Potential 2006 Orioles Lineup

by Scott Christ on Dec 28, 2005 7:18 PM EST in News & Rumors

As it stands for now, anyway.

B Roberts 2B
M Mora 3B
M Tejada SS
J Gibbons RF
J Lopez DH
J Burnitz LF
J Conine 1B
R Hernandez C
L Matos CF

Everyone is saying Matos could be pushed out of his starting job, but I don't know who it would be unless Markakis took over, which is not impossible or anything.

The ZiPS Projections for those dudes:

Roberts .295/.372/.432
Mora .292/.366/.471
Tejada .303/.357/.511
Gibbons .273/.321/.463
Lopez .292/.343/.498
Burnitz .238/.309/.421
Conine .249/.307/.353
Hernandez .284/.335/.453
Matos .281/.339/.408
Markakis .266/.333/.398

Unsurprisingly, two of them stick out like sore thumbs. This is not the gospel or anything, but I think those are all reasonable projections. We've basically replaced Palmeiro and Sosa with Palmeiro and Sosa under different names.

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With that line up, we need pitching

Is it possible that the Orioles execs think the current starting rotation is good enough? I can't believe we haven't seen any activity on getting an ace. If we really have so many young pitchers that other teams want, why wouldn't we use a couple to get a front line starter plus a power hitter. More and more it looks like this new group of execs are on a lower level than the rest of the league. Very depressing.

by Rez on Dec 28, 2005 9:49 PM EST reply actions

Aces

We obviously don't have as many good young pitchers as the organization says we do. Of course, why do we need an ace this year? We aren't going anywhere in '06. We need to stockpile for '08--the next realistic time when we could be competitive with Boston and New York.

by spetro on Dec 28, 2005 11:53 PM EST reply actions

In defense of the Front Office.....

The most important signings this off season were not on the field players, but the guys that guide the squad and the front office.
Hardly noticed this past year amid all of the turmoil in the clubhouse was the fact that for the first time:

Angelos fired a manager in mid season
He re-signed a manager that had an expired contract.
He retained a GM that had an expired contract.
He left the player personnel folks and scouts alone and intact for the third straight off season.
They went out and signed a future Hall Of Fame pitching coach in Leo Mazzone.
He shed the squad of constant trouble maker Sir Sidney the drunken retarded Aruban judge puncher.
They have not over spent like their opponents in a very thin free agent market, the Burnitz signing notwithstanding.

As far as I am concerned, I like the direction and baseball knowledge that the whole organization has maintained, and gained. They now have alot of the best baseball minds in the game under contract, from Perlozzo to Mazzone, Dempsey to Trebelhorn, Falanagan to Duquette, and on and on. Quality baseball guys that all have been with winning organizations, and want to win here, and soon. The free agent market was terribly over valued and under talented as compared to years past. If you loom around the league, there really hasn't been any coup this year, except maybe in New York where one of the most formidable offenses in baseball got better by adding little Johnny to CF which stuck out like a bad sore thumb last season, and cost the Yankees many runs because the postion was so poorly played.
I like the direction we are headed, and the fact that they haven't moved the young pitchers shows me that Mazzone thinks that there is a ton of WORKABLE potential there, especially at the top of the rotation with Danny and Erik.
We will compete, and we will win a good share of the games we play.
I think as far as Miggy is concerned, the front office sees him as not only their best hitter, and most consistent player, but also the guy in the Clubhouse that holds the squad together. His chemistry with Melmo, Brob, and the rest of the squad was very good when we were winning last year, and they want that to continue.
I have no idea why I'm being so optimistic here, but the New Year is upon us, and pitchers and catchers report in less than 60 days.

"What's my secret for winning? That's easy. Pitching, defense, and three run homers" Earl Weaver

by elktonfan on Dec 29, 2005 8:29 AM EST reply actions

i'm not as cheery about our situation as you

but i am glad we aren't trading off young players right now. we're not going to win 95 games next year, so why bother getting rid of the young, cheap talent we have? people complain that other organizations have made moves to bring in established stars, but there are big differences between us and them. first, some of those teams only need one or two more pieces to contend, so it's worth it to send an unproven talent to acquire that last piece to the puzzle. the other teams adding a lot of players, like toronto, have much deeper farm systems then the o's. when we climb out of the bottom 10 in prospects, then we can afford to deal off a few of the young guys. the problem is, once we get past the top 4 or 5 guys in our system, there is nobody that we can use and nobody that is worth anything to trade. anyway, i just hope the front office improves the minor leagues. you can pretty much do anything you want if you know how to draft and develop young talent.

by joet on Dec 29, 2005 10:22 AM EST up reply actions