Well That Didn't Go As Planned...

Who would have guessed it could have gotten worse than last week. That's right...The Blue Jay's have given up on their pursuit and Dan Duquette is staying as the GM of the Orioles (for now). Just to recap the recent events in the O's offseason, the only rumblings in the 41o are about the potential of a Duquette to Toronto move. Well, those rumors seems to heat up even more last week when it was reported that the two teams were in negotiations for a trade that would send a top prospect back to the Orioles in exchange for their coveted GM. Much to my dismay, those rumors were quickly squashed by Oriole's beat reporters who made it clear that owner Peter Angelos was not willing to negotiate a deal and the Jays were unwilling to part with a prized player. Personally, I don't understand. You have a GM who has failed to show the ability to do his job in the midst of these rumors, but you are unwilling to accept the value you can get in exchange for him. We aren't talking about the Dan Duquette who has pushed all the right buttons the past couple years. We are talking about the Dan Duquette who has sat on his hands all offseason while clearly dreaming about the Blue Jay's job. He might be the worse possible person to have in the job right now. So cheers Baltimore, our owner has once again managed to take a step backwards after being competitive.

Not so bright in Bmore

The week has been pretty brutal for Baltimore sports fans. The injury-riddled season of our beloved Ravens came to an end at the hands of perhaps our biggest rival not named the Steelers. Now, not only do we have to watch the (cheating) Patriots play in the Super Bowl, all us fans hear about the Orioles is how our General Manager is headed north of the border to division rival Toronto. If you ask me, it's time for him to hit the road. 

It's pretty clear that the possible Toronto move has been on the mind of Duquette all offseason. I know, Duquette swore up and down that the rumors wouldn't weigh on his mind while at the MLB Winter Meetings, but it's pretty clear that is simply untrue. I mean, what have the Orioles done? Home run leader Nelson Cruz? Gone. Team leader Nick Markakis? See you later. Look I get it, baseball is a business and you can't pay everyone. I was even cautiously optimistic about who they would sign as replacements. However, it became pretty clear that they weren't going to sign anyone. You know it's pretty bad when you get upset at losing out on the average bat of Colby Rasmus. Oh right, they signed Wesley Wright. No offense to Wesley, but who the hell is he. With everything that's happened (or hasn't), it's obvious to me that Duquette's priorities are no longer in Baltimore and the Orioles should just cut ties. On the bright side, the best player they get this offseason will probably be the guy they get back as compensation from the Blue Jays. 

The only reason to have a sliver of hope comes from last offseason. The two biggest offseason signings came in February with Ubaldo Jimenez and Nelson Cruz. The problem this year is that there is no player of that caliber left. Only hope for us O's fans is a return of 2013 Chris Davis and a healthy Manny Machado. If that doesn't happen, well...only 6 months till the Ravens report for training camp.