Seventeen players were selected in the major league phase of the Rule 5 draft. Most Orioles fans only care about one. Pitcher Steve Johnson, acquired with third baseman Josh Bell from the Los Angeles Dodgers in the George Sherrill trade, was selected by the San Francisco Giants with the 23rd pick in the first round. "We knew it was a possibility," said Andy MacPhail, president of baseball operations. "The kid is clearly a prospect. I don't think there's any question about that. The...

The Orioles lost another player in the Triple-A phase of the draft. The San Francisco Giants selected pitcher Jake Stevens from Double-A Bowie's roster. Keep in mind that these players don't have to stay on the major league roster. That's what distinguishes the minor league phase from the major league phase. Stevens will be placed on the Giants' Triple-A roster. The Orioles declined to take a player in the Double-A phase of the draft.

The Orioles gambled that Steve Johnson, the son of former Orioles pitcher and current 105.7 broadcaster Dave Johnson, would slip through the Rule 5 draft because he isn't a power arm. Wrong. To me, it wasn't necessary to protect infielder Pedro Florimon. He's a definite prospect, but it's hard to imagine a team trying to stash him on it's 25-man roster all season. Keep in mind that Johnson could easily end up back in the organization. That's a common occurrance. And Johnson is looking...

The San Francisco Giants used the 23rd pick to take pitcher Steve Johnson from the Orioles. More on that later. This won't be well-received in Baltimore.

The Orioles used the third pick in the major league phase of the Rule 5 draft to select left-hander Benjamin Snyder from the San Francisco Giants' system, who will be flipped to the Texas Rangers as the PTBNL in the Kevin Millwood trade. That's why you were advised not to get too attached to him. More to come.

The Rule 5 draft is about one hour away, and you can feel the electricity in the air. Actually, that's just static from the carpet. More than a few reporters here wonder why the draft isn't conducted online. Do we really need to gather in a conference room and listen to team reps bark out names or pass on their selections? This one's taking place at the Westin instead of the downtown Marriott, which is convenient for guests like myself. I can just roll out of bed and stumble to the...

On not making an injured pitcher the first acquisition: "I don't think the first move we could make to improve our rotation would be somebody that really had some medical concerns and took a higher than customary risk on the medicals. You needed somebody that you felt was going to be pretty solid and provide you that base of innings. Now, we have some latitude to take a flyer." Andy MacPhail announces the Kevin Millwood trade from the media room at the Winter Meetings On whether Kevin...

Pitcher Kevin Millwood heard the rumors about a pending trade to the Orioles. He wasn't exactly blindsided by the news. "I'm a little surprised," he said. "I can say that, but it wasn't a total shock." Winter Meetings Audio: Kevin Millwood calls in to talk about being traded to the O's It became a reality late this afternoon, as reporters gathered at an elevator that would take us to Andy MacPhail's suite at the Westin. Millwood was placed on a conference call after we interviewed...

Andy MacPhail on how the trade unfolded: "This is something we were aware of a couple days before we got here. We got some prep work done, and the more we looked at it, the more we liked it. We went through give and take with names for really a couple days. There were names going back and forth to try to work this out. Money was also an issue, quite honestly. There was, 'All right, I put in this much cash, I get this player. I take this cash out, I get this player.' There was that balance...

I'll send along transcription later from interviews with president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail, manager Dave Trembley and newly acquired pitcher Kevin Millwood. But first... * MacPhail said Millwood wasn't on the club's original "target sheet," but talks heated up in frigid Indianapolis. Andy MacPhail talks with Roch Kubatko about the Kevin Millwood trade * The Orioles are still interested in adding a few more pitchers, including one starter. "Absolutely," MacPhail said....