April Schedule and Goals for The Orioles

With Opening Day right around the corner (April 6th) let us take a look at the April Schedule and Goals for the Baltimore Orioles. During the Month, the O’s will play a total of 23 games, with 13 games on the road, and 10 games at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.

3 @ Tampa April 6th – 8th
3 vs. Toronto April 9th – 11th
3 vs. Tampa April 12th – 14th
4 @ Oakland April 15th – 18th
3 @ Seattle April 19th – 21st
Off April 22nd
3 @ Boston April 23rd – 25th
Off April 26th
3 vs. New York April 27th – 29th
1 vs. Boston April 30th

Goals & Thoughts for the Month

1) It really goes without saying, but the start of any season is about setting a tone. What you want to see the O’s establish right away is an ability to be competitive within the division. Last-year Baltimore was 24-48 against the American League East. The O’s believe they are going to be vastly improved. Improvement can only occur overall if the Orioles make large-strides against the Red Sox, Yankees, Rays, and Jays. There are 16 Division games for the Month, including 10 at-home. An 8-8 month against these foes should be the goal.

2) West Coast trips are always difficult, and the mid-April trip Oakland, and Seattle will be the first of three trips out West for the O’s in 2010. This 7 game West Coast swing will be an opportunity for Baltimore to show they will also be more competitive on the road in 2010 vs. 2009 (25-56).

3) The O’s started 2009 with a rotation of Guthrie, Uehara, Simon, Hendrickson, and Eaton. In 2010 the O’s are going to begin the year with a rotation of Millwood, Guthrie, Matusz, Bergesen, and Hernandez. (EDIT) Frankly, those two sentences provide as much illustration as anything of why Baltimore should be improved this year. I just want to see the Orioles end April, with these 5 having made every scheduled start. I’ve previously documented my individual expectations for each of these starters, but the bottom-line is if they collectively regularly take the mound; 2010 which will be much more enjoyable for fans of the Orange & Black.

4) I stated several weeks ago that I fully expected both Roberts, and Reimold to be in the Opening Day lineup. As Roberts got back to the lineup last-night, and Reimold has started to hit; it is apparent I was correct. That said, I have some reservations about comments I saw from Roberts this week. More-or-less, Roberts stated that he expected to be ready for the season, and if that was the case – he expected to play everyday. While I respect the desire to go out everyday and compete, it is not the job of Roberts to fill-out the line-up card.

To be fair to Roberts, in 2009 (while playing in 159 games) he had a higher OPS in the 2nd-half (.849) vs. his 1st-half numbers (.772). While I think that should be considered, I think Roberts and the O’s also have to be aware of the bigger picture. He has worked extremely hard in the off-seasons to keep his body in strong physical condition, and he should be commended for that. Still, he will be 32 years-old all of the 2010 season, and is signed with the O’s through 2013.

Roberts has averaged 157 games played over the past three-years. Count me as someone that believes the Orioles would be well-served by attempting to limit Roberts to roughly 150 games a year. With Wiggington on the roster as a competent reserve, there is an opportunity for Trembley to find Roberts some additional rest.

Reimold has found his bat this week, and has maintained all Spring that he will have the ability to run full-out when needed. His bat is needed in this line-up, and I think he will show during the course of 2010 to be a better defensive LF than the metrics showed him to be during 2009. That said, the O’s play 16 games in a row to start this season. There is absolutely no reason to trot Reimold out to LF everyday. With Felix Pie available off the bench, Trembley has the depth necessary to give Reimold additional time off of his legs.

5) Matt Wieters finished 2009 with a flurry, posting a .935 OPS during September. What a difference to the middle of the lineup, if he picks up right from there. Two things I will be looking to see out of Wieters in April, is A) Does he look better against LHP? (.671 OPS in 2009), and B) His Plate Discipline (28 bb’s vs. 86 k’s in 2009).

6) There are going to be plenty of eyes watching Tejada and Atkins as this season progresses. I understand why people are lukewarm about their signings, but I want to see them both play well enough to avoid intense scrutiny. Last-year the April ‘story’ was how bad Pie looked in 51 at-bats during the Month. That story drove me crazy because it should have been obvious to everyone that Pie was a 24 year-old player that had accomplished plenty at the Minor League level, only had 260 ML at-bats coming into ’09, and was with an Oriole team that had zero chance of contention in 2009. Due to that, it made sense for Pie to get as much playing time as possible during the year. Due to the scrutiny Pie faced, the O’s acquiesced to that public pressure and put him on the bench for essentially the next 3 months.

As excited as I am to eventually be seeing Bell, and Snyder on an everyday basis; I am going to be irritated if Tejada, and Atkins are the designated whipping boys for 2010. They are what they are. One-year stop-gaps that have the chance to make the team more competitive this year. They are effectively replacing Melvin Mora who had a .679 OPS in 2009, and Aubrey Huff who had a .725 OPS for the O’s in ’09.

If Atkins, and Tejada perform at the bottom of their 2010 expectations, they still figure to basically equate Mora and Huff’s 2009 production. Myself, I expect Atkins and Tejada to both produce an OPS at the .750 level. Not tremendous production by any-means, but enough that they should not be the daily story for the O’s.

It is important for them to not get buried early, and to show some signs at-life. In addition to what they do at the plate, you want to end April with their defense being non-stories.

I was hoping to see Tejada start the year batting 7th, but as Spring Training winds-down, it is seeming likely he will be in the 2-hole. That is where he thrived in 2009 (.922 OPS, in 289 at-bats) but his in-ability to walk, and free-swinging ways concern me some.

7) The last-story of Spring Training, is the final compilation of the bullpen. Part of this will be answered by what happens DL wise with Uehara. It seems to me that he is going to start the year on the DL, so an early story will be who does he replace when healthy enough to return?

Assuming Uehara does start on the DL, I think we are looking at a 7 man bullpen of:

Gonzalez
Johnson
Mickolio
Albers
Meredith
Ohman
Hendrickson

I had hoped all Winter that Uehara, Hernandez, and Berken would each be part of the bullpen, so for none of them likely to be part of the Opening Day bullpen is a disappointment.

On the other-hand, I feel pretty good about this group. To me, a bullpen is only as good as the starters in-front of them. The rotation is improved, so the bullpen should be as well. I think Johnson, and Mickolio have the chance to be a strong-bridge to Gonzalez in the 9th.

Meredith, and Albers have had very-solid Springs and you just want to see that carry-over into the start of the year.

If April is about setting-a-tone, you want to see Gonzalez have some early success as a Closer. Some people are concerned about his back, but Gonzalez sounds confident about being ready. I am looking forward to seeing the guy that made 80 appearances in 2009, with 90 k’s, and only 56 hits allowed in 74.1 innings.

Watching the complexion of this group all season is going to be interesting. Ultimately I am hoping to see the O’s get to the point where they have Gonzalez, Uehara, Mickolio, Hernandez, Lebron all together at one-time.

EDIT: Mickolio went to the DL, with Berken making the roster.

8) The importance of this season can not be over-stated. If you think it is hyperbole to state that in a season where contention is unlikely to occur; I would vehemently disagree. I’m on the record as stating I believe the O’s will make the jump from their 64 wins in 2009, to an 82-80 season in 2010. If I am correct, and this team shows the ability to improve by 18 wins – the reasons why they improved dramatically, will be more important than the result of giving the organization their first season over .500 since 1997. This year is severely important to the future of this franchise, because the core of talent you want to move forward with has been assembled and is in-place. If there was stagnation, and lack of improvement, that would be crippling. 2009 was always going to be about introducing players like Wieters, Reimold, Matusz, Tillman, Bergesen, and Hernandez ascend to the Majors. Wins and Losses did not matter, when there was never any hope of contention. By definition, if you are not in position to contend, you are building. The foundation was laid last-year. This year the house takes shape, and tangible improvement is required. Next-year the final landscaping is completed, and contention occurs. Wins and Losses matter in 2010, and I think the goal for the month should be 12-11 overall.