Rick Mases sums up the near future of the Orioles, and why it's a good thing:

Friday was one of the few days in the franchise's recent history when -- regardless of what Bedard thinks -- they were not taking steps backward.

Shortly before Bedard met with reporters in Seattle, Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail addressed the media in Baltimore, where he said all the right things. He called the trade "bittersweet" and acknowledged that the Orioles had been "stuck in neutral" for too long.

There were two moist theories that finally dried and became realities last week:

• 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.

They're going to be Cleveland 2002. Remember, however, that out of that team rose the good Cleveland teams of two of the last three seasons.