Philly Sports Post - Home of the PSP Podcast

We enter the final stages of our sweeping cross-country trip. Today starts the AL East, and we'll start it off with the Orioles.

The Baltimore Orioles

Last Season’s Result: 68-93, 5th place in the AL East.

Major Offseason Changes

• Added SP Rich Hill (Trade with Chicago Cubs)
• Added OF Feliz Pie (Trade with Chicago Cubs)
• Added SP Mark Hendrickson (Signed from Florida)
• Added SS Cesar Izturis (Signed From St. Louis)
• Added SP Koji Uehara (Signed from Japan)
• Added C Gregg Zaun (Signed from Toronto)
• Added IF Ty Wigginton (Signed from Houston)
• Lost SP Daniel Cabrera (Signed with Washington)
• Lost RP Lance Cormier (Signed with Tampa)
• Lost 1B Kevin Millar (Signed with Toronto)

Letter Grades

• Offseason Moves: B The Orioles aren’t going to contend in 2009, but they did take steps to ensure they have a chance in the years to come. Locking up Nick Markakis was a great move that ensures he’ll remain in the middle of their order through 2014. The free agent they did bring in, are improvements, but long term solutions.

• Rotation Grade: D- Jeremy Guthrie is decent enough, but he’s no ace. The fact that Adam Eaton has a chance to be the O’s third starter says more than I ever could.


• Bullpen Grade: D- A crummy bullpen with an average at best closer in George Sherrill.

• Lineup Grade: C This group was about average in 2008, but they should continue to improve as they mature. Nick Markakis is already a star, Adam Jones and Matt Wieters should soon follow.

Player most closely linked to team’s 2009 hopes: Adam Jones. The Orioles won’t contend in 2009, so the goal for the season should be setting things up for a run in the future. If Jones can step up and excel this season as a major leaguer it puts a giant piece into place for the O’s.

Biggest Breakout Star Potential: Matt Wieters. Apparently he’ll be called up in May and then should instantly be one of the game’s top catchers. All the hype surrounding Wieters makes him an easy pick to break out, which means I’m probably putting the jinx on him.

Best Case Scenario: Adam Jones becomes a star-type level, Jeremy Guthrie builds on last season’s success and Matt Wieters is the real deal. The emergence of a young cure this season is vital if the Orioles are ever going to compete.

Worst Case Scenario: Jones struggles, Wieters follows suit, and Guthrie returns to a subpar pitcher. They’re probably a last place team regardless of best or worst case, so worst case is finding out their youngsters aren’t what they hoped.

Prediction for 2009: 58-104, 5th place in the AL East.

Local Thoughts

We have a pair of Orioles bloggers for your enjoyment, Matthew Taylor of Roar From 34 and Scott Christ of Camden Chat

By: Matthew Taylor will start things off for us. Be sure to check out his site at www.roarfrom34.blogspot.com

• Letter Grade for Offseason Moves: I'd give the O's a solid B.

The offseason was a steady step in the right direction. The team didn't make a big splash on the free-agent market, but their time will come. They need to continue making incremental steps toward being a competitive outfit and then they can overspend on a big bat to complete the puzzle. It would've been a mistake to overpay for pitching, especially a guy like A.J. Burnett. Andy MacPhail set out a rebuilding model when he got to town, fans are buying into it - especially after the Bedard trade and Markakis extension - and even Peter Angelos seems to be among the converted.

You can't overstate the importance of signing Nick Markakis this offseason. The Markakis signing proves that the team actually learned something from losing Mike Mussina to the Yankees years ago when they had a chance to lock him up before he hit the market. Signing Cesar Izturis was a good, underrated move, and it's nice to have the Brian Roberts situation resolved. Add in the fact that the O's signed their recent top draft picks, Matt Wieters and Brian Matusz (granted, not offseason moves), and the team is sending a real message that this is a brave, new Andy MacPhail world that Baltimore fans live in.

• Most Essential: Jeremy Guthrie. O's fans are going to have a lot of fun watching some exciting position players this season. It'll be fun to track Adam Jones' development, there's hope that Felix Pie can finally make good on his promise given a full-time role and less pressure to produce, Cesar Izturis will provide a much-needed steady hand at shortstop, not to mention the anticipated production of Nick Markakis, the debut of Matt Wieters, etc. But with all that said, the starting rotation is a real Achilles heel.

Guthrie is a solid, underappreciated pitcher, who will have to provide reliable production out of the No. 1 spot and serve as a model for a shaky rotation if the O's are going to have any chance of avoiding a disappointing record that doesn't match their promise on other parts of the diamond. His time away from the team for WBC duties and less-than-stellar return to camp is an early cause for concern.

• Breakout Potential: The good news for O's fans is that there are a multiple players to be excited about in regard to the potential for a breakout season. No one expected the production the Birds got from Aubrey Huff last season, but this year it's more about the young talent. There's much anticipation - perhaps even too much - surrounding Matt Wieters' debut in Orange and Black, but given that Wieters won't start the season in the big leagues, Adam Jones is the guy to watch over the long haul. By all accounts, Jones put in a lot of work in the offseason. Hopefully he reaps the rewards of that effort.

• Prediction for 2009: It's still not going to be pretty when the final numbers are posted. There will be multiple noteworthy individual performances, but the team will have to fight to get out of the cellar in the AL East. Regular fans of the team will see the improvement, outside observers will say, "Same old Orioles."

This is a team that has won more than 74 games just once since the 2000 season. I'm anticipating a run at the Blue Jays for fourth place and a win total in the low- to mid-70s. We're more Kansas City than Tampa Bay at this point. If the Royals could win 75 games and outlast Detroit for fourth place in the Central last season, we can win 75 and outlast Toronto this year. Then, in a couple of more years, we can talk about a Rays-like season.

By: Scott Christ of Camden Chat

• Letter Grade for Offseason Moves: B+, just short of an A because they didn't do enough big stuff to get an A, I don't think. That's also because the team doesn't really feel (past bidding on Mark Teixeira) that the time was right to go after big free agents or anything. They get the B+ on extending Nick Markakis early, because that had to happen for so many reasons. Markakis is the young player that O's fans are connected to the most right now. Extending him now curtails the dread that he won't be here long. They also extended Brian Roberts, which is more questionable but he's the team leader and basically the face of the franchise in Baltimore, plus he's a very good player. They also got their feet into the Japanese market by signing Koji Uehara, which is a solid move just considering the player, and could pay off even bigger down the line with other Japanese free agents.

• Most Essential: Success in 2009 is relative for the O's and everyone knows it. Literally nobody expects this team to compete, and for the most part we're OK with it because the future looks awesome with guys like Matt Wieters, Chris Tillman, Brian Matusz and Jake Arrieta not even in Baltimore yet. But if Aubrey Huff backslides really badly from his excellent 2008, it could get pretty ugly. Somewhere between his lackluster 2007 and his great 2008 would be fine, really, but if he dips back down to '07 numbers, there's a hole in the middle of the lineup and at first base.

• Breakout Potential: Adam Jones. Really good glove in center, has the speed to become a good base stealer if he learns the art, and his power is going to come, and I think it's going to start coming this year. He's never going to have a great or even good K-to-BB ratio, and will never be a big OBP guy. But he could be a 20-20 guy every year and has the ability to become a great center fielder. He struggled with offspeed stuff early last year and got better as the year went on, which was a great sign.

• Prediction for 2009: Probably not much different than last year. Unless the Blue Jays really collapse, the Orioles are going to finish in fifth place, with 70-75 wins. It's a vicious division with Tampa Bay, Boston and New York up top; really we're talking about at the least three of the five best teams in baseball, probably, and the Orioles are trying to find a way to compete with them in the near future. It's hardly impossible. Hey, Tampa Bay did it.