Top Menu

Are the Baltimore Orioles Relevant Again?

(This is a guest article by Stephen Lombardo)

A question like this has not been asked for more than a decade.  They have had plenty of talent come in and out of their organization over the past few seasons.  Now that we have entered a new decade, I believe that it is time to look at this team again as if they are ready to compete in the very near future. The Baltimore Orioles are starting to right the ship.  They have signed a couple of veteran pitchers to help out in the bullpen and the rotation (Millwood, and Gonzalez), and they have brought back another veteran to help bring along all the young talent they have in the lineup (Tejada).  From top to bottom the rotation is littered with prospects, and they arguably have the best offensive lineup that no one know about.

Their lineup starts with one of the best leadoff men in the game in Brain Roberts, who eclipsed the 50 doubles mark for the second year in a row, and is followed by what may be the best young core of outfielders baseball has right now.  Nolan Reimold, Adam Jones, and Nick Markakis may not be names that are too familiar with the casual baseball fan, but there is every chance in the world they could be.  Reimold in 104 games last season had 15/45/49/.279 to go with 18 doubles, Markakis in 161 games had 18/101/93/.293 to go with 45 doubles, and Jones in 119 games had 19/70/83/.277 to go with 22 doubles and an All Star Game appearance, before his season was cut short due to injury.  Include the very respectable designated hitter Luke Scott, who has posted consecutive 20 home runs and 20 doubles season, and throw in Baseball’s top prospect of 2009 Matt Wieters. This lineup could be extremely offensive in 2010 with a full complement of plate appearances for all of these young players.

Their pitching rotation is also full of prospects led by Brad Bergesen and Brain Matusz.  All of which have very promising careers ahead of them.  Kevin Millwood should help immensely shaping these starters into successful pitchers.  Evidence shows that in 2009, the Texas Rangers, also anchored by Millwood came from the bottom of the list to the middle of the pack with respect to the starting pitching.

It feels as if 2010 may have some extra company in the race for the Wild Card.  Although the Orioles are a very far cry away from winning this division, they seem to have more than enough ready to go for them to attack the Wild Card. Although it is a very tough mountain to climb to get into contention in the American League, their core is young, strong, and has the element of surprise in their favor.  Do not be surprised to see this rejuvenated franchise back in the mix come August 2010.

###

Stephen Lombardo is a recent graduate of St. Johns’ University, with experience working for the Staten Island Yankees. Previous experiences also include working at CBS during the NCAA tournament in 2009 and writing for a fantasy baseball website. To learn more about Stephen connect with him on LinkedIn.

.

Image by mathplourde

Image by Keith Allison

Latest Posts by Lewis Howes

The type guide of the Modern Language Association is often used in forms compiled by academics and professionals inside liberal arts areas or the humanities. MLA – style now is easier and more to-the-level than different types of quotation; it functions not long in- text details and an alphabetical report on solutions linked in the…

Edit Article Howto Be Considered A Salesman that is Wonderful Sales can be an art. Component aggressive, element inactive, if you balance the marketing and charm of a great salesman, you’ll be able to market ketchup popsicles to some girl in bright gloves to the 4th of September (although something marginally more practical is recommended).

Long skirts are advanced wonderful and ideal for preserving you cool through the hot summer temperatures. It’s outdated significant therefore it doesnt appear strict although, to mix them with all the right-top or plain boring. becauseclothing.com Watch all 9 photos highessay.com arbitrarilyvoguish.blogspot.com Take a look at which type of top matches which prolonged dress!

You realize anything about is a destination for a begin, check that highessay.com in case you want to write and sell Ebooks online, picking a subject. Some Guide writers are Professionals around the subject they write about, some are with the niche at minimum just acquainted. If you should be merely acquainted with a subject,…

Guest article by Oscar Ugaz. His view that an important part of the future will be in the hands of mathematicians and statisticians. And the reaction it received from more traditionally placed ‘experts’. Connect with Oscar on Linkedin and follow on Twitter. A few weeks ago, I was invited to participate in a round table…

 The Best In #Sportsbiz This Week is a collection of articles curated by Sports Networker’s Online Marketing Intern – Holly Koski Sports Business Eagles’ Michael Vick launches sports clothing line Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick is launching a sports clothing line called V7 that will be sold exclusively at East Coast sporting goods chain Modell’s. The…

Sponsored Post by Brian Collin The NFL has decided to release its All-22 film to the general public for the 2012 season. An invaluable tool for football coaches, the All-22 film does exactly what its name implies – allow viewers to see all 22 players on every play. The tape, which has been dubbed as the…

Guest post submitted by Lucas Biebelberg Today, one of the greatest sports agents in history, Leigh Steinberg, was incredibly gracious in allowing me to interview him for Sports Networker. Leigh is the founder and CEO of Steinberg Sports & Entertainment, and has represented athletes such as Steve Young, Troy Aikman, Warren Moon, Bruce Smith, Ben Roethlisberger,…

The Best In #Sportsbiz This Week is a collection of articles curated by Sports Networker’s Online Marketing Intern – Holly Koski Sports Business Nike and O2 launch sports loyalty scheme Nike has formed a first of its kind partnership with O2 to provide the operators’ customers with exclusive content and offers under the “Priority” loyalty banner….

A Guest Post by Steve Hamilton Many people believe that success in sports is driven solely by talent and training, but that’s not always true. There’s another “t” word that often plays an important role: technology. The recent controversy about the role that advanced swimming suit fabrics played in Michael Phelps’ impressive Olympic wins is…

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

No comments yet.

Leave a Reply