Erik Bedard

This is a good problem to have. Adam Jones says that this is a no-excuse year for him, and sees no reason he can't have a breakout 2011 season no matter where he hits in the Orioles upgraded batting order. Buck Showalter, who certainly wouldn't mind seeing his flashy center fielder have a big offensive year, bristles a bit at the notion that Jones has somehow fallen short of the great expectations that followed him here from the Seattle Mariners organization three years ago. "I think a lot of people miss that this guy hit .280 and had about 20 home runs and played center field in the upper echelon of center fielders," Showalter said.

Baseball Nats send Maxwell to Yanks, add former Oriole Meredith The Washington Nationals traded outfielder Justin Maxwell to the New York Yankees on Wednesday and reached a minor league deal with former Orioles reliever Cla Meredith . Maxwell, 27, a Sherwood alum who was drafted by the Orioles in the 43rd round in 2001 but decided to attend Maryland instead, has a .201 batting average in parts of three seasons with nine...

Chris Tillman 's 2010 baseball odyssey hasn't been a particularly pleasant one. The 22-year-old right-hander failed to make the Orioles' roster out of spring training, worked his way back up, only to be demoted twice while posting a 7.92 ERA in six starts. Sure, he's had a Triple-A no-hitter this season and an impressive run for the Norfolk Tides, going 11-7 with a 3.34 ERA in 21 starts. But his goal is to stick in the majors, and his next shot to impress comes Sunday, when he faces the Tampa Bay Rays, the same club that sent him back to Norfolk after bashing him for eight earned runs in 2 2/3 innings on July 19, his last game as a big leaguer.

How bad has the production from Orioles first basemen been? Entering the series opener against the San Francisco Giants on Monday night, Orioles first baseman were hitting a cumulative .215 with a .287 on-base percentage and a .263 slugging percentage. Not only are the Orioles the only team in the league without a homer from a first baseman, but the Arizona Diamondbacks (.271), Milwaukee Brewers (.270) and Cincinnati Reds (.263) also all have higher cumulative slugging percentages from their pitching staffs than the Orioles are getting from first base.

When Andy MacPhail acquired 10 players for a scandal-scarred Miguel Tejada and an injury-prone Erik Bedard, there was national sentiment that he had all but fleeced the Houston Astros and Seattle Mariners. So what are people going to say if he ends up getting both Tejada and Bedard back this winter at bargain prices? Don't laugh. MacPhail is halfway there. Tejada has agreed to terms on a one-year deal - pending a physical - and will move from shortstop to third base to complete the position portion of MacPhail's winter renovation project.

The Orioles' focus on Day One of baseball's winter meetings was on trying to upgrade a pitching staff that has been one of the worst in baseball. Team officials met with the Texas Rangers on Monday to discuss a potential deal for veteran pitcher Kevin Millwood, and Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail also confirmed that the team is in possession of the medical records of free-agent starter Erik Bedard. MacPhail will meet with Bedard's agent, Mark Pieper, in the next couple of days to discuss bringing back the team's former ace, who was traded to the Seattle Mariners before the 2008 season in a deal that spearheaded MacPhail's rebuilding project.

INDIANAPOLIS - -The Orioles' focus on Day One of baseball's winter meetings was on trying to upgrade a pitching staff that has been one of the worst in baseball. Team officials met with the Texas Rangers on Monday to discuss a potential deal for veteran pitcher Kevin Millwood, and Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail also confirmed that the team is in possession of the medical records of free-agent starter Erik Bedard. MacPhail will meet with Bedard's agent, Mark Pieper, in the next couple of days to discuss bringing back the team's former ace, who was traded to the Seattle Mariners before the 2008 season in a deal that spearheaded MacPhail's rebuilding project.

Seattle went an impressive 5-4 on its just-completed road trip, on which it played three of baseball's best teams, the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox. The Orioles and Mariners played six games in June with Seattle winning four. However, the Mariners will have a different look as starting infielders Adrian Beltre and Yuniesky Betancourt are on the disabled list and outfielder Endy Chavez is out for the season with a knee injury. Erik Bedard, the Orioles' former ace, will make his return to the Mariners' rotation Tuesday after not having pitched since June 7 because of left shoulder inflammation.