2009 Orioles Prediction

The Orioles will begin the 2009 regular season believing that they actually are on the right track. This is not an unfamiliar mindset. It seems that almost every season, the Orioles sell a sense of false hope to their fans when in reality the Orioles ship is unguided and heading in the wrong direction. What makes things different this time around? When it comes down to it, not much. The team will probably finish 20 or so games under .500 and they will struggle to fill up the best ballpark in baseball. However most fans, including myself, truly believe that the Orioles' ship is guided and headed in the right direction. Andy MacPhail (pictured) has the proven track record and appropriate mentality while the team's prospects are starting to line up. MacPhail has said that fans need to give it time. Time that is starting to run out on my clock, and the clocks of thousands of die hard fans. When it comes down to it, what choice do O's fans have? We need to stick through the tough times knowing that the possibility for extended success is within reach.


Here are my predictions for the 2009 season:

Orioles Record: 70-92 (5th place)

Team MVP: Nick Markakis. There is no doubt in my mind that Markakis will continue to develop in multiple areas this year. Last year, he blossomed into one of the best right fielders in baseball. Why can't he blossom into one of the most solid hitters in baseball as well?

Biggest Bust: Melvin Mora. Mora shocked the entire organization during the second half last season but I can't expect that burst to continue. He is 37 years old and I suspect he won't be able to sustain the grind of a 162 game season.

Most surprising player: Koji Uehara (pictured). He comes to the Orioles with no experience playing in the United States but that may not necessarily be a bad thing. Very proven and successful in Japan, Uehara has something new to bring to the Orioles organization. His bevvy of pitches and location control should go a long way this season.

Rookie of the Year: Matt Wieters. There is no need to comment further on his oozing potential and indication that the club is headed in the right direction with this prodigy.

Bold Predictions: Adam Jones bats .310 and Alfredo Simon records 13 wins. Jamie Walker gets demoted or put on waivers after two months with an ERA over 7.00.

Expect a new post about once a week during the regular season.

The O's and Terps take small but critical strides forward

Andy MacPhail has proved yet again that he follows through with his promises made at the beginning of the offseason.

The Orioles have filled almost all of the gaps, albeit with mediocre talent, left at the end of last season. It's no mystery that the O's biggest weakness is pitching. MacPhail realized that in order to compete in one of the deepest divisions in the history of major league baseball, the Orioles need to focus on restructuring their starting rotation.

It's a shame that Jeremy Guthrie is the ace for two reasons. One, he hasn't proved that he is a capable starter for an entire season. Two, the Orioles shouldn't be forcing a man who really is a solid number 2 or 3 starter to carry the weight of being the ace. As much as O's fans love the guy's attitude and work ethic, he shouldn't be asked to do too much. At the same token, what else are the Orioles to do? They clearly aren't willing to shell out big bucks on top name starters nor are they ready to bring up top pitching prospects such as Brian Matusz or Chris Tillman.

Fotunately, the four remaining rotation spots are quickly being filled by average to below-average starters. Don't be surprised if one of the newly acquired fill-ins ends up panning out to be a decent starter for the O's down the road. Mark Hendrickson, Rich Hill, and Koji Uehara at some point in their careers have had a very solid season. Rich Hill may be the second incarnation of Daniel Cabrera for O's due to his lack of control but the dice are bound to fall in the O's favor once in a while.

I could go all day about the Orioles recent woes (if you consider 11 years 'recent') but I won't. I'll talk about the Terps woes instead.

The Terps won what may have been their most important game of the season last Saturday against Miami. It will feel like, however, that every game here on out will be their most important game of the season. For the sake of Gary Williams and the program as a whole, the Terps need something positive to springboard off of for upcoming years. The Terps have come too far to fall so fast.

Beating third ranked UNC Tuesday night would be a nice place to start. No one can expect the Terps to win in Chapel Hill (even though they shocked college basketball nation last year by dethroning the then top ranked Tar Heels) but the Terps simply cannot be embarassed for the second straight time in the tri-city area. Miserably failing against Duke two weeks ago in addition to the dissapointment during the past few seasons culminated in the lowest Maryland basketball fans have felt since the death of Len Bias.

I am not going to get too far ahead of myself. The Terps may very well finish 6-10 in the ACC likely resulting in the abrupt dismissal or retirement of Gary Williams and another trip to the NIT, if they're lucky.

On the flip side, the Terps might surprise us again Tuesday and salvage their brutal first half of ACC play.

--BK