2008 Record 68-93
Projected Lineup
C-Matt Weiters- Rookie
1B-Aubrey Huff 32-108-304
2B-Brian Roberts 9-57-296
SS-Cesar Izturis 1-24-263
3B-Melvin Mora 23-104-285
LF-Felix Pie 1-10-241
CF-Adam Jones 9-57-270
RF-Nick Markakis 20-87-308
DH-Luke Scott 23-65-257
Rotation
Jeremy Guthrie 10-12-3.63
Koji Uehara
Rich Hill 1-0 -4.12
Matt Albers 3-3-3.49
Mark Henrickson 7-8-5.45
Bullpen
George Sherrill 3-5-4.73 31
Chris Ray Injured all Last Season
Jim Johnson 2-4-2.33 1
Whats to Like
1.Catch This-Matt Weiters is the consensus #1 hitting prospect in baseball. Catchers who can hit are a rarity. And by all accounts he will be an all star for a long time. His ETA is at some point this year
2.Signing B-Rob-Roberts has been the subject of trade rumors going back a couple of years now. Signing him to a 4 year deal makes sense. Even if Baltimore continues to struggle every team needs a veteran to give the franchise credibility
Whats Not to Like
1.It All Starts With Pitching-The Os staff should be locked in a duel with their Beltway neighbors the Nats all year long for the worst staff in baseball. Right now I'll give the nod to Baltimore as the worst. Having to face the lineups of the AL East just compounds the problem. Jim Palmer could probably move from the teams broadcast booth today and claim a rotation spot.
2.Why Bother-Let me get this straight the Os actually put more into Cesar Izturis to start at SS. Then spent some money on Greg Zaun to catch? While I can get behind Ty Wigginton Baltimore wasted what little money they spend this off season.
Fantasy Focus
Brian Roberts-Since there is very little to talk about here. I want to use Roberts as an example of something else. If your reading this chances are you will be looking at some projection for players before our draft. Lets face it, we all do it. But just how accurate are those projections. In my opinion some are much better than others. I really think some are made up without any basis in fact. For the Os Adam Jones may be 10-70-260 OR 25-90-300. Any projections are just educated guesses. But with Brian Roberts you know exactly what you are going to get. Roberts is about a consistent a player as there is in all of baseball. With the lack of quality 2nd baseman guys like Roberts are invaluable.
Fun Fact
Not much so this is a stretch. Baltimore pitchers led the MLB last season with 687 walks. And this season they have a good chance to walk even more hitters.
Outlook
In a word ugly. The Os are the worst team in the AL. If I was in charge of this mess I'd wait until the trading deadline and then trade most of the veterans that can bring me any kind of prospects. As good as Aubrey Huff was last year he should probably be moved. I'd add Melvin Mora to the list. And guys like Ty Wigginton are much more valuable on good teams. I'd then start the rebuilding process with the 2 cornerstones of the Os in the future Matt Weiters and Nick Markakis.
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2 comments:
I disagree with your claim that the Orioles are the worst team in the A.L. I think that we might suprise some people this year. Do I think that we are going to win the series? No. But I think that Andy McPhail has got this thing turned around. Oh, if you want to gain any credibility i suggest doing some research. Melvin Mora has a no trade clause that would keep him from being traded at any time. He loves it in Bmore, and we love Mel Mo. Solid ball player for a long time. GO BIRDS!!!
Firstly thanks very much for reading. As for Mora I'm commenting on what I think is best for this team going foward. While I have no doubts that Mora loves Baltimore having him play 3rd base everyday does nothing to turn this franchise around. My question to you is how many more games do they win in the next few years with him playing third? My guess is you can have Ty Wigginton play third and get about the same win-loss record. Mora could be a valuable player on a team in the playoff hunt. And if he can bring a good young arm thats the way to improve this team in the future.
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