Greeetings from Milwaukee

So I'm sitting here in the lobby of the Pfister, site of the GMs'/owners' meetings, and I'll be here until Thursday afternoon. I'll check in here as frequently as I can, but there's also a little thing called Twitter which I plan to use, as well. 

The general managers will start arriving in a few hours - the only GM I've seen so far is the Brewers' Doug Melvin, who had the shortest commute - and their formal meetings will begin tomorrow. On Wednesday, the GMs and owners will have joint meetings, and on Thursday, it'll be just the owners.

There could be some actual transactions, given that we've already had a few. However, I'd be surprised if any of the really big fish - Albert Pujols, Jose Reyes, Prince Fielder and C.J. Wilson - had contracts for 2012 and beyond by the time everyone left Bud Selig's hometown. Same goes for a completed collective bargaining agreement.

I've been out for a while, so let's catch up very quickly on what we missed, in reverse chronological order:

1) The Dodgers sign Matt Kemp to a long-term extension. Any eight-year deal is by definition a risky venture, but for the beleaguered Dodgers, let's face it: This goes deeper than Matt Kemp. This speaks for a franchise trying to re-establish itself as a credible ball club, after enduring a brutal stretch under the ownership of Frank McCourt.

McCourt will sell the team soon - for a nifty profit - and the Dodgers can try to move on with their best player under control for a long time. Kemp is only 27, so we've certainly seen worse contracts in recent years (cough! Jayson Werth!).

2) The Phillies sign Jonathan Papelbon to a four-year deal, with a vesting option for 2016. I thought this had a chance of happening because both the Phillies and the Levinsons, Papelbon's agents, like to get business done quickly.

This is a classic Phillies move - aggressive and uncreative. You can't quibble too much with it; Papelbon is one of the best closers in the business. Nevertheless, you wonder whether employing this approach all of the time - like the Ryan Howard extension, like the trades for Hunter Pence, Roy Oswalt and Roy Halladay - will come back to bite the Phillies eventually. So far, to be clear, it hasn't.

3) The Twins replace GM Bill Smith with his predecessor Terry Ryan. Smith deserved more leeway, with one horrible year following two stright AL Central titles, but if Ryan felt that re-energized, after serving as a Smith conslutant the prior four years? This move makes the organization better.

4) The Orioles hire Dan Duquette as GM. This move concluded one of the worst GM searches in recent baseball history. By all accounts, it was poorly run, with Baltimore's first two choices - Jerry Dipoto and Tony La Cava - turning down the opportunity.

The hiring of Duquette, who hasn't held a job in MLB since the Red Sox dismissed him in spring training of 2002, reflects the haphazardness of the search, as the Orioles asked clubs for permission to speak with employees and then exerted minimal effort to actually interview those people. Bizarre.

Duquette has his strengths; he knew talent, and he deserves a nice share of credit for the 2004 Red Sox. His biggest failing was his people skills, and if he hasn't improved those, then Baltimore's challenge becomes even greater. Of course, it remains to be seen how beholden Duquette will be to powerful manager Buck Showalter.

One aspect at which the Orioles desperately need to get better: Development. Baltimore has drafted well, but too many of those players haven't built on their natural talent. Particularly the pitchers.

--All right, so check back here regularly. Tomorrow morning, we'll run our annual "Best GMs in baseball" feature.