For the record, let me say unequivocally that I'm not in favor of the Orioles trading Dylan Bundy or Manny Machado. I firmly believe that part of the reason the Orioles have lost for so many years in a row is due to mismanagement of prospects in the minor leagues. I'm not sure that in the past the O's wouldn't have been willing to move one of their top prospects for a rental, thus jeapordizing the future. Look no further than former Seattle Mariners general manager Bill Bavasi if you want...

After 14 consecutive losing seasons, there's bound to be angst on the part of any fan base. Bearing that in mind, I think there's something that a lot of fans are struggling with right now: The Orioles are in contention. Back when the season started and things were going so well, my public stance on Birds Watcher was that it was early and we had to see how things played out. Privately, while I kept that advice in the back of my mind, I also felt that this time might be just a bit different....

Greetings, MASNsports.com readers! My name is Domenic Vadala, and I'll be blogging on behalf of Birds Watcher for the remainder of the 2012 season. As we're all aware, the Orioles have exceeded expectations thus far this year, although the first half was ultimately marred by three of the original five starting pitchers being optioned to Triple-A. How is it that the likes of Jake Arrieta, Brian Matusz and Tommy Hunter could have looked so promising, only to fizzle out after so little time?...

The second half of the 2012 season is right around the corner - Friday the 13th baseball at Camden Yards, anyone? - and that's a good time to talk about some changes to our rotation of guest bloggers. Since MASNsports.com introduced the guest blogger initiative at the start of the 2011 campaign, it's been wildly successful. We've been able to highlight the thoughts and opinions of some of the best local and regional Orioles-centric bloggers out there, and our Web traffic and comments...