Melvin Mora, 2004 Upper Deck Vintage #191

The Orioles finally have their new hitting coach, and it's...not Melvin Mora, though his name was discussed by team management before they ultimately went in another direction. Nope, the O's hitters will be instructed in 2015 by this guy:

Aside from his excellent name and his presence on a handful of junk wax cards in my collection, I don't know much about Scott Coolbaugh. I see that he played third base for the Rangers, Padres, and Cardinals from 1989 through 1994, batting .215/.281/.310 with eight homers and 41 RBI in 167 games. Despite his own lack of performance at the big league level, he has been a respected presence in the Arizona and Texas organizations for the past 15 years, including a 2011-2012 stint as the Rangers' major league hitting coach. And according to Buck Showalter, Chris Davis thinks that Coolbaugh "hung the moon". I think that's a good thing. Welcome to Baltimore, Scott, and hopefully you can coax a bit more discipline out of the Oriole hitters without sacrificing much power.

Brian Roberts, 2004 Upper Deck Vintage #115

Well, this was unexpected. Today Brian Roberts told reporters that he is ready to begin a rehab assignment in the minor leagues, and will be reporting to the AA Bowie Baysox tomorrow. There have been indications that he's been making steady progress in his recovery from concussion symptoms over the past few months. Gradually Brian has been resuming tasks that he once took for granted: traveling with the team on road trips, sitting in the dugout amidst the bright lights and loud noises of a full baseball game, hitting off of tees, fielding ground balls, hitting against live pitching, sliding on the basepaths. The fact remains that he has not played in an actual game in 53 full weeks. At age 34, he's bound to be rusty after such a long layoff, and there's always the unfortunate potential for a setback. But Roberts is already closer to returning than I ever thought he would be. The first quarter of the 2012 season has been full of pleasant surprises for O's fans. If Brian Roberts makes a positive contribution to this year's team, it might be time to reach for that sugary orange drink.