Good morning all out there. Hope everyone is enjoying a warm, wonderful Thursday in the Mid-Atlantic region, specifically around Baltimore.
Well, Baseball America recently posted their predictions where all 30 teams should finish in 2012.
Sadly, they – much like pretty much every other newspaper, news station, media outlet, blog and whatever else – picked the Baltimore Orioles to finish last in the American League East.
Shocked? No.
Of course, the Yankees and Rays are favorites in the division. The Red Sox are predicted to finish third, and the Jays, fourth.
Here’s what they had to say about the Black and Orange…
5. BALTIMORE ORIOLES
Best-Case Scenario: RHP Jake Arrieta and LHP Brian Matusz bounce back, and LHP Zach Britton continues to develop, allowing Baltimore to feel good again about its rotation of the future.
Worst-Case Scenario: The Orioles waste time worrying about a few extra wins in the short term rather than building for the long term.
In The Spotlight: Matusz, whose 10.69 ERA last season was the worst in major league history for a pitcher with 10 starts.
Biggest Offseason Acquisition: LHP Wei-Yin Chen.
Next First-Time All-Star: OF Nick Markakis.
Basically, even if the Orioles improved from where they were last year – they would still finish last in the division. While the organization has made a lot of changes the roster this upcoming season and doing a tad bit better on the draft front, the future for baseball in Baltimore is still very murky.
There’s not a lot of buzz for this team heading into Opening Day, and it might be the case for a while.
At this point, as long as they don’t suck as badly as they did in 2011, I’d be satisfied. Of course, I’d like to see the Orioles win the division, or at least secure a wild card spot in the playoffs, but one step at a time…
