Jordan Crawford vs. Nick Young

In Atlanta, Jordan Crawford wasn't getting consistent minutes (he's a rookie, after all), but that has changed in Washington. Crawford has gone from averaging 10 minutes in 16 games with the Hawks to over 22 minutes in 10 games with the short-handed Wizards. If Nick Young and some others were healthy, Crawford may not be playing quite as much, but that hardly matters since someone on the Wizards always seems to be hurt. Also, it's not the worst thing to see Crawford and some of the other youngsters getting minutes (even if the team is getting routinely destroyed by much better teams).

According to ShamSports, Young has a qualifying offer next season of about $3.7 million. He's likely going to want an extension, though, and if so he'll be looking for a raise. I'm not sure how much money Young would command on the open market, but he'd surely be looking at a bit more than $4 million, at least. The Wizards may want to keep him around, especially since he took a leap this season to scoring 17.7 points a night on 32 minutes per game.

The Wizards drafted Young in the 2007, which is another reason that they'd like to keep him around. They drafted him, he's gotten better, and it would be a shame to let him get away and start playing even better for another team. Still, it would be foolish to overpay for a player like Young, no matter the step forward he's taken this season. Yes, he has been more efficient on offense, but he's certainly not a well-rounded player. His defense has improved in his four years in the league, but he's not a shutdown defender by any means and has his fair share of lapses on the defensive end. He's also not very adept at passing the ball, averaging just 1.2 assists (and 1.4 turnovers). There's no question that Young is a scorer first (and second, and third, etc.).

Crawford, meanwhile, is nearly three years younger than Young and is still under team control for the next few seasons. He's obviously a raw talent, and no one knows exactly what he can do yet, but he has been OK -- at least just as good, or better, than what fans expected when he came from Atlanta. In his 10 games with Washington, Crawford is averaging 11.0 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game. He's also shooting just 39.3 percent from the field. He definitely has Nick Young-ish qualities on offense, particularly when it comes to dribbling too much, taking bad shots, and not passing the ball a whole lot. Still, he has shown a knack for getting after it on the defensive end (1.4 steals per game), and it would be difficult to debate his hustle on the court.

I like Nick Young. He's not only one of the best players on the Wizards right now, but he's probably the most entertaining personality of the group as well. But when it comes to overpaying for young, team-drafted talent, the Wizards may have learned their lesson with Andray Blatche. Young may return after this season, particularly since the Wizards will have some money to work with. But it wouldn't make a whole lot of sense to commit a bunch of money to Young with a player like Crawford now on the roster. I'm not saying that Crawford can be better than Young in a few years, but the chance exists. And the last thing the Wizards should be doing is handing out long-term deals to slightly better-than-average players.

Terps football uniforms may be changing

According to Jeff Barker of The Baltimore Sun, school officials are saying that Maryland's football uniforms "are being redesigned and will more prominently display 'Maryland.'"

Barker added:

One of the aims is to emphasize "Maryland," much as Texas football features "Texas" on its uniform fronts or the Orioles now have "Baltimore" on their road jerseys.

The university believes it will aid recruiting to have an updated, clearly identifiable brand. Maryland is working with Under Armour, the official outfitter for Maryland athletics, on the designs. No announcement has been made yet, and the school said it was too soon to share the specifics of new uniforms or designs.

"Under Armour has helped us come up with new images to highlight the State of Maryland and the university," athletic director Kevin Anderson said Monday. "I truly believe that when we come out with a Maryland brand, it will be second to none. It will directly compete with Nike and what Nike does for Oregon."

Seems like a decent plan. Some fans are going to be upset about the decision -- change can be scary, after all -- but as long as the uniforms/designs don't end up looking goofy, there shouldn't be much of an uproar.

With a new coach (Randy Edsall) and altered uniforms, the football team apparently is being molded into something different -- whether or not that's a positive or negative transformation remains to be seen.

Wise on Cerrato: 'Utterly unaware till the very end'

Mike Wise has written an interesting column on Vinny Cerrato and what he's doing now that he's no longer employed by the Redskins or any other NFL team. Here's a taste of what Wise had to say:

In a rare moment of clarity, though, a caller asked whether Cerrato believed the Redskins were better off when he took the job or when he was fired. Thinking back to the one home playoff game under former coach Norv Turner - Jan. 8, 2000; the game ball is encased downstairs - he comes to terms with his tenure.

"I'd have to say unsuccessful," Cerrato says, nodding for a long while, almost pondering that he just said that word in relation to himself.

He was working out during the NFL owners meetings in Dallas in Dec. 2009 when Snyder told him to meet him alone in a conference room at the Four Seasons. It was the day the owner played the card no one ever thought he'd play - firing Cerrato, the guy who survived six coaches, millions of wasted dollars on someone else's stars and all the anger of fed-up season-ticket holders.

"I didn't know it was coming," he said. Really? After what happened the last decade? "Nope."

It's not the most in-depth look at Cerrato's tenure with the Redskins and doesn't provide a ton of new information, but for anyone looking for more reasons to blame Cerrato, it's certainly worthy of a read.

Injury talk coming early for O's

Over the course of an 162-game schedule, players are going to get injured; there's no way around that. But in early March, the Orioles are already dealing with nagging injuries to both players on the right side of their infield. According to Peter Schmuck of The Baltimore Sun, Brian Roberts and Derrek Lee, both crucial to the upcoming season, are trying to overcome some spring training pain. He continued:

The timetable for Derrek Lee's exhibition debut has been pushed back a couple of times, and Showalter revealed on Tuesday that the club was sending its new first baseman to a specialist to look at his sore right wrist.

Then came the news that Roberts was held out of Tuesday's workout back in Sarasota because of a back spasm, which is sure to send a chill down the spine of everyone who saw how his absence impacted the Orioles' offense last season.

Roberts has been dealing with a couple different injuries, including pain in his back and neck. Considering he missed a significant amount of time in 2010 from an assortment of injuries -- an abdominal strain, a hip strain, a knee contusion, and a concussion -- it's hard not to be at least a little concerned that Roberts might have a hard time staying healthy not only in 2011, but for the rest of his career.

Lee, meanwhile, played through immense hand/thumb pain last season, and he's currently dealing with a sore right wrist. It's not likely that he'll need surgery, but it's also possible that he may be dealing with some pain or discomfort for a majority of the upcoming season. That doesn't bode well for his chances of having a much-improved season at the plate.

If Lee and Roberts were younger players, the outlook on their recoveries would be a little brighter. But Lee is 35 and Roberts is 33. For argument's sake, Roberts's absence would be the biggest of the two. The O's played without Roberts for much of last season, and the offense struggled mightily without him. If Lee missed time, the O's would probably move Luke Scott to first base and hope that his defense wouldn't be terrible. Nolan Reimold and Felix Pie would then split time in left field. The O's could deal with that situation -- maybe not for the entire season, but for a considerable chunk of time, sure. But if Roberts were to miss time, Cesar Izturis would likely man second base. Defensively, that would be OK (though Izturis hasn't played second for a while), but offensively, the loss of Roberts would again prove to be enormous.

It might be a little early for this kind of worrying, so don't hit the panic button just yet. But don't expect these types of injury concerns to just disappear overnight.

Injury information found using the handy Baseball Injury Tool

The Orioles are not like the Astros

Earlier today on ESPN's SweetSpot blog, Austin Swafford (of Astros 290) wrote that the Orioles are headed down a dangerous road -- similar to one the Astros have taken the last few years. In the piece, Swafford argued that the O's didn't need to make many of their offseason moves because the O's are not "a few overpriced veterans away from going to the World Series."

Here's more of what he had to say:

There's certainly nothing wrong with trying to win right now if you have the right parts. But I have thought about the lesson that could be learned from the Astros as I have watched the Orioles since the end of last season. They closed 2010 on a good note. They hired Buck Showalter and, with him at the helm, went 34-23 to end the year.

So, naturally, they looked around at their very talented division and said, "No rush. We have a good manager, we're making good progress and we have young talent. We can be patient while that young talent develops." Right?

It'd be nice if that were the case, but instead of doing that, the Orioles got very involved in free agency, went out and got J.J. Hardy, Derrek Lee, Mark Reynolds, Vladimir Guerrero, Justin Duchscherer and Kevin Gregg. Average age: 31.8.

They're not all old and I don't dislike all of the signings, but why the urgency? Why the apparently desperate need to compete now when they probably won't?

I encourage you to read the whole post. Swafford made some strong points, some of which have been brought up by other baseball analysts, and even O's fans themselves.

But here are a few points before I get to my main problem with the piece:

• Yes, the O's did sign or trade for all of those players listed above. Hardy, Lee, Guerrero, and Duchscherer are all signed to one-year deals. Gregg signed a two-year deal, and sure, that was far from the best signing. And Reynolds has a guaranteed deal through 2012, with a club option for 2013. I'm not arguing that all of those deals are fantastic and will definitely work out, but they hardly strain the organization's position financially like Carlos Lee's six-year, $100 million deal in 2007 with the Astros.
• The O's did not trade away a bunch of young talent in an effort to get better overnight. The best player the O's traded, David Hernandez, is a reliever. Kam Mickolio and Jim Hoey are also relievers who either couldn't stay healthy or simply weren't very effective (or both), and Brett Jacobson, another reliever, is 24 and hasn't played above Single A. Those players -- four relievers -- still have some value, but not a ton of upside. So it's not like the O's took an enormous gamble or anything on Reynolds or Hardy.
• No one thinks the O's are going to the World Series. Even the most optimistic fans would be thrilled with third place -- not that that's the ultimate goal (it's obviously not), but still. It's possible that Andy MacPhail made a few of the team's moves (like the Guerrero signing) to improve the team in the short term, which would be unfortunate. But even someone like Guerrero could possibly be flipped at the trade deadline for a younger player or two, as could several other veterans.

Really, though, my problem is with Swafford's thinking that many of these signed players are blocking MLB-ready talent. To me, there are only two cases where that applies:

1) Guerrero, who's signing may block Felix Pie/Nolan Reimold
2) Duchscherer, who may force Chris Tillman (or another young starter) back to Triple A

That's it. Reynolds, Hardy, and Lee are not blocking anyone in the infield. Josh Bell has recently been working out at first base, but he showed last season that he's not close to being ready to assuming any kind of everyday role. Brandon Snyder probably isn't ready either, if he ever will be. With Guerrero serving as the O's designated hitter, Luke Scott will move to left field, which will likely force Pie and Reimold to either the bench or the minors. It would be nice to see both get regular playing time, so in that sense, Guerrero does seem to be blocking them. But, as I've mentioned before, Pie is 26 and Reimold is 27; we're not talking about young up-and-comers here.

Then there's Duchscherer. Duchscherer is 33, and the O's are banking on him returning to form to give the O's another reliable option in the rotation. If he stays healthy (not a guarantee) and pitches well, he may be another player the O's could trade at the deadline. But he was signed for less than $1 million, so if he can't stay healthy or is ineffective, it's not a huge loss. Considering the O's already have several other young starters to choose from -- Brian Matusz (24), Brad Bergesen (25), Jake Arrieta (24), and Tillman (22), and even Zach Britton (23) down the road -- it's not the worst thing to bring in a low-risk, high-reward starter like Duchscherer. What's the worst that could happen? That Duchscherer keeps getting hurt? Or maybe that he stays healthy enough to pitch but isn't effective? If that's the case, the O's aren't required to keep him in the rotation, and it wouldn't be difficult to let him go. It would be nice to give every young starter plenty of chances, but the season is long and pitchers always get hurt. There will be opportunities during the season to perform.

If someone wants to make the argument (like Keith Law has) that the O's would have been better off using money on signing international prospects or putting that money toward draft picks, that's one thing. But it's hard to get too upset with the majority of moves the O's have made, especially since most of the contracts signed are short-term deals. Besides maybe Gregg, the O's are not stuck with a truly horrible contract, and even Gregg is signed for just two years.

Considering what the O's have gone through for the last 13 seasons, it's hard to say that the O's are headed for trouble. They've been in a ton of trouble for a while, and while playing in the AL East, things will not get any easier. They still have a ton of work to do, but when is that not the case?

O's links: Wieters, Rosenthal, and Reynolds

So the Orioles have won their first three spring training games, which doesn't really matter a whole lot, but is still better than losing all three, I guess. Still, the team's offseason moves have received more attention this year, and it doesn't seem like the O's are being completely ignored as in years past.

Here are a few links from yesterday examining various O's questions and concerns for the next season and future ones as well.

- Heath of Dempsey's Army took issue with an article on Baseball Prospectus listing the most disappointing prospects of all time. On that list was a certain 24-year-old O's catcher: Matt Wieters. Heath disputed Wieters's placement on the list, saying:

Some of the best hitting catchers in recent memory did not even debut until after their age 24 season. Piazza doesn't really count; he got a cup of coffee when he was 23 but at 24, he put up a monster season and took Rookie of the Year. But Jorge Posada? He only had 15 MLB at bats at 24. Victor Martinez had just 61 games and an 87 OPS+. Chris Hoiles had only 6 games under his belt.

Sure, it would have been great if Wieters had hit the ground running like Johnny Bench, Carlton Fisk or Joe Mauer. But catchers typically take awhile longer to develop offensively in the majors. They just do. That's why the Nationals moved Bryce Harper to the outfield and the Royals have moved top prospect Wil Myers from behind the plate. They value their bats more than their catching skills and they know the position will slow their development at the plate.

That's just one part of his analysis; you should check out the rest of the piece as well.

- Rob Neyer of SB Nation read Heath's post and tends to agree with him. Here is his succinct offering:

"Disappointing" is highly subjective. The Baseball Prospectus crew is naturally disappointed in Wieters, considering they basically anointed him the new Johnny Bench two years ago. But as Dempsey's Army demonstrates, in terms of 24-year-old catchers he's done just fine and still figures to have a solid career. If not better.

That's essentially what my opinion is. It's hard not to be a little disappointed with Wieters's production -- particularly at the plate -- so far, but he's still pretty young and brings a lot to the table in terms of defense and controlling the running game. He still has time to improve, and I think he'll be fine.

- Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal also wrote about the O's, and he chose to focus on the current state of the organization's farm system. Here's some of what he had to say:

MacPhail has made some excellent trades, getting a bounty for lefty Erik Bedard in February 2008 and obtaining third baseman Josh Bell for lefty George Sherrill in July 2009. But the Orioles rarely draw much from the minor-league free-agent market and lack the creativity of teams such as the Rays and Jays.

No doubt, the franchise is in a much better place than it was a year ago. But rival executives often refer to the Orioles as a sleeping giant, and the description still applies.

For the Orioles to regain their footing, their farm system needs to gush with talent, not offer dribs and drabs. Right now, in the area that matters most, the O’s aren’t good enough.

I don't think anyone would argue that the O's don't need to keep improving the level of talent in the farm system. In that sense, Rosenthal is right. And his criticism of the team's lack of international scouting has been repeatedly questioned by other baseball writers and analysts, including Keith Law. To keep pace with the Yankees and Red Sox, and really, the entire AL East, the O's need to keep adding young talent through whatever means necessary.

- Kevin Kaduk of Big League Stew interviewed Mark Reynolds, and while there's not much quote-worthy material, it's a good read.

- Kaduk spent some time at the O's new facility in Sarasota, Ed Smith Stadium. After $31 million in renovations, Kaduk has plenty of nice things to say about the place, which, as the title suggests, has been turned "from pit to palace." He also provided several photos of the renovations and upgrades. Really, the place looks fantastic.

- Since yesterday must have been focus on the O's day at Big League Stew, Kaduk also quickly summarized the team's offseason acquisitions and departures and raised five crucial questions. Here's the question that I found must interesting:

3. How much of a difference will a full season of Buck Showalter make? The most repeated stat about the Orioles this offseason has been 34-23, which was Baltimore's record after Showalter took over at Camden Yards in 2010. It was a nice run to be sure, but the implication — however serious — that the O's could have played at that clip with last year's collection of talent is misguided.

That said, it'll be interesting to see what Showalter does with this team, which is a hodgepodge of not-fully-realized talent and veteran guys who have been there before. He'll really earn his stripes if he can coax an above-average performance out of a pitching staff that ranks the weakest in the division.

Showalter's biggest hurdle will be to get more production out of guys like Wieters, Adam Jones, Jake Arrieta, Brad Bergesen, Brian Matusz, Chris Tillman (if he's on the roster), and other youngsters making the transition from minor leaguer to full-time MLB regular. If he can do that, the O's should improve mightily.

Skins roster moves: Portis, Dockery, Carter, and others

Clinton Portis (29) was the first to be released, but he's not the only one. The Redskins have made a flurry of roster moves, choosing to get rid of some of the ineffective players who were injured or didn't really fit the team's new offensive or defensive schemes.

Here are the team's other recent roster moves:

• Released Andre Carter (31)
• Released Derrick Dockery (30)
• Tendered Chris Wilson (28)
• Expected to release Ma'ake Kemoeatu (32) by Thursday
• Tendered H.B. Blades (26)

Players' ages are in parentheses. Wilson and Blades are the youngest guys in the group, though with all of the uncertainty regarding the current CBA, there's no guarantee at the moment that either player returns. The Redskins are once again reworking their roster, and more players will likely be on the way out soon enough.

Bibby buyout enhances Hinrich trade

The Kirk Hinrich trade -- Hinrich and Hilton Armstrong to the Hawks for Mike Bibby, Jordan Crawford, Maurice Evans, and a 2011 first-round draft pick -- seemed like a decent move at the time, because the Wizards essentially acquired two first-round picks (Crawford from 2010 and the actual 2011 draft pick). But Bibby really, really did not want to play for the rebuilding Wizards, and he has apparently agreed to a deal in which he will forfeit his entire $6.2 million salary next season to escape from Washington. Bibby will likely land with the Miami Heat.

Bibby's generous decision transforms the trade from a good one to a great one. Instead of the two assets in Crawford and the draft pick, the Wizards get the expired contract of Bibby as well. According to Michael Lee of The Washington Post, Bibby's deal will eat up $1 million on next year's cap, but that's definitely better than having to pay his full salary.

Lee also ended his latest post on the buyout with this:

One league source described the situation with Bibby as, "Fall out of the sky luck."

Luck got the Wizards John Wall, and they could certainly use as much of it as they can get.

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The Wizards have also reached a buyout agreement with Al Thornton. According to ESPN's Marc Stein, as long as Thornton clears waivers, he will play for the Golden State Warriors, who, oddly enough, the Wizards face tonight.

Thornton, 27, has been a decent player this season -- averaging 8.0 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 47.1 percent shooting -- but he has struggled to stay on the floor and has dealt with a multitude of injuries. The Wizards evidently did not view Thornton as a player worth keeping around beyond this season, especially for his 2011/2012 qualifying offer of nearly $4 million.