It’s been one week since Baltimore sports fans hearts sank
after their defending Super Bowl Champion Ravens gave up a playoff spot to the
Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium in Ohio. Some fans are still feeling the heart break
from last week’s disaster; others see the brighter side of life. That light at the end of the tunnel, where
the Ravens Super Bowl XLVIII hopes once loomed over the “charm city” sits a
skyline view of Oriole Park at Camden Yards, home to the Baltimore Orioles.
Though some Baltimoreans might have their season tickets and
the taste of an ice cold National Bohemian on the tip of their lips, the
Orioles up and coming season still looks like a disaster in the making. After losing veteran Brian Roberts to the
Yankees for a one year $2 million dollar deal, the Birds are going to have to
fill his place in the batting order.
The Orioles have a few options to fill B-Rob’s place. Ryan Flaherty would be the ideal fit with
2013 Gold Glove winner JJ Hardy up the middle.
Flaherty ended the season with a .224 batting average last year, with
some key hits during the season. Though
still unexperienced, I think Flaherty can become an everyday player. The 27 year-old will be matched up against
the newly acquired Jemile Weeks. I’ve
never even heard of this guy, and I don’t see the point in trading Jim Johnson
for him. Just because Jemile is the
brother of Rickie Weeks, 2nd baseman for the Milwaukie Brewers,
doesn’t mean the kid has the talent his brother has who’s had a smooth
experience with the Brewers since 2003.
I don’t see the reason in trading our top closer Jim Johnson to acquire
another 2nd baseman when we already possess an adequate replacement
for Roberts. To be safe, if I owned the
club I would look to spend some money on an experienced and clutch 2nd
basemen to fill the gap the Birds have.
Not saying I don’t have faith in Flaherty, but if most Orioles fans
don’t already know, Peter Angelos, owner of the ball club, can be a cheapskate
when it calls for money to be spent. But
50% of the time Angelos, in his 21st year as the owner of the
Orioles, usually has a bad track record when it comes to keeping the ball club
alive. In my defense, look at the Sammy
Sosa trade back in 2005.
Besides losing a half-decent veteran, offensively, the Birds
almost seemingly gave away veteran closer Jim Johnson and left fielder Nate
McClouth. McClouth had a strong batting
average of .258 and 137 hits during the first half of the season but dropped to
.206 in the second half. Seeing that Nate
only batted .206 in the 2nd half, I can understand why the O’s wouldn’t
give him a 2 year contract like he wanted.
Losing him leaves another gap in the roster. By no means was he Chris Davis, who batted
.286 and was only seven dingers away from matching Hall of Famer Rodger Maris’
single season homerun record at 60 homeruns.
I must say, the Birds need to fill their lineup with some consistent
bats or current players must step up to the challenge. The teams overall batting average last year
was .260, according to ESPN.com.
Hopefully but unlikely, Adam Jones, Chris Davis, and if healthy, Gold
Glover Manny Machado can put the team on their back and produce a threat at the
plate along with any other acquired players throughout the coming months.
Michael Amatucci
