Quick Hits and a Shout Out...

• The Orioles.com have their Orioles Season in Review article titled, "Youthful Birds Make Strides", now on the website that chronicles the 2006 season and the moves that were made in the offseason.
  
  Link: http://baltimore.orioles.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20061222&content_id=1766656&vkey=news_bal&fext=.jsp&c_id=bal
  
  
• According to ESPN.com, first baseman Shea Hillenbrand agreed to join the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday.
  
  
• From CNNSI.com about Randy Johnson, the Yankees and Barry Zito:
  
  "If they can pull off the blockbuster trade they're talking about, the New York Yankees could replace one star left-hander with another.
  
  Randy Johnson is available, and the Yankees have begun trade talks with the Arizona Diamondbacks, San Diego Padres and possibly the San Francisco Giants, and if they are able to deal Johnson, the Yankees could jump in as a surprise late entrant in the Barry Zito sweepstakes."
  
  The Yankees have been quiet -- a little too quiet. It would a great move as by the Yankees dumping Johnson and getting young talent in return, the money could be recouped to sign Zito to a long terms deal. It would not surprise if the Yankees swooped on Zito, considering the brinkmanship they executed with the Damon deal. Link: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/jon_heyman/12/25/yankees.johnson.zito/index.html
  
  
• David Ortiz is cool. It's hard to hate him and read the article on him on boston.com about the hosptial visit he made recently in his home country of the Dominican Republic. Link: http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2006/12/26/heartfelt_gesture/
  
  
• A big shout out to Ben from Oriole Central and the kind email he sent me over the holiday about the picture gallery and the blog. Thanks, man - I really appreciate it! Link: http://oriolecentral.wordpress.com/