For many years, the Baltimore Orioles’ international scouting plan started and ended with Koji Uehara. Where other teams opened an Academy in Latin American countries and scouted Asia for prospects, the Orioles did next to nothing.

That is why it was no surprise that when Dan Duquette took over as general manager, he said a lot of his focus would be on beefing up the O’s international presence.

Well, if his first month is any indication, the Orioles will not tread lightly in these arenas anymore. Baltimore has come out fast and furious in the month or so since Duquette took over. The O’s pursued Korean reliever Chong Tae-Hyon before he decided to stay back home. They inked left-handed starter Tsuyoshi Wada, who they envision making the rotation this spring training. Also being looked at is Taiwanese lefty Chen Wei-Yin, who would most likely be in the bullpen.

This all adds up to more foreign activity than the O’s have shown in 15 years, but is it enough? I will say that it is a good start. The hiring of Fred Ferreira was a coup for the team because of his ability to find those hidden gems in Latin America. The team now, though, has to flip the switch from looking for what I call the established players and start unearthing the younger talent.

I say this because most of the players they were pursuing recently were guys in their late 20s to early 30s. To me, that kind of player has a few years possibly, but not much shelf life after that. This team needs youngsters learning down in the minors, who after a few years of seasoning will be ready to contribute on a major league level.

Don’t get me wrong on this. I am happy with the Orioles’ moves on the international front thus far. They have signed a couple of players from down in Latin America into the farm system this offseason. I think Ferreira will also track down more talent there. I think, though, that the front office should now turn its eye to younger talent.

Oh, and for those fans who thought that we should have pursued Yu Darvish, I say surely you jest. Some will see the Orioles not submitting a bid as another example of Peter Angelos not being interested in investing in the club. You’re wrong on this one, though, friends. How can anyone in his right mind pay $50 million to get the right to negotiate for a player and then spend about $60 million more to sign him?

This man is not an established major league pitcher. He might have won big overseas, but will it really translate here? I think most of the examples of high-priced signings of this type have ended up being disappointing at best. My thought is use the money on major league talent in this particular case. In the end, I think Dan Duquette is on the right track. Now all the Orioles have to do is change their sight line a wee bit.

Though a Washington native, John Atchison grew up a fan of the Baltimore Orioles. Many think he should now become a Nationals supporter, but he says the Black and Orange is where he will stay! Follow him on Twitter @John_Atchison.

Sources:

orioleshangout.com

baltimoresun.com/orioles

masnsports.com/school_of_roch

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BOSTON (CBS) – The Baltimore Orioles may be interested in hiring Red Sox bench coach Demarlo Hale as their third base coach, according to a Baltimore Sun report.

Hale is still under contract with the Red Sox, but his future with the team won’t be clear until the Red Sox hire a new manager.

If he signs with Baltimore, the 50-year-old Hale would be reunited with O’s manager Buck Showalter. He spent three years with the skipper while in Texas from 2003-2005.

Hale served as the bench coach in Boston for the last two seasons, and the team’s third base coach under Terry Francona from 2006-2009.

SARASOTA –

As the costs of an environmental cleanup at Ed Smith Stadium reach $1 million, the Baltimore Orioles are saying the city of Sarasota needs to pitch in more money.

The Orioles last week requested $420,000 to improve poor drainage at its spring training practice fields, a problem the team blames on an old city dump buried beneath the facility.

City Manager Bob Bartolotta says the Orioles are “trying to make a convoluted argument” to get the city to pay for field upgrades that should have come from a $24 million stadium renovation funded by taxpayers.

Bartolotta questioned the $420,000 expense in an email, and now the city, the Orioles and Sarasota County are calling in their lawyers. It is the biggest dispute yet among the three parties over terms of the $31.2 million overall spring training deal they approved in 2009.

This one could end up in court.

Money for the renovations came mostly from hotel tax revenue, but the deal also requires the city to pay for environmental cleanup of the dump site. The city contributed $1 million, money that came from state funds earmarked for the stadium.

If the team gets its way, the city would have to come up with more.

“The Orioles see this pot of money,” Bartolotta said, “And they’re thinking ‘Gee, it would be nice …’ “

The Orioles organization declined comment as it tries to negotiate the scope of the cleanup with the city and Sarasota County.

In response to Bartolotta’s email, Orioles lawyer Alan Rifkin wrote that the team and its environmental consultants think the “less costly or intrusive alternatives suggested by the city” will not cover the entire cost of the cleanup.

“No reasonable person could dispute” that the drainage problems are related either directly or indirectly to the underground dump, and the practice field with the worst drainage had to be closed last spring because of the drainage problems, the team says.

The Orioles are calling for that field to be rebuilt and fitted with a system of underground pipes at a cost of about $415,000. The team is also calling for a geotechnical analysis to see if the three other practice fields at the 53-acre ballpark on 12th Street and Tuttle Avenue need drainage systems.

City Commissioner Terry Turner said the dispute is exactly the kind of thing he was concerned about when he voted against the deal in 2009. At that time, Turner and former Commissioner Kelly Kirschner warned about the unknown costs of the cleanup.

“It was my concern that we’d be on the hook for any potential claims the Orioles chose to make,” said Turner.

Last December, the city and county signed off on a $975,000 cleanup plan — more than $500,000 of it to drain an underground plume of water polluted with vinyl chloride, a compound used to manufacture plastic.

For two decades, the city has monitored the groundwater, which also has high levels of iron, manganese and sodium.

Granting the Orioles’ request would mean leaving the plume where it is, Bartolotta says, and the city would still pay $50,000 to $60,000 a year to monitor the plume.

“We don’t want to continue to monitor it for the next 50 years,” Bartolotta said. “We were going to pump that water out and treat it at the sewage treatment plant. Over a three- to five-year period, that contaminated water would disappear, and the problem is fixed.”

With just three months left before spring training, the Orioles are asking everyone to hurry. The team says any work on the fields needs to be completed by the end of the year.

Opponents of the federal estate tax complain that it can cause the break-up of small businesses and family farms.  This is a bogus argument since the estate tax exemption is $5 million ($10 million for a couple) and special provisions allow substantial discounts of the value of such assets at death.  In practice, only farms and businesses worth over $20 million are likely to be hit by the tax.  Those aren’t small businesses.

But the estate tax does affect large businesses.  As Kay Bell points out on the Don’t Mess with Taxes blog, Al Davis’s estate could face roughly $50 million in taxes based on the value of his share in the Oakland Raiders.  The obligatory eulogies notwithstanding, Davis’s franchise has been lousy for years and Bell’s analysis suggests that the estate tax might offer the long suffering fans some relief. The Davis family might sell the team to pay their estate tax bill.

Which brings me to the Orioles.  I moved to Washington in the mid-1980s and enthusiastically embraced the Orioles.  In the 1980s and 1990s, the team was packed with future Hall of Famers (Cal Ripken, Jim Palmer, Eddie Murray, Robbie Alomar).  The O’s won the World Series in 1983 and made it to the ALCS in 1996 and 1997.  They were fun to watch.

Peter Angelos bought the team in 1993 and it did well for a few years.  But he fired manager Davey Johnson at the end of the 1997 season, the same year Johnson won the Manager of the Year award, and the team has been terrible ever since. The Orioles lost 93 games in 2011.  Their prospects with Angelos at the helm look grimmer than ever.

To be clear, even though I’m not an admirer, I’m not wishing Mr. Angelos a premature demise.  But, by a weird coincidence, Angelos and Al Davis were born on the same day, July 4, 1929.  The estate tax and the grim reaper might just be Orioles fans’ best hope of restoring their storied franchise.

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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP)—Zach Britton(notes) rebounded from a tough first inning
and helped the Baltimore Orioles overcome AL All-Star David Price(notes).

Britton had his third consecutive solid start, J.J. Hardy(notes) drove in two runs
and the Orioles beat the Tampa Bay Rays 3-2 on Friday night.

“The only way you’re able to have a shot at that (beating Price) is have a
well-pitched game,” Baltimore manager Buck Showalter said. “Zach has come back
strong and that bodes well for him in the future.”

Britton’s current run has come after he being sidelined just under three
weeks last month due to a strained left shoulder.

“The time on the DL, I tried to use it wisely,” Britton said. “Talking to
(closer) Kevin Gregg(notes) about building a game plan. Having a plan every time you go
out there. … What you’re going to do. I feel like that’s really helped me,
especially out on the mound.”

Britton (9-9) allowed two runs and four hits in six innings. The left-hander
was coming off starts against Minnesota and the New York Yankees where he gave
up one run in a combined 12 innings.

Vladimir Guerrero(notes) got Baltimore’s second hit off Price (12-12) on a leadoff
single in the seventh when the Orioles scored all their runs.

Guerrero went to third when Mark Reynolds(notes) and Robert Andino(notes) drew one-out
walks. After Nolan Reimold(notes) hit a sacrifice fly and Ryan Adams(notes) re-loaded the
bases on an infield single, Hardy put Baltimore up 3-2 with a two-run single.

“He was carving us up all game,” Hardy said of Price. “I think it might
have been the only ball (a cutter) he threw over the plate all night.”

Price was touched for three runs and four hits over seven innings. The
left-hander, who struck out a team-record 14 in a 12-0 victory over Toronto last
Sunday, had 11 strikeouts and three walks.

“One pitch, that’s the game,” Rays catcher Jose Lobaton(notes) said. “I feel bad
for him. He just threw it a little bit to the middle (of the plate).”

Evan Longoria(notes) gave the Rays a 2-0 lead on a two-run double in the first. He
has 60 RBIs over his last 64 games.

After Jim Johnson(notes) threw two perfect innings, Gregg gave up one hit and two
walks in the ninth en route to his 20th save.

Pinch-hitter Sam Fuld(notes) opened the Rays’ ninth with a single and went to
second on Sean Rodriguez’s(notes) one-out grounder. After Casey Kotchman(notes) and
pinch-hitter Matt Joyce(notes) both walked to load the bases, Brandon Guyer(notes) hit a
game-ending grounder that Hardy made a nice play on at short.

“There’s a method to what he’s trying to do out there,” Showalter said of
Gregg. “I understand that. It’s not always real comfortable all the time.”

The Orioles had two on with no outs during the second, but failed to score
when Reynolds and Andino both struck out, and Reimold flied out.

After Guerrero drew just his 14th walk of the season leading off the second,
Matt Wieters(notes) followed with an opposite-field single to right for the Orioles’
first hit. Price then retired his next 14 batters before Nick Markakis(notes) reached
first on a two-out throwing error by third baseman Longoria in the sixth.

Notes: Fuld pinch-hit for 2B Ben Zobrist(notes), who left because of neck
stiffness. … Baltimore RHP Tommy Hunter(notes) (flulike symptoms) remained at the
team hotel. … Tampa Bay LF Desmond Jennings(notes) had been hitless in his previous
12 at-bats before an infield single in the first. … Orioles INF Chris Davis(notes)
(strained right shoulder) is set to play in a minor league game Sunday and could
rejoin the team next week. … Baltimore LHP Jo-Jo Reyes(notes) left the team for the
birth of his child. … Orioles LHP Brian Matusz(notes), skipped this time through the
rotation, had a bullpen session and might pitch in next week’s series against
the Yankees. … Tampa Bay RHP Wade Davis(notes) (8-8), 0-2 with a 6.17 ERA in two home
starts against Baltimore this season, will face Orioles RHP Alfredo Simon(notes) (4-7)
on Saturday night.

“The only way you’re able to have a shot at that (beating Price) is have a well-pitched game,” Baltimore manager Buck Showalter said. “Zach has come back strong and that bodes well for him in the future.”

Britton’s current run has come after he being sidelined just under three weeks last month due to a strained left shoulder.

“The time on the DL, I tried to use it wisely,” Britton said. “Talking to (closer) Kevin Gregg about building a game plan. Having a plan every time you go out there. … What you’re going to do. I feel like that’s really helped me, especially out on the mound.”

Britton (9-9) allowed two runs and four hits in six innings. The left-hander was coming off starts against Minnesota and the New York Yankees where he gave up one run in a combined 12 innings.

Vladimir Guerrero got Baltimore’s second hit off Price (12-12) on a leadoff single in the seventh when the Orioles scored all their runs.

Guerrero went to third when Mark Reynolds and Robert Andino drew one-out walks. After Nolan Reimold hit a sacrifice fly and Ryan Adams re-loaded the bases on an infield single, Hardy put Baltimore up 3-2 with a two-run single.

“He was carving us up all game,” Hardy said of Price. “I think it might have been the only ball (a cutter) he threw over the plate all night.”

Price was touched for three runs and four hits over seven innings. The left-hander, who struck out a team-record 14 in a 12-0 victory over Toronto last Sunday, had 11 strikeouts and three walks.

“One pitch, that’s the game,” Rays catcher Jose Lobaton said. “I feel bad for him. He just threw it a little bit to the middle (of the plate).”

Evan Longoria gave the Rays a 2-0 lead on a two-run double in the first. He has 60 RBIs over his last 64 games.

After Jim Johnson threw two perfect innings, Gregg gave up one hit and two walks in the ninth en route to his 20th save.

Pinch-hitter Sam Fuld opened the Rays’ ninth with a single and went to second on Sean Rodriguez’s one-out grounder. After Casey Kotchman and pinch-hitter Matt Joyce both walked to load the bases, Brandon Guyer hit a game-ending grounder that Hardy made a nice play on at short.

“There’s a method to what he’s trying to do out there,” Showalter said of Gregg. “I understand that. It’s not always real comfortable all the time.”

The Orioles had two on with no outs during the second, but failed to score when Reynolds and Andino both struck out, and Reimold flied out.

After Guerrero drew just his 14th walk of the season leading off the second, Matt Wieters followed with an opposite-field single to right for the Orioles’ first hit. Price then retired his next 14 batters before Nick Markakis reached first on a two-out throwing error by third baseman Longoria in the sixth.

Notes: Fuld pinch-hit for 2B Ben Zobrist, who left because of neck stiffness. … Baltimore RHP Tommy Hunter (flulike symptoms) remained at the team hotel. … Tampa Bay LF Desmond Jennings had been hitless in his previous 12 at-bats before an infield single in the first. … Orioles INF Chris Davis (strained right shoulder) is set to play in a minor league game Sunday and could rejoin the team next week. … Baltimore LHP Jo-Jo Reyes left the team for the birth of his child. … Orioles LHP Brian Matusz, skipped this time through the rotation, had a bullpen session and might pitch in next week’s series against the Yankees. … Tampa Bay RHP Wade Davis (8-8), 0-2 with a 6.17 ERA in two home starts against Baltimore this season, will face Orioles RHP Alfredo Simon (4-7) on Saturday night.

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