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Onto the first AL team preview! Baltimore Orioles 2009 Record: 64-98 (5th, AL East) Key Additions: Kevin Millwood (SP), Miguel Tejada (INF), Mike Gonzalez (RP), Garrett Atkins (3B/1B), Will Ohman (RP) Key Losses: Melvin Mora (3B), Danys Baez (RP), Chris Ray (RP) Summary: There are two teams that I would argue have the most unfair set of circumstances in all of baseball (maybe three, but Tampa seems to be doing alright right now). Those teams are the Toronto Blue Jays, and these Baltimore Orioles. With the two teams, the names I do not even need to type in here even though it would have been less typing than what is going into this current clause, spending and spending in a perpetual escalating baseball war, Baltimore gets left in the dust. It was about 15 years ago when this team had a true shot at a World Series championship, only to be denied by the New York Yankees and their fans (especially one fan in particular). Since then it has been downhill, and unfortunately short of restructuring baseball or a Tampa Bay level of player development, this trend will not change. On the thought of player development, the Orioles have a few great young pieces in Matt Wieters, Adam Jones and Nick Markakis. If Felix Pie were to ever realize his true talent or Nolan Reimold takes another step forward, suddenly you have one of the best young outfields playing in Camden Yards. In Wieters, they have a highly touted young catcher that some say could be on a Joe Mauer level. That is big, and could really help bring Baltimore back to some level of contention. Brian Roberts, once an object of Cubs fans' desire, showed more power last year as he continued to be one of the better leadoff men in the game. Miguel Tejada returns to Baltimore after a couple of years in Houston. He doesn't have the power he used to, but is a decent enough hitter. Ultimately, Baltimore's lineup is relying a lot on growth from their young players. The rotation is the same way. Kevin Millwood is a weak ace, though still a solid starter. Behind him and Jeremy Guthrie are young players Bergesen, Tillman, Hernandez and Matusz. That is a lot of young potential, which will probably take take a few lumps this year. With all young talent, you never know if it will pan out, but ultimately Tampa has shown that this is the best way for one of the AL East also-ran teams to compete. As I said before, the only other option is to wait on MLB to intervene with realignment. Will the youth movement pay off this year? There is a chance, but I still feel like their a year or so off. Cubs Connection: There used to be quite a few here, as it seemed like all old Cubs immediately went to Baltimore. These days though Andy McPhail and Felix Pie are the former Cubs that stand out in this organization (forget Cesar Izturis, I know I'd like to). Pie never got much of a chance in Chicago, and when given that chance, he really did not show much. However he started to show some flashes in the second half last season. He is hoping to win the left field job (Nolan Reimold is the other candidate). Ultimately I still find it a mystery what kind of offensive player he will be. He has power and speed. At first it looked like he would be best served to become more of a leadoff type, but with his lack of patience, it seemed like he swung back the other way, hitting 9 HRs in 252 ABs (vs. 1 stolen base). Either way, it will be interesting to see how he progresses. BIBGLBOOPSARG(tm) 2B Brian Roberts 3B Miguel Tejada RF Nick Markakis CF Adam Jones DH Luke Scott 1B Garrett Atkins C Matt Wieters LF Felix Pie SS Cesar Izturis P Kevin Millwood, Jeremy Guthrie, Brad Bergesen, Chris Tillman, Brian Matusz Closer: Mike Gonzalez Predicted Finish: Fourth place in the AL East. Sorry, but that top three in this division seems pretty hard to crack. That leaves Baltimore and Toronto to battle it out for "not last place" and while both teams are rebuilding, Baltimore is much further along. I think 2011 could be the year where they make a bit of noise. As for this year, I just think there are too many holes, especially on the pitching staff, to really compete. Posted in: 2010 Preview, Baltimore Orioles Joey Gathright's illustrious Cubs career appears to have come to an end. I will remember the 1 stolen base and 3 hits he gave us. He is going to the apparent Cubs trash bin in Baltimore. Let's just recap some of the players the Orioles took off our hands recently: Sammy Sosa, Corey Patterson, Freddie Bynum, Rocky Cherry, Scott Moore, Felix Pie, Rich Hill and now... Joey Gathright. That doesn't even mention their current shortstop, the goocher himself, Cesar Izturis. But wait to you hear what we got in return: light-hitting, right-handed (which I thought was the new sign of the devil), currently-injured, former Red Ryan Freel! Ladies and gentlemen, the final piece! A brief look at his Wikipedia page, however, tells us he is more known for his off the field exploits than his on the field skills. First, the man has two DUI's. Good work there, broseph. (Took that from you, Dan.) But this second part, well it speaks for itself. So I quote from Wikipedia: Freel gained some notoriety in August of 2006 when The Dayton Daily News reported that Freel talks to an imaginary voice in his head named Farney. Said Freel: "He's a little guy who lives in my head who talks to me and I talk to him. That little midget in my head said, 'That was a great catch, Ryan,' I said, 'Hey, Farney, I don't know if that was you who really caught that ball, but that was pretty good if it was.' Everybody thinks I talk to myself, so I tell 'em I'm talking to Farney." Freel later said that Farney's name arose from a conversation with Reds trainer Mark Mann: "He actually made a comment like, 'How are the voices in your head?' We'd play around and finally this year he said, 'What's the guy's name?' I said, 'Let's call him Farney.' So now everybody's like, 'Run, Farney, run' or 'Let Farney hit today. You're not hitting very well.'" If Farney has good command of the strike zone, we may have found a bullpen solution, too. Posted in: Joey Gathright, Ryan Freel, Baltimore Orioles, Trade, Farney | ||