Day 27: Baltimore Orioles

The entire schedule of when team recaps will be.

Team: Baltimore Orioles

2007 Regular Season Record: 69-93

Cost per Win: $93,554,808 / 69 = $1,355,866 per win

2007 Season Recap: The Orioles had a pretty rough 2007 season and extended the streak of seasons with a sub-500 record to 10 in a row. The Orioles have also finished 4th in the AL West 9 of those 10 seasons including the 2007 season. They finished 2007 with 93 losses and were 27 games back of the Red Sox for the division crown. The Orioles offense was actually pretty consistent and as a team they it for a .272 batting average which ranked 6th in the AL. Pitching was however a weak spot and as a staff they achieved an ERA of 5.17 which ranked 13th in the AL. All in all it made for a bad first season for manager Dave Trembley.

The Orioles didn’t have a real offensive standout. The team’s leader in terms of batting average was Nick Markakis who hit for a .300 average and added 112 RBIs which also led the team. The Orioles most well known and highest paid player in 2007 was Miguel Tejada. Tejada was paid nearly $14 million in 2007 and in exchange for that he hit for a .296 average and 81 RBIs which was second on the team. In the field Tejada had 15 errors at shortstop for a .971 fielding average which isn’t that great but not really bad either so Tejada at least made an argument that he deserved that salary.

The Orioles spend a lot of money on pitching with 3 of their 6 highest paid players being pitchers. One of these pitchers is Kris Benson who earned a little over $7 million in 2007 but missed the entire season while recovering from shoulder surgery. Of the pitchers that did see action in 2007 none of them performed exceptionally well. One of the most obvious marks of this is the fact that they didn’t have a single pitcher with an ERA below 3. The team’s leader in ERA was starting pitcher Eric Bedard who finished with a 3.16 ERA and a 13-5 record to also lead the team in wins. One thing the Orioles lacked in 2007 was a strong closer. The team’s leader in saves was Chris Ray with 16. The team as a whole only had 30 saves in 2007.

The Orioles did make a big move this off-season when they traded Miguel Tejada to the Astros. I have already commented in my post on the Astros that I think the Astros overpaid for Tejada which means that the Orioles did a good job of getting a quality return in the trade. The player that I think will end up being the best part of that trade for the Orioles will be Luke Scott and also the Orioles got 3 promising young pitchers in the deal so they have improved their pitching staff and also added a quality bat to their lineup to replace Tejada.

Key Free Agents: SP Kris Benson, OF Corey Patterson; Benson would have been a bigger loss if he would have played in 2007 but the combination of the question mark about his health and his high salary really minimize the impact of losing him. Patterson will be a loss but his leaving does open the hole in the outfield for Luke Scott to get into the starting lineup without taking someone’s place in the lineup.

Offseason Needs: The Orioles have already filled most of their holes with the Tejada trade. They could use some help in terms of starting pitching but most teams have that problem and their just really isn’t the talent in free agency to make too big of a difference. Their offense is solid enough to stay competitive but if they want to be able to make the playoffs soon they will have to spend a lot of money just to keep pace with the Red Sox and Yankees in their own division. As an organization they don’t seem ready to do that so they have really made the moves necessary to return to compete for the 3rd spot in the division which I think should be there realistic goal.

Prediction for the 2008 season: The Orioles play in way to good a division to see too much of an improvement in their record. I think they can make it to 75-80 wins in 2007 but anything above that would be a very good achievement and exceed any expectations I have for them. They should have a close race with the Blue Jays for that 3rd spot in the AL East and I think by the end of the season they will have that spot secured but still will probably be 10-15 games behind the Yankees and Red Sox in the standings.