The State of the Baltimore Orioles

The Orioles have not had a winning season since 1997- 11 consecutive losing seasons. Orioles fans have many reasons to be frustrated. But, there is now a light at the end of the tunnel for fans to be excited about. In the middle of the 2007 season, the owner of the Orioles hired Andy McPhail, a new GM. With that move came the firing of manager Sam Perlozzo, who is now the third-base coach for Seattle. Dave Trembley was named interim manager, but after Joe Girardi turned them down to a long-term commitment, and the players showed obvious optimism and a better work ethic, Trembley was signed to a short-term deal. A few good weeks was nice to see, but it did not mean he was here to stay for good. He still had more to prove.

Andy McPhail told Baltimore fans he was not going to come in and make rushed decisions immediately. He said he was going to take time and wait until the end of the season before he started making big changes. He also stated they were going to go into a full rebuilding mode because he did not feel this team was one or two players away from competing in the AL East. The Orioles went into the 2008 offseason with three major trading chips: shortstop Miguel Tejada, second baseman Brian Roberts, and pitcher Erik Bedard.

The first one to go was Miguel Tejada. Miguel Tejada was a power hitting shortstop, who had signed with the Orioles in December of 2003, in a six-year deal worth $72 million. In his first season with Baltimore, he batted .311, hit 34 home runs and drove in 150 RBI’s. Tejada never put those numbers up again in a Baltimore uniform, but still had all-star numbers. Tejada had a reputation for being an enthusiastic, energetic team leader. However, over time, there became questions about his effort and willingness to play. The Tejada trade brought in a haul of prospects. The Orioles acquired left-handed pitcher Troy Patton, outfielder Luke Scott, right-handed pitcher Matt Albers, right-handed pitcher Dennis Sarfate, and catcher Michael Costanza.

I was a big Tejada fan, but there was no question in my mind this was a good move. The Orioles obtained immediate dividends from Luke Scott, Matt Albers, and Dennis Sarfate, as they made the major-league roster. Luke Scott was a left-handed, streaky, everyday left fielder for the Orioles. He ended up with 23 home runs, but a modest .257 average. He struggled to hit with runners in scoring position, and ended up with only 65 RBI’s. Matt Albers got hurt mid-way through the season and was the long-man for the first part of the season. The Orioles had played pretty good ball with a lights-out bullpen, until Albers went down. Albers had done a great job in the middle-innings, and pitched to a 3.49 ERA. He only pitched 49 innings, but only conceded 43 hits. Dennis Sarfate had an upper 90’s fastball that few hitters could consistently catch up to. He had 86 srikeouts in 79.2 innings. He tended to come into the game later than Albers did- usually in the seventh or eighth innings. He even converted to a starter, but was quickly sent back to the bullpen after four terrible starts. Troy Patton had surgery that ended his season, but is expected to be a big part of the future success of this organization. Mike Costanza was a mid-level prospect that might be able to provide depth to the organization, but now with future stud Matt Wieters up-and-coming through the organization so quickly, it will be extremely hard for him to seize a starting spot on the Orioles club in any near future. That was a great move to add some pitching to the organization, and while we were rebuilding for the future, McPhail addressed immediate needs in a left fielder. At 29 years old, Scott might also be used as a trading chip to bring back three or four prospects, but for now, he can consistently play left field.

Shortly after that, Bedard was sent to Seattle. He also brought back five players that included outfielder Adam Jones, right-handed pitcher Chris Tillman, left-handed pitcher George Sherrill, right-handed pitcher Kam Mickolio, and left-handed pitcher Tony Butler. This was the second great move by McPhail because it traded a guy that just had his best season in the major leagues in the middle of his prime, meaning his value was at its peak. He had one year left on his deal, and showed no signs of wanting to stay in Baltimore.

Adam Jones, 24, played center field every day for the Orioles. He made many great adjustments during games and throughout the season. He learned how to hit the curveball during the season and was a lot more patient at the plate near the end of the season. He showed great range in the outfield covering a lot of ground, and showed flashes of a great arm. He hurt his foot near the end of the season, but he came back and hit a homerun in his first at bat. He seems fully recovered from that. He is the next superstar for the Orioles that can be an MVP candidate in the future and definitely make the all-star team in a few years.

Chris Tillman was ranked 16th in Major League Baseball’s Top 50 Prospects. Tillman is 6′5″ and throws really hard downhill. He finished second in strikeouts of all double-A pitchers and eighth in ERA. He uses a curveball and changeup to go with his dominent fastball.Tillman will turn 21 in April, so he is still very young. He has a chance to make the club this year, but the front office will not bring him up until they are absolutely positive he is ready. He has a chance to compete for a Cy Young in the years to come.

George Sherrill was a great find for the Orioles. Give a lot of credit to McPhail and Trembley for finding this player and utilizing his full abilities. He had been a situational man for the Mariners, who came in predominently to face left-handed hitters. He would come in for one, or two batters and leave. The Orioles converted him into a closer that saved 31 games. Sherrill had a mental toughness like few other players. In his six blown saves, he tended to implode a lot, which caused him to have a fairly high ERA. He would allow a lot of players to get on base, which would make me real nervous at the end of the game. It seemed like every time he came in, the lead off hitter would get on. But, most of the time, he got out of it, with either the big strikeout when he needed it, or the ground ball. He is not your stereotypical closer that comes in and blows the ball by people. He throws the ball 90-93 mph, but hides the ball so well, hitters have a hard time picking it up.

Sherrill was the only Oriole to make the all-star team. He pitched 2.1 scoreless innings (which he had not done all season on the Orioles), which some say hurt him statistically the rest of the season, and was the reason for his trip to the DL. He gave the American League a real chance to win the game in the extra innings. With the coming back of former closer Chris Ray, who was on the DL all of last season, Sherrill may also be traded to another team, but he has a few years on his deal, and unless there is a real good offer on the table for him, he will probably be back in Baltimore.

Kam Mickolio got called up briefly near the end of August, and only made nine appearences. He is only 24 years old, and he could work his way into the rotation, or be in the bullpen in the future. He stands at 6′9″, so his height will work to his advantage. Tony Butler pitched in Class A Delmarva and pitched to a 4.42 ERA. At 21, he could play on the Orioles down the road.

The last major triumph for McPhail was when he signed catcher Matt Wieters with ten minutes left before he would be released back to Georgia Tech. Wieters has Scott Boras as an agent. Boras is notorious for squeezing out every penny for his client. He uses a strategy that involves waiting for the last minute until the GM caves into what he wants for his player. McPhail waited and waited for Boras to cave because McPhail knew there was pressure on Boras because Wieters wanted to avoid going back to college and playing another year of baseball there. Wieters wanted to sign and start his baseball career now. Wieters was ranked number two in Major League Baseball’s Top 50 Prospects. Wieters is a switch-hitting catcher, which is extremely rare. Wieters batted .340 on the left side and .392 on the right. He had an amazing .454 on-base percentage. He is learning to call a game behind the plate and has a cannon arm. Baltimore fans have been waiting for him to be called up since he’s been signed. You may not see him at the beginning of the season, but he should surely be an Oriole by end of the season.

Andy McPhail and Dave Trembley want to establish an identity of strong pitching, fundamental defense, and timely hitting. They want to see and expect a lot of effort and hard work from their players. In every press conference Dave Trembly has, he talks about respect for the game, consistency, and doing things correctly- not making mental mistakes. Trembley has one objective-to help this team win. He is truly here for the Baltimore Orioles- the fans, the players, and for the organization.

During the Winter Meetings, McPhail moved Ramon Hernandez to Cincinatti for Ryan Freel and two minor league prospects. Ryan Freel is not an amazingly talented player, but he helps promote this image McPhail wants to build. A few days after the Meetings, he solidified the Orioles shortstop hole signing Cesar Izturis to a two-year deal worth around six million. He is a good defensive player that won a gold glove in 2004. He works hard and plays with a lot of energy. He too will help set the image.

While Jeremy Guthrie is the only sure-starter at this point, Baltimore has many pitching prospects, who are supposed to help Baltimore in the years to come. They have Radhames Liz, who has shown he can be very dominent at times. Jake Arrieta was drafted and signed and should be able to pitch here. He pitched on the United States national team during the Olympics. Garrett Olson can be in the back-end of the rotation. Chris Tillman, as I mentioned, can be a number one or two starter. Brian Matusz, who we drafted in the first round, should be at the front-end as well. Matt Albers’ role, whether it is in the bullpen or in the rotation, will most likely be very valuable. Andy McPhail understands that pitchers can easily get hurt that ruin their career and knows that there will be nice surprises that come out of nowhere, but he comes to one conclusion about pitching: you can never have enough.

Andy McPhail and Dave Trembley have brought a new spirit, a new light to this town that it has not seen in a decade. The Orioles used to be one of the best teams in baseball winning the World Series in 1966, 1970, and 1983, and having been there in 1969 (where we got defeated by the infamous Miracle Mets), 1971, and 1979.

Unfortunately, I am young and was never around to see this great baseball franchise at its peak. All over Baltimore, I hear how good we used to be, but I have never seen a winning baseball team in Baltimore, let alone a World Series. For the past six years, I have been guaranteeing people not from Baltimore, that the Orioles are on the rise, that soon they are going to turn the corner. It has not happened once before, but this time, I think, the Orioles might be able to back me up.