Team Spotlight: Baltimore Orioles

Heltonfan · 11-25-2007, 12:12 AM

One of the most brain-dead organizations around, the Orioles are in line for yet another dismal year. But they should have a very interesting winter.

Summary Statistics
Rotation: -14
Bullpen: -24
Lineup: -42
Bench: -13
Defense: +1
W-L record: 73-89

Rotation

Bedard 3.14
Cabrera 4.11
Guthrie 4.47
Loewen 4.50
Penn 4.92

Bedard is simply awesome, a true ace. He doesn’t have as clean a bill of health as Santana or Sabathia do, but since he’s two years away from free agency instead of one, he ought to have the most trade value of the three.

Daniel Cabrera, who a lot of people have been expecting great things from for some time, took a big step backward this year. He went from striking out 23% of the batters he faced in 2006 to just 18% in 2007; for a guy with control as poor as Cabrera’s, anything less than an elite strikeout rate just isn’t going to get the job done. I’ve seen his name come up in a few trade ideas; he’d be one hell of a gamble, that’s for sure.

Guthrie is expected to regress substantially. I’d probably take the under on that 4.47 number, but he’s no more than a league-average starter.

Bullpen

Walker 3.96
Baez 4.73
Bradford 3.20
Hoey 4.16
Cabrera 4.19
Doyne 4.28
Novoa 4.77

Ouch. The awfulness of this bullpen isn’t entirely management’s fault – it would look a lot better if their closer, Chris Ray, hadn’t gone under the knife – but still, this is ugly.

Actually, two of their big free-agent signings last winter (Walker and Bradford) worked out quite well. But the big one, Baez, was an absolute disaster, as they wound up paying him $6 million for a sub-replacement-level performance.

Fernando Cabrera was a nice pickup. The Indians should never have let him go; when you have a guy making the league minimum and striking out a batter an inning, you keep him. Simple as that.

Lineup

C: Hernandez 1.79 (.252, 0)
1B: Huff 0.61 (.259, -2)
2B: Roberts 4.05 (.292, 1)
SS: Tejada 3.92 (.283, 0)
3B: Mora 1.19 (.250, 0)
LF: Gibbons 0.30 (.246, -2)
CF: Redman 0.03 (.228, -1)
RF: Markakis 3.45 (.287, 3)
DH: Millar 0.34 (.256)

Great middle infield, and Markakis is on the verge of stardom. Beyond that, though, this lineup is a who’s who of over-the-hill players. The really sad thing about it is that Huff, Gibbons, and Mora are making a combined $22 million next year, part of the Orioles’ long-standing tradition of paying through the roof for mediocrity.

Tejada has fallen off a bit, but he still projects as the second-best shortstop in the game (behind Reyes, and a hair ahead of Hanley Ramirez).

Bench

Molina .191
Bynum .231
Payton .230
Stern .226

Not much to say. There’s no talent here.

If I Were in Charge, I Would: Start the fire sale. As awful a team as this is, they’ve got some very valuable assets to trade. Bedard is at the very top of the list (and yes, I would look to trade him rather than re-sign him, because, considering the salary he’s likely to command, he won’t be an asset come 2010 even if they succeed in signing him to an extension), followed by Tejada and Roberts. Tejada should draw interest from the Dodgers, Phillies, and Indians as a third baseman, and from the Angels, Cubs, Blue Jays, and Cardinals as a shortstop. Roberts should draw interest from the Rockies, Padres, and Cardinals, and maybe others.

Bradford and Walker ought to have a little trade value, coming off of strong seasons. I doubt they could get anything for Mora, but it’s worth trying.

JMUplayer · 11-30-2007, 01:04 AM

He's a risk but he'd be relatively cheap... you wouldn't have a long contract and if he even comes close to what he did in Seattle which is a HUGE ballpark he will make the O's Offense a lot better.....
You can't have Kevin Millar and Jay Gibbons occupying two of your power spots....

This is a medicore NL lineup at best right now.

hagers · 12-02-2007, 08:51 PM

They were a brain dead organization, They have since added a real
manager & a new president of baseball busines(G.M.)I predict they
will be players on the trade market this winter & have a much better
team.

They need another starter,an O.F.or two,a closer, bullpen help &
maybe a new s.s.but when the smoke clears I,m betting they will
be a better team.!!! How

s that for optimism?

DiamondDave · 12-14-2007, 12:23 PM

They're rebuilding... this team will take a few years to be "better" in terms of record

11-25-2007, 12:12 AM	#1 (permalink)
Heltonfan Moderator Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Yerevan, Armenia Posts: 847	Team Spotlight: Baltimore Orioles One of the most brain-dead organizations around, the Orioles are in line for yet another dismal year. But they should have a very interesting winter. Summary Statistics Rotation: -14 Bullpen: -24 Lineup: -42 Bench: -13 Defense: +1 W-L record: 73-89 Rotation Bedard 3.14 Cabrera 4.11 Guthrie 4.47 Loewen 4.50 Penn 4.92 Bedard is simply awesome, a true ace. He doesn’t have as clean a bill of health as Santana or Sabathia do, but since he’s two years away from free agency instead of one, he ought to have the most trade value of the three. Daniel Cabrera, who a lot of people have been expecting great things from for some time, took a big step backward this year. He went from striking out 23% of the batters he faced in 2006 to just 18% in 2007; for a guy with control as poor as Cabrera’s, anything less than an elite strikeout rate just isn’t going to get the job done. I’ve seen his name come up in a few trade ideas; he’d be one hell of a gamble, that’s for sure. Guthrie is expected to regress substantially. I’d probably take the under on that 4.47 number, but he’s no more than a league-average starter. Bullpen Walker 3.96 Baez 4.73 Bradford 3.20 Hoey 4.16 Cabrera 4.19 Doyne 4.28 Novoa 4.77 Ouch. The awfulness of this bullpen isn’t entirely management’s fault – it would look a lot better if their closer, Chris Ray, hadn’t gone under the knife – but still, this is ugly. Actually, two of their big free-agent signings last winter (Walker and Bradford) worked out quite well. But the big one, Baez, was an absolute disaster, as they wound up paying him $6 million for a sub-replacement-level performance. Fernando Cabrera was a nice pickup. The Indians should never have let him go; when you have a guy making the league minimum and striking out a batter an inning, you keep him. Simple as that. Lineup C: Hernandez 1.79 (.252, 0) 1B: Huff 0.61 (.259, -2) 2B: Roberts 4.05 (.292, 1) SS: Tejada 3.92 (.283, 0) 3B: Mora 1.19 (.250, 0) LF: Gibbons 0.30 (.246, -2) CF: Redman 0.03 (.228, -1) RF: Markakis 3.45 (.287, 3) DH: Millar 0.34 (.256) Great middle infield, and Markakis is on the verge of stardom. Beyond that, though, this lineup is a who’s who of over-the-hill players. The really sad thing about it is that Huff, Gibbons, and Mora are making a combined $22 million next year, part of the Orioles’ long-standing tradition of paying through the roof for mediocrity. Tejada has fallen off a bit, but he still projects as the second-best shortstop in the game (behind Reyes, and a hair ahead of Hanley Ramirez). Bench Molina .191 Bynum .231 Payton .230 Stern .226 Not much to say. There’s no talent here. If I Were in Charge, I Would: Start the fire sale. As awful a team as this is, they’ve got some very valuable assets to trade. Bedard is at the very top of the list (and yes, I would look to trade him rather than re-sign him, because, considering the salary he’s likely to command, he won’t be an asset come 2010 even if they succeed in signing him to an extension), followed by Tejada and Roberts. Tejada should draw interest from the Dodgers, Phillies, and Indians as a third baseman, and from the Angels, Cubs, Blue Jays, and Cardinals as a shortstop. Roberts should draw interest from the Rockies, Padres, and Cardinals, and maybe others. Bradford and Walker ought to have a little trade value, coming off of strong seasons. I doubt they could get anything for Mora, but it’s worth trying.

11-30-2007, 01:04 AM	#2 (permalink)
JMUplayer Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 204	Sign Jose Guillen.... He's a risk but he'd be relatively cheap... you wouldn't have a long contract and if he even comes close to what he did in Seattle which is a HUGE ballpark he will make the O's Offense a lot better..... You can't have Kevin Millar and Jay Gibbons occupying two of your power spots.... This is a medicore NL lineup at best right now.

12-02-2007, 08:51 PM	#3 (permalink)
hagers Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 35	post subjects They were a brain dead organization, They have since added a real manager & a new president of baseball busines(G.M.)I predict they will be players on the trade market this winter & have a much better team. They need another starter,an O.F.or two,a closer, bullpen help & maybe a new s.s.but when the smoke clears I,m betting they will be a better team.!!! How s that for optimism?

12-14-2007, 12:23 PM	#4 (permalink)
DiamondDave Hall of Famer Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: MD, on the Potomac River Posts: 5,390	They're rebuilding... this team will take a few years to be "better" in terms of record