Baltimore Orioles (74-88, .457, 4th in AL East)
I really don't want to have to rip the Orioles, they were so nice to me when I lived in Virginia. Granted, I was there in a Red Sox jersey, but still, lovely park, lovely people and Boog Powell makes a mean beef brisket.
First the good: They gave Kevin Millar a good home after Boston turned their nose up at the aging slugger. Limited range, declining numbers, so of course the O's paid him $2.1 million (not a typo) for the year and moved him out to left field.
In terms of good for the team, they are solid around the horn with Jeff Conine, Brian Roberts and his X-ray specs, Miguel "Trade me right fucking now! (Now hang up)" Tejada and Melvin Mora. I'd take that infield over most in the majors, but the outfield gets sketchy.
Millar, Corey Patterson in center and Jay Gibbons in right.
Just let that sink in. Millar, Patterson and Gibbons. A guy who the Sox felt lacked the range at first base, a cast-off from the Cubs and Gibbons.
Patterson in the most recent Cub to be shipped off to Baltimore after wearing out his welcome in Chicago. Sammy Sosa was exiled last year where he injured his foot crapping the bed and got a hit every third Tuesday when he was healthy. Patterson has some sort of weird Napoleon complex where he refuses to use his speed or try to up his OBP by working counts.
The game we used to play for Patterson at bats was to chant "I'm a home run hitta! I'm a home run hitta!" and then the little shit went and jacked two in the same game when we were pulling that. Needless to say, that's the exception and not the rule.
The O's imported Kris Benson and the distraction he's married to (I liked when she called out the guy who is paralyzed after being struck by an assassin's bullet - you can take the girl out of the strip club...) to go with Rodrigo Lopez (who despite his top of the rotation status couldn't get his ERA under 4.50 in his last 10 starts in 2005) and others.
Cabrera showed promise and Bruce Chen is also looking good if he can work out some control issues...
BUT
Are you ready for this? Are you? Baltimore are you ready for the LaTroy Hawkins experience? And, there's no clear closer which means that they will at least look to the LaTroy-let's direction when they gather the pitchers and ask anyone with closer experience to raise their hands.
Hawkins made me physically ill when he was with Chicago. No lead too big to blow. No turn of events so ridiculous that he couldn't find a way to let in three runs with two out in the ninth. I'm not kidding. LaTroy in the ninth looks like a four-year-old trying to throw a game for gamblers without any tact or real idea about how to make things look like an accident.
In fact, were I ever to try and fix a game, I think game tapes of LaTroy would be an excellent resource. No one would be this blatant in their attempt to throw a game. I need to stop this before I black out. Let's just say when I traded Hawkins away in my Playstation league I felt better, but forgot he was on the real Cubs still. I got angry every time he went in and was part of the crowd that booed him when he took the mound at the home opener last year.
All told, I still think the Red Sox and Yankees are the cream of the crop out east. Like the Blue Jays, I think the Orioles will do better this year (remember their big start last year?) and keep Boston and New York honest, but how far can you go with that outfield and a spotty, young pitching staff?
Baltimore Orioles
C: Ramon Hernandez; Lopez; Gil
1B: Conine; Millar; Gibbons; Lopez
2B: Roberts; Gomez
SS: Tejada; Gomez
3B: Mora; Gomez
LF: Millar; Matos; Newhan; Conine
CF: Patterson; Matos; Newhan
RF: Gibbons; Millar
DH: Lopez; Millar; Conine; Newhan
SP: Lopez; Benson; Bedard; Cabrera; Chen
CP: ?
RP: Williams; Byrdak; Ray; DuBose; Hawkins; Gracesqui
First the good: They gave Kevin Millar a good home after Boston turned their nose up at the aging slugger. Limited range, declining numbers, so of course the O's paid him $2.1 million (not a typo) for the year and moved him out to left field.
In terms of good for the team, they are solid around the horn with Jeff Conine, Brian Roberts and his X-ray specs, Miguel "Trade me right fucking now! (Now hang up)" Tejada and Melvin Mora. I'd take that infield over most in the majors, but the outfield gets sketchy.
Millar, Corey Patterson in center and Jay Gibbons in right.
Just let that sink in. Millar, Patterson and Gibbons. A guy who the Sox felt lacked the range at first base, a cast-off from the Cubs and Gibbons.
Patterson in the most recent Cub to be shipped off to Baltimore after wearing out his welcome in Chicago. Sammy Sosa was exiled last year where he injured his foot crapping the bed and got a hit every third Tuesday when he was healthy. Patterson has some sort of weird Napoleon complex where he refuses to use his speed or try to up his OBP by working counts.
The game we used to play for Patterson at bats was to chant "I'm a home run hitta! I'm a home run hitta!" and then the little shit went and jacked two in the same game when we were pulling that. Needless to say, that's the exception and not the rule.
The O's imported Kris Benson and the distraction he's married to (I liked when she called out the guy who is paralyzed after being struck by an assassin's bullet - you can take the girl out of the strip club...) to go with Rodrigo Lopez (who despite his top of the rotation status couldn't get his ERA under 4.50 in his last 10 starts in 2005) and others.
Cabrera showed promise and Bruce Chen is also looking good if he can work out some control issues...
BUT
Are you ready for this? Are you? Baltimore are you ready for the LaTroy Hawkins experience? And, there's no clear closer which means that they will at least look to the LaTroy-let's direction when they gather the pitchers and ask anyone with closer experience to raise their hands.
Hawkins made me physically ill when he was with Chicago. No lead too big to blow. No turn of events so ridiculous that he couldn't find a way to let in three runs with two out in the ninth. I'm not kidding. LaTroy in the ninth looks like a four-year-old trying to throw a game for gamblers without any tact or real idea about how to make things look like an accident.
In fact, were I ever to try and fix a game, I think game tapes of LaTroy would be an excellent resource. No one would be this blatant in their attempt to throw a game. I need to stop this before I black out. Let's just say when I traded Hawkins away in my Playstation league I felt better, but forgot he was on the real Cubs still. I got angry every time he went in and was part of the crowd that booed him when he took the mound at the home opener last year.
All told, I still think the Red Sox and Yankees are the cream of the crop out east. Like the Blue Jays, I think the Orioles will do better this year (remember their big start last year?) and keep Boston and New York honest, but how far can you go with that outfield and a spotty, young pitching staff?
Baltimore Orioles
C: Ramon Hernandez; Lopez; Gil
1B: Conine; Millar; Gibbons; Lopez
2B: Roberts; Gomez
SS: Tejada; Gomez
3B: Mora; Gomez
LF: Millar; Matos; Newhan; Conine
CF: Patterson; Matos; Newhan
RF: Gibbons; Millar
DH: Lopez; Millar; Conine; Newhan
SP: Lopez; Benson; Bedard; Cabrera; Chen
CP: ?
RP: Williams; Byrdak; Ray; DuBose; Hawkins; Gracesqui
Labels: Preview-2006
posted by Matt G at
12:00 PM
1 Comments:
Doesn't matter. The ex-Cub factor (including Sosa-related residue in the clubhouse) is too great here.
Tejada, Roberts (when he heals) and maybe Conine or Mora as a backup are the only names you need to know here.
Well, at least until June/July when we all need to patch holes. Seriously, the O's clubhouse is like the scene of a murder right now, you want no part of it.
By
Matt G, At
Monday, February 27, 2006 12:42:00 PM
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