Mark Teixeira

The Orioles' 5-4 win over the Yankees Saturday night had its share of controversy until the final out. While the story of the night was the loss of right fielder Nick Markakis for the rest of the regular season -- at least six weeks -- with a broken left thumb, the Orioles bullpen made the game exciting to the end. Leading 5-3, closer Jim Johnson allowed three singles to open the inning, with Derek Jeter's bunt single loading the bases....

Success for the Orioles isn't about big wins in the short term. It can't be because they're probably two or three years from translating off-field acumen into substantial on-field improvements. That's why we can't get too down if the club fails to hook this winter's big free-agent fish, Mark Teixeira. When dreaming about the offensive core for 2011, it would be nice to add Teixeira's name to those of Nick Markakis, Adam Jones and Matt Wieters. I'm not suggesting the Orioles would be better off without the Severna Park native or that they should be conservative in bidding for him. A losing team only gets so many chances to sign a long-term difference-maker, and this is one. That said, if the Orioles remain committed to young talent and avoid disastrous signings, I'm willing to call this offseason a modest success, Teixeira or no Teixeira.

I promised not to write about Prince Fielder until the super-sized slugger signs somewhere. Well, I am writing about Fielder and he hasn't signed yet. Hey, it's not like I took a vow in church or anything. Besides, it's you people that have done this to me. You are the ones that have flooded my email box and Twitter account with questions about Fielder now that a few national writers have mentioned that the Orioles are interested in him. So here's what I gleaned after talking to some people Monday: The Orioles are more interested in signing Fielder than they were, say, three weeks ago. And the reason is because it's three weeks later than it was three weeks ago. The club's stance on Fielder hasn't changed.

If the Orioles escape this offseason without signing mediocre players to long-term deals - their calling card in the past decade - then this winter isn't a failure. But without Mark Teixeira running down the orange carpet in April at Camden Yards, it can't be considered a success, either. Getting Teixeira to come home to a moribund franchise was always thought to be a long shot. But the Orioles have a chance, and they need to make good on it. Because they won't have a similar opportunity with Teixeira 2.0 in 2010 or Teixeira 3.0 in 2011, if one exists.

The hometown team needs the hometown boy. It's time to pull the trigger, light the candle, fire up the checkbook, call the equipment manager and tell him to stitch up an Orioles jersey with "Teixeira" and the number "25" on the back. Who are the Orioles waiting for? They didn't go out and buy a staff ace - the team's most pressing need - to anchor the rotation. Babe Ruth isn't coming back, Michael Phelps doesn't play baseball and the rest of the team isn't getting the job done, either on the field or at the turnstiles.

Candy, you must be spending too much time on the fishing boat. Out here in the real world, the economy is crashing harder than Amy Winehouse in detox. It's so bad, you can barely buy a Senate seat these days. Look, one of my favorite things about baseball is how the fences are different in every park. Metaphorically, they're different for every team, too. The Orioles swinging for the fences is different from the Red Sox swinging for the fences. All a fan in Baltimore can hope is that the Orioles chase a guy like Mark Teixeira in good faith, that they offer him a respectable offer.

The player who has been at the top of many Orioles fans' wish lists, Mark Teixeira, changed uniforms for the second time in just about a year yesterday after the Atlanta Braves traded him to the Los Angeles Angels. The first baseman, a Baltimore-area favorite son who was acquired by the Braves from the Texas Rangers a year ago as the player to put them over the top, was made available after Atlanta failed to take full advantage of his services in the 2007 stretch run and through two-thirds of a season this year.

CELEBRATION, Fla.-- --Spring training means hope. Trading away Erik Bedard and Miguel Tejada, however, has a way of draining the unbridled enthusiasm reserved for 2008 at Camden Yards. So in the fine tradition of glass-half-full springs, here's a shot of optimism for Orioles fans courtesy of a training camp in sunny Florida. Mark Teixeira still loves Baltimore. "It's my home. I was born and raised there," Teixeira, the Atlanta Braves' first baseman, said recently. "I am always going to support Mount St. Joseph High School and am going to support my local church there.

Let me stipulate first that CC Sabathia ranks among the greatest wonders of the baseball world. For a man that size to maintain a consistent delivery over huge amounts of innings, he has to be a tremendous athlete. If I wanted to win a pennant next year and I could pick any pitcher in the world, I would take him second, behind Johan Santana. But that's not the question before us. Both Sabathia and Mark Teixeira will probably sign deals of at least six years this offseason for annual salaries of more than $20 million.

I'm hesitant to even type the name again. I'm not sure this much attention ever has been given to a guy that clearly isn't coming to Baltimore to play for the Orioles. OK, not counting a certain first baseman from Severna Park a few years ago who is now booed every time he brings his pinstripes to Camden Yards. Every few days this offseason Prince Fielder's name has appeared in this blog or other Orioles' based sites. And people debate whether the Orioles are in on Fielder or whether they would pay him enough to want to come here.

ARLINGTON, Texas — This American League Championship Series between the Yankees and Rangers has become one of superstars, which isn't always the case in the postseason. MVP candidates sometimes find themselves out of the spotlight, whether it's because the playoff glare is too bright, because some virtual unknown steps into it or because the other team never lets you hit. But the Rangers' Josh Hamilton and the Yankees' Robinson Cano have conducted their own version of extra-innings MVP while participating in a two-man home run derby.

NEW YORK — The upstart, under-respected Rangers, who started as baseball's laughingstock as the Washington Senators, are one victory away from their first World Series. And they have three chances to do it, starting Wednesday at Yankee Stadium where they already have won Games 3 and 4 of the American League Championship Series. Their latest triumph was dominant, 10-3, Tuesday night over a Yankees team that has been outpitched and outhit while going down three games to one. Game 5 features a rematch of the first game with C.J. Wilson trying to eliminate the defending World Series champions and CC Sabathia trying to get the series back to Texas on Friday.

MINNEAPOLIS — It has been a decade since a team has won back-to-back World Series, and there is only one team with a chance to do it this year. Of course, the answer to both "who was the last team?" and "who could be the next?" is the same: the Yankees. They began their quest for championship No. 28 in the warm fall air of Target Field with a 6-4 victory over the Twins in Game 1 of their AL Division Series, thanks to a shot of power from Mark Teixeira. Just before the opener of this series, Yankees manager Joe Girardi revealed Teixeira had received a cortisone injection at the base of his right thumb, which had caused him to hit only .232 in September.

* Mark Teixeira, right, and Hideki Matsui homer off Pedro Martinez, helping New York to a 3-1 victory, tying the World Series at one game apiece heading into Saturday's matchup in Philadelphia. Yankees starting pitcher A.J. Burnett gave up four hits in seven innings, and Mariano Rivera earned a two-inning save. PG 7

Orioles All-Star center fielder Adam Jones will miss two to three weeks and could be done for the remainder of the season after severely spraining his left ankle Tuesday night. "We've got five weeks left; of course I want to be there on the field with my teammates. There's nothing I'd rather do," Jones said. "But at the same time, you've got to be smart. Is it smart enough to come back for the last couple of weeks, or is it smart enough to just let it heal all the way and come back next year?"

Connie Mack was supposed to have said that pitching is 90 percent of baseball. Although much has changed about the game since Mack managed wearing a starched collar and tie, that verity stands as immutable as one-two-three-strikes-yer-out. If you have to count on either good pitching or good hitting, the smart money is on the arms, not the lumber. The world champion Phillies might be remembered as a having a lineup full of boppers, but when they rushed through the playoffs with an 11-3 record, it was because the Phils' pitching sparkled in the postseason with a 3.08 ERA (2.86 in the World Series)

New York continues to look like the team to beat in the American League. The Yankees have the best overall record in the majors, a major league-best 31-11 mark since the All-Star break and are a season-high 34 games over .500. They have a league-high six players with at least 20 homers, including first baseman Mark Teixeira (Mount St. Joseph), who has a team-high 32 homers and 101 RBIs and has emerged as one of the leading candidates for the AL Most Valuable Player award. The six players reaching the 20-homer plateau ties a franchise record and is one shy of a major league record shared by three teams, including the 1996 Orioles.

NEW YORK - -He didn't even turn around to give it a courtesy glance. Orioles reliever Jim Johnson figured there was no point in doing that. So as soon as the ball left Hideki Matsui's bat, flying toward the right-field seats, Johnson put his head down and started his slow walk off the field, oblivious to the New York Yankees that had started to gather at home plate. "I knew as soon as he swung the bat, it was out of there," Johnson said. "There's no sense in turning around. Game over."