By Matt Snyder

TEAM MVP

Though his power has decreased over each of the past two seasons, Nick Markakis is still the most valuable player on the Orioles. While Adam Jones fought through growing pains and Brian Roberts battled health issues, the constant in the lineup has been Markakis. From 2007-2010, the anchor of the Orioles has had an .837 OPS. And remember, he's only 27. It's very possible the power returns and he hits close to 25 home runs again. With Vladimir Guerrero, Mark Reynolds and Derrek Lee around, he actually has some veteran protection in the middle of the order, too.

PLAYER ORACLE - Frank Robinson to Adam Jones

Frank Robinson played with Dennis Eckersley for the 1976 Cleveland Indians

Dennis Eckersley played with Jamie Moyer for the 1986 Chicago Cubs

Jamie Moyer played with Adam Jones for the 2006 Seattle Mariners

POP CULTURE

When Cal Ripken, Jr. ended his consecutive games streak at 2,632, the Energizer Bunny called him a quitter. Later, when Ripken was named the inaugural member of Energizer's Keep Going Hall of Fame, he ended his feud with the bunny. (And, yes, this is fictional to those who may be a bit slow).



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Teams and players must exchange arbitration numbers on Tuesday, so it's hardly a surprise to see some agreements coming to fruition this weekend.

Of course, there was the big one -- National League MVP Joey Votto -- but there were two other agreements on Sunday:

• The Twins and infielder Alexi Casilla agreed to a one-year deal worth $865,000 (via Minnesota Twins official Twitter account ).

• The Orioles and center fielder Adam Jones agreed to a one-year deal (via Baltimore Sun 's Dan Connolly on Twitter ).

Arbitration hearings are scheduled to start Feb. 1.

-- C. Trent Rosecrans

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It's time for Adam Jones to start playing deeper in the outfield.

Interim manager Juan Samuel along with outfield coach John Shelby met with the center fielder and requested he focus more on defense, especially moving back to cut off extra-base hits flying over his head.

"[We're] not singling him out -- it's a team," Samuel told the Baltimore Sun . "Those are the things we can control, those mistakes and we just need to concentrate and maybe have him play a little bit deeper."

The key here is that the organization has to request Jones make the move -- they can't tell him.

Why? Because players have control these days.

As ESPN 's Tim Kurkjian relayed while talking about how difficult it is to be a manager these days:

This spring, the Orioles told center fielder Adam Jones that he needed to play a little deeper, that too many balls had gone over his head in 2009.

Jones' response: "I'll think about it."

I'll think about it? If he said that to Ralph Houk 30 years ago, Jones would've been headed to the minor leagues that day. To Jones' credit, he did try it out but didn't feel comfortable with the move. However, it seems clear that playing so shallow is harming the team. There's something to be said for playing out of your element and uncomfortably, but Jones needs to at least try it for a sustained period of time.

The talk came after Jones allowed two baserunners to go first-to-third without a determined effort to keep the runner from advancing.

"We're trying to get him to charge the ball and not assume that guys are not going to take the extra base on him," Samuel said. "We're trying to have him get behind fly balls and not assume that guys aren't going to tag up. We also made him aware that 'hey, we can go into a slump at home plate, but we cannot afford to go in a slump on defense.'"

-- Evan Brunell

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The Orioles have to figure out what to do with right-hander Chris Tillman after another disastrous outing Monday night. He gave up six runs in two innings to run his ERA to 8.40 with an 0-3 record.

Tillman was a key piece of the trade in which he and four other players, including outfielder Adam Jones, came from Seattle in exchange for Erik Bedard. With a high-command fastball and good curve, the 6-5 California native was projected by some as a front-of-the-rotation starter.

But Tillman's fastball hasn't had the pop it used to -- Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun said he never saw Tillman top 90 mph Monday night -- and he's lasted two innings or less in two of his four starts.

Samuel and Orioles president Andy MacPhail huddled after the game, usually an indicator that they're talking roster moves. The bullpen is overworked, so it seems likely Tillman, the fifth starter, is on his way out in favor of a reliever.

Another piece of the Bedard trade, left-hander Tony Butler, was released by the organization on Monday without ever appearing in the majors.

-- David Andriesen

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