I’ve been very cautious with my optimism about the Orioles 2012 start. I haven’t used the ‘p’ word or even the ‘w c’ words, mostly because I know that there is still a lot of baseball to be played.
I watched this team in 2005 and I saw the Pittsburgh Pirates ride high last season only to finish at the bottom of the NL Central once again. It can easily happen.
But my attitude is starting to change. This team could very well be for real and I think the front office and the organization recognizes just how important it is to build around what they have. This week rumors about the Orioles interest in veteran Roy Oswalt have hit the interwebs and a 6 year/$85.5 million contract extension for Adam Jones seems to be just moments away from being announced.
ESPN’s Tim Kurkjian is admittedly “hopelessly biased” in his belief in the Orioles, but he backed up his stance with some strong points in a recent interview with 105.7 The Fan’s Bob Haynie.
“I think the Orioles are for real in every way and I think they are going to be in this thing, if not for the whole year, a really long time. When you have pitching this good and lead the league in homers, I am not saying this is the Giants of two years ago, but that is how the Giants won- with great starting pitching, certainly better than the Orioles have now, a good bullpen and basically nine guys in the order that can beat you with a home run. It looks like staying power to me.”
Kurkjian believes that a big part of the Orioles turnaround has been because of the leadership of manager Buck Showalter. “He has changed the culture in a bunch of ways here,” Kurkjian said. “We’ll see if they can keep it up, but he is clearly the Manager of the Year now in the major leagues, not just in the American League.”
Quotes from MASNSports.com’s Steve Melewski.
Count me among the Kurkjian fans, I think he’s one of the best writers in baseball, if not the best. But that 2010 Giants analogy seems a little off. The O’s definitely have power to spare, and a bullpen that is here to stay, but the starting rotation comparison is a stretch worthy of a gymnast. Not only did the Giants have a much better rotation, it was the identifying trait of their team, and it was built on power arms (Lincecum, Cain, Sanchez, Bumgarner all could throw 95). Having said that, the Orioles may not be the 2010 Giants, but at this point, they certainly are something.
I compare them closer to the 08 Phillies. A team that can hit homers so they are never out of the game, Solid but not great starting pitching and a closer who can shut the door.
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Obviously he hasn’t watched Baltimore lose 7 of the last 10 while the Yankees, Rays, and Red Sox have all quietly been hot. Not to mention Boston and New York are recovering some stars from the DL. With Boston above .500 and 3.5 games back and the Yankees only 2 out, and with Tampa tied atop the standings, it’s only a matter of time before the Orioles fade into the backdrop. They have some good young pitching and have always had hitting, but I don’t see this team lasting a whole season ahead of anyone but Toronto.