2007 Baltimore Orioles Preview

The Baltimore Orioles were just a horrible mess last year, finishing in the bottom half of the AL in runs per game, and only one team finished worse in runs allowed per game. Though they will keep the same offensive team, they will make a very significant addition to it, Aubrey Huff. The outfield, amazingly enough, still has Jay Payton as one of the starting lineup. How did this happen? It's absurd to think that the Orioles are a desperate enough team to keep Jay Payton as a player at all.

Last year, Corey Patterson showed a surprising performance. For his first five years, he played horribly for the Chicago Cubs. He was signed to the Orioles last year, and fought for his career as a pro baseball player, which definitely showed. He struck out 24 less times over 9 games, and stole a career high of 45 bases. He should be able to add as much to his 2007 game as he did to last years, which will play a part in bringing the Orioles back up to plate as a worthy adversary. On many levels, when considering the 2007 season, this really is one of the players to keep eyes on. His performance is expected to strong during the coming season, according to most of the game's analysts.

Hernandez is a good offensive catcher, though we can't really determine how he handles pitchers from his performance last season. Other than that, there isn't much to say about him, except that we hope to see a little more consistency from him. It is the issue of consistency that is causing the greatest concern from people who've watched his career through the years. Thus, it really is difficult to pin down with any degree of specificity what kind of season we can anticipate when it comes to Hernandez.

Miguel Tejada hasn't missed a game since 2000. Three of those seasons have been played for the Orioles. Tejada continues to be one of the premier short stops of the major leagues, and remains as the leader of the Orioles, despite how much he doesn't like the team he is on.

Gibbons has been one of the most inconsistent players the Orioles have, though when he is on his upbeat, it's a hell of an upbeat. He is one of 2007's designated hitters, along with Aubrey Huff. Huff and Gibbons will probably both keep Millar and Payton as bench warmers through the season, but who could complain about that? Of course, most fans would be pleased.

Erik Bedard should see another good year for the Orioles, and should be able to raise his strikeouts as the starting pitcher once again. Daniel Cabrera walked an incredible 104 batters, far overshadowing the fact that he struck 157 out. Everyone else on the pitching lineup has nothing good to be said about them. Sadly for the Orioles, the addition of Wright and Trachsel will actually be a significant improvement.