Jake Arrieta, 2011 Topps Gypsy Queen #267

Just because Andy MacPhail's no longer in charge of the Orioles' personnel decisions, that doesn't mean that the Birds can't make deals with the Cubs. Today current GM Dan Duquette kicked off trading season by sending two of the O's problem children to the North Side of Chicago in exchange for an upgrade to the starting rotation. Adios to Pedro Strop. See ya later, Jake Arrieta. Better luck finding the strike zone and getting your heads screwed on straight over in the National League Central.

Meanwhile, I'm happy to have gotten anyone of potential value for Messrs. S. and A. Scott Feldman doesn't have a long track record of success, but he's a ground ball pitcher coming to a team with an excellent pair of left-side infielders. He'll damn sure be an upgrade over the likes of Freddy Garcia, and if he can do a bit of what Joe Saunders did for the Orioles in 2012, it could be the difference between another postseason berth and a long, lonely October on the sidelines.

J. J. Hardy, 2011 Topps Gypsy Queen #124

The Orioles went nearly a full decade (2000-2008) without winning a single Gold Glove Award at any defensive position. Now they've picked up a half-dozen in the past four seasons combined.

Yesterday, the O's took home three Gold Gloves, the most of any team in baseball. For the first time, J. J. Hardy's defensive excellence was recognized by his peers in the dugout. Hardy's a worthy winner; every time I see him backhand a tough hop or spear a line drive, I'm grateful that he's playing in the middle of the field for my team. He is the first Baltimore shortstop to receive this honor since Cal Ripken, Jr. nabbed his second (and final) Gold Glove in 1992. Speaking of two-time winners, the other two Birds' honorees each have received a gaudy Rawlings trophy before: center fielder Adam Jones (who first won in 2009) and catcher/bane of baserunners/pitcher whisperer Matt Wieters (who took home the prize in 2011). I'm a bit surprised that Jones won again this year, as Angels wunderkind Mike Trout earned plenty of attention for his outfield exploits, but I'll never complain about the Orioles getting a little extra recognition.

The recent Oriole drought in Gold Gloves allowed the Yankees to pass them for the most all-time in the American League. However, last night's triple play brings the team's historical total to 64, just one less than New York's 65. Hear those footsteps, Yankees?

Jim Palmer, 2011 Topps Gypsy Queen #7

Tonight the Orioles lost a clunker of a game from the sound of it; thankfully, I had other plans. But my Twitter timeline tells me that Jim Palmer at least was in rare form. He spent much of the evening roasting home plate umpire Laz Diaz over his Post-It Note-sized strike zone. Even better, when Boston starter Clay Buchholz hit Adam Jones with a pitch, Palmer not-so-subtly suggested that Dustin Pedroia or David Ortiz should be expecting a fastball to the Achilles in the near future. Jim Palmer may be 66 years old, but he's still throwing smoke.

Felix Pie, 2011 Topps Gypsy Queen #272

I hope somebody else finds this card as hilarious as I do. It just perfectly encapsulates Felix Pie's three-year tenure in Baltimore. The design gives the appearance of classic baseball, but you don't have to look too closely at the contents to see that it's just plain goofy. Of course, now Felix is trying to win a bench job in Cleveland, which may be difficult. He just made it back onto the field after slamming into the center field fence while chasing a fly ball on Sunday. Fortunately, he was none the worse for wear, other than a little soreness. There remains no bigger hazard to Felix Pie's health than the man himself.

Mark Reynolds, 2011 Topps Gypsy Queen #231

Hey, an Oriole is the best at something! As reported by Lewie Pollis at Beyond the Boxscore, Mark Reynolds had the highest power factor in the major leagues in 2011. Great! So what's power factor? It's just extra bases per hit: subtract the player's hits from his total bases and divide the result by his hits. It's a slightly more reliable measure than slugging percentage, in that it doesn't penalize sluggers who make less contact overall. As Pollis points out, somebody who went 1-for-4 with a home run would have the same slugging percentage as a player who went 4-for-4 with all singles. Reynolds, who had 27 doubles, a triple, and 37 home runs, totaled 65 extra-base hits of his 118 total hits. That's 258 total bases on 118 hits, giving him a power factor of 1.186. That's pretty far ahead of runner-up Curtis Granderson and his PF of 1.105, and nearly double the league median of .621. O's shortstop J.J. Hardy also cracked the top 25, slipping in at 23rd with a PF of .824. Of course their infield-mate Robert Andino had the ninth-worst number in baseball at .308, but who's counting?

Vladimir Guerrero, 2011 Topps Gypsy Queen #36

In short, today's trip to the Philly card show was a rousing success. I spent every last dollar that I walked in with, and not a penny more. I spent a few bucks on this year's Orioles cards, including those mind-blowingly awesome Diamond parallels from the Topps flagship set. Among my O's purchases was the card you see above, which allows me to properly pay tribute to Vlad Guerrero on the day that he ties Julio Franco for the most career hits by a Dominican-born player with his 2,586th base knock. He might not be able to hit for much power any more, but that takes nothing away from his remarkable career. I also gobbled up a bunch of 1970s commons from a dealer with a dime box, knocking some 1972 Topps set needs in the process. Another table had 1950s cards at a deep discount, so I tackled some of my 1959 Topps needs for a buck a piece and also laid my hands on a few beautiful 1953 Topps for three to five dollars each. On my way out I also relieved a dealer of a wax box of 1992 Topps for $11, because I'm hoping to finally put that set to bed and I always like to have some packs to rip. I was in and out in three hours with the help of my sister, who surprised me by agreeing to come along. She was a big help in searching boxes for specific cards and keeping tabs on my want lists while I hunted. (Full disclosure: for her invaluable assistance, she was rewarded with a post-show trip to the King of Prussia Mall. That place is so huge and sprawling, I'm surprised we found our way out.)

Now comes the fun part: taking inventory of my new cards and storing them in their binders. No sarcasm intended; I really do like this stuff. You may have noticed.