With the 2009 season right around the corner the outlook for the team has changed over the past several months. The main strengths of this team has to be their offense which will be lead by the blossoming young superstar Nick Markakis followed by Aubrey Huff who had a break out year last year and I expect him to do nearly the same this season. Who can forget about the energizer bunny of this team Brian Roberts fresh off a new contract and a strong showing in the WBC he should be primed for another all-star caliber year. Also, expect a great improvement in the young center fielder Adam Jones who supposedly will be hitting between Roberts and Markakis at second in the order his defense speaks for its self and he should have a drastic improvement over last year. Ty Wigginton and Luke Scott should provide a good part of the Orioles home run totals this year and Melvin Mora, thought ageing, still proved he has some left in the tank after last season and should be on pace to have another 80+ RBI season. Cesar Izturis should provide an adequate offensive presence at short and will easily surpass the offense numbers at shortstop that the Orioles had last season.
The defense should be another strong point with it being improved with the additions of Felix Pie and Cesar Izturis. The Orioles are setting a strong foundation with Markakis, Jones, and Pie in the outfield all of them are plus defenders all could be starting CF for another team. With Izturis and Roberts up the middle and with the outfield tandem it will help the pitchers (especially the young ones) get better and save them many 4 out innings.
The bullpen should be one of the strengths of this team this season. With the three headed monster of Sherrill, Ray, and Johnson in the back of the penn there should not be many runs scored in the 7Th, 8Th, and 9Th innings. The Orioles figure to have many hard throwers like Sarfate, Mickolio, and Liz along with left handed specialist Jamie Walker, who is looking to rebound after a poor last season, and this should make up the framework for a solid middle relief corp. Another unique part of the bullpen could be the fact that they have many relievers capable of going several innings instead of the typical 1-2 this should help with a rotation that is projected to be one of the worst in the league.
The starting rotation is by far the worst spot of the Orioles this season with only two pitchers that can be penciled in as definites in the rotation. Rich Hill who should be the number three but will not be ready in time for the start of the season should eventually assume the number 3 starters role in the rotation and the rest is pretty much a mystery. The rotation projects to be pretty bad, but the defense, bullpen, and offense should all be average if not above average and help the rotation and the team hopefully make it to a .500 or above season.
Lastly, who could forget the number one prospect in baseball Matt Wieters even though he will start the year at Triple-A Norfolk I expect him to get the early season call and eventually win the rookie of the year award and cement his status as one of the best offensive and defensive catchers in the game.
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