The Orioles spent a cold and sunny Saturday afternoon selling hope at FanFest 2010, and lots of people seemed to be buying.

I say this because some 12,000 fans packed the Baltimore Convention Center to get player autographs, buy memorabilia and dream big about the coming season. And when word got out that Miguel Tejada was re-joining the team to play third base, why, the mood verged on giddiness.

Of course, this was not a day to bring up the fact that, in Tejada, the club was bringing back a player who pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about the use of performance-enhancing drugs, and a player who copped to buying what he thought was human growth hormone.

Nor was it a day to remember this ugliness: When former Orioles slugger Rafael Palmeiro tested positive for steroids, he said it must have been the result of a tainted B-12 injection given to him by his good buddy and teammate, Miggi.

No, again, this was a day for hope. So it was only fitting that the Orioles showed off their three big offseason acquisitions, pitcher Kevin Millwood, reliever Mike Gonzalez and first baseman Garrett Atkins, who all had nice things to say about playing in Baltimore.

Then they trotted out their big-name veterans, Brian Roberts, Nick Markakis and 2009 All-Star Adam Jones, who looked like a million bucks in a snazzy dark suit, with a silver stud gleaming on each ear lobe.

On the other hand, Markakis looked like he had just come out of a duck blind somewhere.

He wore a dark, bushy beard with a baseball cap pulled low on his forehead and what appeared to be camouflage pants and some kind of sweat shirt thing.

I almost didn't recognize him.

Anyway, as the fans streamed in off Conway Street all afternoon, you could feel people getting excited about the new season, which is exactly what these FanFests are designed to generate.

'Great fan base' This was once a terrific baseball town, and it could be again if the Orioles ever get their act together. I'll tell you this: if they ever get their season to go as well as FanFest, that's when you'll know they've turned the corner.

"I'm excited about the progress of the team. I think it's awesome that Tejada is coming," said Ericka Powell, 34, of Baltimore. "I'm surprised there is so much excitement here. But it's great. Baltimore has a great fan base that really supports the team. And they're happy with the progress and direction of the team."

I didn't want to be a downer, not in this sea of smiling faces and orange-and-black T-shirts and replica jerseys. But now that Tejada's back, I kept wondering how this situation at first and third is going to work out for the Orioles.

Look what you have now.

You have Tejada, who has played shortstop for a thousand years, moving to third base. And you have Atkins, who played mostly third with the Colorado Rockies, playing first.

Who knows how well Miggi will take to third base? Sure, lots of players have been asked to make the transition from short to third late in their careers. But not all of them have it made it smoothly.

As for Atkins, sure, he has played first base before. But at the risk of making the guy sound schizophrenic, the Orioles have to be wondering which Garrett Atkins they signed.

Is it the player who put up eye-popping numbers for the Rockies in 2006 (.329 batting average, 29 homers, 120 RBIs) and 2007 (.301, 25, 111)?

Or is it the guy who struggled so much last season (.226, nine, 48) at hitter-friendly Coors Field that he lost his starting job and finished with just 354 at-bats?

"I just had a bad swing early on and just wasn't able to get out of the funk," Atkins said Saturday. "Hopefully, this year things will be different."

Atkins is 30, and the Orioles signed him to a one-year deal for $4 million. They expect him to revert to his old form and provide some pop in the batting order, and the big expectations always bring their own kind of pressure.

'Made it tolerable' "It's an extremely important year for me," Atkins said. "I got to get back on track. Last year was just kind of a miserable year, other than the fact that we were winning. That's what made it tolerable."

Funny how that works. Winning makes just about everything tolerable when you're a ballplayer.

Or a fan - especially one who has suffered through 12 straight losing seasons.

Maybe that's why both Andy MacPhail and Dave Trembley hammered the same theme at FanFest to both the fans and the media: This season won't be about player development anymore.

This season will be about winning.

Because hope only goes so far.

Listen to Kevin Cowherd from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays with Jerry Coleman on Fox 1370 AM Sports.