2006 Can’t Come Fast Enough

2005 has to go down as one of the worst season the Orioles have endured. They first teased us with 60 odd games in first place only to finish 4th in the AL East and only a few games ahead of the Devil Rays. The addition of Sammy Sosa did not work out. He was plagued with injuries and only hit 14 homeruns, needing only 26 to reach the 600 homerun plateau. Most of us said he was a slow starter and he would eventually begin to look more like the Sammy we are used to seeing as the season progressed. It never happened. There was also a report that there was tension between Sosa and Tejada

For Rafael Palmeiro, it should have been a landmark season as he became only the 4th person in history to hit 500 homeruns and 3000 hits. Instead he tested positive for steroids and was eventually asked by the team not to return. Along with ruining his name, he smeared Tejada’s name by suggesting his positive result might have been caused by the B-12 vitamins he received from Tejada.

Sidney Ponson had problems on and off the field. He finished his last season as on Oriole with a 7-11 record and an ERA of 6.21. He was also arrested 3 times in a span of 11 months. The third arrest on August 25th gave the Orioles reason to terminate his contract. His troubles are tied to alcohol and I hope he can get the necessary help he needs.

Another person that did not survive the season was the manager Lee Mazzilli. It was not a big surprise that an Oriole manager was fired but that it happened during the season. Mazzilli was criticized for his laid back style and his relationship with players.

So far the off-season has only brought more bad news. First BJ Ryan, the Orioles closer for the 2005 season, signed with division rival Toronto. Then the Orioles offered Paul Konerko a $65 million contract but he took less money to stay with the Chicago White Sox. During the winter meetings, the Orioles made one insignificant move, by sending away disgruntled reliever Steve Kline to San Francisco for reliever LaTroy Hawkins.

The drama isn’t over yet. Now Tejada and catcher Javy Lopez are unsatisfied with the direction the Orioles are aheading and have demanded a trade. Tejada is saying he wants to play for a winning team and it has been rumored he could be traded to the Red Sox for another player who is demanding a trade, Manny Ramirez. Javy Lopez is unhappy with the Orioles signing of catcher Ramon Hernandez, who is seen as an upgrade to Lopez. Lopez is on the last year of his contract and he does not want to be a part time player. He’d rather be traded to another team and hit 43 homeruns once again.

The Orioles can afford to loose Javy Lopez. Perhaps trade him to get a proven starting pitcher. But the Orioles can’t afford to loose Tejada. He is the face of the Orioles. He is more valuable than Manny, a starting pitched and cash. He is the kind of guy you build franchises around. The Orioles need to do everything in their power to keep Tejada.