Might as well have a fire sale. They weren't going anywhere with their previous strategery. They could trade or simply release anyone on their roster except Bedard and Markakis without significantly weakening the team.

Bedard, in fact, is an example of a relatively new trend I don't understand. There seem to be several teams who are willing to move their young stars long before they hit free agency. Shouldn't the Orioles have some hope of contending by the time Bedard is ready to cash in? Or at least offer that hope to their longsuffering and dwindling fan base?

I don't get it either. I understand why the Marlins traded Miguel Cabrera as Loria's goal is simply to get as much money as possible into his pocket. But I didn't think Peter Angelos was like that. However, Bedard isn't exactly young, he'll be 29 next season, so his prime is probably behind him. On the other hand, it doesn't take very long for teams to get good nowadays, so I guess they assume they aren't going to be good for 4 or 5 years.

In theory, if there is value to having Bedard on the team at his below market contract until 2009, some other team should be willing to pay the Orioles for that value in the form of better prospects. If you're not going to be good in 08 or 09, might as well try to load up for '10,'11 or '12.