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

Welcome!!

First things first: I love all things sports related in the state of Maryland. The Orioles, Ravens, and Terps are my favorites, but don't be surprised if I bring up Hopkins lacrosse or even the Baltimore Blast. Every week, I will post my take on any of the aforementioned teams and their current state.

Perhaps I am motivated to begin a blog simply because the shocking success of the Baltimore Ravens and the emergence of a Real quarterback in Joe Flacco has raised my spirits and optimism for local sports. It was only one year ago when the Ravens endured one of their most dissapointing seasons in franchise history following their most successful regular season.

The Orioles were blindly moving forward and looking towards the future with a false sense of hope.

The Maryland Terrapins football team failed to pose a significant threat in the ACC yet again.

Finally, the Terps men's basketball team failed yet again to make the NCAA tournament forcing their fans to root for underdog local teams like Mount St. Mary's, Coppin State, and UMBC.

As of now, ALL of those teams have reversed their fortunes. Amazingly, without using the Yankee method of spending carelessly, these teams have carefully restructured themselves starting from the top. The reigns were handed over to new (not necessarily more experienced or more knowledgable) people. Brian Billick out, John Harbaugh in. Whoever was running the show for the O's out, Andy MacPhail and the beacon of light, in. The more lenient Ralph Friedgien out, the more intense Fridge in (maybe due to the concern over his lack of job security). With the exception of the wandering Terps basketball team, the O's, Ravens, and Terps football program all have legitimate reasons to feel optimistic about the future.

BK's Take on the state of the Maryland Terps Men's Basketball team:

The Maryland men's basketball team, on the other hand, should not feel optimistic. Local recruiting has all but vanished, the legendary Gary Williams is past his prime, and the loyal fans are starting to lose faith in one of the most succesful ACC programs of the past two decades. It's almost sad that a team who won it's first National Championship and an ACC Championship in the past decade has failed to find any kind of consistency recently, missing the tourney 3 times in the past 4 years. It would only make sense to relieve Gary Williams of his duties after this season if they fail to reach the tourney yet again. If Athletic Director Debbie Yow lets go of Gary, she will take on the burden of replacing a living legend. A younger and perhaps Baltimore based (for recruiting purposes) head coach would be the optimal choice for more consistent success down the road. Do I hear a faint Boooooooth cheer? The program can't afford to miss out on former local talents such as Carmelo Anthony, Chauncey Billups, and even the Miami star Jack McClinton. This program will return to the tournament one day, but I don't suspect the team will be lead by Gary Williams when it happens.

Thanks for reading! Although I wandered and was a bit abstract, I wanted to get my point across that local sports are or will be on the rise. Expect another post in about a week.

--BK