Orioles News, Notes, and Links

• As I posted a little earlier, the Orioles signed potential closer Kevin Gregg today; Roch Kubatko had a post with some more details on his MASN blog. I like the fact that they signed a decent reliever, but Gregg wasn't my first choice as a closer... he does make some sense for them, though - between $4-5 MM / year, and they didn't have to give up a high draft pick to sign him, like they would have for a guy like Grant Balfour.
• Alfredo Simon could be held for 30 days while the Dominican National Police investigate, could spend a year in jail waiting for trial, or they just might take him out and shoot him tomorrow. Nobody seems like they have any idea... including the US media, the local authorities, the Orioles, his attorneys, or his agents. I hope they don't shoot him.
• Supposedly, former Oriole Miguel Tejada is paying Simon's legal bills, and has helped him secure his attorneys. Supposedly the two became friends during the 2010 season, before Tejada was dealt to the Padres.

"Alfredo is a kid I really love a lot, he is in trouble right now, and that’s what we do, we stick together... We wanted some big company attorneys, there are some good ones here in the Dominican and this is a special case."

• Steve Melewski recently posted two interesting questions on his MASN blog: "How much better are the Orioles?", and "Can Matt Wieters get his bat going in 2011?".
• Mike Cardano at Around the Horn Baseball wonders whether the O's can compete in 2011... and then answered his own question with "No, they don't have enough pitching."
• The team has six arbitration-eligible players with whom they will now begin negotiating 2011 salaries; that includes RP Jeremy Guthrie, RP Jim Johnson, DH/OF (and Obama-hater) Luke Scott, OF Felix "Spastic Tantrum" Pie, SS J.J. Hardy, and CF Adam Jones. Per Brittany Ghiroli on MLB.com:

"Teams and arbitration-eligible players can begin to file for arbitration on Wednesday -- and up until Jan. 15 -- in the first part of the process that determines players' salaries for the upcoming season. If teams and players don't reach an agreement by Jan. 18, they exchange salary figures. If the sides don't reach a deal by the end of the month, they schedule a February hearing that would take place in front of a panel of arbitrators who decide between the two proposals. Those hearings take place between Feb. 1-21."

• Dave Cameron @ FanGraphs compares the value of Derrek Lee vs Adam LaRoche; as free-agents this off-season, the two players were perceived to be competing for the same set of starting first base jobs, with teams such as the O's and Nationals. His conclusion:

"The only number in LaRoche’s favor is date of birth... if Lee is only worth a one year deal in this market, than LaRoche should be as well. I can’t see the justification giving the inferior player a longer deal, even if he is younger."