Where do you stand on "the plan"?

Fans have asked about the Orioles moving forward - what is "the plan"? It's not something that is written on paper. The O's don't have a mission statement like Tom Cruise's character in Jerry Maguire (remember, that was not a memo). The proof is in their actions. They have drafted pitchers. And then drafted more pitchers in recent years. They are trying to acquire young position player talent that can stick around awhile. They are not chasing big-money free agents right now, much to the chagrin of some. They are either waiting for when that key acquisition might be one of their final pieces of the puzzle. Or, some insist, they just want to make money and nothing else matters. What do you think of the O's plan? In what looks like an almost impossible uphill battle to even catch NY and Boston, much less ever pass them, are they going about it in the best possible way? Of the eight positions on the field besides pitcher, they will start young, promising talent at all three outfield spots and at catcher this year. They could have youth at the corner infield spots by next year if not sooner. The payroll appears to be in the $60-70 million range. Many teams will outspend them this year. Are they just planning (and being shrewd) for future payrolls that could escalate as their young talent hits arbitration and its free agency years? Or will they never get much past the current figure? I can't remember an off-season where more national media outlets said such positive things about this franchise. It's almost been an avalanche of optimism. But all the articles seem to point out that while the club has made some moves to get better, they are still up against it in the AL East. Have you remained a fan through all the losing or have you checked out until and unless they start winning again? There are a lot of excuses we hear why some fans don't go to Camden Yards. To me most of it is hiding the real issue - some fans just won't support a losing team. Many would return to support a contending team, saying they had been there all along. If you like what the O's have been doing under Andy MacPhail, what do you like about it and what could they be doing even better? If you don't, why not and what, if anything, would change your mind? Attention readers - If you play fantasy baseball or just want to give it a try this year, please join our leagues here at MASNSports.com. Click on the link on the front page to register and join. I will be playing despite the fact I am a rookie at fanstasy baseball. I am in the league "Minor Matters." Feel free to join that league and show your stuff and try to beat me. Should not be that difficult to do. Meanwhile, not necessarily related to this story, here is an interesting rundown on free agent spending in the Majors from this past off-season. According to MLB Traderumors website, the O's were 15th in free agent spending and they out-spent the Yankees. Click here for that story.