Making the Orioles a winner isn't as easy as pie

The biggest names on the team have either been traded away or will be soon. First to fall, and possibly the smartest trade in Oriole history, was Miguel Tejada. Keep in mind Tejada may be deported if it's proven that he purged himself by saying he didn't take steroids. Second to fall will be Erik Bedard to the Mariners. Finally, Brian Roberts is expected to go to the Cubs.

The Orioles got 4 prospects for Tejada, are expected to get 6 for Bedard, even more for Roberts. This obviously doesn't set the team up to win over the next couple of seasons, but it does provide hope for the team down the road. Buter Olney, one of the more brilliant minds in sports, has assert as much on his blog:

"Baltimore tends to do things more deliberately than other teams, but owner Peter AngelosAndy MacPhail the power to make the moves he wants to make, and trading Roberts now makes complete sense. Roberts' contract will run out after the 2009 season, and the Orioles are not going to be good for at least the next two years -- OK, that was too polite; Baltimore likely will be awful continues to give -- so it makes sense for MacPhail to stockpile talent and build toward 2010. It really does the franchise no good to fight to tread water in the 70-80 win range. It would be better off sinking to 60 wins if doing so improves its chances of winning 90 games in three years, and MacPhail's strategy does that."

The O's have been bad for almost a decade. I don't see any problem with waiting a couple more years, as long as the plethora of prospects rolling in are as good as the Orioles front office seems to think they are.