Just Gotta have Phaith

I know a lot of people have been criticizing Andy McPhail and his slow non flashy non sexy style, but we all need to remember something this man has done it before setting up the twins powerhouse organization and so has Showalter he set up the Yankees to win for Tore, the Rangers to win now, and the Diamondbacks who went on to make us all happy by beating the Yankees.

This is probably the best, most qualified, and most successful GM/coach combo the Orioles have seen easily since the Pat Gillick Davey Johnson days. They both have proven to be able to build successful franchises.

Lets look at what they have done so far as members of the Orioles organization.
Lets look at the major trades McPhail has made so far with the two most recent first.

1.Hoey and Jacobson for Hardy, Harris, and 500k- Anytime you can get an above average offensive and defensive shortstop for two relievers it is an easy win. with Jacobson never pitching above single a and Hoey having a ridiculously high career MLB ERA and still recovering from shoulder surgery. Even if it is for only one year of JJ Hardy he'll probably have a higher WAR over that season than those two will probably have over the next 5 combined. If he does have a good season he'll still be on the right side of 30 and with Machado still being a ways away he'll probably get an extension. Projected trade outcome-surefire win

2.Hernandez and Mickolio for Reynolds-Like I said before anytime you can get an above average everyday player for two relievers it is most usually a win. Reynolds will easily hit 40+ home runs in Camden Yards and with his defense steadily improving every year he will probably be a plus defender too. Hernandez does have real good potential to be a good setup/closer in the future and he probably will go onto have a nice career but is a good reliever worth 80 home runs the next 2 years, I think not. Mickolio while having great stuff and a big frame he does not have good control and has struggled in the major leagues. He reminds me of another former Oriole pitcher who was also lenghty and had great stuff but no command i think we all remember Daniel Cabrera and how he turned out. Projected trade outcome-another surefire win

3.Bedard for Jones, Tillman, Sherril, Mickolio, Butler-This fore sure was a win for the birds we got our starting all star CF for what hopefully is years to come. We got a good year out of Sherrill as our closer and then we traded him for Bell who could potentialy be a decent starter in the future. We got Tillman who had a so far has been bad but I feel he will probably have a beakout or good year most likely in the pen next season. We got Butler who was kidnaped and disappeared. Lastly we got Mickolio who we just traded to get Reynolds. Meanwhile Bedard struggled a lot with injuries and never was spectacular in Seattle so far. Trade Outcome-Easy win for the rioles

4. Tejada for Scott, Albers, Sarfate, Patton, and Costanzo- This would of been a win if we would of just traded Scott for tejada straight up as he has emerged as a good 30 homer threat each year. Albers was good for one year in relief and pretty much nothing else seeing as how he was just non-tendered. Sarfate was interesting while it lasted but with us never really getting anything special out of him. Costanzo didn't do anything and so far neither has Troy Patton. Tejada did have a few good years in Houston but we eventually resigned him and then traded him for still prospect Wynn Pelzer. Trade Outcome-Win

Those are the 4 biggest trades(i think) McPhail has made while here and they have ended up all being good ones that have shaped the club.

Showalter as you all know went 34-23 as the manager and has shown he can give this club what it need Self Confidence. Both Reynolds and Hardy fit the type of player that he is looking for and if he went 34-23 with players that he didn't even choose imagine how well he will do with players like Reynold and Hardy instead of utility men like Wiggington and Izturis.

Let me leave you with a few parting thoughts:
1. While he's been here have you ever seen McPhail make a bad or really bad trade?
2.The two of the three teams Buck has previously managed went on to win the world series right after he left and the third the Ranger just made it their only 4 seasons removed thanks to a strong farm system which he helped build

JJ Hardy to Baltimore

The orioles officially announced today that they have traded for JJ Hardy and Brendan Harris and sent minor league relievers Jim Hoey and Brett Jacobson. In my opinion this trade is a slam dunk for the orioles they get an above average starting shortstop and a utility infielder for a middle relief prospect and a 27 year old coming off recent surgery and that has had a sky high era in the limited time he has been in the bigs.

Hardy is a good defensive player with a good arm and his UZR ratings are pretty high. He also can hit for an average to above average batting average and has a lot of power.

With Brendan Harris being signed it's highly unlikely now the Caesar Izturis will return to the team with them already have above average starters at second and short with Harris backing them up. Both Harris and Hardy are both used to being trade candidates with the 30 year old Harris being on his 7Th team and Hardy being traded twice within a year.

In my mind we really did not give up anything with Hoey being a triple A pitcher and Jacobson being a middle reliever making him a dime a dozen and easy to replace. It won't be hard for the orioles to find relief help with a myriad of relievers out there and they already have a pretty solid 4 in Koji, Gonzalez, Johnson, and Berken.

The birds really need to focus their attention on getting either Adam Laroche or Derek Lee the two best first baseman options available. They both will probably put up similar numbers Lee might hit for a higher average but Laroche will probably have more home runs.

Koji Returns

A day after learning that George Sherill will not have another go around with the Orioles Koji Uehara has officially resigned with the team. It surprisingly is only a one year contract and you would of thought he would of gotten more than an option for next season with the multiple teams that were interested in him. This is a contract that is right for a 35 year old injury prone reliever.It is no surprise that he resigned with his son going to school in Baltimore and he apparently likes it in charm city.

The orioles are still probably going to go out and find another reliever with them already having made a 2 year 8-10 million dollar offer for former Blue Jay closer Kevin Gregg and with names like Bobby Jenks still out their they will probably be able to land a decent bullpen piece.

The bullpen looks pretty solid at this point with Koji and Mike Gonzalez battling it out for the closers spot. Jim Johnson being the 7/8th inning guy and former starters David Hernandez and Jason Berken being able to provide solid middle relief for one or more innings out of the pen. Alfredo Simon will probably have a spot in middle relief also and hopefully not much more. There are still a couple spots left open for one or two decent free agent acquisitions or you could look at players like flamethrower James Hoey and Chris Tillman coming from Triple A and the rotation respectively.