Five questions for the Orioles heading into spring training
Every spring, baseball teams head to Florida or Arizona hoping to figure out the answers to a few key questions that will push them along the path toward a contending season.
Obviously, those with poor records from the previous year usually enter spring with the most holes. And, as you're probably aware unless you've been lost at sea or in a purple haze since 1997, the Orioles have had nothing but sub-.500 records in the past 14 seasons.
This spring in Sarasota, Fla., though, seems particularly groundbreaking.
Frankly, no Orioles team in recent memory has owned this many uncertainties in February. This club leads the majors in "who's that"s and "what are they doing there"s.
It's partially by design. New executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette came on board in November and immediately tweaked the 40-man roster. Since his hiring, he has added 12 players to the 40-man and invited plenty of other unknown or forgotten commodities to spring training.
He wants to build depth. He wants to create competition. And he wants to see whether some of baseball's undervalued assets can play this game — a la "Moneyball."
As part of his new roster construction, Duquette traded away Jeremy Guthrie, the club's only 200-inning pitcher. He didn't re-sign designated hitter Luke Scott, the 2010 Most Valuable Oriole who was limited by a shoulder injury last season.
And the heart and soul of the club for a chunk of the past decade, right fielder Nick Markakis and second baseman Brian Roberts, might not be ready for Opening Day because of injury. Roberts, in fact, is seemingly fighting for his baseball career.
The argument can be made that catcher Matt Wieters, center fielder Adam Jones and shortstop J.J. Hardy — assuming they remain healthy — are the only Orioles without legitimate question marks attached heading into 2012.
We've whittled all the uncertainties to five of the most important questions as pitchers and catchers begin their first workout Sunday.
— Dan Connolly
Obviously, those with poor records from the previous year usually enter spring with the most holes. And, as you're probably aware unless you've been lost at sea or in a purple haze since 1997, the Orioles have had nothing but sub-.500 records in the past 14 seasons.
This spring in Sarasota, Fla., though, seems particularly groundbreaking.
Frankly, no Orioles team in recent memory has owned this many uncertainties in February. This club leads the majors in "who's that"s and "what are they doing there"s.
It's partially by design. New executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette came on board in November and immediately tweaked the 40-man roster. Since his hiring, he has added 12 players to the 40-man and invited plenty of other unknown or forgotten commodities to spring training.
He wants to build depth. He wants to create competition. And he wants to see whether some of baseball's undervalued assets can play this game — a la "Moneyball."
As part of his new roster construction, Duquette traded away Jeremy Guthrie, the club's only 200-inning pitcher. He didn't re-sign designated hitter Luke Scott, the 2010 Most Valuable Oriole who was limited by a shoulder injury last season.
And the heart and soul of the club for a chunk of the past decade, right fielder Nick Markakis and second baseman Brian Roberts, might not be ready for Opening Day because of injury. Roberts, in fact, is seemingly fighting for his baseball career.
The argument can be made that catcher Matt Wieters, center fielder Adam Jones and shortstop J.J. Hardy — assuming they remain healthy — are the only Orioles without legitimate question marks attached heading into 2012.
We've whittled all the uncertainties to five of the most important questions as pitchers and catchers begin their first workout Sunday.
— Dan Connolly
Image 1 of 6
|
Who is in the Orioles' 2012 starting rotation?
Initially, this question was, "Who will be behind Guthrie in the 2012 rotation?" But he was dealt to the Colorado Rockies last week for pitchers Jason Hammel and Matt Lindstrom, removing the one certainty from the current hodgepodge.
Hammel will fit in somewhere, and so should Taiwanese left-hander Wei-Yin Chen and right-hander Tommy Hunter. Still, all five spots are technically up for grabs, with an arm's-length list of hopeful arms battling: newcomers Tsuyoshi Wada and Dana Eveland and holdovers Jake Arrieta, Zach Britton, Brian Matusz, Alfredo Simon, Chris Tillman and Brad Bergesen. Then there is Armando Galarraga, a 30-year-old veteran who signed a minor league deal this winter. He's best known for pitching a near-perfect game in 2010, but in 2008, he won 13 games with the Detroit Tigers. He has the best big league resume of the current candidates, and he could be released in March if he has a rough spring. Here's another example of the jigsaw puzzle that manager Buck Showalter is assembling in camp: Two potential favorites for Opening Day starter, Arrieta and Hunter, also have minor league options remaining and could be sent to Triple-A Norfolk. Arrieta is coming off elbow surgery, so the club will be careful with him. "Big Game" Hunter is a bulldog and wouldn't be intimidated by the Opening Day assignment, but he has made just 55 major league starts in his career. Britton also is a bit of an uncertainty as he comes back slowly from lingering shoulder inflammation. Clearer now? |
E-mail
Twitter
Facebook
Home DeliveryComments (3)
Add / View comments | Discussion FAQ
kidflash at 5:18 PM February 16, 2012
I have but one question - why is Brian Roberts on the 40 man? The guy's never going to play again. He can't even cope with a plane ride, how would anyone expect him - anytime in the near or long-term future - to play at a professional level?
COMMENTING POLICY: Readers are encouraged to post comments that are germane to the article. We reserve the right to remove any user, and to delete comments that contain abusive language or personal threats, as well as those that are racist or demeaning. Readers may report comments by clicking "Report Abuse." Once a comment has been flagged, a Baltimore Sun staffer will investigate. Click here for more information on commenting.
Call me crazy but I think the Orioles will winn 87 games this year!....yeah I know,I said it last year too.