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Baseball Primer Newsblog
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Monday, May 19, 2008
Baltimore Sun: O’s, Yankees could be headed in opposite directions
Leapin’ Lepperts! I thought it was the Rays that had passed the Yankees?
The standings say so. The Yankees will enter Tuesday night’s series opener against the Orioles at Yankee Stadium anchored in the American League East cellar, the only team in the division with a losing record.
It’s not the first time, of course. They got off to an awful start last year, but eventually recovered and reached the playoffs. That could happen again—because they’ve still got more money than whatever deity you believe in—but the buzz in the Big Apple is that this time might be different.
Orioles fans can only hope, because this time might also be different in Baltimore, which could mean that something strange and wonderful might be starting to happen. Is it possible the Orioles and Yankees are like the two proverbial ships passing in the night and—for the first time in who knows how long—it’s the Orioles who are headed in the right direction?
Stop whistling the Kool-Aid jingle. ("Kool-Aid, Kool-Aid, tastes great. Wish we had some. Can’t wait!") I haven’t lost my mind. The Yankees almost certainly will right themselves enough to finish the season ahead of the Orioles, but each organization has undergone a fundamental change in philosophy over the past year that harkens back to the days when the Orioles were the most stable franchise in the American League and the Yankees were the most volatile.
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Basically they have one really good young player in Markakis, another top prospect in Adam Jones, and a young-ish pitching staff. Sounds like a team on the rise to me.
Given our carousel of replacement-level shortstops, and the fact that the only high-minors prospect aside from Reimold who interests me is Salazar, I don't think the O's are ready to take on the Tampan Juggernaut quite yet, but a point about Baltimore (finally) going in the right direction is worth considering.
Personally, I like a lot of the young pitching and figure if Reimold's ever ready, Scott can move to first and hold that position cheaply until some real IF talent's developed. But, you know, 70-75 wins this year is still the best scenario.
It might be fun to speculate, but it's a good ways from reality at this point.
Well, it probably is, but if you want to take your shots, this would be the time. Who are we kidding? Darn near everybody hits the pillow at night hoping that the Yankees will someday come crashing down in some flaming wreck that will compensate for all the fist-pumping, pin-striped crap we've had to endure over the last decade +.
I'm no Schmuck fan, but he's definitely not a homer, and this article is nothing like the Rays article.
This is the strongest statement he makes about the two franchises, and I largely agree with it:
Why? What "fundamental change in philosophy" has occurred for the Yankees in the past year?
Yes and the list of rash moves that he has forced include...
We'll see about the O's, they still have the recent king of being that guy at the head of their team.
I don't think the premise of the article is that the Orioles have a brighter future than the Yankees, and I certainly don't believe that - the Yankees have more than enough resources to withstand a self-destructive owner.
But I also don't think it's wrong to say that changes in the Orioles front office have been more encouraging than those in the Yankees front office.
Hey, only GGC gets to post Madeline Albright pictures.
if he looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it doesn't take a lot of imagination to predict how he'll act.
A canard.
Isn't there some logic to just bringing him up now? I realize that starts the arb clock and everything, but that isn't really an issue for the Orioles. I'm just thinking, if the the plan is to compete in 2010, doesn't getting a few hundred at-bats under his belt make him more likely to be a major contributor at that point? Isn't he arguably more ML ready than, say, Adam Jones?
Of course, I suppose bringing him up to start 09 works, too.
If Wieters is called up now, he'd likely be super-two arbitration eligible after 2010. Waiting until mid-June to call up Wieters would save the Orioles millions.
I'd say there's a better argument to wait until May next year to call up Wieters to ensure another year of his prime is under Oriole control.
I'm an idiot. I was thinking he was already at AA. My fault.
The Orioles are a stable franchise? Maybe, but I remain unconvinced. How committed they stay to the rebuilding process will be the bellweather for how stable they are. I mean, for a rebuilding team, they are awfully long in the tooth and barren of infield prospects.
The Yankees are the Yankees, and they have enough cash to cover any miscue, though that could be tested if Hank forces out Cashman and hires someone like Steve Phillips.
Also, Wieters shouldn't be in Baltimore this year. Why burn a year of service time when he can just get promoted after next year's arb cut-off? I'd like to see Wieters get at least 500 MiLB ABs and hit the AFL in the fall.
I think the author was referring to the glory days of yore, when my BBTF namesakes were manning the middle infield for the cartoon birds. Ah, those were the days.
But the author probably means the years 1969 to 1986, when the Orioles were managed by Earl Weaver and Joe Altobelli, while the Yankees were managed by Ralph Houk, Bill Virdon, Bob Lemon, Billy Martin, Dick Howser, Gene Michael, Bob Lemon, Gene Michael, Clyde King, Billy Martin, Yogi Berra, Billy Martin, and Lou Piniella.
(although during that time the Orioles only won one more pennant than the Yankees...they were certainly more stable)
It was actually because Jeter got hit (although it's hard to fault the pitcher considering he leans over the plate) and Melky almost did.
I'm not defending Hawkins either. There's never a reason to throw at someone's head, especially over wild pitches from Daniel Cabrera.
I was referring to DKDC's comment about agreeing with the notion that: but each organization has undergone a fundamental change in philosophy over the past year that harkens back to the days when the Orioles were the most stable franchise
I don't take exception that the Orioles are not as stable as they were from 66 to 83, but more that they can be considered a stable franchise when the rebuild is still far away from being complete. And I'm not sure we (as in the Orioles) are there yet. As such, I wouldn't describe the team as stable...
Sorry, I misunderstood you. I'd agree, the Orioles aren't "stable". How could you be "stable" in year 1 of a rebuild?
I think you're focusing on the "stable" part a little too much.
I interpreted Schmuck's statement to mean: the Orioles have made an organizational change to focus on pitching, defense, and player development. That is very similar to what the Orioles of yore focused on back when they were "stable" or competitive on a yearly basis.
Of course a team that has just "undergone a fundamental change" isn't stable. That wouldn't make any sense.
It would really suck (but be quite typical) that on the day A-Rod returns, another offensively-counted-on Yankee goes down.
Regardless of the degree to which one is a Jeter-basher, it strains credibility to assert that the 2008 Yankees would be better without him.
Now I'm confused and am unsure as to the point I'm defending :)
I think what I was saying is that I'm not ready to declare the team has truly committed (sp?) to rebuilding, which is what I would define as stable, ironically enough. As far as a team being rebuilding and thusly not making any sense, has anything we've done before MacPhail made any sense?
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