May 12, 2008
Baseball Week
Tejada was better Oriole than many thought
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Observations, opinions and musings from the week in Major League Baseball:
The Misadventures of Misunderstood Miggi continued last week.
After being confronted - some might say ambushed - by an ESPN reporter holding a birth certificate, Miguel Tejada admitted to the Houston Astros that he was two years older than he had previously claimed, meaning he turns 34 next month, not 32.
It's one more reason trading him in December to the Astros for five players - the day before he was implicated as a steroid user in the Mitchell Report - was the right move for the Orioles' future.
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It also will be another example used by Tejada bashers on why he shouldn't be remembered fondly around here.
That's understandable, but it's a shame because Tejada was one of the most talented and gracious players to wear an Orioles uniform in the past 20 years. In four seasons here, he made the All-Star team three times, was the All-Star Game Most Valuable Player once, won an RBI crown, two Silver Sluggers, two Most Valuable Oriole Awards and set the club's single-season hits record.
The losing ate at him, and though he won't admit it, there's no question his energy, hustle and focus slipped in his last two seasons here.
That's what many fans will remember.
One e-mailer wrote last week that he thought Tejada was "just like Albert Belle. He was supposed to walk on water while he was in Baltimore and fell flat on his face."
There's no question Tejada has made poor decisions and gotten some terrible advice, but he's no Belle, one of the surliest men to ever walk on a diamond and one whom many of his teammates avoided.
Ask those who played with Tejada, and most will tell you he was one of the best teammates they've ever had.
Many Orioles fans, however, will point to a hefty paycheck, declining skills, focus lapses, deception and distraction to define Tejada's tenure here.
An unfortunate end to what should have been a fine marriage.
Now other teams are experiencing the pain the Orioles went through in 2007.
Already this season, the Philadelphia Phillies, Toronto Blue Jays, Seattle Mariners, Washington Nationals, Cleveland Indians, Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Angels have lost their primary closer for at least a few days this month.
Of that group, only the Angels were in first place in their division heading into the weekend, and their closer, Francisco Rodriguez, missed just five days.
The Braves lost their closer, Rafael Soriano, and his backup, Peter Moylan, and now they're searching for another replacement.
A closer has to have a short memory, a bulldog mentality and quality stuff, but also needs to be durable. That's a tough combination to find.
Copyright © 2008, The Baltimore Sun
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