Maybe the Baltimore Orioles should move away from Halloween colors since every night has seemed to be filled with goblins and ghouls. Needless to say, it's been a rough decade for the Baltimore Orioles. They have not sniffed the playoffs finishing third in the AL East only once and finishing last the past two seasons.

C - Javy Lopez

• Orioles' fans hope Matt Wieters's name is here and on numerous All-Star rosters during the next decade, but his time for an All-Decade team has yet to come. Instead, Javy Lopez makes the team despite not being the power-hitting big-name free agent he was signed to be. Lopez put up good numbers his two full seasons with Baltimore with a .301 average, 38 home runs, and 135 RBI. Though they weren't the great numbers management hoped for they were the best of the Baltimore catchers.
  

1B - Jeff Conine

• Jeff Conine was a model of consistency for his nearly four years while playing a number of positions, primarily first base, with the Orioles at the beginning of the decade. He batted .290 and hit 13, 14, 15, and 15 home runs while driving in an average of over 70 RBI in the 3+ seasons. Conine also came back to B'more for part of the 2006 season.

2B - Brian Roberts

• Through the lean years, there have been few positive constants for the Orioles, but Brian Roberts has been one of them spending his entire nine-year career with Baltimore. Roberts has averaged 11 home runs, 43 doubles, and nearly 100 runs since becoming a full-time player in 2003. He has also averaged 34 stolen bases, including an American League-leading 50 in 2007.

SS - Miguel Tejada

• Despite the steroid allegations as he exited, Miguel Tejada was a force in the middle of the lineup during his four seasons in Baltimore averaging 26 homers and 107 RBI. The former MVP had his best season in 2004 hitting 34 round trippers, knocking 150 RBI, and batting .311 -- all career highs to that point. "Miggy" bested his .311 average by batting .330 in 2006. The uber-reliable Tejada began to break down in his final season with Baltimore after six consective seasons of playing all 162 games, hitting less than 20 homers for the first time since 1998.
  
  

3B - Melvin Mora

• Melvin Mora has been around for every single Orioles' struggling season in the AL East during the decade after coming over in a 2000 trade with the Mets. Mora played a number of positions before taking over the hot corner in 2004. The move proved to spark the Venezuelan's bat as Mora had his best season of his career hitting 27 HR, 104 RBI and batting a robust .340 with a league best .419 OBP. Along with a Silver Slugger in '04, Mora also earned two All-Star appearances. A fan favorite in Baltimore, he averaged 84 runs, 20 homers and 78 RBI from 2002 to 2008.
  

LF - Luke Scott

• There are slim pickings in the Orioles outfield starting in left field where Luke Scott gets the selection over such big-time producers as Larry Bigbie, Marty Cordova, and B.J. Surhoff at the tailend of his career. In his two seasons with the O's, Scott has provided pop in the middle of a power-inept lineup. Scott has averaged 24 HR, 71 RBI, and a .817 OPS.
  

CF - Corey Patterson

• Baltimore fans are very high on Adam Jones as they move into the next decade hoping he can be a part of a nucleus that will lead Baltimore toward the top of the AL East. However, Jones's numbers in his two seasons in Baltimore are nearly identical to those of Corey Patterson's two years in black and orange. Jones also was named to his first All-Star team and won his first Gold Glove this past season. So why choose Patterson? Patterson also played solid defense, and the statistic that sets the two apart is that Patterson stole 82 bases compared to Jones 20. Jones will likely be the centerfielder on the next All-Decade team, but for the 2000s, it's Patterson.
  

RF - Nick Markakis

• Nick Markakis has quickly become a mainstay in the middle of the Orioles' lineup. The lefty from Woodstock, Georgia has been a model of consistency hitting .291, .300, .306, and .293 in his four seasons in Baltimore. He also has hit 23, 20, and 18 homers in his three full seasons. Markakis struggled during the first half of his rookie season but still managed to put up 16 HR and 62 RBI after he hit .311 with 14 homers and 41 RBI in the second half of the season. Unfortunately, he picked the wrong year to be a rookie as Justin Verlander, Jonathan Papelbon, and Francisco Liriano finished 1-2-3 in the Rookie of the Year voting. Undettered, Markakis put up his best numbers in his sophomore season showing five tool ability (.300, 23 HR, 112 RBI, 18 SB, 13 outfield assists).

  

   

DH - Aubrey Huff

• Another position were there aren't many viable candidates for an All-Decade Team, the Baltimore Orioles' designated hitter spot goes to Aubrey Huff. The University of Miami product hit 60 home runs in two and a half seasons with Baltimore. Huff won the Silver Slugger in 2008 batting .304. He also dropped 32 home runs and 108 RBI with an impressive .912 OPS.
  

SP (LH) - Erik Bedard

• Pitching has been a weakness throughout the decade for the O's, but one of the bright spots was the growth and maturity of Erik Bedard. In each of his four full seasons with Baltimore, Bedard increased his innings and strikeouts while lowering his ERA, WHIP, and walks per nine innings. The culmination was his 2007 season when he went 13-5 accounting for 19% of the Orioles wins. He gave up only 141 hits in 182 innings while striking out 221. He finished with a 3.16 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP, the second-best WHIP in the American League.
  
  

SP (RH) - Mike Mussina

• Mike Mussina would undoubtedly be on the 1990s All-Decade Team as he was a five-time All-Star and won four Gold Gloves. But how does he make this decade's team? Simply because of the ineptitude of every other starter the Orioles have thrown out onto the bump. The other options are Sidney Ponson, who really only had one good season, Jeremy Guthrie, who is coming off a 10-17 season, or maybe Rodrigo Lopez, who had two good seasons but also two atrocious seasons, including 2006 when he was 9-18 with a 5.90 ERA. Therefore, it is Mussina, who finished sixth in the 2000 Cy Young voting, his only season with Baltimore this decade. He pitched a league-high 237.2 innings and despite an 11-15 record had a 3.79 ERA and 1.19 WHIP.

RP - B.J. Ryan

• When I think of Orioles' relief pitching in the 2000s, I picture the bulky southpaw B.J. Ryan coming in late in the game to shut the door. But in reality, for Baltimore, Ryan was only the closer in 2005. He had his best seasons setting up for Jorge Julio before supplanting him in 2005. The power lefty compiled a 3.54 ERA and a 1.31 ERA before moving on to be the Blue Jays' closer. In 379.1 innings with Baltimore, Ryan struck out 464 batters for an impressive 11.0 strikeouts per nine innings.

CL - Chris Ray

• Before suffering an arm injury midway through the 2007 season, Chris Ray looked like he was going to be Baltimore's future for several seasons to come. In his first three major league seasons, Ray had a 3.19 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP. With his power arm, Ray took over the closing duties in 2006 recording 33 saves, a 2.73 ERA, and a 1.09 WHIP. He was on his way to another 30+ saves the next season recording his 15th save, his 5th win, and his 16th save on three consecutive days in the middle of July. However, he would only make one more appearance before shutting it down for the season to have Tommy John surgery.

TrackBack URI for this entry

Comments (1)

Name

Email

Website

Title

Comment

smaller | bigger

Subscribe via email (registered users only)

Add Comment