Well, mercifully, another failed season has ended. This season marks the ninth consecutive losing season for this once proud franchise and fans are left pondering when will it ever end. For what it's worth, there were a few bright spots this season - namely the development of both Erik Bedard and Nick Markakis. Bedard has clearly become the ace of the staff and has a very bright future. Markakis has made a lot of noise for rookie of the year honors although a slow start will likely prevent that from happening. There were other positives as well as Brian Roberts came off major surgery to have a solid season and newcomer Ramon Hernandez stabilized things at catcher. Now, if the Orioles could somehow invade the free agent market over the winner and pick up some key acquisitions, namely a power hitting left fielder, a first baseman, and a key starting pitcher, the light might finally be at the end of the tunnel.