To Succeed in 2011, The Orioles Need To Get Power Bat

With the great run the Orioles have had this year, they could be an above .500 team next year.

However, it will take a few things to make sure that happens – the biggest of which is a power hitter.

When the calendar finally reaches April of 2011, the Orioles will be back to being the team that is expected to make at least a little noise in the AL East.

The biggest difference though, is that unlike last year, the buzz will be somewhat warranted, as the O’s have had a winning record since Buck Showalter became the manager.

In this last two months, the organization has seen a lot to be happy about. Adam Jones and Matt Wieters have gotten out of their slumps, the rotation looks great, and hitting with runners in scoring position is no longer embarrassing.

These are all great things to see, but the Orioles still lack that power bat to put in the middle of the lineup.

This season, the O’s power is led by Luke Scott with 27 homeruns. That number isn’t terrible, but Scott is very up and down. He’ll hit five jacks in a week, but then will go 10 to 15 games without one. If a team is looking to compete with the Rays and Yankees, that drought isn’t something you can afford from your main source of power.

In addition to mercurial bat of Scott, the Orioles didn’t get a home run from a first baseman until June 30 – that’s 72 games into the season!

Behind Scott, there isn’t much power either. Nick Markakis has lost power and seems content hitting doubles, Jones and Wieters will probably top out at 25 homers a year, and Felix Pie and Brian Roberts are finesse guys.

If the Orioles are serious about winning 80 games or so next season, they need a big bat in the middle to provide that power and overall production that will benefit everyone.

Some of the big names that could provide power that are available this offseason are Lance Berkman, Carlos Pena, Victor Martinez and Adam Dunn.

Any of those guys would provide a spark in the middle of the lineup, and for all but one of those, it would also be taking away a power hitter from an AL East opponent. It is really a double whammy if you think about it.

Owner Peter Angelos has always said that if the team shows that if significant improvement made with a big contract player, and that it wouldn’t just be spending money, he would shell out the cash to do it.

This offseason is that time.

The O’s have shown they can win against anyone over the last two months and with a little help, this trend could last all of 2011.

By Signing Machado, Orioles Cap Off Successful Draft

Today is a good day for Orioles fans everywhere. An amazing win last night would normally be the explanation for this good feeling, but the reason I woke up with a smile on my face this morning was what happened at 11:57 – the signing of Manny Machado.

To say that the Machado deal wasn’t nerve-racking would be a lie. From 11:50 to when the deal was announced at 12:03, I was on BaltimoreSun.com and refreshing the page every 10 seconds hoping that there was different news.

The funny thing about how anxious I was is that I was actually anticipating this very timeline. Whether it be with Stephen Strasburg, Matt Wieters, Bryce Harper, or Machado, agent Scott Boras likes to have his clients push the deadline to the max. Hell, the fact the Machado signed three minutes before the deadline might be the earliest a Boras client has signed all year.

Baltimore Orioles Nolan Reimold Seems To Be Back In Old Form

In the month of August, the Orioles – under new manager Buck Showalter -- have become one of the hottest teams in the league.

MASN is getting its best rating all year, and fans are already starting to tune back in. However, the recent buzz in the big leagues has masked the success of a familiar name in AAA Norfolk: Nolan Reimold.

After a tremendous rookie season was shortened by an Achilles tear, many thought Reimold would come back strong and be amongst the team leaders. Unfortunately for the organization, Reimold found it more difficult to come back than was expected and once he did, he was not even close to the same guy fans watched last season.

Reimold was eventually sent down to AAA to work on his issues, but it only got worst there. In May, Reimold batted .122 and questions of whether he would be able to rebound were floating around Baltimore.

Through the season, the Tides tried just about everything, including trying him out at first base. Reimold now switches back and forth from the outfield to first. However none of that mattered until August.

Since August 1, Reimold has turned it on and is looking a lot like the guy that was on pace to be the AL rookie of the year in 2009. He is batting .333 with two home runs and nine RBIs this month and is starting to get back into the discussion of being called up.

Although there are tons of theories on why he struggled in May, June and July, the best explanation is that he was rushed back after his surgery on the torn Achilles tendon. Throughout Spring Training, Reimold was seen limping and was shuffled in and out of the lineup to help his foot rest. He was so focused on being able to play on opening day, that he didn’t realize that it was in his best interest to wait until he was truly ready.

While getting sent back down is never a good thing, there is a silver lining in the situation. With the emergence of Cory Patterson, the O’s now have four solid outfielders (Patterson, Felix Pie, Adam Jones, and Nick Markakis). With that big of a log jam, finding a spot in the outfield for Reimold would be tough. By being in AAA, Reimold has been able to work on switching to first base and might be able to avoid further cluttering the Orioles outfield.

The original hope of the Orioles was that Brandon Snyder would be the guy to fill that void, but Snyder has been up and down this year and the certainty of him contributing to the big league club has diminished. If Reimold can learn the position, then he can provide another option for the team’s future at first base.

Assuming Reimold stays this hot throughout August, there is no doubt that he will be one of the first people called up when rosters expand on September first. When that happens, it will be interesting to see if he can be the player we all thought he could be.

Drill Sergeant Showalter Behind Orioles Winning Ways

Alright, who else is confused?

Over the past week, the Orioles’ team that we have seen show up hasn’t been what we have become accustomed too. Granted, I’m not complaining, but that doesn’t mean that I’m not intrigued by the change.

The reason is simple: Buck Showalter. However, the recent success has nothing to do with any changes he has made or even anything he has said to his players. It is the players’ collective fear of his reputation that has turned the Orioles into one of the hottest teams in baseball.

Before Buck arrived in Baltimore, the Orioles were struggling in just about every department. In spite of this, the mistakes that seemed to be the most obvious were those of a team with poor baseball IQ.

Completely preventable things like terrible fielding and dumb base running have cost the O’s 5-10 games this year alone. Add in the inability to hit with runners and scoring position and you have a basic understanding of why Baltimore is no longer seen as a baseball town.

Despite watching this all season, are we to believe that the Orioles have somehow learned to fix these things in a week? Not quite.

Players in Baltimore know what Buck Showalter is about. He believes in clean baseball as the way to turn around an organization. If they want to keep their jobs, they need to stop making the mistakes that made Baltimore the worst team in baseball, and start playing like the team that was predicted to win 80 games this year.

No longer do they have Dave Trembley to coddle them or the idea that Juan Samuel is an “interim manager” to hide behind. Showalter will be Baltimore’s general for the next three years and if you get on his bad side, you can be sure that you will be back down in Norfolk before the next day’s game.

With “fear” motivating the O’s to succeed, they are the team that they should be. The question of how long it lasts is a different subject. Will it last the rest of the year? More importantly, what does Buck do when the players become comfortable again?

I’m not sure anyone can answer those questions, but regardless, have fun watching the Orioles until this string of good performances is over. We haven’t seen good, clean, fundamental baseball like this in a decade.

Orioles State Of The Union: How Will Showalter Use The Rest Of 2010

For those fans still holding on in Baltimore, tonight will be the beginning of yet another “new era” for the organization, as the team plays its first game under manager Buck Showalter.

While the looming hire of Showalter was perhaps the worst kept secret in all of sports over the last month, the fact that the deal is finally done now means that the (re)rebuilding process can begin now rather than come spring training.

This difference is rarely felt in other sports, but baseball is one sport where it isn’t just helpful, it is vital.

The reason that baseball is unique in this way is that baseball teams get to expand their rosters every Sept. 1 to basically call up anyone in they like on 40-man rosters.

The ability to call these players up and see how they do against top-level competition can give managers an insight into their potential before next year’s Spring Training.

For Showalter, this opportunity to see what he has in his farm system could possibly shave off a year in his rebuilding plan.

Although there is certainly no doubt that Showalter will want to use the rest of the season to assess talent, there is one thing that could prevent a blown up roster – Is Andy MacPhail really willing to have the 2010 Orioles to go down as one of the worst teams in baseball history?

At 32-73, the Orioles are on pace to lose 111 games. To put that in perspective -- only four teams since 1940 have tallied that many.

Accumulating that many losses in a season would be an even bigger shot to the reputation of MacPhail and his so-called “plan.” The question now becomes, “Will the Orioles risk entering that realm in order to try and better their future?”

Either way, guys like Brian Matusz, Jake Arrieta, and Matt Weiters will all stay staples of the rest of the Orioles’ season. The people whose playing time could be sacrificed will be the veterans like Kevin Millwood, Ty Wigginton, and even Luke Scott.

If the Orioles are smart, they will give this season to the dogs in order to look at younger guys. If it works, then the season will be forgotten (the Detroit Tigers 119-loss 2003 season was quickly forgotten when they made it to the World Series three years later).

In this scenario, don’t be surprised to see guys like Brandon Snyder, Chorye Spoone, Chris Tillman and even recent acquisition Rick VandenHurk getting some time in Baltimore for strictly scouting purposes. Even Zach Britton (who is not currently on the 40-man roster) could get brought up from triple-A – he is certainly deserving of it.

Those names are all in addition to Josh Bell and Troy Patton, who were both called up as a result of the Miguel Tejada and Will Ohman trades.

However, in an age where records rule everything, the Orioles could very well decide to play the older vets and try to scrape one or two more wins out of the season. If they do, they could manage to sacrifice the 2011 season before it even starts.

Orioles Setting Up Arrieta To Fail

When the Jake Arrieta takes the field tonight against the New York Yankees, it will not be the ideal scenario for a youngster making his debut.

He will be making his MLB debut on one of the biggest stages in sports.

Even though it is at Camden Yards, calling it a home game is somewhat of a stretch. The stadium will be two-thirds Yankees fans and he will also have to go up against the most powerful team in the history of baseball.

Simple put, this isn’t the scenario you would like to put one of your top prospects in as his first start.

Arrieta is the last of the recent swarm of pitching prospects that will be brought up by the O’s over the last year. The list includes Brad Bergesen, David Hernandez, Jason Berken, Chris Tillman, and Brian Matusz. While, there is yet another wave available in class A and AA, they are a few years off—these are the players of now.

Tonight’s game should be a happy occasion for Baltimore; one that should have been the Orioles showing off the last piece of an already impressive stockpile.

Instead, Arrieta joins a group of pitchers that are 31-52 with a combined 5.09 ERA and make up the majority of one of the worst pitching staffs in baseball.

It is true that not all prospects turn into stars, but what the Orioles seem to have in the pros could turn out to be a prospect graveyard. There is still hope for Matusz, but Hernandez, Berken, Bergesen, and Tillman all seem to be struggling and in danger of turning into duds.

Considering how badly the Orioles need Arrieta to be a success, they don’t seem to be helping him out at all.

Look at how the Nationals handled Stephen Strasburg. They not only waited patiently until he was ready, but they waited until they could play a beatable opponent (the Pirates), and could fill the stands with Nationals fans. Every fan in that stadium was rooting for him.

Instead of doing that, the Orioles are calling up Arrieta because it happens to be convenient for them and are risking his chance of being a successful pitcher in the process.

The Orioles have the worst record in baseball. The idea of calling up a player on the organization’s time instead of when it is best for the player is ludicrous and is quite possible one of the reasons the Orioles can’t succeed in cultivating their talent.

Bringing up Arrieta is reminiscent of the Tillman and Matusz call-ups last year; it is nothing more than a publicity stunt.

The O’s are terrible and can’t get fans to come to the ballpark any more. MacPhail is just using Arrieta as a pawn to get Orioles fans to stay interested. He will probably do the same thing with Josh Bell and Brandon Snyder at the end of the year.

These aren’t the actions of man building a dynasty; they are that of a man who is trying to buy himself some time.

Radio Appearance talking Orioles baseball

Sunday night, I had the pleasure to join Matt Falkenbury on the New York Mets 'Stache Radio to discuss the Baltimore Orioles because they start a three game series on Friday.


Considering it was my first radio appearance, I thought it went great.


My segment starts at 34:50 and goes on for 15 minutes or so. Enjoy!

I took this video off because it started by itself whenever you opened the page and was getting quite annoying. If you are still interested in listening to it, the link is:

www.blogtalkradio/stacheradio/2010/06/07/episode-5

What Dave Trembley Did Wrong and What Samuel Needs To Change

By now it is official. The Baltimore Orioles have fired manager Dave Trembley and have promoted third-base coach Juan Samuel to be the interim skipper.

Now that he is gone, the biggest question is what Trembley failed to do and what Samuel needs to do differently.

To Orioles fans, the firing comes hardly as a surprise, considering most of them have been calling for this for months now.

To say Trembley was disliked would be an understatement. Fans thought he was so bad that for the first time in a decade, Baltimore’s failures were not blamed on owner Peter Angelos.

Fans blamed Trembley for everything, especially the under-performing of the offense. Most of them probably have some sort of Trembley Voodoo doll in their closet with a needle in it for every loss this season. After all, baseball is a superstitious game.

While some Orioles fans are just happy he is gone as if he were the Wicked Witch of the West, they should be focusing on what Trembley is actually responsible for.

The answer to this is that doesn’t come from any particular moves Samuel will make, but rather what this change will do inside the clubhouse.

Some are saying that the losing isn’t all Trembley’s fault because of hampering injuries, but that attitude in the locker room is 100 percent on him.

The Orioles have become stagnant in the past few weeks and have accepted losing as an inevitability. Remember Adam Jones throwing his helmet after an out because he was tired of failing? That isn’t happening anymore because they have stopped caring.

Trebley should have been fired right when that feeling started creeping into the minds of the players.

In post game interviews, Trembley basically sits there and has no insight to why this team is bad. If it’s true that he really does have no idea why the team isn’t performing, then he is truly a terrible manager. However, the most likely scenario is that he doesn’t want to call anybody out- this isn’t any better.

This is the Major Leagues Dave…these aren’t kids we’re dealing with here.

Throughout the entire season of losses, I never heard Trembley yell or criticize his players once. He never held any of them accountable for failures and never got up their butts when careless mistakes were made.

There is a difference between nurturing players and coddling young talent. Trembley clearly coddled them and it has hindered their development.

As his first managerial move, Samuel needs to call Adam Jones into his office and light a fire under him. Call him out for his absolutely terrible plate discipline and poor base running. Let him know he isn’t a young talent, but is instead expected to be one of the stars on this team.

After he lets Jones know what every fan in Baltimore is thinking, do the same with Matt Weiters- then Nick Markakis (I know he has a good average, but his lack of power is disturbing).

These guys were supposed to be the O’s strength, not weakness.

If Baltimore is to see any benefit from this, it will be because someone yelled at this team of apparent children.

It’s been 13 years now since the team was any good. How about getting a manager in there that knows that? Let every player know how embarrassing it is that the Orioles organization has been diminished to a laughing matter when it was feared in the 1980s.

If Angelos won’t pay for a manager to do this for him, I’ll do it for free.

Ty Wigginton Keeping Baltimore Orioles Alive in Middle of Crisis

In his nine seasons of professional baseball, Ty Wigginton has been somewhat of a journeyman.

Playing on his sixth team, Wigginton was signed two offseasons ago as a utility guy that could be an insurance policy if a starter went down with injury.

Now he is not just a starter for the Orioles, but the only lively bat in Baltimore.

To begin the season, Wigginton was looked at as a disposable piece. With an infield of veterans like Miguel Tejada, Cesar Izturis, Brian Roberts and Garrett Atkins/Luke Scott, Wigginton was the odd man out. That sentiment only got worst when the Orioles traded for Julio Lugo.

Because of the acquisition of Lugo, when Brian Roberts got injured, Wigginton wasn’t even the first option. However, he was given the chance when Lugo's bat was nonexistent and manager Dave Trembley was desperate to try anything new to spark the offense.

Since then, Wigginton has been Baltimore's sole bright spot at the plate. He leads the team in home runs, RBI and average. In fact, if he didn't emerge as a guy who could knock guys in, the Orioles might be looking at an average with RISP lower than the already microscopic .239 it is at now.

Going into this season, I listed about a dozen X-factors for the Orioles offense. This list included Roberts, Adam Jones, Matt Wieters, Felix Pie, Nick Markakis and Atkins.

Wigginton was about as far away from that list as the Orioles are to the Rays in the standings. Now, he is the only thing keeping O's fans from having a full-scale riot.

In a best-case scenario, Roberts could be back by mid-June, but even if he is able to stay healthy (odds are similar to Ken Griffey Jr. speaking to Larry LaRue of the Tacoma News Tribune), it won't be the end of Wiggy. There is no way Wigginton is kept out of the lineup, especially with the void of production at first base.

As of right now, the Orioles are the only team in baseball that hasn't had a first baseman hit a home run. Atkins has been a total bust, Rhyne Hughes was just demoted, and prospect Brandon Snyder has struggled in AAA Norfolk. When Roberts returns, it is only fitting that the Orioles fill that void with the one power hitter they have.

If that is able to fix this one particular problem, the O's can focus on another problem, such as the bullpen, baserunning or clutch hitting. Notice that starting pitching isn't on that list for the first time in a decade.

It gets harder and harder to write about the Orioles these days, and Wigginton has kept it bearable for me these last few weeks. Maybe things will get better for a team that seems to have holes bigger than that of the Titanic, but until then, I will hold on to what I can get

What This Homestand Means To The Baltimore Orioles

If there was one concern that every Orioles fan had going into the season, it was the fact that the O's first 32 games were absolutely brutal.

Their start included a stretch of 16 straight games without a day off to stat the season, and all but three of the games were against teams with a winning record.

While going 9-23 during that stretch isn't exactly what fans were expecting, they can take solace in the fact that things might get better in the upcoming games.

Last night's win over Seattle was the second game of an eight game homestand that could very well signal the revival of the Orioles.

The homestand includes one more game against Seattle, three against Cleveland, and a two-game series versus Kansas City—all teams of which have struggled almost as much as Baltimore.

Not only does the upcoming schedule seem conducive for an Orioles revival, but over the last two weeks, the O's have started to show some life.

After appearing to be one of the worst teams in baseball over the first 20 games or so, Baltimore swept the Red Sox-for the first time since 1998-and then split a four-game series in Minnesota.

I'm not saying that the team has been great, but there has certainly been improvement.

Ty Wigginton has added some surprising pop to the Orioles lineup, and Miguel Tejada and Nick Markakis are starting to heat up as well. Add that to a starting rotation that has actually been pretty solid all season, and you can see why the Orioles have been improving.

If the Orioles can win five or six of these games in the homestand, it could keep this steady improvement going and get the confidence of the younger guys back.

Not only that, but it will show the fans something that will keep them from revolting.

Even the patient O's supporters are starting to question general manager Andy MacPhail's "grand master plan." We need something to make us think that this isn't just another failed attempt at resurrecting the organization.

I said it at the beginning of the season, and I still believe it: the Orioles are not a bad team-they are far from it. They have the tools to compete with anyone; they just haven't been able to do it thus far.

Do The Baltimore Orioles Know How To Win?

Well, by now you know the story. This was supposed to be the year that the Orioles actually set “winning” as their goal of the season. Unfortunately for fans in Baltimore, setting something as a goal doesn’t mean that it will happen.

Since Andy MacPhail has taken over, the Orioles have stockpiled talent in the minor leagues through the draft and various trades. Slowly, that young talent has arrived in the big leagues. This was the reason every Orioles fan was starting to be optimistic.

However, at 2-15, there is no doubt that this talent hasn’t translated into victories. This begs the question, “Why?”

Now, over the past few weeks, we have heard every possible explanation; ranging from them having no heart, to Dave Trembley being the worst manager in the history of baseball.

While there is merit to all of these (some obviously having more than others), I suggest something else. I don’t think the players on the Orioles know HOW to win.

As strange as it sounds to say that professional baseball players don’t know how to win, it is the issue the Orioles have found.

Think about the areas Baltimore is struggling. Finishing off games and hitting with runners in scoring position have been by far the two reasons the O’s can’t crack the win column these days.

Call it being clutch, or what ever you want, but it comes from knowing how to execute and having the ability to do it at that moment. Those are characteristics of a winner.

Look at a guy like Derek Jeter. He isn’t the most talented player, but when things matter, he delivers. The ability to do this on a consistent basis doesn’t come from just skill, but a quality in ones psychological being.

The Orioles haven’t had a winning season since 1997. Their AAA affiliate, whether it be Norfolk or Ottawa, has had just one winning season since 2004, and the O’s manager hasn’t ever coached a successful MLB club. Where do they learn how to win in professional baseball?

You can say that winning in the minors doesn’t matter for the development of players, but you are wrong. That winning attitude in the minors builds the mind set of a winner that I’m talking about.

Yea, that mind set can be taught in the pro’s in some cases, but the Orioles don’t have a manager or player that has had the success to teach it.

I look at this team and see one with as much talent as any in baseball. There is absolutely no excuse for this bad of a start, and if you watched the first couple of games, you wouldn’t believe that they would start 2-15.

Saying that “they should have won this game or that game” doesn’t mean anything because that ability to close out teams or come through in critical moments is more important that any statistic you can find.

My suggestion is not only to replace Trembley, but add someone who won at this level before. Most importantly, do it soon.

The idea that losing is ok seems to be one that has crept into the Orioles organization and now that a new generation of players is taking over, it is the utmost importance that management makes sure that this idea doesn’t infect them.

The Good, The Bad And The Ugly Of The Baltimore Orioles

At 1-5, the Orioles haven’t exactly started the season with the excitement that many fans were hoping for.

Not only iss the record a bit troubling, but the team Baltimore fans have tuned in to watch seems to be almost the polar opposite of what they expected.

That being said, I present to you the good, the bad, and the ugly of the Orioles first six games.

The Good: The Starting Pitching

If there was one dimension of the O’s that maybe wasn’t expected to excel right away, it was the rotation. Guthrie and Millwood were shaky in spring training, Brad Bergesen is coming off an injury, and Brian Matusz is just a rookie. It was almost expected that the rotation would need a little help.

Instead, the rotation is the only thing keeping the O’s in contention. If you excuse Bergesens rough game (4.2 IP, 5ER), the Orioles starters have an ERA of just 3.00 and are keeping the team in games.

While it’s true that they haven’t gone as far into games as you would like, you can chalk that up to it being early in the year, when pitchers don’t have the command that they will midseason.

The success of this bunch should be taken with much optimism. Matusz had control issues and still struck out 7; David Hernandez proved worthy of the fifth spot, and Guthrie looked way more relaxed on the mound.

Right now, the team’s record is frightening, but the Orioles have always been led by successful rotations when they competed in the past, and this is a great sign that those days will come again.

The Bad: Mike Gonzalez

Tony La Russa once said that if he were building a team, he would start at the closer (his guy was kinda good, Dennis Eckersley…maybe you’ve heard of him), and work backwards from there.

After the debacle that is Mike Gonzalez, Orioles fans understand why.

To say Gonzalez has been erratic is more generous then saying Peter Angelos isn’t THAT bad of an owner. Not only did he make throwing strikes look impossible, but he somehow has trouble with putting it in a place where Matt Wieters can even catch it.

He has four walks in just two IP and after being booed off the mound Friday, he has been told he won’t be the closer until he works his issues out.

The problem with the search for his mechanical problem is his wind up. It is almost as complex as that of Dontrelle Willis and he has been trying to find the glitch in his wind up for years now.

What ever it is, it has caused him to lose a ton of velocity on his fastball and making it impossible for fans to watch.

The Ugly: Baltimore’s Bats

Out of every summary written about the Orioles this spring, there was not one I saw that said the Orioles couldn’t put up runs. Yet, Baltimore is only averaging three runs per game.

Quite frankly, with the exception of Wieters and Garrett Atkins, everyone has been terrible. Luke Scott, Brian Roberts, and Nick Markakis are all batting under .200, and excluding his opening day, Adam Jones is just 3 for 21.

The issue has also come from just terrible numbers with runners-in-scoring-position. At 8 for 54, the O’s have not been able to manufacture runs other than those driven by home runs.

The bottom line is that if you have a man on second with no outs, or one on third with one out, there is no excuse to not pick up a run. Manufacturing runs is something the great teams do regularly and if you can’t do the same, wins are hard to come by.

Julio Lugo Adds Much-Needed Depth to Baltimore Orioles' Infield

The Orioles made what is probably the team’s final transaction before the regular season kicks off by acquiring veteran utility man Julio Lugo from the St. Louis Cardinals this morning.

The O's seemingly got him for nothing, as they will send the Cards either cash or the ever-so-specific “player to be named later.”

While there are some grumblings about bringing in an over-the-hump shortstop to take the utility role from a younger player, the deal makes perfect sense if you believe in Andy MacPhail’s statements.

MacPhail has been saying throughout the spring that this season’s goal is to win. While players are still developing, the term “rebuilding year” is no longer being applied by Baltimore’s management. Because of this, MacPhail is making sure that he gives Dave Trembley the tools to at least make it seem reasonable to achieve the goals of the organization.

Much attention was paid to the corners of the infield this offseason, but the middle isn’t exactly solid as a rock. Cezar Izturis only batter .256 last year while missing 48 games, and Brian Roberts’ potential for injury this year is well documented.

In addition, the struggles of Izturis this spring seem to be unnoticed by those focusing on the younger guys. At 1-47, Izturis’ .128 batting average is the worst amongst all Orioles who have registered a hit. Simply put, pitchers have been hitting as well as Izturis lately.

Throughout the spring, Trembley has talked about how Robert Andino is the man that would fill in and I agree to some extent, but under no circumstance should he be a long term option.

That is where Lugo comes in.

Lugo has not only proved his worth for successful teams, but he spent 2007-2009 in Boston, showing that he can handle the American League East. His .952 fielding percentage isn’t fantastic, but it is serviceable for a utility guy. More importantly, Lugo batted .280 last season, which is drastically better than whoever occupied the position for the Orioles in 2009.

For those who claim that he is too old to be an impact player, I ask you to remember the fact that he was considered good enough to be the Red Sox’s starting shortstop just last season before he got hurt. Then, after he returned, another World Series contender, the Cardinals, thought he had value to contribute as well. Other than being a year older, what make’s you think that he won’t put up similar numbers this year? Remember, age is but a number for some people.

Not only do I see this as a great move to add depth to the infield, I think it is very possible he could take some time away from Izturis and split the starting job. If Izturis is really as bad at the plate as his preseason numbers indicate, the permanent switch could be made in the first month of the season.

Injuries Could Stifle Baltimore's Breakthrough Season

Ever since Andy McPhail took over as General Manager, Baltimore Orioles fans have had this year circled. This is supposed to be the year that we saw signs that all of the waiting and developing prospects was going to show itself. However, as Spring Training is ¾ done, it seems that something unforeseen could stand in the way, injuries.

Every manager in baseball will say the same thing about record in Spring Training; it doesn’t matter. While I agree that your record doesn’t matter, what happens there is crucial.

Coming into the spring, the Orioles had four major players that either used the offseason as time to heal or were still injured coming in: Nolan Reimold (Achilles), Brad Bergesen (shin and shoulder), Adam Jones (ankle), and Brian Roberts (back). While Roberts’ has been the most publicized, all of these should be concerns.

Since Roberts has been the most talked about, I will start with him. While not the most talked about player anymore, Roberts is as critical to the Orioles success this season as anyone.

Though the Orioles have said he should return to the lineup in a few days, consider this a warning. Back injuries like this don’t just go away. They linger; sometimes they end careers abruptly.

If he can’t consistently be in the lineup, the leadoff spot goes from a solid spot, to one where there isn’t a viable option. Andino would take his spot in the field, but who bats leadoff? Izturis doesn’t have the speed or the average, and Jones has the power to be more of a two or three.

Next comes the most underrated player on the Orioles this year. If you saw Brad Bergesen take that line drive to the shin from Billy Butler, you would know why I’m still concerned. When he got struck, Orioles fans everywhere flashed back to when Mike Mussina got hit in the face by a Sandy Alomar Jr. line drive. It was that gruesome.

Before getting injured, Bergesen was a candidate for rookie of the year and had racked up 11 quality starts in his last 12 starts. If he can return to that form this season, he is probably the staff’s most consistent pitcher.

My issue isn’t so much the shin, but the shoulder injury he got while idiotically shooting a commercial for MASN. Shoulder injuries on a pitcher are never minor…ever. They can cause accidental change in a pitchers delivery, loss of velocity, and loss of movement on the breaking ball.

If I’m right and the shoulder is a bigger issue than Dave Trembley is letting us know, this could go down as the most irresponsible thing the team has ever done with a player.

Injured player number three is the Orioles sole All Star and gold Glove winning centerfielder. If healthy, Adam Jones is the teams most talented player. An amazing combination of speed, contact, power and field give this guy endless potential.

The biggest part of that sentence is “if healthy.” Jones’ 2009 was outstanding when he was able to play, but saw stints on the DL because of hamstring and ankle problems.

Centerfielders have a knack for pulling muscles because of the amount of ground they cover and Jones might not be an exception to this rule. Look what happened to Ken Griffey Jr.

Jones may be the team’s best player, but at least he has a solid back up. Having Pie as a fourth outfielder will be invaluable if Jones can’t go the distance.

Finally, we get to the player I least suspected would be an issue, Nolan Reimold. We knew of Reimold’s achilles injury early in the season last year, but it was so down played, no one spent much thought on it. When he was shut down, it was done quietly and his surgery made very few headlines.

Here we are on March 22, and it still is a major obstacle for Reimold.

As a result of his heel, Reimold has prevented him from playing as much and cause Trembley to keep him from playing back-to-back games pretty often.

That lack of playing time and number of at bats is proving to be a challenge. Reimold is just 1-23 with a measly single this spring. While he is working diligently with hitting coach Terry Crowley, the heel still worries me.