Sorry for the lack of posts over the past week or two, but I had gone on vacation and pretty much took a break from blogging for a bit. In addition, life had gotten in the way and to attend to some other things.
In the meantime, the 2010 baseball season in winding down and it’s a big surprise to me that the Texas Rangers and the San Francisco Giants are against one another for the championship. Personally, I would have expected Texas to win the American League pennant (or maybe New York), but the Giants I didn’t see taking the National League at all.
I’m sure most fans expected to see the Philadelphia Phillies with their big payroll, high-powered offense and the pitching triumvirate of Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels in the World Series. Let’s not forget the Yankees — I go can on and on about them; however, one has to think they will have to think about their aging playing and the lack of pitching efficiency in the ALCS.
Again, I sure as hell didn’t see the Giants playing for it all. I mean they have a real strong pitching corps with two-time Cy Young award winner Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Jonathan Sanchez in the fold; however, their everyday lineup perhaps with exception of Buster Posey are filled with non-household names and veteran who have been around the league.
They are an odd team for sure. With the roster they have (Aubrey Huff, Pat Burrell (?), Edgar Reneteria, Freddy Sanchez, Cody Ross, Andres Torres & Juan Uribe) don’t note anything special, but they have come together and won. Heck, their highest paid player – Barry Zito – was ommitted from the post-season roster!
I’ve never seen a hodgepodge of players such as the Giants play in the World Series, but like they say you can’t script October and games aren’t decided on paper, in the media, or online.
That being said, I’ll be rooting for the Giants since they have a handful of former Orioles (Huff, Eli Whiteside, Mike Fontenot and Chris Ray) who suited up for the this year. Nothing against Texas and they definitely would make a fine champion, but the Giants would make one hell of a story if they win it all.
Plus, Cliff Lee losing that first game, combined with a litany of Texas errors may have swung the pendulum in the Giants’ favor.
Then again, it’s only been one game. A lot can happen.
As for the Orioles, the biggest news of the off-season so far has been the reassignment of Terry Crowley. It looks like that Crowley – the team’s hitting coach for the past dozen seasons – will become a ‘hitting-evaluator’ throughout the organization.
According to the Baltimore Sun, Crowley, “is expected to have a wide range of responsibilities that would include tutoring specific minor league hitters, evaluating potential amateur draft choices and scouting hitters from other organizations who could be available via trade or free agency.”
I would venture to think Showalter will have a new staff with him when the 2011 season comes around. There have been some names thrown around as former Seattle manager Don Wakamatsu and few others, but changes will remain to be seen.
Other than that, it will be interesting to see who the Orioles go after in free agency. James, in a post this week, mused about this topic and I agree with him for the most part. The team needs a big bat, perhaps another arm in the rotation and a deeper bench.
Let’s hope the organization builds upon their strong finish to the season by bolstering the talent on the big league squad.
