O's Sweep World Champs, Have Won Five Straight

Jeremy Guthrie is struggling. Brian Roberts isn't showing enough energy. The starting pitchers are not lasting. They are playing with a backup shortstop. This team has no power. Get a lead against them into the ninth, and Baltimore has no chance.

Despite all of these criticisms the Orioles seem to be getting by outside sources, the Birds are responding with victories, winning five straight including sweeping the World Champion Phillies as two come-from-behind wins in the ninth inning after having zero such games before Thursday.

Of these five wins, only one was by more than two runs. The bullpen was stellar for the most part, with pitchers from Mark Hendrickson to George Sherrill doing very well. The bats are coming alive with more home runs and key hits from leaders Brian Roberts and Aubrey Huff. Interleague play has been good to the Orioles, who have a 9-3 record against National League teams this year, the best in the AL East. Some strange things have been happening. Robert Andino has been playing very well in place of the injured Cesar Izturis both offensively and defensively. Gregg Zaun hit a home run in the comeback win against the Angels. Guthrie finally had a big start. And finally, people other than Luke Scott and Nolan Reimold hit home runs.

Even though the Orioles are still in last place in the division, this five-game win streak is important in other ways. Not just for the morale of the team, but also for possible trade deadline deals. Names that have been thrown around include Aubrey Huff, Danys Baez, Melvin Mora, among others. Andy MacPhail has stated that there will not be any salary dumping, so if any trades go down, it will be because they get prospects in a good deal. But the cornerstones of the franchise and the potential young guns will still be here.

For now, the Orioles should enjoy the winning. The Orioles have two series left in interleague play, at Florida and the second round of the Battle of the Beltway with the Nationals.

(Photo credit: AP)

West Coast Brings Birds Batting Down to Earth

It had been nice for the Orioles, defeating the Nationals two out of three, sweeping AL East rival Toronto, then taking two of four from AL Central leading Detroit. But on the west coast against Seattle and Oakland, the Orioles bats fell silent, losing five of six games and scoring a combined 10 runs in those games. Only once did the Orioles score more than two runs in those games.

Things came front and center when Aubrey Huff got in a tirade in the dugout after another close hit. The last five games certainly have been frustrating, but the problems with the Oriole bats were clear on the west coast.

A number of combined factors came into this. Brian Roberts has gone two for his last 30 at-bats. No one other than Luke Scott or Nolan Reimold has homered in the last 10 games. A number of Aubrey Huff's hits have been close to home runs, but not close enough. Cesar Izturis was put onto the DL, so a .260 bat is out of the lineup. Early struggles with Matt Wieters and current ones with the Orioles bench also do not help.

With the struggles of the rotation, the Orioles need the bats to succeed. Jeremy Guthrie has not looked good at all lately and the young arms of the rotation can only do so much. Although the bullpen has been good, the fact is this team will normally need to win by establishing strong leads and holding on to them in the late innings. Very rarely with this squad can the starting pitching win games on their own. So when the bats are silent, like this west coast trip, the Orioles will not win.

With Oscar Salazar coming up for Izturis, more Norfolk players are coming up. Although they have been doing well, in the long term for the season they will probably struggle. There really is not much the front office can do about this. The Orioles are not in competition mode and should not sign anyone, and the Orioles would not benefit much by bringing up more Tides players. So this will come down to the veteran bats doing well. Roberts and Huff will need to get out of their slumps plus some of the other players will need to step up in the wake of injuries.

The season continues to be a struggle, but the team has plenty of bright spots, and there is time to get back to winning ways. At the very least, they will not be going back to the west coast until the start of July.

(Photo credit: AP)

What We Learned from Opening Day

It is very easy to make too much out of Opening Day and view it under a microscope. After all, you don’t judge a marathon on how a runner takes his first steps. However, yesterday afternoon’s 10-5 smash over many analyst’s pick to win the AL East (and perennial heart of evil in baseball) can give Orioles fans a host of reasons for jubilation, and a few reasons for concern moving forward. If nothing else, every win is one step closer to an improvement on last season. No matter what happens this season (100 losses is not out of the question), there will be plenty of story lines to follow.

Well, if yesterday’s game was any indication, the defense is for real. Aside from a ball falling out of Nick Markakis’ glove in foul territory late in the game, the fielding was exemplary. While the waterlogged infield may have helped slow the ball down slightly, Cesar Izturis played up to and beyond expectations in keeping balls from getting to the outfield and hustling to complete double plays. Brian Roberts should be able to play to his side and not worry about covering for a shortstop with limited range. Additionally, it seems as though Melvin Mora is putting off the defensive decline that comes with age for another year. His incredible grab to rob a base hit on a line drive showed that his reflexes are as good as ever- every year I am convinced that he will start to break down and every year he seems to prove me wrong at third. He isn’t the best defensive third baseman in the game, but he still does a solid job.

On the other hand, the bullpen might not be as strong as we thought. Chris Ray, coming off of a year-long absence from the game and a 0.00 ERA in spring training, served up a two run shot to Jorge Posada and Ray simply did not look like his old self. Let’s hope this was just due to jitters and not a greater problem with his health. He may need some time to readjust to the big leagues, but this pitching staff might not have much time to let him tinker away. Jamie Walker does not appear to have rebounded very well from last season (which he insisted was due to injury, but this writer is starting to doubt that), with the left-handed specialist struggling and failing to get out his one batter. Overall the Orioles had to burn through 6 relievers in 3 innings of work, with only Dennis Sarfate not allowing a man to get on base. Jim Johnson’s command was off, throwing way off the plate and showing obvious signs of frustration. He is going to have to get under control, as the 7-8-9 line of Ray, Johnson, and Sherrill will be critical for the starters to have a bit of rest now and then. Yesterday it didn’t happen, but Johnson’s wild pitching could have made things a lot worse for Baltimore.

As expected, these boys can hit. Every player except Luke Scott got at least one hit, but the biggest surprise has got to be Adam Jones’ patience at the plate. Jones consistently made pitchers throw him a good pitch before he’d swing, and it led to his 2 walks and 3 hits, with not a single at-bat wasted. Generally hitters who are impatient tend to stay that way; they can get slightly better or slightly worse but a high strike-out rate usually stays with a guy through his career. We had heard rumblings of Jones improving in that department, but I didn’t expect what I saw yesterday. It bodes very well for a 1-2 high on-base-percentage punch in Roberts and Jones at the top of the order. As I said earlier, Cesar Izturis came to play yesterday. His home run might or might not have come due to fan interference, but until I hear Yankee fans bemoaning the illegitimate “Jeffrey Maier” home run of 1996, I will take it with a shrug when playing New York. It was close enough not to overturn anything, anyway. Any time you score 10 runs it is a great output, and please let’s not pull the ESPN routine and blame the Oriole’s offense on CC’s bad day. As Manager Dave Trembley said in his postgame press conference, his players simply worked the count and forced CC to give them the pitch they wanted. No, the $161 million man didn’t have a great outing, but the O’s were not just cherry picking out there.

This was a great way to open the season, but there are still plenty of concerns. Luckily O’s fans have until Wednesday to bask in the glory of an Opening Day win. Enjoy it- there may be a rough season ahead, but yesterday’s performance was certainly uplifting. Let’s see how Koji Uehara fares in his MLB debut against this same vaunted Yankee lineup.

Free Kicks

For those of you who missed it (sorry for not posting a reminder), Falco and Windsor had one hell of a show on Tuesday on our Around the Harbor radio show on WMUC (every Tuesday night at 10 PM). Be sure to check out next week’s program, they save some of their best stuff for the show- you simply can’t get the same effect reading Windsor rant as you can hearing it when he just goes off on something. Now let’s line up for the kick…

Tech-nically Unsound
By signing a contract extension for 5 years yesterday, Mike Leach scored a major victory over some highly questionable employment decisions by Texas Tech University. After fighting for months to negotiate a new contract for the successful Red Raiders coach, Leach announced that he was ready to sign a new deal. However, as soon as he made the announcement, Tech went back and changed some of the language of his contract- including guaranteeing only 12% of his contract (most schools have upwards of 40%), mandating that Leach must get permission from the athletic department before he speaks with any other schools, and that all of his money from speaking engagements can be taken by the university. Look, I actually have no problem with these restrictions. I don’t care what it in the contract- but I care how it was done.

Texas Tech waited until Leach committed himself to the contract, and then changed the deal. What is this, Cloud City (sorry, had to make the reference)? After Leach rejected this sudden about-face (understandably), the Board of Regents decided to call an emergency meeting to discuss whether to fire him for not signing the extension. Come again? Who fires someone for not agreeing to extend with you? You keep them for as long as you can and hope you can work something out. Luckily this idiocy was stopped and a new deal was worked out. Don’t these Regents have something better to do? I don’t know, maybe something that has to do with educating students? I wonder how many emergency meetings were called about skyrocketing tuition costs…

So Much for Hometown Discounts
Okay, so forget all the hopeful words I said about Terrell Suggs, Bart Scott, and Ray Lewis coming back to Baltimore on a discounted deal to stay together. Apparently, like so much else said in the offseason, they were just thrown out there to assuage the fan base and earn good-will while the negotiations dragged on. Yahoo Sports is reporting that Terrell Suggs’ agent, Gary Wichard, is looking for the Ravens to pony up a Dwight Freeney-level deal for the DE/OLB, which would demand roughly $12 million a year. It is no surprise then that the Ravens were forced to use the franchise tag. This of course coming on the heels of Ray Lewis’ announcement that he is available to the highest bidder (that bidder will likely be the Ravens, but you would hate to see them put in that situation).

Against this backdrop it feels silly to have ever thought that Baltimore’s stars would take a discount to be in the city. As much as we love our pro athletes in this town, especially the ones who stay for their entire careers, I suppose they just don’t take discounts to stay. Nick Markakis’ deal contained no hometown discount whatsoever, as his deal was entirely in line with comparable players. Likewise, Brian Roberts would have probably gotten even less than he did from the Orioles in this free agent market (if he would even be employed- see Orlando Hudson). Both Baltimore teams have had faces of the franchise on the brink of free agency. Is it possible that the Orioles may do a better job of holding onto their talent this year than the Ravens?

Call Me an Optimist
I may be the only one in the world, but I think the Orioles starting rotation will be better than last year’s. Maybe not by a lot, but it will be. Windsor and Falco are watching for the sky to fall, but I would cite some big differences between last year and this year. First of all, the Orioles have more pitchers who are closer to major league ready (another year in the farm system does that). Last year they did not have Rich Hill, Hayden Penn (injury), or Dave Pauley to cushion the blow between Guthrie and having to call up Radhames Liz. That won’t be as big of a problem. The O’s also return numerous relievers from injury, including former closer Chris Ray, Danys Baez, and Jamie Walker could also return to form after an injury-plagued and ineffective season.

Troy Patton should be available later in the year, and let’s also not forget the acquisition of Koji Uehara who, even if he is not as good as he used to be, should be a serviceable pitcher in the majors for a couple years. No, the Orioles rotation is not good, but it has far more depth than ever. Baltimore won’t be dipping into AA nearly as early or often has they were tempted to last season. Invariably, some of this borderline talent will take strides, and there will be plenty of opportunities (and arms) to do so.

Roberts Extended: One More Check on the MacPhail List

According to the Baltimore Sun, the Orioles have confirmed that Brian Roberts has been given a 4-year extension through 2013 worth $40 million. The face of the franchise had originally not been sure if he wanted to stay with the Orioles, but with this extension he will be contracted with the team for the next five seasons.

Earlier in the offseason, many Orioles fans were wondering if Roberts was going to get traded. He was the most valuable person worth trading, a solid leadoff hitter that plays good defense at second base. The Cubs originally wanted him, but the Orioles got who they wanted without giving Roberts up. He had one year left on the original deal and had questioned whether he would be back due to the current direction of the Orioles.

This is not going to make the Orioles good, but this was important for MacPhail to do. Most of the moves this offseason did not contribute to the image of the Orioles. Obviously MacPhail is planning for the future and not buying a bunch of players for large amounts of money is the plan, but the Orioles still want to give the image that they are positive about the season. Most of the moves have not done this, notably not re-signing Kevin Millar, the clubhouse leader who wanted to stay here. This move, extending the face of the franchise, will make a lot of fans happy.

To add, there really isn't anyone in the farm system that can take over for Roberts right now. There are a few second basemen in the minors that have potential, like Ryan Adams and L.J. Hoes, but they are not ready. This offseason was mainly about getting stop gaps at certain positions, like Gregg Zaun at catcher and Cezar Isturis at short, but another one would have had to come here if Roberts goes.

This might be the last major act the Orioles make before spring training season starts. It was a good one.

(Photo credit: Baltimore Sun)

Should Brian Roberts be re-signed or traded?

One of the big questions for the Orioles this offseason is what to do with Brian Roberts. The face of the franchise and the longest serving Oriole can be a free agent by the end of the 2009 season if he isn't given a new contract.

Andy MacPhail has said to Jeff Zrebiec the Baltimore Sun that getting a contract extension to Roberts is a priority. But, should the Orioles do that, or trade him?

The Orioles leadoff hitter and second baseman has been the most consistent player for the O's in recent years, getting at least a .286 average and 36 steals each of the last three years. He hasn't gotten a severe injury in the last five years. On the con side, he is now 31 years old, makes $6.3 million a year, and has said that if he isn't re-signed before the end of the offseason, then he won't want to return to the Orioles after he leaves Baltimore.

So what are the Orioles to do? Roberts is the only person that the Orioles might be willing to trade that they can get good prospects for. Aubrey Huff has too big a price tag, Melvin Mora is too old, and they wouldn't get much for George Sherill's talent. With Roberts, you would get a guy who can play 150+ games and steal 35+ bases a year. Many teams need a solid leadoff hitter, and Roberts can do it.

While I don't want the Orioles to lose the face of the franchise, Baltimore isn't going to be good for a few more years, and the more good prospects in the farm system, the better, and trading Roberts is bound to get something decent. MacPhail may want to pull the trigger on Roberts, but it is easy to see how hard a decision like this is.

(Photo credit: Baltimore Sun)

Orioles Strategy: Trade Deadline

As the July 31st trade deadline approaches, the Orioles may be big players in the market for prospects. They have already made one deal, trading Mike McCoy for Juan Castro, a Triple-A shortstop. But, the Orioles are going for the long term. So, what are the Orioles needs, and will they move anyone to fill them?

Keep a few things in mind. The only teams that will trade for Major League roster players are teams that competing for a playoff run and not in the AL East division. This will limit options, but teams will still seek players to fill-in needs. Also, if the Orioles make too many moves, then big name free agents won't believe the Orioles will win in the near future; Mark Teixeira comes to mind. If the Orioles don't make any moves, then the value for current players may go down and the Orioles possible prospects would not be as talented. This happened with Miguel Tejada. It isn't an easy process for anyone to deal with.

Orioles primary needs- shortstop, first baseman
Secondary- third base, left field, starting pitching

(Note: All stats are as of July 18th and according to Yahoo Sports)


Will B-Rob stay in B-more?
Tale of the Tape: .292, 49 extra base hits (7 HR), 27/36 SB
Salary: $6.3 million
Brian Roberts is probably the most wanted player on the O's. A very consistent player the last few years, the 30-year-old second baseman is a solid leadoff hitter. History has shown that Peter Angelos is very protective of Roberts. The Cubs had shown interest before the beginning of the season, but there would have to be a big deal for the face of the franchise to be traded.

By George, is he leaving?
Tale of the Tape: 2-4, 3.98 ERA, 40.2 IP, 29 SV
Salary: $980,000
The 31-year-old George Sherrill has been quite the surprise for the O's. Southpaw relievers are prized since there a few of them in the majors. No contender would want Sherrill as a closer, so they won't trade talent equal to a closer's worth. Likely by this season's end, he'll have never pitched more innings in a season. The counter: there is no telling whether Chris Ray would be ready next year or if Baltimore could replace Sherrill with another lefty.

Will the O's huff, puff, get "blow your house" down deal?
Tale of the Tape: .289, 19 HR, 61 RBI
Salary: $8 million
Aubrey Huff has become the Orioles best power hitter. The 31-year-old is mainly a DH but can play third or first base. Though he's had two decent years with the Birds, he hasn't shown power like this the last few years; no telling if he'll be consistent. The Orioles probably wouldn't get much from a trade with Huff except a dump of salary, which isn't a huge deal to Angelos right now.

Will the submarine launch from the harbor?
Tale of the Tape: 3-3, 2.62 ERA, 34.1 IP, 11 K
Salary: $3,666,667
Chad Bradford is a solid short relief pitcher: a righty submariner who forces many ground balls. The 34-year-old has only given up a 4+ ERA one season since 2001. He normally can't go longer than an inning during an outing. Like Sherill, Bradford's value is limited due to the fact that he wouldn't be a closer to a contender, but his services could be useful to team with bullpen needs.

Is it Millar Time for someone?

Tale of the Tape: .239, 12 HR, 47 RBI

Salary: $3.8 million

Kevin Millar wouldn't get traded for his potential numbers or for the future (he's 36). But Millar is the undesputed leader of the clubhouse, and a few teams might want his presence to help morale of a team. He is in a contract year and isn't part of the Orioles future. But, the fact that the Birds wouldn't get much for him and that he's such a great teammate might keep him here.

I believe at least one of the above will be traded before the deadline, but Andy MacPhail will not make a deal unless he believes it is very helpful to the future of the franchise.

(Photo credits: Major League Baseball)