Baltimore Orioles Season Preview - Part IV

Well here we go, the final part of the season preview for the Baltimore Orioles. So far I reviewed the starting rotation, bullpen, and the infield. Today class, we are going to learn about the outfield, DH, and catcher. Why is the catcher lumped in with the outfield you ask? Because I fucking forgot to include him with the infield, okay?!? Happy?

Lets get going

Catcher - Ramon Hernadez

Ummm....he's fucking good. I will admit that when the O's signed him, I wasn't exactly doing backflips of joy, ya know. But he is a real solid prescence behind the plate with a laser, rocket arm. And his offensive numbers are really nice for a catcher (20+ hrs & almost 100 rbi). When I look at his stats, my favorite number is 144. That is how many games he played last year. When your team has a catcher who is good offensively and defensively AND he stays healthy, then you have a good thing going. Lets hope he keeps it up. If he played on a different team, there would probably be a little All-Star buzz with him.

Left Field - Jay Payton

Is he the starter? Who knows. Since I forced Huff into first earlier and I refuse to acknowledge Millar as a starter, I am going to put Payton here. This did not exactly make me happy. But that is because my only real memory of Jay Payton is having him on a fantasy team while he was a Met and trying to get a message to Bobby Valentine through his nephew to play him more so my team would get better.

But as I actually look at his numbers, I am starting to feel a little optimistic. He had a good year offensively last year although he swings at everything. His is projected to be up later in the lineup so that's okay. If the O's have a guy batting 8th or 9th who bats .296, then things will be okay.

Note: Lets hope he looks a little more excited in the field.

Center Field - Corey Patterson

No other offensive player scares me as much as Patterson. Which player is going to show up for the O's this year. When properly motivated, Patterson can be a dangerous hitter. He can hit for average (not great but okay) and he is fast as hell. But he can also flat out suck with the best of them. I mean, hell, his last year in Chicago was freakin' pathetic. He batted .215!! Last year he batted .276. So which is it. I dunno. I am afraid of this guy though. I am not expecting him to light it up.

Left Field - Nick Markakis

Just for the record, I spelled his name correctly without looking it up. This kid is awesome. Very early last year, I compared him to David Wright to a buddy of mine who is a Met's fan. My point was that he was young, home-grown, and had tons of pontential. Well my friend laughed at me like I was an idiot. And this time, he was wrong. (That makes it 9,9834 times he was correct and 14 that he was wrong in thinking that I was an idiot).


Markakis had a really good year last especially considering it was his first in the bigs. There were some tough moments but he overcame them and finished the year with some real nice numbers. Hell, if he just repeats those numbers I'd be happy. But he will probably exceed them.

Ex. There was story in the WashPost about one of his struggles last year. There was a point when other teams found a big weakness with the inside fastball. For a while it was eating him up. So what happens, he overcame it and went on a steak where he batted .500. He has a real good future ahead of him.

DH - Jay Gibbons

I will freely admit that I really like Jay Gibbons. After Cal left, he was one of the few O's that I could recognize. If he could only stay healthy (how many times has that been muttered about a professional althete?). So I am going to just go forward and assume that he stays healthy this year. If so, then the O's DH position will give them about 25hr and 100rbi. That's pretty good. If he goes down, then Millar comes in. As someone who has lived in Boston for a while now, I am pretty familiar with his work. He is streaky and can be good but not someone you want to rely on for a whole season. So lets hope the O's don't have to do that.

Now that we have looked at all of the players. Lets look at the lineup as a whole. This is based on a prelimerary lineup that Perlozzo put out. I am making one slight change and that is the removal of Millar.


Lineup

1. Roberts
2. Mora
3. Markakis
4. Tejada
5. Huff
6. Hernandez
7. Gibbons
8. Payton
9. Patterson

That's a pretty good lineup right there. 8 & 9 are really up in the air but besides that, there is some consistently.

So what does it all mean? Well if this team was playing in a vacuum, then they would be really dusty!! Thank you, thank you. Please tip your waitress. (ummm...sorry about that joke, I must be tired)

Seriously though, I think this team could finish the year with a winning record. This team has so much potential. But it won't happen. Playing the AL East is a two team division. The Blue Jays have been trying really hard lately and they finished 10 games back. I think the O's will start the year well and may stay in contention through the All-Star break. But I don't expect this team to be able to last the year. I think this is one of the better teams the O's have fielded in years now. In the end, they will be two pitchers and one outfielder short of the playoffs.

Final prediction: 78-84 4th place

Stupid Angelos

Baltimore Orioles Season Preview - Part III

We've talked about the starting pitchers and the bullpen. So now the question is, will the O's have the offense and fielding to support the staff. Lets find out...

Today I am going to focus on the infield. Actually, the 2006 O's infield was pretty good. Wow, that statement is pretty sad when I look back on it. I have to point out that a part of the O's team didn't completely suck balls. Stupid Angelos.

Anyway, 3 of the 4 positions were fielded by above-average players last year. Unfortunately, first base was a disaster. First was Javy Lopez (see pic) and he was followed by Kevin Millar. Just kill me. But whatever, this is not a recap of 2006, this is a positive look forward to the new and improved O's of 2007

So lets look at the O's infield position by position.

Third base - Melvin Mora

The man who looks like he always wants to cry is actually a very good third basemen. And if my wife had quintuplets, I would probably look like him too. Anyway. he has been a steady offensive force for the O's at third for many years now. There is some cause for concern with him though. Mora is now 35 years old and third base isn't called the hot corner for nothing. His fielding has never been super.

My real worry is his offense. Since acquiring him from the Mets (note: I will always take the opportunity to mention when the Mets screw up with personnel due to a couple close friend who are Mets fans. Your welcome Charlie and Tom), his numbers have been great. His average is over .280 and he shows a little bit of power. But the last few years have shown a solid decline is his numbers. His batting average and obp have dropped significantly the last couple years. I am worried that he has hit the wall. If he drops again, we are talking about a batting average of like .250. So I am hoping that Mora has another good year or two in him.

Shortstop - Miguel Tejada

The O's sure know how to pick shortstops huh? Tejada is a perennial MVP candidate and a team leader. He may not have been too happy last year but all reports seem to indicate that he is ready to go this year. He seems to be back to his happy self.

I mean what can I say. He plays every game (sounds familiar). His offensive numbers are just plain awesome. He hits for power, average, doesn't strike out a ton. I mean, he's just good. And he's only 30, so he has a lot of years left in the tank.

He's been the only nationally relevant O's player recently until Chris Ray came around. Meaning without him, major news outlets would probably forget the O's even existed. At least with him around, the O's weren't used as an argument for getting rid of the "every team gets an all-star" rule. I fully expect another .315/.360/.500 year out of Tejada.

Second Base - Brian Roberts

Just saw that he was born in Durham, NC. I am so sick of Durham, NC. I have to go down there for work all the time and be surrounded by Dukies, and the other tobacco roader people. What does that have to Roberts you say? Nothing, shut up.


Roberts is a beast; just a great guy to have near the top of your lineup. He hits for a good average, some power, steals some bases, and hits for a ton of extra base hits. His fielding skills are above average as well.

So where does that leave us? With a fast, powerful, skillful batter who also fields well. Okay, twist my arm, I'll take him as my second basemen. Lets hope he just stays healthy.

First Base - Aubrey Huff

Now I'm sure some of you are saying, wait? Huff isn't officially the first baseman of the O's yet! To which I gracefully reply, please shut the hell up. I refuse to believe that Millar or anyone else will be at first base. So going forward, I am just assuming that he will be the starting first baseman for the O's.

Huff is actually a big upgrade over last year. First base was a disaster for the O's last year and having a steady offensive force will be a big boost. Huff is not going to set any records but what he will do is provide a nice punch at first. His line should be somewhere around .280/25/90.

This is all predicated on him being healthy though. He has had a few health issues that have limited his production lately. If healthy, he will be a good addition to the O's. Anything is better than dealing with Millar again.

So where does this leave the O's. Offensively, the O's are better in the infield than last year. Mora does scare me a little bit. But the idea of sitting at home with 5 kids should keep him motivated enough to produce. The upgrade at first along with all-stars in the middle of the infield means that the O's infield is actually pretty good.

How about the outfield? Well we'll tackle that next...