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guess its time to put in a lil work
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Another team im playing over on their season wins is theBaltimore Orioles
When I broke down this team, I kept it simplistic... and focused on two groups.
What I liked about this team, and what i disliked about their squad.
Basic Pro's vs Con's method of evaluating
A few things I like about the 2014 Baltimore Orioles.
1. Their off season acquisitions.
More so, I feel they gained more then they lost.
Their main additions were Ryan Webb .291 ERA last year,Ubaldo Jimenez,Jemile Weeks, and Nelson Cruz
I even like the addition of Delmon Young. He has some decent pop himself , 15 homers per 500 at bats in his career .
I wouldn't argue with anyone if they say Young is a poor overall major league'r , but the guy can hit, .282 career avg.
Some key departures were closer Jim Johnson , who they traded for Jemile Weeks,
which was more of a salary dump move then anything. Weeks did hit .300 in 2012 and can steal you a base though.
Johan Santana agreed to terms with them also....
and could break the majors in a month(if he performs of course)
THey lost Scott Feldman,P Jason Hammel, and Nate McLouth.
Besides McLouths speed, (which David Lough makes up for anyways)
I feel their additions will have more of a positive impact,this year, then the players they let go would have.
2. Nuclear Power.
These Orioles could possibly be the most powerful team in history. They hit more home runs then any other team
last year, 212 total homers, 24 more then any other ball club.
They accomplished this without the production of Nelson Cruz( who hit 27 homers in only 413 at bats)
To see how they really stacked up I wanted to get a better handle on their homers per at bats.
The average ammount of at bats for a player who plays in all 162 games is 630 at bats.
Assuming injuries and days off I knocked the number down 130 at bats to 500 .
Some players home run averages per 500 at bats are as follows:
500 at bats
Adam Jones : 21 homers
Nick Markakis : 15 HR
JJ Hardy : 20 HR
Nelson Cruz : 28 HR
Chris Davis : 31 HR
Nolan Reimold : 21 HR
Matt Weiters : 19 HR
Then you have Manny Machado who would be on pace for around 13 homers per 500 at bats.
And he is touted as having 20+ homer potential.
He will most likely not return until around 10 games into the season though.
At 2nd base the prospect Schoop has shown some pop in his bat as well, and he is likely to win the starting job.
Gotta keep in mind,that is only going by 500 at bats per player.
The majority of these players will get more then 500 plate appearances this season.
3. Dual Historic Abilities
How often can you say a team collectively possesses a talent,
at a historic level,in not one, but two game changing areas
Well, with this years Orioles you can legitimately say that.
Not only could they have power at an all time level,
but there defense could very well be the best ever assembled also.
Sounds crazy ehh?
For starters, last year their team already set MLB records in feilding percent at .991%,
games without a error (119 games) as well as fewest errors in a season with 54
To take it further, (excluding the pitcher position of course)
out of the 8 fielding positions available, they had 6 players who finished top 3 in golden glove categories.
They were
Catcher, Matt Weiters
First Basemen, Chris Davis
Shortstop, JJ Hardy
3rd basemen, Manny Machido
CF, Adam Jones
RF, Nick Markakis
And 3 of those 6 did end up winning the award,which were Jones,Hardy, and Machado.
Impressive huh, yet easy to overlook when glancing quickly at this team and their season wins total.
Things I dislike going into this play are :
1. Pitching
Last year, Baltimore pitchers had a 4.20 ERA , which ranked them 10th overall in the A.L.
They have improved this year by adding a potential Ace in Ubaldo Jimenez. What I do
not like about this taff though, is how many long balls they give up. Granted it is a hitters ballpark,
the rate is high enough to make you worry.
The Stating Rotation is looking like
1.Chris Tillman- won 16 games last year, logged 200 innings pitched and allowed only 184 hits
2. Ubaldo Jimenez- Showed some comeback flair last year. Held a respectable ERA pitching in a tough Coors Field
3.Wei-Yin Chen- 4.02 and 4.07 in 2 seasons as a starter. Not too excited, nor disapointed about this fella
4.Miguel Gonzalez- 276 career IP,249 hits against,decent for a #4, his pitches do not miss many bats though
5. lol Bud NOrris lol- i dont know, I laugh when I think bout this dude for some reason. Good strikeout rates.
As you can see, nothing that is going to WOW you there.
Would love to see some quality starts from these guys to build confidence off of.
O'day will continue to be a great asset in the pen.
Gaussman, who could become a starter and is their former top pick,
did well in the bullpen has had a great spring this year
Tommy Hunter has been throwing at 96 mph ever since becoming a relief pitcher
he even hit triple digits on the radar gun last season.
He should be able to hold down the closer spot this year
although living up to Jim Johnson's stats over the past 2 seasons will be difficult.
2. On Base Percentage.
Rather poor OBP from the Orioles in 2013.
Hate this stat because you want the better half of those bombs they are going to blast to not be solo shots.
Its vital that they improve on this area in 2014.
3. The Division they play in
The Yankees went out and played baseball monopoly as usual,
The Rays have a lot of pitching depth, the Red Sox are the World Champions of baseball,and the Blue Jays
will not be as bad as last year. This division is no joke.
4. Manny Machado's ears.
Final Thoughts
I know good pitching beats good hitting,
but major league teams only averaged 4.17 runs per game last season
which happens to be the lowest mark since 1992.
This high powered offense can be a separator in that environment
Considering they won 85 games while having to use 13 dif starting pitchers last season,
You would have to think that their staff has been stabilized enough to not reach nowhere close to 13 in 2014.
When considering all these factors in my head, it was comforting to know that this team only has to win 82 games
to cash the ticket. 81 games pushes. So even a 81-81 season would not be a ball breaker. Ask yourself,
with this info in mind, do you think Baltimore is good enough to be at least a .500 team this year
Im willing to gamble on it
over 81 wins -115
$150.00 to win $130.43Comment -
Brilliant observation and thought processing as you move from one angle to another. In London they would praise your writing with
"ripping good show, what?" Others who would disagree with your analysis who invite you to come and catch one in ya yarbles", hoping to be ripping out your bloody yarbles you great globby bottle of cheap stinking chip oil...Comment -
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Sup
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cashflow/sweeper runnin' 1-2 in the 10am right now
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Y0
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Maybe thats the splib that sole the Malaysian Airliner?!?!?!
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nevermind!...
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New e-40/g-eazy banger. E-40 has so much style on a track.
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Scarletts reply the last time she climbed off me...Comment -
Count
on a old skoo record player
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Mother Should I Trust The Government
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tastyComment -
deliciousComment
