Here's the lineup as of now:
C Matt Wieters
1st Garrett Atkins
2nd Brian Roberts
SS Cesar Izturis
3rd Miguel Tejada
LF Nolan Reimold
CF Adam Jones
RF Nick Markakis
DH Luke Scott/Ty Wiggington
Pitching Rotation:
1. Kevin Millwood
2. Brian Matusz
3. Jeremy Guthrie
4. Brad Bergesen
5. Chris Tillman
Ok, looks like a good hitting line-up, but I see multiple problems:
- There's no TRUE leadoff hitter here so guess what? Default goes to Brian Roberts again. Yes, I know Roberts has a good OBP, hits for average and has good speed, but you know what? I think he's wasted here. With his power capabilities and ability to handle the bat I would rather see him hit 2nd, 5th or 6th.
- With Roberts batting 1st, then that starts the problem with #2. Adam Jones still swings at too many bad pitches. Plus, Jones has the ability to hit 20plus homers. I even think 25 homers. If he hits 2 you need someone who can bunt, hit and run, hit the other way. This takes the power numbers out of Jones' hands
- What to do with Markakis? I think you put him at 3 and forget about it. Problem again comes back to not having a leadoff guy and Roberts unavailable for 2. Markakis is wasted when he bats 2nd. At some point I would like to see Nick develop more power. Did he hit 20 last year?
- Can Reimold prove last year was no fluke and handle 4th? I hope so.
- Tejada bats 5th
- The rest besides Izturis are all #6 hitters. Wieters, Scott, Atkins should all hit 6 but can't. With Weiters' potential how can you justify htting him 7 or 8? Scott has power (as long as he's hitting off righties) 7th for him then 8th for Atkins.
- Finally, is Atkins and Aubrey the right fit for 1st base? I really would like to have seen the O's pick up a quality 1st baseman. If they had a big hitting 1B I would think this lineup could be as good as any in baseball.
- DH. Ready to live with Luke Scott and Wiggington for a whole year at DH? God, what a wasted spot in the order! Scott can only hit off righties. Wiggington lacks consistency. Plus, he's too fat!
- Has anybody signed Carlos Delgado or Jim Thome? With their age I think we could sign either one to a nice short 1 year deal. O's would have low risk and the possibilities of a big hitting DH. I think then, you need to trade Scott for more pitching prospects.
Would you take a record of 82-82?
1. Roberts is a laedoff hitter, not as much power as you think
ReplyDelete2. Markakis should hit second. I have always been a fan of having a lefty hit second because if the leadoff man gets on, it open the right side of the infield.
3. Reimold will b e streaky, but no where near as streaky as Luke Scott, and I think IF he stays healthy, 25 bombs will not be out of the question. Wouldn't bat him 4th though, not yet
4. Tejada, I think he should hit 6th, but I have a hunch that he may bat cleanup at the beginning of the season.
5. Here is my lineup
Roberts 2B
Markakis RF
Reimold LF
Wieters C
Jones CF
Tejada 3B
Scott DH
Atkins 1B
Izturis SS
This lineup allows no manager to match up because there is now back to back left handed hitters in the lineup.
6. I am interested to see what the Crow will do with Atkins, because he is talking a big game and saying he will have him fixed
7. Thome is a Twin and Delgado is done. No point in signing those guys anyway as it would be another roster spot wasted and they would be a full time DH that make your roster less versitle
Fritz, I almost agree with your comment about Roberts. I do believe he is a good leadoff hitter for sure, but in a perfect lineup I think 2nd would be ideal. Key word is perfect, which we obviously do not have. And Frank, I really like your lineup, and hope it will be that way by the end of the year. But there is ZERO chance that is the opening day lineup. They will not put that kind of pressure on the young guys. I see Tejada in the 4 or 5 to start, depending on how Atkins begins the year. If he hits for power early, he will be 4. We will see. I definitely think 82-82 would be seen as successful, especially if they were to spin Tejada at the deadline and bring up Josh Bell, as well as find out what you have with Brandon Snyder at some point during the season. I think things will be much clearer about the O's future after this season.
ReplyDeleteBrandon Snyder = Hayden Penn They expect so much from him and value him so high, and they will probably get nothing out of him. He hasnt put up great minor league numbers what make you think he will put up good major league numbers. The only postition i dont like on this team right now is DH i think you can find 15 guys just hanging around better than Scott and Wiggington. They are both great bench players cause they can go anywhere but neither can hit everyday as they have proved. But Scott will hit 9 HR's with 13 RBI'sin 4 games and everyone will forget about how bad he is the other 158.
ReplyDeleteI really think if you put a legit #4 hitter in that lineup, then we really have something. All the other players could definitely fit around that. But getting that will cost you and not sure if the team is ready for that yet. I don't necessarily agree about Snyder = Penn because Penn at 25 or whatever he is has proven he is no good in the bigs while Snyder has steadily improved in the minors and hasn't yet proven anything in the bigs. I didn't say I think he will be a stud, just said we should find out one way or another this year.
ReplyDeleteI dont' think Snyder and Penn compare. Penn made is major league debut way to early and after that, between untimely injuries he missed taking advantage of oppurtunites. Snyder was a high school catcher, that struggled his first few years and had shoulder surgery. The more time that has passed after that surgery, the better hs numbers have got. I think Penn was just a case of a weak farm system and early failures played game with his head. I mean look how weak the system use to be, remember the days of going down to Frederick and calling up Fiorintino.
ReplyDeleteYes luckily the farm system isnt a joke anymore. Snyder im just not sold on, i hope he is what they claim i just doubt it looking at his past. Penn the only thing that messed with his head was the organization telling him he was the greatest thing since Nolan Ryan and he couldnt even get me out(thats not true we all know he could). The greatest achievement the old front office of the Orioles had done was make us all beilieve that Hayden Penn and Daniel Cabrera were top pitchers.
ReplyDeletethe orioles seem like they have the best collection of possible talent for a last place team! things have to go right, but there's at least some hope in the Charm City. I know asking for a pennant this year is asking too much, but I still wish they would have or still get a big bat for either DH or 1st. Now that they signed Atkins it seems like they are obligated to play him. But I'm afraid it's gonna be a LOOOOONG year with Atkins and Aubrey sharing time at 1st. I could be wrong. There's a 1st time for everything.
ReplyDeleteThere still exists the same ol shitty relief situation. I guess bats don't count when you're given up runs from the 6th inning on. If I was a starting pitcher last year I would have gone ballistic a few times. After awhile Trembley would have had to fight me to get me off the mound for the likes of Albers, et al.
Lastly, Jeremy Guthrie. Just because he played for the US in the World Cup Series Big Bowl Games doesn't make him a great or even good pitcher. (Did anyone even watch any of those shitty made up games?) Let's face it, Guthrie's in his 30's now and he struggled all last year. How many times did he give up 2,3,4 runs in the first 2 innings last year! You can't keep doing that. Not even if you have the best offense in baseball. I think the O's have lost the opportunity to trade him for "peak" value. One can only hope he pitches well and we can trade him at the trade deadline this summer.
I simply can stand watching him pitch. There doesn't seem to be a gameplan with his pitch selection. He nibbles too much. Walks too many. Ends up giving in to the hitters to often.
By the way, I would donate $500 to the charity of Travis' choice to see Mark get an at bat against Hayden "Pig" Penn. Hell, I'd like to see him bat against Sean Penn, or William Penn!
All i would have to do is stick the bat in the middle of the plate cause thats where the ball is coming. I am poor so i will only donate $25 to charity so that Fritz doesnt make Travis uncomfortable at work anymore.
ReplyDelete1.Gotta think the relief situation will be much improved. I like Gonzalez, a hard throwing lefty who has had success. Johnson slots back to his most effective spot, and Kam can be the 7th inning guy cause his stuff is quite nasty. Koji is a natural for the bullpen, as long as he is healthy, which the bullpen should help. He was always good in short inning stints last year, just wore down. Hendrickson is solid, and Hernandez is an upgrade as well.
ReplyDeleteAs for Guthrie, I wouldn't write him off just yet. He is only 30 (31 in April), so it is not like he is 45 or something(dig). Plus he spent time on mission trips between college and the pro's, so his arm should be fresher than a normal 30 year old. As for last year, I blame alot of that on the WBC. That was a weird situation for pitchers who are used to easing into the season on regemented programs. Instead, they only saw about 2 weeks of spring training and were thrown into intense game situations. Look at the starters who participated (See Oswalt, Roy; Peavy,Jake). They didn't have quality seasons either. I am not saying that Guthrie will become an ace, but I do believe this season will be much better than last.