Quick Hits: O's and Opening Day News...

As if it has not been said enough already, the Baltimore Orioles kick off the season against the Twins in Minnesota tonight. The marathon begins today, and whether the result is good or bad, hopefully the Orioles will give their best shot.

The main man in Oriole land everyone will be focusing on tonight will be Erik Bedard, the Orioles ace at the moment. Roch Kubatko has a piece on Bedard, and how he’s approaching Opening Day. As well, within the article, there’s input from Leo Mazzone and other teammates.

Jorge Arangure of the Washington Post has a great article on Erik Bedard. Bedard is a low key, quiet guy, but with the expectations of this season and his meteric rise to being one of the elite pitchers in the American League, the attention will only intensify. In the end, Erik may have a hard time being shy or elusive.

The Baltimore Examiner reports that the Twins, led by Johan Santana are ready for us.

Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun, I think, gives a very honest assessment of where the Orioles look for 2007. It’s a good read, and while his win total is a little bit lower than what I think it will be, he’s dead on point with everything else.

Most pundits, experts, bloggers and fans believe that the Orioles will finish third of fourth in the American League East, but the long term in the organization is that the Orioles hope to build around the young pitching. Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun pens an article, “Youth Movement”, and points out how the Orioles hope to rebuild. Front office executive Jim Duquette also contributes to the piece with his input.

Stan Goldberg of the Frederick News Post has a piece on the importance of the pitching staff doing well. Everything may hinge on it to get the Orioles over .500 and possibly into contention for a playoff spot in the next few seasons.

The Washington Post’s Tom Boswell looks up at the makeup of the Orioles and Nationals, and notices both their lineups lack that extra *hmmph*, i.e., power.

The Orioles.com website has more on yesterday’s Fan Fest, as does the Baltimore Sun.

The Baltimore Examiner has more on the roster moves this weekend.

The Baltimore Examiner has a short piece on Cal Ripken. He did an interview on “ABC’s This Week”, and talked about the lesson that baseball can provide, along with his father’s influence.