Hello. I’m Ben and this is my very first post. I’ve been an Oriole fan since I was a kid, through the good and bad. Lately (the past 8 years) it’s been more bad than good, but a new season is starting up and I’ve got some hope. Though I’m going to focus on the O’s mostly, I will post about other teams and baseball in general. Let’s just say 75%-25% O’s. Now with Introductions out of the way, Let’s jump into the Season Preview.
I think pitching is the MOST important part of a team. You can have all the biggest bats in baseball, but if your pitching stinks, you’re going to have to win a homerun derby every night. The O’s pitching last year was inconsistent, I don’t think it was bad. Injuries took it’s toll and there was Sidney Ponson and everything was sucked into the downward spiral that was the second of the O’s 2005 season of doom. It was like a rollercoaster, only it started by going up pretty high and then started going down fast and ended up crashing and burning . I went down to Atlanta (the closest MLB town to South Carolina) to see the O’s play. Which was when the O’s still held the lead, but it was fading fast. Bruce Chen was pitching and left the game hurt and the O’s lost in the bottom of the ninth on an Andruw Jones homer. I also got my left finger jammed on a foul ball that was tossed in the stands and ended up losing. Painful day all around.
Here’s a quick look at our pitchers:
Starters
Daniel Cabrera
Kris Benson
Rodrigo Lopez
Erik Bedard
Bruce Chen
Bullpen
Chris Ray
LaTroy Hawkins
Todd Williams
Franklyn Gracesqui
Aaron Rykers (out for season)
Tim Byrdak
I didn’t include Adam Loewen and Hayden Penn in here because they’ll more than likely start the year in AA or AAA barring a monster spring.
The starting rotation has potential. Cabrera has a ton of potential. He does have a few control problems, but I think he’s going to be one of the ones who benefit the most from the Mazzone signing. He’s raw and needs someone like Leo to get him to the next level. I predict he’ll have a terrific season. I’m gonna say he wins 16.
Bedard is one who could go either way. I’ve read, for whatever its worth, that he can be a little bullheaded. I don’t care if he’s bullheaded if he wins 15-20 games, as long as he’s not a distraction. This season is the biggest for him I think. He’s getting to what should be his prime and with Career Totals 0f 12 18 4.31, well that’s something that’s going to have to improve. My prediction…eh, 13.
Benson, who was obtained in a steal of a trade, is a solid addition. He could be classified as a disappointment over his career, since he a was a number one pick from Clemson. But he’s always been average. With a new pitching coach, he could be better. Though he’s now in the AL where the bats are usually bigger and Camden Yards which is less forgiving than Shea. For the year, I bet he has a stellar, though unspectacular 15 wins.
Chen who’s hardly ever been with a team long enough to unpack starts the year after a solid 2005 five. Chen has been with 8 teams over his 8 year career (as well as two stops with the Mets and Phils). He began his career with the Braves and worked with Leo then. With the Braves he never was a regular starter, so I can’t rely those numbers with Mazzone to predict the year. I’m guessing a 13 and 9 year. He’s always been an average pitcher and in this point I don’t see him really going to a different level. You could say the same about Benson, but I’ve read he’s always been a 2 pitch pitcher and now he’s learning from Leo, so I think he’ll be better than Chen.
Lopez can win 15 games and everyone seems to want to ship him off for a medicore bat or an aging slugger. Over the past two year he’s won 29 games with teams that weren’t that great. Yeah, his ERA jumped from 3.59 to 4.90 last year. That’s a huge jump, but I don’t think it’s a cause for concern. He’s going to win 15-16 games this year and maybe this year it gets noticed.
I don’t think there’s going to be a 20 game winner this year. If there is, it’ll likely be Lopez or Cabrera. As great as the Mazzone signing is, I don’t thinking it’s going to change things overnight. Mazzone’s impact with be seen more, in my opinion, on the pitchers we haven’t seen yet: Penn, Loewen, etc.
The Bullpen is a question mark. Ray is going to be a stud closer. I’d rather him closer at AAA this year. But I’d rather have him to close than Hawkins. Hawkins is a great setup guy. As a closer though, he’ll break your heart. Rykers is out, Williams is aching. I’d like to see a little more depth here. I think we’ll be ok, but I miss B.J. Ryan.
I’m optimistic about this staff, the pitching will definately be the key this season. If they pitch to their potential, then it’ll be a winning season. But if they underachieve, my prediction will look stupid and it’ll be nine in row. In the next few days I’ll preview the infield.
Filed under: Orioles
