The Tap Room seems to be rather gleeful. That other Baltimore team – those hard-to-figure-out Ravens — looks like it is heading toward the playoffs. Even if the Ravens are flawed, the playoffs are always an exciting time, and the NFL postseason can be a crapshoot.

So, I’ll put some purple food-coloring in your brew today. I can hold off until the NFL regular season ends, if you prefer. I know jinxes aren’t appreciated around here.

For the baseball fans, we’re now one week before the sport’s annual winter meetings are held; this year the meetings will be at the Swan and Dolphin Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. I’ll be there, trying to swim (appropriate aquatic verb) through the rumors and attempting to bring you some insight into the 2018 Orioles.

The hot stove has been pretty dormant so far, but expect it to heat up a little this week and be at full force next week.

Obviously, it’s mostly about starting pitching for these Orioles. Whether it is through trades or free-agent signings, they must acquire three new members of the rotation in the coming months.

We all know that.

But the offense isn’t perfect, either. The club could use a decent right fielder who can hit from the left side to, at the least, platoon with some of the right-handed outfielders on the roster.

When I write about that – or talk to Orioles fans – it seems like the response is uniform: Pitching is not only the main priority; fans really don’t want the Orioles spending on anything until the rotation picture is figured out.

Seems a little short-sighted to me. The Orioles have six outfielders on their 40-man roster (not including designated hitter Mark Trumbo), but only Adam Jones and Trey Mancini are guaranteed Opening Day spots. And the group is severely right-handed with the exception of switch-hitter Anthony Santander, a Rule 5 player, and newly acquired Jaycob Brugman.

Rookie Austin Hays may be the everyday starter soon enough, but should that determination be made heading into April?

I was curious what the fans think about this one, so I brought it to you on a Monday morning when you’re all fresh and ready to build a 25-man roster.

Tap-In Question: Should acquiring a starting right fielder be a priority for the Orioles?