Don’t expect the Orioles to make any noise or do anything at all this upcoming season. With the way the Tampa Bay Rays have been built, the Orioles are now the new basement dwellers of the Al East, and should finish in last once again. Considering the last four years, the win production for the Orioles has dropped from 74 wins in 2005, to 70, to 69 and last year had just 68. The Orioles should finish up in that range once again this season, maybe even lower, because they’ll have to face the Rays, Red Sox, and Yankees a combined 54 times.
Pitching was the problem all season long for the Orioles and they got even worse when they had to unload Eric Bedard to the Mariners in a trade. You can also throw in Adam Loewen, who quit as a pitcher and is now with the Blue Jays looking to make it as an outfielder. So the Orioles will have slim pickings for their staring rotation for the new year.
Right now the Orioles have two starters that can go out there and be counted on to pitch at least 190 innings each. But Mark Hendrickson and Jeremy Guthrie aren’t the most reliable pitchers to get you consistent victories. Guthrie did post respectable numbers though, last season with the Orioles at 10-12, with a 3.63 ERA. So, if Guthrie can produce those numbers, that’s good enough for the Orioles and they’ll have someone to maybe build around. With the state the Orioles are in, they could only hope Guthrie posts the same or better numbers as last year and at least try to trade him for some building blocks.
Aside from Guthrie, there will be plenty of holes in the Orioles’ pitching rotation, and will most likely finish in the bottom five of the league in runs given up. The bullpen will be one of the worst again, and couldn’t be counted on at all least season.
In the catchers’ position, the Orioles signed veteran, and now 37 year old Gregg Zaun. He saw limited action last year with the Blue Jays due to the signing of Rod Barajas. Zaun is a very crafty catcher and knows the game of baseball well, and can easily call a game without the managers’ assistance. Maybe, just maybe, Zaun can somehow make the Orioles’ pitching a little better. Beyond Zaun, there really isn’t a reliable back-up catcher, and the Orioles need somebody to at least play 40 games.
The Orioles have a few prospects in their minor league system, but still need some more work. Of the three catchers in the minors, Guillermo Quiroz will probably get the back-up role, since he saw some action last year, and was also a blue chip prospect at one point with the Blue Jays.
The Orioles should have a sound infield defensively with Melvin Mora at third, Cesar Izturis at shortstop, and Brian Roberts at second. Ty Wigginton and Aubrey Huff will switch it up time and time again between the DH position and first base.
Offensively, the infielders may not produce that many runs. Brian Roberts is a great lead off hitter, but isn’t known for power numbers. Ty Wigginton has shown he can hit the long ball, and has posted back to back twenty homerun seasons. As for Melvin Mora, he got back on track last season with 23 homeruns and 104 RBI, following a sad 2007 season in which he hit 14 homeruns with 58 RBI. At the end of the day, those numbers may not be repeated.
If you take a look at the outfielders, nobody other than Nick Markakis can hit for power. Adam Jones and youngster Felix Pie are the other probable starting day outfielders, but aren’t known for their power. Jones pretty much played a full season in 2008, but proved to be another lead off type hitter. Pie should be a big hitter once developed, but so far hasn’t impressed a lot of people and was traded from the Cubs.
With that, the Orioles can mange to hang around in some games with the bats of Markakis, Mora and Roberts, but it will all come down to pitching for this Orioles team, and they don’t have it yet.
POSITIVE --> NICK MARKAKIS IS A STUD AND WAS LOCKED UP TO A LONG TERM CONTRACT THIS OFF SEASON.
NEGATIVE --> PITCHING WILL BE A HUGE QUESTION MARK ALL SEASON LONG.
X-FACTOR --> MELVIN MORA HAS TO WHAT HE DID LAST SEASON, OR THIS TEAM WILL BE EVEN WORSE THAN LAST YEARS.
SLEEPER PICK --> LUKE SCOTT POSTED VERY GOO NUMBERS WITH 23 HOMERUNS AND 65 RBI, AND COULD REPEAT IF HE BATS AHEAD OR BEHIND NIK MARKAKIS.
PREDICTION --> LAST IN THE AL EAST, AND WILL PROBABLY FINISH WITH 65-70 VICTORIES.
The opinions and thoughts expressed in this or any other article written by 12nadnuk are of his thinking and what he thinks is correct or close to it in the sporting world. If there are any problems by anyone, 12nadnuk is open for rebuttal and what not, and honest criticism. There is also a comments section, so feel free to post what is on your mind about the article. Thank you for reading.
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