Player Development

Patience is supposed to be a virtue, so who could blame the Orioles if they decide to spend another year or two developing their best young prospects and building a better long-term future? The answer is, well, everyone. The club's admirable attempt to rebuild from the bottom up has presented Orioles fans with some fresh faces and some room for hope that the next three years will be much better than the last. But it is clear that the time has come to accelerate the process. There are too many empty seats, whether they have been sold or not. There is too little real punch in the batting order, and too little minor-league position depth to believe that a great offensive attack will suddenly spring forth from the player development system.

The Orioles have a surplus of outfielders, and one of the first things Syd Thrift plans to do today when he gets to Tucson, Ariz., is talk to other teams about their interest in center fielder Chris Singleton. Baseball officials will gather in Tucson this weekend, with the general managers' meetings set to begin Monday. Thrift, the Orioles' vice president for baseball operations, said about five teams have expressed interest in Singleton, who hit .262 in 136 games last season. Singleton, 30, became expendable when Thrift acquired Gary Matthews from the New York Mets in April and Matthews went on to hit .276 before a wrist injury forced him to miss the final five weeks of the season.

Moves Auto racing NASCAR: Fined Chad Knaus, crew chief for driver Jimmie Johnson, $5,000 for cursing during a TV interview Sunday. Baseball MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL: Named White Sox OF Magglio Ordonez AL Player of the Week and Cardinals 3B Scott Rolen NL Player of the Week. EXPOS: Announced two-year player development contract with Single-A Savannah. ORIOLES: Announced two-year affiliation agreement with Triple-A Ottawa. Double-A Bowie promoted Keri Scrivani to assistant director of marketing and Kristen Daffin to community relations coordinator.

Left-handed pitcher Matt Riley, considered the Orioles' top prospect and a possibility for next season's starting rotation as a 20-year-old, will be promoted from Double-A Bowie on Sunday, the Orioles announced last night.General manager Frank Wren admitted the decision represents a shift in organizational thinking that initially projected Riley as participating in the Arizona Fall League. Instead, Wren says the thought of Riley beginning the 2000 season in Baltimore has become increasingly plausible, thus making his promotion more practical.

OAKLAND, Calif. - The Orioles severed another link to the regime of former general manager Frank Wren earlier this week by dismissing special assistant Bruce Manno. The move, made on Tuesday but confirmed by club officials yesterday, was part of an organizational "restructuring," according to a club executive and came in the second of Manno's three-year contract. The move completes an evolution that first saw him removed as assistant general manager last November after Wren's controversial firing.

SEATTLE - -A copy of the study stayed in Andy MacPhail's briefcase during his early months as the Orioles' president of baseball operations. If nothing else, it served as a reminder of what needed to be done to turn around an organization that had fallen on hard times, and how difficult the task was going to be. In 2007, Baseball America published a report that tracked player development in each organization and the number of homegrown players who graduated...

OAKLAND, Calif. - Orioles director of player development Don Buford yesterday defended the organization's player development record at Triple-A Rochester, saying criticism recently levied by the Red Wings' front office that club officials have to be held "accountable" for a poor season doesn't take into account numerous successes by younger players, some of whom were forced to Rochester prematurely by injuries at the major-league level. "As far as the development aspect at Rochester goes, if you put together the whole year, a number of players have proven very honest and true," Buford said.

Late Orioles game: Last night's game between the Orioles and the Athletics in Oakland, Calif., ended too late to be included in this edition. A complete report can be found in later editions or on the Internet at http://www.sunspot.net. OAKLAND, Calif. - Orioles director of player development Don Buford yesterday defended the organization's player development record at Triple-A Rochester, saying criticism recently levied by the Red Wings' front office that club officials have to be held "accountable" for a poor season doesn't take into account numerous successes by younger players, some of whom were forced to Rochester prematurely by injuries at the major-league level.

Ousted Orioles general manager Frank Wren yesterday expressed "a sense of relief and also a sense of sadness" over his Thursday firing because of the unfinished business and the organizational camaraderie left behind."

There can never be a whole lot of stability on a short-season Single-A baseball team such as the Aberdeen IronBirds. Even if Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. is the owner. However, the 2008 IronBirds are about as stable as any low-level minor league team can be. They will open the season tonight with nine players who spent either 2007 or both 2006 and 2007 with the IronBirds. There's even returning experience at the manager position and two coaching jobs. Gary Kendall will manage the team, returning to the town where he was a field coach in 2002 and 2003.