ORIOLES MANAGER NOT AMUSED BY TEBOW DIAMOND DREAMORIOLES MANAGER NOT AMUSED BY TEBOW DIAMOND DREAM

If there's one thing Crusty Old Baseball Dudes hate, it's People Who Don't Respect The Game.

There's a right and wrong way to do everything in baseball: Don't flip your bat. Don't show up the pitcher. Don't steal signs from the catcher. Don't distract a fielder. Don't make the first or third out at third base.

If you do any of that stuff, you will earn admonishment from a Crusty Old Baseball dude, and in many cases, a fastball between the shoulder blades. Enter Orioles manager Buck Showalter, who was asked Thursday if he was intrigued or amused by Tim Tebow's attempt at a baseball career.

"Am I intrigued? No, not at all. Amused? No, not at all. I think about what these guys do in our Dominican Academy, and Delmarva and Aberdeen and Gulf Coast League and Frederick and Bowie and Norfolk. I take very seriously the stuff they have to do to get the opportunities to do what they're doing.

"Somebody will sell some tickets in the spring. I should be careful, we may sign him. I bet he was a good player in high school ... I was, too. And I played quarterback. I'll stop."

Gotta love Buck. And understanding the cosmic order of life, it's now pretty much a given Tebow will end up with one of the minor league affiliates Showalter referenced. Can't wait.