The Baltimore Orioles have moved past the Red Sox, Yankees, Blue Jays, and Devil Rays, all the way to the top of the A.L. East.  Yes, after nine straight losing seasons there is no doubt the Orioles have the #1 disgruntled fan base in the division, and possibly in all of baseball.  But there is good news for Orioles fans—there is light at the end of the tunnel.  Over the last few years the team has done a good job of stockpiling young talent, and for the first time in a long time the O’s are now poised to pass their division rivals not in fan disillusionment, but in the A.L. East standings.

Over those nine losing seasons, most of the blame for the team’s struggles has been directed at owner Peter Angelos.  Some of the blame is deserved— nine years is a long time and even the Royals have had a winning season in that span—but let’s be fair.  After all, it’s not really Angelos’ fault that marquee free agents have chosen not to sign with the Orioles.  Moreover, Angelos has never panicked and traded away the team’s best prospects for immediate help, or made a habit of dolling out monster contracts to mediocre players.  Instead he and GM Mike Flanagan have built the team through the farm system and second-tier free agent signings. Although this strategy was more of a plan B that arose due to the team’s failure to sign the big free agents, it may finally pay dividends this year. 

The Orioles’ young pitching will be the key in determining whether 2007 will be the team’s 10th straight year with a losing record or the start of a streak of playoff berths.  If their young pitchers can build on last year’s strong second half, the Orioles have a chance to compete. 

The rotation is led by 27-year-old Erik Bedard, a talented lefty who has shown flashes of brilliance during his first three years in the majors.  Bedard appeared to finally figure things out last season when he went 10-4 with a 2.31 ERA over a three month stretch between June and September.  If Bedard can continue pitching as he did the second half of last year, he’ll be the league’s best lefthander not named Santana, and he’ll give the Orioles the ace they’ve been searching for since Mike Mussina defected to the Yankees.

Bedard will be followed in the rotation by two more youngsters, 25-year-old Daniel Cabrera, and 22-year-old Adam Loewen.  Cabrera has been somewhat of an enigma during his three years with the Orioles.  With a darting 97-mph fastball and an untouchable breaking ball, Cabrera has some of the best stuff in the majors.  Unfortunately, his control problems have caused problems—last year he led all major league starters in walks per inning, and for the third straight year his ERA topped 4.50.  Cabrera did show signs of improvement late last year though, pitching 16 straight scoreless innings in mid-August, and tossing a complete game one-hitter in his final start of the season,

Loewen, a 6’5” lefty who was the #4 overall pick in 2002, and the pride of Team Canada in last year’s World Baseball Classic, made huge strides over the course last season.  After starting 0-2 with a 7.09 ERA in his first nine appearances, he finished strong--6-4 with a 4.45 ERA.  In reality, Loewen is likely still a year away from becoming a dominant pitcher in the major leagues, but even this season the potential is there.

Jaret Wright and Steve Trachsel will likely hold down the last two spots in the Orioles rotation.  The injury prone Wright was acquired in the off-season from the Yankees, and the team hopes reuniting him with pitching coach Leo Mazzone will help reproduce his 2004 numbers, when he went 15-8 with the Braves under Mazzone’s tutelage. 

Trachsel will replace Kris (Mr. Anna) Benson, who was found to have a torn rotator cuff just days before he was set to report to spring training.  Should either Wright or Trachsel struggle, they could be replaced by rookie Hayden Penn.  Penn dominated Triple-A last year as a 21-year-old, but in a late season call up all he could do on the mound was his best Bruce Chen impersonation (33 ER in 19.2 IP).