Late Innings

Given the state of economic mess that we’re with in this country, I often wonder about how that will affect free agent paydays this Winter? Will A.J. Burnett hit his 15MM a year demand? Who will overpay and purchase this year’s Carlos Silva? Honestly I expect the purse strings to be tightened somewhat. C.C. Sabathia will still get his money, but in regards to everyone else it’s hard to tell.

In regards to what’s going on in Baltimore, a four-day organizational meeting is currently under way with all of the front office brass. Throw out the abysmal final forty games of the season, and Andy MacPhail and his staff could consider the 2008 season a success. The front office saw great strides this season, especially from young players like Adam Jones, Matt Weiters and Jeremy Guthrie. Right now the Orioles could use starting pitching, as well as some middle infield help, however they could once again have a bullpen surplus in 2009, especially with the return of 2007 closer Chris Ray.

There have been a few rumors that the Orioles would be pursing both big name free agents Mark Teixeira and Burnett. Granted the team has some cash right now, and will have some more off the books after 2009, and bringing in these two players will cost some cash. Scott Boras already has stated that Teixeria will cost 200MM over ten years, and Burnett himself will cost 15MM a year (or so he demands.) Will both of these two players address the problems that the team had in 2008, which primarily includes stopping the perenial end of year collapses?

In my opinion I’d take both. Burnett would add much needed depth to the rotation, giving some support to their ace Jeremy Guthrie. And Teixeria would fill a void at first, something that’s been missing for about ten years since Rafeal Palmerio left as a free agent years back. Playing devil’s advocate, say that both players sign onto MacPhail’s plan, Teixeria comes aboard for seven years, Burnett for five. Even though both players are from the Baltimore area, they most likely won’t take “hometown discounts” to play for the Orioles. Still even with both of them on board, how would they react if MacPhail suddenly traded Brian Roberts, Aubrey Huff and Melvin Mora?

The Orioles are clearly in a rebuilding phase right now. They have a talented all-world catcher coming up however with Weiters. They are set with Nick Markakis and Jones in the outfield. And they have a tremendous amount of starting pitching in the minors that rivals very few teams. However these arms are a few years away, and that includes Brian Matusz, Jake Arietta and David Hernandez. If both Burnett and Teixeria are on board, they would have to understand that this isn’t a one year plan. I’d love to have both of these guys on board, and I could see them leading the next winning Orioles club, however it’s unlikely that either of these two players would want to be part of a rebuilding project.

In other random news from the weekend:

• Speaking of Matusz, he made his professional debut for the Orioles in the fall league, and threw three hitless innings. Matusz was the #4 overall pick in this year’s draft, and should advance swiftly through the minors, especially given the major league contract he received in August.
• In regards to other top draft picks, the #1 pick from last year’s draft David Price got his first career win during last Saturday’s postseason win against the Red Sox. He’s still looking for his first career win in the regular season, however given his talent, that shouldn’t be a problem.
• Jonothan Papelbon is the record holder for the longest streak of postseason scoreless innings, in case anyone is interested.