The Orioles president of baseball operations said about his new manager Buck Showalter, "I've never seen a guy walk in a room and have so much change so soon with nothing else happening other than a different guy walking through the room." When Buck Showalter took over the Baltimore Orioles on August 3rd, he was inheriting a team in last place of the AL East with a 32-73 record. Showalter led the Orioles to a 34-23 record after he was hired, the best among the teams in the AL East during that stretch. The Orioles catcher Matt Wieters said about Showalter, “It definitely was a different attitude, which I think Buck brought. He brought the attitude of we're not going to shy away from anybody.” Oriole fans that hope that their teams late season success will continue through the 2011 season.
They scored the fourth fewest runs in the league last seasons. Buck Showalter said about his team’s offense, "It was a challenge for us last year. Where we are, we had to improve offensively." The Orioles tried to improve their lineup in the off-season by adding Derrick Lee at first base, Mark Reynolds at third base, J.J. Hardy at shortstop, and Vladimir Guerrero, who will be their designated hitter. Oriole fans hope that Lee and Reynolds will have bounce back seasons. Lee failed to hit 20 home runs last season for only the second time in his last 11 seasons and Mark Reynolds also struggled hitting a career worst .198 from the plate and had over 200 strikeouts. Showalter said about Reynolds high strikeout numbers, “He brings some things we don't have. You can find negatives on any player. We certainly like his contact-to-damage ratio. We’re going to dwell on all the positive things he does.”
Projected starting lineup:
1. Brian Roberts, 2B
2. Nick Markakis, RF
3. Derrick Lee, 1B
4. Vladimir Guerrero, DH
5. Adam Jones, CF
6. Luke Scott, LF
7. Mark Reynolds, 3B
8. Matt Wieters, C
9. J.J. Hardy
The Orioles also let up the 5th most runs in the major leagues last season. However, their young pitching staff definitely has a lot of promise. Brian Matusz, who is only 24 years old, showed how good his stuff can be, as he was 7-3 with a 3.63 ERA in 14 starts after the All-Star break last season. "I think we have great young pitching, guys that showed a lot of progress at the end of last year. We've got to hope we can continue that growth and that progression," said Jeremy Guthrie, who went 11-14 and posted a 3.83 ERA in 2010. Guthrie added, "[I will] try to go out there and work hard and prepare for each start... be aggressive with the hitters, and hopefully that will rub off on the others and we will pitch well, the way we did the last two months of the season." Mark Connor, the Orioles, pitching coach said about his team's rotation, “What I see on film excites me. Starting with Guthrie, he is still a young guy, even though he is the veteran on this club. He is still a young man. When I was in the other dugout watching him pitch, I always wished that I had him. And then I look at Matusz, Arrieta, Tillman, Bergesen, there is some talent here. It is just a question of being consistent with it, and staying healthy. I think the sky is the limit. Matusz’s whole approach on the mound, if you watch his mound presence and the way he went about things, for a young kid it was impressive... The ball jumps out of Tillman’s hand, from what I saw on film... Arrieta has great stuff. I was talking to him a little bit about trusting it and not trying to make it more than it is or needs to be.” Arrieta, Tillman, and Bergesen are all very talented pitchers and have great stuff, but they are unproven in the big leagues. The three of them struggled last season with a combine 16-23 record and a 5.17 ERA.
Projected starting pitching staff:
1. Jeremy Guthrie
2. Brian Matusz
3. Chris Tillman
4. Jake Arrieta
5. Brad Bergesen
Projected closer:
Kevin Gregg
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