Once upon a time in Major League Baseball teams wanted to emulate The
Baltimore Orioles. From 1964 to 1983 The Orioles won 90 or more games 16
times. During that time The Orioles made the playoffs eight times while
winning The World Series three times. Now if The Orioles were to win 75
games we would see a parade around Camden Yards.
Baltimore last made the playoffs in 1997 and have since become
second class citizens to The New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox in The
American League East. The Orioles have suffered through long losing
streaks against both teams. The Orioles had a span over several years in
the 2000’s in which they had a winning record versus every other
division in baseball except for The AL East.
Teams besides The Yankees and Red Sox can win in this division as
The Tampa Bay Rays have proven this by making the playoffs twice since
2008 including a trip to The World Series. The Rays have been able to
develop their minor league talent while The Orioles have not. Instead of
developing talent, The Orioles have gone the way of bringing in high
paid players that are washed up or just couldn’t get The Orioles out of
the rut..
In 2004 The Orioles signed free agent shortstop Miguel Tejada as he
was looked at as being the big bat in the middle of the lineup. Tejada
won an MVP award as a member of The Oakland Athletics in 2002 and put up
similar numbers in his first few seasons in Baltimore. Tejada couldn’t
carry the load by himself as the lineup around him was putrid and
subsequently The Orioles still floundered in futility.
In 2005 Baltimore traded for right-fielder Sammy Sosa. Sosa was
brought in from The Chicago Cubs as many in The Oriole organization
thought that Sosa still had something left in the tank and that he would
improve ticket sales. All Sosa did was show that once “the juice”
wasn’t in him anymore that he didn’t have the pop in his bat. Sosa
finished the season with 14 home runs and another dreadful season had
plagued Baltimore.
All of the futility can be attributed to Oriole owner Peter Angelos.
Angelos became the owner in 1993 and since that time The Orioles have
only won a division title once. The Orioles have a history of producing
Hall of Famers such as Brooks Robinson, Cal Ripken, and Jim Palmer. When
these players came through the organization it was no surprise that the
team won. One factor behind The Orioles not winning is the fact that
they have not had any starting pitching.
This season The Orioles pitching staff ranks last in earned run
average in The American League at 4.88 Mike Mussina was the last
dominant Oriole pitcher at the top of the rotation and he bolted town to
play for The Yankees in 2001. The fans of The Orioles want to see the
team get back to “The Oriole Way” which was all about them winning.
Current manager Buck Showalter is trying to change the culture but
it is a tough task when players are accustomed to losing. Baltimore has
promise in catcher Matt Weiters who was the team’s first round pick in
2007. Weiters has 20 home runs in 2011 and has the ability to be a 30
home run player in the lineup. Center-fielder Adam Jones is another
player that gives The Orioles hope for the future with his ability to
cover ground in the outfield and his performance at the plate. Jones won
a Gold Glove in 2009 and made The All-Star Game that season.
Jones and Weiters cannot do it by themselves as this team needs
pitching. In order to compete with The Yankees and The Red Sox they must
address this. The Rays have been able to develop pitchers such as David
Price, James Shields, and Matt Garza which has allowed them to be a
thorn in the sides of Boston and New York. Showalter knows that his guys
are competing, but they have to get over that hump with the pitching.
Until they do Baltimore will continue to flounder in the cellar of The
AL East.
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