The O's in 2008: Will growing pains lead to a better future?
The O's in 2008 - Good Start, Bad Finish
There are a couple of ways to look at this Orioles' season, which ended with the club 25 games under .500 and in last place. The Birds held their own for 4 ½ months and faded late. And the Birds held their own with everyone but the American League East.
Against the East this year, a season in which the 4th place club in the division finished playing .531 ball, the O's were just 22-50. Their record vs. everyone else was 46-43.
The Orioles were at .500 as late as July 8th when they were 44-44, and on August 17th the Orioles were just three games under at 60-63. But they went just 8-30 the rest of the season.
As the O's move forward, they'll try to take some of the good from the first 4 ½ months but also try to overcome the lack of depth, especially in pitching, which led to the late fade.
On offense the O's finished with a team average of .267 that was 8th best in the AL. They were 8th in runs scored and 7th in homers. But the team ERA of 5.13 was 13th best, next to last in the league. And the O's staff led the AL in walks.
Nice Moments to Remember
*On May 20th the O's scored 7 runs in the first inning and knocked Mike Mussina out after just 2/3 of an inning in a 12-2 win at Yankee Stadium.
*A week later, May 27th the O's beat New York 10-9 in 11 innings. Twice in the game they trailed by four runs. They needed to score twice in the last of the 11th to win.
*On June 26th the O's took an 11-0 lead on their way to an 11-4 win over the Cubs. At that point, the O's and Milwaukee were the only teams to win a series on the season at Wrigley Field, and the O's record was 40-37.
*Melvin Mora had the game of the year in a 16-8 win at Detroit on August 17th. He went 5-6 with two homers and 6 RBI and tied a club single-game record with 13 total bases.
*On September 16th, Chris Waters pitched a four-hitter in a 2-0 win over Toronto. It was the only complete-game shutout by an O's hurler on the year.
Management's Take
"The first four and a half months, we played as good a baseball as could be expected," manager Dave Trembley said. "We competed, we won one-run games, we came from behind a lot. The last six weeks have been just the opposite. We've been ahead in a lot of games but lost. Our pitching hasn't been what we expected it to be, we had some injuries and couldn't fill the holes. Our weaknesses were glaring.
"Our starting pitching needs to get better. The offense is great, but if you don't have pitching to go along with it, that offense gets forgotten quickly. It's not going to happen all at once for us. Andy said there would be painful times this year. I'm convinced if we can get a more solid rotation, that's a needed step in the right direction, a consistent one through five."
"Our guys fought it out pretty good for three quarters of the season and that last round took some of the fun of this season away for me," team president Andy MacPhail said. "We just don't have the depth yet to go round three with top teams. The last 38 games we played two games vs. an opponent with a below .500 record. You have to be good in this division.
"We've built the base. I'm happier where we are now than when I first got here. With players like Weiters, Arrieta, Matusz, Jones, Tillman, we've added to the base and won as many games as last year in a tougher division. The prospects for the future are better because we have a better base of talented young players. From that aspect I'm satisfied with the season even though we are going out with a whimper."
Final Thought
The O's task in this division is daunting. The East has never been better and now Tampa is on top and Toronto has some of the best pitching in the game. New York and Boston have big payrolls and solid farm systems. In any other division the O's would be much closer to the top.
They have little choice but to continue to build that base as Andy MacPhail said, hoping one day they can win with home-grown players, trade some to fill holes and add the occasional free agent.
If it can happen in Tampa, it can happen in Baltimore.
It is heartening to see Andy MacPhail's two former teams in the thick of things at the end of the season, Minnesota in the AL Central tiebreaker, and the Cubs winning the NL Central. His plan worked in those places. May it work here too. It is good to see progress. We built up our base with the Bedard/Tejada trades and were no worse record-wise, but we saw progress throughout the organization. Keep on the path, Andy. We can return to being one of baseball's most respected organizations like your Dad helped to build in the 1960's, my coming of age time with the O's.
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David:
After interviewing Andy many times this year and gettting to know him a little bit, I'm a fan of his too. Given time and resources, and some patience, he'll improve this club and its minor leagues. As you pointed out, he's got a pretty solid track record.
Steve
The Orioles offense ended up in the middle of the American League and the pitching ending up near last. Somehow out of all of this, the pundits believe the Orioles are improving. Unfortunately, the credibility of these people is lacking. I am being a realist, not a pestimist. This year was highlighted by Audbrey Huff having a MVP type of year. Brian Roberts contract is coming to an end in 2009. I am not convinced he will resign if this team performs at the level it did in 2008. Is it reasonable to expect Melvin Mora to play at the level he did shortly after the All Star break last year? Do you honestly think any decent free agent starting pitcher would want to join this team? Is Dave Trembley, a minor league success, but a manager who has not won at the major league level, really the best person for the job? His excuses remind me of Sam Perlosso. Only time will tell. I wish the few Oriole faith fans the best.
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Charles,
You certainly see the glass as half empty, not full. As I said the O's task in this division is daunting. They face an uphill climb, no doubt. They can take some pride in their winning record in non-AL East games and the improvement of the farm system. There they had a player named the best in all of the Minors and two pitchers in Arrieta and Tillman among the best in their leagues. When is the last time the O's have done that ? Try never. These are facts, you can choose to ignore them if you wish. - Steve