Pete J Says : I really am not sure about the Orioles this year. On paper they have a good talent level with a lot of very good pitchers who seem to be blossoming under the tutelage of Leo Mazzone but they are the O's and that means being part of one of the worst run organisations in baseball.
We'll start with the pitching and the vastly improved bullpen which should be one of the best in baseball. It will be anchored by Chris Ray, who is fast becoming one of the more dependable relievers in baseball and will be looking to build upon his first year as a full time closer. He will recieve good support from a revamped support staff which includes former closers Dannys Baez (still able to close if he needs to) and Scott Williamson (no one quite knows what he'll be like after the injuries) who will be looked on as the principle set-up men and the tremendous pairing of righty Chad Bradford and lefty Jamie Walker looking after the situational stuff. With such a well balanced group, if the starters can log some innings then this will be a tough side to face.
The rotation itself will be interesting with young stud Adam Loewen looking to establish himself after a hit and miss rookie year and Jaret Wright who is still looking to establish himself after a good rookie campaign 10 years ago. The last time Wright had Mazzone in his dugout he posted a career year so it will be interesting to see how he reacts a second time round.
The staff and the whole team will likely hinge upon the form of Daniel Cabrera and Erik Bedard. Cabrera in particular was very streaky and showed periods of absolute dominance and then backed it up with a period of very forgettable play which must have driven management to despair whereas Bedard looks like being on the verge of establishing himself as one of the top hurlers in the game. Bedard is coming into his prime and posted career highs in all the stats that count last year and will be looking to show it wasn't a fluke and if he maintains his aggressive approach he could be the ace this team has craved since Mussina left.
In the same way that the rotation needs one or two guys to really step up and carry the team, the lineup needs one or two guys in the middle of the order to step up and drive in some runs and this will be the trickiest thing for the club to find and so important in a division with some of the most potent offences around.
The top of the order is in the safe hands of Brian Roberts (you'll be hard pressed to find a better all around leadoff man) and Melvin Mora who continues to be one of the most under-appreciated guys in baseball. Of course you throw in Miguel Tajada and you have one of the best all around infields around. Tejada may not have the power he once did but he is still a very strong hitter and if they could find a big bit of lumber to bat behind him, then he could have a renaissance season. Of course we don't know who that big bat will be. Guys like Jay Gibbons, Kevin Millar and Aubrey Huff are all capable of providing periodical pop but none really has the consistency to be a real run producer or post 40 homers.
The only hope the Orioles have of finding someone to protect Tejada and really get this offence to where it needs to be is sophomore rightfielder Nick Markakis who was very tentative for much of last season and then erupted down the stretch giving us a glimpse of his power potential. There is nothing this kid isn't capable of achieving in his career but it is way to early to expect it from someone who will be 22 at the start of the year.
The team has got a lot of good things about it that should give O's fans hope but this is Peter Angelos' team and he stifles every attempt this team makes to try and build some kind of foundation for this team to build upon. If injuries hit or the team finds some kind of need to address to stay in contention they will find their cupboard bare (except for the exciting prospect Radhames Liz) and will be unable to find anyone worth calling up to bolster the team or anyone worth trading and then the finger of blame will go to the GM and manager and everything will be ripped up to start again and set the team back another decade. People talk about Jeffrey Lloria as being a terrible owner but at least he had the decency to leave town rather than bleed his cancer into a once proud franchise.
There is potential here for Baltimore to have a good year and surprise some people but sustaining any momentum will be tough and luck will be as big a part of this teams season as much as good coaching bringing out the best of their younger players.
Conor C Says : What a shame. This club with great history and a beautiful ball park to play in has lost its way. I'm not going to pretend to know the goings on in the front office with this team, but someone really needs to take things by the scruff of the neck and seriously try to turn this (as Pete said) once proud organisation back in the direction it should be headed (that's somewhere along the road that the Jays are going).
Numerous poor investments over the last few seasons have really crippled this organisation, and I'm unfortunately talking about possibly my favourite character in baseball Kevin Millahhhhh who is frankly not up to the job of being an every day first baseman in the AL anymore.
Miggy at shortstop is a dependable run producer, but seriously, how many teams are there that rely on the number six to hit 40 home runs? On the plus side, I love the pick up of Chad Bradford, in my opinion one of the most underrated relievers in the game, and speaking of underrated how good are Melvin Mora and Brian Roberts? Especially Mora who is the 3rd baseman I always look to draft first in a fantasy league.
In summary, this team is never going to compete with the Steinbrenner Yankees and its light at the end of the tunnel is whenever GS isn't there to make the AL East the money driven fiasco it is.
The Orioles really remind me of the Indians in the movie 'Major League' although unfortunately I don't see Wesley Snipes signing up and swiping a hundred bases. As Fall Out Boy said, 'Going down down...', a sad state of affairs.
Pete J Say : The really sad thing is that this team probably is in a better shape than Toronto to compete with Boston and New York in fiscal terms. Its the foundation of the team that really has never been given a chance to seed thanks to the meddling of ownership.
Rather than moving forward, this club seems to be standing still whilst the rest of the division is constantly reinventing itself and soon they could see Tampa breeze on by with its young starlets supplanting the O's aging vets and it frustrates everyone which is why Tejada wanted out.
This team looks like it's not that far off at the Major League level but they might be three or four years away from doing so and that's assuming they start right now. The BEST they can hope for now is a fourth place finish.
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