Did something happen? (Baltimore)

Here's a look at the coverage in the Baltimore Sun

Meet the newcomers

Adam Jones

The 22-year-old outfielder, often compared to Mike Cameron, was a first-round selection in the 2003 draft and was Seattle's Minor League Player of the Year in 2005. Jones made his major league debut the next year, appearing in 32 games and hitting .216 with one homer and eight RBIs. He came up as a shortstop but was moved to the outfield, where he can play all three positions, but he projects as a center fielder with the Orioles -- if another trade isn't consummated -- because of his speed and athleticism.

Tony Butler

Butler struggled last season at Wisconsin, losing his first six decisions and posting a 7.02 ERA in 33 innings. He also went on the disabled list twice with a "dead arm." Baseball America noted that Butler had one of the best curveballs in the Mariners' system. He also throws a changeup. His delivery isn't fluid, which might have contributed to his arm problems. Butler could develop into a middle-of-the-rotation starter.

He's a super-smart kid who is very interesting to us," a scout with another organization said.

Chris Tillman

Baseball America rated Tillman as Seattle's No. 3 prospect heading into this year. He has never pitched above the high Single-A level and made only eight appearances at low Single-A Wisconsin before the Mariners bumped him up. Tillman went 6-7 with a 5.26 ERA in 20 starts at High Desert of the California League. He's praised for having a clean delivery and an above-average four-seam fastball that touches 94 mph. His curveball, however, is regarded as his strikeout pitch. Tillman still is working on a changeup. The Mariners were likely going to start him at Double-A this year. Scouts mostly project him as a middle-of-the-rotation starter who could climb higher. At this young age, his ceiling still is being determined.

MacPhail's rebuilding blocks

While Orioles manager Dave Trembley has already notified Sherrill that he would like him to be the team's closer this year and scouts rave about the hard-throwing Tillman, Jones is the player the Orioles most coveted.

The center fielder, 22, was the Mariners' first draft pick in 2003 and their minor league Player of the Year in 2005 and 2007.

MacPhail attempted to ease some of the expectations of Jones by pointing out that Los Angeles Angels center fielder Torii Hunter, to whom Jones is often compared, was struggling in Double-A at Jones' age.

"My expectations are a lot higher than everybody else's," said Jones, who hit .314 with 25 home runs, 84 RBIs and eight steals in 101 games with Triple-A Tacoma last season. That earned him a promotion to the big leagues, where he hit .246 with two homers and four RBIs in 41 games.

"If I can meet the fans' expectations, that's a plus. If I can meet mine, that could be better. Right now, I see [Brian] Roberts and [Nick] Markakis are the faces [of the franchise]. I'm just trying to be a piece of the puzzle, helping out."

O's step toward brighter future

• 1. The Orioles will be bad this season. I mean, really bad. Last-place bad. Meatballs 4 bad.

• 2. And, somehow, that's a good thing.

It's twisted logic, sure, but considering logic has mostly eluded the Warehouse the past decade, you take what you can get. Fact of the matter is, because the Orioles resisted a ground-up approach for so long, now that they're finally embracing a sensible rebuilding plan, the pain and suffering involved is even more excruciating than it should have been.
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This team has been ruled by shortsighted decisions for too long. Rather than clinging to a talent such as Bedard and trying to fill the cracks around him, the Orioles finally opted to build a foundation that might not crack.

It's too bad the Orioles had to part ways with Bedard, but the focal point is no longer the near future. Had this trade -- and the one in December that sent shortstop Miguel Tejada to the Houston Astros -- not been made, we would still be talking about a sub-.500 team, and in two years neither Bedard nor Tejada would be around anyway. As it is, MacPhail needs just a few of the 10 players he acquired in exchange for Bedard and Tejada to turn into regular contributors. It's a gamble, sure, but MacPhail has decent odds in his favor.