Standing Pat

If you had told me a few months ago that 4 PM on July 31st would come and go with the Orioles making no significant moves, I would have thought you were crazy. Instead, it happened today. And it makes perfect sense. And this is what makes me feel better about it:

Despite not making any moves at baseball's non-waiver trade deadline, Orioles club president Andy MacPhail said today that the plan to build for the future is still in place. It's just that he didn't believe any of the offers he fielded matched his inventory.

"We had opportunities to do something stupid and we didn't do it," said MacPhail, in a teleconference roughly an hour after the trade deadline passed.

Let's face it; how many times have the Orioles done something stupid at the trading deadline (or, frankly, at other times) and done it. The last time the Orioles made a deal that could have made a significant impact was trading Larry Bigbie at the 2005 deadline to Colorado for Eric Byrnes, who was non-tendered at the arbitration deadline, anyway. And the last time the Orioles had a veteran they traded at the deadline was five years ago, when Sidney Ponson was shipped to the Giants for Kurt Ainsworth (pitched 33 innings for the Orioles), Damian Moss (made 10 starts, got nontendered, and washed out with Tampa Bay in 2004, and the start of the trade, prospect Ryan Hannaman (who last pitched professional with Frederick in 2004).

I'm glad to see that MacPhail could have pulled the trigger, but didn't just trade guys for the sake of trading guys. The veterans who could help a club this year (Huff, Payton, Millar, Hernandez, maybe Mora, Bradford, and Walker) will all clear waivers anyway and there is always the possibility that Brian Roberts, George Sherrill, or others could be traded for more significant pieces in the offseason.

Besides, not tearing the team apart will help morale and hopefully help the team reach .500 at the end of the season. Which, considering what I said in March, is a pretty damn big fear.