The Happiest Sub-.500 Franchise in Baseball

First we beat the Red Sox and Yankees, now we're actually signing clients of Scott Boras. What gives?

By Matthew Taylor

"They got the deal done. You can tell the city of Baltimore that the old evil owner stepped up and took care of things tonight. We had to fight to the end."
-Orioles Scouting Director Joe Jordan

I had a conversation over the weekend with a good friend, a Cardinals fan, about the relative nature of optimism depending on which Major League team you follow.

Cards fans, coming off of a World Series victory last season and a 2004 appearance in the Series, are bummed about their team’s sub-.500 record this year. O’s fans, meanwhile, are excited about the very prospect of .500 baseball after nine straight losing seasons. Any hint of progress spurs excitement among Birds fans in Charm City.

Which brings us to the Matt Wieters signing. As if the last six games against the Red Sox and Yankees haven’t done enough to boost Baltimore’s baseball spirits, folks are downright giddy about getting Wieters in the fold. Just check out what they’re saying in The Sun.

Peter Schmuck

"By the time the Orioles got top draft choice Matt Wieters to sign on the dotted line last night, it was no longer only about the can't-miss college catcher with the sweet swing from both sides of the plate.It was about the Orioles keeping faith with their fans.It was about the front office proving that the past isn't always prologue.

It was about maybe - just maybe - the franchise turning a corner after nine years headed in the wrong direction.And maybe it was about redemption, because Wieters was on the verge of becoming the newest symbol of everything that has gone wrong with the Orioles organization over the past decade."

Roch Kubatko

"The Orioles signed 38 of their 48 picks, including 11 of the top 12. Wieters was a must, especially with no second or third rounders this year. The Orioles held firm, but also didn’t let their stubbornness get in the way. They kept negotiating right down to the final hour, with owner Peter Angelos getting involved. And I have no problem with Wieters getting a major league deal, if that’s the case. It shouldn’t take long with this kid.
…

Easily overlooked last night was the deal signed by TCU pitcher Jacob Arrieta. This also is huge news. The Orioles think they got a steal with Arrieta in the fifth round, just as they apparently did with Timothy Bascom in the fourth. And you never can have enough pitching.
The fact that it’s college pitching makes me even happier. Just don’t bring up Beau Hale.
Now it's time to turn our attention to the rest of the season - the race for third place, Dave Trembley's future as manager.

And, please, start throwing dollar figures at Erik Bedard. Legitimate ones. Nothing insulting. "

Bill Ordine

"And with the Wieters signing, the Orioles carefully navigated the brinkmanship situation of losing their top pick (he would have become draft-eligible again today) and getting the kid at a reasonable price. MacPhail was patient, took the talks with Boras to the deadline, and Wieters finally took the six large.

More learned observers of the Orioles, such as colleague Pete Schmuck, have made the case that the significance of the Wieters signing is that it sends a clear message to the rest of the clubhouse that the organization is prepared to do battle with the Yankees and Red Sox. Lately, the players have shown that with their bats and gloves. And they've done it showing a remarkably dogged determination and persistence. And hopefully, the organization is willing to do the same with its checkbook, even if it is in carefully weighed and deliberate steps."

An “O” for Optimism?

Lowest of The Low

No, we’re not talking about Jay Gibbons’ batting average

By Christopher Heun

The Orioles have never been lower as an organization than they are right now.

That might seem like hyperbole, since the roster probably has more talent than five or six years ago and the farm system has improved since then.

But the results on the field haven’t changed in a decade. And the people making the decisions (or is it just one person, Uncle Peter?) haven’t learned from their mistakes.

They’ve fired their manager (for the third time in four seasons) but couldn’t convince the only guy they wanted as a replacement, Joe Girardi, to accept the job.

Just the thought of changing the manager proves that The Warehouse doesn’t get it: even with Earl Weaver at the helm, the Orioles are a bad ball club. They’re not a little luck and one big free agent signing away from contention. Not even close. Not when they can’t play .500 ball.

The only player on the roster who sensibly could be traded for meaningful prospects, Miguel Tejada, broke his wrist and won’t play again until after the July 31 trade deadline has passed.

If Peter Angelos really has accepted the need for a single person to be in charge of all baseball decisions, then he could have picked someone with success building a team from within. The man he named president of baseball operations, Andy MacPhail, has admitted he couldn’t develop position players in his 12 years in Chicago.

Breaking up the roster and acquiring as much young talent as possible is the only way the Birds will become contenders. But no one in The Warehouse seems to realize that. Otherwise, Tejada would have been traded long ago.

On top of that, two young pitching prospects who were supposed to blossom this season have spent most of their time on the disabled list. Adam Loewen is done for the year and Hayden Penn is turning into the second coming of Carl Pavano.

Daniel Cabrera, the third young arm always mentioned in the same breath as Loewen and Penn as the rotation of the future, has an ERA over 5.00. He's fully embraced his fate as the reincarnation of Bobby Witt.

In mid June, before Perlozzo was sent packing, I thought it couldn’t get any worse after the Birds were swept at home by the supposedly inferior Nats. Then they lost three more games, pushing their losing streak to eight. Then they fell into last place and 12 games under .500. Then Perlozzo was fired and the star player broke his wrist.

To be fair, newcomers Jeremy Guthrie and Brian Burres have stepped into the starting rotation and performed well, though much of their work has been wasted because of poor run support. Only two teams in the American League have scored fewer runs; only three have a lower slugging percentage.

No one should expect that to change anytime soon (Who’s excited about two more years of Aubrey Huff?) The only hitting prospect playing above Single A, outfielder Nolan Reimold, hasn’t played in nearly two months because of a strained oblique muscle. Georgia Tech catcher Matt Wieters, whom the Orioles drafted earlier this summer, will instantly become the club’s best minor league hitter once his agent, Scott Boras, allows him to sign a contract.

Some fans are holding their breath for Mark Texiera, a free agent after next season. Rather than meet the Rangers’ asking price in a trade, the Orioles would be wise to save their prospects and hope for the best once the first baseman hits the open market.

The good thing about hitting rock bottom is there’s no way to go but up. Now that the Birds have nestled into familiar territory, 10 games under .500, the bullpen will get better and some one-run games may go their way for a change. Even during their losing streak last month, they weren’t getting blown out.

The harder trick will be getting anything more valuable than AA relievers in return for mediocre veterans that predominate the Orioles roster. That’s a topic better left for another day.