Plenty to watch in remaining 74 games

When play ends this afternoon in Texas, the Baltimore Orioles will disperse across the country for the All-Star break. When they reconvene Friday night at-home against Toronto, the organization will have 74 games remaining in this 2010 season to best prepare themselves for their immediate future.

One of my favorite sayings before this season began was that 2010 was always going to be an important year because the majority of players you are depending on going forward will have worn a Baltimore uniform this year. Looking back, I was 100% correct, which is why the struggles of this season have made things even more desperate.

The change every Oriole fan wants to see for this Franchise has to come from the results of the players existing here today.

Markakis, Jones, and Wieters have to regularly produce in the O’s lineup. Matusz, Arrieta, and Tillman have to make the most of their remaining starts, and improve month-to-month.

Of course they are not alone.

You also need to see Roberts show an ability to get back into the lineup and play consistently. Even if that only occurs during the last 30 days of this season, that has to happen. Going into the offseason with questions of his health and ability to contribute would leave major holes in any plan that has aspirations of 2011 improvement in-mind.

Pie has to take over LF and make it his own. He came back this week, and played 4 straight games in LF prior to coming up a bit lame Friday. It was a bit of a surprise to see him playing the field, as there had been some-talk during his rehab that he would be limited to DH, with the O’s attempting to avoid Pie potentially straining his shoulder. The outfields in Detroit, and Texas are huge. The fact Pie was out there right away, points to the idea that if he is healthy, he will be playing in LF. If he is healthy enough, he needs 65-70 starts the rest of the year.

As Bell goes back to AAA to play everyday, the primary thing to watch is his plate-discipline. To date Bell has 18 walks with 75 k’s. For the O’s to consider him for their hot-corner next year, that has to improve. Ideally moves would be made at the Major League level, which would enable Bell to get some sustained MLB experience prior to the off-season.

Reimold has to get back to Baltimore and produce. This is a guy that had 35 extra-base hits for the O’s last-year during his initial 358 Major League at-bats. He earned his .831 OPS in 2009. The flip-side is that he struggled during his 83 ML at-bats this year, and has been brutal during his 177 at-bats since going back to Norfolk. The talent is there to help a ML lineup. If you believe in Pie’s ability, the most likely places for Reimold to contribute to the O’s are 1st or DH. Partially due to Brandon Snyder’s injury for Norfolk, Reimold has received 20 starts at 1st base, where he has compiled 6 errors. I hope nobody is worried about that defense. He could have booted 6 balls, or had several poor throws. He probably currently has awkward footwork and has trouble with positioning on relays, and pickoffs. So what? Who cares as long as he continues to work? His defense is never going to be what keeps him in the Majors. He has to hit. He dealt with the Achillies’, dealt with the birth of his child, and did not handle going back to AAA well. The guy is 27 in October, and supposedly doing better mentally. I want to see him in an Oriole uniform as soon as possible. As far as improvement in his defense at 1st, look for that to take place over the Winter, and during the Spring.

Bergesen needs to show some positive consistency. He had a 4.26 era over 6 starts in May, and has a 4.61 era over 2 starts here in July. In April and June he had 5 starts with an era over 11.00. 97 hits allowed (including 11 homers) in 71.2 innings, with 23 walks and 24 k’s is not going to cut it. He has to show the control capable of hitting his spots, and forcing grounders. Significant improvement is needed for him to have a rotation spot waiting for him next-Spring, even as the 5th starter.

I championed Berken going to the bullpen, and he had a very solid 1st-half. Now, he has to continue to pitch in higher-pressure situations and continue to perform.

Hernandez has been very strong since moving to the pen, and you want to see him eventually take over as the Closer. When that occurs, you want to see how he bounces back after losing a game.

If Gonzalez gets back and performs, how well does the foursome of Hernandez, Berken, Gonzalez, and Simon function together?

What happens with logical trade commodities like Wigginton, and Millwood (once off the DL)? What about others such as Guthrie, Scott (again, once off the DL), Ohman, and Tejada? Are any of these guys moved? None of them are going to bring back tremendous value, but perhaps they can add some depth to the system. Perhaps more importantly, the trades of some of those players would open up additional opportunity for guys like Reimold, Bell, and Britton.

What happens with the Manager situation? A lot of the National Media believes the O’s are moving towards offering the position to Buck Showalter. Once the Orioles complete their obligation of interviewing a minority candidate, does that occur? Does it occur during the All-star break? Do the O’s hire anyone that takes over the Managerial seat this year? Or do they make a hire, where it is established the new Manager will take over next Spring?

Do the Orioles decide to wait until the off-season, so that they can interview additional candidates? How does the performance of the team now impact things? The O’s are 9-7 in their last 16 games pending the result today. If the Orioles do not name a new Manager, and the O’s play competitive ball over an extended period, does that make Samuel the prohibitive favorite?

Do the O’s get Machado signed, and make any further International signings?

2010 remains extremely important for this Franchise. If you are a fan of the Orange & Black there is plenty of things to be watching during the remaining 46% of this season.