O's Lineup (pitching and hitting) & my thoughts
Well with the Sosa deal completed (well not offically, we have to wait till he passes a physical and gets introduced), but anyways i think we are done as far as our hitting lineup goes.
Batting Order -
2b - Brian Roberts - Doubles Leader, can he get on base or what?
3b - Melvin Mora - Great Batter, very high AVG, and can hit it out of the park too.
SS - Miguel Tejada - Must i say anything more ?
C - Javy Lopez - Last year he was adjusting to AL pitching, i think we will see a vast improvement this year.
DH - Rafael Palmerio - Mabye he'll return to his 2003 form ? Still a major HR threat.
1b - Jay Gibbons/Rafael Palmerio - I feel as if Jay is gonna have a breakout year.
RF - Sammy Sosa - Must i say anything more ?
CF - Larry Bigbie - Great Power, and young, big upside
LF - Luis Matos - Incredible hitter, just needs to stay healthy
Bench - Newhan, Surhoff, Gomez, Raines
I am very pleased at this lineup, we could probably create alot more offense, so we dont have to rely on our pitching too much. Hopefully this lineup will get us 10-15 more wins. Now we could use another pure hitter like Mike Cameron, Aubrey Huff, or Magglio Ordonez (if healthy), but even if we dont, id be happy going into spring training with this lineup. Also i believe its imperative we go after a catcher to let Javy get some rest. We dont need a Pudge type of catcher, just someone who can hit and play solid Defense.
Pitching -
Oh boy.... Where do i begin.
Well right now we have alot of Capable Pitchers:
Sir Sid - Great pitcher (when hes not grossly overweight :laugh: )
Lopez - I consider him the ace of this staff, and he deserves a shot at it.
Bedard - Huge upside..i mean HUGE upside, but it might take him a couple years to live up to his expectations
Riley - This kid has the makings of an ace, but hes just plain dumb...i dont know what to say :doh:.
Cabrera - He won alot of games for a rookie, but he still needs to get more pitches.
Ainsworth/Bauer/Chen - Well they have shown the ability to pitch at a ML level, but lack exp.
Current rotation (as i see it)
Rodrigo Lopez - His numbers are staggering, and deserves a shot.
Sidney Ponson - If he can get his weight down, he can probably win 16+ games.
Bedard - He needs to get his emotions under control, and stop freaking out when he gives up HR's.
Riley - He has soo much potential, but hes wasting it by doing dumb shi* all the time.
Cabrera - Hopefully he adds a couple more pitches and can win at least 10 games this year.
Ainsworth/Bauer/Chen - .....yeah hmmm...
Well our pitching rotation is pretty shaky, im not confident they can win enough games for us. I suggest that we get 1 or 2 more starters to help the youngin's gain some experience. Well first, i would go after Vasquez, try and package together Julio+maine+parrish/cash and try to get him. Next try to go after another pitcher like say Sheets ( i hear he's unhappy with the contract the Brewers offered him), trade riley or cabrera and package him with more prospects+cash/bauer. So this is how our lineup would look like (and i projected wins also).
1.) Rodrigo Lopez - 15+ wins
2.) Javier Vasquez - 15+ wins
3.) Ben Sheets - 16+ wins
4.) Sidney Ponson 14+ wins
5.) Bedard 12+ wins
6.) Ainsworth//Chen/riley/cabrera (whoever doesnt get traded)5-10 wins
Now since Miller is returning back as the pitching coach, i expect these guys to put up those numbers, or something close to them. We saw what Miller did with Ponson last season, maybe he can influence the rest of the staff ??????
I know most of the pitching staff is wishful thinking, but i am almost certain we will get 1 more quality pitcher, most probably Vasquez, but if we can also get Sheets, man that would be unreal. :D
Feel free to post your thoughts, call me a moron etc.... whatever. :)