuing St. Louis Cardinals slugger Matt Holliday, who the club believes would be too costly to acquire, and denied that they have made a significant effort to trade for San Diego Padres first baseman Adrian Gonzalez. -duck

Holliday Intrigue: Orioles in, and a "mystery team" arrives
The connections between the Orioles and Holliday go from his friendship with Roberts, to Baltimore’s recent signing of Holliday’s former teammate Garrett Atkins to even, as Zrebiec points out, pitching coach Rick Kranitz past life as an Oklahoma State coach and his ongoing friendship with Holliday’s father, Tom. The real connection driving this story however is this: The Orioles had reason to talk to Holliday’s agent, Scott Boras, in the past few days as they finalized the deal with reliever Mike Gonzalez. -duck

Mets, Angels, Braves, Giants, Mariners still have moves to make - Jon Heyman
More proof that Jon Heyman is not good at his job. Sure, we're biased towards the Orioles, but no mention of the team's moves at all while focusing on the Mets' pursuit of Matt Halliday. Every other media outlet is reporting the O's are in the mix, but to Heyman? We don't exist. And Adam Jones was one of the biggest busts in baseball his rookie year. Don't forget that gem, too. -duck

Look back at Bowie in 2009
Today we continue our look back at O's minor league teams from the 2009 season with a feature on Double-A Bowie of the Eastern League with comments from Baysox manager Brad Komminsk. -duck

O's on Deck: Orioles making all the right gambles
How do the Orioles reverse the slide of 12 consecutive losing seasons? Obviously, the answer isn't simple or the Orioles wouldn't be facing the question. However, the team is doing what it needs to do in order to win in the always competitive American League East. With their moves so far this offseason -- trading for Kevin Millwood and agreeing to deals with Garrett Atkins and Mike Gonzalez -- the Orioles are addressing their weaknesses heading into 2010. -duck

Garrett Atkins and Mike Gonzalez: A closer look
Snapshot looks at each player. -duck

Mets Sign Igarashi, a Reliever, in 2-Year Deal
The Mets agreed Thursday with the Japanese reliever Ryota Igarashi on a two-year, $3 million contract. The Mets want Igarashi to be the eighth-inning setup man for the All-Star closer Francisco Rodriguez. -duck

Trade to Mariners leaves Lee in ‘shock'
Cliff Lee thought he was staying in Philadelphia — for the rest of his career. -duck

Grandma got run over by a Open Trread
Walking home from our house Christmas Eve.
You can say there's no such thing as Santa,
But as for me and Grandpa, we believe.

More photos » by Tony Dejak - AP

Your Off-Season O of the Day: David Hernandez (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)

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Orioles interested in Matt Capps after all    
"The Orioles have expressed interest in free-agent closer Matt Capps, who was non-tendered by the Pirates over the weekend. Agent Paul Kinzer expects to talk to president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail later (Tuesday) or today." -duck 

Roch throws names against a MASN wall
"Buck Martinez's departure from MASN has left an empty seat in the broadcast booth for about half the games on the Orioles' 2010 schedule, and the network could choose to go in a few directions." I really just included this link so the millions, uh, thousands, OK, hundreds of CC readers will go and beg for John Lowenstein to come back. Because that would be awesome. -duck 

Zrebiec: Koji and friend?
"The Orioles met with the agents of Japanese pitcher Hisanori Takahashi at last week’s winter meetings, but it’s too early to tell how serious their interest is." Takahasi is good friends with Koji Uehara. And he's left-handed. -duck 

Stockstill takes stock of Chapman
"John Stockstill, the Orioles' director of international scouting, is flying back flew to Baltimore tonight last night after watching Aroldis Chapman's bullpen session earlier today Tuesday in Houston and also meeting with the Cuban left-hander's representatives." Stockstill estimated that Chapman threw 75 pitches, with representatives for 20-25 clubs in attendance. -duck

White Sox get Pierre from Dodgers
"The Chicago White Sox have acquired outfielder Juan Pierre and cash from the Los Angeles Dodgers for two players to be named." And the earth shook at the importance of such a move... -duck 

Selig's new committee has Maryland flavor -- baltimoresun.com
"Baseball commissioner Bud Selig on Tuesday announced the establishment of a new committee to examine on-field issues such as video replay reviews and pace of game. The group will consist of several well-respected baseball men, including Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail, Orioles Hall of Fame outfielder Frank Robinson and native Marylanders, Mark Shapiro, the Cleveland Indians' general manager, and Atlanta Braves president John Schuerholz." -duck 

Chapman's former agent sues his new reps
"Even before he has a contract to play in the major leagues, Cuban defector Aroldis Chapman is in the middle of a lawsuit." So, he's being introduced to American culture rather quickly, I see. -duck 

New targets flying low on O's radar, for now -
"President of baseball operations Andy MacPhail said his front office has contacted the representatives of several players who were not tendered contracts by their previous clubs at Saturday's deadline. That group includes corner infielders Garrett Atkins, Ryan Garko and Mike Jacobs and closers Matt Capps and Mike MacDougal." None of those names exactly send my heart aflutter. -duck

Japanese Female Phenom Knuckleball Pitcher Eri Yoshida Joins Arizona Winter League - OurSports Central - Independent and Minor League Sports News
Yoshida, 17, made headlines and impressed the baseball world last summer when she became the first female to play professionally in Japan. Equipped with a sidearm knuckleball that is considered almost unhittable when she is on, she debuted for the Kobe Cruise 9 of the Kansai League in Japan on opening day as she walked one and struck out one in front of 12,000 fans. She began playing baseball in the 2nd grade and credits Tim Wakefield as the inspiration for her 50 mph knuckleball delivered from her 5 foot 1 inch, 114 lb frame. -zk

Heralded Chapman works out for MLB scouts | orioles.com: News
[Chapman] threw a bullpen session in the morning for about 50 Major League scouts, impressing them with his size and velocity....."The kid's got a great arm," Houston Astros general manager Ed Wade said of the 6-foot-4 Chapman. "He's a physical specimen. He's left-handed. He throws hard. Obviously, anybody would be interested in an arm like this. He's got some great stuff. The early feedback from our guys, and everybody else, is he's a tremendous talent."...."He's a hard thrower from the left side," said David Lakey, national cross checker for the New York Mets. "I think they said [he hit 96 mph]. That kind of arm is hard to find from the left side." -zk

AND IN OTHER NEWS

Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, Anthrax To Tour Together | Billboard.com

"Heavy metal's Big Four -- Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax -- will ride together in 2010. In Europe, at least." So, I gotta get a passport, mortgage the house, buy plane tickets, and find a ticket scalper. At least I have a few months. -duck 

Thy leaves are green in summer's prime,
Thy leaves are green at Christmas time.
O Open Thread, O Open Thread,
Thy leaves are green forever. 

More photos » by Gail Burton - AP

Your Off-Season O of the Day: Adam Jones (AP Photo/Gail Burton, File)

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Well, if you thought yesterday was light on O's news...

Zrebiec: Peace and quiet for O's Roberts
"It was kind of weird going to the winter meetings and not having to chase down any Brian Roberts trade rumors." Yet The Sun will write about it anyway. -duck

Rick Dempsey's new Christmas CD will not warm any winters - Big League Stew - MLB Blog - Yahoo! Sports
Big League Stew reviews Dempsey's CD, which sadly I still do not own. -Stacey

Baseball-Reference Blog " Kevin Millwood to the Orioles
B-R Blog weighs in on the Millwood trade. If he does what they predict I'll be happy. -Stacey

Sources: Roy Halladay to Philadelphia Phillies, Cliff Lee to Seattle Mariners deal close
A couple of companion deals that would send Roy Halladay to Philadelphia and Cliff Lee to Seattle are "close" but "not done," according to two sources familiar with the negotiations. -duck

New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox will square off April 4
The World Series champion New York Yankees will play the Boston Red Sox in the major league Sunday night opener on April 4. The game will be televised on ESPN2 nationally but will be blacked out on the ESPN2 in the areas of the two teams, where it will be broadcast on their local networks. The game originally had been scheduled for Monday, April 5. -duck

Los Angeles Angels reach one-year deal with Hideki Matsui
The Angels and free-agent designated hitter Hideki Matsui have agreed on a one-year contract. The deal is worth slightly more than $6 million. The agreement was first reported by The New York Times. -duck

Sources: Boston Red Sox set to add John Lackey, Mike Cameron
The retooling Red Sox made two key moves in one day, reaching tentative agreements with pitcher John Lackey and outfielder Mike Cameron. -duck

The pros and cons of trading Draft picks
The ability to trade picks seems to be something many are in favor of, and though it might take some negotiating to figure out exactly what the rules should be, implementing them would not be as difficult as, say, an international Draft. -duck

 AND JUST FOR FUN....

Adam Jones has serious hops, y'all.

Hanukkah is the festival of lights, 
Instead of one day of presents, we have eight crazy Open Threads! 

More photos » by Chris O'Meara - AP

Your Off-Season O of the Day: Matt Albers (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

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Consider this your Open Thread for Sunday.

Zrebiec: A Ray of class
"[Chris] Ray’s fastball velocity started to come back as the 2009 season progressed and he said that he has put on eight pounds of muscle this offseason to get some strength back that he felt he lacked last year. He said his 2009 struggles have provided great motivation. The bet here is that he’ll return to form and be a pretty effective reliever for Texas." -duck

Big names added to free-agent pool | MLB.com: News
Oakland slugger Jack Cust, Yankees right-hander Chien-Ming Wang, Colorado third baseman Garret Atkins and Pittsburgh closer Matt Capps were among the prominent players not tendered contracts prior to Saturday's 11:59 p.m. ET deadline, swelling the free-agent ranks. Other veterans granted free agency by virtue of not receiving contract offers are Nationals closer Mike MacDougal, Reds outfielder Johnny Gomes and the Giants' Ryan Garko. -zk

 Zrebiec: Winter Meetings leftovers
"(T)he Royals and Orioles never engaged in formal trade talks (for Felix Pie) in Indianapolis, unless you count a couple of quick lobby conversations among scouts and other team officials. So no, the Orioles didn’t ask for Royals first baseman Billy Butler or third baseman Alex Gordon. " -duck

O's agree to terms with Albers, Meredith -- baltimoresun.com
The Orioles have agreed to terms with relievers Matt Albers and Cla Meredith on 2010 contracts, according to team sources today. -duck

Garret Atkins non-tendered by Rockies
"The Orioles have some interest and didn't engage in serious trade talks with the Rockies because they anticipated that he would hit the open market." Just Andy being Andy, people. -duck

IN OTHER BASEBALL NEWS...

Jason Bay rejects Red Sox offer
"Boston Red Sox free agent left fielder Jason Bay has rejected the team’s latest offer, Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reports via Twitter Saturday. Bay’s agent Joe Urbon said  ”We have other offers on table that are of greater interest to Jason.” Ha. See how YOU like it, Boston. -duck

Feliz Navidad / Feliz Navidad / Feliz Navidad / Prospero Ano y Open Thread.

More photos » by Richard Drew - AP

Your Off-Season O of the Day: Koji Uehara (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

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More nuggets from Winter Meetings...

O's like landscape at third; Millwood talks continue -- baltimoresun.com
Jeff Zrebiec's late Tuesday night update contains lots of info. To wit: • Dan Uggla: not likely as long as the Marlins want two pitching prosects • San Diego's Kevin Kouzmanoff: The O's are interested in him, especially since he could move to first when Bell comes up • "mild interest" in Garrett Atkins of the Rockies • Phillie Pedro Feliz is still "top of the list" • The Rangers wanted David Hernandez + a lower-level prospect for Kevin Millwood and $3M. The teams have discussed other deals, and the O's are still frontrunners. • No real interest in Derek Lowe or Joe Blanton • .... and a bunch of other stuff. As a footnote, the Rockies apparently have shown an interest in Melvin Mora. -zk

MacPhail's 6pm presser, via Roch - Discussing 3B
Andy MacPhail: "There are some options available to us, and not just free agents. Potential trades that we've identified," he said. "It's a reasonably sized list. And we're somewhat guided by the fact that we're very pleased with how Josh Bell has responded since he put on an Orioles uniform. We don't want to do anything that's going to hamper his development, but we also have to be realistic that prospects are just that - they're prospects." -zk

More names floated as signing possibilities for O's - MASN
"The Orioles maintain interest in first baseman Carlos Delgado, who is expected to begin playing in Puerto Rico later this week. And they also are keeping an open dialogue with Sam Levinson, who represents third baseman Pedro Feliz. Also, if the Orioles lose a player in the Rule 5 draft, it could be Double-A Bowie second baseman Miguel Abreu, who is drawing strong interest from the San Diego Padres. At least two other teams, the Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers, have scouted him in Puerto Rico." -duck

The Schmuck Stops Here: The third man
"The Orioles also have expressed interest in San Diego Padres third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff, who had 18 homers and 88 RBI in 141 games last year." I know absolutely nothing about this player. Enlighten me. Also, if you have nothing better to do with your life (and I sincerely hope you do), you can participate in a chat with Peter Schmuck at 1:30 p.m. today  -duck

O's to meet again with Chapman team
"The Orioles will meet with the representatives for Cuban pitcher Aroldis Chapman before leaving Indianapolis. They've had discussions with Alan Hendricks over the past few weeks in sort of a start-over process after Chapman switched agents." -duck [UPDATE: They met with his reps yesterday -zk] 

The Schmuck Stops Here: Orioles: Arms sale
The O's have their pick of Kevin Millwood, Joe Blanton or Derek Lowe, who averaged 15 wins a year for the last 8 years - who knew? All can be had at reasonable prices. But do we actually want any of that group? -duck 

Obstacles block Royals' interest in Orioles outfielder Pie
"The Royals remain interested in a trade to acquire outfielder Felix Pie but appear unable — and unwilling — to meet Baltimore’s asking price of a run-production corner infielder." They won't budge on Billy Butler, and they have no one else we're interested in. -duck 

Peter Gammons: Baseball analyst to leave ESPN after winter meetings
Peter Gammons is leaving ESPN after the winter meetings. He may be a Red Sox homer, but he is a pretty good source of information on the larger media market clubs. -duck [UPDATE: He's going to MLB Network. -zk]

Organizational Rankings: Practical makes perfect for Red Sox - MLB - CBSSports.com Baseball
Larry Dobrow (who?) breaks down all 30 franchises in his annual Organizational Rankings. The O's ranked 15th, up from 29th last year.

Woodland critters: [singing] What special time, what special place!  It's Woodland Critter Christmas! 
Squirrely the Squirrel: Hail, Open Thread!

Your (Minor League) Off-Season O of the Day: Sherman the Shorebird at the Salisbury Christmas Parade.

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Trembley's begging for a bat

     "We still have one piece missing, we need a bat. We need that in the middle of the lineup, a proven bat that can hit behind Markakis and ahead of whoever is fifth and sixth," said Dave Trembley to MASN's Steve Melewski. And if I was Diamond Dave, I'd be asking for the same thing. -duck

What will the Orioles do? -- baltimoresun.com
Armed with an extensive list of needs and ample payroll flexibility, the Orioles ' top decision-makers will descend on Indianapolis this week for baseball's annual winter meetings. Jeff Zrebiec's article is the umpteenth one yo've seen about the Os' needs this offsseason. -zk

This week’s meetings teem with possibilities - The Boston Globe

     The Globe also thinks we need 1B and 3B help and a starter and possibly a closer. They also think the O's have the talent to trade for a stud. So, in other words, their reporters can use Google News as well as I can. -duck

Team-by-team AL winter meetings outlook 

     Team-by-team AL winter meetings outlook by Fox News. Learn such new revelations like the O's want a front-line starter and a corner infield help! But I swear, I feel like I've read this before...Oh,. wait. Only in every Hot Stove roundup done for the past month. That's where! -duck

Uehara willing to pitch in any role

     "(Koji) Uehara told one of the Japanese reporters here that he'll do whatever the Orioles want - start, close, set-up." Roch says Uehara has been cleared to begin light tossing back in Japan. -duck

Pioneering leadership may net Hall spots

     Andy MacPhail is a member of the 12-member electorate for the Executives/Pioneers ballot. He's got some interesting decisions to make besides who should play 1B and 3B until June for the Orioles in the upcoming week. -duck

MacPhail can wait; fans can't

     Peter Schmuck is worried that Andy MacPhail won't throw red meat to the fans by making a trade during the Winter Meetings. He's worried that a trade later in the winter from a then-depleted talent pool won't be enough. I think Andy MacPhail knows a hell of a lot more about what the O's should do than Schmuck does. -duck  (Or to put it another way, Schmuck once again reminds us why he's lucky someone pays him to write a column. Thank your lucky stars he doesn't work in the Orioles' front office. -zk)

A little outside advice

     Roch says: "A scout from another organization was pushing for the Orioles to dip into their surplus of pitching prospects and acquire the big bat that they need. He reminded me that it wasn't so long ago that we were hyping the likes of Matt Riley, Hayden Penn, Daniel Cabrera and Adam Loewen." Take a moment to compare the minor league accomplishments of the two sets of pitchers, and I think you'll see the value of this advice. -duck

Tides' Young named minors' top executive

     "Norfolk Tides president Ken Young has been named Minor League Executive of the Year by Baseball America." Another accolade for the Orioles resurgent minor league system. -duck

Maryland Politics - Angelos confirms possible interest in Laurel, slots
A group led by Baltimore Orioles owner Peter G. Angelos is considering making a bid to buy Laurel Park racetrack with the hope of securing a slot-machine license if plans fall through to build a casino at Arundel Mills mall. -zk

I'm glad he took our presents. You can't hurt Christmas, Mr. Mayor, because it isn't about the... the gifts or the contest or the fancy lights. That's what Cindy's been trying to tell everyone... and me. I don't need anything more for Christmas than this right here: my Open Thread.