Brian Cashman: The Orioles are a sleeping giant

Give Yankees general manager Brian Cashman credit. He took time this week to go on the Scott Garceau show on MASN and 105.7 FM, the Fan, appearing on the Orioles flagship radio and TV outlets. Cashman, I'm sure knowing what audience he was speaking to, was very enthusiastic in his comments about the Orioles. Yet his comments sounded quite sincere and he didn't just seem to be saying the politically correct thing about a division opponent. You be the judge. Here is an excerpt of Cashman's comments about the O's rebuilding effort headed by team president Andy MacPhail. "Andy is doing exactly what Andy does best. He is as sharp as they come. Patience is the biggest key. He made such an astute trade with Seattle and now he has a collection of talent. Getting Adam Jones to play with Markakis was remarkable. Now he has one of the bright young outfields. "Now he's filling in, taking advantage of the free agent market to protect his young talent and wait for them to pop. "I remember a few years back when Tampa Bay was perennially losing. Everyone in the industry was following them and saw all their young talent brewing and slowly getting refined. You don't know, because prospects are suspects until they declare themselves at the Major League level. "Andy is doing the same thing. Everybody kind of sees the collection of talent. Players with big tools and high ceiling. When you are athletic and have those kinds of tools, when it all comes together, it comes fast. "The Orioles are a team that has closed the gap, without a doubt. And Andy is showing the patience. I think their fan base will be very, very pleased. All the sudden, before they know it, they'll have that foundation in place. They just haven't seen it pop yet at the Major League level. "They are doing the right things because they have a baseball guy running it. Their owner Peter Angelos hired a tremendous baseball talent in Andy MacPhail. He's worth his weight in gold. "The Oriole way is coming back real quick. I went to high school and college in the DC area, so I know how important the Orioles are to that area. It's a sleeping giant that will emerge again, I promise you." What is your take on Cashman's comments on the Orioles?