I've got to admit, I cringed a little bit when Dave Trembley defended the decision to drop veteran reserve catcher Chad Moeller by saying "This is Matt Wieters' team." It just seemed like he was placing the weight of the world on the shoulders of one of baseball's most promising young players.
Apparently, however, Wieters doesn't mind at all. He opened the season by going 6 for 12 against the Rays and dismissing concerns about his lack of power during the spring with his first home run and another shot that was caught at the fence in dead center field at Tropicana Field.
Defensively, he already has served notice to baserunners around the league that it's going to be very tough to run against the Orioles this year. All of this is terrific news for Orioles fans who are looking for something to hang their caps on at the start of another season that will be measured by incremental progress rather than a trip to the playoffs.