Beware, Orioles have re-stocked

The Baltimore Orioles are the sleeper team of 2007. They have dealt with their issues from 2005 and 2006 in more ways than one. In 2005, it was the lack of team chemistry after the numerous injuries that plagued the team and Rafael Palmeiro pinning the blame on Miguel Tejada for him testing positive on steroids. In 2006, it was the lack of pitching they had to keep themselves in the game. They had no bridge from the starting rotation, which had some holes in and of itself, to Chris Ray.

Before the 2006 season, they let go of Rafael Palmeiro and they signed Kevin Millar. Millar has known to be a positive presence in the lineup and a member of the 2004 World Champion "idiots".

This past offseason, the Orioles have completely retooled their bullpen, improved the starting rotation, and added some depth on the bench and on the field.

The addition of Aubrey Huff adds some power to the Orioles' lineup. Huff, being a member of the Devil Rays and the Astros last season, now has a home in Baltimore. Orioles will be slotting Huff at the first base position, a position he has some experience playing. Although, Huff had an off-season with the bat last year, having a consistent position and a permanent home may help him get back to number that made him a dangerous hitter. Being 30 years old when the season begins, Huff is more than capable of posting 25 HR and 100 RBI as he has done previously in his career.

Brian Roberts, the allstar second baseman, is hoping his injury plagued days are behind him and hoping to return to his 2005 form. Roberts has the speed at the top of the lineup that can create excitement when he gets on base, stealing 33 bases in 2006. In 2005, he developed and showed off the pop he has in his bat by hitting 18 home runs and was 18th in American League MVP voting. He's a dangerous gap hitter, hitting 50 doubles in 2004.

Miguel Tejada, not much I really need to say about him. He's a stellar shortshop, who will hit over .300, hit for power, drive in runs, and hasn't broke triple digits in the strikeout department since 2000. Need I say more? He's the cleanup hitter.

Entering this season at 35 years old, Melvin Mora's bat might be slowing down a bit, Mora still has the ability of reaching 15 HR and 75 RBI and hitting .280.

In left field, it appears Jay Payton will be getting the starting role. He is a solid contact hitter which will be ideal for those hit and run situations. He's averaged 51 strikeouts over the past three season and will give you a .285 batting average. Last season with the Athletics, he developed his doubles hitting posting 32 in the span of he season.

Corey Patterson will be manning center field and has the speed to man the entire outfield all by himself. The speed demon has resurrected his career in Baltimore after struggling in Chicago. In 2006, he stole a career high 45 bases and coming into this season at 27 years of age, he still can get better.

The young and talented Nick Markakis finishes up the outfield in right this season. After the all-star break, he found his power stroke hitting 14 of his 16 home runs. As a rookie, 22 years old, his totals in 2006 were .291, 16 HR, 62 RBIs with 491 at bats, which isn't a full season. His 10 home run August shows his potential to be a 30 home run person. Markakis showed very good plate discipline with a .351 on base percentage. Also, Markakis only made 1 error in all of 2006. With all of this on his resume at 22 years old, his future looks bright in the major leagues.

Ramon Hernandez had an excellent return to the American League in 2006 after his brief stint with the San Diego Padres, hitting a career high 23 HR and 91 RBIs. With the improved protection in the lineup, look for him to post similar numbers to last year.

Jay Gibbons, the oft-injured former right fielder, will be fitting into his role as designated hitter. When healthy, Gibbons is a power threat and capable of driving in runs. With a healthy Jay Gibbons, Miguel Tejada, Nick Markakis, Aubrey Huff and even Ramon Hernandez, the Orioles have a dangerous middle of the batting order.

Erik Bedard has been a quality starter for the Orioles with a 3.76 ERA in 2006 and is expected to put up similar numbers, if not better. Daniel Cabrera has improved every year since his rookie season. The flame-throwing right hander is capable of striking out any hitting in the big leagues with his fastball topping out at 98 MPH. The one thing he has to learn is throwing a 95 MPH fastball with location is better than a 98 MPH erratic fastball. Once he puts that together, he'll be one of the dominant pitcher in the American League. Bringing in Jaret Wright from the Yankees has been overlooked as a good move this offseason, but taking Wright out of the New York spotlight will alleviate the pressure he felt with every outing. Wright had a breakthrough season with Atlanta in 2004, going 15-8 with a 3.28 ERA. He has the talent. In a more relaxed atmosphere, expect those numbers to return in 2007. Adam Loewen is a young and unproven pitcher with potential. With Leo Mazzone as pitching coach, the same pitching coach that coached two future hall of famers, Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux, Loewen will learn his trade and improve as the season progresses. Steve Trachsel in the five spot in the rotation is an inning eater. He went 15-8 last season, mostly because of large run support, but the Orioles have the capabilities of doing the same in 2007.

The revamped bullpen features a former closer in Danys Baez who will be the setup man to closer, Chris Ray. Ray had 33 saves in his first season as closer for a team that had only 70 wins. But the duo that will be frequently seen warming up together will be that of Chad Bradford from the right and Jamie Walker from the left. Bradford, after having seasons with injuries, put together a solid 2006 with a 2.90 ERA and a 4-2 record with the Mets. Walker, with the AL champion Detroit Tigers last year, posted a 2.81 ERA. ERAs below 3 is what you look for in relief pitching and Orioles found what they have been missing with these pitcher.

The key member of the Orioles bench is Kevin Millar. He can be a backup first baseman or outfielder. But the most important aspect is he's part of the insurance policy for if Jay Gibbons is to return to the disabled list during the season. If Gibbons is to get hurt, which has happened each of the past few seasons, Aubrey Huff would take over the DH role and Kevin Millar would play first base.

Adding Paul Bako, as a backup to Ramon Hernandez, brings a veteran presence to the team to help out with the young pitchers. Bako will play once a week to give Hernandez a rest, but his main purpose is to shape pitchers like Daniel Cabrera and Adam Loewen into productive starters.

Chris Gomez, the super-utility man, was able to do it all last year. Gomez played all infield positions for the Orioles at different times throughout the season and committed only 3 errors while batting .341 off the bench. Put him in for defense, put him in as a pinch hitter, no matter what role the Orioles need him to play, he can do it and do it very well.

The Orioles have the tools and depth to be a dangerous team even in the tough AL East.