from mlb.com
When Beattie and Flanagan inherited the front-office job in December 2002, they were saddled with some unwanted contracts and needed those to expire in order to pursue high-priced free agents.
When the 2003 season ended, so did the contracts of Albert Belle, Scott Erickson, Tony Batista and Brook Fordyce, who combined to make $29.93 million last year.
The Orioles have added Miguel Tejada, Javy Lopez, Rafael Palmeiro and Ponson in the past six weeks. Tejada is scheduled to make $7 million in 2004, Palmeiro, $4 million, Lopez $ 7 million and Ponson will average $7.5 million per season. That adds up to $25.5 million, meaning the Orioles are actually under their estimated $60 million payroll from last season.