Good Morning Baltimore

Back in early March I applied for the MLB dream job, and part of the application process was an essay about what I thought would be the biggest storyline of the 2011 baseball season.  Well, I didn't get the job (no surprise there) but with the Orioles playing the way they are 9 games into the season, I am pretty happy with the essay I wrote.  Here is what I said on March 3rd:

"With every new baseball season, there is one standout team that defies expectations, makes headlines, and steals the show.  A few years ago that team was the Tampa Bay Rays, and last year it was the San Francisco Giants.  This year, I believe that team will be the Baltimore Orioles.  That’s right, not the Phillies, not the Red Sox, but the Orioles, and here are my reasons why: 

Last August the Orioles fired their skipper, and replaced interim manager Juan Samuel with experienced manager Buck Showalter.  Showalter is a two-time American League Manager of the Year winner who has made a career of fixing broken teams.  He managed the Yankees through disarray in the early 1990s and the team won the World Series the year after he left.  Showalter then went on to manage a new expansion team, the Arizona Diamondbacks, and that team also went on to win the World Series the year after Buck left.  While Showalter was not physically present in the dugout for either team’s World Series win, it was his hard work and motivating managerial techniques that got the Yankees and the Diamondbacks their titles.  Just last year, when Showalter joined the Orioles on August 3rd, the team went from a losing record of 32-73, to finish off the season with a 34-23 stint.  The mere presence of Buck Showalter in the dugout improved the Orioles’ game dramatically.  This season Buck will be with the Orioles from the very beginning, and as a result we will see some exciting baseball played in Camden Yards for the first time in over a decade. 

Buck Showalter

While Showalter is a fantastic manager, he alone cannot make the Orioles stand out in 2011.  The team already had some talent in the likes of Nick Markakis and Brian Roberts, but the offseason signings of big bats like Vladimir Guerrero and Derrek Lee are going to help Baltimore offensively.  Furthermore, parting with Ty Wigginton at third base was an improvement in and of itself, but the addition of a hopefully healthy Mark Reynolds will help the Orioles both at the plate and in the field.  Lastly, a young pitching staff does not necessarily translate to a bad pitching staff, and with a rotation lead by Brian Matusz, the Orioles are not going down without a fight. 

Will the Baltimore Orioles be our 2011 World Series Champions?  Definitely not.  Will the team even make the playoffs?  Probably not.  However, with Buck Showalter at the helm combined with a balance of fresh young talent and skilled veterans, the Orioles will not only have their first winning season since 1997, but they will do so in a way that will catch the attention of the baseball community."  

Now I know the season is only two weeks old, but the Orioles are in first place in the AL East and delivered the undefeated Texas Rangers their first loss.  Like I said, I do not believe the Orioles are going to be our 2011 World Series Champions, and I highly doubt they will make the playoffs, but I am confident that for the first time since 1997, the Orioles will be a threat and a contender in the American League's loaded Eastern Division.