What the Baltimore Orioles Should Do, Will Do, and Won't Do

As a constant reader of the Orioleshangout.com message boards, I spend plenty of time poring over ideas—some decent, some pure lunacy. Everybody has the solution, the perfect plan to make the Orioles contenders.

Too many times I have seen the hopes and dreams of these boarders squashed. Granted, Andy MacPhail has given me hope with the trades of Miguel Tejada and Erik Bedard, but I still am not convinced that these Orioles are any different than the old Orioles, aside from better drafting.

Here's a run-down of what I think the O's will and won't do, as well as what I, and most of the message board nuts over at the best Orioles fan site in the world, think the team should do.

Should Do: Offer Nick Markakis a long-term contract, come on...what other right fielders can balance a chair on their chin?

Will Do: The O's will work with Markakis' team on the details of a contract, getting close to settling on final terms several times.

Won't Do: I don't see the O's and Nick the Stick agreeing to anything this offseason. Maybe I'm just a pessimist when it comes to this situation, but I've been pessimistic about Brian Roberts being traded and Kevin Millar being traded or released, so I think I've earned the right to be so.

P.S. I'm madly in love with Nick the Stick.

Should Do: Trade Brian Roberts to...whoever offers the most. The Cubs should come-a-calling, again, but possibly the White Sox too. The Cubs could offer the more intriguing package, which shouldn't be altogether different than the one offered last year, although none of the Cubbies included in last year's proposals had a good year.

Will Do: The O's will dangle Roberts...again, but nothing will come of it...and, interestingly enough, I don't really mind. I like Roberts, and I would rather see him play for us until we manage to be competitive again than run off to play for the Cubs and have his heart broken. 

Won't Do: The O's will keep Roberts and offer him a long term deal. He better accept...I'm sick of going through this rigmarole. 

Should Do: Find someone to trade Aubrey Huff to.

Will Do: The O's might dangle Huff, too. He could be appealing to a number of teams and could bring back one, maybe two, decent prospects. 

Won't Do: The O's won't trade Huff, and the talking heads will go on and on about how good Huff looks coming back and how they expect him to repeat his career performance in 2009. I guarantee you that Huff will hit well below .300 next year and will be lucky if he hits 20 home runs.

Should Do: End the cycle of madness...Release Daniel Cabrera!

Will Do: The O's will keep an eye on Cabrera's progress this winter, monitoring his progress rehabbing his bum right elbow. Then pitching coach Rick Kranitz will come out and say how good D-Cab is looking and how he expects this to finally be the year. Yeah, right! 

Won't Do: The O's won't get rid of D-Cab and will ensure migraines for every single fan every five days for yet another year. BLAH!!!

Should Do: Sign a free-agent pitcher, namely Ben Sheets or Derek Lowe.

Will Do: The Orioles signing Ben Sheets is about as likely as....well, the Orioles releasing Daniel Cabrera. Same with CC Sabathia. They might have a shot at Derek Lowe, but only if he doesn't get any other offers. 

Won't Do: The O's won't put up an offer big enough to stick around in the bidding wars. Sheets will end up somewhere not Baltimore, CC will be a Yankee, and Lowe will end up in Chi-Town, take your pick on which one.

Should Do: Put up the money and bring Mark Teixeira home.

Will Do: The O's will talk and talk and talk 'til they're blue in the face about how they're going to be "competitive" in their offer for Tex. Meanwhile, the real organizations with real plans will put up real offers for the Severna Park native. 

Won't Do: Tex isn't coming home...at least not yet. Maybe after this next contract expires. And don't think that the O's having Matt Wieters, also a Scott Boras client, means anything. Tex is going where the money is...New York or New York...both the Yankees.

Both D-Cab getting released and the O's signing Ben Sheets will happen before this one.

Should Do: Make an earnest offer for A.J. Burnett.

Will Do: This, I think the O's will actually do. I mean, come on—any guy who can issue seven or eight walks during a no-hitter fits perfectly here. I'm sure he'll play off coming here as being the best for his kids and his family, but the real reason he's coming to B-More is because the O's will offer him a few million more than anyone else. 

Won't Do: Surround him with any other talent besides Jeremy Guthrie. Taking up the other slots will be some of the following: Garrett Olson, Radhames Liz, Chris Waters, and of course...Daniel Cabrera.

Should Do: Embrace the rebuilding process and rebuild. That means getting rid of D-Cab and Kevin Millaahh, trading B-Rob, Aubrey Huff, and even Melvin Mora if you can. 

Will Do: Embrace the rebuilding process without actually rebuilding. The O's will keep B-Rob, hand D-Cab a rotation spot, keep Aubrey and Millaahh, and probably sign some washed up free agent to "shore up" the bullpen, which is code for "jack the ERA of the bullpen another half a run."

Won't Do: Hire me as GM to make the decisions that need to be made. And this...this is probably their best call of all. Peace!