Well, at least it's been a nice, quiet offseason for the Orioles.
Let's see, all they've done is overhaul the roster, tinker with the notion of pursuing disgraced steroid-cheat Manny Ramirez, trade their most experienced starter in Jeremy Guthrie and nearly touch off an international incident with South Korea's professional baseball league.
Other than that, yep, it's been pretty uneventful.
The bottom line is this: pitchers and catchers report to spring training Sunday and we still don't know if the Orioles are any better than last year.
What's the master plan for reversing 14 straight years of losing?
What's the blueprint for getting the Orioles out of the AL East cellar and re-energizing the fan base?
Who knows?
Right now it seems to be: let's sign a whole bunch of new guys and worry about that other stuff later.
Actually, if you look at the overall picture, it appears Dan Duquette, the new vice president of baseball operations, is taking a Billy Beane "Moneyball" approach to fixing this club.
Find players who are under-valued and can help you. Put a premium on hitters with a good on-base percentage. Same with pitchers that have a good strikeout-to-walk ratio.
So that's what's behind Duquette adding 12 new players to the roster since November, a seismic upheaval in recent Orioles offseason history.
Understand, I am all for seismic upheavals. Especially when it comes to re-building a chronic loser like the Orioles. Duquette is bringing in a bunch of new players and seeing who sticks in spring training.
In a way, he's accumulating what Earl Weaver loved to see: "deep depth."
Fine. I just don't think Duquette has brought in enough talent to significantly upgrade this team. Because except for catcher, shortstop and center field, everywhere you look there are question marks.
Will Nick Markakis be ready to go in right field? Is he recovered from abdominal surgery in early January? He's a tough guy and a gamer. No one wants to play more than Markakis.
But even if the team keeps him out of early spring training games, there's no guarantee Markakis' rehab goes smoothly and he's ready to start the season. Third baseman Ryan Zimmerman of the Nationals had the same kind of surgery. Months later, he had all the mobility of the Washington Monument.
How about Brian Roberts at second base? Will he be free of the concussion symptoms that have made his life hell for so long? Depends who you ask.
One source says Roberts is making steady progress and could be ready to play soon. Another says, no, he's had setbacks and it's still wait-and-see. Another says Roberts is so down about his recovery he's even thinking of retiring.
People who saw him at the Orioles Christmas party say he looked like a walking ghost. And if he didn't feel well enough to attend FanFest last month, that's not a good sign, either.
Who's going to play third base? Mark Reynolds, who had 26 errors there last season and five more at first base to lead the majors with 31?
Or does Reynolds play first and Chris Davis — another questionable fielder with pop in his bat who strikes out a lot — move to third?
Left field — could be Nolan Reimold, who's still done little to nail down the position. But it might be someone else (Endy Chavez? Jai Miller?) who opens some eyes in Sarasota this spring.
As for pitching, the Orioles look like they'll audition everyone except maybe your mail carrier this spring. (My mail carrier has a decent arm, but only goes about 125 pounds. Then again, she's a woman.)
At various times, Duquette has talked up newcomers Dana Eveland, Wei-Yin Chen, Tsuyoshi Wada, Jason Hammel and Matt Lindstrom. They'll compete with Tommy Hunter, Zach Britton, Jake Arrieta (if he's healthy after elbow surgery), Brian Matusz (if his head's on straight), Chris Tillman (if he's not out of chances), Brad Bergesen (ditto), Armando Gallaraga (signed to a minor league contract) and the entire cast of "Boardwalk Empire."
The bullpen should be deeper. Apparently, anyone who doesn't make the starting rotation has a shot to relieve. Who's going to be the closer? Good question.
Basically, the Orioles have five hard-throwing right-handers — Jim Johnson, Kevin Gregg, Lindstrom, Pedro Strop and just-signed Luis Ayala — who could fill the role. (I said "hard-throwing." I didn't say they were any good.)
Duquette says the goal for the Orioles this season is to play .500 ball. But they'll be lucky to do that with the level of talent on this team.
In the meantime, it's nice to know we won't be going to war with the South Koreans, now that the Orioles have apologized for a "breach in protocol" in their signing of teenage pitcher Seong-Min Kim.
Now we can concentrate on baseball.
Listen to Kevin Cowherd Tuesdays at 7:20 a.m. on 105.7 The Fan's "The Norris and Davis Show."
