As far as I can tell, as is the case every offseason with Manny Ramirez, the trade talk is just alot of hype on his part, and the RedSox will keep him.  It appears all deals are off between the O's and RedSox, as Manny was quoted by Deportes as saying he will stay a Red Sox.  Remember, he has the right to veto any trade request.

So, here's my question:  Does anyone else out there get the sneaking suspicion that the Cubs offer of Prior & co. was the best The Orioles have seen?  I sure do.  I think that the O's publicity dept. over-hyped the rumors of "multiple-teams with proposals better than the Red Sox" in order to pressure those teams to offer up more--namely the Cubs to step up with either Pie or Zambrano; and we all know they won't do that.   As far as I can understand, that leaves the Cubs with the best proposal--Angelos is not going to get a better starter for Tejada than Prior.  Hendry is under the gun to make something happen, and Angelos now has a "huge" problem with a disgruntled All-Star shortstop.  If the Orioles are going to move, I think they're going for Prior.

Of course, the prerequisite of all this speculation would be that the deal is still on the  table to begin with.  I know the deal with Patterson is rumored, but does anyone else out there have the sinking feeling that Prior might be gone???  Does anyone know of the other proposals on the table with the O's?  When I heard the news about Ramirez staying this a.m., I had a sinking feeling about the whole situation.

 I know what I'd do if I were Angelos and the O's: take Prior while they can--as far as I can understand, they would retain the three-year rights the Cubs have on him right now.  That's a pretty good deal for them--at least more insurance than the p.r. nightmare of holding onto Tejada.

Thoughts?