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O’s schedule talks with Sarasota

The Boston Red Sox have competition for a spring-training complex, as the Baltimore Orioles have come out of the closet and acknowledged in public that they’re interested in moving their spring-training operations to a renovated Ed Smith Stadium. While this development shouldn’t be a surprise to Ballpark Digest readers — we’ve been saying for months the O’s had their collective eyes on Sarasota and were not thrilled with a potential move to Vero Beach’s Dodgertown — this is the first time the Orioles admit to the interest.The Boston Red Sox have competition for a spring-training complex, as the Baltimore Orioles have come out of the closet and acknowledged in public that they’re interested in moving their spring-training operations to a renovated Ed Smith Stadium. While this development shouldn’t be a surprise to Ballpark Digest readers — we’ve been saying for months the O’s had their collective eyes on Sarasota and were not thrilled with a potential move to Vero Beach’s Dodgertown — this is the first time the Orioles admit to the interest.

This is certainly a difference from a week ago, when spring training appeared to be a dead issue in Sarasota after the city and county issued a joint statement saying negotiations with the Boston Red Sox had died. The Red Sox had laid down some demands and were sticking with them; we’ve heard Mike Dee (the team’s head of Florida operations) and Larry Lucchino were a little taken aback by the Sarasota reaction to their nonnegotiable demands. We also hear now the Red Sox may be willing to negotiate. The Red Sox and the Orioles don’t want to be caught in a negotiating war, and we don’t think Sarasota wants to set one up, either.

In fact, we’ve heard some whispers about the county structuring a deal to accommodate both teams. After all, the Orioles minor leaguers train at Sarasota’s Twin Lakes Park — an arrangement that could continue indefinitely — and the Cincinnati Reds are leaving behind a perfectly functional training camp. The ballpark is the real issue. If Sarasota plays its cards right they could end up with both the Orioles and the Red Sox — but given the county’s ineptitude at past negotiations, we’re not confident this will happen.