Hope in Baltimore

I have been an o's fan for my entire life. I can remember that douche bag kid from yankee stadium reaching over the fence and taking that ball away from Tony Tasasco back in 1997, the last time the orioles had a chance for anything. Since then its been one disaster after another. It's gotten so bad at oriole park at camden yards that fans are now protesting the games themselves, by getting up and walking out in the middle of an inning. The orioles have become laughable losers, unlike the cubs who are the lovable losers. However, it seems as if there might be some hope. I think I can begin to see a light at the end of this 11 year tunnel.

But first let me say one thing, Eric Bedard I will always love you and will miss watching you win the cy young for the next 3 years. It will be hard to watch as you dominate the Al and watch you take the mariners to the playoffs and maybe even win them a world series with King Felix. Thank you for all the great years and Baltimore and thank you for being a great competitor even though our team was a complete and utter joke.

Now, I have to say thank you one more time to Bedard, for bringing in 4 possibly awesome prospects, 22 year old center fielder Adam Jones, 19 year old right handed pitcher Chris Tillman, 20 year old left handed pitcher Tony Butler, 23 year old towering right handed pitcher Kam Mickolio and another possible trading chip in 30 year old left handed set up man/closer George Sherrill. These kids, and Sherrill, are going to be the backbone of this organization for the next decade or so, and while it is sad to lose a guy of Bedard's talent and well, awesomeness, it was something that had to be done.

So lets analyze the haul the o's got in return for him, starting with the prize prospect of the group, 22 year old Adam Jones. Jones is considered to be a 5 tool prospect, and is considered to be a more than above average cf for years to come. For those of you who don't know what a 5 tool player is, it is someone who can hit for power, average, has good if not great speed, has a good throwing arm and is a good defensive player. Guys that are or have been considered 5 tool players are Ken Griffey jr., Carlos Beltran, once upon a time Barry Bonds (even pre-steroids), Alex Rodriguez and a few others. These players are pretty rare if they actually pan out and are always hot commodities in the baseball world. Jones is considered to be the gem of this 5 player haul and will be immediately penciled in as the Orioles starting cf for the next 10 years. Jones gives the birds a very strong, young, outfield as he is paired with budding star right fielder Nick Markakis a possible 4 tool player, he does not have balzing speed and thus he is not a 5 tool prospect. But back to Jones, in his last year in the minor leagues at the AAA Tacoma Rainiers, Jones put up impressive numbers, hitting for a .314 batting average, 25 home runs, and batted in 84 runs. In only 101 games. Thats about 1 home run per 4 games meaning in a regular reason of 182 games he'd hit 45 dingers, not bad at all for a cf. Jones has been compared to Torii Hunter, as well as Mike Cameron.

Moving along to George Sherrill. Sherrill is going to be pencilled in as the orioles closer this upcoming season, as their current closer, Chris Ray, had tommy john surgery and will miss most if not all of the 2008 season. Sherrill throws from a deceptive delivery which confuses batters as the ball leaves his hand. It is hard for the batter to pick up the spin of the ball coming out of his hand and thus they have a hard time guessing what pitch he is throwing until the ball is up at them. Sherrill posted solid numbers last year for the Mariners, appearing in 73 games as a relief period, throwing 45.2 innings, with an earned run average of a low 2.36. He had 56 strike outs in those 45 innings and had a record of 2-0. He also recorded 3 saves. However, Sherrill's best attribute to the Orioles is that he is another trade commodity. Solid left handed relief pitchers are fairly hard to come by, and if Sherrill can rack up 30 saves or so this year he will be able to bring in another great haul of prospects in a trade next offseason.

Chris Tillman is the player with the highest ceiling of any of these players. He stands at 6'5, the prototypical height for a starting pitcher. Tillman, at a young age has 2 plus pitches, meaning an above average major league pitch in his fastball and cut fastball. He is working to improve his other pitches as well and has the potential to be a #1 or #2 starter in the major leagues. Last year in at A+ ball, Tillman started 20 games, throwing 102.2 innings. He had an era of 5.26 and had a record of 5-7. While those numbers don't seem to be that impressive, you must remember that he was only 19 years old, and its not really his era and record that matter. Tillman struck out 105 batters in that time, which is a very very impressive feat. Having more strike outs than innings pitched is rare, and shows that he can be dominant if he can figure out how to pitch instead of just throw, which most young prep stars do in the beginning of their careers. Scouts have compared him to Gil Meche who has been a very dependable starter and has stepping into an ace role with the Kansas City Royals the past 2 seasons or so.

Tony Butler is the other starting pitcher the o's got in this trade. Butler also has prototypical height for a pitcher, standing at 6'7 and is also extremely young at only 20 years old. Butler has 3 plus pitches in a 92-97 mph fastball, a sweeping curve ball, and a solid change up for a kid who was still pitching in high school just 2 years ago. He is still somewhat wild with his command, but remember he is only 20 years old and command can be obtained over the years (look at Curt Shilling). There is no reason that if he is allowed to progress properly over the next few years that Butler could not become a solid #2 starter for the birds. Scouts have compared him to Scott Kazmier the ace for the Tampa Bay Devil rays and one of the young bright stars of baseball.

Kam Mickolio is also a towering 6'9 right handed pitcher. Mickolio is projected to be a relief pitcher for the orioles but at 6'9 he seems to have a bright future there. The taller a pitcher is, the harder it seems that he is throwing. Guys like Daniel Cabrera and Mickiolo are so coveted because if they can harness their potential they can be lights out game in and game out simply because of their size. Mickolio posted a 1.82 era in AA ball last year, throwing in 29.2 innings and striking out 27 people. He was rewarded for this effort in the middle of the year by being promoted to AAA, where he was still dependable, throwing in 24 innings while striking out 28 batters. His era rose to a 3.75 but he is only 23 and that is not a bad era for a man making his first appearance in AAA ball.

Now I know that all prospects don't pan out. I also know that even some that do don't pan out to their full potential. I understand that and thats fine. The thing that is so promising is that the birds are actually making smart moves. Trading away players with talent to get a number of players that might have talent. They are building their up their farm system with talented players and thus while not all of the prospects will pan out, some will. They are playing the game of numbers, getting as many talented young players as they can and hoping that some work out. It is the first time I have ever seen the o's do this in my entire lifetime. I can see a future here and it gives me hope. Look for the birds to be terrible in 2008, probably the worst team in all of baseball. However, look for them to be decent in 2009 and then good in 2010, with them possibly playing for a world series in 2011. Andy McPhail seems to know what hes doing and I have hope for the first time in forever. LETS GO BIRDS!!!!!!