Pitching, pitching and more pitching
There will be little not discussed at the Orioles organizational meetings in Sarasota, Florida.
President of Baseball Operations Andy MacPhail will preside over the meetings, where the front office staff, manager Dave Trembley, Minor League personnel, and scouts will go over every player in the organization, from the 40-man Major League roster to the lowest level prospects.
And you can be certain that a majority of the discussions will be about the Orioles' pitching and the best way to improve the Major League staff for 2009. The Orioles used 26 different pitchers and 13 different starters this season.
First to be competitive and then to contend, the Orioles need to improve their play within the division.
The Orioles went a division-worst 22-50 against the AL East and were the only team to have a losing record within the division. Here are the head to head division records of the AL East teams this season:
Tampa Bay: 43-29
New York: 40-32
Boston: 38-34
Toronto: 37-35
Baltimore: 22-50
The disparity in the division records is in large part due to a disparity in team pitching overall and starting pitching specifically. The Orioles not only had the highest ERA in each category within the division, they also ranked at the bottom of the American League.
Overall Team ERA:
Toronto: 3.49 (1st)
Tampa Bay: 3.82 (2nd)
Boston: 4.01 (4th)
New York: 4.28 (8th)
Baltimore: 5.13 (13th)
The ERAs of the starting pitching within the division tell a similar story. In fact, the top three starting staff ERAs in the American League reside in the AL East:
Starting Pitching ERA
Toronto: 3.49 (1st)
Tampa Bay: 3.95 (2nd)
Boston: 4.02 (3rd)
New York: 4.58 (9th)
Baltimore: 5.51 (13th)
MacPhail is open to any avenue that improves the quality and depth of the Orioles' pitching.
"Getting a starting pitcher to pair with Jeremy Guthrie to bring order to our rotation is a priority," MacPhail said. "We have too many openings and too much is unsettled. You'd like to have four solid candidates and leave the 5th spot open for your kids to fight over," he added.
And so MacPhail will look at possible free agents, pitchers who will be available in trades and also scour the waiver wire to try to find another gem like Guthrie.
Starting pitching is the lifeblood of a Major League staff. Starters should pitch the majority of the innings and record most of the decisions. In Both wins and innings pitched by starters, the O's again trail their division rivals:
Wins by Starters
Toronto: 71
Boston: 71
Tampa Bay: 66
New York: 59
Baltimore: 47*
*(Only Seattle, with 36 wins, had fewer from a starter)
Innings Pitched by Starters
Toronto: 1021.2
Tampa Bay: 973.1
Boston: 966.2
New York: 898.1
Baltimore: 882.0*
*(Only Texas starters, with 869.1, pitched fewer innings than the O's)
MacPhail began adding to the Orioles' pitching depth last offseason. Of the 10 players the O's received in the trades for Miguel Tejada and Erik Bedard, seven were pitchers. Then in June, the O's made left-handed pitcher Brian Matusz of the University of San Diego their #1 overall draft pick.
The ideal situation is to have credible prospects at each Minor League level to be brought to the big leagues, not only when needed but also when they are ready to succeed.
Of the two AL East teams that made the playoffs this season, both Tampa Bay and Boston had starting depth. All five of the Rays' starting rotation had at least 10 wins, and Boston had four starters win at least 10 games. The Orioles had just one pitcher (Guthrie) win 10 games.
MacPhail will look into every available pitcher as he looks for an upgrading of arms, as the shaping of the 2009 Orioles begins now, in a conference room in Sarasota, Florida.
11 years of losing and counting. We can add another pathetic embarrassing team record to that: how many years are we going to spend in last place? 2? 3? do I hear more? We have ZILCH in AAA ready to come up (maybe Waters at best). That was more than proven the second half of last season. Maybe in 2-3 years once they prove they can throw strikes, average 3 walks or less per 9 innings and keep their ERA at or below 4. Until then, this once proud organization will continue to be a laughing stock/embarrassment to MLB and the sports world.
I keep hearing, there are no guarantees if we go out and spend to sign. True, but more of a guarantee/certainty, if we stay pat with what we have, we have many many, more years ahead of us of losing and humiliation. We need 2 preferably 3 proven front start starters who know how to throw strikes. Any smart businessman knows, you got to spend money to make money.
If we don't shore up the pitching and FAST, then we risk losing key members of the offense (the only reason we won as many games as we did in 2008). Then that will pose another set of problems including who will replace them? Realistically, why would Roberts and/or Markakis want to sign long term deals here and not go to a team that has a chance to win and make the post season?
jim & roch
when is hot stove basa
eball going to start ?
the end of november is
better than january
Due to the fact that so much is unsettled with the pitching rotation, do you think we could see one of B-more's better pitchers, J. Johnson in the rotation next year? Also, how much could you see Mr. MacPhail reach into the free agent market? Maybe 1? 2? 3? Piters? Maybe CC Sabathia? Thanks for the great insight!
Nothing against Gary Thorne, but I thought were great calling the games. And you still are.