Baltimore Orioles – Click the link to be redirected to ‘Oriole Magic’ which is covered by Mike Boehm. This is truly an amazing resource of Orioles information, even more so than sister site (and still tremendously good) on All-Baseball, The Baltimore Chop.
General Manager – Mike Flanagan Entering his first year being the sole GM after Jim Beattie left the organization, Flanagan will have to prove that he’s the brains behind the operation for this franchise to succeed. They’ll take a step forward in 2006, as he brought in good offensive pieces but may be relying on Leo Mazzone too much as the pitching corps figures to mirror last year’s.
Manager – Sam Perlozzo Not much is really known about Perlozzo, who replaced Lee Mazzilli after his departure. The Orioles thought highly enough of Perlozzo to retain him, but how much of that is because of Perlozzo or because of his connection to Leo Mazzone? Think about it – if they get off to a dismal start, and Perlozzo is fired, Leo can become the interim manager. He can’t return to Atlanta … and the Orioles know that Leo will not leave Bobby and Atlanta to manage somewhere else. Could Perlozzo be the patsy to fish Leo in, or is Perlozzo going to be a good manager? This is the year we find out. (Conspiracy theories are now finished for the remainder of the article.)
C – Ramon Hernandez Was a solid acquisition. With a strong bat and strong reputation behind the plate, he upgrades the O’s catcher position, while retaining the bat of the former catcher (Javy Lopez). Hernandez should see a bump in the numbers now that he’s in the American League and is relocating from Petco Park to Camden Yards.
1B – Kevin Millar Millar may or may not have a bounceback season, but he was brought in for his attitude, his leadership, and his label as a “winner” (he left the Marlins to go to the Red Sox, and the Marlins won the World Series…). These things are going to improve the clubhouse, which is important. Another smart move by Flanagan, as Millar will likely bounceback at least somewhat and provide leadership in the clubhouse.
2B – Brian Roberts Injured in a collision with Derek Jeter last year, is still feeling the effects of the injury and may never recapture his 2005 magic, but Roberts has entrenched himself as a second baseman you do not want to lose, and even if his offensive numbers dip slightly because of the injury, he still is among the upper echelon.
SS – Miguel Tejada Allegedly unhappy in the second half of the 2005 campaign and thereby tanking it, the doubters are out crying at Miguel. They’ll be silenced, as Miguel will use an improved clubhouse, an improved team, and an improved confidence to once again be mentioned as a top-three MVP vote-getter.
3B – Melvin Mora On the cusp of signing a contract extension for good dollars, the rejuvenated Mora begins the season as one of the best third basemen in the game. Mora, while aging quickly, is still getting the bat around on the ball as good as ever, but the Orioles may want to start preparing for life without or with a diminished, Melvin Mora.
LF – Nick Markakis Markakis fought his way into a starting job for the O’s, and the 7th overall pick in 2003 is a potential Rookie of the Year winner. The 22-year old hit .300 with 12 HR for A-ball last year in 350 AB, then in 124 AB for AA, hit .339. Markakis has a chance to emerge as an offensive threat for the Orioles, and his season should be watched with interest by O’s fans, and we should, too.
CF – Corey Patterson Escaping from Chicago when the burdens of an entire city fell upon him, I’m counting on Patterson to slowly emerge as a good centerfielder. This year he’ll post encouraging numbers, and continue his upward trend next year. For this year, it’ll be success masked with struggles, and he should be in a seasonlong revolving door with Luis Matos.
RF – Jay Gibbons Coming off a strong season, Gibbons signed a long-term contract in the offseason and may be poised to become a consistent threat in the middle of the order. If Gibbons fails, this will be a disaster for the Orioles.
DH – Javy Lopez Moving from catcher to first base, that experimint was abandoned in favor of making Lopez a DH. While Lopez should still see time at first, it would only be in a backup position. Always a good hitter, Lopez should be able to be a power threat clean up after Miguel Tejada’s remains once he’s done with the opposing hitter.
Bench – Chris Gomez, Luis Matos, Raul Chavez, Jeff Conine An average bench, and a little thin. Gomez is going to be counted on to roam the infield while Luis Matos and Jeff Conine take care of the outfield. Raul Chavez, recently claimed off waivers from the Houston Astros, takes the rare #3 catcher’s spot, for when Lopez doesn’t catch as a backup, the job goes to Chavez. He should still see a decent amount of time with the shuffle of Lopez to DH, 1B, or C.
SP 1 – Rodrigo LopezThe Sox-killer, Lopez is a good backend solution for a solid rotation. Alas, this rotation is far from solid, but should at the very least be average. He should put up #4 starter numbers.
SP 2 – Erik Bedard His season cut short by injury, Bedard will attempt to piece together a season with an ERA under 4.00. Last year, he had an even 4.00 ERA, then got injured. Bedard, a young lefty, has the chance to be a solid #2 if he can put it all together.
SP 3 – Kris Benson The move to Baltimore cost Benson his wife. Now, Benson has a choice – focus on his wife and have a disastrous season (most inexplicable seasons occur in large part to divorces) or channel that anger towards his team. At the very least, Benson is a viable #3 for the Orioles and should eat up a good amount of innings if he can refrain from injury.
SP 4 – Daniel Cabrera With the potential to put it all together under Leo Mazzone, Cabrera’s entering his “put-up or shut-up” season. We’ve been teased long enough, and while his career will certainly not be over, if Cabrera can’t put it all together this season, it may be time to operate as if he never will. He has the potential to contend for a Cy Young if it breaks his way.
SP 5 – Bruce Chen Chen finally got it all together last year after stops in multiple organizations. After putting up rather impressive statistics, at least compared to his previous history, he finally has stability for once, and he should be able to hold onto his status as a starting pitcher and may actually start crafting a career.
RP – LaTroy Hawkins, Todd Williams, Tim Byrdak, Sendy Rleal, Jim Brower, Eric DuBose An okay bullpen, this is not going to scare anyone and they’re going to have to get some young, live arms (like Chris Ray, but more of them) to become a strength. I’m not expecting much out of this bullpen, and there’s a chance it could look quite different in September.
CL – Chris Ray The budding closer has a chance to become one of the great closers of this upcoming generation. It’s a lot of pressure to put on his shoulders, and he could fail that pressure, but this is a season with big expectations in Baltimore, or rather the “produce, because we’re tired of losing” coming to a head, but Chris Ray may be the key to it all.
Fire Brand’s Most Favorite Move – Following the bottom line: Improving.
Fire Brand’s Least Favorite Move – Banking too much on starters, for the bullpen will be an Achilles’ heel.
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