The Orioles still have a huge hole at shortstop, but that doesn’t mean it was a bad idea to trade their highest-paid player last offseason. Miguel Tejada’s offensive numbers in his first season with the Astros were sub-par and certainly not worthy of the money he is making. In hitter-friendly Minute Maid Park, a .283/.314/.415 line from one of Houston’s heavy hitters is not going to cut it. Believe it or not, Miggy’s numbers actually declined from 2007 (.296/.357/.442), when he battled injuries and underachievement in what turned out to be his last season in Baltimore.
Almost immediately after being traded, Tejada was named in the Mitchell Report. Soon after the 2008 season began, he admitted being two years older than he had previously claimed to be, following an interview with ESPN during which he was repeatedly questioned about his age.
Luke Scott, who Baltimore received as part of the package for Tejada, hit .257 with 23 home runs and 65 RBI’s – nothing spectacular but then again, he’s not in the middle of a $72 million six-year contract. I’d like to see Scott improve in his second year with the Birds, but considering he’s under the team’s control for four more seasons and the O’s also picked up three pitching prospects from Houston, I’d have to say the Orioles should be pleased with how things have turned out thus far.
Who will be next season’s Cinderella story?
Though they did not go all the way, the Tampa Bay Rays were an unbelievable success story in 2008. After changing their team name from the Devil Rays in the offseason, the Rays shocked the baseball world by going from worst to first, winning 97 regular-season games and the American League East after losing 96 games in 2007.
Who could be the 2009 version of the Rays? Well, not the Rays again, since expectations for them are higher than they’ve ever been. My best guess is the Giants, who were not quite as bad this year (72-90) as expected and whose pitchers (Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain, in particular) would win more games if the offense could put anything on the board. If Barry Zito could bounce back with even a mediocre season, he’d be an effective fourth or fifth starter. Aaron Rowand should hit better in his second year in San Francisco, and Edgar Renteria, who the Giants just signed to a two-year deal, will undoubtedly put up better numbers than aging veteran Omar Vizquel did in ’08. The team needs a power-hitting first baseman (Jason Giambi’s name has been thrown out there, but I’m not endorsing that signing), and even then will probably still be close to the bottom of the league in home runs and many other offensive categories, but they should be able to improve enough to let the pitching dominate opposing teams. If and when the Giants emerge as the 2009 Cinderella story, you heard it hear first.
Keywords: Aaron Rowand, Baltimore Orioles, Barry Zito, Cinderella, Edgar Renteria, Houston Astros, Jason Giambi, Luke Scott, Miguel Tejada, Mitchell Report, Omar Vizquel, San Francisco Giants, Tampa Bay Rays
