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Fanfest, a final roster and predictions for 2008

By James Baker | March 30th, 2008

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It has been a busy weekend in Birdland.

First, as I was writing this post, the Orioles announced today that Jay Gibbons would be issued his outright release from the club. This is a very important move for the Orioles in many respects:

1) It allows for Scott Moore to take his earned spot on the roster. Moore offers the Orioles much more flexibility going into the season and a much better bat.

2) It reinforces the belief that the Orioles are moving in a younger, more long-term, direction relying more on building for the future and not hoping on once-effective power-hitters to regain their stroke

3) If there was ANY suspicion that Andy MacPhail did not have complete control of this ballclub, they should have been completely erased today. Swallowing nearly 12 million dollars of contract would be tough for any owner to do, let alone Peter Angelos.

In other news, The Orioles held their annual Fanfest yesterday. For the second year in a row the team held it at Camden Yards and it was a lot of fun.

Season ticket holders were able to take part in a Q & A session with Manager Dave Trembley and General Manager Andy MacPhail. They answered a variety of questios and showed a lot of candor without revealing too much about the inner workings of the team.

MacPhail stated that Roberts being traded was, “Highly unlikely.” And all one had to do was read between the lines to understand that Gibbons’ fate was decided yesterday afternoon. This afternoon’s announcement was not a surprise.

Also at fanfest yesterday the Orioles unveiled their highly anticipated new scoreboards.

The new boards look fantastic. The difference is staggering.

The atmosphere at Fanfest was fairly upbeat. The line for Adam Jones and Brian Roberts’ autographs was pretty dang huge by the time the signings began. Aubrey Huff was seen wearing an “I [Heart] Baltimore” shirt, a rumored gift from a fan and everyone seemed to be in good spirits fans and players alike.

The giveaways were plentiful and a handful of former O’s were there signing throughout the day.

The day was as fun as it was chilly, and it was chilly.

Anthony already gave his prediction for the Orioles 2008 season, I tend to have a slightly rosier prediction. I am not saying the team finally gets over 500, but I think they finish stronger than many think they will.

Predictions:

Adam Loewen starts slow, but really hits his stride in May and has a very strong second half.

Daniel Cabrera will still walk a bunch, but his K-rate will get back to normal and the ERA will fall.

Adam Jones follows the Nick Markakis route and has a stronger second half than he will in the first.

Scott Moore is a consistent starter either at 1B/3B/DH by the second half of the season.

Ramon Hernandez has a very big rebound year.

The bullpen will improve, but at best will be league average.

Burres won’t be the fifth man all year, but he will make a strong case for it.

Luke Scott hits 25 HRs.

Markakis hits 30 HRs.

Final record - 72-90

This entry was posted on Sunday, March 30th, 2008 at 3:11 pm and is filed under Series Preview, Oriole Players, commentary. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

6 Responses to “Fanfest, a final roster and predictions for 2008”

Stack says:

March 30th, 2008 at 4:22 pm

This is exciting. The scoreboard, the interest in Jones and (unsurprisingly) Roberts, and Trembly and McPhail talking openly (as much as they can) about the plans for the team, but there is a positive feel about this club. Like they are morphing out of a goal-less, pointless, Quixotic mission to slop together a team that will hypnotize people into senselessly opening up their wallets at the Yard and into a team that is looking to the future and compete in this realm of baseball reality where character, fundamentals, effort, competition, and fun are what brings fans and pennants back to the stadium. Yea, the losses won’t be very enjoyable, but the development of talent and the rebuilding of the fan base will be a blast. I’m also banking on the fact that this new culture is real and will continue, and maybe doing so a little preemptively (who doesn’t get caught up in the joy of baseball in the spring?), but with the trades, the lack of ridiculous FA signings, the release of Gibbons, and the (seemingly) McPhail-run club there is undeniably a new feeling here. I think McPhail has something to do with that, but I attribute a lot of it to the arrival of the Nationals from Montreal as well. Angelos can no longer rely on the D.C. lobbyist/wine and cheese crowd to fill the stadium. An actual baseball team needs to be on the field for the owners and other stakeholders (MASN) to do well. Even as a die-hard O’s fan, I can’t wait to check out the new stadium in D.C., and I’m sure I’m not alone. Angelos and others realize this and know that only a quality team in Baltimore will attract fans and money to the Yard. Who knows, we may look back in 10 years and say that baseball in DC pulled baseball in Baltimore back from the wilderness.

One other quick note: I’ve been hoping to see a report stating that the Roberts trade finally went through. I’m glad I haven’t yet seen that report. It has been amazing to see McPhail’s patients and stoicism in the O’s transactions so far and I hope that continues. Yea, Roberts will be gone and I do hope that happens for the sake of the team but I’m glad to see McPhail really get the highest quality in all of his trades. In a way it is fun to feel like we can really juice other teams for all they are worth.

I look forward to the ‘08 baseball season and I hope that everyone else here does as well. Thanks for the coverage of the trades and spring training. I’ve had a blast keeping up with the O’s here and I’ve become a better fan for it.
Tim says:

March 30th, 2008 at 10:23 pm

Sounds great. I can’t wait for another season of O’s baseball. Generally, every year I hope for a run to the playoffs. Although we will finish 4th at best in the AL East, It will be great to see this team make some strides with its young talent
Roland Via says:

March 31st, 2008 at 8:50 am

Scott Moore’s bat with power will be a welcome to the lineup and may force him to a more permanent position sooner than the halfway point. MacPhail has once again shown his adeptness in assembling a competitive team.
Mike Boehm says:

March 31st, 2008 at 10:14 am

Allefreakinluia!!!

Gibbons being gone certainly gives the impression that MacPhail is totally in charge!

That can only be good news going forward!

3 years and we could actually be competative!

(I musn’t let myself hope…I’ll only get hurt again…)
Stack says:

March 31st, 2008 at 2:33 pm

Check out the following link, it has a great article about growing up an O’s fan over the past 25 years: http://www.splicetoday.com/sports/orioles-tragic
Ryan says:

April 4th, 2008 at 5:27 pm

I am like everyone above that I don’t want to get my hopes up. I too was at fanfest (yes it was cold and I am paying for it with a cold of my own)! One point I want to bring up is how horribly run the autograph session is. I believe at some point the ushers need to cut the line off and if you made it you will get an autograph. I stood in the Markakis line for 1 hour and 45 minutes and ended up 3 rows to late. I also want to state that Brian Roberts for the 2nd straight year stayed 15-20 minutes after the alloted time. He is a class act and I must say i was disappointed with Markakis, Payton, and whoever else was down there that they sprinted out right at 1pm. Did anyone else share the same opinion?