I finally got some time to write. I am going to look at what the O's have and what they need. What happened in the first half, and what needs to happen in the second half?
The O's are off to their best start in 7 or so years. They are 7 games above .500 and 2 games behind the Red Sox. The Yankees are biting at the Orioles heals, 1/2 games behind the O's. Until the last series with the Red Sox, the Orioles have been struggling badly. The pitchers couldn't last past the 3rd inning, and the hitters couldn't pull through in a clutch. The O's have suffered so many injuries that every time Lee Mazzilli sent someone down to the minors, the Orioles had to reactivate them within days. Through all of this, the Orioles are in contention at the start of the second half. They will be getting Javy Lopez and Erik Bedard within the next week or two. The both of them will be able to give the Orioles a much need shot in the arm. With only one or two moves before the trade deadline, the Orioles could give the Red Sox and the Yankees a run for their money.
The outfield and pitching staff are the most need of overhauling. Sammy Sosa has been a bust thus far, and Larry Bigbie is just now starting to hit in the last couple of days. Bigbie was supposed to be a savior for the Orioles, and he has come short over the last two years. The pitching staff has also needed some work once the O's entered June. Erik Bedard was placed on the DL in late May, and the starting pitching staff hasn't recovered. The O's tried to fill the void with young Hayden Penn, but with no run support, Penn lost his confidence. He was shortly sent back down to the minors. Mazz tried to go into a 4 man rotation, which really didn't work because the starters couldn't last.
So what do the O's have to do? They need some pitchers and outfielders that are worth a crap. The best suitors for the O’s so far are the Marlins. They are trying to unload Juan Encarnation and A.J. Burnett for a young starter, reliever, and a left handed outfielder. I would say bye-bye to Bigbie and Jorge Jolio. The next part of the deal is up in the air for me. I like Cabrera and Penn very much, but I think Penn is more of a trade bait than Cabrera. Daniel Cabrera has already proven that he could be dominating, and Hayden Penn has not. Sure, Penn has a ton of potential, but the Orioles need to make a move for now.
Oh, and I have a plan for the relief pitching too. Trade Julio is the first and foremost action. Take the Steve brothers out of the set-up job. Bring in Kline against righties and send Reed to triple A. Make Chris Ray and Todd Williams the primary set-up men. Demote Ponson from starter to long reliever, and start James Baldwin (he can't do any worse). Sir Sidney "I can't pitch" Ponson hasn't been able to pitch a game without giving up at least 4 runs (usually more).